**********
"S-Shit...."
A frightened man muttered, looking at his face in the luxurious mirror, tracing the chiseled jaw that reflected back from the mirror.
"What is happening...?"
He identified the striking resemblance that he had to that man, a bastard kind of man.
"It can't be... right? This is... impossible."
He touched his face, feeling baffled, still looking at the mirror. "Shit, I'm really doomed... aren't I?"
If what he knows is true, he's really doomed.
"Goddamnit... haaaah...."
He weakly sighed, gazing at his appearance; an extremely handsome face, deep blue eyes like that of a blue ocean, white hair that resembles everlasting snow, an accentuated nose that complements the face, deep red rose lips like those of a noble one of the night. He was the definition of the word gorgeous.
A fantasy-type male character that female readers will exactly have obssesssion with.
"Why am I here...?"
He remembered playing this shitty game in his free time at his horrible work. He was working in this huge corporate world and... in a terrible company, a company that he worked hard for to be... appreciated.
He was employed at 9-to-5 job that he valiantly work hard, only to be bullied in the workplace itself, with no friends and even acquaintances.
It led to him, a lonely person having no place at his shitty job, nor having friends in the workplace or in his house.
To soothe his boredom, and need for affection from the world. He played this pixelated game known as Nevestria RPG, a role-playing game with a turn-based elements that was usually played solo by hardcore players due to its difficulty.
Players can even play multiplayer too and if you want to play competitive games— you must use your internet connection to play.
A luxury that I can't even afford with.
"I swear that... I will finish this game."
He confidently resolved himself, as an avid gamer that aims to finish those extremely difficult games in his account, especially this game famous for its hardness, or he thought so.
After years and years of playing this game at his own discretion, he finally managed to locate the Boss Room. The final boss of this game, known as The God of Darkness, [??????].
He had no name, but he didn't find it unusual. Nonetheless, all of the hard bosses that he played usually have that name. [??????], as if the game was hiding something from him.
[Enter?]
[Yes] [No]
"Nahhhh, after all of my hard work in this, it will be a shame to hesitate on accepting this..."
He thought, he selected the Yes option. But suddenly, something happened in his body.
"What the fuck... is happening?"
His body suddenly felt weak, and his face immediately slammed into the floor, he couldn't stand up, and his vision turned black.
But before he lost his consciousness, he managed to see something in his peripheral vision.
Something ominous.
The Boss of Nevestria, [??????] was directly looking at him, at the screen of his old tattered cellphone, looking upwards... and smiling evilly at him. Not the characters, nor anything. Him, the player who played the game.
"So, it's you, huh? Welcome to Nevestria..."
The Boss of the Game muttered, as his name slowly revealed itself, before he lost consciousness, he managed to glimpse at it.
God of Darkness, Arkansas zon Nevestria.
Level: [????????]
After that, he suddenly woke up in this place, a really haunting place, known as the Household of Zekenia, a Marquis Clan of the Arkansas Empire.
"Arkansas and Nevestria, why is the last boss... of this game named after those two?"
It was a huge clue, but he can't get the gist of it.
He knows what Arkansas means— he's even standing in that location. The whole place that the Zekenia Household lies was the Arkansas Empire's territory. And even the Continent of Humanity was named as Arkansas Continent.
Nevestria, the name of this game, the shitty game that he played in his free time, at his horrible workplace.
Also, the words were muttered by the boss of this game, as if it knew him. Intense coldness washed over his body. If what he thought so was true, then he's fucked.
"Goddamnit, I was fucked, royally at that."
Despite his initial shock... and his conclusion. He clenched his fear for the meantime, and managed to get ample clues to predict where he was, or who he was, but he couldn't believe his thoughts.
It was impossible, extremely impossible.
But if by chance, if what he thought was true on his Identity.
"Shitty game, Nevestria..."
He was that man, the Douchebag of the Empire.
"Fuck..."
Nevestria, was a game considered trash by many people due to the tragic ends of the main characters— the difficulties of the story, the overall strength of the enemies, and the gory displays of the visceral death of the characters.
This shitty game even displays a poster of the way your character died on the screen as if to mock you, on the phone. Through that, many players, due to extreme shock, quit this game.
Well, it's understandable at the very least.
Observing his new self in the mirror, he immediately knows that he's in deep trouble.
"So... I'm a third-rate villain, afterall?"
He was that very character in the game, the notorious Douchebag of the Empire, Kudos von Zekenia, the first villain NPC destined to be beaten, and killed by the main character of this world in his quest of cleansing the Empire and the World of Nevestria.
"It was really the worst case... scenario."
Kudos was the first hostile NPC the main character met, and due to their altercation; the douchebag mocking his Heroine, coupled with the Noble's pride and prejudice, toward commoners.
It led to a series of conflicts that ultimately ended in the Hero raiding the Douchebag's Household, killing both his corrupted family and him in an attempt to stop them from destroying the Arkansas Empire itself.
He's in really deep trouble if the story remains the same, as his story, the Douchebag.
"I might really die this year... if the story progresses as I know, goddamnit."
That story will start its first episode in the Arkansas Imperial Academy.
Or also known, as the... Episode One: The Beginning of a Counterattack.
