"Is something wrong?"

The protagonist gave you an inquisitive look. At his question, you tried to point out the holographic screen, but it disappeared into thin air. Stunned, you were dilatory in providing him a response.

"Oh, uh. Nothing," you said slowly, confused and suspicious of what just happened. "So, um. What brings you here?"

"I was hoping to find you. I was worried since you were unconscious," he explained. "Was it because of me...?"

He was probably referring to the exorcism. You dismissively waved your hand. "Don't worry, I was just tired. Question. How did you find me?"

The male was silent for a moment. "I asked around."

Asked around, huh? You didn't know whether to feel offended that his lie was so blatantly obvious or gush at how innocent he looked when trying to think of a response. But, if he didn't bring up the fact that he was using a floating digital map even though it was obvious that you saw it (c'mon, it was literally right in front of you), then were you not supposed to have seen it in the first place?

Oh god, this is getting confusing.

"Makes sense, the building is pretty complex. Anyone new would get lost," you said. "Anyways, I'm starving. Wanna walk to the cafeteria together?"

The protagonist smiled. "Sure. Ah, I know this is long overdue, but may I ask for your name?"

You had totally forgotten about introducing yourself to him. "(Y/n), you?"

In the game, the protagonist's name was whatever the player decided. However, his default name was...

"Amias," he answered. "It's nice to meet you, (Y/n)."

You nodded. "Likewise. Actually, before you came here, Caleb stopped by and visited. He told me some stuff about your situation. So, what are you going to do now?"

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure..."

A contemplative expression reflected on his face. Soft spoken words, a reserved and polite manner of articulating himself; seeing Amias now and remembering what he was like when he massacred everyone, it made you realise just how drastic his development was both in power and character.

"Do you have any ideas?" he asked.

"Going to be honest, no idea. I'm just a support," you replied. "Are you familiar with the different roles in the AEI?"

"I have a basic knowledge of it, someone told me. I think his name was Caleb?"

"Black hair and green eyes?"

"That's right."

"Let me guess, he didn't introduce himself?"

"It's fine. I picked up on it when you were talking to him back there."

"Oh, speaking of back there..." Your voice trailed off as you thought of a way to somehow bring up an explanation about your knowledge on exorcising an apparition. "When I was possessed––"

Your words came to a crashing halt when you turned the corner and noticed a familiar black-haired male. Green eyes meeting yours, a wide smile danced on his lips as he cheerfully waved in your direction.

"Miss support!"

"Caleb? I thought you left?"

"Well, now I'm back," he said, approaching you. "Wanted to do a quick delivery."

"Delivery?"

"Yup~ Take your palms out!"

Suspicious, you hesitantly did as he asked. Caleb placed something in your hands and you saw that they were cookies. There was even a neatly done green ribbon sealing the plastic package on top. Attached to it was a small note and written on it was 'for Miss support ;D'.

"Did you bake these?"

Caleb smiled. "I'm surprised. You're the first one to not assume that I bought 'em. I'm touched."

Well, of course you already knew that Caleb baked considering that you've played the game from start to finish. Despite it being one of his biggest hobbies, nobody aside from a selected few people knew about it. And despite the male having a huge sweet tooth, oftentimes he'd baked for fun and anonymously gave his pastries to the cafeteria for the other members to enjoy. It was surprisingly very wholesome of him.

"Well, judging from how you literally blow up apparitions, I wouldn't blame people for not associating you with proficiency in the kitchen."

"The world is full of surprises, hm? C'mon, try them!"

You carefully unraveled the ribbon and opened the package. Already the presentation was enough of an indicator of Caleb's skills. You took a bite of the cookie and a pleasant hum left you. Man, you knew they were going to taste good, but these tasted really good.

"Hey, you can totally become a great wife with these," you said.

Caleb laughed, amused. "Husband or wife, it's amazing how I can rock both roles, huh?" He glanced over to Amias. "Hey, stranger. Need a tour of this place? As hilarious as it'd be to see you wandering around lost, the chairman would totally scold me."

