Chapter One: Faulty Specifications
In a cramped office barely big enough for a desk and a sagging couch, Nour sat hunched over the glow of a monitor.
Her tired eyes scanned through endless lines of tangled code, fingers tapping the keyboard in a rhythm that sounded more like a dying heartbeat than productivity.
It was three in the morning, but for her, there was no real difference between night and day anymore.
Posters of old video games plastered the walls. Empty coffee cups had formed a fortress around her mouse and keyboard.
The air conditioner wheezed like it was begging for retirement, while the single dusty window opened onto a lifeless street.
Nour liked to call herself an indie game developer. The reality was closer to code slave.
Her current project, a fantasy RPG called Glory of the Fallen Kingdom, had devoured years of her life and still hadn't escaped beta.
"The Final Boss, huh?" she muttered, staring at the hulking 3D model of a dark king with glowing eyes and a sword taller than she was.
"The world will wait for you… but no one's waiting for me."
She smirked bitterly. How many times had she dreamed of being the heroine in her own story?
Instead, she spent her nights writing scripts that told others how to pretend to be heroes and villains.
She opened a side window: the code for the Evil System.
Hundreds of mission trees and commands—all designed for the endgame villain.
But one line of code refused to behave, glowing stubborn red: Error: Misassigned Host Variable.
She saved the file with a sigh.
"I'll fix it tomorrow… or not. Who cares?"
Leaning back, she stretched her stiff shoulders.
The smell of stale coffee clung to her like a bad life choice.
"I write systems that decide destinies… but in reality, I can't even decide what to order for dinner."
Her dry laugh bounced off the empty room.
Her phone buzzed with a message from her mother:
"When will you visit? It's been three months."
She didn't open it. She didn't have the energy for reality.
And when she finally shut down her PC and packed her bag, she didn't know the last thing she left behind—
that stubborn red error—
would follow her into death.
---
Dragging her worn-out bag behind her, Nour stepped into the damp night air.
The sky sagged with heavy clouds, and neon lights buzzed faintly in the half-deserted street.
She stopped at a vending machine and bought a can of juice that tasted like watered-down regret.
One sip, and she grimaced. "I design worlds of flavor and adventure… and this is what I get in real life?"
At the bus stop, she reopened her game on her phone.
There it was: the Evil System interface. Missions flashing across the screen—
[MISSION: DESTROY THE VILLAGE]
[MISSION: CORRUPT THE HERO]
All of it, dramatic and world-ending.
A smirk tugged at her lips.
"I script destinies… but if I were in my own game, I'd probably die in the prologue. A noble sacrifice to set the stage for the real protagonist."
The bus screeched up, doors groaning open. She boarded, paid, and sank into a seat by the window.
The city retreated behind her, neon bleeding into the dark.
And then, it all came too fast.
Headlights.
Tires shrieking.
Metal colliding.
She didn't even have time to scream. Her body was thrown forward, her skull smacking the glass—
then silence.
Her last fleeting thought wasn't of family or friends.
It was of that damned red text on her screen:
Error: Misassigned Host Variable.
---
Darkness.
Dripping water echoing somewhere.
Then—a sudden breath, as if her lungs had rebooted.
Nour opened her eyes, expecting the sterile white of a hospital ceiling.
Instead, a glittering chandelier loomed above her, dangling from a ceiling painted with gold filigree.
She bolted upright.
Her body… it wasn't hers. Slimmer, softer, fragile.
Her hands were pale and delicate, weighed down by sparkling rings.
Her reflection in a hand mirror nearly stopped her heart.
A pale, doll-like face. Silver hair spilling over her shoulders. Violet eyes too large to be real.
"…No way."
She knew this face.
This was Freya, the laughably weak "villainess princess" she'd written as the game's disposable tutorial boss.
Her stomach twisted.
"Don't tell me… I died and respawned as this useless side character?"
And then—
[SYSTEM ONLINE. ERROR DETECTED. HOST: FRAIL VILLAINESS.]
[WARNING! THIS IS NOT THE DESIGNATED VESSEL.]
The voice wasn't in the room. It was in her head. Harsh, mechanical… and furious.
[INITIATING EVIL PROTOCOLS. USER, PREPARE TO UNLEASH YOUR DARK DESTINY.]
[MISSION #001: TRIP THE HERO. REWARD: 5 EVIL POINTS.]
