"The greatest irony of life is that it only truly begins when we have something worth dying for."
However, when I heard this, I was constrained by the matrix of society. I couldn't see the truth and had already worked hard my entire life.
To be successful, you must amass wealth, power, and beautiful women.
But all I got was failure after failure.
People claimed that I didn't focus on the right things or that I wasn't diligent enough, but there was only one plausible explanation among all the nonsense.
"You're just too unlucky, man."
Yes!
This was the most plausible statement and the only one I believed to be true.
I have been such an unlucky person since childhood that if we could quantify my unluckiness, I would have broken my own world record on a daily basis.
My parents were scumbags; I was bullied at school and beaten at home on a regular basis, and no matter how hard I tried to study or improve myself, my bad luck would appear like a ghost to slap me in the face, reminding me of my place in this world.
"The worst of the worst"
That was my place, which the world attempted to impose on me. I would study all day and night.
Picking trash in the morning, going to government school where the fees were almost non-existent, and then returning to work.
I worked hard, but whenever I was on the verge of success, something unlucky would always happen to send me back to square one.
If I put in a lot of effort studying and went to take exams, either a car would hit me or bullies would beat me so badly that they would literally break my arms, and I wouldn't be able to write a single word on the test.
My life was hell.
But as someone who grew up working hard, no matter how many bad things happened to me, I never gave up.
I was only able to live under a roof and eat food that could keep me alive because of my unbending will and perseverance.
But everything changed one day, or at least I thought it did.
That was the day I fell in love. Everything was going swimmingly, and we were a happy couple; we were even engaged and planning to marry.
When suddenly!
All of my illusions were shattered at the same time as the one I loved died.
My bad luck sucked all her luck, and when she ran out of 'it', she slipped on the stairs and died instantly as her head hit the floor.
I was devastated and couldn't understand what was going on.
I became depressed and became dependent on alcohol to help me forget the pain.
but it never went away.
However, nothing bad happened to me while I was drowning myself in alcohol and destroying my life with my own hands.
It was as if the world was laughing at my miserable appearance and mocking me for my pitiful attempts to live happily ever after.
And it was during those times that I was introduced to the world of anime, manga, and novels via an online post.
I read one to satisfy my curiosity, then another, and before I knew it, I was hooked.
My reason, however, was the polar opposite of what others read them for.
I despised them, as I despised all the protagonists who had only survived and become great because of their absurdly overpowered luck.
No matter how many stupid things they did, no matter what steps they took, no matter how much of a piece of trash they were, they always got the girls, money, and success in everything because they were the protagonists of the story.
They'd just walk on a muddy rod, fall into a pit, and suddenly get a heaven-defying treasure that shouldn't even exist in the world, and their pitiful attitude would become so arrogant that they'd think of themselves as God.
However, one day, an absurd possibility occurred to me.
What happens if we remove the fantasy elements from the novels and anime?
Would the worlds in those stories and the worlds of reality become similar?
There were people who were extremely lucky in novels, and there were people who were lucky in real life as well.
They achieve success by literally lying on their beds because they were chosen by the heavens, and then there are people like me who, no matter how hard they try, are never able to achieve anything.
That's when it occurred to me.
I quickly created a rough chart using all of my anime knowledge and compared it to real life.
Shocked!
When I discovered the outcome of my comparison, I was completely taken aback.
They were 90% or more similar.
"Then that means all of these motherf**kers who were having a good time were the main characters in their lives, and I was the sh*t canon fodder who didn't even deserve to be there."
I refused to agree to it.
Unfortunately, like reading my thoughts, the moment I realised this truth and was about to take action or seek vengeance from those main characters, I was stopped.
I had a heart attack.
It was as if the world was punishing me for knowing something I shouldn't.
Fortunately, I was saved just in time, but bed rest was recommended to me. It was as if the universe was warning me to know my place.
I was furious and couldn't believe it, but throughout it all, I was growing more confident in my hypothesis.
The world had a main character, or perhaps many main characters, and all they were doing was sucking up my luck so that they could themselves achieve what I wanted for myself.
**************
My savings for my marriage were steadily dwindling due to my bad drinking habits and, more recently, hospital bills.
I knew my end was near and that I wouldn't be able to live much longer, but I wasn't content with that.
I needed to do something; I needed vengeance.
'If I'm going to die, I'd like to take at least one protagonist with me.'
I only thought about it but didn't say anything about it, not even to the invisible air.
