Gardenia's Heart - Chapter 22: Third Floor

Shoved into the backseat of his father's car right after graduation, Riley Hale ended up marching toward a company building with a bagged lunch and a pen.Still in his toga, the fresh graduate never thought he’d land in the office of the continent’s top lizard, err, dragon, as his aide.And that would’ve driven any person wishing for a corporate career to tears. After all, who wouldn’t want to serve the fastest ticket up the corporate ladder: Kael Dravaryn, the infamously elegant, unhinged, and extremely overpowered Dragon Lord of the continent?Well, that would be Riley.The same Riley who didn’t expect to spend his days dodging fireballs, dressing his boss in robes more complicated than dark magic, and serving as a literal target during morning sparring.Now trapped in a job he never truly agreed to, the hardworking aide decided to hold out until it was time for his glorious resignation. But leaving a dragon’s clutches could never be easy, especially one with elemental mastery and a finger worth a private army.Yet, as Riley, who longs to quit, attempts to navigate ancient politics, wyvern threats, and other accidents (many of which are definitely not his fault), he might just hallucinate himself into seeing something beneath his boss’s arrogance and molten glares.Maybe he’d actually care if Riley got turned to ash.

“His novel. His rules. His fight to take it all back.”Who would have thought Tavian would end up trapped inside his own novel?Not the chosen one. Not the villain.Just a forgettable extra with laughable stats and no place in the story he once ruled.And the protagonist he shaped into a perfect weapon?He’s real—and hunting him.Armed only with the knowledge of the world he created, Tavian has one choice: exploit the system he built… or be devoured by his own creation.He knows how the story is supposed to end.And he won’t let anyone else decide his fate—especially not the characters he once controlled.

In the midst of a mall parking lot turned battleground, Korig stands with a crowbar in his hands, blood-stained and bewildered.

Chaos reigns as the world crumbles into a nightmare of undead horrors.

Amid the panic, a digital screen materializes, thrusting Korig into a twisted game of survival.

“Main Objective: Survive the Zombie Apocalypse for an hour.”

“Bonus quest: Kill 100 zombies.”

The countdown begins, and Korig must navigate the terror around him, battling both the flesh-hungry undead and the enigmatic rules of a malevolent system.

As time slips away, Korig's past and present collide, revealing secrets that could be the key to his survival.

Will he conquer the unholy countdown, or become another victim in this relentless System Mania?

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While creating her character, the game’s system randomly generated a “unique” name for her.