"Hey, [xxxxx], take cover and hide! The mass protesters are coming this way!!!"
Sirens blared in the distance, and an explosion rang loudly in his ears. Smoke drifted across the street as people shouted and ran in panic. But strangely enough, he barely cared about the chaos around him.
Right now, he was far more concerned with something else.
"Wait! I still need to pull from the Cyrene banner first!!!"
Soft pity meant that he might—or might not—get the current rate-up character. Unless he wanted to waste dozens more pulls later, he needed to try his luck now.
With trembling fingers, he pressed the button for a 10x pull.
Lights flashed across his phone screen. Then, suddenly, a golden locomotive burst out of the animation.
"YES—!"
But something felt… wrong.
The light from the screen was far brighter than usual. Blinding, even. For a moment, he wondered if his phone had malfunctioned.
Then the aurora-like glow expanded.
Before he could react, an impossibly large locomotive burst out of his phone screen and charged straight at him.
BANG.
It slammed squarely into his face.
And just like that, the last trace of consciousness left his body.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an unfamiliar scene.
It took several long seconds before his mind began to clear.
From the fragments of memory swirling in his head, he finally pieced together a horrifying realization.
He had transmigrated.
'To think that even I got the ticket to another world in this day and age…'
He returned to check on the current situation. Apparently, it seems that he had transmigrated into someone named Otto Hitler.
Not the brother of another 'failed art student', thankfully.
But probably an Otto expy from the game Honkai Impact 3.
As for why he thought of that?
Just look at the evidence.
First, the guy had enrolled in the Freya Academy of Fine Arts, not a certain art academy in Europe.
Secondly, he had been engaged to a girl named Kallen Breslau. As you might have guessed, this Kallen is the white moonlight of his predecessor in any timeline and worldline of the quantum sea and trees of imaginary numbers.
And finally—the most important point—
The Kallen the guy loved and was engaged to… ended up with someone else…
Nah, it is not a certain donkey eared bunny girl priestess nor it is the famous pre civilization assassin.
Instead, it is a guy who seems to be the male protagonist of the story—Maestro, also known as "The Conductor"—who has challenged him to a duel.
The reason?
To take away his fiancée as one of his 'harem candida—', I mean battle partners.
The result of that duel?
He lost.
According to the contract, he was forced to break off his engagement with Kallen.
The contract also forced him to not get closer to Kallen anymore which is typical of gal game.
After that, everything spiraled downward.
His family heard the news and immediately disowned him.
To make matters worse, the academy expelled him as well. They had no intention of offending the protagonist, who possessed countless connections as the so-called Child of Luck after enrolling in the academy.
And so, the original owner of this body had ended up here—
Alone and drunk until he collapsed inside a small pub.
In normal progression, the guy probably wakes up after a while and becomes a villain for revenge after a few chapters.
But…
Whether it was alcohol poisoning or a change in destiny, the fate of the guy named Otto Hitler ends right here with no further 30 years in the west, 30 years in the east, don't bully the poor young man scenario.
Now, the new soul occupying this body—an ordinary Earthling from the 21st century—slowly sat up, still dizzy from the lingering alcohol.
'Ugh… where the hell am I?'
He rubbed his forehead as unfamiliar memories flooded his mind.
Some of the names felt strangely familiar.
Then suddenly—
Ding!
System:
[This is the planet Artesia from the game Honkai: Resonance Axis, a brand-new anime-style RTS released by the Mixxyo Company in 2030. It followed the success of HI3, GI, HSR, ZZZ, and HNA (2027).]
'???'
What the hell?!?!?
His expression twisted in disbelief.
This question mark wasn't because he had a problem. But he thought you (system) has a problem!
He died in 2025, a chaotic year in his home country.
At that time, Honkai: Nexus Anima had only just announced its first CBT and hadn't even been released yet. And now this system was telling him that there was already another game called Honkai: Resonance Axis after that?!
'System? So I really got one of those transmigration packages, huh…'
He sighed.
'Fine. Whatever. Just tell me about this world first.'
Honestly, he didn't care much about the cliché "system" trope .What mattered more was understanding the world he had landed in.
Many people would be thrilled to transmigrate into a game they loved. But… there was one major problem.
The game he had supposedly entered…
Didn't even exist yet.
He was willing to bet that even the developers themselves hadn't thought of this idea.
And yet somehow— He was already inside it.
System:
[Honkai: Resonance Axis is an anime-style RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game set on the alternate planet Artesia. The world features a magicpunk setting where magic and technology intertwine.]
[The current technological level resembles the pre-World War II era, but future updates will rapidly advance the world toward an interstellar age due to an alien invasion storyline.]
[The magic system mimics artistic expression by introducing imaginary energy into creative arts such as painting, music, dance, and crafting.]
[This system creates several combat classes, including:]
Dancers – melee fighters such as sword dancers or pole dancers
• Painters – mage-like characters who paint fireballs or lightning before bringing the artwork into reality
• Musicians – support units that provide buffs, healing, or debuffs through songs and symphonies
• Crafters – engineers who build structures, develop technology, and construct battle stages
The explanation helped him understand why something like the Freya Academy of Fine Arts existed in this world.
It also explained why the previous owner of this body had become a failed art student.
After all, his surname was Hitler.
Still…
Something felt wrong.
Why did this feel less like an RTS game…
…and more like a gal-game setup?
System:
[That is because the Mixxyo Company believed pure RTS gameplay was too boring. Therefore, they added gal-game and otome-game elements to the prologue.]
[The experience differs depending on the starting character chosen by the player: Maestro (male) or Muse (female).]
…
He fell silent.
For several seconds, he observed a respectful moment of silence for the poor future players who picked the female protagonist and were suddenly forced into an Otome game scenario.
Unless…
They actually enjoyed it.
System:
[Do not worry. Mixxyo Company supports diverse relationship options. After completing the prologue, players may "befriend" or "partner" with characters of any gender—including females, males, robots… and even armed helicopters.]
…
He blinked. His breath stops at his confusion.
Slowly, he comes to his senses.
"Hold on."
Ignoring the gender options and robots—since previous games already had robotic characters—
Where the hell did the armed helicopter come from?
Did that also appear in the gacha?
System:
[Yes. Armored vehicles, tanks, armed helicopters, fighter jets, and even space battleships can be obtained through the gacha system.]
…
"Are you sure those aren't just ship girls or gun girls like in other franchises?"
System:
[No. They are 100% pure machinery.]
[Originally, this occurred due to a CBT bug where the character development system for hero units was mistakenly applied to machinery units.]
[However, players became extremely enthusiastic about dating their tanks and helicopters.]
[Therefore, the developers officially expanded the feature.]
…
"…What kind of cursed timeline is the year 2030?"
Looking at the Hoffbran Beer Hall sign hanging on the wall, the man now known as Otto Hitler almost felt the urge to deliver a certain infamous speech.
"500,000 marks for bread?' C-Cough…
He quickly shook his head.
"Nope. Not going down that route."
Refocusing his thoughts, he addressed the system again.
'Alright. So what kind of system are you?'
System:
[This system is the Almighty Villain System.]
[By stealing the protagonist's luck, opportunities, and female companions, the host may obtain powerful abilities, rare items, and advanced technology.]
[Please confirm to bind with the system.]
Otto stared blankly at the prompt.
Then he sighed.
"…A villain system?"
He rubbed his face in exhaustion.
"What a cliché."