I knew this world.
'The Rise of the Aura King'.
I had read it on a flight to Singapore a few months ago. Power fantasy garbage about a mercenary named Dante Throne who goes from a gangster to a god, slaughtering anyone who looks at him wrong and collecting a harem of brain dead beauties.
And me?
Aryan Spencer.
I was the Volume One villain.
The "arrogant young master."
The memories of the book's plot superimposed themselves over my reality.
Aryan Spencer. The doomed CEO. The man who is honey trapped by his childhood friend, Seraphina Vance. The man who gets framed as a serial rapist by Dante Throne and the Nox family.
The man who invites his family to his engagement party, only to have them all paralyzed by poison and butchered like cattle while his 'fiancée' watches in silence.
My stomach churned.
I remembered the scene vividly. It was written with such edgy violence. The author had described Aryan's despair in detail… watching his mother's throat being slit, watching his father being disemboweled, all while Dante laughed and Seraphina stood there with a righteous look on her face, believing the lies.
I paced the room, my bare feet sinking into the carpet.
"I died over a cheating bitch on Earth," I ranted, my voice rising. "I died, lost everything and woke up here... just to be set up by another girlfriend, framed by a scumbag protagonist and slaughtered along with my new parents?"
I stopped and kicked the heavy armchair in the corner. It flew across the room and smashed into the wall, plaster raining down.
"Fuck that!" I roared. "Fuck this plot! Fuck Dante Throne!"
I turned back to the blue screen.
"Hey! System! Are you listening?"
Silence.
The interface just hovered there.
"Great. A dumb system. No AI companion to hold my hand."
I focused on the interface, navigating it with my mind as the instructions had explained.
[Villain System]
[Host: Aryan Spencer]
[Rank: Iron Rank, Initial Stage]
[Status: Doomed Villain]
[Main Function: Aura Extraction]
[Description: When the Host kills an Aura Warrior, the System extracts their Aura, purifies it of impurities and will and refines it into Raw Aura for the Host to absorb. Efficiency: 100%.]
[Secondary Function: System Shop]
[Description: Exchange Credits (Cr) for items, skills and resources. Inventory from Earth and Veltica available.]
[Inventory (0/50)]
[New Player Gift Pack Available. Open?]
I stared at the description of the Main Function.
Plunder.
If I wanted to get stronger, I had to kill.
A grim smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. "If the world wants me to be a villain, I'll be the worst nightmare they've ever seen."
I looked at the Gift Pack icon. It was pulsing with a soft gold light.
"Open it."
[Opening Gift Pack...]
[Item Received: Major Rank Improvement Card (x1)]
[Description: Instantly elevates the Host's cultivation by one Major Rank. Stabilizes the foundation and removes all bottlenecks.]
[Item Received: Passive Skill - Villain's Aura]
[Description: As a Villain, you are destined to be suppressed by the Protagonist's 'Halo'. This Aura negates the intelligence dampening effects of the Protagonist's presence. It allows you to see through 'Plot Armor' events and resist 'Fate'. Effect: Intimidation +50%. Charm (Dark) +50%.]
"One major rank..."
I was currently Iron Rank, Initial Stage.
The next rank was Silver.
In Clear Water City, Silver Rank was the peak of active combat power. The Gold Ranks were the "Hidden Guardians," the nukes that only moved when the family was threatened. The Silvers were the captains, the monsters who ran the streets.
Dante Throne... in the beginning of the book, he returns to the city at Silver Rank, Initial Stage.
That was his massive advantage. He bullied the Iron Rank bodyguards and young masters because he was simply on a different level of existence.
If I used this card...
"System, use the Major Rank Improvement Card."
[Warning: Major Rank advancement involves significant physiological reconstruction. Pain levels will be high. Proceed?]
"Do it," I snarled. "Pain is better than dying."
[activating...]
"GAAAAHHHHH!"
I collapsed to the floor, curling into a fetal position as every bone in my body felt like it was being pulverized.
The Aura inside me, which had felt like a pressurized gas, suddenly ignited. It screamed through my veins, tearing through the "stiff" limitations of the Iron Rank.
I could feel my marrow shifting, becoming denser. My skin felt like it was being dipped in acid as it hardened, the cellular structure rearranging itself to withstand forces that would tear a tank apart.
The pain was blinding. It was worse than the memories. It was worse than the crash. It felt like I was being unmade and forged anew on an anvil.
I clawed at the carpet, ripping shreds of expensive wool from the weave. I bit my lip so hard I tasted copper.
Endure it, I told myself. Endure it or die.
The process lasted for what felt like an eternity, though it was probably only a few minutes.
Then, the heat vanished into a sensation of fluid power.
I lay on the floor, panting, my silk pajamas soaked in sweat and a tar like substance… impurities expelled from my body.
I clenched my hand.
The air popped.
I squeezed the empty air and the pressure created a visible sonic pop.
I sat up. The world looked... slow. I could see the dust motes dancing in the light of the lamp. I could hear the heartbeat of a servant walking two floors down.
I stood up. I felt weightless.
I focused on my arm. A silver shimmer coated my skin.
Silver Rank, Initial Stage.
Liquid Aura.
I could extend this aura. I could coat a blade. I could cut through a car engine block like it was made of cheese.
I walked back to the mirror, ignoring the filth on my skin.
There was a darkness in my eyes now, a cold glint that hadn't been there before. It was the look of a man who knew the script and was ready to burn the theater down.
"System, equip Villain's Aura."
[Villain's Aura: Active.]
A mental fog I hadn't even realized was there suddenly lifted.
I thought about Seraphina Vance.
In the memories of the 'original' Aryan, she was an angel. His childhood friend. The love of his life. He would do anything for her.
Now?
With the Villain's Aura clearing the 'Simp Filter,' I saw the truth.
She was a narcissist. An arrogant woman who enjoyed the attention Aryan gave her but looked down on him because he was 'safe' and 'boring.' She was exactly like Micah.
No. She was worse.
Micah was just a cheater. Seraphina was a murderer. She was going to watch my parents die and justify it with self righteous delusion.
"Never again," I whispered.
In my last life, I was a 'good guy.'
My father on Earth used to tell me, "Aryan, be gentle. Think before you act. Kindness is a strength. Don't be like the ruthless sharks."
I listened to him. I was a nice boss. I was a supportive boyfriend. I was a forgiving friend.
And what did it get me?
Betrayal.
Heartbreak.
Death.
The philosophy of 'kindness' was a lie told by the sheep to keep the wolves from eating them. But the wolves didn't care. The wolves ate the sheep anyway.
Dante Throne was a wolf. The Nox Family were wolves.
"Sorry, Dad," I said to the memory of my Earth father. "Your advice doesn't work here. In this world, the nice guys don't finish last. They finish dead."
I looked at my reflection… the reflection of a villain.
Deep down, I had always been ruthless. I drowned it in charity and smiles because I wanted to be the man my parents wanted me to be.
But that man died in a Lamborghini on the EDSA.
The man standing here was The Villain.
"Dante Throne," I said, a cruel smile spreading across my face, revealing teeth that seemed too white. "You want to slaughter my family for your 'justice'?"
I raised my hand, silver aura flickering like a phantom flame around my fingers.