"Will one tour really cover the entire building?" you asked. "This place is huge."

"Not to worry, not to worry~ I'll only be showing him the places supports can access."

"What?"

Wait, that didn't happen in the game. In the original plotline Caleb basically speedran the tour around the entire building to amuse himself by seeing Amias get confused, but then the joke was technically on Caleb because the player would've been able to navigate their way using the map feature.

"Oh, right. You don't know yet! Miss support, you'll be babysitting our dear stranger for the time being."

You blinked, stunned. This definitely didn't happen in the original plot. "Why?"

"Well, I'll tell you why since I like you so much." Caleb leaned in closer to the both of you and whispered, "the chairman is suspicious of you two."

Amias gave Caleb a confused look. "I understand why he thinks that I'm suspicious, but why (Y/n)?"

Caleb pulled away and pointed to Amias. "For starters she has some involvement with you. The rest, she already knows why." He glanced over to you. "Right, miss support?"

"No need to remind me..."

Your involvement in the plot was greater than you initially anticipated. Your thoughts on it? One one hand, hell yeah. You actually had a presence, it was basically a reader insert. But, on the other hand, oh no. If it escalated further, your only advantage in ensuring your safety by knowing the future was going to be taken away from you.

"Are you allowed to tell us this?" Amias asked.

"I don't know. Am I?" Caleb laughed. "Anyways, I'd say be careful, but I will totally live for the drama if something does go wrong."

You shot him an unamused look. "Thanks for that."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll help out, of course. Probably." The male clapped his hands and spun around. "Okay! Back on topic. Let's go for that tour now, I'll be your guide for today~"

As Caleb began showing Amias around, you saw the same holographic screen pop up in front of Amias. Baffled, you looked at Caleb who was casually talking to him as if it wasn't even there. Listening to Caleb with docile nods and short responses, Amias began to pin the different locations on the map.

How the hell am I supposed to react to this???

So, from what you could discern, the protagonist was using a game mechanic in real life. A mechanic that, aside from the protagonist himself, only you can see. First of all, how? Did he always have the ability or was it only till recently that he received it? Can he use other mechanics that existed within the game too? Second, why you? Was it because you reincarnated into this world?

This was getting really confusing.

"Right! Didn't you have an argument with our treasured honor student?"

Caleb's words caught your attention, you abandoned the ocean of question that flooded your mind and listened into the conversation.

"Honor student?" Amias asked.

"He means Elias," you interjected.

"It was hilarious seeing how passive aggressive he got when talking about you with the chairman. They are both hella suspicious of you. Welp, like grandfather like grandson, I guess."

"Grandson?"

"Our honor student here is the chairman's grandson, so he is kind of a big shot," Caleb explained. "Believe me when I say there are many people who suck up to him everyday."

The conversation moved on and Caleb continued to explain parts of the building to Amias. Glancing over to Amias every now and then and seeing him labelling and pinning everything on the virtual map was odd and nostalgic to see because you did the exact same thing when you first played the game. During the tour Caleb also mentioned that Amias, for the time being, will act as a new support member that had just joined your dispatch as a cover up story. You guys stopped at a storeroom and found Amias a spare uniform.

"Alrighty, this is our last stop. The cafeteria," Caleb said. "Welp, that's that. I'll be off now!"

"Where are you going?" Amias asked.

"Grocery shopping, I'm baking a cake."

"Oh, what's the occasion?"

"I felt like it. If you two get lucky and find me in the kitchen at the right time, I'll let you guys have some."

With an enthusiastic wave goodbye, Caleb left. Judging from the muffled noise you heard from the other side of the door and the dark view from outside the windows, it was probably around dinnertime. Everyone from your dispatch should be there. It was the perfect time to introduce Amias. Before entering, the male wore his new uniform. You gave him a nod and thumbs up of approval before opening the door to the cafeteria.

"Hey guys, so we have a new member––"

"Support leader!"

"Are you okay?!"

