One thing that scares him more than death is trouble. Trouble led to pain and suffering, which eventually led to death. In his old life, he avoided fights and anything that could drag him into someone else's mess.
He was a well known coward who followed every rule, even those that were unnecessary. Now he was in the center of a script built around mess.
His first instinct came quickly and naturally. He decided to avoid the plot, not attend events, and most importantly, he would not interfere with the female lead.
The villain died because he threw himself into the main story. If he stepped out of the spotlight and refused to intervene, surely the story would move on around him.
He nodded to himself: Yes. That was for the best.
Just as he decided that, a faint beeping sound cut through the room.
Caius froze.
The sound did not come from his phone. The mechanical echoing was strangely inside his skull rather than in the air.
Beep. Beep. Beep…
Lines of text appeared in front of his eyes, bright and translucent, hovering in midair.
[ Binding in progress… ]
[ Host: Caius Veyne (confirmed) ]
[ World: "Why They Fall…" (adapted) ]
[ Role: Villain (non-transferable) ]
Caius stared, stunned. He could already guess what was going on, but he wasn't sure whether it was a good thing.
Every transmigrator would want a golden finger, but Caius would rather be alone here instead of having an external force controlling his every move.
[ Binding complete. ]
[ Villain Saving System is now online. ]
He almost choked: Villain… what?
Before he could react, more text scrolled down quickly.
[ System: Villain Saving System ver. 4.0 ]
[ Purpose: To rescue the villain from inevitable destruction endings. ]
[ Congratulations, Host. You have been selected for salvage. ]
A small, flat voice sounded in his head: {Initialization complete. Villain Saving System online. Hello, Host.}
Caius stared wildly around the room, but there was no floating machine, nor glowing orb. Only his reflection in the mirror and endless pink.
"...Who might you be?" he said slowly despite knowing the answer.
{Villain Saving System 4.0. Your exclusive guide to having a happy ending.} The system voice replied
Caius's fingers tightened in the blanket: "This is a joke."
{Your soul has already been recognized. Please refrain from denial. It'll only waste precious time. There is no returning to your world even if you obtain a happy ending. You might as well survive and live the rest of your life here.}
Caius took a breath and forced himself to think.
If this was the game "Why They Fall…," and this was a system, then it was the worst possible type. Every transmigrator fights for a chance to return home, even if they change their mind later. Yet he was denied that hope right from the beginning.
He swallowed. "You said… saving the villain. But the villain is already dead."
{Yes, but you've replaced him and the story is currently ongoing, therefore it is your responsibility to complete it. In ninety-eight percent of recorded endings, the villain died but there's still the remaining two percent."
"How can two percent be considered a chance?" Caius sneered, isn't it the same as waiting to die.
At this point, he thought that it'd be better to fake his death and open a flower shop in the countryside.
The system also sneered at his ridiculous thoughts: {The main plot of 'Why They Fall…' is already in motion. Attempting to remove yourself from the central narrative will result in immediate world correction and Host deletion.}
"What deletion?" Caius asked blankly.
The System clarified: {Instant death. As I clearly stated earlier, there's no way to return to your original world. Whatever happens here is final.}
A cold sweat broke over his skin.
{You can change the script to a limited degree, that is the purpose of the Villain Saving System. However, there are conditions."}
Of course there were.
Caius exhaled shakily: "Go on…"
New texts appeared in front of him.
[ Rule 1: The Host may not go out of character. ]
[ Rule 2: Major plot events cannot be skipped. ]
[ Rule 3: The Host's survival ending is locked behind affection requirements. ]
Caius could understand the requirements of staying in character, but what about the affection requirements, wouldn't this just get him more red flags?
Deviations from established personality will be punished.
{In the original game, the villain's fate depended on the female lead's choices and the male leads' affection toward her. Now that you are self-aware, your survival can be secured by altering how the male leads feel toward you.
Tactically, the main threat to your life is not the female lead. It is the male leads' hatred. When their hatred maxes out, they destroy you. Therefore, the optimal survival route:p is to remove hatred.}
"So the affection requirement is not for the female lead but the male leads?"
{If hatred is converted into love, the probability of the male leads killing you would drop dramatically. This is the best route."
Caius thought about it for a moment before fully understanding what the system was saying: "You want me to make the male leads… fall in love with me."
Caius's mind filled with images of the male leads as he remembered them from the game: All of them had bad ends that involved the villain's suffering.
"You want me to walk up to people who want to kill me and somehow make them… love me. While acting like a villain."
Isn't it more like delivering food to a lion's mouth?
{While this might sound scary, it is the most effective way.} the System repeated.
There was no way out.
He lowered his hands and glared at the empty space. He has no idea why he transmigrated into this game. And he'd done nothing to deserve an early death.
"In the original scenario, you would die painfully with every route. With me, at least you have a chance to survive. All you must do is romance each male lead to completion. Only when every male lead's affection variable reaches the 'love' threshold and their kill flags are cleared will you gain a happy ending. At that point, you may choose your own path."
Caius considered the offer carefully, but romancing five male leads was just unrealistic!
Partial completion will only reduce the number of people who want him dead. It will not eliminate the threat entirely.
Usually, when a thing like this happens, it is either because a person insulted a novel's bad ending or an author or rather spilled tea, coffee or other drinks on their computer. But none of that happened to him!
He was afraid of the very idea of standing in front of one male lead and provoking him, much less multiple. The thought of deliberately digging his own grave made his skin crawl.
The System seemed to sense his hesitation and encourage him.
{To assist you, I will provide information, suggest optimal dialogue, and warn you of approaching flags.}
He bit back a hysterical laugh. Things that are meant to happen would eventually happen.
"Host," the System said, voice flattening further, "you are currently in a temporary safe zone. You have eight days until your suspension ends and you must return to Noble Academy. You may use this time to prepare."
Caius and the villain 'Caius' have nothing in common, He knows that his behavior deviates from the established villain profile. The first step to survival is masking his personality to match the villain.
Caius closed his eyes and took in a deep breath: "Ok, let's get started."