Eric couldn't stop staring at himself in the mirror.
He tilted his head left, then right, running his fingers through his waist-length black hair and tracing his perfectly sculpted jawline.
"One thing's certain…" he muttered, a grin tugging at his lips. "I'm not Eric Lane anymore."
The thought sent a thrill down his spine.
Maybe the gods had finally decided to throw him a bone.
Maybe all his years of suffering — his heart condition, loneliness, disillusionment with the world had been leading up to this.
If so? It was totally worth it.
He chuckled lowly.
Any other novel protagonist would be panicking right now — screaming, denying reality, or crying about "wanting to go home."
He'd read countless stories like that, and every time he had the same question:
"Who the hell wants to go back?"
Why would anyone cling to their old, boring lives when they got dropped into a fantasy world?
As long as it wasn't one of those nightmare hellscapes full of eldritch monsters, this was the ultimate dream come true.
Go back to 2030?
Go back to overpriced food, economic collapse, and "innocent" girls who turned out to be professional liars with three sugar daddies and a linktree in their bios?
No thank you.
Eric scoffed.
'If reincarnation is on the table, buddy, you stay. That's a one-way ticket to happiness.'
As long as you weren't an Orphan or commoner…
This world — this new life was his now.
He'd live it to the fullest, no regrets.
And then it hit him.
A sharp pulse in his skull, like a hammer strike.
He staggered, clutching his head as an onslaught of memories flooded his mind.
Images, sensations, an entire lifetime compressed into seconds: lavish banquets in opulent halls, brutal training in sprawling courtyards, everything came rushing down.
It lasted minutes, but it felt eternal.
When it finally subsided, Eric or rather Lucius let out a shaky breath and sat heavily on the bed.
Then, slowly… he smiled.
A low chuckle escaped him.
Then another.
And then he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Mwahahahaha! Hahahahahahaha!"
He threw his head back, laughing like a villain in a Saturday morning cartoon.
"Oh, this is magnificent!"
Fucking magnificent.
Not only had he reincarnated into a fantasy world, but it was the fantasy world — [To Be The Extra].
His favorite story of all time.
This wasn't just like watching the anime from home; this was better.
He was inside it.
And even better? He wasn't some random nobody.
He was in the body of Lucius von Hohenberg.
A minor villain, sure. But not just any minor villain.
The fandom's infamous "Potential Man."
Lucius was the youngest son of the Hohenberg Clan Head — the Hohenberg clan was one of the three Origin Clans, the bedrock of civilization since ancient times itself.
The Hohenbergs had produced heroes and warriors for centuries, names etched into history, their bloodline boasting unparalleled magical potential.
Their crest — a soaring eagle clutching a star symbolized their proud legacy.
Even Cayden Cross, the protagonist of To Be The Extra, was half-Hohenberg through his mother.
That's why his affinity for magic was off the charts in the first place.
But Lucius? Lucius had been something else entirely.
While most awakened elemental affinities — fire, water, wind, and the usual… Lucius alone had manifested Space Affinity.
Not spatial magic.
Space Affinity.
The kind of legendary power whispered about in old myths.
It was said that only the first Hohenberg had it…
He could bend reality, teleport across vast distances, fold dimensions and Lucius could do it as well, if he trained and mastered space.
Though the ancestor hadn't left behind any guide for Spatial magic or he would contemplate going back to the family.
He frowned.
"And what did the original Lucius do with it? Jack. Shit."
Because of course he didn't.
The guy spent three years in a coma under mysterious circumstances.
By the time he woke up and revealed his legendary affinity, his clan welcomed him back… only to work him to the bone crafting space artifacts for their armies.
Oh, and then there was Lily.
Eric's grin faltered slightly.
Lily von Silberhain — one of the heroines.
The silver-haired yandere beauty he'd adored from the safety of his computer screen.
In Lucius's memories, though…
They'd been lovers.
Not just betrothed in a typical noble-political arrangement — actual lovers.
They had only kissed and held hands though, since she was planning to "wait until marriage" which was a big lie because in the novel, Lily was the first person Cayden cracked, in Chapter 200.
But that aside, Lucius had been madly in love with her.
And then, while he was in a coma, she got engaged to Cayden.
The "hero" stole his fiancée right out from under him, and the readers cheered for it.
The author had made it seem like she was escaping a political arrangement with an annoying person but she was truly the person at fault.
By the time Lucius returned to the academy and challenged Cayden for her, he was humiliated over and over.
It was no wonder the fandom had clowned him, calling him "Potential Man" with zero feats to his name.
But seeing it all from Lucius's perspective?
His stomach twisted.
"She dumped him for Cayden after he lost his clan's backing," he muttered. "And everyone just… went along with it."
Suddenly Lily didn't look so perfect anymore.
What was the difference between her and the women he'd despised back in 2030?
For all her noble elegance, for all the trappings of this "romance fantasy" world, she'd still left him the moment he was vulnerable.
Lucius's jaw tightened.
A sudden clatter yanked him from his thoughts.
His head snapped toward the door just as a tray hit the floor with a loud crash.
Standing there was a woman.
She was strikingly beautiful — about Lucius's age, with lush golden hair tied back in a neat braid that fell to her shoulder.
Her emerald-green eyes widened in disbelief, glimmering like jewels.
She wore a maid's uniform, but it wasn't some frilly caricature; it was sleek, practical black fabric trimmed with white, cut in a way that hugged her curves while allowing easy movement.
Her breath hitched. "Y-Young Master…?"
Before he could react, she rushed forward, closing the distance between them in an instant.
"You're awake!"
She threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly enough to nearly knock the air from his lungs.
Her voice broke, trembling with relief.
And then, unexpectedly, she started to cry.
Hot tears dampened his chest as she buried her face in him.
Her shoulders shook, and her grip didn't loosen even a little.
Lucius blinked, stunned. "Uh… who…?"
His new memories supplied the answer to that question.
Her name was Elara Grünwald.
His personal shadow since childhood.
And the one person who'd never abandoned him, even when the entire Hohenberg clan turned their backs during his coma.
"Three years…" she sobbed softly. "Three years, Lucius… I thought — I thought I'd lost you forever."
His chest tightened — not painfully, but with something warm and unfamiliar.
He awkwardly raised a hand, hesitating only a moment before patting her back gently.
"Hey," he murmured. "I'm not going anywhere."
She cried even harder now.