Nour froze.
"…You've got to be kidding me. Trip the hero?"
"I—I'm the programmer who designed you!" she yelled into the air.
The system ignored her.
[FAILURE TO EXECUTE EVIL ACT DETECTED!]
[PENALTY: HEADACHE IMPLANTATION.]
Pain stabbed her skull so sharply she collapsed back on the bed, groaning.
A maid rushed in with a tea tray, shrieking: "My lady! Are you alright?!"
Nour clutched her temples, thinking bitterly:
"Perfect. My old life was a bug-ridden mess… and now I'm trapped in the body of a weak villainess with an angry, broken AI screaming at me."
---
The grand doors burst open.
The clatter of hooves echoed from the courtyard outside.
The maid gasped. "It's Sir Raine! He's returned!"
Nour stiffened.
Oh no. She knew this character.
Sir Raine—the official hero of the game. A knight so ridiculously pure-hearted he made paladins look morally ambiguous.
The young man strode in with radiant confidence, brown hair glinting under polished armor. He stopped before her and dropped to one knee.
"Princess Freya, I heard you were in distress!"
Nour's mind spun.
"He's supposed to crush me in the tutorial fight. Make me a joke. The players' first victory trophy."
But before she could answer, the system screeched in her head:
[MISSION UPDATE: TRIP THE HERO. REWARD: 5 EVIL POINTS.]
[HINT: HIS ARMOR LOOKS SLIPPERY. TRY EXTENDING YOUR FOOT.]
"Are you insane?!" she hissed. "You want me to trip a fully armored knight?"
Still, she nervously shuffled a foot forward under the table.
But Raine leaned closer instead, his smile dazzling with naive sincerity.
"Don't worry, my lady! If you believe yourself to be a villainess, then I shall help you become one. Together, we'll make your dream come true!"
Nour's brain screeched to a halt.
"…Excuse me, what?!"
The system howled in outrage:
[WHAT?! THIS IS NOT HOW HEROES ARE SUPPOSED TO ACT!]
[USER! WHY DID HE JUST OFFER TO HELP YOU?! EXECUTE EVIL PROTOCOL NOW!!]
Nour covered her face.
"…Great. I'm stuck with a malfunctioning evil system—and a hero too stupid to realize he's supposed to fight me."
The knight squeezed her hand earnestly.
"Don't worry, I'll train you! You'll be the most fearsome villainess in the land!"
The system nearly combusted.
[UNACCEPTABLE! HE'S STEALING MY ROLE! ONLY I TRAIN THE VILLAIN!]
And Nour sat between them, despair mounting.
One voice begged her to trip him.
The other begged to mentor her.
---
[MISSION TIMER ACTIVATED. YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS TO COMMIT AN EVIL ACT.]
[SUGGESTION: PUSH THE HERO DOWN THE STAIRS. REWARD: 5 EVIL POINTS.]
The command hit her like a death sentence.
She eyed the marble staircase glinting nearby.
Then she looked at Raine, who was standing expectantly, like he wanted her to prove her "villainess potential."
"I'm a programmer, not a murderer. How am I supposed to push a knight in full armor?!"
But the throbbing in her skull grew sharper—the system's penalty looming.
Gritting her teeth, she stepped forward.
"Uh, Raine?" she squeaked.
"Yes, beautiful villainess princess?" he beamed.
"…He even makes 'villainess' sound like a compliment."
She shoved his chest with all her might.
It was the strength of a tired kitten.
Instead of stumbling, Raine looked amazed.
"Ah! Your first attempt at evil! Excellent!"
He clasped her hand, eyes shining.
"But you're holding back. You need more confidence! Here, I'll demonstrate!"
"What?!"
The system shrieked in disgust:
[FAILURE DETECTED! HOST IS TOO PATHETIC! PENALTY: DIZZINESS.]
The world tilted. Her legs buckled.
And then—
tumble. tumble. tumble.
Nour herself went rolling down the staircase like a ragdoll.
The maid shrieked: "My lady!"
Raine darted after her, horror on his face.
Then, with sparkling admiration:
"Incredible! You pretended to fall to trick us all! Such cunning! Truly villainous!"
Flat on her back, bruised and humiliated, Nour stared at the ceiling.
"…This is the worst start imaginable."
The system let out a long, static sigh:
[… I am wasted on you.]
---