The giant orange sun slowly rose from the distant horizon, with its presence dying the Royal Capital of the Vizwel Empire a warm orange hue. Roosters cried out in unison as if they were announcing the start of a new day.
“… Yawn.”
Inside a certain house that was neither too large nor too small, neither too fancy nor too simple, there laid a lump of white bedsheets in the shape of a human body, squirming and moving as if it were a strange lifeform that reacted to the rays of sunlight piercing through the glass windows.
A hand poked out as the lump arched just like a cat. A blob of messy auburn hair sprazzled out like a chaotic glob of hairy tentacles.
“It’s morning already?” A tired voice asked the empty air as a girl finally woke up from her peaceful sleep.
Wait!
Wait wait wait!
It’s morning?!
She shot out of bed at full force with her wide, light-brown eyes staring at a nearby desk with shock and surprise.
6 in the morning? She heaved a sigh of relief and gradually relaxed, slumping down her shoulders as the wave of unease receded.
“Hehehe, I thought I was gonna be late there for a second.”
She shook her head at her thoughts and slowly stood up.
Under the soft illumination of the sun, a girl neither too pretty nor too ugly can be seen with frizzy auburn hair and light-brown eyes. She was average in height for the women in the world of Tyr, standing at around 5’6, and had decently fair white skin with her upbringing as a noble daughter of a Viscount House.
She walked out of her bedroom and down the stairs. She drank a cup of water and entered her bathroom with the towel she grabbed from her bedroom.
She brushed her teeth. Rinsed her body with water and with fragrant soap, then she slowly wiped herself dry.
Doing her usual skincare routine, the girl stared at her slightly pretty face and smirked, muttering to herself, “Damn, Anna, you look pretty good for a side character!”
She winked at herself in the mirror and chuckled lightly.
Annabeth Auburn—that was the name of the daughter of Viscount Marcus Auburn and Viscountess Lorena Auburn, a side character that acted as a minor villain in the popular Otome Game, Lucky Lover.
In Lucky Lover, Annabeth Auburn was one of the many lackeys of Alice Lamuer, the main villainess of the story and fiancee of the Crown Prince of the Vizwel Empire, Kain Vizwel.
It follows a typical story with a commoner girl named Holly Valentine being found out to be gifted in Holy Magic, one of the rarest types of magic out there.
Due to this, she was admitted into the Royal Academy and got to learn magic and study under highly skilled teachers, a prime opportunity to broaden her horizons and open up a brighter future.
But, that was the Royal Academy, filled with rich kids and nobles.
With Holly as a commoner and the daughter of a farmer, she was treated as a country bumpkin and didn’t have many friends. While commoners can study at the Royal Academy with enough talent and aptitude, being actually poor there is a rarity, as the majority belonged to affluent families or of noble blood.
Luckily for her, that was simply the suffering she needed to enjoy a life full of love and excitement!
With five male leads, each having different unique aspects, such as the Crown Prince or the son of the richest businessman in the empire, Holly Valentine has to tread through different handsome men to find her one true love, all the while fighting demons and the super powerful Demon Lord threatening to destroy the entire world with his endless horde of monsters and demons!
“And I!” Anna stretched out her hand and placed it on her chest, staring at her own reflection with shining eyes, “Is that useless side character who only appeared for a single cut scene!”
She laughed heartily and smirked smugly, “Heh, you might be thinking why I’m happy that I’m only a side character. Well, that’s because you only heard about the normal part of Lucky Lover!”
That game is hard as hell (or maybe I’m just trash)!
The monsters are strong, the fighting system is pretty hard to grasp, and I died more times than I could count before I even reached the Demon Lord!
I thought that this was an Otome Game for God’s sake! Why is it killing me over and over with those wild encounters?! Dungeons, combat, resource management, why couldn’t it let me have fun with some handsome men?!
She clenched her teeth and raised her hand to the sky in defiance of the difficulty Lucky Lover had, and now, she was living in the same world as that game.
The same world with monstrous spiders that had webs that can paralyze you and be burned to death by the spider’s natural fire-breathing ability, or the man-eating plants sprawled on the cavernous halls of the numerous dungeons in school grounds.
She shivered at the mere thought of those monsters actually existing in the real world but calmed herself down and smiled, “Heh, I won’t be meeting those things anyways since I’ll only be doing the bare minimum of dungeon exploration required by the school. Besides, I’m pretty okay with fire magic!”
Anna’s eyes shimmered with an orange light, and a wispy orange flame appeared on top of her open palm, burning fiercely in front of the mirror.
“Heh, there are so many monsters in the game weak to fire, it’s one of the best elements I could have gotten in terms of pure offensive prowess!”
With her trust in her own abilities, she finished her morning routine and returned to her bedroom to put on her school uniform.
The uniform consisted of a white button-up shirt, a gold-colored necktie, a black skirt, and a wide black robe that ran down to below her hips and almost reached her knees and the end of her skirt.
