"...No way."
I was watching the TV news and froze in shock at the unbelievable report.
There had to be some kind of mistake. Nothing else could explain this.
S-Rank Wizard Lee Seo-jun has passed away during a mission.
Lee Seo-jun was reportedly injured while subjugating the evil dragon Cruas that appeared in downtown Seoul around 8 p.m. today.
The anchor delivered the news of someone's death with a stiff expression. I bit my lip, unable to look away from the screen.
"...Cruas caused an unprecedented second rampage in monster history, worsening the situation.
Lee Seo-jun desperately held back Cruas to protect the citizens, but he couldn't stop the dragon strengthened by its second rampage."
"...Lee Seo-jun, who was 25 years old this year, debuted as a wizard in 2034 and garnered endless public attention by resolving numerous incidents thereafter.
The public has been plunged into great shock following the news of Lee Seo-jun's death."
The news segment ended after a few minutes, and the screen changed.
Somber music began to play. Soon after, a photo appeared of a handsome young man smiling brightly.
People were angry and grieving.
Shrines were being set up across the nation.
He was someone I knew very well.
Lee Seo-jun.
The 25-year-old genius wizard.
The young hero of this era who had resolved countless incidents and disasters.
And the protagonist of this world's foundational novel, [Modern Wizard].
"...You expect me to believe this?"
The protagonist died in the world of the novel.
Nothing could be more absurd.
In the original story, Lee Seo-jun definitely didn't die midway like this.
But what was even more ridiculous was that up until now, this world had followed the original story's progression perfectly.
Lee Seo-jun resolving numerous incidents at a young age, reaching S-Rank just two years after debuting—all of it matched the original exactly.
[Funeral of the Late Lee Seo-jun]
Beyond the screen, a woman was sobbing bitterly.
She was Lee Hyun-joo, the heroine who had been with Lee Seo-jun since childhood.
Next came a man with a somber face.
He was Kim Deok-hyun, an S-Rank wizard and Lee Seo-jun's colleague and senior at work.
"Lee Seo-jun was a righteous man.
Unlike other wizards, he wasn't swayed by money and always prioritized citizens' safety.
Though he was young and a mere junior at the association, I learned a great deal from watching that kid."
Other mourners appeared next.
Among them were high-ranking figures like the Wizards' Association Chairman and leaders of Korea's Three Great Guilds.
Famous star wizards I'd only seen on the news were there too, not infrequently.
They were all the 'major characters' from [Modern Wizard].
"Wow, this is insane..."
Why did this happen? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out.
A predetermined future.
The only one who could change that future was me, an outsider to this world.
But I had never once interfered with the main scenario.
And I had never done anything that could alter the future.
After arriving here, I had always lived quietly.
Of course, I needed money, so I operated as a C-Rank wizard, but I was always anxious that I might accidentally change the future, so I stayed completely outside the main story.
For that reason, I never went near any 'major characters.'
I even turned down several chances to promote to B-Rank, just in case.
All of this was to avoid changing the predetermined future.
If things followed the original story, it would lead to a happy ending for everyone.
So why?
Why this?
"Why did you have to die..."
According to the original, there were still countless incidents and disasters left: demons, terrorists, towers, calamity-level beasts... I could go on forever.
The problem was that all these massive upcoming events couldn't be resolved without Lee Seo-jun.
"What do I do now?"
This wasn't something I could handle just because I knew the future.
If it were right after I first fell into the novel, maybe.
But I had yielded every opportunity this world offered, leaving me as a mere C-Rank wizard. Meanwhile, the main scenario was teeming with S- and A-Rank monsters.
The gap between C-Rank and S-Rank couldn't be put into words.
"Haa..."
I was agonizing over the future events to come when the TV screen froze, drawing my attention.
"...What's wrong with this now?"
Thinking it was broken, I grabbed the remote and pressed buttons, but there was no response.
Kuuuung!
"Huh?"
A massive roar echoed from the sky.
Startled, I looked out the window. The bright world had turned ashen in the blink of an eye.
My mouth fell open in shock.
"Wh-what is this..."
Something impossible was happening.
The sky was crumbling, and space cracked like shattered glass.
Everything on the ground was turning to dust and scattering. People in the streets stood frozen as if time had stopped.
It was as if the world was vanishing.
"What the hell..."
Then a small window popped up in front of me.
[Lee Seo-jun has died.]
[All main scenarios are deemed failures.]
[Scenario progression impossible. Resetting the world.]
"...What?"
And then I lost consciousness.
I was dreaming.
It was seven years ago.
No, it seemed to be before I fell into this damned novel.
In the dream, I was downing drinks at a bar, vehemently arguing something.
"I'm still puzzled. Why do protagonists in novel possession stories always try to monopolize everything? What if they mess up the original plot by doing that?"
"Hey, if you know the future, of course you monopolize it. You gonna hide away?"
"Of course you hide. What if you step out and end up killing a villain the protagonist was supposed to take down? Total game over."
"Ugh, you coward. Then I'll just kill the villains."
The topic of conversation, as always, was unproductive talk about genre novels.
What would you do if you fell into a novel?
Should you monopolize the opportunities, or hide away?
It was lowbrow talk for grown men in their twenties, but I quite enjoyed these discussions.
"You kill the villains? You think that'll go as smoothly as you imagine? You'd probably go through every hardship imaginable. And do you think you'd even be as diligent as a novel protagonist?"
"This guy has no romance."
"Look at you, you're lazy as hell already. If you fell into a novel, you'd probably be too lazy to even go out and monopolize opportunities."
"Heh, true. Honestly, if it really happened, I'd probably stay cooped up because it's a hassle."
My friend chuckled teasingly and emptied his glass.
