The young man's eyes fluttered open.
There he was, on the ground, his face pressed against the hard surface.
'What the..?'
He sat upright.
Touch.
His palm caressed his face for a while.
No words left his mouth, but the confusion on his face was visible.
Looking left and right, he noticed the tall and dry grass around him, the red sun that shone from the sky, and finally the weird outfit he had on.
It was a black outfit that left room for his back and belly.
'No doubt about it, I got transmigrated!!!'
The young man sat down on the ground, his arms folded.
'Chill, let me think this through. I was playing at the park, and then I tried to help the kid that was there. She got scared and called me a pred, and then right after—'
Nausea played on his face.
'I was beaten to death.'
The man gripped the side of his head, scratching his hair.
'Why on earth would anyone try to beat an innocent man like me? I did die, though, so now that I'm alive, I wonder where I am.'
[Congratulations on your successful reincarnation.]
'A system.'
[Correct.]
[Welcome to your new world.]
[You are currently the leader of the demon nation, Lord Vani Daliona.]
'Vani Daliona? What the hell kind of name is that?'
Vani sighed.
With little effort, he stood to his feet.
[Would you like to link memories of the previous owner?]
Vani placed one hand on his waist. 'I see, so should I take that as the owner of this body also died? Quite the convenience. Sure, link the memories or whatever.'
[Memories are being linked.]
[Link complete.]
Suddenly, Vani's eyes widened in shock.
He felt hundreds of experiences and memories flooding into his brain in a matter of a few seconds.
But it wasn't just that.
'AHHH! What the actual hell? The owner of this body is a total scum!!!'
Vani yelled in his mind, eyes bulging with veins.
True, every single memory the demon king Vani was in was anything but good.
For starters, he once slaughtered a man and took his woman just for the sake of it.
There was also a time when he caused a war with another nation because he wanted to steal their wealth and was too lazy to make his own.
Gripping his head even tighter, Vani looked to the ground, horror etched on his face.
'Not a single person likes this guy, and you expect me to live in his body? Oi! I want another reincarnation this instant.'
[That is impossible.]
'A second reincarnation.'
[That is impossible.]
'A pre-reincarnation?'
[Now you're just making things up.]
'Shut up, ahhh! I can't with this! I could have been reincarnated as anything, but it had to be a failed demon king!!!'
"Lord Vani, there you are."
A voice unexpectedly echoed beside him.
Vani turned to check.
Standing there, right on top of a boulder, was a woman dressed in a rather fashionable outfit.
She wore a deep green hat on her head, her silver hair falling behind her.
Her outfit itself was a neat shirt with a belt around her waist and a green cape to bring out its prestige.
If Vani could describe her, it would be elegant.
The woman leaped down from the rock and landed right in front of him.
"I have been looking everywhere for you. I thought you finally died. Sorry, I meant I thought you got into an accident."
Vani didn't say anything.
Suddenly—
"Hold on just a second, I know you! You're that lady from that web novel! Alexi, Arec? Athena?!"
"Alice."
"Yes, Alice, wow, you damn well look prettier than the novel's detail," Vani uttered out loud, his hand under his jaw.
Alice raised her brow at his comment.
"Web novel? What are you talking about?"
'Ack, I forgot!'
Vani quickly played it off.
He deepened his voice, one hand on his waist.
"Never mind, I was just blabbing; it's nothing to concern yourself with."
"Right." Alice looked agitated. "We should head back to the castle; it's getting late."
'Damn, I can tell even she doesn't like me. Ah, this is going to be such a pain in the ass.'
…
That very night, Vani and Alice made it to the castle, situated right in the center of the nation of Drakina.
Vani was seated on his bed, dressed in his nightclothes.
Alice was right in front of him, still in her working outfit.
She began.
"You don't remember how you ended up on the floor?"
Vani replied,
"That is not what I said. What I said was, I certainly don't remember what is needed to be remembered other than the fact I fell on the ground during a walk. So, I remember only the needed fact."
[Just say the truth that you were drunk and passed out on the ground.]
'Shut up!'
Alice sighed.
"If you say so. Please take good care of yourself; I'll be heading to bed now."
"S-sure."
With that, Vani watched as Alice exited the room.
As soon as she was gone, he let out a loud sigh and then rested his back on the bed.
'Crazy, to think this is where I reincarnated of all places. The novel, Demon King of Vanity.'
He remembered.
Back in his world, the novel was popular amongst the people of Korea. Though he never read it, his roommate would often tell him about the characters that were there.
One of whom was Alice Wongard, the private secretary and bodyguard for the Demon King, Vani Daliona.
The story mainly focused on the nation of Drakina, a small nation containing three main demon races: the beast men, the vampires, and also the snake people.
Other than that, Vani knew very little about the world.
That said,
'I don't think it was supposed to be like this.'
He turned his eyes toward the walls of his room.
They looked to be made out of stone blocks; as such, they were only there to provide walls and nothing else. There were no window covers whatsoever.
Adding to that, from the memories he had from the previous owner of Vani's body, he came to the conclusion of one solid fact:
'This is definitely the bronze Age.'