Interlude - Fixing These Unfair Scenarios: Chapter 3

  The viewing booth this time was slightly larger than the one they had visited for the last scenario. It still lacked the splendor and grandeur of the venues where the most popular teams’ battles were showcased—those had glowing arches, floating lounges, and entire orchestras performing soundtracks in real-time. No, this was much simpler and functional.

  It had a metallic structure, with a large central screen and several smaller ones lining the curved wall, all displaying synchronized footage of the same scenario. The seating consisted of floating glass platforms that adjusted to the posture of the viewer. Despite its modest appearance, the booth now hosted a noticeably larger crowd of Patrons. Group 1030b was starting to attract some attention.

  Dreaming_Tyrant practically skipped into the booth, eyes bright with anticipation.

  "We’re here, we’re here! This is gonna be so cool! I can feel it!"

  She said, bouncing onto one of the seats, her tail swaying behind her. Lauren followed, smiling faintly at her enthusiasm, but her gaze quickly shifted away from the screen and toward something else—someone else.

  Among the scattered Patrons sitting around the space, one figure stood out. She—or at least, Lauren assumed it was a she—had a humanoid frame, but it was unusually tall, statuesque, and unnaturally slender. Her limbs were elongated in a way that looked both graceful and eerie. Her skin was porcelain-pale and almost translucent in certain areas where veins pulsed with slow, glowing light. Her dress was simple but elegant, flowing like liquid steel, and she stood perfectly still, hands folded, as if lost in thought.

  But what truly caught Lauren’s attention, though, was the way she spoke. When another Patron made a comment nearby, she turned her head and responded in a voice that was low, refined, and soft-spoken, with a cadence so deliberate and polished that it felt like poetry.

  Lauren couldn’t place it, but there was something about her manner that seemed familiar—not in appearance, but in the way she held herself. Something about the measured tone and old-fashioned courtesy. It lingered in her mind like a song she couldn’t quite remember. Was there a patron like her in the original novel? As far as she remembered, there were only a handful of truly important patrons in the story: Dreaming_Tyrant, The_Hunger, Harbinger_of_Chaos, Devourer_of_Realms, and Voidborne_Jester, with only Dreaming_Tyrant being “good”, and not one of them filled the way she spoke, yet the girl felt that she had read it somewhere.

  Lauren shook the thought aside for now and sat down beside her friend, who was still babbling about all the cool things she hoped would happen next. But the woman’s mind drifted. The story had changed once already. Teo was gone, and Adam had remained with the team instead of being exiled to Team Abyss. That alone was enough to rewrite the course of everything. She needed to understand how deep these changes went.

  She summoned a transparent display in front of her, a floating interface similar to a tablet. The system recognized her request and brought up the current scenario data.

  "Steam & Steel…"

  She read quietly to herself. It was the same title as the original second scenario from the novel. That hadn’t changed. A steampunk scenario set on a faction war between pirates and the government, it was the first time Drake had to kill someone, and the moment the team got to know the horrors of the scenario's inhabitants. Lauren’s brow furrowed. Would everything still unfold the same way? It was an important arc for the protagonist and his allies, especially for Kazue, who was… Well, let’s just say she loses her joyous personality after this one.

  The screen flickered as the footage began to play.

  At first, it was exactly as she remembered. The group was transported into a steampunk ship above churning waters. Everything was bathed in gray mist and the constant hiss of steam. And just like in the original story, the silence didn’t last long.

  A metallic screech pierced the air. A mechanical sea beast, constructed from rusted plating and whirring gears, lunged from the depths. It impaled two of the new recruits with its rusted fangs just in front of Drake. The death was instant, just as it had been in the novel.

  Lauren winced. That part hadn’t changed. The group's newbies had been completely unprepared. Their bodies vanished beneath the waves. The rest of the team scattered, barely managing to recover. Before they could regroup, another danger arrived—an enormous ship cut through the mist, iron-bound and flying a torn black flag. Pirates. In the novel, this was where things went from bad to worse.

  The pirates were supposed to feign a rescue before boarding them. Drake would be heavily wounded in the skirmish, the third and last non-important newbie, an old guy called Sebastian, would die in the crossfire, and the rest of the group would be captured. Lauren remembered the way her heart had dropped when she first read it. It had been one of the most harrowing moments early in the novel.

  But what happened next stunned her.

