The car waiting for me outside wasn't just nice. It was the kind of nice that made people on the sidewalk stop and stare.
Matte black finish. Tinted windows. The Angelo Corporation logo etched discreetly on the door handle where only someone looking for it would notice.
The driver stood beside it in a crisp suit, opened the rear door without a word, and I slid into leather seats that probably cost more than most people's monthly rent.
Door closed. Engine purred to life. We pulled away from the curb.
I leaned back and watched Century City slide past the window.
Angelo Corporation.
The name had been sitting in my head since I woke up but it took until now for the context to click into place. Technology conglomerate. Support item development. Equipment manufacturing for pro heroes. They sponsored seven heroes currently sitting in the AP Top 100.
Big money. Big influence. Big expectations.
And apparently I was the heir to all of it.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the emails. Most of it was automated stuff. Appointment reminders. Account statements. A folder labeled FAMILY that I wasn't ready to open yet.
One email from three weeks ago caught my attention. Subject line: FINAL TERMS.
I opened it.
It was from someone named Vito Angelo. My father, according to the contact info.
The body of the email was short.
Rome,
This is your last chance. Transfer to Coastline has been arranged. Graduate top five in your class or the company goes to your sister. No extensions. No excuses.
Do not embarrass this family again.
V
I read it twice.
Top five or lose everything.
"No pressure or anything."
I said it to the empty car. The driver didn't respond.
My brain started pulling fragments of the novel back. Nolan Traore. The main character. Pure hearted idiot who worked harder than everyone else and somehow made it look noble instead of desperate. He'd won the Sports Festival in his first year and caught the attention of Angelo Corporation because of it.
They backed him. Gave him a sponsorship deal. Connected him with one of the top agencies in the city.
My own family business chose the protagonist over me.
I couldn't even be mad about it. Business was business. The old Rome had apparently wasted every opportunity handed to him and Bell was the safer investment.
Still felt like shit though.
The car turned onto a coastal highway. Ocean on one side. City on the other. I watched the waves roll in and tried to piece together what I actually remembered about this story.
Bell wins the Sports Festival. Gets noticed. Falls in love with some girl whose name I couldn't remember but she had dark hair and was really into archery or something. They train together. Grow closer. Dungeon arc happens. Emotional confession scene. Cheek kiss at the end.
That was the general shape of it.
Everything else was blank space.
A blinking blue dot appeared in the corner of my vision.
I blinked. It didn't go away.
I focused on it. Mentally clicked.
A new screen opened.
STATUS
NAME: Rome D'Angelo
TITLE: The Wrong Protagonist
HERO RATING: ★☆☆☆☆☆
PROTAGONIST %: 0.2%
MAIN ABILITIES
❖ ESSENCE DRAIN [SS-RANK]
SUB ABILITIES
❖ VIRGIN KILLER [A-RANK]
❖ SPECIMEN [B-RANK]
❖ HARD TO KILL [A-RANK]
INVENTORY
❖ GACHA TICKET x0
❖ ITEMS: NONE
ACTIVE QUESTS
❖ [MAIN] HAREM LORD — 700 days remaining
❖ [STORY] FIRST IMPRESSIONS AT COASTLINE HERO ACADEMY — 72 hours remaining
I stared at the hero rating.
One star out of six.
Was that based on my current strength or was it going to scale with achievements? Maybe it was both. The system hadn't exactly come with a tutorial.
And that protagonist percentage.
Point two percent.
The system was telling me in numbers that I had almost zero chance of pulling this off.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
I scrolled down. There was more.
A section labeled ESSENCE DRAIN had a dropdown menu. I opened it.
The description was long. Too long to read in a moving car. But the important parts jumped out.
Absorption increases with intimacy.
Willing transfer creates more stable results than forced absorption.
Extended contact allows integration of target abilities and affinities.
So the stronger I wanted to get, the closer I needed to be to someone. Physically and emotionally.
The system had built a power structure that required exactly what the main quest was asking for.
I closed the screen.
The car slowed. I looked up.
We were pulling through a gate with COASTLINE HERO ACADEMY etched into stone pillars on either side. The campus spread out ahead like someone had been given an unlimited budget and told to make it look impressive.
