"Then... what I am supposed to do?"
[Ding! Host, You are required to hunt these protagonists and make their lives hell. Reduce their luck and Kill them!]
Ashen nodded, expressing his understanding, but a question crossed his mind making his face turn serious.
He confusedly asked: "Aren't protagonists supposed to be Overpowered?
Moreover, They have hell of a good luck. How am I supposed to hunt them?"
[Ding! To help you do that I am here! I will provide you with villain points according to the villainous act you perform against a protagonist. And with these points, You can redeem various rewards and increase your cultivation]
Ashen absorbed all the information before asking: "Then, what is this body's cultivation now?"
Ashen was familiar with the concept of cultivation. He had read multiple cultivation novels during his teenage years, hence, he had a rough idea.
[Ding! Host, How about I transfer the memories of your body to your mind through which you can learn about this world]
Ashen nodded in agreement, ordering: "Do It!"
[Ding! deducting 10 villain points, transferring the memories of the Host's body to the Host's mind.]
Ashen's eyes widened in surprise, upon hearing about the deduction of points.
He hadn't agreed to this. He complained, yelling at the system:
"Hey, Why didn't you tell me about deducting the points.... arghhhh..."
But, before he could finish complaining, his head started to ache with an unimaginable pain.
He grabbed his head in an attempt to reduce the pain but it was futile.
Memories started flooding into his mind...
He saw a 20 year old boy with raven black hair, crystal red eyes, sharp features and a handsome face. This boy was unimaginably handsome but had a gloomy and sad expression hanging on his face.
That boy was this body's previous owner -
Fang Ashen - 9th Prince of the Primordial Dragon Empire, the largest and the strongest among the five empires of this world.
This world was of cultivation where the Strong dominated.
And, Your Cultivation depended on the level of Spirit you awakened.
If you awakened a low level spirit, the time required to reach the next realm will be more and one will require more resources to cultivate.
On the other hand, someone with a high level spirit will advance quickly with less effort, time and resources.
Therefore, if someone had a spirit of a level, too low, then they would be considered a cripple at best, subjecting them to a lifetime of humiliation by the stronger individuals.
This prince suffered a similar fate.
He awakened a 1-star spirit, A white snake at the awakening ceremony, and from then on, his life turned into hell.
He cultivated day and night but was left with minimal results.
He was left behind by children younger than him, who mocked him behind his back.
Losing all hope, he turned into a shut-in, indulging in alcohol all day.
And today, losing all hope to live, committed suicide.
Returning to the present...
The memories ceased their overwhelming rush, and the pain subsided as Ashen fell silent.
He rose from the floor where he had been sprawled, letting out screams.
A sympathetic expression appearing on Ashen's face, He commented: "What a poor Guy! He didn't even had the chance to do something to change his fate."
[Ding! Host, Did you receive the answer to the question you had?]
Noticing The system's voice, Ashen was reminded of what had transpired.
His expression turned into that of rage as he roared: "You fuxking System! Why didn't you inform me that points were required to transfer the memories?"
[Ding! Host, Did you forget who I am? I am the Villainous system! Therefore, I act like a Villain]
Ashen, with an incredulous expression, exclaimed, baffled by this nonsensical answer: "What?"
[Ding! Host, You should think about your cultivation rather than my Villainous Nature]
Ashen, Finding the System's words logical, asked: "Tell me, what should I do to change this useless spirit?"
[Ding! Host, The white snake you have as this body's spirit is no ordinary one-star spirit! It is the 9-headed devouring Dragon spirit which is of the highest grade!]
Ashen's eyes widened, curiosity getting the better of him, he asked: "9-headed devouring Dragon?"
[Ding! Yes, Host, The white snake is it's initial form and it can be upgraded through various resources and by letting it devour another spirit of the same level]
Ashen's face revealed a shocked expression, he stammered while asking: "D-Devour another spirit? Do you mean, It can eat another spirit and evolve into its next form?"
[Ding! Exactly Host, When this spirit devours another spirit, it can acquire it's powers and if it doesn't use it to evolve upon devouring it, then that spirit will become yours to use. This spirit is even above the heavenly grade but No one recognizes it]
A shocked expression remained on Ashen's face throughout as he listened about this overpowered spirit, but, upon remembering the Prince who committed suicide due to this same spirit, his expression turned solemn: "Poor guy! He didn't even realize that he got something that even the protagonists would dream of and committed suicide due to it.
What a tragedy!" Ashen commented solemnly as he shook his head in pity.
[Ding! Host, the previous owner of your body was himself a protagonist! He was someone with two destinies. He was either destined to conquer this world with his luck, status and spirit or commit suicide, succumbing to despair. This was a sort of test for him.]
"Oh, so that's the reason I found his story quite similar to a protagonist. He was a protagonist himself. It makes sense." Ashen muttered before focusing on himself rather than the previous Ashen.
