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.

The sun rose over the Imperial Academy, but the warmth didn't reach the Grand Arena.


The massive stone colosseum was packed to the brim. Not just with first-year students, but second-years, third-years, and even scouts from the Knight Orders and Magic Towers. The Mid-Semester Practical was the first real chance to spot future talent.


I stood in the waiting tunnel with the rest of Class 1-A.


Kael stood near the front. He wasn't talking to anyone. He wasn't doing his usual "Let's do our best, everyone!" routine. He was staring at the ground, his arms crossed, a dark aura practically radiating off him.


Bordon tried to pat his shoulder. Kael flinched away, his eyes snapping up like a wild animal. Bordon retreated, looking hurt.


"He's on edge," Ariana whispered beside me. She was clutching her pouch of horrors, her knuckles white.


Chapter 96 - Practical Assessment [1]