The antiseptic sting of a hospital room clung to the air. Machines beeped steadily beside the frail body of an old man—skin like parchment, veins etched across withered hands, and golden eyes dimmed by time.
He lay there, a man whose name once echoed across continents. A sovereign of power. The strongest human alive.
Now, just a patient on a deathbed, forgotten by the world he once ruled.
A final breath left his lungs, soft as wind through an autumn leaf. The machines flatlined. And with them, the legend of Earth's last true monarch came to a silent end.
Yet, as darkness claimed him, he felt no fear. No pain. Only regret.
I reached the top... yet died alone.
There was no fanfare. No grand farewell. Just an old soul slipping away into the void.
But the void was not empty.
A hum—deep, eternal—stirred the silence.
Then came warmth.
Like a cradle of liquid silk, it wrapped around him. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming.
But dreams didn't feel this real.
There was pressure. Resistance. A muffled world. Distant sounds echoed through a thick veil—the rhythmic whoosh of blood, a heartbeat pounding like a war drum, and the occasional murmur of a voice, as though heard from underwater.
He couldn't move properly. His arms and legs—if he still had them—were tiny, weak. He floated in warmth and weightlessness.
Where... am I?
He tried to speak. Nothing came out.
Tried to open his eyes. The world greeted him in red-tinted blur, like seeing through a layer of blood.
And then, a sound.
A clear, mechanical chime—unnatural in the organic warmth that surrounded him.
> [Proficiency Panel Activated]
> Welcome, Host. Reincarnation Complete.
His mind reeled. No way...
It came crashing back—memories of the novel he read in those final weeks. A sprawling fantasy epic filled with powerful bloodlines, elemental magic, and divine Traits.
He had devoured it, page by page, as his body grew weaker. And when the book ended, so had his life.
But now... he understood.
I've been reborn.
And not just anywhere.
> Host Identity: Arkanveil, Sixth Child (Unnamed)
Lineage: Arkanveil Great Family – Human Empire
Race: Human (Royal Tier)
Panel Type: Proficiency (Primordial Origin – Unique)
Trait Awakening: Pending (Age 14)
System Lock Status: 89% Sealed
Estimated Birth: 112 Days Remaining
He stared—mentally—at the screen hovering in his consciousness. Each word etched a truth he could barely believe.
The Arkanveil family.
They were one of the Nine Great Houses in the novel. Human aristocrats with a lineage blessed by both blade and spell. Their young master—the villain—had been a spoiled, arrogant fool. Gifted with one of the rarest SSS-grade Traits, yet completely unable to live up to it.
In the original story, he bullied the protagonist in their youth. He used his family's name to stomp over commoners, looked down on everyone, and failed every mission assigned to him.
When the protagonist rose, the villain became his stepping stone—stripped of honor, betrayed by allies, and eventually executed by the very kingdom he was supposed to inherit.
The readers had hated him. Rightfully so.
But now...
I am him.
He had been given that life.
A second chance—but in the body of the story's biggest loser.
The irony made him laugh. Or it would've, if his lungs had worked properly.
Still, a slow sense of satisfaction began to bloom inside him.
The fool failed because he was born blind.
But I see everything now.
I know this world. I know its secrets. Its future. Its dangers. Its hidden treasures.
And most of all—
I won't repeat his mistakes.
Because he wasn't just some idiot noble anymore. He was the reincarnated soul of Earth's strongest. A monarch who had conquered life once before.
And now, he had something more—something that didn't exist in the original story.
The Proficiency Panel.
He willed it open again, and it responded instantly.
> Proficiency Panel – Host: [Unnamed] Arkanveil
[Magic Control Lv. 1 – 0/100]
[Swordsmanship Lv. 1 – 0/100]
[Mana Sensing Lv. 1 – 0/50]
[Physical Conditioning Lv. 1 – 0/100]
Skills can be improved through repeated effort. Mastery unlocks new Evolutions.
– Panel will unlock full tracking upon birth –
A grin tugged at his unborn mind.
This wasn't just a cheat.
This was the ultimate system—a path to perfection forged through effort, repetition, and understanding.
Where others relied on sudden power-ups and random breakthroughs, he would grow step by step. Slowly, surely—and in ways no one could see coming.
He wouldn't waste time flaunting power. He'd hide. Build. Grow.
By the time the world noticed the villain had changed... it would be far too late.
His golden destiny, once shattered, had been reforged inside a womb of warmth and blood.
---
This time, he vowed.
The villain wins.