"Then, how would I know about my power level"
[Ding Host! Just say Status window to see your stats]
Ashen nodded, muttering: "Status Window!"
--------------------------------
------STATUS WINDOW------
Name: Fang Ashen
Age: 20 years old.
Villain Points: 90
Cultivation: Third Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
Cultivation Technique: None
Skills: None
Bloodline: Dormant
Physique: Dormant
Spirit: White Snake (1-star) [9-headed devouring Dragon] (dormant)
Weaknesses: None
--------------------------------
Ashen went through the status window before questioning the System: "Didn't Fang Ashen Start cultivating, then, why is there no Cultivation Technique?"
[Ding! Host, Your body has been cleansed by the system, Therefore, the previous Technique has been erased. You can practice a new technique altogether]
Ashen nodded, stroking his chin: "Makes sense!"
"What about Villain Points?" He questioned, noticing 90 points present already.
[Ding! Host, You were provided with 100 Villain Points as a starting bonus, You can use the remaining points to increase your cultivation level, buy a skill or other cultivation techniques.]
Ashen nodded, curiously asking: "How many points do I need to Increase my cultivation level to the next level?"
[Ding! Host requires 500 Villain Points to advance to Body Transformation Realm]
Ashen, stroking his chin, contemplated: "Then, I need to acquire more points before I can advance"
[Ding! Host, This Villainous System suggests you to devour another spirit and increase the level of your white snake. With it's increase in level, your cultivation speed will also rise and the points required to advance will decrease]
Hearing System's advice, a sinister smile appeared on Ashen's face as he muttered: "Then, let's do some hunting, hehe"
Ashen, approaching the door of his room, pushed it outwards. The door opened and he exited the room.
In his sight, a long hallway appeared. He moved, remembering the way to his destination from this body's memories. As he walked, a shocked look appeared on all the servants and maids he encountered.
They murmured something but it wasn't audible to him, ignoring the murmuring, he kept moving forward, taking some turns.
The palace was really large, it took him about 10 minutes to reach his destination.
He, standing in front of a large door of a room, knocked on it
"Come in" A female voice, gentle as well as charming, came from behind the doors.
Ashen pushed the doors open, getting a clear view inside.
A beautiful woman with a perfect hourglass figure, black hair, brown eyes, sharp features and a fair face appeared in sight, sitting in front of a mirror, combing her beautiful hair. As Her brown eyes turned towards Ashen, she stood up with a shocked expression on her face.
"Son! Why did you come here? you could've sent someone to call me!" She asked with a gentle and concerned voice.
Indeed, this woman was Fang Ashen's mother, the seventh concubine, Shang Celine.
Ashen, shaking his head, assured his mother: "No mother, it's alright! I am feeling fine now"
A relieved expression appeared on Celine's face, calming down she asked:
"So, what do you require of this poor mother that you came to see her"
She made a saddened face, attempting to tease Ashen.
"I just couldn't live without seeing your beautiful face" Ashen complimented but when he realized what he had done, it was too late.
"Damn, my Habits!" He cursed his habits from his past life, he would throw random compliments in front of beautiful women and that turned into his habit.
But, Celine took the compliment as a mother instead of a woman.
She held her cheeks embarrassingly, teasing: "Really? I must've become too beautiful in the days you didn't see me for you to say such things"
Ashen came back to his senses as he muttered: "Don't dream!"
Hearing his words, Celine held his ear before twisting it "Ahhh..., Stop Mother, did you forget I am not well?" He threw the excuse of being sick.
His mother, remembering about his condition, left his ear as she said: "Tell me, Why are you here if you are not well?"
"That..., Mother, I wanted to visit the village where cripples reside," Ashen said with an innocent gaze.
Witnessing his son's gaze, Celine was unable to refuse: "You mean the carp village? Alright, I will send some of my guards with you. Go and get ready to leave in an hour"
Ashen jumped into her arms, shouting in excitement: "Thank you, Mother!"
Afterward, Ashen returned to his room.
He, lying on his bed, sighed: "Sigh, acting like a child is so tiring"
There was a reason why he acted like this in front of his mother.
It was because of his body's memories. After knowing that he only had a 1-star spirit, everybody ridiculed him and left him on his own except for his mother.
Therefore, The previous Fang Ashen would act like a child in front of her to not worry her. It was all an act that he would do only in front of her mother.
He didn't want to make her worry about him.
Even the reason for him committing suicide was his mother.
He heard some servants talking about how his mother was ridiculed by all for having a talentless son and how he would be better off dead.
He just wanted his mother to be happy and wouldn't need to hear all these taunts.
And hence he decided to take his life.
Here, Ashen was acting the same like the previous Fang Ashen would act with his mother, so as to not make her suspicious.
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(A/N - Thanks For Reading. ^..^)