The day unfolded in all its splendor under the warm embrace of sunlight. Amid the picturesque scene, people moved gracefully through their routines, their faces adorned with serene smiles.
A peaceful era, free from major wars between kingdoms, had settled over the thriving empire of Gravantia, where calm felt like an ordinary part of life.
March has arrived, and the streets came alive with the bustle of students from the renowned Revery Academy.
As a cornerstone of influence on the Éden continent, the academy, led by its formidable headmaster, inspired both respect and awe across the empire.
For this reason, nobles from every corner of the world sent their children to study at the academy, seeking to hone their strength and skills while shaping them into influential figures for the future.
Some students could be seen flying through the sky on their spiritual beasts, while others rode magical brooms or wore enchanted mage robes.
Anyone outside the academy who witnessed such a scene would be captivated by its vibrant energy and stunning beauty.
Sadly, only students from the academy could step inside the magical dome that protected the place. Anyone without special access would hit the impenetrable invisible wall.
Right outside the Revery Magic Library, one of the most important places on the academy, a group of students whispered among themselves about a young man lying on the ground.
In front of him, a beautiful girl and a handsome guy directed angry words toward the fallen young man.
"Don't ever come near me again, or I'll make sure you regret it!" the young woman warned, her voice sharp with anger.
"Being engaged doesn't give you the right to force yourself on her," the handsome guy next to her said, his voice laced with irritation.
As the duo continued speaking, they noticed the young man on the ground showed no reaction. His expression remained blank, as if he were unaffected by the humiliation being directed at him.
The girl's frustration erupted, her voice ringing through the courtyard. "Raziel, are you pretending not to listen!? You jerk!"
Upon hearing her words, the young man known as Raziel quickly rose to his feet, straightening his slightly disheveled clothes. Earlier, the boy standing beside the loud girl had punched him.
As he fixed his sleeve, the girl kept shouting harsh words, with the boy beside her adding his own. The noise was giving him a headache and making his ears ache.
They were irritating, and he had to resist the urge to punch them both in the face.
Unable to take it any longer, he shouted, "Can you just shut up? I'm trying to concentrate here!"
Both of them, along with the crowd that had gathered to watch the confrontation, stared at him in disbelief.
It seemed absurd for him to be angry at them when he was the one who caused the trouble in the first place.
Without saying anything more, Raziel turned and walked away, leaving everyone confused.
As he walked further away from the others, a flood of memories surged into his mind, causing a slight pain in his head as the overwhelming rush of information flooded his thoughts.
After quickly absorbing the new memories, he figured out what was really going on.
He had transmigrated into a very rich and attractive character named Raziel Harvestead, whose name was nearly identical to his own, with only the surname being different.
Raziel, a guy who enjoyed reading novels about transmigrators, should have been excited for it to happen to him.
However, what stopped him from being happy was that he had somehow ended up in the role of a mid-level villain in an RPG Dating Sim game he'd once played, called The Great King of Éden.
The girl who had been shouting at him earlier turned out to be his fiancée, Sylfi, and the guy beside her was none other than Erick Lionheart, the game's protagonist.
It seemed Raziel had landed in Episode Two of the game, where the protagonist would eventually challenge him to a duel, likely win, and lead to the cancellation of his engagement to Sylfi.
Later in Episode Three, as Erick adds two more heroines to his "harem," Raziel reappears with plans to kill him and torment the girls.
But despite Raziel's efforts, plot armor intervenes, saving Erick and awakening his inner power, which ultimately leads to the discovery of his future signature Light Swordsmanship style.
Unsurprisingly, after that, Raziel meets his end with his head chopped off, his body left for the monsters in the forest to devour.
Moreover, there was another problem, although this one was purely a matter of personal opinion, as Raziel considered the game's ending absolutely awful.
Because after Erick defeats an ancient demon threatening to destroy the world, he doesn't end up with the heroine the player tried to conquer, nor is there even an epilogue to explain what happens afterward.
And for some reason, the player is left with a lingering sense that something is missing.
Raziel, who had played the game quite a lot, always thought that made no sense at all, especially since it was a dating sim where players could made decisive choices and built well-developed affinity levels with the heroines.
