---
Chapter after chapter, I sat in my room reading in silence. The only source of light was my phone, its cracked screen and dim glow a testament to years of wear and struggle.
Sometimes, when I wasn't buried under work or suffocating from stress, I found moments to indulge in these brain-rotting novels—stories riddled with plot holes and inconsistent power scaling. Oddly enough, they brought me a kind of peace. I knew I could've sought comfort in good stories too, but these flawed ones… they had a strange charm of their own.
"Oh… I didn't expect that."
I murmured under my breath as I finished the latest chapter. It wasn't anything groundbreaking—just another standard plot you'd find anywhere—but every now and then, it managed to surprise me.
The protagonist wasn't particularly complex, but he had an undeniable charm. Even when facing hardship and bloodshed, he could still smile—brightly, sincerely—as though no weight in the world could crush him. He even managed to be funny at times, rare little moments that made him feel alive.
He was everything I wasn't.
A bright smile.
A big heart.
Strength in every sense of the word.
A remarkable human being.
I couldn't imagine being like him.
Me? I rarely smiled. I didn't stand out. I had no talent, no strength—just an ordinary shell of a human. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing… but still, I couldn't even picture what it would be like to shine like that.
The story was still far from over. There were only a few hundred chapters out, and the plot had barely reached its halfway point.
Sadly, the author's updates were inconsistent—sometimes daily, sometimes weeks apart. It made me wonder what the ending would look like one day. Would it be a happy ending? A bittersweet, tragic one? Or worse… a rushed, disappointing finale that left everything unresolved?
Would he defeat the God of Beasts?
Would he finally confess to his love interests?
Would he graduate from the academy and stand tall as a hero?
Those questions lingered in my mind as I slowly closed my heavy eyelids, letting exhaustion pull me under. The glow of my phone dimmed in the corner of my cold, lonely room.
---
> [- Merge Initiated -]
[- Soul and Body Compatibility: 92% -]
[- System Interface Activated -]
[- Merge Complete in 3… 2… 1… -]
A sharp, unbearable pain tore through me like a bolt of lightning splitting the sky.
"—ghhh!"
My eyes shot open, pupils dilated, as my mind screamed in agony. The world around me was a blur; I couldn't focus—I couldn't even breathe.
Why… why does it hurt so much?
"Ghh—grah…sp—"
I tried to gasp for air, but my body wouldn't listen. Every nerve burned, every thought drowned beneath waves of blinding, mind-breaking pain.
"Fhhh… fuhhh… fuhhhhhh—!"
Then, as suddenly as it came, the pain vanished.
It was as if it had never been there at all.
"…Hhhah… Hhhahhh…"
My ragged breaths echoed in the silence, slowly evening out. My vision cleared little by little, and for the first time, I felt it—my body. A strange calm spread through me, like still water after a raging storm.
What… was that?
The first thing I saw was a white ceiling.
…Unknown.
A king-sized bed beneath me. Silken sheets softer than anything I'd ever felt.
…Unknown.
A room too large, too luxurious for someone like me. Crystal chandeliers, ornate furniture, and walls lined with paintings I couldn't even begin to price.
All of it… unknown.
Slowly, I pushed myself up into a sitting position. My fingers gripped the sheets as my eyes swept across the room with unease.
Where the hell am I?
Then—
A faint chime echoed in my mind.
Ping!
A translucent blue screen flickered to life in front of me.
I froze, staring at it with a dumbfounded expression.
───────────────────────────
Name: Mikael Thornevale
Age: 17
Rank: F-
Potential: { A+ }
Class: Hybrid
Physical Attributes:
– Strength: F-
– Agility: F+
– Endurance: G
– Mana: F-
– Perception: F
Mental Attributes:
– Intelligence: B+
– Willpower: C+
– Charisma: A+
Traits:
– [Adaptive Learning]
Skills:
- None
Combat Proficiency:
– Swordsmanship: Beginner (E-)
– Elemental Affinity: Blood {Unique}
Status: Stable
───────────────────────────
…What the hell is this?
Shock. Disbelief. Astonishment.
Those words barely scratched the surface of what I was feeling.
Mikael Thornevale…
That name—it rang a bell.
Where…? Where did I hear it before?
The system panel hovering before me… it looked familiar too.
And Mikael? That kind of name screamed nobility or some pompous aristocrat in a fantasy novel.
Yeah, pretty stupid name if you ask me…
Wait.
That's supposed to be me now?
No. No way. My name wasn't Mikael. My name was—
…
What was it?