Admiring herself in the mirror one last time, she headed out of her house with a satisfied grin while looking around and also seeing the other Vizwel Royal Academy students roaming the streets. Today was the day when school would finally start!
It was the Royal Capital after all. It had numerous nobles living within it, kind of like having a second home other than their manors inside their territories to enjoy a more urban lifestyle and have easier access to unique foods and drinks only found in the heart of the empire.
As she walked through the crowded streets, she found the shop selling the awesome bread she had almost every week ever since she arrived inside the Royal Capital last month.
The shop had a sign hanging on top of its door, with the words Fortune Bakery written in bold black letters.
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Oh yeah, it’s already been more than a month since I regained my memories of my past life.
Well, I was an orphan back then with no parents and had to live in the orphanage for a long time, and only got to enjoy video games when I was a lot older, and work was also hard, and life was just depressing in general…
Yeah no, I’m not feeling nostalgic at all. Well, other than those cute plushies I left behind!
It’s a good thing I didn’t get a pet, or else their owner would be living in another world while they starved to death.
Shaking her head, Anna entered the bakery and said hello to the kind lady tending to the store, and ordered the same bread she had been getting all this while.
“Garlic bread, please!” Anna said with a smile and rummaged through her bag to take out her wallet.
“Oh you, can’t you diversify your taste buds, dear?” The lady at the counter laughed lightly and took out a garlic bread, and even added an extra piece of bread, albeit with a different color, into the paper bag.
“That one’s on the house,” the lady said with a wink.
“Really? Thank you so much, Aunty!” Anna widened her eyes and hurriedly paid for the bag of bread. “No takebacks!”
“Hehehe, no worries, dear.” The woman laughed before she then cast her gaze on the uniform Anna wore. Wow, so you’re also studying at the Royal Academy? Sigh, the Royal Academy… I’m kind of worried for my son now.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Aunty?” Anna asked, worried for the kind lady.
“It’s that he also got admitted to the Royal Academy, but he’s kind of a lazy bum, so it’s a miracle he even passed the entrance exam! We always knew he had a decent aptitude with Earth Magic, but it seems his aptitude has grown, like those kids who got more talented in a certain element after puberty.”
“But so what if he has the talent? He’s a sloth who doesn’t even train all that much and eats like a pig, stays at home all day, and indulges in his books!”
“I heard there are even dungeon exploration classes, so it would be unavoidable for him to get hurt because of how lazy he is! If only he trained with his father at least once a week, then I wouldn’t have to agonize over it.”
Wow… He sounds like a shut-in NEET. If this world had anime, he’ll definitely be an otaku rather than someone who read books all day.
“Is that true, Aunty? I couldn’t even begin to expect that someone as hardworking as you would have such a lazy son!” Anna puffed up her chest and grinned. “Don’t worry, if I ever meet him at school, I’ll show him the taste of my righteous fury and beat him senseless!”
“Oh, you…” The lady shook her head and laughed, but in the next moment, a dangerous glint flashed in her light brown eyes. “Hmm, well if you say so. Just make sure to avoid hitting his face, he’s already ugly enough.”
“Oh yeah!” Anna widened her eyes as she remembered a crucial detail, and excitedly asked, “What’s his name? I’ll go looking for him when I have time and burn him to a crisp!”
“Well…” The lady laughed lightly and slowly came to a silent pause. She looked around the empty bakery, noticed that no one else was inside, leaned forward, and whispered.
“His name is Rob, Rob Fortune. He’s around 5’8, with messy black hair and dark brown eyes. He has lightly tanned skin, like mine but a bit browner, and has a pretty pudgy belly. Just think of a typical skinny fat loser with ugly ass hair, and you’ll realize it’s him. Believe me, you won’t miss him.”
“Fufufu, okay, okay! I remember all the details clearly!” Anna nodded her head seriously and laughed mischievously.
“Anyways, I’ll be going out now, Aunty! See you later!” She said her goodbyes and slowly walked out of the door with a bag of bread in hand.
“You too, dear. Though don’t be too harsh on him. Just give him a few bruises here and there.”
“Got it!”
…
“Ah! I’m running late!” Anna looked around the more crowded streets and slowly started to panic inside her heart.
Ugh, I shouldn’t have taken my time with that super delicious garlic cheese bread! I didn’t know they had that! I would have bought one a lot sooner if I knew. Well, it is my fault that I don’t frequently look at their menu.
No, wait, why am I thinking about this? I’m almost late!
Anna clicked her tongue and hastened her pace, running forward like the fleeting wind as the scenery around her flashed by like smeared paint and lines.
As she was about to turn around a corner, on the corner of her eyes, she suddenly saw the silhouette of another person come into view, surprising her.
It’s too late! I’m running too fast!
Fuck!
Bang!