  Before the pirates could even reach the group, Adam suddenly materialized something between his fingers—a sheet of faded parchment etched with pulsating black symbols. The moment he unfolded it, a ripple of unnatural pressure swept across the dock. The air grew heavy and distorted. The incoming pirates, once charging with chain blades drawn, suddenly froze mid-step. Then came the screaming. They turned on each other without hesitation, eyes wild with madness, cutting and clawing at their own comrades in a frenzy born of pure confusion and terror.

  Lauren’s eyes widened. She had no idea what that was. The parchment Adam had used wasn’t something she remembered from the original story—certainly not from the Adam she knew. Her mind raced as she opened a manual query through the system, fingers swiping quickly across the interface in front of her. It took a few moments to locate the item, but when the data finally loaded, her breath caught. ‘Necronomicon Single Page (Replica)’. An extremely weird artifact capable of inducing mass insanity over a wide area for a limited time, including the user, but that somehow didn’t affect the boy. This wasn’t part of the Adam from the original timeline. He had never used anything like this. What happened during their time in the lobby?

  But the chaos didn’t last. Adam’s expression darkened as he noticed the effect bleeding outward. The members of his own team had dropped to their knees, clutching their heads, and Drake had gone berserk. Another stumbled backward, dazed and deactivated the effect, folding the paper again and sealing its power.

  The moment the air cleared, a figure shot from the pirate ship with a loud burst of steam. He flew through the mist like a cannonball, propelled by mechanical limbs that hissed and clicked with every movement. The pirate captain landed hard in front of Adam with a metallic crash and, without a word, slammed his bronze, steam-powered fist into the boy’s gut.

  The blow sent Adam sprawling across the dock.

  The captain didn’t hesitate—after a brief glance at the stunned pirates and scattered team members, he issued a series of sharp, mechanical gestures. The crew immediately moved to restrain the group, but with an unexpected level of restraint. No weapons were drawn. No injuries followed. The message was clear: they were to be taken alive and unharmed.

  Lauren leaned forward, heart racing. The change was immediate and undeniable. In the original story, the pirate captain had only appeared after most of the damage had been done, and by then, the team was broken, bleeding, and with one dead. But now, Adam’s interference had shifted the balance.

  So fast, Lauren thought. So soon. The ripple effects had begun already, and they were much bigger than she expected. She glanced at Dreaming_Tyrant, who was leaning over the edge of her seat with wide eyes.

  "Whoa!"

  The small Patron whispered.

  "He stopped the pirates. He actually stopped them. That guy’s cool too."

  Lauren didn’t respond right away. She watched as the team was escorted below deck—no bloodshed, no unnecessary brutality. The scenario was unfolding, but it was no longer following the same path. Everything was changing, and the girl couldn’t deny it—she was excited.

  Lauren couldn’t take her eyes off the screen. As the scenario progressed, the sense of disbelief that had first washed over her now bloomed into something far stronger—pure, electric excitement. She knew this scenario intimately. In the original story, this was a dark, cruel turning point. After being captured, the team had been treated as less than people. Beatings, threats, and the memory she most hated—what had been done to Kazue. Even now, she couldn’t bring herself to recall the full details. The novel had hinted at it, never explicitly, but the implications had been enough to sicken her. That moment had defined the grim, brutal tone of the early arcs. And yet, this time... everything was different.

  Adam—this Adam—had shifted the narrative completely. Not only had he prevented the bloodshed during their capture, but his action had somehow convinced the captain that they were worth more alive, maybe even useful. The tension that should have crushed them was gone, replaced by something Lauren never expected to feel during this part of the story: hope.

  Then came the challenge. The pirates, though impressed, still needed to be sure the group wasn’t bluffing. So they issued a trial: one-on-one combat. And of course, Drake stepped forward.

  From the moment he began to beat his enemies, the entire booth seemed to hold its breath.

  Lauren and Dreaming_Tyrant leaned in together, their expressions frozen in anticipation. Drake didn’t say much—he rarely did at this point—but every movement he made was deliberate. His footwork, his balance, and the quiet intensity in his gaze as he met each opponent without flinching. One pirate after another came at him, and each time, he adapted, responded, and moved with precision. His strikes weren’t flashy, but they were effective and efficient.

  Then came the final opponent, a massive pirate stepped forward, wielding a serrated chainsaw-sword, way taller and bigger than Drake himself. His muscles rippled with every step, steam leaking from the vents along his back. The deck filled with the sound of its revving, deafening, and aggressive.

  But Drake didn’t back down. The fight was intense. The pirate swung with savage force, carving into the floor with each strike. But the bond read him, closed the distance, and found the opening. One powerful strike disarmed the brute; a follow-up brought him to the ground. It wasn’t just a victory—it was a message. Drake had proven himself, even though he had ended up heavily injured as well.

