Sigh!
I let out a short sigh as I took my phone out of my pocket.
"Let's see if there's something new?"
From childhood, I thought of myself as the protagonist, believing the world revolved around me.
I couldn't help but recall those cringy memories from my younger self that seemed to still haunt me.
It was after going to college that I realized that I was just an extra.
But lately, something has changed. A heaviness weighed upon me.
I had recently received devastating news about my health.
The Doctor had diagnosed me with severe and life-threatening disease, leaving me with a limited amount of time.
As I unlocked my phone and started scrolling through several websites and apps.
News articles, social media updates, and a vast collection of information at my fingertips reminded me that I was one of those billions of people or NPC.
Getting annoyed, I opened a web novel app.
Reading novels was one way of fulfilling my dream of being a main character by imagining them as me.
It had been a while since I started reading novels so it was quite difficult to find a good novel that I hadn't read.
As I scrolled down further, I stumbled upon a web novel called 'The Rise Of The Crazy One'
And as I read further I saw no views, comments or reviews and seeing the title intriguing, I felt it was strange.
And so I decided to give the web novel "The Rise of the Crazy One" a try.
As I delved deeper into the story, I couldn't help but notice the familiar tropes and clichés that permeated the story.
It seemed to follow the well-worn path of the fantasy genre, a world of magic and swords, where strength dictated one's place in society.
In this cruel and unforgiving world, where the strong dominate and the weak suffered.
I thought it would be another cliche novel but boy... I was wrong?
Just reading the first few chapters I could tell it was something else.
The story follows the protagonist William, whose parents died when he was young, leaving him with his younger sister.
Later, as he and his sister struggle to survive, they meet Williams's future master who took him under his embrace and thought him swordplay but he later died when Wiliam turned thirteen because of the demon's curse that he got fighting against them 100 years ago.
In his last moment, he asks William to go to the Imperial Magic and Swords Academy of Avalora Empire.
And so he sets on his journey.
I know it's a little cliche at the start but after reading 20 chapters, I was hooked.
As this novel was different from others, as it also shared Kaesar, the main villain's perspective.
100 chapter in, I feel bad for Zephyr, one of the side characters.
Maybe, because I could relate to him?
But Zephyr had a way worse life than me.
I could not help but pity him.
He was born with a curse of a weak body and because of that he always had a weak body.
But that was not even the worse part yet... Because his family was of magicians. It was not a problem for him to have a weak body, as the family was based on mages.
But he didn't have any talent for magic and because of that, his family abandoned him.
He lived in a secluded place. But one thing was good and that was his childhood friend, who he had a crush on and even confessed to her.
She also returned his fillings and they started dating.
They later enrolled in Imperial Magic and Swords Academy of Avalora.
Even though Zephyr was constantly looked down upon by the academy's students. It didn't bother him much.
As long as he can be together with Shi, He could even endure through hell.
But his happiness didn't last long as his best friend "Kaesar" who he trusted a lot, framed him for cheating on Shi.
Shi broke up with him after hearing the rumour and started dating his Ex-Best Freind Kaesar.
After the rumour spread of him cheating on Shi, the students constantly harassed him, but that was not as painful as watching his beloved Shi with Kaesar.
After that, he returned home.
And as I finished reading Chapter 340. I could not help but feel really... really bad for him.
I mean, did the author have a grudge against him?
Poor Zephyr after leaving the Academy, he wanted to become strong to prove to Shi.
But he was scammed by an annoying bitch.
And after ten years, His only support, Mina, his older sister was married to Kaesar, his sworn enemy and later died.
He was also married to the fourth princess and why? Because the royal family and his family had a contract where they had to marry off one of each other's daughters.
And that's why his sister was married to Kaesar.
While marriage with the princess was not bad, right? No... Even though the fourth princess was called the flower of the empire.
She was constantly dying from the inside out because of her unique blessing.
But Zephyr fell in love with her because of her kind-hearted personality.
He had thrown his hatred for everyone aside and now wanted to live his life peacefully with side.
But because of the damned Author, he could not.
As Kaesar, who loved to torment Zephry, raped his wife in front of him.
He also told him about how he and his friends had fun with Zephyr's sister before she died.
800 chapters in...
Fighting with the main protagonist, Kaesar remembers how talented Zephyr was with the sword.
That he, who was in Mana Master's middle realm, was injured by a mere Mana Beginner realm.
After completing the novel, I could not help but feel refreshed.
The story was a lot better than most of the top novels, but the ending was quite disappointing, because William destroyed the world for the sake of his sister.
Tsk...
"Let's review it."
I said as I moved to the completely blank review section.
I started writing a review.
[4.5 Stars
Thank you author for this wonderful story. At first, I thought it would be another cliché story, but I was wrong, just reading the first 10 chapters made me so hooked.
But I have a question, author. Do you have a grudge against Zephyr? Why do you make him so pitiful?
I really...really feel bad for him...]
As I posted my review and put my phone aside.
After a week of reading the novel, I was finally able to complete it.
"Sigh~ it was quite good, I guess? Though the author should not have done Zephyr so bad"
Beep!
I sat up, surprised to see a notification on my phone.
It was a reply from the author of "The Rise of the Crazy One."
My heart skipped a beat as I read the message: "Do you want to change Zephyr's fate?"
I stared at the screen, my mind racing with a mix of curiosity and uncertainty.
Was this some kind of interactive feature the author had implemented?
Could I really have a say in altering the story?
The thought excited me, but at the same time, I couldn't shake off the heaviness of my own life and the limited time I had left.
After a moment of contemplation, I decided to play along.
I typed a reply, "I would if I get the chance."
As soon as I hit send, a sharp pain surged through my chest, causing me to gasp and clutch my heart.
It was an intense reminder of my own fragile existence, a stark contrast to the fictional world I had immersed myself in.
Breathing heavily, I put the phone aside and tried to steady myself.
Thoughts swirled in my mind. Was I going to die just like this?
'Guess, my end is here.' I thought as the excruciating pain continued.
I would be lying if I said, I wasn't afraid but so what?
Will me being afraid of dying change anything? I guess not.
"Ahh!"
"Sigh~ it...was shit of a life... If there's a chance of me reincarnating, please god... Please give me a better life in a fantasy world. Where I am overpowered and have a harem."
With this sentence, my already dull sense went blank. The last thing I heard was the beep on my phone.
Guess, the author replied?
It's a pity I couldn't read his reply.
***
Meanwhile, somewhere else far from Earth, a dark entity was seating with her leg crossed.
As she interestedly stared at a translucent blue screen hovering in the air.
"Someone was able to read it? Well, guess it's fate."
"Then I shall give them a little gift."
***
And the last message on Shion's phone was.
[God Of Fate (Author) replied: If that's what you want.]