The "Ring of the Usurper" throbbed on my finger, a cold, rhythmic pulse that felt like a second heartbeat. It was a parasitic sensation, but a welcome one. Every time the notification popped up in the corner of my vision—showing me the "stolen" rewards from Han-Seol's heroic deeds—I felt a grim satisfaction that no Holy Sword could ever provide.
I walked out of the Tomb of the Forsaken, the heavy scent of ozone and ancient dust clinging to my hoodie. The world outside had changed in just a few hours. The "Mana Gate" in Sector 7 hadn't just opened; it had exhaled. The sky over the city was now a bruised purple, swirling with the toxic energy of the Rift.
"The Hero will save us!" a woman screamed in the streets, clutching a prayer bead. "Han-Seol is on his way!" a news reporter shouted into a drone camera.
I stepped into a sleek, black limousine that was waiting at the edge of the forbidden zone. I didn't own this car—at least, not until three minutes ago when I "failed" to negotiate a lease with the driver.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Extortion/Contract Negotiation.] [Result: FAILURE. (Host offered a literal rock as payment.)] [Refund Issued: 100x 'Ownership Authority'!] [The 'Black Sky Transport Company' is now your personal property.]
"Where to, Chairman?" the driver asked, his voice shaking. He didn't know why he was obeying a kid who looked like a runaway, but the System's "Ownership Authority" was absolute.
"The Azure Training Center," I said, leaning back into the leather seats. "I have some real estate to acquire."
The Azure Training Center: The Hero's Sanctuary
The Azure Center was the most prestigious training facility in the world. It was built over a natural Mana Well, a place where the air was so thick with energy that even a commoner could feel their strength growing just by standing in the lobby.
In my past life, this was my home. The Church had bought it for me so I could train in seclusion. It was here that I mastered the 'Light-Breaker' technique. It was here that I met the teammates who would eventually put a blade in my back.
I walked into the lobby, the automatic glass doors sliding open with a hiss. The place was buzzing. Reporters, priests, and high-ranking government officials were everywhere, preparing for the Hero's arrival.
"Excuse me, kid, you're in the wrong place," a security guard said, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder. "This entire facility is being cordoned off for the Savior. VIPs only."
I looked at the guard. He was a Rank-C Awakener, muscle-bound and arrogant.
"I'm here to buy the building," I said.
The guard laughed, a loud, mocking sound that drew the attention of the nearby reporters. "Buy the building? Kid, this facility is worth four billion credits. It's owned by the International Awakener Alliance. Even if you sold your soul to the Devil, you couldn't afford a locker here."
"I'm willing to fail at a bid," I replied, a small, dark smile playing on my lips.
I pulled out my phone and accessed the global real estate exchange. The Azure Center was listed as "Non-Transferable." It was legally impossible to buy it.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Illegal Acquisition of Public Assets.] [Current Funds: 1,000,000 Gold (Converted to 10 Billion Credits).] [Offer: 1 Credit.] [Result: ABSOLUTE FAILURE. (The Alliance laughed at the offer. The transaction was blocked by 14 different government firewalls.)] [Calculating Refund...]
I felt the Ring of the Usurper heat up. The air in the lobby began to hum. On the giant digital stock tickers above the reception desk, the numbers began to glitch. The logo of the International Awakener Alliance flickered, distorted, and was replaced by a simple, black icon of a hooded figure.
[Refund Issued: 100x 'Market Dominance'!] [System Glitch: Financial Laws have been rewritten.] [The Azure Training Center has been 'Refunded' to the Host.] [Current Status: Sole Owner and Landlord.]
Suddenly, the guard's tablet chimed. His eyes went wide as he read the notification. His face turned ashen, and he pulled his hand off my shoulder as if I were made of white-hot iron.
"What... what is this?" the guard stammered. "The deed... it just changed. The Alliance just lost all shares. Who the hell are you?"
"The Landlord," I said, walking past him toward the elevators. "And tell the Hero when he arrives: the first month's rent is due in advance. No exceptions."
