"So this is the man who's slept with half the women in the industry…"
Hah… huh… hah… huh…
"Mmh, you're stronger than they said… no wonder you climb so fast."
SHUT UP!
"Word is, your biggest talent isn't acting, it's cardio!"
SHUT! UP!
Cael's eyes flew open, his breath ragged and sharp. Heat pulsed through his skin, sweat slicking every inch of his body.
He pushed himself upright and clutched his head, his bare chest rising and falling with every breath.
"Damn it… Damn it…"
That memory still wouldn't leave him alone. Even after all this time. Even after this new life.
He slowly lifted his head, and his gaze landed on the tall mirror at the far end of the room. His reflection stared back: the same red hair, the same haunted eyes. His face was drenched in sweat.
He'd lived twenty-two years in this world. But before that? He was a star. No, a superstar, at the peak of his fame. Until everything collapsed.
Until people who hated him twisted the narrative, smeared his name, dragged him down. He'd been framed, humiliated… destroyed.
And the worst part? He'd been killed.
By the very assistant he trusted. Who, as it turned out, had been sleeping with his lover behind his back.
"Fuck off! Goddamn it!"
Cael inhaled deeply, slowly, trying to push the memories of his past life back into the shadows. This was his reality now.
Caelthas, the privileged heir of a wealthy family. Raised in luxury.
Not that luxury was anything new to him. His past life had been soaked in it. He was rich. Filthy rich.
An Oscar-winning actor, three times, maybe four?
A chart-topping musician. A few platinum albums under his belt?
A mogul, a brand, a walking empire.
Fuck it all.
The past was the past. Let it rot.
He'd been reincarnated into this stunning, unreal world. A full-on fantasy realm, one he used to believe existed only in fantasy novels.
Whatever you can imagine? Mana? Magic? Absolutely. People here could summon flames with just a flick of their hands.
Elves, faeries, demons? Oh, hell yes. All those classic fantasy races were real here. Even the ones he used to think were way too weird to be taken seriously.
Beastkin.
Humanoids with animal traits. Like the catfolk with twitching ears, swishing tails, and the occasional meow slipping into their speech. Yeah, they existed too.
And him? As the main character of this reborn tale, he'd been blessed with a game-breaking ability.
Unlimited mana.
He could summon meteors with a snap of his fingers. Level cities with just a whim.
Hah!
Cael laughed bitterly to himself.
Hah!
Another laugh, sharp and hollow.
Because he really believed he was the protagonist. But reality?
While the average person in this world awakened their mana at the age of ten, Cael… now twenty-two… was still completely unawakened.
Or, to put it politely. He was a peasant. The lowest of the low.
He took a deep breath. Yes… no affinity with mana. Not even a flicker. Just a regular human.
Well, at least he'd been born into a wealthy family, right? That's something… right?
Yes. He was born rich. Just look at the room he was lying in right now.
He glanced around his room. Not that it took much effort, there wasn't much to see. The space was cramped, barely enough to fit a single old wooden wardrobe. Even the mattress he was sitting on sagged under him, worn and creaking with age. The heat was stifling, no air conditioning here. In one corner, clothes were piled in a mess, like a forgotten afterthought.
Yes… his parents had died when he was fifteen. He thought this world would be his escape, his reward after the hell of his past life. A well-earned retirement, right? A second chance to enjoy the privileges he'd been born into?
No.
After their deaths, his relatives wasted no time. They schemed, clawed, and stole every last piece of the inheritance. In the end, Cael was cast aside, left to rot in this tiny house, the only thing he had left. The last scrap of his family's wealth that hadn't been taken from him.
Maybe… The real protagonist had been the version of him from his past life.
And this? This world was his punishment. A karmic price he had to pay for losing it all.
Even his voice was gone. His vocal cords had been damaged beyond repair, he could no longer sing with that spellbinding charm that once mesmerized millions.
He was, in every sense of the word, a peasant. Sitting at the very bottom of the food chain in this dazzling, magic-filled world.
Enough… enough…
Cael rose from the sagging mattress and slipped his shirt back on. At the very least, he was rebuilding. Slowly but surely, he had a job now. A way to start piecing together his career from scratch. And in time, he'd reclaim his wealth. From nothing, once more.