So, why can't you have a romantic ending with the girl you choose? And why was the ending so incomplete?
This led him to give the game one of his worst reviews, especially considering the time he wasted playing that awful game.
One bad review might not seem significant, but coming from him, it felt like the final word.
He had a secret online identity known as "Lostty," a famous user renowned for his precise reviews of dating sims.
Raziel had a knack for highlighting both the best and worst aspects of dating sim games, always doing so without a single mistake. Most other dating sims enthusiasts even named him "The Connoisseur."
Although he didn't want to give such a harsh review because he loved the world-building and characters, his frustration left him with no mercy when criticizing the game.
After posting his review on a popular forum, Raziel received an email a few days later from someone claiming to be the game's creator.
He didn't find it suspicious, as sometimes when he left a bad review, developers would try to offer him gifts in exchange for a better one. However, these attempts never worked, because the word of Lostty, The Connoisseur, was final and unyielding.
Raziel figured this person was likely no different, especially since the game had been flooded with one-star reviews across most online stores following his critique.
Nonetheless, he always found it amusing to read about these desperate developers trying to bribe him into changing his reviews.
As he read the email sent by NotGod, Raziel was puzzled. While he delved into its contents, he realized it wasn't a bribe, instead, it sounded like a peculiar offer.
{You didn't like the ending? Think you can do better? If so, let's make a bet.}
That was the content of the email, and it made him furious, thinking the developer was messing with him. He immediately fired back a reply, adding some harsh, hateful comments along the way.
While walking through the academy grounds, Raziel couldn't help but think that NotGod might indeed be a god.
That being probably orchestrated his journey through this world to make him solve a bigger problem, making him suffer a lot in the process.
The mere thought of it made his head throb.
'Shit... it's just like one of those generic transmigrator novels. I offended an egocentric god, and now he's put me here to suffer with a crappy system...' Raziel thought, already guessing everything.
[Initializing the system...]
[Villain System Activated!]
A sudden, mechanical woman's voice echoed in his mind, as if it were coming from within his very thoughts.
'Speak of the devil,' Raziel thought to himself as soon as he heard the voice.
A light red floating panel suddenly appeared before him, displaying a message.
[Welcome, host, to your useful, intelligent, efficient, and impressive vil-]
"Fuck you, system!" he interrupted the mechanical voice, shouting angrily.
[W-what why did you say that host? I'm here to help-]
"Fuck you, helping my ass. I know what you want to do! You're just trying to turn me into your puppet, offering pitiful rewards while I endure endless humiliations to entertain a superior being or something!" Raziel said, his face contorted in irritation as he glared at the flooded panel before him.
[N-no, h-host, it's not like that!]
The mechanical voice started to sound troubled as it began to stutter over some words.
"I don't care! I'm not becoming your damn slave, so get lost and leave me the hell alone stupid system!" Raziel shouted, his voice seething with fury as he stormed through the academy plaza.
His outburst left some students staring, wondering if he'd completely lost it.
[Fine, host. You don't want to accept my help, so it's your problem. Hmph!]
After the mechanical voice spoke, the light-red floating panel vanished before his eyes, leaving Raziel wondering if he had truly gotten rid of it.
With the system seemingly "gone," Raziel made up his mind to ignore it.
This was his chance to live his dreams, to become a multibillionaire and a handsome man with unlimited potential.
The villain role wasn't his thing, and being a hero? That was out of the question. Heroes were stuck with annoying, rigid principles that always seemed to get in the way.
"I just want to relax and enjoy the luxury that comes with being rich, surrounded by beautiful women" he said with a big smile, causing some students, especially girls, to feel a bit creeped out by his statement.
Digging through Raziel's memories, he discovered the location of his new home. It was situated in a luxurious district outside the academy, an area reserved for nobles and the ultra-wealthy.
His residence was a classy house with multiple rooms and a beautiful garden, a stark contrast to the academy's more modest accommodations.
From that moment on, Raziel's life took a drastic turn. He was determined not to let anyone or anything ruin it.
The original plot could develop however it wanted because his objectives were simple: live comfortably and grow stronger to protect himself.
That was indeed his decision as he walked happily along the beautiful red brick path, wearing a satisfied smile.