Lucien Ashborne was supposed to be a nobody — an early-game villain who existed only to be crushed by the protagonist. After provoking the wrong person, he vanished from the story without even a dramatic death scene.

When a player named James dies and wakes up in Lucien’s body, he inherits every bit of the villain’s broken reputation and zero of his privileges. Bullied, scorned, and abandoned by his own noble family, Lucien now stands at the bottom of the academy hierarchy.

To make matters worse, the world he knew as a game has no guaranteed happy ending… and the protagonist’s party treats him like a criminal.

But James isn’t the Lucien they think he is.

With fragments of meta-knowledge, a half-broken system that barely works, and a determination to avoid becoming cannon fodder, he chooses a different path.

He doesn’t seek glory.
He just refuses to disappear.

This is the story of a former villain trying to rewrite his role — not as a hero, but as someone who survives on his own terms.

I went upstairs to my room, gently closed the door behind me, and sank into the chair.


Now that the diner was running… it was time to optimize me.


One area had become painfully clear during the dungeon trial — my aim was good, but not good enough when the target's speed spiked. Those wolves had turned and dodged too easily. I couldn't afford off-mark shots when stakes got higher.


[Marksmanship Lv.6 → Lv. 7 (1600 Points spent)]


A gentle electric tingle ran down my arms — my nerves felt sharper, my visual calibration cleaner, steadier. Good.


I remembered those moments where their claws grazed me. Too close for comfort.


[Movement Arts Lv. 5 → Lv. 6 (800 Points spent)]


My legs felt lighter, like the air had less drag around me.


Chapter 42 - Upgrade