And he had a fiancée. One last tie to the life he once had, back when his parents were still alive.
He had made a promise to them, and he would honor it. He had to. At the very least, he could try to live like an ordinary person here. Try to build a family. Something he never had the chance to do in his former life.
He stepped out of his bedroom and into the tiny living room of his cramped house. Just as he did, a loud banging shook the front door.
"CAEL! OPEN UP, YOU LAZY IDIOT!"
Damn it.
He knew that voice. Of all the people, why was that moron here?
His cousin. The bastard from the very same family that stole everything from Cael after his parents died.
Cael clenched his fists. What the hell did that arrogant prick want now, showing up uninvited this early in the morning?
He yanked the door open. And froze.
Standing there was Dave, his detestable cousin, flanked by two massive men with arms like tree trunks and expressions as cold as stone.
Before he could react, they surged forward.
The two bodyguards grabbed Cael's arms and slammed him to the floor with a brutal thud that sent pain exploding through his jaw.
Damn it!
His whole face throbbed like it had cracked in two.
"Cael," Dave sneered, crouching in front of him with that smug, shit-eating grin.
"What the hell do you want, Dave? There's nothing left between us! Just get out of my life, you bastard!"
"Shut up."
Dave's fist crashed into his skull, snapping his head back. "Watch your mouth, and shut up when I'm talking!"
Cael growled, thrashing against the grip of the two bulky men pinning him to the floor. One of them yanked his hair, jerking his head up to keep his face exposed.
"What the hell are you doing here, Dave?!"
"I said shut up!" Another punch smashed into Cael's face, blinding him with pain.
He clenched his teeth, blood slicking his gums, rage boiling in his chest. He wanted to break free. To tear them apart. To stab, to strike, to make them suffer.
But he couldn't move.
Dave, that bastard, yanked a document from his back and slammed it hard into Cael's face.
"You sucker! Read this. Starting today, you're out of this house. It belongs to my family now!" the idiot barked with a loud, arrogant laugh.
"Shut up! I am the rightful owner of this place! You've done nothing for this house!" Cael shouted back.
Dave struck him across the face again, then grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to stare at the paper.
"This document is official. If you don't get out, the city authorities will come, drag you out, and toss you into the gutter. Take this as a polite warning from me, Cael. Go to the trash heap where you belong, before they throw you there themselves."
"Shut up!" Cael snarled.
"No! You shut up!" Dave snapped, his obnoxious smirk plastered across his face. He straightened up while his two brutish guards shoved Cael down harder, forcing his head to tilt toward him.
Then, someone stepped through the door.
Rissa? Rissa!?
A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair. Cael's fiancée.
"Rissa… why are you here?" Cael muttered, his jaw clenched so tightly the words barely escaped.
Dave burst into cruel laughter. He grabbed the woman's hand and wrapped his arm possessively around her waist.
"Hah hah hah! Look at you, Cael. Trash, peasant, street rat. Did you ever truly believe that someone as low as you could keep a woman as beautiful as her?"
"Rissa!" Cael shouted desperately, only for the two goons to slam him back to the ground, striking him again.
The woman crouched down, her sharp eyes fixed coldly on Cael pinned beneath them.
"Cael… we really need to stop this bullshit," she said. "I accepted our engagement because of your wealth back then. But…"
She hesitated for only a moment, then shook her head with disdain. "Do you really think a woman like me deserves to be tied to you? Do you think trash like you deserves me? No. You're nothing now. No hope, no future. Die in the streets, Cael, and keep your pathetic delusions locked in your skull."
"Rissa! We swore ourselves to each other when my parents were alive! I've done so much for you!" Cael shouted with all the fire left in him.
"And what now?" she snapped back, her lips curling. "Can you still do anything for me? No! You're useless! Trash! Caelthas!"
Fuck! Fuck!
His rage boiled over, higher than it had ever reached before. Every nerve screamed for him to break free, to lash out, to crush these traitors. These two bastards, and the others who had betrayed him just the same.