The Arrival of the "Light"
Ten minutes later, the roar of a helicopter engines filled the air outside. The crowd erupted in cheers that were loud enough to shake the windows of my new penthouse office.
He was here.
I watched through the floor-to-ceiling glass as the "Hero" Han-Seol stepped onto the helipad. He looked radiant. His silver-and-white armor caught the purple light of the sky, making him look like a god descending to earth. Beside him was the Princess Elara—the woman who had kissed me the night before she killed me.
They walked into the lobby with the confidence of people who owned the world. They expected to be greeted by the Alliance Directors. Instead, they were greeted by me, standing at the top of the grand staircase, holding a clipboard.
"Welcome to the Azure Center," I called out, my voice echoing through the silent hall.
The Hero stopped. He looked up, his brow furrowing. He could feel it—the massive Mana pool I had built, the 'Ancient Sovereign's Presence' that I wasn't even trying to hide anymore.
"Who are you?" Han-Seol asked, his hand instinctively moving toward the hilt of Excalibur. "This facility was supposed to be prepared for my arrival."
"It is prepared," I said, walking down the stairs one slow step at a time. "But there's been a change in management. The Alliance doesn't own this dirt anymore. I do."
Princess Elara stepped forward, her eyes narrowing. She was beautiful, but to me, she looked like a corpse. "Don't be ridiculous. This is a matter of global security. This facility belongs to the Hero."
"The Hero can use it," I said, reaching the bottom of the stairs and standing face-to-face with my past self. I was slightly shorter than him in this body, but the shadow I cast was twice as long. "But the rent is ten million credits a day. Plus a 100% tax on any monster loot you find during your training."
Han-Seol laughed, but there was no mirth in it. He felt the 'Traitor's Silence' on my hip. The SSS-Rank sword was reacting to his SSS-Rank Excalibur. The air between us began to crackle with static.
"You're a villain," Han-Seol said, his voice dropping to a low, heroic tone. "I can smell the corruption on you. You've taken over this place through illegal means."
"I'm a businessman, 'Hero,'" I replied. "And I'm currently failing at being intimidated by you."
[Ding! Villainous Act: Provoking the Protagonist.] [Result: FAILURE. (The Hero is not intimidated; he is enraged.)] [Calculating Refund...]
Han-Seol's hand tightened on the hilt of Excalibur. The legendary blade hummed, sensing the presence of its opposite. The "Absolute Charisma" passive he possessed began to radiate from him in waves of golden light, an invisible force designed to make everyone in the room instinctively love him and loathe me.
"People of this city!" Han-Seol's voice boomed, amplified by the Holy System. "Look at this man! While the world burns, while the Gates open, he seeks to profit from our struggle! He is a parasite on the soul of humanity!"
The reporters and bystanders blinked, their eyes glazing over as the Hero's aura washed over them. In my past life, this was my greatest weapon. I could turn a lynch mob into a choir with a single sentence.
I felt the pressure of his Charisma slamming into my mind, trying to force me to my knees in shame.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Psychological Warfare.] [Result: ABSOLUTE FAILURE. (The Hero's charisma is overwhelming your reputation.)] [Calculating Refund...]
I felt a cold shiver run down my spine, but it wasn't fear—it was the System rewriting the social fabric of the room.
[Refund Issued: 100x 'Infamy Conversion'!] [New Passive: 'The Devil's Advocate'. The more the Hero hates you, the more the masses fear and respect you.]
The golden light of Han-Seol's charisma hit the crowd, but instead of inspiring them, it curdled. The people didn't look at me with disgust; they looked at me with a terrifying, primal awe. To them, I didn't look like a thug anymore. I looked like an apex predator that even the "God of Light" couldn't tame.
"He's right," a reporter whispered, her camera shaking. "He... he owns the facility. If the Hero can't even handle a landlord, how can he handle the Demon King?"
"Shut up!" Princess Elara hissed, her face contorting. She turned to me, her hand glowing with fire magic. "You've used some foul illusion to trick them. Guards! Remove this trash from the building!"