With a head-on, no-break, full-powered collision, she rammed her body against another person and her entire vision turned dark for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn’t the same sensation as having her entire life flash before her eyes, but it was instead something closer to experiencing a core memory that would never be forgotten, a core memory that would act as a radical influence in her life.
Embarrassment? Shame? Pity?
She couldn’t describe what she felt at that moment, but it wasn’t good. It was cringe, it was excitement, it was shock, worry, hope, and a mixture of synonymous emotions similar to the ones she could explain in words.
Oh god! Oh god! What poor soul faced my slam?!
I gotta say sorry quick!
Wait, maybe it’s a cute guy? Isn’t this like the scenes in anime where the girl bumps into her soulmate or something? But I don’t have bread in my mouth right now!
Argh, I should have just eaten that garlic parmesan while walking!
As her butt fell to the ground, she squinted her eyes in pain and rubbed her ass with a light grunt, but amidst the pain and shame, she felt her heart thump loudly as erratic thoughts overthrew her reason and rational thinking.
Please god, let it be a handsome guy! Please let it be my soulmate! Please let me experience that heart-throbbing shoujo romance in anime! I wanna have a handsome as fuck boyfriend so bad!
Bright light filled her vision, with colorful leaves passing by her as sharp gusts of wind greeted her face. The light slowly receded, and as her vision returned to normal, her eyes shined brightly as they landed on the man of her dreams, the person that would cause her stomach to have fluttering butterflies and for her mind to experience dreamy euphoria.
She finally saw… She finally saw…!
Damn… He’s kinda ugly!
Oh well. She shook her head and sighed at her delirious thoughts. It was my fault for having false hope like that.
Inwardly shrugging her shoulders, she hurriedly stood up from the ground, and bowed, “Sorry, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you! A-Are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine…” The boy replied absentmindedly as he held his head with squinted eyes and looked down at the ground as if to distract himself from the aching pain he felt.
“Do you need help?” Anna asked worriedly.
“No, I’m okay, I can handle this…” The boy replied weakly and slowly stood up with a shallow grunt.
“Okay.” Anna heaved a sigh of relief. “Well, I’ll be going then! I hope we can see each other again!”
With that, Anna ran off with the passage of time pressing down on her.
As she disappeared into the distance, she thought to herself in passing, Huh, messy black hair and lightly tanned skin, and even a bulging belly. If only I had a good look at his eyes. But there’s no way he’s Aunt’s, right?
…
The boy leaned back on the wall, grabbed his head with bloodshot, dark brown eyes, and breathed in and out as if he was having a panic attack.
“Fuck, fuck!” He cursed loudly. The pain was driving him insane. He didn’t have enough energy to care if any passerby were to see him acting this way right now.
And fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the streets were empty, so no one could see him, or call for help.
The headache he felt was something he never experienced before in his life. It was too painful to just be a normal headache. It was as if his mind was about to rupture into two and explode in an explosion of blood and brain matter.
“What’s happening to me!” He almost wanted to bash his head into the ground just to end the pain, but his mind’s instinctual will to live stopped him from doing so.
Instead, he gritted his teeth as tightly as he can and kneeled on the ground, his eyes tearing up as he felt what it was like to have an endless library of countless books forcefully shoved into your brain.
It was an agonizing pain that was felt in the mind, body, and soul.
Who am I? Who is this demon roasting children on hellfire? Who is this angel tricking mortal men for their karma? Who is this giant dragon eating an entire world? What is this place? What is that? What is here? Where is when?
An endless array of beasts, monsters, humans, demons, angels, planets, stars, solar systems galaxies, universes, multiverses, realities, and even the realm above infinity all played in his mind to the point he lost himself in this endless stream of information.
After what seemed like an eternity, after experiencing the life of a single man that went on for an uncountable number of years, far longer than the age of billions of universes, the boy with messy black hair, dark brown eyes, lightly tanned skin, a bulging belly, and wearing the Vizwel Royal Academy uniform, finally calmed down and kneeled on the ground in complete silence.
Then, he looked up to the sky, his dark brown eyes shining madly with crazed light. A devilish smile crept up on his demonic face, and as an unrivaled demonic aura erupted out of his body, the entire world shook in fear as winds howled and the trees rustled in horror.
“AHAHAHAHAHA!” He erupted into a maniacal laugh as his smile almost split his face in half.
“After having lived a shitty life and spending eons to reach the throne of supremacy, unlike those lucky bastards, I’ll finally get to enjoy the life of a super duper lucky protagonist!”
“Endless wealth, absurd cheats, lucky opportunities, broken plot armor! I’ll have them all! I’ll steal them all!”
“From now on, as long as I’m alive, I’ll be the luckiest being to ever live in the Omniverse!”
“I’m Rob Fortune, the Devouring Darkness, the Demonic Scourge, the Betrayer of Humanity!!”
“Heh, misfortune be damned! Luck is where it’s at!”