This betrayal. This stupid, pathetic betrayal. So dumb. So fucked.
Why again? Why did it have to happen again? It wasn't about love, not about blind devotion, not about some fear of losing her. No. He only wanted to honor the last request of his parents, to keep the promise they had made him uphold.
This bitch. This snake. This—
Before his fury could take shape, the two bulky guards shoved him down harder. Dave barked orders, and they hauled Cael up, only to slam their boots into his legs, leaving him staggering and unable to stand properly. His clothes were torn at the seams, fabric ripping under their grip, and he was dragged like nothing more than a sack of garbage.
Dragged out of his own home.
The strength in their hands was overwhelming, of course it was. These two weren't normal men; they were awakened. Their power was far beyond human limits. And Cael… Cael was still unawakened. What resistance could he possibly muster against them?
They pulled him all the way to the waste yard, toward the towering steel trash bins. With a grunt of effort, they hurled him. His body struck metal with a hollow thud, then crumpled to the ground. Agony rippled through him as if his bones had been rattled loose, his flesh smeared in blood from head to toe.
Bathed in blood, abandoned by everyone, forced to swallow betrayal as his morning meal.
The guards didn't spare him another glance. They turned and left, their heavy steps fading. The few people who passed by gave only a quick glance, some curious, others disgusted, before continuing on their way. To them, he was nothing worth stopping for.
Cael lay there for a long time, unable to rise. Whether it was because his body was too broken or his spirit too crushed, he couldn't tell.
But… At least this time he was still alive. He hadn't been stabbed to death like in his previous life.
Right?
Time crawled on, minutes or hours, he could no longer tell. His body screamed for rest, and so he gave in, lying there in silence.
Eventually, he shifted, rolling onto his back. The sunlight had risen higher now, cutting into his vision. And then, something appeared before his eyes. Strange letters burned into his sight, as if written into the air itself.
[Calculating your wealth in your previous life…]
The words sharpened. His vision swam, but he forced himself to focus. Details began to spill out in front of him.
[Personal Bank Savings: $15,000,000]
Cael forced himself upright, his battered body trembling as he pushed off the cold ground. The glowing writing didn't fade. It clung to his vision, shifting as his eyes moved, as though it were burned into the very air around him.
[Investment Accounts (Stocks, Bonds, Hedge Funds, Private Equity): $250,000,000]
[Primary Residence – Ultra-luxury estate, 1,000 sqm with private gardens and pier: $45,000,000]
[Secondary Villas – 3 beachfront villas (Maldives, Bali, Miami, avg. 600 sqm each): $75,000,000]
[Apartments – 5 penthouse units in global capitals (New York, Tokyo, Dubai, London, Paris): $120,000,000]
[Luxury Vehicles – Rolls-Royce, Bugatti Chiron, Ferrari SF90s, Pagani Huayra, etc.: $12,000,000]
[Private Aircraft & Yachts – Gulfstream G700 jet, 100m superyacht: $200,000,000]
[Art Collection & Antiques – Masterpieces, rare sculptures, Renaissance works: $100,000,000]
[Jewelry & Family Heirlooms – Diamonds, sapphire sets, antique watches: $60,000,000]
[Business Shares – Minority stakes in fashion, tech startups, logistics: $200,000,000]
[Miscellaneous Assets – Crypto, wine cellars, collectibles, land holdings: $30,000,000]
[Total Net Worth: $1,107,000,000]
Cael froze, staring stiffly at the nonsense unfolding before his eyes. Line after line of glowing text hung in the air. Details, exact and merciless, listing the full extent of the wealth he had once held in his previous life.
But why? Why was this suddenly appearing in front of him now?
The text shifted, new words etching themselves into his vision.
[You have unlocked the VIP System.]
[Reputation determines power.]
[Perform deeds that shape how the world sees you. Fame, fear, or respect—all are Reputation.]
[Reputation fuels the VIP System, unlocking extraordinary abilities, authority, and influence.]
[Registered User: Caelthas Gardner.]
His breath caught, eyes wide, blood still dripping from his lip.
What.
The.
Fuck?
[Converting wealth from your previous life into local currency…]