The gold-embossed invitation sat on my mahogany desk, radiating a faint, annoying scent of jasmine and entitlement.
[The Royal Palace of Neo-Seoul requests the presence of Sovereign Chairman Drake Vance at the Victory Gala.]
"Victory Gala," I mused, tapping the Ring of the Usurper against the wood. "They're throwing a party for a Gate that I closed, using a Hero that I own, in a city district that I currently charge them taxes to enter. The audacity is almost admirable."
"Sir, the Ministry of Protocol is insisting on a dress code," my assistant, a former high-ranking Alliance officer who now handled my dry cleaning, said nervously. "They've sent over a list of thirty-two rules. No weapons. No combat-mana signatures. And most importantly, you must bow to Princess Elara."
I stood up, adjusting my cuffs. My level was sitting comfortably at 68, but my mana veins felt like they were ready to burst. I needed to "fail" at something big soon just to vent the pressure.
"Bow to Elara?" I smiled, a cold, jagged expression. "I think I'll fail at etiquette instead. Tell the pilot to ready the VTOL. We're going to the Palace."
The Lion's Den
The Royal Palace was a masterpiece of "Mana-Tech" architecture—floating pagodas, gardens that bloomed in mid-air, and walls reinforced with S-Rank defensive runes. It was designed to look invincible. To me, it looked like a very expensive piggy bank.
As my sleek, black aircraft touched down on the royal landing pad, the "Absolute Charisma" of the palace's defensive aura tried to press down on me. It was a passive field designed to make visitors feel small, humble, and obedient.
[Warning: Royal Suppression Field Detected.] [Effect: 50% Reduction to Willpower and Mana Output.]
"I'm going to fail at being suppressed," I whispered.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Trespassing on Holy Ground with Malice.] [Result: FAILURE. (The Suppression Field is too strong for a 'Normal' Awakener.)] [Calculating Refund...] [Refund Issued: 100x 'Presence of the Usurper'!]
The moment my foot hit the marble tiles of the landing pad, a pulse of dark, violet energy exploded from my shadow. The Royal Suppression Field didn't just break; it inverted. The palace guards, standing in their ceremonial golden armor, suddenly felt their knees buckle. The floating gardens above us groaned as their mana-thrusters stalled, dropping several inches.
I walked through the grand doors, my Presence acting like a physical weight that cleared the path before I even reached it.
The Ballroom of Snakes
The ballroom was a sea of silk, diamonds, and forced smiles. Every major player in the world was here: the Kings of the European Sectors, the CEOs of the Mana-Cores, and of course, the Hero Party.
Han-Seol was standing on a raised dais, looking miserable in a suit of white-and-gold silk. His sword, the gray and lifeless Excalibur, was propped up next to him like a shameful secret. Beside him sat Princess Elara, looking every bit the radiant ruler—until she saw me enter.
The music stopped. The chatter died.
"Chairman Vance," Elara said, her voice amplified by a mana-mic. She stood up, her eyes burning with a hatred she could barely hide behind her royal mask. "We are honored you could join us... despite your 'busy' schedule of taxing our citizens."
"The honor is yours, Princess," I said, walking toward the center of the room. I didn't stop at the designated line for guests. I didn't bow. I kept walking until I was standing at the base of her throne.
A Royal Knight, a man named Sir Gareth who had been one of my "friends" in my past life, stepped forward. He leveled a spear at my chest. "Halt, commoner. You are in the presence of the Bloodline. Bow, or be removed."
"I'll try to bow," I said.
I bent my knees slightly, but I purposely "stumbled," my shoulder clipping Sir Gareth as if I were a clumsy drunk.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Insulting Royal Protocol.] [Result: PATHETIC FAILURE. (The Host is 'too clumsy' to bow correctly.)] [Calculating Refund...] [Refund Issued: 100x 'Kinetic Displacement'!]
The "stumble" turned into a physical catastrophe. The slight nudge of my shoulder hit Sir Gareth with the force of a runaway freight train. He wasn't just pushed; he was launched across the ballroom, smashing through a buffet table, three ice sculptures, and a reinforced stone pillar before finally embedding himself in the far wall.
The silence that followed was absolute.
"Oops," I said, straightening my tie. "My legs are a bit heavy today. All that sovereign gold, you know?"
"You... you dare!" Elara shrieked, her royal mask finally shattering. "Guards! Seize him! This is an act of war!"
"Is it?" I asked, looking around. "I thought it was just a failure of etiquette. But if you want a war, Princess... I'm happy to fail at losing that, too."
Elara's face went from royal porcelain to a shade of livid purple. She didn't just reach for her power; she commanded the very foundation of the palace.
"The Crown Jewels!" she screamed, her voice cracking the crystal chandeliers above. "Activate the Seal of the Seven Heavens!"