  When the pirate captain nodded with approval and declared them honorary members of the crew, not prisoners, Lauren and Dreaming_Tyrant jumped from their seats, clapping and shouting with glee.

  “He did it! He really did it!”

  Dreaming_Tyrant squealed, spinning in place with joy. Lauren could barely contain herself.

  “That was awesome!”

  Dreaming_Tyrant, overcome with excitement, immediately pulled open her influence screen.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “He deserves a reward! … But… Let’s not sound too excited about it, guys like a more indifferent approach, right?”

  She announced with a huge grin, ignoring the confused stares of other Patrons in the booth. Without hesitation, she donated a handful of influence points and sent a message.

  “That was kinda cool, kiddo~”

  Lauren couldn’t help but laugh. Several nearby Patrons exchanged curious glances, murmuring under their breath. Patron interaction during active scenarios was common—but rarely so enthusiastic. Dreaming_Tyrant either didn’t notice or didn’t care. She had made up her mind.

  From that moment forward, the entire tone of the scenario shifted. The pirates, who had been nothing but antagonists in the original story, now treated the team like friends. There were still harsh moments, but the sense of trust and curiosity had replaced fear and domination. Lauren watched, amazed, as the main characters—people she had cried for in past chapters—laughed, joked, and even shared meals with the very group that had once broken them.

  Drake especially had changed. His quiet, distant nature didn’t stop several pirates from approaching him, slapping him on the back, calling him things like “Blondie” or “Little Commander.” One of them even gave him a crude medal made from scrap metal during his days in the infirmary. And the most surprising part? Drake smiled. It wasn’t forced, it wasn’t reserved. It was genuine. And the effect was immediate—he had fans now, even among the most rowdy of the pirate crew.

  But what truly caught Lauren off guard wasn’t Drake—it was Adam.

  She hadn’t expected to feel anything watching him. In the original story, Adam was the villain. A twisted genius manipulating the system to achieve his own goals. But here? She saw something else entirely. Socially awkward. Hesitant. Kind in a strange, quiet way. He tried to help the others without making it obvious, often standing a few steps back like he didn’t know where he was supposed to be. When Kazue thanked him for saving them, he blinked like it hadn’t occurred to him that anyone would say that.

  Even his interactions with Li felt human, and more importantly, real. Lauren found herself smiling without realizing it.

  “I can’t believe I’m liking this version of Adam so much.”

  She whispered, shaking her head with a soft laugh, much to her Dreaming_Tyrant’s delight, happy that her friend was enjoying it as well. They were still watching when Lauren’s stomach growled softly. With a shrug, she opened the interface and ordered something from the projection’s snack menu—classic butter popcorn. When it arrived, steaming and fresh in a translucent silver bowl, Dreaming_Tyrant’s eyes widened.

  “What’s that?”

  “Popcorn… You’ve never had it?”

  Lauren answered, grinning. Dreaming_Tyrant shook her head with wonder.

  “That looks weird. Is it good?”

  Lauren offered her some.

  “Try it.”

  They munched quietly, eyes glued to the screen. In the original story, this was the point where the team used the cover of night to escape. Li had orchestrated everything, and the only surviving newbie, Nikolai, had managed to unlock the cells. It had been a tense, desperate moment.

  But not this time… Instead of escaping, the group was taken aboard, and the camera panned to reveal something Lauren had never seen before. A massive island in the distance, bristling with towers made of dark iron and glowing steam funnels. Dozens of ships were docked there, flying the banners of rival pirate guilds. The Pirate Guild’s capital, called Gearspire Stronghold, the base of operations for the high-ranking factions of the underground sea.

  Lauren leaned forward, eyes wide.

  “That place was never shown in the novel, not even once.”

  She muttered. What had once been a bleak chapter in a grim tale was now transforming into something new. The same world, the same rules—but entirely different paths. New destinations. New relationships. A future unbound by the expectations of the story she thought she knew.

  And Lauren couldn’t stop smiling.

  Everything that followed in the scenario was completely new to Lauren. There were no familiar paths, no remembered dialogue, no anticipated events—just unfolding unknowns, and she loved every second of it. Her attention was completely locked in, her expression flickering between fascination and awe as the events onscreen continued to surprise her. What struck her most was how much Li had managed to accomplish on his own.

