Well, even I don't really understand.
As I stared at myself in front of a mirror, in the middle of a luxurious and unfamiliar room—with black hair and red pupils—I could see my jaw drop.
In a grim game, there was one character who was utterly evil despite his short lifespan.
His name was Farley Vicius. A minor villain whose name wasn't even worth mentioning. Of course, his family was a different matter altogether.
Born into a family full of psychopaths, Farley naturally inherited the same twisted soul as his father and mother. That made Farley a truly evil figure.
I let out a long sigh.
It's been two weeks since I got trapped in this body. During that time, I've tried to adapt and learn about my surroundings.
At first, I had trouble sleeping at night. At one point, I felt exhausted—mentally drained.
It wasn't something I chose.
This world is a game that ultimately leads to a very clear bad ending.
A solo game designed with 99% difficulty and only a 1% chance to reach the true ending.
That's because the routes branch endlessly. So many variables that I'm sure I won't be able to control the flow.
Every choice always leads to dozens of others. The further I go, the more complex the path becomes. In the end, all I can do is hope to choose the one path that leads to the true ending.
"In that choice, there is only one path that will lead me to the true ending."
I sighed again. Lately, it's become a habit.
In a world that's about to end, that's only natural, right?
Moreover, I'm not even sure I'll survive in the future. Not only because I'm in someone else's body now, but I also have to act the part so I don't seem suspicious.
I don't know what would happen if I got caught by Farley's parents. But one thing's for sure—it would be very, very bad.
Oh god…
I'm truly confused about what I should do.
Of course, that's what I thought in the beginning. Now, after adapting to this world, I've thought about many things.
I have to make sure I survive—and to do that, I need to prevent this world from falling apart first.
There might be many hardships, but I'd rather try and struggle than give up right away.
After all, this is my second chance.
I won't stay still like I did in my previous life.
***
After these two weeks, I've learned a lot about my surroundings. Now, I'm at the academy, as a first-year student who enrolled about two months ago.
In the game's setting, it also starts with the academy as the foundation, and a large portion of the entire storyline revolves around it.
Just like most classic hero stories. The game begins with the main character whose family was cruelly destroyed by monsters, and as the sole survivor seeking revenge, he trains alone in the slums with a wooden sword.
The Headmaster of Valheil Academy finds him as a talented individual and brings him to the academy with a special invitation.
As a fallen noble, the protagonist reunites with his childhood friend at the academy, and with his brilliant talent, he begins to stand out and form bonds with comrades.
From there, the prologue ends, and the story enters branching routes. There are so many routes that even veteran players would struggle to keep track of them all.
No player has ever completed the game. The best anyone has done is reaching an open ending.
An ending where everything is left hanging by the game's developers.
Unfortunately, I'm not one of those players.
I'm not a gaming genius. So, I'm not even sure how many routes I've explored out of all the possible paths.
That's what I always think about.
If I want to guide this world to the correct route, I have to know every route that exists. But I don't know anything.
In the end, I came to one conclusion.
"I don't care about the storyline. I'll just walk the path that looks the best."
From the start, I didn't know much. So why bother trying to preserve the original plot?
There's a chance I might get caught by Farley's family, but that probably won't happen soon since I'm at the academy. And Farley's family are nobles from a rather remote region.
I stared at the large door in front of me. Two knights stood guard at the entrance.
I pulled out my student ID from Valheil Academy. After checking it, the knight returned it to me.
"Please enter, Student Farley."
I nodded and then pushed open the large door.
The scent of wood and books immediately hit me. It was a smell that had become my only source of comfort in this world.
In this world, I'm alone. I often ask myself what purpose I have here, and what I'm supposed to do.
Fortunately, I found it—a large academy library filled with books. Just having this place helped me feel at ease during my first few days in this world.
In a good mood, I picked out a few books on magic and took a seat at a corner table.
On mornings like this, especially on weekends, the library is very quiet since most students spend their time enjoying themselves. Only a few would train or study.
'Maybe our protagonist is training right now.'
I smiled as I flipped through the pages of the book before me. Farley had no talent in magic, so the same applied to me.
His combat ability was also weak. Because of that, even though he was cruel, he was easily taken down by the protagonist's group.
A few days ago, I thought about how I could make up for that weakness. Then I found it—a solution I could use.
A magic scroll.
Unlike magic that relies on talent and mana control, scrolls are simpler.
All I have to do is practice inscribing magic runes onto scrolls. If the inscription is correct, it turns into a magic scroll.
A magic scroll doesn't activate right away once completed. To trigger the magic, I need to pour my mana into it.
For example, yesterday I tried making one. I inscribed a rune for a small-scale fire spell. Then, when I poured my magic energy into it, a tiny flame appeared at my fingertip, and I could control it however I wanted.
But since it was small in scale and I only poured a little mana, the flame eventually fizzled out.
It was a successful experiment.
Today is the weekend, and I've decided to spend my time at the library studying more magic runes.
There are so many kinds of runes—from the ones based on the four elements to unique and rare magic runes.
To make up for my magical shortcomings, learning this is the only solution for me.
Without realizing it, I became completely absorbed in the old books. Studying them was fun, but my growling stomach urged me to stop.
From the corner where I sat, sunlight filtered through the window, making me aware of the time.
I let out a deep breath.
"It's already noon… I really didn't notice."
I neatly stacked the books I had read, then stretched my body a bit as it felt sore from sitting for hours.
As I returned the books, I noticed a few other students in the library.
Though not many.
I ignored them and exited the library. Not because I was arrogant—it's just that Farley didn't interact much with others before I possessed him.
It was said that he spent most of his time being lazy. So I felt lucky that Farley hadn't caused any problems before I took over.
After all, we're still in the prologue. It's not yet time for Farley to start trouble with the protagonist.
In the story, Farley had a sadistic personality—he liked playing with women and treated them cruelly.
One day, Farley met one of the protagonist's friends. Enchanted by her, he approached and did many things to make her submit.
But his plans were foiled by the protagonist, which enraged Farley. That was the first conflict the protagonist would face.
Of course, I have no intention of following Farley's actions just to keep the original plot.
Depending on which route the protagonist chooses later, I'll decide my next move.
"Let's hope it's not the worst one."
I sighed deeply and stepped into the cafeteria. As usual, it was crowded during lunch, packed with students from first to third year.
I lined up, trying to shut out the noisy chatter around me. I really wished I could eat peacefully like I could in the academy library.
But unfortunately, that wasn't possible.
I picked my meal—since it's free, of course I chose whatever looked the most delicious, and took two portions.
A man needs to eat well before continuing his activities.
So, forget the students' stares and let's find a place to sit.
But unfortunately, almost all the seats were already taken by students. I searched around, only to let out a sigh.
That's when I suddenly saw one empty seat.
"Oh!"
My eyes lit up as I rushed over, but I froze and stopped in my tracks when I saw that the main protagonist, Leon Albrecht, was sitting at that table.
Our eyes met.
He had a solid build and a well-shaped figure. His face was handsome, with black hair and gentle blue eyes.
I froze, caught in the air.
Our gazes locked. Suddenly, the air around me felt heavier, like my body refused to move any closer.
At this point…
It would be weird to turn around and leave.
"May I sit in the empty seat…?"
I asked with a forced smile.