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.

[NOTE: I messed up a little. I jumbled up the chapter 125 and 126. I mistakenly published the 126th chapter first. Please read the chapter [Broken Clock] then read [Shadow Stalkers]


"I ran into Cadet Lucien by chance," Elisha cut in quickly, stepping in front of me. Her voice was steady, but I noticed her ears were slightly red. "We… had a minor misunderstanding in the market, and we came here to resolve it privately."


'Misunderstanding,' she called it. Not 'I tried to spy on him and he almost blew my head off.'


Revealing her secret would be amusing, but it'd feel like snitching to Kael. And honestly, watching the proud Lady Elisha squirm was its own reward.


"Is that so?" Kael looked suspicious, but he didn't press Elisha. He looked at me. "I didn't expect to see the Runner-Up of the Tournament in a place like this. Shouldn't you be celebrating your victory, Ashborne?"


Chapter 126 - Chapter 125: The Broken Clock