Lucien Ashborne was supposed to be a nobody — an early-game villain who existed only to be crushed by the protagonist. After provoking the wrong person, he vanished from the story without even a dramatic death scene.

When a player named James dies and wakes up in Lucien’s body, he inherits every bit of the villain’s broken reputation and zero of his privileges. Bullied, scorned, and abandoned by his own noble family, Lucien now stands at the bottom of the academy hierarchy.

To make matters worse, the world he knew as a game has no guaranteed happy ending… and the protagonist’s party treats him like a criminal.

But James isn’t the Lucien they think he is.

With fragments of meta-knowledge, a half-broken system that barely works, and a determination to avoid becoming cannon fodder, he chooses a different path.

He doesn’t seek glory.
He just refuses to disappear.

This is the story of a former villain trying to rewrite his role — not as a hero, but as someone who survives on his own terms.

"…We're withdrawing," Tony rasped, his voice sounding like gravel grinding together. "There's nothing more to gain here."


I tilted my head, putting on my best mask of innocent confusion.


"Nothing more to gain? Captain, what about the Conquest Token? The loot?"


Tony stopped. He looked at me, his eyes dead.


"Do I have to spell it out for you to understand, you useless baggage?" he spat. "It means someone else beat us to it. The Boss Room was empty. Pack your things."


I gasped, covering my mouth in mock horror.


"Who would do such a thing? Who could possibly be faster than the elite Iron Fangs?"


As I delivered my Oscar-worthy performance, the way Alicia looked at me evolved. It went from 'You are evil' to 'You are literal trash.'


In contrast, Tony just glared at me with annoyance and waved his hand dismissively.


He didn't suspect me. Not for a second.


Chapter 115 - Aftermath [2]