In the age of full-dive competitive entertainment, Sheng Zhe spent seven years fighting more than ten thousand matches, only to end up sitting below the podium, watching someone else bask in the glory above.
On the day she retired, she dreamed of opening a hot-blooded shonen manga called Reversing the Stars. Only then did she realize that the world she lived in revolved around its protagonist. There was even a forum where people followed the story and discussed the plot.
[The story of a youth league trainee no one believed in becoming the Stars' first captain and sweeping the world championship. This is the most exciting underdog shonen manga I've ever read.]
[Pretty good overall, but some parts are way too overpowered. The author couldn't think of a way to replace the former female captain, so they literally gave her a spiritual send-off. Pretty funny.]
[Her nemesis plays a random-damage character and always hits single-digit damage at key moments. Maybe the author should just give the male lead a luck-stealing buff. He can read minds anyway.]
Sheng Zhe thought of the gentle captain who had died in an unexpected car accident.
She thought of how she always rolled absurdly low damage at crucial points in the deciding matches.
She also thought of his uncanny, almost prophetic, in-game calls.
So it had all been arranged. Everyone's hard work had become a red carpet for the protagonist's rise to the top.
When she opened her eyes again, Sheng Zhe was back seven years in the past, at the point when she first joined the youth training program.
Looking at the otherworldly forum on her communicator, and the inconspicuous label in its corner: [Protagonist's Luck?? Progress: 0%],
she decided to sponsor the youth league selection tournament that had never been able to take place, putting everyone on the same starting line.
Let's see who deserves to be the protagonist this time.
*
Forum users noticed that Reversing the Stars, always called an ensemble shonen manga, had suddenly started devoting pages to a female passerby, giving her more and more big moments.
[What's going on? Is Reversing the Stars switching to a female protagonist? Typical virtue signaling.]
[Which rich sponsor's heiress OC is this? Her powers are so ridiculously overpowered. What is wrong with this manga?]
[Funny how you weren't worried about friendship when the story was an overpowered ensemble with a male lead. But now you're suddenly worried about friendship because someone is competing for the spotlight and there's a female character?]
[Wait, everyone's bashing the heiress. Why do I have to buy merch bundled in threes when I'm just here for my fave?]
[Don't bundle my girl with those unsold seat-warmers! My girl is in an all-female team. Release her merch on its own, okay? I'll spend money on girls, but not on seat-warmers.]
The heiress Sheng Zhe, sneaking a look at the forum midway through training: "Aw, they're so cute. I want to spend money on them."
Her teammates: "...?"
[Reading Guide]
1) Full-dive competition, like PvP in an online game's arena, except it's full-dive combat between real people (1v1, 3v3, and 5v5 modes).
2) Contains a lot of forum-style content (marked in the chapters).
3) The female lead is named Sheng Zhe (zhe). She's an arrogant villainess, but a warm-hearted heiress.
4) Plot-focused.
Theme: I am the protagonist of my own life.