  While the others interacted with pirates and adjusted to their new environment, Li slipped through the city, collecting information, manipulating systems, and mapping out connections in silence. Lauren could tell he had discovered something big—something like a conspiracy. But he didn’t tell the others. He simply watched, listened, and moved pieces into place behind the scenes. It was masterful.

  The shift in tone came with the battle at Ironwave Anchorage. This part of the scenario was intense—visually dynamic and filled with shifting allegiances. The docks burned, mechs activated, and cannon fire echoed across the sea. But the most important change came with the appearance of Commodore Kathlene. Lauren's eyes widened the instant she saw her. In the original story, Kathlene had been a respected figure who rescued Drake's team after they had drifted at sea for days, half-dead and broken. She had become an ally, someone instrumental in their survival. But here, she was an enemy—and a fierce one.

  However, Lauren’s attention was drawn immediately to Adam again. The power he displayed wasn’t something she recognized. His abilities had changed. It was reminiscent—eerily so—of Teo’s strength after absorbing the Undead Empress in the original timeline. That same spectral force, the same sudden, almost unnatural bursts of strength. Only this time, the Empress was clearly inside Adam. Her essence lived on through him, and it was terrifying to witness.

  Lauren didn’t realize she’d ordered more food until the tray appeared in her lap. A refill of her popcorn and a cold citrus drink—something refreshing to combat the heat building in her chest as she watched it all unfold. The battle ended with a stunning twist. Instead of falling apart or retreating, the group earned a place among the Ironclad Armada. Lauren watched in awe as Commodore Kathlene—injured and worn from the fight—took the time to personally train Kazue. It was only for a day, but it left a clear impression. The bond was real.

  What truly blew Lauren away, however, was the introduction of a character she hadn’t expected to see at all: Thaddeus Volta. In the novel, Thaddeus had appeared much later, and even then, he had been painted as a secondary antagonist, someone suspicious and cold, never entirely trustworthy. But now? Now he was a guide for the team, his role had completely changed. Lauren watched closely as he took the group through the sea routes and led them to a place she never thought she would see… Stratos Technology.

  In the original story, it had only been mentioned in passing—a powerful tech organization operating behind the scenes. But here, it was real, present, layered with history and influence. She leaned forward, eyes wide, as the scenes unfolded. Drake and the others entered its inner sanctum, surrounded by glowing machinery and towering servers.

  And the surprises kept coming. In the story Lauren knew, after their alliance with the Ironclad Armada, the protagonists were sent alongside other squadrons to storm the infamous Necrogear Citadel. That mission, though filled with tension, was relatively straightforward—at least, thanks to the leadership of Admiral Jasper Merrick. Jasper had become an unlikely friend to Drake, a man of strength and dignity who was a favorite of Lauren in this arc.

  But now? Everything was different.

  There was no invasion. No assault. Instead, Drake’s team was sent on a special infiltration mission to the ruins beneath the Citadel. And they weren’t led by Jasper. They were accompanied by Thaddeus and another new character—Admiral Augustus Redmond, an elderly man with a cheerful personality, and a voice that rumbled like a dying engine. He hadn’t appeared in the original story at all.

  The mission that followed wasn’t easy. In fact, it was brutal. Without Jasper’s experience and force of will to guide them, the journey became unstable. The team was separated in the labyrinth of catacombs below the Citadel. Communications failed. Monsters awakened. And then something truly unexpected happened: Thaddeus ended up isolated, alone with Adam.

  Lauren could barely blink. What followed was one of the most gripping sequences she had ever witnessed. Thaddeus and Adam were forced to survive together, trapped within an ancient section known as the Tombs of the Seven Lights. It wasn’t something from the original narrative. It hadn’t even been mentioned. Yet it was fully realized—complete with trials, and remnants of long-forgotten technology fused with cursed mechanisms.

  Lauren sat forward in her seat, gripping her drink, popcorn forgotten. Every step Adam took, every decision Thaddeus made, was mesmerizing. Their personalities clashed, but in the end, both of them managed to understand each other, barely.

  Curiously, the final part of their journey through the ruins of the Necrogear Citadel bore a striking resemblance to the original story, at least in terms of the setting and atmosphere. The winding crypts, the pressure of looming danger, and the dark, whispering halls that led to the vault of the ‘Atomica Arcanum’, an S-rank artifact known both for its raw destructive potential and the historical mystery surrounding it. In the original narrative, it had been Drake and Admiral Jasper Merrick who had pushed forward through the final chamber, eventually arriving at the vault at the same time as Thaddeus Volta and a small squad under his command. A battle against the tomb’s guardians had broken out—colossal constructs made of rusted plating and divine circuits that animated only in the presence of those seeking the forbidden knowledge within.