Above the ballroom, seven floating gemstones—the source of the Royal Bloodline's divine right—began to spin. These weren't just decorations; they were SSS-Rank containment artifacts designed to suppress gods. Beams of light, thick as pillars, shot down from the gems, locking onto my joints.
[Warning: Ultimate Suppression Sequence Initialized.] [The 'Seven Heavens' are rewriting your cellular structure into 'Stateless Matter'.] [Survival Chance: 0.0000001%]
"I'm going to fail at resisting this seal," I whispered, my voice sounding hollow as the light began to dissolve the floor beneath me.
I didn't activate a shield. I didn't draw The Traitor's Silence. I simply stood there, letting the beams of light bore into my chest, pretending to be overwhelmed by the "majesty" of the Royal artifacts.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Blasphemy against the Crown.] [Result: ABSOLUTE FAILURE. (The Host is being completely erased by the Royal Seal.)] [Calculating Refund...]
The room held its breath. Han-Seol watched from his dais, a flicker of hope in his eyes—hope that his "Landlord" was finally about to be deleted. Elara was laughing, a manic, high-pitched sound.
Then, the Ring of the Usurper turned black. Not the black of shadows, but the black of a void that eats light.
[Refund Issued: 100x 'Authority Absorption'!] [System Glitch: You cannot erase what you have just gifted with 'Divine Ownership'.]
The beams of light didn't stop, but they changed direction. The "erasure" energy didn't dissolve me; it flowed into me. I felt the mana of the Seven Heavens—the collective power of a thousand years of royalty—being sucked into my marrow like water into a sponge.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
One by one, the priceless gemstones in the ceiling began to turn gray and shatter.
"No!" Elara gasped, clutching her throat. "The ancestry... the mana... it's being drained!"
"It's not being drained, Princess," I said, my voice now resonating with the power of the heavens. I looked at my hands, which were glowing with a terrifying, pale radiance. "It's being refunded. Your ancestors were failures at being gods. I'm just collecting the interest."
[Experience Gained: 5,000,000 (Royal Essence)] [Level Up! Level 68 -> Level 75!] [New Skill Acquired: 'Royal Decree' (Passive) — All NPCs and Awakeners below Level 50 must kneel in your presence.]
The effect was instantaneous. As the 'Royal Decree' passive activated, every waiter, every low-rank noble, and even the palace musicians felt their legs give out. The ballroom became a field of kneeling bodies. Only the high-rank heroes and the royal family remained standing, and even they were shaking.
I walked toward Elara, the marble floor cracking under the sheer weight of my new "Royal" mana.
"You wanted to show the world my 'erasure'?" I asked, stopping inches from her face. She tried to cast a fireball, but the mana fizzled in her hand. I had effectively "muted" her magic. "Instead, you showed them that your throne is empty."
"Han-Seol!" she shrieked, looking at the Hero. "Kill him! Use Excalibur! Now!"
Han-Seol stood up, his face twisted in a mask of agony. He was bound by my contract, but the Princess's command was triggering his "Heroic Duty" code. The two systems—my contract and his fate—clashed, making his veins bulge.
"I... I have to..." Han-Seol groaned, drawing the gray, dead sword.
"Go ahead, Associate," I said, not even looking at him. "Try to hit me. I'll fail at dodging."
Han-Seol swung. It was a desperate, heavy blow. But as the sword moved, I "failed" to move out of the way, purposely tripping over the hem of Elara's royal gown.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Assaulting the Hero's Morale.] [Result: FAILURE. (The Hero successfully landed a 'hit'.)] [Refund Issued: 100x 'Karma Reflection'!]
The gray blade touched my suit.
BOOM.
Han-Seol wasn't just parried; he was hit by the spiritual weight of his own betrayal. Every lie he had told the public, every bit of ego he had hidden behind his "Savior" mask, was multiplied by a hundred and shoved back into his skull.
The "Hero" let out a blood-curdling scream and flew backward, crashing into the royal throne itself, snapping the ancient gold chair in half.
I stood up, adjusting my tie. The ballroom was a ruin. The Crown Jewels were dust. The Hero was unconscious in a pile of broken gold. And the Princess was shaking so hard she couldn't even stand.
"The gala is a bit dull," I said, looking at the horrified world leaders. "I think I'll take the Crown as a party favor."
I reached out and plucked the diamond tiara from Elara's head.
"I'll fail to keep this safe," I said.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Theft of a National Treasure.] [Result: FAILURE. (You dropped the tiara.)] [Refund Issued: 100x 'Treasure Transmutation'!]
The tiara didn't hit the floor. It dissolved in mid-air and reformed into a heavy, black crown of thorns and obsidian that settled perfectly onto my own head.
[Item Acquired: The Crown of the Usurper King (Rank: EX).] [Global Announcement: A New Monarch has been Recognized by the System.]