"Wait here, I'll get you some water!"

Yup, here we go again.

"It's fine guys." You took off your jacket. "See? Not a single scratch." Everyone shot you doubtful looks and you sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll explain myself."

You briefly went over what happened. Of course, you skipped over the whole you got possessed by a vengeful apparition for the second time and somehow retained consciousness during it and now you're a suspicious being in Elias and the chairman's eyes and just said that you went and tried to help a student which didn't end well and you lost consciousness.

It wasn't the best cover up story, but it did its job as everyone dropped the subject afterwards. Well, not after scolding you for going off and doing something dangerous.

"Okay, now that that's over. Let me introduce––"

"Support leader!" You saw Lily run up to you and abruptly took your hands. "Thank goodness you're okay! D-do you need me to get anything for you?"

A little startled at first, you then showed her a reassuring smile. You seriously wonder what your relationship was with her. She seemed comfortable enough with you as if you two were close friends, however, she never called you by your name.

"I'm fine! You can even examine my body if you don't believe me."

"E-examine your body?" A red hue tinted her pale cheeks and she abruptly let go of your hands. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"To check for injuries...?" She looked pretty flustered. She probably gets embarrassed easily, huh? "Anyways, thanks for your concern."

She nodded timidly. "Of c-course."

You saw some of the support members playfully teasing and laughing at the female. Some gave her knowing glances and others nudged her with mischievous looks on their faces. Confused, you decided to disregard it for the time being.

"Okay guys, I have an announcement." You gestured to Amias. "We have a new member in our dispatch."

"Ohh, a new member?"

"Welcome to the family!"

"Oh wow, his eyes are pretty."

"What's his name?"

Amias glanced over to you and you gave him an encouraging nod.

"You can call me Amias," he said before a tender smile graced his lips. "I hope to get along with everyone."

Your dispatch eagerly welcomed him with friendly smiles. It was easy to get him settled in. Seeing Amias get a little shy and flustered at the wave of attention was an amusing sight.

"Can I see your hair? It looks so healthy!"

"So, what made you join the AEI?"

"Oh! If you ever need someone to hang out with, just come to us!"

"Our support leader always gets into trouble, always keep an eye on her."

"Hey, I heard that!" you shouted.

You ensconced yourself on a seat next to Amias and had a lively dinner with everyone. It was a nice break from all the action.

Well, it was a nice break while it lasted.

A sudden presence entered the cafeteria and silence extinguished the exuberant chatter. All eyes looked towards the cafeteria entrance, including yours, and you weren't surprised to see that it was Lyle and the offence team. You bit back an annoyed sigh. They really had a knack for ruining the mood, huh?

As Lyle approached your table his glaring cherry red eyes made contact with yours. It was obvious that he wanted to talk to you, so you stood up and walked to the edge of your table. Thankfully, this time the cafeteria had a smaller audience, but it didn't change the fact that all eyes were fixated on you and Lyle yet again.

"What the fuck was that back there?"

Literally no context, you weren't surprised.

"Are you talking about the last operation?"

"No shit, what else would it be?" He scoffed. "What kind of support leader is this stupid? Were you brain dead when you left your post?"

"There was a student that looked like she was injured. I had to help––"

"This is why we communicate. What the hell are the offence and defence teams for?"

"No one was available and waiting wasn't an option or else the student would've gotten hurt."

A short derisive laugh left Lyle. "And what did you accomplish? You, a support leader, were absent for all of the operation. Everyone in your dumb dispatch were running around all worried and things got even more chaotic!"

At his last words, guilt struck you. Though he could've articulated his thoughts better, he kind of had a point. It would've been fine if you were a regular support member, however, you were the leader. You were the key person in maintaining the foundation and stability of your team. Your absence wasn't something to be taken lightly.

"She probably just wants a taste of fame."

"Ehh, guess we can't blame her. Supports are so boring, after all."

"Desperate much? Man, it must be embarrassing to end up unconscious and not even lifting a single finger during the operation!"