  The climax of that sequence had always stuck with Lauren. In that version, only Li and Thaddeus managed to enter the vault while the others held the guardians at bay. Inside, Thaddeus had revealed his true intent: to destroy the book. He considered it a threat to the balance of the world. But Li had acted first. With precise calculation, he claimed the book first and used a spell powered by the Arcanum itself to kill Thaddeus in a single blow. His words had been chilling—"I know what you really want to do, and I can’t let you do it." When he emerged from the vault, Li claimed they had been ambushed, and no one questioned it. The scenario had ended with the group returning to the Ironclad Armada’s base, victorious, but shadowed by secrets.

  But this time, it unfolded very differently.

  When the guardians awoke, chaos erupted as expected. Metal clashed against the old Admiral, spells detonated through the air, and the tomb’s defenses pressed back against every invader. But in this timeline, Thaddeus didn’t retreat. He fought at the front and took a devastating hit that should have killed him. Lauren watched in tense silence as the wounded man fell to the ground, coughing blood, moments from death. And then something happened that shocked everyone—even the system.

  Sebastian intervened. The old man, who had until then taken a more passive role, activated a forbidden engineering skill. With an improvised construct built from ancient relics and the soul of his mechanical bird, he stabilized Thaddeus’s condition. The system flickered. Alerts briefly flashed on screen, claiming that the user Sebastian Ruegg had done something deemed impossible. And then it accepted the outcome. Thaddeus survived.

  When the final door opened, it wasn’t Li who entered, since he was injured in the previous fight. It was Adam.

  Lauren held her breath. Adam and Thaddeus passed into the vault, and for a few moments, the screen focused only on their conversation. It was quiet. Adam asked questions. Thaddeus explained. The Arcanum shimmered between them. And then, Adam made his decision.

  He handed the book over…

  Lauren’s heart stopped while Thaddeus destroyed it.

  There was no flash of power, no ritual or great detonation. The artifact simply unraveled, atom by atom, until there was nothing left. And when the two men exited the vault, there was a strange calm in their expressions. But that calm would not last.

  The consequences were immediate… With the book’s secrets transmitted thanks to Thaddeu’s secret skill, Stratos Technology rose in rebellion. Thaddeus, no longer hiding in the shadows, stepped forward as its public face. Armed with secret advancements and now unopposed, Stratos declared war. Within hours, the pirate guilds fell—burned from the sea by airships and mech divisions powered by cores no other faction could match. The Allied Kingdoms collapsed next, caught between their own internal corruption and the sudden overwhelming pressure of Stratos' nuclear bombardment.

  The world changed completely. Lauren sat in stunned silence. This wasn’t a twist. This was a reshaping of the whole world within the scenario. In the original story, nothing changed after the Arcanum was retrieved. Li kept it hidden, used it to gain an advantage in several future arcs. His presence shaped the group’s internal power dynamic, and it led to some of the darker conflicts between him and Drake. But now? Li didn’t have the book. He hadn’t even entered the vault. The power he once wielded had vanished.

  And yet, the team was stronger than ever.

  Each of them had grown in this timeline through different experiences, different trials. They had earned personal rewards from the system, upgraded gear, and titles specific to their roles in the scenario. But the most important addition was Sebastian. The old watchmaker, originally destined to die, had now proven to be a game-changing ally.

  As the scenario closed, and the screen began to dim, Lauren exhaled deeply, leaning back in her seat.

  "That changed everything."

  She whispered. Dreaming_Tyrant was still chewing popcorn, tail flicking, a bright smile on her face.

  "That was so good! Drake looked awesome! And Kazue too! I liked it when they all helped each other at the end. I hope the next one is just as fun!"

  Lauren gave a short whistle, eyes still fixed on the screen.

  "Yeah... fun."

  She murmured, though her mind was already racing. The implications of what had just happened were far from simple entertainment. Li no longer had an S-rank item. That alone was enough to shift the course of at least three major events she could remember clearly. The domino effect this would create could be massive, for better or for worse.

  She glanced down at her influence screen. Just a handful of points left. It wasn’t enough to do anything meaningful now. She had to be patient. Careful. If she wanted to guide the story again, she needed to build up her resources—fast.

  Still, despite the exhaustion beginning to creep into her limbs and the weight of everything she’d just seen, Lauren smiled faintly.

  She couldn’t wait to see what came next.