Lucien Ashborne was supposed to be a nobody — an early-game villain who existed only to be crushed by the protagonist. After provoking the wrong person, he vanished from the story without even a dramatic death scene.

When a player named James dies and wakes up in Lucien’s body, he inherits every bit of the villain’s broken reputation and zero of his privileges. Bullied, scorned, and abandoned by his own noble family, Lucien now stands at the bottom of the academy hierarchy.

To make matters worse, the world he knew as a game has no guaranteed happy ending… and the protagonist’s party treats him like a criminal.

But James isn’t the Lucien they think he is.

With fragments of meta-knowledge, a half-broken system that barely works, and a determination to avoid becoming cannon fodder, he chooses a different path.

He doesn’t seek glory.
He just refuses to disappear.

This is the story of a former villain trying to rewrite his role — not as a hero, but as someone who survives on his own terms.

A maid guided Ariana toward the guest chambers, while Sebastian personally escorted me to a suite.


The door clicked shut, leaving me in blessed silence.


I peeled off the jacket—it made a wet, sticky sound as it left my skin. The shirt was ruined, stiff with dried blood and demon ichor. I kicked the trousers into a corner and walked into the attached bathroom.


Steam was already rising from the massive marble tub. The scent of lavender and mint filled the air.


A long, ragged groan escaped my lips as the scalding water hit my skin.


I sank down until the water reached my chin. The heat seeped into my bones, melting away the tension in my shoulders, the ache in my legs, and the phantom recoil of the shotgun in my arms.


For the first time in hours, my heart rate slowed to a normal rhythm.


I closed my eyes, letting the silence wash over me.


The sharp, digital chime shattered the peace.


Chapter 82 - Mark of the Outcast