After a few days, I began reading news articles, knowledge books, biographies of wealthy people, and researching the lives of some successful people.
The media, news, and social media were all full of nonsense, designed to make the wealthy people appear good and hardworking while concealing their dark past.
However, from all of the news, I was able to extract some information that was mostly ignored, but when combined with real-life news and incidents, it proved to be true.
That's how I chose my targets and made a list, but I knew I could only kill one person, because the moment I even touched one of them with malice, I'd be dead the next second in some way.
So I found the one person who had been lucky since childhood and had won in everything throughout his life with an unfair advantage.
And after days of research, I finally found the one person who had been lucky since childhood—winning the lottery, having good parents, committing crimes but always being saved—and the people regard him as a hero and a good man.
I didn't hesitate or waste time after making up my mind and confirming my target; I got myself immediately discharged from the hospital, despite their attempts to stop me.
Finding out his address was simple; I used the Internet, and with it I also figured out the route he usually took from his house to his workplace.
I didn't have any money or connections to purchase weapons, and my body was too weak to physically assault him.
So I did the first thing that came to my mind, which was to find a job.
Yes, a job at the gas station where he frequently stops. Getting a job wasn't difficult, but the problem was that when a protagonist was about to die, the world would somehow save him.
He would either get a boost or the culprit would mysteriously die.
However, there was nothing I could do about it. I could only try my hardest, leaving him on the verge of death or destroying his life.
Yes, I was a lunatic, but it was the world that made me that way. I could feel that I only had a few months to live.
Even after studying and working hard all my life, what I got at the end was bad luck, and I was left to die alone. The f*king world even killed my only love in front of me.
"This world and me can't live under the same sky; either I die or you all."
**********
I felt no guilt, remorse, or any of that nonsense. All I wanted was to ruin that jerk's life.
And that's what I did.
When he came to fill up his Lamborghini Aventador with gas, he was distracted talking to the lovely lady in his car.
Noticing the opportunity, I lit up a small lighter that had been used as a toy by children, and I yanked on the pipe that was connected to his tank and threw the lighter into his car's gas tank.
"Survive this, you mother f*cker! H E R O"
~BOOOM!
A loud blast, the shrill cry of people, and a wave of shock and heat hit me, burning and tearing my body apart, but for some reason my heart was strangely calm.
In this raging sea of magma, a chill swept over my soul.
And that's how I was blasted to death with my own hand, without even knowing the results of my previous efforts.
[Confirming Requirements...] [The soul fulfils all requirements.][Integrating with the Soul [5%... 69%... 100%] Loading...][Successfully connected to the soul][Beginning procedures are initiated.][Awakening the Soul...]...As soon as I regained consciousness, I attempted to gaze around me with my nonexistent eyes.But what I actually saw was nothing at all.In the void's emptiness, which was devoid of all substance and light, even the up, down, right, and left directions were impossible for me to find, and since I couldn't even feel my feet, I didn't even sense gravity's pull.No!Actually, it's not just the gravity or my feet; I was unable to feel anything.I was only able to see, think, and somehow clearly recall the instance of my death.The sensation of burns, the sudden explosion, the realisation that my life was ending in an instant, and the profound remorse of not even being able to witness the repercussions of my pitiful retaliation—everything was so clear to me.So wa
[Welcome To the world of Arcedia] This was the first thing I noticed after gaining consciousness in this new world. However, before I could even react to the identity of my new world, I experienced a push as everything began to squeeze around me and push me from my back towards my head. Fortunately, after a few minutes of relentless effort, I was finally able to feel the surrounding air and the hands of the person who was holding me up. Though, before I could properly settle the news of my safe birth in my mind, ~Smack! My back ached with a burning sensation. I began crying reflexively, and tears began to run down from my blurry eyes without my control. When I was crying my eyes out nonstop, I heard several individuals laughing and talking about my situation, and even though I knew that they were just happy about my safe and successful birth, I still couldn't help but curse them in my head. After my anguish subsided and no more tears flowed, I tried to open my eyes, but all I
