I jolted awake, my heart pounding as I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling above me.
It wasn't my room.
The air felt different, thicker somehow, and the bed beneath me was far softer than what I was used to.
I blinked, rubbing my eyes.
Wait… where the heck am I?
I shot up, glancing around wildly.
My breath came out ragged as panic began to settle in.
This wasn't my room—heck, this wasn't anywhere I recognized.
The furniture, the strange décor… even the air smelled different.
I ran my hand through my hair, trying to make sense of the situation.
I was alive—at least, I thought I was.
But how? And why did everything seem so... off?
Swallowing hard, I noticed a mirror beside the bed, reflecting a figure I barely recognized.
My chest tightened as I approached it slowly, feeling like I was in some weird dream.
The face staring back at me wasn't mine.
I stumbled back in shock.
The person in the mirror was tall, far taller than me, with sharp, chiseled features and eyes that practically glowed with confidence.
His hair was messy but in a cool, effortless way, and—wait a minute—this guy was handsome.
Really handsome.
This can't be me… there's no way I look like this!
I reached up and touched my face, watching the reflection copy my every move.
But these hands, this face... it wasn't mine.
I wasn't this good-looking, not even close.
My breath hitched as a sudden thought flickered in my mind, a nagging familiarity.
I had seen this face before.
Wait.
No.
Could it be? No, no way…
Just as the realization started to dawn on me, I felt my stomach twist with dread.
This was the face of a character.
A character from a novel I had read. But not just any character—a villain.
A third-rate villain from "Rise of the Strongest Protagonist."
My favorite novel… but also my worst nightmare.
This guy—the body I was in—was doomed to die by the end of the first volume!
I wasn't even the hero.
I was just the guy who gets used and tossed aside like garbage.
I looked down at myself in disbelief.
My chest was bare, revealing a set of abs I had never seen on my own body before.
Muscles rippled under smooth skin, and I couldn't help but gawk for a second.
Okay, sure, I looked amazing.
But that wasn't the point!
This was bad—really bad.
Before I could wrap my head around the situation, a sudden popping sound made me jump.
Out of nowhere, a glowing screen appeared in front of me, hovering in midair.
[Ding! A suitable candidate has been chosen! Awakening the "Lucky Draw."]
I blinked in confusion, my mind struggling to keep up.
"What the heck is going on?" I muttered under my breath. A... lucky draw?
Then, right before my eyes, three black cards appeared out of nowhere, spinning in the air like some kind of magic trick.
"Cards? Blank ones?"
[Ding! Host, please select one of the three cards as a reward for your arrival!]
I stared at the screen, my mind racing.
This had to be some kind of joke, right?
There was no way this was real...
But the glowing screen and floating cards told a different story.
"No way…" I whispered, my heart pounding louder than ever.
If this was real—my one chance to survive—I had to decide. It was either die or fight to stay alive. My heart raced with a mix of fear and excitement as I reached out to touch one of the blank cards spinning around me.
The moment my finger touched it, the rest of the cards vanished into thin air. The card I chose flipped over slowly, and I heard a soft pop, followed by a robotic voice echoing through the air.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You've obtained a treasure map from the lucky draw that leads to a hidden dungeon containing an SSS-rank Ice Magic book!]
Wait, what?! An SSS-rank book? And it's Ice Magic?!
Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of me with a message:
[Please hurry and find the book before it vanishes from its location in 12 hours!]
What?! Only 12 hours? Seriously?!
I quickly scanned the room, looking for a clock. I spotted one in the corner, and for a second, I was distracted. I recognized it immediately—it was an incredibly rare ormolu-mounted red boulle Sympathique quarter striking table clock, the most expensive clock in my previous world!
But I couldn't waste time. I checked the time: 8:30 a.m. That meant I had until 8:30 p.m. to find the book.
Even with my luck, this chance could slip away if I didn't act fast.
If this was my only way to survive past the first volume, I had no choice.
I had to get it done, no matter what.
I never imagined I'd end up in a body like this, and of all characters, it has to be one of the worst.
I've been transmigrated into the life of a typical "spoiled young master" from those cheesy Chinese stories.
You know the type—completely worthless and overflowing with arrogance. When I say "worthless," I really mean it.
This guy's talent? It's barely even E rank, at best.
In this world, talents are ranked from G, the absolute lowest, to SSS, the highest.
Yet here I am, trapped in a body that's barely scraping by in a world where strength is everything.
To make matters worse, this character's story basically ends by the conclusion of the first volume.
What happens to him?
He meets a tragic end and honestly, he has it coming.
Why?
He tries to assault the sister of the main protagonist and ends up getting himself killed.
Yeah, that's the kind of person I'm stuck being now.
Anyway...
At the moment, I have two short-term goals.
The first is to obtain the SSS-rank Ice Book, and the second is to acquire the mysterious SS-rank Dragon Fruit, which will allow me to raise my E-rank talent to SS-rank.
"But if I took the SS Dragon Fruit, I could remove my limits for good… though it might mess with the protagonist, right?"
I paused, thinking it over. "Actually, since his talent's already rated as SSS, it probably won't matter if I take it."
The more I thought about it, the more it felt like the author made the protagonist way too overpowered. Even without the Dragon Fruit, he already had the best talent and gear. Isn't that a bit much? Now that I was in the novel, I could understand why readers thought he was too strong.
"Yeah, I definitely need to balance him out," I muttered, trying to convince myself.
It totally wasn't just an excuse to claim some of his gear for myself… definitely not.
I opened the nearest wardrobe, pulled out a shirt and pants, and quickly got dressed. I definitely wasn't about to stand around naked.
"Even without the Dragon Fruit, the protagonist will still be able to surpass his limits with all the other cheat items I gave him. So, I guess it's fine if I take it."
From the moment I was reincarnated into this world, I decided one thing: I'm going to live the way I want.
Forget the whole "hard work always pays off" nonsense.
Only someone like me, who knows the future and where all the cheat items are, can really succeed.