"What is this?"
I looked at my reflection in the mirror before furiously rubbing my eyes until the corners became pinkish.
It hurts. My god, does that mean this is real?
"I-I'm not dreaming," I said with a voice filled with wonder.
Messy, silver hair that looks like there's a bird nesting on it, piercing silver eyes that gleams like moonlight in the dark, and a slightly muscular yet petite tall frame.
No doubt this is Kaven Eralis!
SPLASH!
Droplets of water rolled down my face. I completely absorbed this unbelievable situation after seeing that I'm still Kaven even after I washed my face.
'Am I possessing his body? Oh well, this is a good thing.'
Kim Su-An, a middle school girl who was just a little free-spirited is now reincarnated as a male MC of a trashy book.
'What a gender bender.'
"This is better than my old life."
Fuuuuuuuuu.
I sighed in relief.
"Heh."
Slowly, one edge of my lips started curving up. I tried to suppress the feeling inside me but it was too hard to stop my happiness from bubbling out.
"Kihihi...! Hehe...! Ahahaaha!"
It started as a small wheezing before it turned to slightly louder giggles. Then I couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing so hard that tears flowed in my eyes and my stomach kept yelling in pain for me to stop. My face twisted so creepily that I wouldn't even be surprised if people call me a lunatic.
"Kahaha!"
Good Lord, I believe I haven't laughed like this since forever.
"Ha! I finally escaped that hell hole! Lucky!"
My chest felt light as I got the words out of my system. It was as if something heavy was lifted off my shoulders. Tsk. It's a shame I couldn't see my bullies' faces when they realize they lost a toy.
'Damn! It must've been epic.'
I really wanted to see it but for now, I'll be satisfied with escaping.
I escaped but the problem is that I realized where I had escaped to. The whole thing was a huge issue.
Why? Because out of all the universe out there, I happened to be in SMOAH.
'Just why did it have to be Survival Methods of a Hypnotist?'
I hate this goddamn book.
'And the main character at that?'
It just happened to be a character I loathed the most.
'Is this really lucky at all?'
I don't think so.
Kaven and I don't even have anythig in common! I don't care about the gender, this is not the matter of being a 'he' or a 'she' in this life.
First of all, Kaven's the angel-type inside an emo-shell that drew attention with that contrastive charisma. Me? I'm literally the opposite of that. I have zero presence and people only take a look at me because of my lack of fashion sense.
'That or they want to bully me which, by the way, happens a lot for some reason.'
And second, Kaven always helps people and rubs it in their faces unknowingly while I only interfere in other people's lives when I find something interesting. I don't do it openly too. Imagine a worn and torn devil sitting beside an angel with a glowing halo.
"Haaaaaa," I sighed.
The difference is so distinct that it makes me feel trashy even though it's the book that was trashy in the first place.
'Point is, we don't match at all.'
But as long as I'm the main character, I will be a slave to the plot, won't I?
"Haaaa. I'm tired of following the norm," I sighed again.
I followed my bullies in the past life now I even have to follow the rules in this trashy book? I really don't like this situation.
'Come to think of it, why did I keep reading this book even thought it's garbage?'
Then a name appeared in my mind. It was the name of the supporting character I really liked.
"Raze." I nod to myself. "Even his name sounds cool."
'True fandoms overlook everything trashy for their idol.'
He supported Kaven as his right hand and he even gave up the fight for succession in their family to serve him twenty-four seven. Raze was one badass supporting character wasted on the main character.
'But of course, that won't happen anymore.'
All I need to do is avoid meeting him and all the other influential people. After all, connections won't form out of thin air. Also, I was never the dependent type of person.
'I survived my hard life alone, didn't I?'
There is no need for me to take all the credits of the supporting characters just because I existed as 'Kaven.' I don't want to be the protagonist. In fact, Raze should be the main character instead of me. He was more fitting for the role, to be honest.
As for me? I'll do what Kaven should've done.
Survive. Using. My. Own. Methods.
* * *
"Thank you for your transaction."
I walked outside the Helios Bank which's the largest bank company in this world. It was a good thing that there was not much difference between the world here and the previous world where I used to live, I was able to locate it without trouble.
Well, apart from the fact that people here have special abilities, and it is applied in their daily life, nothing's really changed.
Though I remember complaining that the author had no originality.
'Silly me. I even criticized the author.'
Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Spoken like a true idiot.
"Silly. So silly."
I covered my blushing face, regardless of the weird stares given to me by the people passing by. I was still outside the bank which reminds me...
"That's right. I forgot Kaven was filthy rich."
Seriously. My eyes almost became the symbol of money the moment I saw all the zeroes in his bank account. If it wasn't for the employee asking me if I was alright then I would've become money then and there.
Anyway, I withdrew it all.
Originally, he will donate this for charity work but later in the story, he found out that the charity program he invested in was a fraud. His money got stolen and that's when he meets a piggy bank---eherm---I mean, a supporting character who had a lot of money in his hands.
Long story short, we have a one-thousand-nights inspired story where Kaven told his story and the supporting character took pity on him before promising to provide him with financial support.
Viola! He gains the skill called free-cash-for-eternity via storytelling.
And that was the story of how he 'survives' every financial crisis that came his way.
Kaven will never go broke.
Remembering it all over again made me sigh, "If the world worked that easy then poverty wouldn't exist at all, would it? So unrealistic."
I don't want to cling to some sugar daddy for money. So what if I lose the eternal-cash skill card? I just need to find a way to earn fast money via skill future-cheat-I-got-by-reading.
This brings me to....
Survival Method #1 : Change Myself
I stopped by a mirror shop to look at myself.
"Hmmm."
Kaven was naturally handsome but right now I had to admit that I look hideous with this bird nest on my head and these shabby black clothes.
"Why does his wardrobe only have black clothes? Am I supposed to be mourning or something?" I thought to myself.
I never knew because Kaven's past wasn't thoroughly explained. It's not like it's important or something.
'But I do need to change my whole wardrobe.'
The thing here is that it's humiliating to walk inside a mall and go shopping because I'll look like some homeless shit inside a palace.
"I'll do something with this beggar face first," I mumbled as I made my way inside an expensive-looking salon.
Countless necks snapped when I entered, openly assessing what had to be done to make me look like a human once again.
I already knew what had to be changed though.
'Everything.'
And the people inside seem to get the message too.
"I'll leave myself in your care," I said, and thus begins the long yet successful process of method one.