[Ding! Successfully connected to the World's Destiny Net]Sleeping in my crib, I was startled awake by the sudden notification from the system and cursed it as soon as I woke up."Yun sob! f a ych... Say£stem"My vocal cords were still not developed enough to properly curse, but I was able to voice out some incomprehensible words that were more funny and cute than some angry curses.~Phew!After taking a long breath and regaining my bearings, I realised that cursing wouldn't accomplish much, so I concentrated on the system's notification.Finally, six months were fully completed, and my system was back.I had a lot of questions that I wanted to ask the system, but after giving them some thought, I ultimately pushed everything else aside and questioned what I was most curious about.'System, tell me what took you so long. I mean weren't you an Omnipotent Villain System? Why did you have to go into hibernation for six months to successfully connect to a small world's destiny? Can't you
Steeline Dukedom.Sari City, Steeline Castle.17th December, 1000.A young boy with golden blonde hair, green eyes, and snowy white skin, who was an exact replica of his mother, was walking down the hallway that connected the training grounds with the housing area of the castle.He was saturated in perspiration and was dressed in a blue vest and black shorts even though it was the winter season, clearly signifying his great exhaustion after a rigorous training session.Exactly!You guessed it correctly,It is me, Luke, heading into my room after finishing my daily workout regimen, which I completed earlier than usual because today is a special day.Today marks the seventh anniversary of my birth in this world known as Arcedia, as well as the start of a new era, a new millennium for this world.It was a very significant day for me, since it was the day I would meet my supposed future fiancée, AKA the first heroine, Selina Greenberg, who would be attending my birthday celebration tonigh
"Status!" I ordered mentally. Ding! A 3D model of my body, floating next to a crimson-red, translucent, game profile-like screen, appeared in front of me. ──────────────────────── [Name: Luke Steeline] [Age: 7 years] [Race: Human] [Title: Destined Villain (EX), Anomaly (SS), Ruler of Light (S), Ruler of Darkness (S)] [Rank: Sword Apprentice (Middle Stage)] [Physical strength: 8] [Spiritual strength: 15] [Mana: 0] [Luck: 10] [Aura: 8] [Destiny Coins: 119] [Skills: N/A] [Techniques: Steeline Breathing Technique, Steeline Swordsmanship] [System Shop - Now Open] ──────────────────────── Since I first entered this Arcedian world exactly 7 years ago, a lot has changed on my status panel. My age is the first thing that has changed, followed by my rank, which is now Middle Stage Sword Apprentice. There are two types of ranking systems in this world. One is for Aura users who use aura to strengthen their bodies and wield physically lethal weapons. Second, for wizards who perfo
As I gazed upon the lovely full moon with its immaculate, cold beauty, sparkling with an endless number of stars in the black night sky of Arcedia, I had the impression that I was in a magical world, which I actually was.Even though I have grown quite accustomed to this world, there are still some things that are always able to catch me off guard, and I simply can not help but become engrossed in the mystery that hides behind them.Turning away my attention from the alluring silver moon that was visible through the window on the first floor corridor, I instead focused on the elegantly decorated white marble staircase in front of me.Though it was already dark, the entire Steeline castle was beautifully adorned with flowers, enchanted lights, and other opulent and magical decorations.The area around the Steeline castle gates was filled with luxurious carriages.The hall below was crowded, and although I couldn't see it with my eyes at the moment, I could tell the situation below from
"Today, on the auspicious day of my son's seventh birthday, I request that everyone bless my son for a happy and prosperous life. Please raise your glasses and take a sip for my son's great future."As if being sentimental about his paternal love for me, my father raised his glass of wine with a proud face and then, under everyone's eyes, emptied the whole glass in one sip."May my son have a life full of good fortune," he wished as he set the glass down.Watching my father's actions, the people below followed suit, and one by one, they raised their glasses and chugged down the whole drink in one sip like my father. Even though I was a little taken aback by their gesture, a feeling of pride and appreciation welled up in my heart.Following that, there was a major increase in the volume of the crowd's hollering."Happy birthday, Luke!""Happy birthday, young master Luke!""Long live, Luke!"........Naturally, our own relatives as well as the vassal families who served under our duked
"You all may already be aware that Luke is an early-stage sword apprentice. And I know it is quite surprising, as children are typically not permitted to train until they reach the age of seven."As my father took a pause in the middle, I flared up my aura for all the bigwits standing below to sense my rank.My aura suppressing ring was well hidden below my white gloves, so it wasn't a problem that someone would notice it and make weird assumptions.Woah!As soon as my aura spread, there was another commotion down below, but this time I could see that it was only from the side of our family members and some vasal families.The other guests, no matter how small or high their ranking, only had a superficial smile on their faces, and I could sense their scrutinising gaze and jealousy filled eyes.Although they smiled on the outside, I am sure they were cursing me to die inside because who would want the children of others, especially their competitors, to be geniuses?no one, at least no