There are certain stories where the villain is actually the one who's right. I've always been the kind of person who loves those stories. I don't know why, but I've always found villains far cooler. And I'm not talking about the shallow ones who are evil just for the sake of being evil.
I'm talking about villains who have a reason to be evil a philosophy: a purpose, a desire, or at least a logical motivation.
Those are the villains I love.
The novel I recently read,"SSS Talent: The Cursed Path of the Chosen Hero," had exactly the kind of villains I had been craving for a long time. In fact, it had more than one. Each villain had their own distinct aura, their own reasoning behind their actions.
Normally, I only enjoy reading about such characters, but sometimes… sometimes I wish a few of them actually existed. And in that sense, the last novel I read, SSS Talent: The Cursed Path of the Chosen Hero, wasn't bad at all. I wouldn't call it the best, but it definitely had its charm.
So why am I rambling about this?
Because I had reincarnated into the world of SSS Talent: The Cursed Path of the Chosen Hero. I had just realized it; the signs were unmistakable. I had reincarnated into that cursed story.
And of course, I didn't reincarnate as my favorite villain, or the second villain, or some side villain, or even someone remotely close to them.
No.
Instead, I reincarnated as the story's main character… the natural enemy of the villains I adored.
Why couldn't I reincarnate into the body of the characters I love the most? Why the hero? Why him? Couldn't someone have at least asked me which body I wanted? Damn it, even an idiotic but powerful villain would've been fine. I could've worked with that.
I guess God has a sense of humor… Or He doesn't read those internet novels where every new MC reincarnates as a villain.
Either way, it was too late. I had already been reborn into this world as the hero.
I walked toward the mirror. I wanted to see that idiot's face one more time.
That man.
The one the author pointlessly glorified, the one half the readers hated, and the other half defended with, "well, at least he's not that bad."
The walking cliché with his hollow sense of justice.
Me.
I was actually him.
I sat on a chair and took a deep breath, a bitter smile twitching on my lips. It had been about an hour since I reincarnated. The last thing I remembered from my previous life was a group of kids on the sidewalk… and a truck engine rumbling behind me.
After that, I spent an unknown amount of time in darkness. My consciousness felt half-asleep, so I couldn't tell how long I stayed there.
And then suddenly, I woke up in a foreign bed, in a foreign room.
As for how I realized I was the hero of SSS Talent: The Cursed Path of the Chosen Hero...
"System, open my character window."
The moment I spoke the command, the air split with a thin line, and a translucent blue panel flickered into existence before my eyes. Cold. Mechanical. Eerily familiar.
Just as it was described in the novel.
Yes…
This was the beginning of the inevitable end.
The panel trembled as if trying to compose itself, then the data began to flow.
[Opening Character Profile…]
I held my breath without meaning to. I still couldn't believe this nonsense was real. But that panel… that font… that damn status bar…
It was all real.
The data eventually stabilized.
And once again, the truth hit me:
I really was that guy.
[Name: Aurelius Emberforge]
[Level: 12]
[Class: Chosen Hero]
[Talent: SSS]
[Fate: Savior of the World]
[Additional Note: No Escape]
The last line almost burned my eyes.
"No Escape."
This part wasn't in the novel.
"So that's how it is," I muttered, teeth clenched.
I tried closing the panel, but it wouldn't disappear. My finger slid through the hologram, triggering another message appeared. It was polite, condescending, and infuriating.
[Attempt to deviate from Fate detected.]
[Recommendation: Focus on your heroic duties.]
Heroic duties.
Me.
In this guy's body.
"Hell nah man..."
I burst out laughing; angry, exhausted, and maybe a little unhinged.
"Me? A hero? Sorry, system. The best I can manage is 'misunderstood anti-villain.' But heroism…?" My eye twitched. "That's too much."
Still, ignoring the gravity of the situation would be stupid. I had read this novel. I knew how this world worked.
I knew the disasters coming for the hero.
The deaths.
The betrayals.
The pointless sacrifices…
And most importantly:
The villains in this story were exactly the type I loved. Charismatic. Logical. Driven. And with incredibly good reasons to kill the hero.
Staring into the mirror, something seemed to crack in the distance. Not the world but the thin, stupid thread of my destiny… or maybe my patience. Probably my patience.
I was Aurelius Emberforge, the clichéd hero and unwilling chosen one. The guy who gives his life for the world at the end of the story.
And worse: I was the one who kills the villains I loved, sacrificing myself in the process. Then the novel ends with a few extra epilogue chapters.
It was the worst possible destiny for me.
I had spent years laughing at this character as a reader. Now I was stuck inside him. And I wanted out.
But the panel still hovered in front of me, its cold blue glow carving into my eyes. As if it had the right to shape my existence.
"I don't want to sacrifice myself," I said — not to the mirror, but to the empty air. The panel flickered.
[Response: Your Fate cannot be altered.]
"Fine, fine," I said, my smile widening. "Then I'll change your fate."
A dark expression settled across my face as I rolled my shoulders back. The old me, the reader who adored morally grounded villains, stirred inside
I didn't have to be a hero. And dying like one? Absolutely not.
"I'm not going to be the guy who sacrifices himself for the world," I whispered.
At that moment, the panel responded again, its tone carrying a strange, mechanical discomfort.
[Warning: Emotional fluctuation detected.]
I needed to think.
Find a way to survive.
Find a way to live the way I wanted.
There had to be something…
The panel blinked once more, condescending as ever:
[Emotional fluctuations are not being utilised effectively]
"Are you a critic now?" I hissed.
And then—
A sudden, sharp knock hit the door.
Tok. Tok. Tok.
I froze.
According to the timeline, I had no idea where I was supposed to be right now. I looked at the character window again and saw my level. Level 12… so this had to be early in the story. I looked around quickly and noticed that the room was tidy and well-furnished, perhaps even expensive.
Which meant…
Right now, I was at the house of my first sponsor, the Baroness.