Reincarnated As A Character In My Own Manga

[Scene: Inside the Fortress – Main Hall]

Time passed.

Seconds bled into minutes.

Minutes bled into hours.

The kind of waiting that wears on nerves — not from fear, but from stillness. The hall that once felt vast and awe-inspiring slowly became... heavier. Like the air was thickening with unseen pressure.

The Whisper's Light group had staked out a quiet corner of the chamber, away from most of the crowd.

Rhask sat cross-legged on the floor, arms on his knees, chin resting lightly on his wrist. He watched it all.

Rhask (Internal): "Hundreds of people... but not a single voice is shouting. No one's fighting. No one's laughing loud. Just... breathing. Thinking."

Across from him—

Kael leaned back against the stone wall, chewing on something suspiciously sticky-looking.

Kael (muttering): "There are at least a few hundred people here."

Eron adjusted his spectacles beside him, arms folded tight.

Eron: "Yes, but just the sheer size of this fortress makes that number feel small."

The vaulted ceilings swallowed echoes. Conversations turned into background hums. The kind of ambient noise that wraps around your thoughts and squeezes.

Solis sat with one of his twin blades unsheathed, gently polishing the edge in circular motions. His eyes hadn't left the doors in over thirty minutes.

Focused. Silent.

Elsewhere—

Arjun (to a tall man with a long rifle strapped across his back): "How many members from your guild are here?"

The rifleman didn't even blink.

Rifleman: "The max. Sixteen."

He glanced toward the sealed gates — and frowned.

Rifleman: "And if you ask me? Those sixteen doors ain't for show." "They're gonna split us."

Arjun: "Trial-based separation?"

Rifleman: "Has to be."

[Scene: Hall Atmosphere – Later]

Katrina was near the edge of the group again, seated on a bench. Legs crossed. Book in hand.

She was reading a chapter she had already read a dozen times.

Kael (Internal): "Katrina says she prefers books to people."

The hall had grown stranger.

Groups began huddling tighter.

Theories bloomed like weeds:

"Each door leads to a different kind of test." "Only one person from each group makes it through." "If you don't pass, you don't get to reapply. Ever."

A new rumor after another kept the air tense.

Some people looked unbothered. Confident.

Others? Pale. Sweating.

One man, built like a mountain, hadn't spoken a word since arriving. His greatsword sat across his lap like a sleeping beast.

One girl sat in a corner and whispered prayers into her palm every few minutes.

[Scene: Final Minutes Before the Doors Open]

A bell — deep and metallic — tolled somewhere within the walls.

One. Two. Three strikes.

Then—

The sound of ancient locks.

Sixteen.

All sixteen doors—

CREAKED.

Not opened. Not yet.

But something clicked behind them.

Kael stood, stretching his arms.

Kael: "Well. Here we go."

Eron stood beside him. No words. Just a steadying breath.

Arjun was waiting for an official announcement.

Solis rose in one smooth motion.

Rhask cracked his knuckles.

Katrina closed her book.

[Chapter End]

Next: "The Trial Doors Open"