"A trash ending. Absolutely trash."
I groaned as my majestic, rotund body collapsed onto the bed like a fallen sack of rice.
"My favorite novel… and it ends like that? Really?"
The novel I just finished reading was Evil World. A LitRPG set in a dark land full of evil. The protagonist was so soft-hearted he'd hesitate to kill a cockroach.
Seriously! He was unbearable.
He had a cheat – the Heavenly Ring. It could accelerate his growth by tenfold. But the catch? He had to kill people.
And this moron thought, "Oh no, killing is wrong."
…Bruh….
So instead of becoming an overpowered monster, he played Mr. Pacifist… and boom, dead at the end.
"Tch! If that idiot just spammed the ring like a normal protagonist, he could've lived happily ever after with ten wives and fifty concubines. Dumbass."
But, seriously, I hated him.
He has everything – a good family, loyal friends, and womens who love him. But he didn't protect them at all costs, choosing instead the peace of the world.
"Fuck, I don't have anyone! If I were him, I would protect them all."
I then pulled up the blanket before falling asleep.
When I woke up, my eyes widened in shock.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't because I saw a ghost. But I found myself in an unfamiliar forest. Tall trees surrounded me, a river flowed behind me, and the air was fresh with the chirping of birds.
"Ki-kidnapping!? No, that's impossible!"
I had always fantasized about being kidnapped by a beautiful, yandere-type girl. But in reality? Nah. No one would fall for a fat, ugly guy like me.
"Besides, what would you even do with a pig like me? Roast me?"
But then I noticed my clothes felt damp. I looked down –
"Where's my fat belly?!"
My marshmallow hands had slimmed down. My thighs weren't jiggling. I could see my toes for the first time in years!
Panicking (and a little excited), I ran to the river. The reflection staring back at me had neat black hair, fair skin, glowing red eyes, a tall frame with lean muscles.
"Who the hell is this K-pop idol?!"
The reflection blinked. I blinked back. Oh, shit. That was me.
"This is real, right? I'm not dreaming?!"
My whole body trembled. Gone was the pig. In his place… a handsome man. Finally, I wasn't trash.
Then – ow.
Agony hit my head like a blender set to max. "Gyaaaaaaa!!!" I collapsed, screaming.
When it ended, new memories flooded in.
"This body… belonged to Ace Pendragon."
I remembered who he was. The most hated character in Evil World.
Born rich, pampered from birth, engaged to the kingdom's prettiest princess. A walking pile of privilege.
I used to hate him. But now? Love at first transmigration. Because I was Ace Pendragon. Which meant his money, his princess, his everything… were mine.
"Woohooo! Jackpot!"
…Or so I thought.
I looked at the river.
"In the ending, Ace jumped into the river and was swept away. And now I'm near a river. That means… I transmigrated after the ending."
The Pendragon family? Destroyed. Status, wealth, territory – all gone. "Wait, so I don't inherit anything?! Aaaauuugh damn it!!!"
I felt like God had scammed me.
"In transmigration novels, the MC usually arrives at the start, right? Then they use reader knowledge to change the future. But me? Of course not. Just my luck."
And worse – Ace was a cripple with no System. In an RPG-like world, that was basically a death sentence.
Fine. Whatever.
At least I was handsome now. That counted for something.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a plain gold ring.
"The Heavenly Ring."
It was originally gifted to Ace by the Protagonist.
"With this, maybe I can finally marry a beautiful girl!"
The bright future sparkled before me.
"There! Ace Pendragon!"
Suddenly, someone shouted my name from afar.
A boat was approaching, filled with four demons. Red skin, horns, crawling on all fours like creepy devil crabs, and glaring at me with bloodthirsty eyes.
"…Oh, right. Ace jumped into the river to escape demons."
This world was terrorized by the Demon God.
For the sake of world peace, the protagonist sacrificed himself to seal the Demon God.
The key to that seal… fell into Ace Pendragon's hands. That's why I'm being hunted by demons who want to free the Demon God.
Of course I won't hand over the seal key. The demons destroyed House Pendragon, so if keeping this key makes them suffer, then fine – I'll keep it. Call it… petty revenge.
And if I survive all this?
Then God owes me one beautiful wife as compensation.