The sirens outside the palace didn't sound like police cars anymore; they sounded like a funeral march. The "Royal Guard" had been replaced by the "Aegis Battalion"—the elite, S-Rank anti-terrorist unit of the Global Alliance.
I could see their shadows through the shattered ballroom windows. Power-armored soldiers were rappelling from stealth-jets, and heavy mana-cannons were being deployed in the courtyard, all aimed directly at my head.
"Drake Vance!" a voice boomed from a megaphone. It was the General of the Alliance, a man who had survived three Apocalypse Gates. "Release the Princess and the Hero! You are surrounded by a localized Dimensional Anchor. You cannot teleport. You cannot run. Surrender, or we will level this palace with you inside it!"
Elara, despite her terror, let out a small, desperate laugh. "You hear that? You're trapped. You took our mana, but you can't take on an entire army. The Anchor... it's the only thing in the world the System can't 'glitch'."
I looked at the shimmering blue barrier encasing the palace. It was a "Static Field"—a zone where the laws of physics were forced to remain constant. It was designed to stop "System Users" from exploiting their skills.
"A Dimensional Anchor," I whispered, feeling the cold weight of the obsidian crown on my head. "It's supposed to keep everything in its place. I think I'll fail at breaking it."
The Ultimate Relocation
I walked toward the center of the ballroom, right where the "Seal of the Seven Heavens" had once been. I didn't try to punch the barrier. I didn't try to use a spatial jump. I simply tried to "walk out" of the front door, moving with the slow, stiff gait of a man who was paralyzed by the Anchor.
[Warning: Dimensional Anchor is Active.] [Movement Speed Restricted to 0.1%.] [Spatial Manipulation: DISABLED.]
"I'm going to fail at escaping this palace," I said, my voice echoing through the silent, ruined hall.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Evading Law Enforcement.] [Result: TOTAL FAILURE. (Host is 'stuck' in the palace.)] [Calculating Refund...]
The Ring of the Usurper and the Crown of the Usurper King began to resonate. The frequency was so high it shattered every remaining piece of glass in a five-mile radius.
[Refund Issued: 100x 'Spatial Inverse'!] [System Glitch: If the Host cannot leave the Palace, the Palace must follow the Host.]
The world didn't just shake; it flipped.
Outside, the General watched in horror as the billion-dollar Royal Palace of Neo-Seoul—acres of stone, gardens, and history—began to flicker like a dying lightbulb. It didn't explode. It was being "Refunded" out of existence in Sector 1 and "Re-issued" somewhere else.
[Location Refund: The Royal Palace is being moved to 'The Sovereign District' (Your Territory).]
With a sound like a thunderclap that could be heard across the continent, the palace vanished from the heart of the city. The Aegis Battalion fell into the empty, smoking hole in the ground where the seat of government used to be.
Welcome to My World
The shaking stopped.
I walked to the balcony and threw open the doors. We weren't in the city center anymore. We were in the middle of my Sovereign District, surrounded by my own private security and the dark, swirling mana of the 'Maw of the Void' that I had tamed.
Princess Elara ran to the balcony, her eyes wide with a madness that surpassed fear. She looked down and saw my flag—the black-and-gold banner of the 100x Refund—flying over her royal gardens.
"You... you stole the palace," she whispered, her legs finally giving out. "You didn't just take the crown. You took the land."
"I'm a landlord, Princess," I said, looking out at my new kingdom. "And your palace was built on a 'Void-Zone' without a permit. I'll be seizing the property as a fine."
Behind me, Han-Seol finally groaned, waking up in the wreckage of his own throne. He looked around, confused, his Heroic System sending him thousands of "Error" messages.
"Where are we?" he rasped.
"Home," I said. "Or at least, the only home you have left. You're my Associate, remember? And your first job is to explain to the world why the Hero of Light is currently living in the Villain's backyard."
The Silent Observer
From the shadows of the ballroom, Seraphina emerged. She hadn't been moved by the spatial shift; her own "Saintess" protection had kept her anchored. She looked at me, her silver hair glowing in the dark mana of my district.
"You've gone too far," she said, though there was no anger in her voice, only a deep, profound sadness. "The Alliance will declare a Total War. They will send the other 'Six Heroes' from the other sectors. You can't refund an entire world."
"Can't I?" I asked, walking toward her. I reached out and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. She didn't flinch. "I've failed at being a Hero, Seraphina. I've failed at being a citizen. I've even failed at dying."
I leaned in, my voice a mere breath against her skin.
"The world is just one big system. And systems... are made to be broken."
[Ding! Quest: 'Found a Dynasty'—COMPLETED.] [Level Up! Level 75 -> Level 82!] [Global Reputation: 'The Usurper King' (Legendary Rank).]
I looked back at the unconscious Han-Seol and the weeping Elara. The party was over, but the reign was just beginning.