The security guards, who had been frozen in indecision, took a step toward me.
"I wouldn't do that," I said, leaning against the marble pillar. "I'm about to fail at a peaceful resolution."
[Ding! Villainous Act: Resisting Law Enforcement.] [Result: FAILURE. (You are outnumbered 20 to 1.)] [Refund Issued: 100x 'Intimidation Aura'!]
As the guards drew their batons, a wave of pure, crushing gravity erupted from my feet. It wasn't magic; it was the weight of 1,200 points of refunded Agility and Strength pressing against the very atoms of the air.
CRACK.
The floor tiles beneath the guards shattered. All twenty of them were slammed face-first into the marble as if a giant's hand had swatted them down. They couldn't even scream; the air had been squeezed out of their lungs.
Han-Seol's eyes went wide. He drew Excalibur. The blade of pure light illuminated the lobby, momentarily blinding the cameras. "That's enough! I don't know where you got this power, but it ends here!"
He lunged.
He was fast—faster than any human I had ever fought in this life. Excalibur trailed a wake of holy fire that threatened to melt the very pillars of the lobby. He aimed for my shoulder, intending to disarm me and show "mercy" to the crowd.
I didn't move. I didn't even draw my sword. I "tried" to parry his SSS-Rank Holy Blade with my bare hand.
[Ding! Villainous Act: Arrogant Combat.] [Result: CRITICAL FAILURE. (Flesh cannot block a Holy Blade.)] [Calculating Refund...] [Refund Issued: 100x 'Weapon Nullification'!]
Excalibur's edge met my palm.
There was no blood. There was no pain. Instead, at the moment of contact, the holy fire died. The brilliant gold of the sword turned a dull, leaden gray. The legendary weapon of the Hero felt like a piece of cold, dead iron in Han-Seol's hand.
"What?" Han-Seol gasped, his momentum stopping dead. "My blade... the light is gone!"
"It's not gone," I whispered, leaning in so only he could hear. "It's just realized who its real master is."
I grabbed the dull blade and twisted. With my 100x refunded Strength, the Holy Sword of humanity let out a metallic scream as I forced the Hero to his knees.
[Warning: The Holy System is attempting to intervene!] [Ring of the Usurper: Intervention Blocked.] [Refunding Divine Wrath...]
A bolt of lightning intended for me by the "Gods" above was sucked into my ring, processed, and shot back out into the lobby floor. The resulting explosion sent the reporters flying and shattered every window in the Azure Center.
I stood over the kneeling Hero, the dust settling around us like gray snow.
"You're not a Hero yet, Han-Seol," I said, my voice echoing in the wreckage. "You're just a kid with a shiny toy. And as of right now, you're trespassing on my property."
I looked over at Princess Elara, who was cowering behind a fallen pillar. I remembered the way she had looked at me as I died in my past life—with boredom. Now, her eyes were wide with a terror so deep she couldn't even speak.
"The rent just went up," I said, turning my back on them and walking toward the private elevator. "Ten million was the friend price. Now, it's fifty million a day. And Han-Seol? If you want your sword's light back... you'll have to beg me for it."
[Ding! Quest: 'Humiliate the Chosen One'—COMPLETED.] [Reward: 50,000 EXP.] [Refund Issued: 100x 'Experience Gain'!] [Level Up! Level 1 -> Level 45!]
I stepped into the elevator. As the doors closed, I saw Seraphina—the Saintess from the auction—standing in the back of the crowd. She wasn't terrified like the others. She was watching me with a look of intense, suspicious curiosity.
She knew. She knew I wasn't just a villain.
The elevator rose toward the penthouse. I felt my power stabilizing, the Level 45 boost flowing through my veins like liquid fire. Tomorrow, the first Great Gate would open in the center of the city.
The Hero would be expected to close it. But since he was currently "powerless," the world would have to turn to someone else.
I looked at my reflection in the elevator's polished steel. Drake Vance was gone. Han-Seol was a memory.
I was the Glitch in the System. And I was just getting started.