Chapter 1: I... Died?

3rd Person POV:

He was taking a walk like he would normally do every day at lunchtime, when he suddenly felt a short but sharp pain coming from his head. Everything went black immediately. When he came to...everything around him was suddenly white. He squinted his eyes rapidly because of the bright light, when he suddenly heard a voice in his mind.

{Hello, dear Host! I'm your system! Welcome to the 'Help the unfortunate Villain' project.}

He couldn't help but frown. Was he imagining things? 'No.. More importantly, what happened? And... Where am I?' He asked, but without an answer to these questions, the mechanic voice rang in his head for a second time.

{Host Number 1, you have been selected to travel through different worlds to help the big boss villain in each of them. Each of these villains have a tragic fate. It is your duty to help them avoid their death and find a happy ending for themselves. You can deny doing so, but if you really decide that you won't do it, your soul will scatter, never to reincarnate ever again}

He widened his eyes in surprise, before lowering his eyelids again. "Fine..", he began talking to that weird voice. "But please answer my questions first. What happened? And where am I?"

He heard it answer him this time. {Host, you died because a bullet penetrated your skull and brain, killing you almost instantly. You died before the ambulance arrived at the scene. I pulled your soul into this space before it could enter the reincarnation cycle, because you fit every requirement needed to be chosen for these tasks}, it said.

*"I understand. Somebody must have betrayed me. I always disguise myself when going out.. Without someone telling, there would be no one knowing..", he sighed. It's not that he was that disappointed to know that he was betrayed.. Since almost everybody wanted him dead for his brilliant success he was experiencing. 'But I would've loved to live just a bit longer.. Dying at the age of 30 wasn't really that pretty. I mean, it could've been worse, but..'*, he thought and sighed again. 'Never mind.. What's done is done.. I can't go back now... Instead of losing my memories by reincarnating or getting my soul scattered, I would rather do these tasks...'

"So.. System, what's your name? I can't really keep calling you System.. And.. Can you help me with these tasks or am I on my own?", he started asking, since he had to know more.

{Host can give the system a name if he wishes to do so. We systems have no gender or special identity. We help our hosts accomplish their tasks and nothing more, which leads to the second question the host has asked. The host can get points for finishing tasks. With these points, Host can train and learn skills which will be helpful. But other than this and giving information to the host at the beginning of the world, Host will only receive help per the system shop.}

"I see.. Then.. Let's name you Pencake. Also, please call me by my name. The way you said it.. are the points a diffrent currency from the one needed for the shop?", he answered the voice in his head

{Yes, Edwin. Points will be earned for completing the main task in each world. But there will also be side tasks, for which the reward will be coins. These coins can be used in the shop to exchange for different pills and other necessities like food for example.}

"Understood, I will check all of that later.. So.. Do I get any 'first time' bonus?"

{You do, Edwin. You get 1.000 points and 500 coins for bonding with the system. You can also choose one skill to learn for free from those you can choose for the tutorial world.}

"Tutorial world? So.. Are there different difficulties or something?", he immediately asked.

{There are. The tutorial world is basically unfailable. After that, there will be more difficult worlds. These worlds will be ranked with rank 4 being the most dangerous and difficult to complete}

"Okay, now I understand the basics. Thank you, Pancake. Which skills can I learn for the tutorial world?", he now answered with more excitement.

{Ding!}

{Processing....}

{Host Edwin can learn following skills:

-Hacking [Host already mastered this skill, searching skill to replace...]

-Replacement Skill: Acting [350 points]

-Singing [300 points]

-Musical Instruments [500 points]

-Photographic Memory [700 points]

-Sense For Danger [700 points]

Please choose}

He stared at the weird interface that opened up in front of him in surprise. "Wow.. That's interesting!', he exclaimed with excitement. As he read through the screen, he gave everything some more thought. 'It seems I will be going into a world that's Modern.. I don't know if it'll be as advanced as mine but.. Photographic Memory seems nice.. Singing as well, since I won't have much more points for anything else..', and so he chose exactly those two skills.

{Ding!}

He saw the screen disappearing again as it was instantly replaced by Pancake's voice.

{Edwin chose 'Photographic Memory' as well as 'Singing'. You will now be sent to the training room, where you will stay until you mastered everything. Good luck, Host}

He immediately started feeling lightheaded as the scenery around him started to change at the same time.

\~60 years later\~

Opening his eyes, he was standing inside that white room once again. It felt a little nostalgic, since he hasn't seen it since..forever.

{Edwin, you are now ready to start your tutorial world.}

"Wait.. Is there a way to get the information for the world right now?", he immediately asked before being sent there.

{Yes, if the Host wishes, I can send a bit of the inform for the world right now, but.. You will only be able to access the memories of your new body once you took over}

"Okay, thanks. Please send me the plot immediately."

Once these words left his mouth, a screen appeared before him once more.

{Processing....}

{Required World information:

[Male Lead]

-Name: Jonas Rede

-Age: 19

-Occupation: Illegitimate Son of the Rede Family

-Profile: He's being hated by his family, has one older brother. Fell in love with the Female Lead since she's 'different than the others'

[Female Lead]

-Name: Lily Allen

-Age: 21

-Occupation: First daughter of the Allen Family

-Profile: She's being doted on by her family as the only child, she's also known as a 'green tea bitch' by the plot. She's a white lotus full of schemes. Fell in love with Jonas at first sight, but actually just wants to help him get the Rede Family's inheritance and be even richer than she is now.

[Villain]

-Richard Wagner Strauss

-Age: 22

-Occupation: CEO of a large Family Business

-Profile: He's rich. Extremely rich, but at the same time, extremely low-key. His family owns these Businesses for generations and they have a extremely long standing history with said businesses. But since he took over, nobody has seen pictures on social media or anywhere else. Dies because of the Female Lead and Male Lead.}

He read everything and started to frown. "Say, pancake.. Do I just take over the Villain's body directly or.. Do I help him otherwise?" He sees the window disappear again. Now Pancake's voice answered him.

{Replying to Host. No, you will not take over the body of the Villain. You will take the body of a cannonfodder near the Villain. The main task would be to help the Villain overcome his fate, for which the reward differs per difficulty. The side tasks mostly contain the last wishes said cannonfodder had before they died}

"I see.. Thank you.", he answered back while taking a deep breath. "Can I talk to you once I enter the world?"

{Yes you can. Since we systems can read minds, you would just have to call for me, Edwin.}

"Good, that's reassuring. Now... Let's enter the tutorial world, Pancake"

{Understood. Transfer process starting now...}

He took another deep breath and closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt dull pains all over his soul and blacked out. The last thing he heard was his system talking.

{Transfer complete. Good luck, host}

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