My chest tightened. Panic crept in as my mind scrambled for something, anything.
What the hell? How can I forget my own name?
"This doesn't make sense…" I muttered under my breath, my voice barely audible.
And then—
Click.
Something fell into place. My eyes widened as realization slammed into me like a hammer.
Ah… now I know.
The answer had been staring me in the face all along.
That thrashy novel I'd been reading just moments ago…
That mind-numbing, brain-rot story riddled with plot holes…
Mikael Thornevale.
The Crimson Demon.
A third-rate villain who made a deal with the Cult of Esethos—the deranged freaks who worshipped an inhuman being—and got himself killed in a crisis at the Academy.
He wasn't even a proper stepping stone for the protagonist.
That's who I am now?
Calm down. Just… calm down.
It's not all awful, despicable, and outrageous like I first thought.
I'm seventeen right now. That means, in the best-case scenario, I've got at least a year before the Academy starts and the main plot begins to unfold.
A year.
That's enough time to prepare. Enough time to make survival in this dog-eat-dog world at least minimally achievable.
Think. What do I know?
Mikael Thornevale. Second son of an SS-rank Hero and the Guild Master of the Crimson Moon Guild.
Status? Check.
Money? Check.
Access to valuable resources and rare items? Check.
That's the good part.
Now for the bad part.
Mikael, in the eyes of ordinary people, has "remarkable talent." But in the world of high society—where monsters like his father and brother exist—he's trash.
Worse, he has the reputation of being an arrogant, snotty brat with a temper that would make a rabid boar look tame.
Obviously, not ideal.
And then there's his family. His father and older brother never really hated him for his lesser talent. If anything, they were indifferent. But that arrogant idiot probably never even noticed.
Well… that's not my problem anymore.
Running a hand through my hair, I let out a sigh. My mind raced with possible survival strategies, weighing the risks and rewards.
Okay, step one: know your assets.
But then a strange thought struck me.
How do I even look right now?
I could feel the faint pull of muscle under my skin—this body was leaner and a little shorter than mine had been, but it wasn't weak.
Curious, I stood up from the bed and scanned the room. A household of this prestige should have an attached bathroom, right?
Spotting a door to the right of the bed, I moved towards it and opened it cautiously.
As expected: a bathroom. No, not just a bathroom—a space so luxurious it could pass for a spa.
And then I saw it.
The mirror.
…
"Oh." I blinked. "Wow. I'm… quite handsome."
Well, with an A+ rank in Charisma, I suppose that's the bare minimum.
Hair as dark as the night, falling in longish bangs that brushed my brows. Eyes the color of deep blood-soaked rubies. A sharp jawline, thick yet naturally curved brows, and a straight nose that completed the aristocratic look.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
At least something is going my way.
Looking at my reflection, a small, satisfied smile tugged at the corners of my lips.
Alright. Not bad at all.
Turning away from the mirror, I called up the status window again. My eyes lingered on a particular line.
"Elemental Affinity: Blood {Unique}"
Ah. That's right.
A unique element.
In this world, only a handful of people were born with one. It was an incredible stroke of luck—at least on paper.
But then again… this was the same affinity Mikael had in the novel. The problem wasn't the element. It was him.
That brat wasted it to an absurd degree.
Tch. What a shame.
In this world, people who awaken are typically categorized into two types:
Body-type Awakeners – those who enhance themselves physically, using techniques and close combat to channel their elements.
Mind-type Awakeners – those who manipulate their element externally, affecting their surroundings with versatility and scale.
And then there are the rarities—the hybrids.
Like me.
And, obviously, like the protagonist.
Being a hybrid meant I could develop both paths simultaneously. It sounded great on paper, but in practice? It made the road to power twice as hard. Twice the training, twice the refinement, twice the time required to master both aspects.
Still…
Wait a second.
Was Mikael a hybrid in the novel?
I frowned, racking my memory.
No. He wasn't… was he?
At least, I didn't think so. Maybe this was one of those changes you see in transmigration stories? Or maybe I just got lucky.
Who knows.
Either way, there's no point dwelling on it now.
What I needed was a plan.
There were so many things to do—so many unknowns to account for, variables I couldn't even begin to grasp yet.
This year before the Academy… it was going to be critical.
And to make matters worse—
The novel wasn't even close to being finished when I transmigrated.
I had no idea how it ended.
Not even a hint.
Ah, shit…
I rubbed the back of my neck with a grimace.
"That's not going to be remotely fun."