"Yeah! See? There's not even a single scratch on her! She definitely chickened out."

Snicker arose from Lyle's team as they looked at you with eyes filled with mockery. You glanced over to your team and noticed their angered glares. You quietly told them to not do anything and let you handle everything.

"Look, I understand your point," you said. "But, I was concerned for her safety. I'm an AEI member, it's my job to protect citizens. You can't always expect operations to run systematically and everything to go to plan. We have a vice leader in each team for a reason."

Lyle scoffed. "Say those words again when you're on the brink of death."

You tensed at his words, remembering the moment when you had almost died. The injuries you accumulated, the agonising pain that tore apart your body; of course, you couldn't reveal any of that. You were grateful that the vengeful apparition healed your body so you didn't suffer any major repercussions.

"Once you're on the brink of death, you'll grow desperate, desperate to survive. Then, your thought of 'the citizens take top priority' will be thrown out the window," Lyle scowled. "I've seen that shit once, and you're beginning to mirror a second case."

You shot him a confused look. "What?"

"Right, of course you're oblivious to it. How did you think your last support leader died?"

Woah, woah, woah. Way to drop a bomb on you. And why did you feel like you were going to unravel a whole chunk of story from the game that you've never encountered before?

"I...I don't know?"

"They did what you did, tried to play the hero. As soon as their life was really in danger, they started begging me to save them over the citizen," he said. "I had my priorities straight, and you can figure out what happened there."

Your eyes widened, both surprised at the new information and the fact that you've never heard of this before. Murmurs swept amongst both teams at Lyle's revelation. Many people from the offence team looked at Lyle in surprise and people from your support team paled at what happened to the previous support leader.

"Renounce your position."

"Come again?"

Lyle narrowed his eyes. "I don't give two shits if you go and get yourself killed, but I can't have you jeopardising future operations."

You were left speechless, but rather than indignant at Lyle's words, you were deeply thinking on where he was coming from. Admittedly, from the perspective of a fan of the game, the new content you were getting from Lyle's character was immensely intriguing.

A chair scraped against the tiled floor and an individual stood up. It was Amias.

"Sorry for interrupting the conversation, but I believe you're being too harsh on her." His golden gaze challenged Lyle's crimson one as he walked towards him and stood in front of you. "I understand that what the last support leader wasn't ethical, however, you can't accuse that (Y/n) is that type of person. It's unreasonable."

You looked at Amias in surprise. Of course he intervened, guess it was just his nature as a protagonist. At his words, there was a tense silence that oppressed the air. However, it appeared that his brave interjection sparked some confidence in a certain member from your support team.

"H-he's right," Lily said. From her trembling hands to her constant avoidance of Lyle's eyes, it was clear that she was nervous. "Our support leader isn't like that. You-you can't just judge her character based on assumptions."

Members from your dispatch followed up her words.

"Yeah that's unfair!"

"She didn't do anything wrong!"

"Leave us alone! You're just looking for an excuse to mistreat us again!"

Amias nodded. "She acknowledged her fault, we should move on."

Lyle clicked his tongue in annoyance and took a step forward, closing the distance between the two. As more seconds elapsed without anyone in the audience daring to make a sound, the thicker the tension became.

Lyle's physical presence definitely overwhelmed Amias's. Broad shoulders, prominent muscles, and a height that made him tower over everyone; it was obvious that the male trained vigorously and it wasn't hard to believe that he intimidated everyone he walked by.

"So, who the hell are you?"

"Amias, I'm a new support member."

"I can fucking see that from your uniform." Lyle glowered. "Your entrance exam is a walk in a park, most of you aren't even qualified. Don't get cocky and sit back down."

"You have a habit of labelling people based on first assumptions," Amias said, tone polite and his composure calm. "It's not good to do that."

Amias's polite tone must've ticked Lyle off even further. However, before he could do anything, there was a tap on his shoulder and you swore everyone in the room collectively jumped in surprise at the new presence. A familiar male with light brown hair and champagne pink eyes; Elias was right beside Lyle.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked. Elias had his usual amiable smile on his face, either ignoring or completely unaware of the sheer confusion in everyone's faces at how he entered the cafeteria unnoticed. You bet it was the former.