"I need to prepare... myself for that event."
Arkansas Imperial Academy was a prestigious institution created through cooperation of the Arkansas Empire and other countries and principalities of Humanity.
It aims to foster young gifted human people of various countries, to be able to reach their full potential, and to contribute to the fight with the Chaos, our enemy that we had to kill.
Chaos was defined in the game's databooks as the breeding grounds of monsters.
It's deeper meaning? It first appeared in the First Universal War after the Hero died in the battle with the God of Darkness, based on the lore of the Nevestria itself.
Other than that? Still unknown. Even if I managed to get to the Boss Room, I wasn't aware of any hidden definitions of the Chaos, aside from that it's the breeding grounds of monsters— even in my countless playthroughs.
Chaos spawned various dungeons and gates all over the Arkansas Empire, and other countries. Even in the territories of the other races— if the monsters get out if you don't kill them fast enough, inside the dungeon, it will lead to an incident that may kill a lot of innocent people in this world known as the Dungeon Break.
Well, various countries and the Empire tend to send their own rankers, or the people with powers that they awakened when the Chaos first appeared, they cleared those dungeons, and gates to avoid incidents.
Earning them wealth, equipment and prestige that makes them famous.
There's even the Continental Alliance of Rankers.
But let's talk about that, in the near future.
"Well, this man was not that gifted, nor did he have a lot of potential. He managed to enter the Academy through a lot of backdoors and connections he had with his father's political background, by maneuvering the strings of influence and school's upper hierarchy."
He sighed, although he knew the reason why Kudos' father did that in the first place.
This man really gets himself in a lot of trouble, especially right now, he's even in the watchlist of the Imperial Prince himself.
"Shit..."
Due to his father's power— he managed to enter the A-1 First Year Class of the Arkansas Imperial Academy— considered to be the creme de la creme of the Arkansas Empire.
Those young people, with brimming potentials, were well-deserving of being raised as the Future Rankers of the Empire. The Hero will even appear in that same class as his, that's why the altercation happened in the first place.
However, this shitty bastard? He can be considered mediocre... and didn't deserve this recognition and class. He was a fake bastard, an attention-seeker that aims to prove to his father, that the second son of the Marquis, Kudos von Zekenia, was also talented, and to get recognized by his father.
Moreover, he was also extremely jealous of talented people, like the main character, Jacques al Sundawn, who was born as a lowborn commoner.
He continued to mess with him in the Academy until the MC beat him into a pulp with that "incident," and he was killed later on, saying things that a third-rate villain would say, like, "This isn't the end, commoner!" or "I will forever hate you, trash peasant!"
A textbook-trash noble commonly seen in hero books, and the first adversary that players like me, usually laughed at when I'm playing this game. However, times have changed, that person was him, the bastard who people laugh at, and he was destined to be stomped crushed by the Main Character of this world.
That character... It was him; that trash was him, The Douchebag of the Empire.
"Goddamnit..."
****
Meanwhile, across the vast empire...
"We have managed to enter the Arkansas Academy...?"
A beautiful woman read the suspicious letter unknowingly sent to their house, in their wooden mailbox that they had. She was pleasantly surprised by what was written on it.
[You have been accepted to the Arkansas Imperial Academy, Eleana se Nightfallen.]
It was the letter of acceptance from the Arkansas Imperial Academy.
A luxurious place where those extremely gifted young people gather to foster their power and reach their full potential. It is said to also teach them the ways of the world, how to fight chaos, and help people.
Graduating from the Academy will immediately give you a high-paying job in the Continental Alliance as a ranker that can fight monsters from the Chaos, or in other job posts if you have the power that many sectors needed. Basically, your an in-demand person of the whole Humanity.
"Woooow! It is really... a good piece of news, yaaayyyyy! Do you see this, Jacques...?"
She handed the letter to the man beside her. A letter for the man known as Jacques. A letter with the same message as her.
[You have been accepted to the Arkansas Imperial Academy, Jacques al Sundawn.]
She read and read the letters to know if she missed something or if she was dreaming.
Seeing that there were no changes in her hands, she was now finally certain that it was true. She looked at the man, holding the letter that she gave him, with a slight smile on his face.
An extremely handsome man, with a steel sword hanging from his waist, staring at the letter, still with a slight smile on his face.
"Yes, we really managed... to enter that place. I'm happy for the two of us, Eleana."
He muttered sweetly, looking at the beautiful girl that he adorned, truly excited at the journey that the two of them will have in that prestigious institution, known as the Best Academy of the Empire, Arkansas Imperial Academy.
They packed their bags, and prepared themselves in their long journey.
"Arkansas Imperial Academy, here we come...!" Said Eleana, as she got out from the door where the two of them, lived even in childhood.
"Let's go out... to explore the world. Eleana." He smiled, looking at her. "I'll protect you, at all costs..." He resolved himself, looking at the beautiful woman blushing at what he had said.
"I'll protect you too. Jacques." She smiled, and leaned on the man, and kissed him, who makes her heart, and skipped a beat in this lonely village.
"Okay, let's gooo!" The two started their sole journey to go to the one of the most prestigious schools in Nevestria, Arkansas Imperial Academy.