A reddish glow from the morning sun settled over the city of San Paulette. The streets were finding their rhythm: vendors waking, steam slowly warming the atmosphere, the mechanical buzz of factories humming as fumes drifted over the industrial parts of the city. And somewhere within the familiar atmosphere the people had come to love was Ezra, now Leomaris Runerth.

His reflection stared back at him from the blurred, near-dirty window glass. Sharp and refined features, dreamy golden eyes, and slightly long, silky golden hair tied back in a ponytail with a red band. His clothes were comfortable, the richest velvet he had ever had the pleasure of wearing.

It was a heavy contrast to the dark hair and white gown he had lived in for almost six years. More importantly, he could move, jump about, and stretch his arms without any fear of coughing out his lungs.

"...Uh. I’m fucked." the words left him slowly. Painfully so.

He paid careful attention to everything around him... the street below gradually filling up and his faint reflection in the window, quietly hoping what he was seeing wasn’t real.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"Why him? It could have been anyone else... why?"

Out of every character he could have transmigrated into, it had to be one of the villains.

A villain who’d had a heavy hand in the protagonist’s parents’ death, yet died before the main character ever got the chance for revenge.

He clenched his teeth in irritation, frustration bleeding through clear as day.

His bottled-up emotions kept him from standing still. He moved from the window, paced the sparse room for a moment, and, finding only the bed available to rest on, quickly sat down.

"Disgusting... he died in a brothel, didn’t he? A cheap one at that. If I remember correctly, that’s always been his lifestyle," he shook his head in disbelief.

"The words the author used to describe him were: insufferable, arrogant, cowardly, naive, and proud. Oh, and he had a few nicknames on the streets too:

"Drug queen...

"The tyrant of naïveté...

"Scapegoat of the Runerth family...

"Everlasting Black Dragon" ( the only name he acknowledged.)

So on and so forth.

Inhale... Exhale...

Despite himself, he made the effort to calm down. He knew the original Leomaris deserved everything he’d gotten, and more besides.

"Haaa..."

Now, as though by some twisted fate, he had become the sort of villain that not even his own subordinates could bring themselves to respect.

That said, having read over five hundred Chapters of Arcane Mercenary, he understood to some extent why this body suited him best.

He hadn’t been the worst person ever to live the way the original Leomaris was, but his own life had been a waste all the same.

Six of his twenty-five years had been swallowed up by hospital life, a thoroughly miserable stretch, until a year ago, when he came across the web novel Arcane Mercenary.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He made the full 556-Chapter journey with the main character, Lucius Cutler, and enjoyed every bit of it. A world where machines and magic came together, and a protagonist who dedicated himself to the downfall of all those who had caused him pain.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

This was his paradise, every bit of it. The violence, the happiness, the sacrifices, the love, the miracles, the regrets. Worth every page, right up until the author delivered a rushed ending in the middle of the Epic Arc. A single note: "everyone dies, including Lucius." The novel was dropped immediately after.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The pain of that rushed ending was surreal. It went beyond anything stage four cancer had ever made him feel.

It wasn’t about everything coming to an end. The novel had been his only means of escape, and the way it ended left a gap in his heart that made him feel the crushing weight of his predicament all over again.

Sleep hadn’t come easily that night, but when it finally did and he woke again, he found himself in the body of a villain, and not just any villain.

One so inconsequential to the story that his death hadn’t been given so much as a scene.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He drew a deep breath and released it slowly, as though that alone might be enough to clear his head.

"...Tch... this can’t be it. This is supposed to be a second life, not another death row."

He appreciated this life. He was supposed to be dead. Even if that night hadn’t finished him, death would have come regardless.

As Leomaris, though, if he didn’t die choking on drugs, the main character would eventually track him down and kill him. On top of that, he was weak... weak enough that any of his lesser enemies might finish him off before he met Lucius at military academy.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"No. I can’t let that happen. I won’t die pathetically again without living my life to its full potential. I need an anchor, something to hold on to, even if it’s the last thing I do. Leomaris runs the Runerth family’s gambling business, doesn’t he? He has servants, right? I can use those finances to secure the resources I need... oh, wait. He’s broke too?"

It was plain the original Leomaris had loved his fun and had spent all his money chasing it. He had even died in a cheap brothel, pathetically. The emotions left behind told him the man had gone in the middle of it all, and the stench of drugs in his throat told him everything else.

Knock... knock.

A sudden knock at the door grabbed his attention at once. The urgency of it sent a flicker of panic through him. He skimmed through his thoughts and was certain he wasn’t expecting a soul.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"Why am I dealing with all this freaky stuff on my first day?" he grimaced.

His heart hammered hard when the door was forced open, and the moment the person peered through, chills shot down his spine.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Grey hair, deep wrinkles, a thick grey mustache, and dark eyes that bored into his soul as if ripping it clean apart. That was Sebastian, Leomaris’s mother’s personal butler.

’Wait... he hates my guts, and he never leaves Mother’s side unless it’s urgent. So what’s he doing here?’ He thought.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed, just slightly. But those eyes had always told their own stories.

Sebastian bowed gently.

"Forgive my arrogance, young master, but I’m afraid it is necessary. Lady Rosemary requests your presence at once."

"Huh? Me?"

"Yes, young master..."

Finally, a long-awaited smile found his lips. It was the first thing worth smiling at since he had come into this world. The sudden call had made him uneasy, he would admit that, but the Runerths were filthy rich. If he was going to grow stronger, their wealth was exactly what he needed.

Either way, Leomaris being alive had changed things dramatically. It meant the Imperial Military Academy was now in play for Leomaris, something that never happened in the novel. And strength, above all, was of the utmost importance.

Sebastian stared at the smile and sighed. Disappointed.

"Shall we leave now, young master? The carriage is waiting."