Chapter 1

[???: Ding! The Operation saving the Protagonist has been activated! Host number 901 successfully linked. Starting the system scan on the host...]

[???: Scanning completed! Generating the information for the Host's state of health...]

[???: Generating completed!]

[Status Information]

Name: Lukas Vaynyard

Age: 21 years old

Health Condition: Green

Points: 300

Emporium Level: 1

Origin: World Number [2593]

[???: The host has successfully left his original plane. Attempting to contact the host...]

[???: Host number 901, Lukas Vaynyard. Welcome to the Hallowed Netherworld, Mag Marbh. You are a victim of a world plot being driven from its original course. All of this happens because villains under the Villain's System have started to revolt and breaking free from the system's grasp. As the victim of this, you were chosen to help fight against this revolution. Your task is to save the protagonist from falling into the same fate as you.]

"Whaa...? What the heck?"

Lucas was stunned by what he had just heard. It was too much for him to process right away. Especially since the last memory he has was passing out from the excruciating pain of being electrocuted alive. His head was filled with nothing but confusion. He couldn't even remember how he got here in the first place...

The only thing that made any sense at all was the fact that he was in some sort of different space with a ball of light before him. But that didn't explain who was talking to him, why he was there, or what was going on. The lack of information made Lukas feels insecure. He tried to slowly process what he heard before. After getting the slight gist of it, Lukas finally faced the small ball of light that was floating in front of him.

"Why me? Who am I helping? And what do you mean 'falling into the same fate'? Are you saying I wasn't supposed to die, and it was all the design of those revolting villains that you said before?"

The small ball of light bobbed up and down as if it was trying to answer him.

[???: That is right. Lukas, you are actually the child of destiny of World 2593. But because the villain had messed up with the plot's trajectory, everything turned chaotic and after you died, the world that lost its purpose ceased to exist.]

"What?! What do you mean ceased to exist? What about my mother? Are you telling me that she also died?" Lukas inquired in a desperate tone.

"You should calm down," a voice suddenly called out from behind Lukas.

Lukas turned around to see a man wearing a white robe standing there with a gentle smile on his face.

"Who are you?" he asked with a bit of doubt.

"I am the one responsible for bringing you here. My name is Jude, a servant of Stalazar, The Soulreaper."

"Soulreaper? Wait, why do you sound so familiar?" Lucas questioned.

"Because we have met before. Long ago, when you were just a young boy. I helped your mother and father save you from their enemies that had kidnapped you. You don't remember?"

"Hmmm... I guess not..."

"That is understandable. After all, it was something that happened when you were just eight years old. At that time, I was simply doing my task and once I completed it, I left the world. If I had known that in just mere five years, the villains had revolted, I wouldn't have left you. It was unfortunate that once we have left the world, we can't re-enter it until a century has passed. Or until the halo of destiny has moved to another person."

"Wait, hold on. You said we?"

Jude nodded.

"Yes, like you and me, there are several others who are like us. Our task is to make sure the world retain its course of fate. We are allowed to do minor tweaking but a major one would lead to the world's destruction. In any case, you and your system will have to work together as you jump through worlds and try to save the child of destiny from being harmed," Jude explained. "As long as they are saved and the villains are eradicated, then the world can continue to exist until the halo of destiny moved to another person."

"How do I know that this isn't all part of the plan of those villains?"

"I assure you, it is not. And if you still don't believe me, you could ask your past self for proof. Why do you think that a great student of the law such as you were somehow associated with a crime so heinous that they immediately gave you the death penalty? Despite you knowing you didn't do it, why are all the evidence pointed at you?"

"What?"

"They found you guilty not because of the hard evidence. But because the mastermind were tampering behind the scenes. They wanted to make sure that you would be executed without a trial. So they planted the evidence and made sure everyone believed it. Because of that, they made sure that you would never get a fair chance at defending yourself," Jude explained with an air of regret. "My job is to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"But I'm already here in this world. If this is the result of those villains' scheme, wouldn't it mean that I would be dead already?"

Jude shook his head.

"No. Your death was only postponed. Indeed, you are supposed to die and disappear along with World 2593 but I made a deal with Stalazar to bring you here. As long as you can complete your task and collect enough points, Stalazar will be able to rebuild World 2593 and send you back. This way, you can also exact your revenge if you wish to," Jude explained.

Lukas thought about it for a moment.

"So I have to find the child of destiny and get them out safely before they fall into the hands of those villains?"

"Correct. Once you have done so, it can be considered task completed. But in order to make sure that tragedy such as you to repeat, you will need to stay in that world until the child of destiny died naturally and the halo of destiny finds a new person. Each time you completed a task, you will receive certain amounts of points. And based on the difficulty of the world level, you'll have bonuses too. You need to collect as many points as possible in order to return to your own world," Jude replied.

"Right. So if I have to save the child of destiny, what kind of world do I have to go to? How many times do I need to do this?"

"It varies. Some worlds might require you to do it multiple times while some may only require once. The next world you jump to will be the first one. That's why it is important that you must focus and keep track of the points you have collected. Your system will help you do that," as Jude said this, the system circled around Lukas. "Not only that, it can also help you in many other ways. For example, the 'emporium' is the system mall where you can buy tools that can help you complete the world faster or save your life in dire state. Of course, the items inside requires points to purchase. Currently, you have a level one Emporium so the items are quite... limited and low of quality."

"Wait, you mean to say that I can actually buy stuff from here?"

"Yeah," Jude nodded. "The items aren't really cheap though. Most of the things cost at least 100 points. But if you're desperate, you can activate the Roulette system. But I truly do not suggest this because there are still a risk that the items you get will not help you at all."

"Is there any other way to earn points?"

"There is. If the world you enter is a fantasy world, you can gather up points by killing monsters. And some materials from these monsters can also be sold into the Emporium. But these worlds belong to the higher realm and its difficulties are very high. Since you have just started, you will be placed into the lower realm first. After each world, you will also receive your completion assessment. If you score high, then you'll be placed in a higher world the next time. The higher the world, the more points you can get."

Lukas nodded. He had a feeling that he was going to hate this.

"Okay, I understand now. I guess I have no choice but to do this. Then... how do I go to these world you're talking about?"

[???: And that is where I come in! Host Number 901, once you are ready, I can open the gate and transfer you to your task world. Once you have entered the world, you can't leave and you won't be able to see Master Jude again. So if you have any other questions, you can ask him now. After all, he has done this for far longer and he has more experience.]

"No need. Anymore questions would just delay the innevitable. Let's just go."

[???: Very well! Initiating transfer...]

As the ball of light shines brighter, Lukas could feel his consciousness slipping away. Before he truly disappeared from the space, he could distinctively hear Jude speak to him.

"I wish you luck, Lukas. I will await for you in the higher realm."

And then, the world changed.