Later that day, when Ryn returned to the Academy, he went straight to his room. The exhaustion of managing a multi-million gold enterprise was catching up to him, and he collapsed into bed.
He woke up in a nightmare.
The air was cold and smelled of formaldehyde. Ryn blinked, realizing he wasn't in his bed.
He was standing in a dimly lit stone room, wearing a black inner shirt and a starched white lab coat he definitely hadn't put on himself.
"What is all this?"
'This must be the Alchemy teacher's base. But why am I standing here instead of being in a container like the other test subjects?' Ryn thought, his heart beginning to race.
A smooth, melodic voice echoed from the shadows, startling him. "Ryn, welcome to my secret lab."
Miss Yenela walked out of the darkness, her slender figure draped in elegant robes. She wore a grin that didn't reach her cold, calculating eyes.
"Why do I feel like this isn't going how I expected?" Ryn muttered inwardly.
"I'd like to offer you a position," she said, circling him like a predator. "Join my research."
"And what exactly are you researching? If I like the benefits, I might consider it," Ryn asked.
Even as the author, he hadn't fleshed out her specific goals beyond "evil experiments." He cursed his past self for being a lazy writer.
"I use them as test subjects to achieve true immortality. Don't you wish to live forever, Ryn?"
"Well, I do. Но... can I still die if I want to? Like, if I get bored after a few centuries?"
Yenela rolled her eyes. "Yes, you would still be capable of ending your life."
Ryn went quiet, weighing his options. 'Saving these kids would get me a huge reward from their parents and the school, just like Leon got in the original draft.
Plus, I've already got enough bad karma for one lifetime.'
A greedy glint began to form in Ryn's eyes. "You see, since it's still possible for me to die, what's the point? No deal."
"Hahaha..." Yenela laughed, a sound like glass breaking. "If you are not with me, then you are against me."
Ryn didn't wait. He lunged for a boiling purple potion on a nearby table to throw at her, then reached for an iron rod.
BOOM!
The heavy iron doors of the lab were blown off their hinges. Three figures emerged from the smoke, weapons drawn. Ryn's eyes widened.
It was Leon, Mira, and Liya.
Liya was the Academy's combat instructor and a prominent member of Leon's future harem. She leveled her spear at Ryn, her face a mask of righteous fury.
"So, you're the one who has been kidnapping students for these illegal experiments!" Liya accused.
'What is she talking about?!' Ryn thought. He spun around to point at Yenela, but the teacher was gone. She had vanished into the shadows the moment the doors broke.
"I knew there was something off about him," Leon added, his golden eyes glowing with light.
Ryn looked down at himself. He was wearing a lab coat. He was holding a glass beaker containing a preserved human heart.
Behind him, the "experiments"—grotesque, mutated humans with crab-like claws and decaying flesh—were standing perfectly still, not attacking him.
"G-guys, you've got it all wrong! I'm a victim here—"
"Look at his back! He's sending his mobs at us!" Mira shouted.
As if on cue, the monsters let out a collective roar and lunged at the trio. Because Ryn was standing "among" them, it looked exactly like he was their commander.
Mira raised her hands, one horizontal and one vertical.
[Attribute Time: Time Freeze]
The world turned gray. For exactly two seconds, everything stopped. It was a broken ability, and it was more than enough time for Leon to end a life.
[Light Spear]
Golden spears of pure light materialized over the heads of every monster—and one materialized directly over Ryn.
When time resumed, the spears slammed down. The monsters were obliterated instantly.
Ryn barely managed to use his [Spatial Attribute] to blink a few feet to the left, the spear grazing his shoulder.
He didn't even have time to catch his breath before Leon was on him.
"Sun Sword Technique, First Form: Rising Sun!"
Leon's blade blazed like a miniature star. Ryn tried to teleport again, but thick, magical tree roots erupted from the floor, snaring his ankles and locking him in place.
'This is the end. I'm going to be killed by my own protagonist.' Ryn thought, closing his eyes.
Seconds passed. The heat of the blade faded. Ryn opened one eye to see a familiar, shadowy figure standing in front of him, holding Leon's blade back with a cloak of darkness.
"Blackey!" Ryn blurted out.
Around them, Leon, Mira, and Liya were shivering, their eyes wide and unfocused as they muttered gibberish.
"What did you do to them?" Ryn asked.
"I cast the Shadow of Despair on them," Blackey whispered. "They will break out soon. We must leave."
Ryn didn't need to be told twice. He used a series of short-range teleports toward the exit while Blackey dissolved into smoke.
Ryn burst out of the secret lab into the Academy's lower corridors, his heart hammering against his ribs.
'I need to change my identity. I'll take my gold, go to a different continent, and start over where no one knows me!'
He rounded a corner at full speed, unable to stop as he saw a tall, imposing figure in his path. It was the Headmaster.
BAM!
Before Ryn could even get close, a wave of invisible force blasted him backward. He went flying, his body slamming into the stone wall with enough force to crack it.
'Did I transmigrate into this world with zero luck?' Ryn thought, his vision swimming.
The world turned black as he lost consciousness.