C1 I Became the Main Character of the Game!

"You've got to be fucking with me..."

Faang Qiubai was on the verge of tears, yet none would come, as he floated helplessly in the air. Below him, a muddy dirt road snaked through an expansive forest that seemed untouched by civilization, reminiscent of a primitive mountain village yet to be developed. Clutched in his hand was a paradoxical notebook—seemingly only a few pages thick, yet the pages kept turning endlessly. He was overcome with an almost primal urge to scream at the heavens.

The bizarre ordeal began just three minutes prior. Faang Qiubai, an obscure writer, had been at his keyboard, working on the day's installment for his novel. Despite its daunting two-million-word count, his novel hadn't found much of an audience, thanks to a title and protagonist that seemed to drive readers away. Still, the modest earnings were enough to cover his daily expenses with a little to spare.

But then, without warning, Faang Qiubai's world blurred, and he found himself in this maelstrom of chaos. A figure radiating a pearlescent glow had delivered a rapid-fire monologue, utterly indifferent to Faang's shock, before tossing a notebook into his arms and vanishing with a resounding pop.

Once the initial shock subsided, Faang pieced together the luminescent figure's message: This had once been a thriving plane, and the figure himself the creator who had brought it into existence. However, an invasion from an Other Plane had laid waste to everything, leaving the creator on the brink of death and in desperate need of a successor to salvage this world.

The notebook, it turned out, was the Creator's tool, known as the Book of Creation. It held the power to alter any aspect of this plane's reality, from the grand act of genesis to the trivial task of conjuring spicy snacks. The catch? Such acts would consume an equivalent amount of energy.

This energy, known as the Force of Creation, was drawn from the plane itself. But now, with the plane ravaged by the invaders' onslaught, the Book of Creation retained only a pitifully meager reserve of power.

To add insult to injury, this plane had once spanned a breadth greater than the Milky Way. Now, dark forces from the Other Plane had nearly eradicated its inhabitants, shattered countless worlds into debris of all sizes, and left the remnants teeming with hundreds of millions of invaders. The native life forms that had managed to survive were few and far between. As for the whereabouts and numbers of these survivors, Faang Qiubai was clueless. The previous creator had been cryptic at best, leaving Faang to grope for answers in the dark.

Faang Qiubai was acutely aware that if he allowed the creatures from the Other Plane to multiply unchecked, they would eventually obliterate all life on this plane. As a result, he, the second-generation Creator, would vanish in an instant. Feeling duped and powerless, he was left with no choice but to devise a survival strategy under these dire circumstances.

With the Book of Creation in hand, he could survey the entire landscape as if he were scanning the earth from a satellite. The land was dotted with forests, mountains, and lakes, yet it was also overrun with ominous black crystals. Some crystals were no bigger than a human head, while others towered over ten meters high, resembling skyscrapers, each emanating a sinister dark aura.

What puzzled Faang Qiubai was the eerie familiarity of the monsters. Zombies, skeletons—these were staples of video games, yet here they were, far more grotesque and frightening than their digital counterparts.

The previous Creator had informed him that the invading forces had already departed this plane in search of new conquests. The remnants were deemed expendable, mere cast-offs to the Other Plane. By clearing these black crystals and claiming their energy, he could replenish the dwindling power of creation.

To ensure the plane's resurgence, the Creator had duplicated all data on its living beings within the Book of Creation. It was this very action that led to his premature disappearance, despite having the potential to exist for millennia. With sufficient energy, Faang Qiubai could one day fully restore the plane's former glory.

Although he possessed the power to annihilate dozens, perhaps hundreds, of black crystals, the expenditure would be immense, yielding less than a third of the potential energy. The monsters' energy was hardly worth considering. Squandering his power would only hasten its decline, leaving Faang Qiubai to watch as his plane met its inevitable doom.

Upon realizing he had been deceived, Faang Qiubai didn't waste time lamenting his fate. Instead, he focused on how to extricate himself from this predicament. As he observed the monsters, a thought struck him: "An invasion from the Other Plane? If these creatures are alien to this plane, then what about Earth, my home? Is that an Other Plane too? Does that make me an invader?"

He focused his consciousness on the Book of Creation and found a reliable answer. Earth was indeed an Other Plane to this realm. Moreover, since Earth's Plane lacked a Creator, Faang Qiubai could easily traverse the barrier between the two planes.

"So... if I pull people in to help... it would turn into an endless horror, wouldn't it? Even a hundred teams wouldn't suffice to conquer this challenge, and eventually, no one would be willing to come. Forcibly dragging them here would consume even more energy, and who knows, they might end up wanting to kill me later. No, the risks outweigh the benefits."

"Soul control? Can one summon the soul of a living being if they consent? And as long as the summoner lives, the summoned soul remains alive too? If that's the case, there might be a chance to turn the tide."

"Crossing the planar barrier in the flesh consumes a great deal of energy, but for a soul, the cost is minimal. And because of the different plane laws, the differences are undetectable... Wait, does that mean I've crossed over as a soul?"

The Book of Creation was akin to a vast computer filled with endless data. Qiubai diligently searched for the information he needed, occasionally stumbling upon revelations that left him astounded. He touched his own body, feeling the familiar texture of his clothes and pants. Had he not accessed this information and viewed himself from the Creator's perspective, he would have never realized he was in a soul state.

With a mere thought, Qiubai vanished from the chaos and reappeared in front of his computer, back to typing. Yet, he could sense the presence of the Book of Creation, glowing with a soft white light, deep within his consciousness.

With this newfound knowledge, Qiubai excitedly realized that even on Earth, he could observe Other Planes through the Book of Creation and wield its power. He continued his search for insights about the soul.

"Deceiving a soul? A technique favored by deities?" Qiubai quickly found the information he sought. The more he read, the more elated he became, as the situation seemed far less dire than he had anticipated.

"Earth's Plane has no Creators. Have they perished, or is there another reason?"

While Faang Qiubai was deeply curious about this question, he couldn't help but feel a genuine sense of joy. On Earth, there was no one else like him, and some of his tactics were completely beyond the comprehension of humans. This meant he didn't have to worry about any individuals or powers causing him problems.

Having organized his thoughts and assured himself that there were no significant flaws—and knowing that any minor ones could be addressed along the way—Faang Qiubai took the first decisive step towards saving himself and the Other Plane.