Even Lyle paused for a minute. "What are you here for?" his tone was a little more tamed, but still held inklings of annoyance in it.

"I came here to make a quick announcement. It's important, so I'd like everyone's attention please."

Well, Elias was a member of the speciality force and the grandson of the chairman. Though he articulated his words in a gentle and courteous manner, his presence radiated enough authority to instantly grab everyone's attention. Even Lyle's obnoxious offence team listened to him attentively without interrupting or making any snide comments.

"The selection for new members," he began, revealing the letters he had in his hands. "Has begun."

Everyone saw the AEI seal on the letters and immediately recognised its implications. Support members exchanged curious glances and whispered nervously amongst themselves whilst members in Lyle's offence team grinned in excitement and rowdy chatter surfaced from the group. They urged Elias to continue speaking. One passive aggressive look of annoyance from the brunette was enough for them to shut up.

"...Ah, what is that?" Amias whispered to you.

Startled, you took a moment to respond to him. "R-right. Those letters in his hands, they're invitations for––ah, wait. I should probably explain the speciality force first––"

"I've already touched upon parts of the speciality force to him," Elias interrupted. "Amias, remember how I mentioned there are currently only four members when there used to be seven? Do you know what happened to the other three?"

Amias shook his head.

"They died," Elias said simply, as if he was just casually discussing the weather. "The letters in my hands are invitations to a selection process for new members to be part of the speciality force. It's been a significant topic for the past few months."

"The last one was held five years ago," you continued. "People have been talking about it non stop and the public is pretty hyped about it too. Words cannot express how much of a big deal this is."

Elias nodded. "More information will be provided by the chairman at the announcement. I'm simply here to give out the invitations."

He walked over to Lyle's offence team and handed a few selected members the invitations. The ones who received one would be esatic and arrogantly boasted about it to their teammates. Of course, Lyle was handed one as well. No one from the support teams were surprised that they didn't get a letter. After all, how are you meant to be on the speciality force when you didn't have exorcism abilities?

There were two more letters in Elias's hands and anticipation cluttered the room. Support members quietly made bets on who might get it. Elias walked over to the protagonist and placed the letter in his hands and everyone broke into a collection of surprised gasped and perplexed murmurs. You weren't surprised, of course.

Lyle furrowed his eyebrows. "Elias, you better not tell me this guy, a support who can't exorcise a goddamn apparition, was chosen to take part in the trial." Anger was seething in his tone. If it weren't for the importance of the letter and his respect in Elias's authority, you were sure he would've ripped Amias's letters to shreds.

"Not my decision, but the chairman's."

While the members of the offence team protested against the decision and support members stuck between congratulating Amias and expressing their concerns, Amias stared at the letter with an innocently confused expression.

Elias ignored the commotion. "The selection process is quite dangerous." His pink hues looked over to you and a smile graced his lips. "(Y/n), do you happen to know why only seven individuals were selected out of thirty in the last speciality trial?"

You tensed under his gaze, nervous as to why he suddenly placed you on the spotlight. "Everyone else suffered severe injuries?"

"And?"

"...The others died."

The speciality trial. Even the most talented members in the AEI with exorcism capabilities struggled immensely during it. For someone like you, forget about trying to get in the force. Being able to survive the trial was already out of the question.

Elias nodded, pleased at your answer. "Correct. The speciality trial is nothing like the ones for the others roles. We are the foundation of the AEI, after all. Death during it isn't an unlikely occurrence," he said. "Well, if you're easily afraid of the concept of death, I do question why you're in the AEI in the first place."

He walked up to you, placed a letter in your hands, and showed a comforting smile, a comforting smile that made your heart sink in horror. "I believe this belongs to you."





Alternate scenario

Lyle: Say those words again when you're on the brink of death

Reader: I've already died once. Try again.