The NPC's Survival Guide

Chapter 1 – Breaking the Script

Trapped. That was the only word for it. His body moved, his lips spoke—but none of it was his will. He was a puppet in his own skin. Panic rose like bile, but even that wasn't his choice. Was this a nightmare? A bug? Some cruel game dev's idea of a joke?

He had lost track of time. Days, maybe even weeks had passed since he woke up in this cursed body, a mere gate guard. Each day was the same. Stand. Speak. Repeat.He learnt his name was Noah by how his body reacts when his name was called on the roll call.

"Welcome to the castle.",he said standing guard before the Radiantia castle gate

Noah's lips moved against his will. His voice echoed out, flat and robotic. No matter how hard he tried to stop it, his body remained a prison, his mouth an uncontrolled puppet.

At first, he had screamed inside his head, struggling against his invisible restraints. Then, he experimented—forcing his mind against his body, trying to make his fingers twitch, to clamp his mouth shut mid-sentence.

The results? Failure after failure.

But there was something. He found he could delay his words by a fraction of a second. He could alter the tone, just slightly. A whisper. A slow drawl. A rushed mumble.

It was pathetic progress.

But it was his progress.

Then came the fateful day.

The castle was unusually lively. Knights stood in perfect formation, servants rushed to prepare refreshments, and a polished carriage pulled by four white stallions rolled through the castle gates.

Inside sat Princess Valentina of Radiantia.

The moment she stepped out, the world seemed to pause. Golden hair, sharp green eyes, and an imposing aura despite her delicate features. She wore an elegant white dress with gold embroidery, the very image of nobility.

Noah had seen her countless times in his playthroughs. The kingdom's beloved princess, rumored to be a genius at swordsmanship and magic, yet notoriously short-tempered when disrespected.

She approached the castle doors, her usual radiant confidence on full display. And as always, his lips moved against his will.

"Welcome to the castle."

…But not this time.

This time, Noah pushed back. He forced his voice lower, harsher, twisting the robotic politeness into something borderline insulting.

"Welcome to the—" Tch.

The shift in tone was small, but it was enough.

Valentina froze mid-step. Her emerald eyes snapped toward him, sharp as daggers. The cheerful elegance she had just displayed vanished in an instant.

"…Excuse me?"

For the first time since arriving in this world, someone was looking directly at him—not just as a background NPC, but as a person.

Noah's heart pounded. He had broken the script. He had forced a reaction.

The princess's lips curled into a dangerous scowl. "Did you just—" She narrowed her eyes. "Say that again."

The words had barely left his mouth before his mind screamed at him—What the hell did I just do?! He had spent weeks trying to control his speech, but he hadn't expected his first success to be an insult to royalty.

A suffocating tension settled in. Shit. Was he about to be executed for this?

"I-I…" Noah tried to speak, but his body refused, still bound by the game's restrictions. His lips wouldn't move without command.

Valentina let out a haughty scoff, crossing her arms. "Unbelievable. How dare a mere guard use that tone with me?"

He wanted to explain. He wanted to say anything. But instead—

"Welcome to the castle."

His voice came out again. This time, flat and robotic as usual.

A vein twitched on Valentina's forehead. "Now you act polite?!" She turned to a nearby knight. "Who is this fool?!"

The head guard—a burly man with graying hair and a scar over his left eye—stepped forward, giving Noah a look of pure disgust. "My apologies, Your Highness. This man must be out of his mind."

Valentina scoffed. "That much is obvious!" She huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I expect this matter to be handled."

The princess wasn't usually this harsh, but this time, she felt publicly humiliated. A mere gate guard had dared to speak to her with such insolence, and worse, in front of others. If she let this slide, it would set a bad precedent.

With that, she stormed into the castle, her heels clicking furiously against the stone floor.

Noah barely had a second to process what just happened before the head guard grabbed him by the collar.

"You've got some nerve, rookie," the man growled.

Shit. This was bad.

"Since you can't act like a proper gate guard…" The man sneered. "Then you don't deserve to be one."

Noah felt a sinking dread as the guard turned to his men.

"Take him to the Great Kali Forest. Let's see how well he talks when he's monster food."

Two armored hands grabbed Noah's arms.

The other guards exchanged uneasy glances. A mere gatekeeper speaking rudely to the princess? Punishment was certain—but exile into the Great Kali Forest?

Even for a mistake, that seemed extreme. Yet, the head guard showed no hesitation as he barked his orders as if he had grudge against him.

His body still wasn't fully under his control.

His voice was still locked to a script.

And now—he was being thrown into certain death.

…Well.

At least things weren't boring anymore.

The iron grip of the guards didn't loosen as they dragged Noah through the castle gates. His body moved stiffly, still fighting against his control. The cobblestone path beneath him soon gave way to dirt, then grass, then thick, gnarled roots.

The Great Kali Forest loomed before him—a twisted expanse of dark trees and tangled vines, infamous in the game for one reason:

It was a death zone for low-level characters.

Noah had sent dozens of players to their doom here in his past runs. High-level monsters roamed freely, from vicious wolf packs to nightmare-inducing horrors that only spawned after dark.

The head guard yanked him forward. "Alright, 'gate guard.' This is your new post."

Noah stumbled as he was shoved onto the dirt.

"I'd wish you luck, but we both know you won't last the night." The guard spat on the ground before turning to his men. "Let's go."

Without another word, the knights turned and marched back to the castle.

Leaving Noah alone.

---

Survival Instincts

For a few moments, he just sat there, his mind catching up with reality.

Thrown into the most dangerous area in the game? Without weapons? Without control of his body?

He was so, so screwed.

Noah forced himself to breathe evenly. He had played this game countless times. If anyone knew how to survive here, it was him.

Step one: Take cover.

The sun was already dipping below the horizon, and every experienced player knew that the strongest monsters spawned at night. If he didn't find a safe spot before then…

A low growl rumbled in the distance.

Shit. That was fast.

Noah forced his body to move. He didn't have full control yet, but maybe… maybe if he focused—

One step.

His boot scraped against the dirt. He felt it.

Another step.

The movement was awkward, like a glitchy animation, but it was real progress.

Then—the growl got closer.

Noah snapped his head up, eyes locking onto a pair of glowing red dots between the trees. A wolf. No—several.

Dire Wolves.

Big, fast, aggressive as hell. Even low-leveled ones could tear through a fully armored knight. And Noah?

He was a defenseless gate guard.

The first wolf lunged.

His instincts screamed.

And for the first time—Noah didn't resist his body.

He let it move on its own.

His legs kicked into motion, dodging the attack with a clumsy but effective leap.

So that's how it is.

His body could move when it was necessary for survival. It was like an auto-evade system—probably something coded into NPCs so they wouldn't instantly die if attacked outside a scripted event.

He could use this.

Noah took off running, his steps more controlled now, pushing deeper into the forest. He didn't have a weapon, but he had knowledge.

He knew exactly where he needed to go.

A hidden spot. A glitched area in the game where monsters never spawned.

If he could make it there—he just might survive the night.

To be continued -