Only I Am A Reader

457 City of Villains

Trick. Trick. Trick…

As the sickening silence reigned over the surroundings, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the endlessly stretching corridor.

Completely devoured by darkness, it looked like the packed room compartments on each side housed no living being. However…

'Hmmm.'

A pair of purple eyes shone in the dark, adding a sprinkle of horror to the already ghastly atmosphere.

'What woke me up?'

He had definitely set his biological clock to keep him asleep until his entertainment session started, but the ensuing silence meant that it wasn't time for that yet.

Rather, he felt that something was off. Although today was supposed to be no different from what had passed and the many more that were yet to come, it felt like something major had happened.

'Should I just go back to sleep?'

In reality, the man couldn't be bothered to figure out what happened. The lethargy that matched his pale skin outweighed his interest.

Unfortunately, now that his mind got bothered by this, it wouldn't allow him to let it go until he figured it out.

'Did I have something that I wanted to do?'

Considering the bars that surrounded his room, it didn't make sense for him to intend on doing something. After all, he was here by choice.

'Stupid brain.'

His OCD-induced mind was as helpful as it was troublesome when he had certain targets to focus on. Now, however, it was nothing but an obstacle to the rest that he dearly wanted.

Beep.

Suddenly the dark screen hanging close to the ceiling lit up, allowing the man to stray off the unwanted thought in his head.

{Interrupting this show to remind you that a special talk show with your favorite Dawnbringer will be going live shortly after, so stay tuned!}

Nonetheless, it was precisely this interest of his that made the man realize what had been so deeply missing from his head.

'No way. Really?'

The light in the man's chilling eyes intensified even further as everything slowly pieced itself together.

Two whole psyches stared at each other, it was like looking at oneself in the mirror, yet each face felt different than the other…

In the end, both faces recognized each other for who they were, mentally nodding before they fused together as one.

'This was… Different.'

[ Complete Awakening has been confirmed. ]

This was already Leo's third time becoming one with his alternate self, and it was somehow so divergent every single time!

The first time was confusing, but once the puzzle was solved, it was a very smooth transition. The second time, his alternate mind was so weak it was both tough and quick at the same time.

However, the third time was the perfect contrast to the one before it. The mind of his third alternate self was so powerful that it realized what was happening and acknowledged it!

It could finally get the rest that it desired so much and leave everything to him.

'Of all places...'

Of course, the residual shock that came after the dust settled was still the same every time, and Leo was especially feeling disoriented this time around.

[ Entry Point: Chapter 33 ]

'Did I really have to start at a prison?'

While Leo fully understood why he was here, he still couldn't help grumbling inwardly. This was the least he could do since he had no one to complain to.

Even if it wasn't one of the hell-difficulty novels that Leo prayed to never encounter, this was still one of the few that he would rather not experience for himself. The fact that he read it was already a miracle in itself.

'City of Villains… That was one depressing read.'

There were many elements that put this novel on Leo's least favorite list. However, there was one specific reason that was irrelevant to his current situation.

The protagonist of this novel was actually a female character!

Leo had stomached the protagonist's identity since the narration style told her tale rather than 17:05

giving her the steering wheel. Unfortunately, the way the storyline developed wasn't exactly As a reader who breathed through the main character, Leo couldn't truly immerse himself into a novel when the leading character was of a different gender. It didn't matter if action was still the main theme of the novel.

Despite that, he still chose to read this novel because its main theme was so much more than just action. This was a world where humans awakened all kinds of superpowers. 𝚋ｅｄ𝚗𝚘𝚟ｅ𝚕．𝚗ｅｔ

Unlike novels like Murim Supremacy or the Sword Master's Second Life where people followed a certain practice to climb the ranks, City of Villain adopted the path of unique special abilities.

'Its ability structure is still worthy of praise.'

Naturally, many novels used that kind of setting, but they all usually devolved into repeating ability systems.

On the other hand, 'City of Villains' tried to keep every ability fresh on its own.

'I still don't know if it was worth reading to this day.'

Leo had stomached the protagonist's identity since the narration style told her tale rather than giving her the steering wheel. Unfortunately, the way the storyline developed wasn't exactly desirable.

It was one of those books that left your heart conflicted even if all the major plotlines were resolved!

The title already hinted at how sinister this book was going to be, but Leo felt weird for a whole week after reading this book.

'That being said, this feels like too much of a coincidence.'

Speaking of unique special abilities, wasn't that more or less how Roles worked?

Just when Leo learned that there were many humans with superpowers on his own Earth, he just happened to get sent to a world where that had already gone public?

Was this supposed to be a premonition of Earth's future? Or a personalized adaptation quest that his Role had devised for him?

No matter what, this selection was the most interesting one so far.

'I still need to get out of here, but let's see what it wants this time around.'

[ Issuing Quests… ]

Regardless of the novel itself, Leo didn't appreciate the point of entry. His character didn't end in prison from the very start, so why did he have to start from behind bars?

Of course, all that mattered in the end was the Main Quest. Compared to how things unfolded in Murim Supremacy, Leo was confident in quickly tackling any objective as long as it wasn't time-specific like the very first novel.

Considering who he was…

[ Main Quest: Save The Protagonist. ]

However, once Leo gazed upon his task, he felt like he had spoken too soon.

'I take it back.'

With such a requirement, Leo believed that this book had earned its spot in the hell-difficulty list.

- Third True Reading started! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, you are on for another completely different ride this time around!(or so I hope xD)

- PS: I have created a new book for the current WPC called My Plot Armor System, do check it out and tell me your opinions if you are interested, also kindly spare some PS for it so it can climb the ranks! Thanks!