It was just a normal day for me. As a college student, I was at school, studying and practically squeezing my brain dry. We had just finished our practicals, and I was now on a break with my friends.
"I'm relieved we're finally done, haha. That shit was hard," my friend Alexa said.
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we're graduating soon. Just a little more, and we're done."
We were casually chatting about school when one of our friends suddenly spoke up.
"Hey, Aster, have you heard the news?"
I raised an eyebrow. "What news?" I asked as I opened my water bottle.
"You know that shortie in our class? She's been giving you an attitude lately."
"Oh, her. What about her?" I asked before taking a sip. I never really understood why, but that pipsqueak seemed to hate me for some reason.
"Hmm… I heard that she likes you."
I was so taken aback by my friend's words that I accidentally choked. I choked so hard that I struggled to breathe and couldn't stop coughing.
This fucker—she should've warned me first or something.
It became harder and harder to breathe, and before I knew it, I passed out.
I don't know how long I was passed out, but I woke up with a headache. I reached for my head, slowly looked around, and realized that I wasn't in the infirmary or a hospital.
The bed I was lying on was spacious, and the room itself was large and fancy. It looked like something straight out of the fantasy novels I used to read.
Wait… did I get reincarnated?! But as who??
I had read many novels before, and there was a possibility that I had reincarnated as a character from one of them. I just hoped it wasn't someone weak or destined to die. I love reading that kind of stuff, but let's be real—I'm dumb as hell.
I immediately stood up, almost fell over, but managed to regain my balance. I hurried to the mirror near my bed. When I looked into it, I saw the reflection of a tall and handsome young man, probably around 15 or 16 years old. I leaned in closer, taking in my long eyelashes and striking blue eyes. My black hair was short, yet smooth and shiny.
What the heck? Did I get reincarnated as a man?! I honestly thought I'd end up as a heroine, a villainess, or even some annoying female cannon fodder—but a man? That was unexpected.
Feeling anxious, I checked to see if there was… anything extra down there. To my relief, there wasn't.
"Phew… thank god." I sat back down on the bed when, all of a sudden, a blue system window appeared in front of me.
[Hello, Host. Nice to meet you. I know you're probably confused about why you're here, so let me explain. I am a system assigned to help my host save this world from ruin. You are currently in the world of a novel called Heroine Regression, and you are one of the major characters in the story.]
After reading everything, I realized my assumption was correct—I had been reincarnated. And not just anywhere, but inside the novel I recently read. The story was about the heroine, who regressed to seek revenge and kill those who had wronged her in her past life. I knew some parts of the plot, but I never got to finish reading it because of my college practicals. If I ended up as one of the characters she hated… I was screwed. She was both incredibly strong and terrifyingly smart.
I hesitated before asking the system, "Uh… do you have a name? And can you tell me which character I am in the novel?"
[I don't really have a name, Host, but you can call me whatever you like. As for your identity… you are Aster Alastair.]
"WHAT?!? YOU MEAN THAT ASTER?? THE VILLAIN DUKE OF THE NORTH?!?!"
I remembered him well, mostly because we shared the same name. But in the novel, Aster was a man—and a villain! He was one of the antagonists the heroine defeated midway through the story. From what I remembered, Aster was incredibly influential and had strong political power, but he was weak both physically and magically.
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—Fuck… My life's fucked—shit." I muttered, feeling my spirit leave my body. I could practically imagine my face turning into one of those dumb-looking emoticons: (._.). If only I hadn't choked back then!
[H-Host?… Are you okay? qwq] The system's voice echoed in my head, sounding genuinely concerned about my state.
I sighed and forced a smile as I looked at the floating text. "Yes, don't worry. I'm fine, hehe—IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT ME TO SAY?! I DIED IN MY PAST LIFE IN THE MOST EMBARRASSING WAY POSSIBLE, AND NOW I'M PROBABLY GONNA DIE AGAIN BECAUSE I'M DUMB AS FUCK!"
I continued ranting nonstop, venting all my frustrations to the system.
[H-Host, please calm down! qwq]
But I didn't. I just kept going.
[Sorry… qwq]
I barely registered the apology before, out of nowhere, a sudden jolt of electricity surged through my body. My vision blurred, and before I could even curse the system one last time—
I passed out.
This fucking system…