And so, the villain was killed, and everyone lived happily ever after.
The End.
...
Finally, I had finished the novel that took me years to write—one I had always hoped would one day pull me out of my monotonous life and make me a famous web novel author, or even a rich man.
I yawned deeply as I pushed my black office chair—its wheels creaking slightly—backward with my feet, away from my laptop resting on my glass table with softly curved edges.
"How many years have passed, and I've been writing this same novel? Thousands of chapters, without stopping, every single day."
I truly loved this story. It was about heroes from different worlds, united in their goal to fight the most ruthless, powerful villain ever to embody evil in their world's history.
Despite the low number of views it received, the comments from my seven loyal readers gave me enough pride and motivation to see the story through to the very end.
Ding~
A notification popped up on my laptop. I rolled the chair back to the glass table to check the email I had just received.
I opened my inbox, and the first message that appeared was titled: "Congratulations."
At first, I thought it was a prank from a friend or just some internet scammer.
I hovered over the subject line and clicked on it. The contents of the email popped up on the screen:
"Congratulations, you've been selected to be one of the first users of a new experimental system in one of the fantasy worlds."
??
Is this some kind of joke? I've had enough for today—it's already 2 a.m.
I shut down my laptop, got up from my desk, and turned off the light using the wall switch behind the door. Finally, I headed to bed, hoping for the best dream ever after wrapping up years of effort.
As soon as I laid down, sleep took me quickly, dragging me into dreamland.
I slowly closed my eyes until darkness took over. Then, I opened them again—suddenly wide awake.
The moment I opened my eyes, I realized I had just transitioned into a dream.
I was sitting on a royal throne in the center of a giant hall, glowing in radiant gold from all sides. Bright lights and silk-draped windows surrounded me.
A red carpet with golden edges stretched from my throne all the way to a grand door engraved with unique symbols and patterns.
If this dream could become reality, I would be the happiest man alive.
As I stood in awe, a stunning girl approached me—her beauty dazzling. She had silver hair, and in her galaxy-dust-like blue eyes shimmered something ethereal.
She wore a white dress with black trims, a butterfly-shaped ribbon under her neck, and a transparent veil over her head.
She was breathtaking... I wish she were my wife in real life.
This was the greatest reward I'd ever gotten—even if it was just a dream. After all that hard work, I'd earned these unforgettable moments, no matter how brief.
"My lord, are you feeling well? You seem unusually happy today."
Was she talking to me? No… Could there be someone else in this room? Surely, someone like me doesn't get called "my lord."
I turned to the maid, asking a strange question.
"Are you speaking to me?"
She looked surprised, as if thinking, What's wrong with this idiot?
"Yes, of course, I was addressing you, my lord."
Amazing—I'm dreaming of a castle and a beautiful maid. What a dream.
I figured I'd wander around the castle for a while. I wasn't going to waste this chance just staring at the maid. There were bigger things in the lives of the rich.
I stood up from the throne, the kind maid bowing her head to show respect to her "lord"—which was me, a failed writer.
As I walked on the red carpet, one of the servants opened the grand door for me. On my first step out, the guards stationed at the door bowed in respect.
Hehehe… If only I could live these moments in real life.
***
I wandered through the entire castle: the libraries, banquet halls, servants' quarters, the kitchen, and the noble's chambers. Now, I was heading outside to stroll through the garden.
As I exited the castle into the vast backyard garden, I noticed the sky looked strange—painted a bloody red, with black clouds glowing ominously. The grass and flowers were shaped oddly, their curves unnatural.
Where did the pleasant scenery go? Or… has it always looked like this?
As I stepped into the garden, the soil made a weird sound—like someone stretching and tearing fabric with their hands.
This dream was turning into a nightmare. I didn't expect it to shift this fast.
I approached a group of flowers to pluck one. The flower I picked looked like a red triangle. But as soon as I plucked it, it crumbled into ash and vanished in my hand.
While I stared in confusion, I heard a voice behind me—a young man's voice.
"Greetings, my lord."
Was it a servant? I turned around to greet him.
"Hello. Are you one of the servants?"
He wore armor with a pale blue falcon emblem on the chest. He was handsome, with blond hair and blue eyes.
"Oh? You mean… a servant?
Yeah, I suppose I'm a 'servant'."
He walked toward me slowly, and I instinctively stepped back.
"Right… I see what you mean," I said sarcastically, not really understanding the conversation.
As I finished speaking, I tripped over a rock hidden in the grass. As I fell, I saw clotted blood on his armored leg.
My eyes widened. His expression changed—like he was glaring at a disgusting insect he wanted to crush.
He pulled out a blood-stained sword from his sheath and, while raising it, whispered in my ear:
"I serve the kingdom, not scum like you, villain Klow."
Hearing that name sent chills through me.
Klow?Isn't that the name of the villain in my novel?
Then… that maid must've been Lynette.
And this boy—he must be Krain, one of the heroes in my story.
Damn it. I'm losing consciousness…
Is this how the dream ends?
Darkness took over my vision as I neared waking up.
***
I opened my eyes again—I had returned to the dream.
And for some reason, I felt terrified. I didn't understand what was happening until a girl interrupted the tension.
"My lord, is something wrong?"
Where am I? And who is this girl with silver hair and blue eyes?
I glanced around, letting my instincts scan the place I was dreaming in.
Suddenly, a game-like window appeared before me.
The window was titled: "Villain System", and below that title was a message:
"The system has been updated from beta to version 1.0."
What is this? Didn't I get a message like this in real life earlier?
While I was still processing, another window popped up—this one containing personal information that I had once written myself.
[Personal Info]
Name: Klow Yuthnir
Age: 17
Race: Human
Rank: F-
Level: 1
EXP: 0/10
Klow?
That's the villain I created!
Wait… Did I just get transported into my own novel—as the demon, Klow?
So what happened earlier…
It was all real.
Sweat dripped down my forehead as I clenched my fingers tightly—trying not to snap from the pressure and break something.
Don't panic… it's just a dumb dream.
It'll all go away soon.
Even that pain—it'll vanish.
The maid approached me, worried.
"My lord, are you sick?"
I shoved her away, shouting:
"Stay away! Don't touch me!"
She stood up, rubbing the spot I had pushed her. I think it hurt her.
She bowed and apologized.
"I'm sorry, Lord Klow. You may take my life for my disgraceful act."
What are you doing? Even after all the cruelty this tyrant showed you, you still swear your life to him?
"Don't apologize. I'm the one at fault for what I did.
Please accept my apology."
She straightened up quickly, her face stunned—like she was thinking,
How could the vile Klow apologize?
I looked back at the system screen. One of the tabs was labeled "Stats." I tapped it.
[Stats]
Physical Strength: 4
Agility: 2
Endurance: 7
Intelligence: 20
Luck: 14
Damn you, Klow. Even at the start of the story, you've got brains and luck.
Below that were additional values:
[Energy]
Mana: 15
Aura: 10
Spirit Energy: 12
HP: 100/100
You're still useless though.
Another window popped up—this time, a giant button labeled:
[Choose Ability]
I clicked it without thinking. While the words spun, the chosen ability appeared:
"Rewrite"
What does that mean? I tapped the question mark icon.
"You can fix or return to a saved point upon failure to survive or to rewrite a scenario properly."
In red text below:
"But there's a limited number of uses."
So… this will be a life-or-death game.
I sighed, stretched out, and stared at the system screen.
This means one thing:
I have to rewrite my novel from scratch—
But this time, my way.