Modern buildings. Glass and steel. Green spaces between them with students walking in clusters. The ocean visible in the distance past the training fields.
The car stopped in front of the main administrative building.
The driver got out. Opened my door.
"Thank you."
He nodded once and got back in the car.
I grabbed my backpack from the seat. Black leather. Expensive. Probably had the Angelo logo stitched somewhere I hadn't noticed yet.
I checked my phone. Twenty minutes early.
The administrative building had tall glass doors and a reception desk visible through them. I walked inside.
Cold air hit me immediately. The kind of aggressive AC that only institutions could afford to run year round.
A woman at the desk looked up. Smiled in that professional way that didn't reach her eyes.
"Name?"
"Rome D'Angelo."
Her expression shifted. Recognition followed by something that looked like disapproval but she covered it fast.
"Transfer student. Your schedule and class assignment are ready. One moment."
She turned to her computer and started typing.
I leaned against the desk and looked around. Trophies in display cases. Framed photos of students in hero costumes standing in front of what looked like destroyed training facilities. A banner overhead that read EXCELLENCE THROUGH ADVERSITY.
The woman printed something and handed me a folder.
"Class 1-A. Your homeroom teacher is listed inside. Campus map is included. Do you have any questions?"
"Where's 1-A?"
"Upper campus. Building C. Third floor."
"Got it. Thanks."
I took the folder and walked back outside.
The sun was brighter now. I squinted and checked the map. Building C was across the main courtyard past a statue of someone I didn't recognize but who was probably important.
I started walking.
Students were everywhere now. Groups talking. People rushing toward buildings with coffee in one hand and phones in the other. A couple making out against a tree like they had nowhere better to be.
No one looked at me.
I was just another guy in street clothes with a backpack.
That was about to change the second I walked into that classroom.
I crossed the courtyard and headed toward Building C.
A voice stopped me.
"Excuse me."
I turned.
A girl was walking toward me. Academy uniform. White shirt under a navy blazer. Black pleated mini skirt. Black shoes and white thigh highs. Light blue hair pulled back in a high ponytail.
And she looked pissed.
She stopped in front of me and crossed her arms.
"Do you go here?"
"Starting today."
"Then you should know the dress code. Uniform is required on campus during school hours."
I looked down at my black shirt and jeans. Looked back at her.
"I'm a transfer. First day. I'll get the uniform sorted."
"That's not an excuse. The rules apply to everyone."
Is this bitch serious?
I tilted my head and gave her a once over.
She had a sexy body. I wasn't going to pretend I didn't notice. Big tits straining against the button up shirt. Thighs that the skirt showed off every time she shifted her weight. The hem was short enough that I was pretty sure it violated whatever dress code she was so concerned about enforcing.
"You're lecturing me about dress code when you're one slight breeze away from flashing the entire campus?"
Her face went red.
"That's completely different and you know it."
"How?"
"The skirt length is within regulation."
"Barely."
She opened her mouth to respond.
And then the wind picked up.
Just a gust. Enough to lift her skirt for half a second.
I caught a glimpse of black fabric with a white pattern before she slapped the skirt back down with both hands.
Panda panties.
I couldn't stop the grin.
"Cute."
Her face went from red to crimson.
"You are unbelievable."
"I didn't do anything. The wind did."
"You looked."
"You're standing in front of me. Where else was I supposed to look? Don't be dumb."
She pointed at me like she was about to say something cutting but nothing came out. She just stood there fuming with her finger in the air.
I gave her my best innocent smile.
"I'll get the uniform. Promise. Now if you'll excuse me I have a class to get to."
I walked past her.
"This isn't over."
I waved without turning around.
"Looking forward to round two."
Building C was right where the map said it would be. I took the stairs to the third floor and found the classroom at the end of the hall.
The door was closed.
I could hear voices inside. Laughter. The shuffle of people settling into their seats.
I checked my phone.
Five minutes until the bell.
I took a breath. Adjusted the backpack on my shoulder.
This was it.
First day at Coastline Hero Academy.
Seventy two hours to fuck someone or die.
Seven hundred days to steal the protagonist's happy ending.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Every head in the room turned toward me.