Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave, the royal bastard of House Vasquer, was a sickly, cruel shell—until his studies at the Tower of the Gray Owl changed everything. Now sharp-witted and dignified, he moves with life-or-death tenacity, knowing far too much about a world he shouldn’t recognize. Behind his confident facade hides a former open-world RPG wiki editor, fighting existential dread in a grim gothic fantasy mirroring his favorite game. When a world-ending calamity shifts from entertainment to reality, heroism loses its appeal. But survival demands action. Argrave must keep this sinking ship afloat, forced into unwanted heroism to save his own life.