I Became A Side Character Fated To Suffer-Chapter 21:System Error

Among the massive crowd gathered inside the hall, one figure stood far behind in a quiet corner, almost swallowed by the shadows near the wall.

Unlike everyone else who buzzed with excitement and anticipation, Reed looked completely different.

He was sweating profusely.

His thumb was trapped between his teeth as he bit down on it unconsciously, his eyes fixed on the podium while confusion twisted his face. His breathing had grown uneven, and his thoughts refused to settle.

"How...?"

A faint whisper escaped his lips.

"How is this possible?"

His gaze trembled as countless thoughts clashed inside his head.

"It should be Elderic who ranked first and beginning the story of the uprising of the commoner."

"And Eleanor should be second, so Elderic should be the one behind but what’s going on?"

His fingers dug into his hair as panic slowly crept in.

"What the hell is going on?"

Reed grabbed his head tightly and forced himself to think. Something was wrong. Completely wrong.

Who was it?

Who ranked first?

What caused this sudden change?

His heart pounded harder.

"Did they put a new playable character?"

The thought sounded absurd, yet it refused to leave his mind. A deep unease crawled through his chest, eating away at his calm as if reality itself had shifted without informing him.

Then the stage lit up.

The revealed figure froze the entire hall.

Reed’s mind went blank.

Noel De Nova.

The Empire’s walking joke.

The trash everyone mocked.

For several seconds, nobody reacted. Students stared as if their brains had stopped functioning. Some blinked repeatedly like an illusion spell had malfunctioned. One boy nearby rubbed his eyes so aggressively that Reed wondered if he would damage them permanently.

Noel calmly walked toward the podium.

Blank expression.

Steady steps.

That calmness alone made Reed feel uneasy.

Noel grabbed the microphone and coughed.

"AHEM!"

The sound echoed sharply, forcing silence across the hall.

"I know you are surprised, but let’s say life is full of surprises, so expect the unexpected."

Reed’s jaw stiffened.

Surprised did not even begin to describe it.

"From all the noble blood of the highest caliber to the commoners who walked here with a lot of difficulty, I have only one thing to say.."

The crowd leaned forward expectantly.

Maybe he’s gonna be grateful and showcase humility.

Instead, Noel continued.

"No, it might be more than one.. First.. Each one of you who entered here is a genius. Some even worship you like a Saviour, idolizing you, yet..."

He paused.

"It’s me who is standing here, not you all..."

The silence thickened unbearably.

Reed heard someone choke nearby.

Then anger ignited across the hall.

"For you all who have been pulling shits behind me, defaming me, and using me to step up yet unable to do so, have some shame.."

Reed’s eyes widened.

The atmosphere snapped.

Students erupted in outrage. Nobles glared murderously. Elderic’s expression darkened visibly.

Then Noel smiled.

That smile made Reed’s stomach sink.

"Since trash like me managed to stand here and achieve Rank 1, aren’t you all worse than pieces of trash?"

Chaos began instantly.

"THIS BASTARD!"

"WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?"

"GET DOWN FROM THERE!"

Reed stood frozen while voices exploded around him.

"Peasants... Know your place..."

The hall detonated completely.

People screamed, cursed, and laughed in disbelief. One noble nearly fainted while another threw a glove toward the stage in pure rage.

"For the upcoming three years that we will stay here, I advise you to keep your tails tucked in your pants and not wag them in my way."

Gasps turned into furious shouting.

"I don’t have a habit of stepping on tails, but I like to grab and tear apart annoying things blocking me."

Reed felt cold sweat run down his back.

"You may be strong, but I am stronger."

"So keep your ego in check lest it fall and rot on the floor."

"Now.. You are dismissed."

The moment Noel finished, the hall exploded into madness.

Screams, insults, outrage, and disbelief shook the entire academy.

And Reed could only stare.

Because the most terrifying part was not Noel’s arrogance.

It was the feeling that something in the story had just gone completely off-script.

How?

’How did he managed to get here?’

According to plot, Noel managed to became Iron rank through potions and external help, therefore lacking any expertise.

He could easily enter through recommendation letter but he wanted to prove himself and the result was disaster.

He ranked second last. He was beaten brutally by Orc and the one in charge of test spread it around, making Noel a laughing stock.

Noel cheacte was quite kind, virtuous and true gentleman.

A pitiful hero, however.

What the fuck?

The actual fuck?

This guy is fucking nut.. No he is fucking a menace.

Ragebaiting the entire Nexus Academy on first year. Jusy what the hell is this guy thinking.

Ignoring that if you are wondering who was the one who ranked last.

Then it was none other than him.

Reed was a looser.

A completely looser side charater famous for being last in everything.

And passing test wasn’t easy.

It was to defeat and Orc.

Yes a fucking orc and that too needed to be defeated without using mana.

This was fucking menace.

To pass you need to either defeat the Orc pr survive for 10 minutes. You can’t run away during that time that’s why the fight was done in closed space.

He knew how difficult yet the one who should suffer ranked first.

Reed shook his head and locked his eyesight on Noel.

His eyes turned bluish with a faint glow as he used his insight skill.

[DING]

Name: Noel De Nova

Core: Iron

Level: 1

Mystic: None

Skills

Basic Slash Level 1, Basic Cut Level 1, Pyrokinesis Level 1, Voidkinesis Level 1, Divnit-

Before Reed could understand what was happening his head exploded with a sudden intense pain, shaking him off to the very core.

"What is happening- Grrrr!"

The next moment the screen flashed with red light.

Name: Noel De Nova

Core: Iron

Mystic: ???

[Skills]

Slash Level ?, Basic Cut Level ?, Pyrokinesis Level ?, Voidkinesis Level ?, Divnit-

[ERROR]

[???##??

[??#$+$+$+$(????]

"ARGGGGH!"

A heavy intense pain knocked him out as he grabbed his skull and collapsed onto the floor, making the surrounding students run forward to grab him.

"Damn? What happened to him?"

"Someone take him away?"

"It seems.. He suffered some internal injury during the fight with Orc."

"I will carry him to Infirmary?" one of staff appeared and grabbed Reed and then disappeared.

As Reed vision turned completely dark, he heard a voice.

[The User Level had surpassed the preliminary assortment.]

[Warning]

[Warning]

[The person on whom the skill was used has noticed it..]

If the system could speak human language it would have screamed.

Little shit it seems you fucked up badly.