I followed suit, emptying mine, and said in a serious tone.
"The answer is always to live quietly. The protagonist will handle everything anyway, so why bother stepping up?"
Some might call it a lack of ambition.
But back then, I truly believed this was the safest and surest way.
I was just an ordinary guy who enjoyed tales of heroic adventures, not someone who wanted to be the hero.
Bzzz.
As we were pounding drinks, an alarm went off on my smartphone. I glanced at the screen.
"Huh? Says I won some event."
"What event?"
"Dunno. That's what it says. Let me check."
I picked up my smartphone and checked the message.
The sender was the author of a webnovel I enjoyed reading.
[Title: Congratulations. You've won the [Modern Wizard] completion commemorative event.]
[Hello, Kim Sun-woo. I'm 01k, the author of [Modern Wizard]. Congratulations on winning the publisher's event. The prize is a ticket for a trip to a special place.]
[Will you claim it?]
[Yes / No]
The message was short.
In summary, I'd won an event and was being offered a trip ticket. Without a second thought, I happily bragged.
"Dude, jackpot! They're sending me on a trip!"
"For real? When did you enter? You just read novels all day and hit the big time."
At that time, I was utterly exhausted by my repetitive daily life.
I craved new stimuli, and a trip was a perfect chance to escape the routine and experience something fresh. I had no intention of passing it up.
"Whoa, this isn't a scam, right?"
I didn't think much about it.
A bit drunk and impulsive, I selected [Yes].
It was a free trip, after all. No reason to refuse.
"Where are they sending me? Overseas maybe? That'd be huge."
I had no idea that this one choice would change my life.
And the next day, when I opened my eyes, the world had changed.
"...Sunbae-nim, please wake up."
I was swimming deep in my dream when a voice trying to wake me intruded.
"Sunbae-nim, wake up."
The voice came again.
Sunbae-nim? Is that me?
"Sunbae-nim!"
I snapped my eyes open.
Lifting my head, I saw a female student in uniform shaking me.
"...Who?"
"Me? I'm a freshman enrolling this year."
Freshman? I can tell she's a student from the uniform, but...
That's not why I asked.
Anyway, this girl looks kinda familiar.
"We've arrived at school. You need to get off now."
School?
I slowly looked around. I was inside a large bus. Students in uniforms were getting off around me.
A familiar landscape I'd seen somewhere before.
Staring at it, I felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
"...What?"
"You must still be sleepy. It's the entrance ceremony today. Ah, for you sunbae-nim, it's the new semester ceremony?"
"What?"
"Not getting off? I'll go ahead then."
With that, the girl got off the bus. I stared blankly at her back before following.
As I stepped off the bus, the warm sunlight dazzled my eyes.
Squinting, I slowly surveyed my surroundings.
The first thing I saw was a massive tower.
Beneath it stood a huge building reminiscent of a castle. Students in uniforms were passing through the front gates.
What the hell was going on.
My mind reeled from the sudden situation.
The place unfolding before my eyes was one I knew well.
[Korea Magic Academy 2032 Academic Year Entrance Ceremony]
Of course it was. This was the school I'd graduated from five years ago.
But something was off.
Why did it say 2032 academic year?
2032 was seven years ago...
A prestigious world-class school like this wouldn't make such a sloppy mistake.
"...No way."
A sudden hypothesis came to mind.
It was absurd, but it would explain everything if true.
To confirm if my guess was right, I slowly lowered my head.
The moment I did.
"Shit."
A curse slipped from my lips.
I was wearing the uniform from my school days seven years ago.
At the same time, my last memory before arriving here resurfaced.
Lee Seo-jun's death.
And the message about resetting the world.
"Is this for real?"
I had returned to the past.
To the very first day I fell into the novel.
[March 1, 2032]
[Today is the Korea Magic Academy's entrance and new semester ceremony. 1st-years' entrance ceremony and 2nd- & 3rd-years' new semester ceremony will be held together, so all students please gather at the Sage Hall auditorium by 10:30 a.m.]
"This is nuts."
Feeling dazed, I pocketed the smart student handbook.
It was exactly like that day seven years ago.
The uniform, the school, the text message—everything.
At this point, I had to accept it.
That I had returned to the past.
"By the way, why the hell did that guy Lee Seo-jun die?"
I pondered, recalling last night's memories.
The cause of all this was probably Lee Seo-jun's death.
I'd seen with my own eyes the message saying the world would reset because of it.
But I still couldn't make sense of it.
According to the original story, there was no reason for Lee Seo-jun to die.
Even Cruas's second rampage in downtown Seoul matched the original perfectly.
Which meant there had to be some other reason for his death.
"Hmm..."
"Ah~ whatever."
With a sigh, I leaned back on the bench.
No matter how much I racked my brain, there was no way to figure it out.
My previous life was over, and the clues were insufficient.
I had a feeling there was some inevitable factor, but that was just speculation.
A thought suddenly struck me.
What if Lee Seo-jun dies in this life too?
Would I return to the past again like this? Or would the world end?
I had no way of knowing for sure. But one thing was clear: if Lee Seo-jun dies again, who knows what might happen.
In that case, the answer was obvious.
I couldn't just stay on the sidelines this time.
I had to either intervene in the main scenario or prepare for Lee Seo-jun's death in the future.
"...Can I even do that?"
I'd spent seven years hiding.
It was only natural to lack confidence now that I had to be proactive.
"Hah, if I'd known, I should've gained all sorts of experience."
Late regrets washed over me, but I shook them off quickly.
Still, with my thoughts somewhat sorted, I felt a bit more at ease.
Yeah, no need to rush.
Lee Seo-jun doesn't die for another seven years anyway.
There's plenty of time, so until then, I need to build my strength.