A crowd had gathered at the center of the city park.
Two men sat across from each other at an old, worn-out chess table—one of many installed by the local government. One of them, Thomas, was the neighborhood's self-proclaimed chess champion. His opponent was a young man in a black hoodie with a face as calm as still water.
Rey.
"Checkmate," Rey said quietly.
Thomas blinked at the board, frozen for a second, then let out a bitter chuckle. "You serious?"
The crowd erupted. A kid in the back jumped up with both fists raised.
"The park's chess god has fallen!"
Rey merely raised an eyebrow and extended his hand across the table. Thomas shook it without hesitation, grinning despite the loss.
"Damn, where'd you hide that move?"
"Behind pawn C4," Rey replied dryly as he pocketed the small pile of bills they had wagered.
With the game over, the crowd started to disperse. Rey gave a polite nod, then slipped away and crossed the street to a small café tucked into the corner of the block.
The bell above the door chimed softly as he entered.
He ordered a black coffee, sat in the farthest booth near the window, and pulled out a thick paperback novel. It opened to the very last page.
> "...and with the hero's final sacrifice, the world was saved. Everything was lost. Including him."
Rey let out a long sigh.
"What kind of ending is this...? The main character dies. The iconic heroine too. Seriously, the author must be a sadist."
From behind the counter, a familiar voice chimed in.
"Still reading that depressing novel? You've been mumbling to yourself for the past half hour."
It was Eli, the barista—and Rey's only friend who tolerated his late-night rants.
Rey glanced up. "I still can't accept how it ended. It started off like a cheerful harem adventure. Then boom—nuclear war."
Eli slumped into the seat across from him with a groan. "Yeah. Like watching a rom-com that suddenly turns into The End of Evangelion in the last ten minutes."
Rey chuckled. "The final boss dies, the world gets saved, the sky turns blue, nature returns... but every character you cared about? Dead."
Eli tilted his head. "If you were the MC of that story, how would it end?"
Rey looked out the window with a sly grin.
"I'd chill with my harem while watching the world burn."
Eli scoffed. "You're such a villain."
The scene slowly faded out—sunset painting gold across the glass. Rey's reflection stretched across the café window, growing longer as daylight faded.
---
Back at home, Rey threw himself onto his bed with a heavy sigh.
"Regret finishing that novel. What a messed-up ending... Might as well start reading Einstein's journals tomorrow. Maybe I'll gain some IQ points."
He stared at the ceiling, his mind replaying the tragic finale again and again.
Eventually, his eyes closed from sheer exhaustion.
…
When he opened them again, he was no longer in his bedroom.
He was seated in an enormous hall, with white marble walls, vaulted ceilings, and hundreds of students around him. Like some kind of magical university.
Onstage stood an elderly man in a shimmering black robe, leaning on a staff embedded with a glowing blue crystal.
> "Welcome, all, to the second phase of the Entrance Examination for Academia Arcanum Nexaria," the man announced.
Rey blinked.
> Huh...? What the hell is this… cosplay convention?
The robed man's voice boomed again.
> "You will be tested within the Arcane Virtual Dimension—a simulated world filled with monsters and ruins. Survive for two days. Eliminate as many monsters as you can. Scavenge supplies, seek weapons, and make use of airdrops. You may ally… or betray. In this world, only the adaptive will survive."
Rey looked around.
The other students were dead serious. Some were reading maps. Others were checking glowing belts filled with magical gadgets. One guy was literally warming up his hands—with fire.
Before Rey could even say a word, his body began to glow.
> "Wait—WAIT—is this a lucid dream?!"
---
He landed with a thud in a half-destroyed convenience store.
Crumbling walls, vines creeping through broken shelves, the street outside littered with burnt cars, and a crimson sky overhead.
Sirens echoed faintly. Something snarled in the distance.
Rey stood up slowly and glanced toward a cracked window. His reflection stared back.
> "…Wait a sec…"
White hair tied back. Dark purple eyes. A long, black coat that looked familiar. Too familiar.
> "...Elias Valteri?"
He touched his face. Ran a hand across the coat. Then slowly started laughing.
> "Of all people, I got isekai'd into the tragic villain from that damn novel... my favorite character. The one everyone hates for killing his allies just to save a doomed world…"
> "And this is a dream, right? Well then—might as well have some fun."
The sound of growling drew closer.
Emerging from the mist, dozens of monsters appeared. Some were giant wolves with jagged muscles. Others resembled blank-faced humans with gray, leathery skin.
Rey raised both hands like a stage actor casting a spell.
> "Alright, virtual world… let's rewrite this story. If I have to be the villain, I'll be the scariest one of all."
And he grinned.