Ch 2: Valerius J. Khaleji

The transmigrated Valerius had never bothered to hide his neet-like behavior. He had a penchant for reading web novels. It was well-known within his circle of friends, who found it quite ironic. Who could've thought that a big guy who hit the gym regularly would have such a side to him?

In the year 2024, a particularly popular novel emerged, capturing the attention of readers globally. Coincidentally, this novel had a side character with the same name as him. His best friend recommended it to him, eager to share this intriguing coincidence and wanting Valerius to enjoy a masterpiece.

His best friend had recommended many books to him by various authors.

Remarkably, none of these suggestions had ever disappointed him.

Reading the books and novels he recommended had always been a pleasure!

Thus, he didn't overlook his recommendation.

Instead, he gave it a try.

He found the novel enjoyable and highly addictive and got so seriously into it that he ended up becoming a part of its crazy and toxic fandom until his transmigration.

"Although I'm a big fan of the novel, I never actually thought about transmigrating into it!" Valerius thought to himself. "The world of this novel is so dangerous, the mortality rate is just ridiculous. There are all kinds of inexplicable things happening, and there are beings that can't be defined or explained by logic. If they want you dead, you really can't do anything but die. Who would want to transmigrate into this kind of world?"

He continued his inner monologue, grappling with the surreal reality of his situation.

"And out of all the characters, I transmigrated into a side character with a tragic fate. Even in death, Valerius J. Khaleji didn't find peace. He had to be killed twice before he could finally rest in peace. It's just my luck."

For Valerius, this was a cruel irony, being a fan who unexpectedly became part of the story in the most harrowing way imaginable.

'How could my luck be so shitty? What did I do to deserve this?!'

Although Valerius transmigrated into the world of his most favorite novel, there was not a shred of joy in his emotions. He only felt a thousand horses galloping over him, pounding him into a mess of flesh and blood, as the person he had transmigrated into was the most pitiful character of the entire series.

If memory served him right, the most pitiful side character of [The Great Conquer] was killed at the start of the novel, only to be later revived from his grave by a necromancer, who forced him to fight against his homeland until he was destroyed in both body and soul by the protagonist!

Recalling the tragic life of the body he was wearing, the transmigrated Valerius's heart sank like a stone dropped into a deep, dark well.

He had no idea how or why it happened, but he had taken over the body of the side character of The Great Conquer novel.

As a result, he was now entwined with the tragic fate of Valerius J. Khaleji, meaning the sufferings meant for him would be borne by himself if he stayed passive!

'If nothing is done to change the future, the one who will be experiencing a bitter time is me!' The transmigrated Valerius cried out in his heart.

Being revived by the Necromancer wasn't a blessing but a curse as it meant being ruthlessly enslaved to the Necromancer's whims and desires.

'I will lose every ounce of free will if events proceed as described in the pages of the novel.

'I absolutely can not let that happen.

'I'll not allow myself to be treated as unfairly and tragically as Valerius J. Khaleji.'

Damned be the novel's plot.

Valerius had no intention of passively letting the storyline of [The Great Conquer] unfold as it was meant to. Instead, he was determined to shatter it, to mold it anew, so that he could ensure his own survival and find a way back to Earth, where he had a loving family waiting for him.

His parents had supported him all his life. Even with their meager income, they had given him the best. He wanted to be there for them in their old age!

'Mother, Father, wait for me. Your son will return home soon,' Valerius thought as he felt his eyes heat up but he refused to let tears form. He was determined not to cry like a baby despite having lost everything overnight as now was not the time to show weakness. He had to stay strong.

'My immediate concern should be to survive the disaster that threatens my very existence in this world.'

Valerius didn't just inherit 16 years' worth of memories from the original owner of the body he now occupied; he also absorbed his emotions. Essentially, this person had become a part of himself.

This deep connection to the body's original life made it easier for him to adapt to his new identity.

As a result, referring to himself as Valerius J. Khaleji soon felt natural, and he became comfortable in his new skin, seamlessly blending his past self with his current existence.

'How am I going to survive it?'

Valerius's eyes narrowed and he rubbed his chin contemplatively like a detective as he mulled over the information he possessed.

It was mentioned in the comment section by the author of the novel himself that there existed only one way for the fan's little sheep, aka the most pitiful side character of The Great Conquer to avoid the fate of becoming the necromancer's slave.

It was to survive the assassination attempt on his life that took place a month after he turned 16 and avoid being kicked out of the House of Khaleji.

This was nearly impossible for the House of Khaleji was much like other great wizarding families. They operated on principles far removed from common sense.

Their primary focus was on nurturing potential greatness. This house invested exclusively in individuals who showed promise of becoming powerful wizards.

Conversely, for those deemed talentless, the family's approach was merciless. Even if it was the child of the family head and he turned out to be talentless, they would be ousted from the family without hesitation.

Their name would be erased from the family tree as if they never belonged.

This harsh tradition was deeply rooted in the House of Khaleji. It was an unyielding practice that couldn't be questioned or challenged within their ranks, and it would certainly not change for him.

'Surviving the disaster seems hard. Anyways, how long do I have?'

Valerius went through his newfound memories and found out that yesterday was his 16th birthday.

It meant only a month was left before he would get assassinated by masked and shadowy figures.

'How can I survive the assassination?"

Firstly, it wasn't explicitly mentioned in the novel who commissioned the assassination. So there was no way he could start guarding against the person who wanted him dead as he didn't even know who it was.

Secondly, the side character of the Great Conqueror was said to be ridiculously weak when he was alive. It was believed that his sole purpose was to expose the protagonist to the harsh realities of their world and help him mature faster.

At that time, Valerius had thought, "No matter how weak this character is supposed to be, he surely can't be weaker than a child, right?"

But after transmigrating into this new body, he realized his assumption was incorrect.

Despite being born into a family of wizards, Valerius J. Khaleji's physical constitution was astoundingly frail, even weaker than that of a well-nurtured child.

He lamented internally, "If I had my original body, I could defeat a hundred of such weaklings!"

At this moment, he, who had now possessed Valerius J. Khaleji, was as weak as a chicken, who could be butchered by just about anyone in this world.

With his current strength, there was no way he could thwart the assassination attempt on his life that was set to take place a month later.

Moreover, asking him to become strong enough to survive the assault of the assassins who would be coming to take his life after a month was simply impossible. After all, the body he was possessing lacked talent.

He wasn't the most talentless there was, but he certainly couldn't be called average as he was an unawakened wizard.

In Serph, almost everyone dreamed of becoming a wizard, but only a lucky few ever did. Whether or not someone became a wizard depended on two main factors.

First, there was the matter of genetics.

The Arcane Heart, which gave wizards their power, was passed down from parents to their children.

If one's parents were both wizards, they'd for sure have an Arcane Heart, but if only one of their parents was a wizard, their chances of having an arcane heart would drop to 50%.

Then there was the matter of talent.

The Arcane Heart's entrance was often sealed.

Only prodigies, brimming with talent for wizardry, would find their arcane heart's entrance opening naturally, sometimes as early as age 10 or by the time they reached 13.

As for others, with just below-average talent, they had to try special methods to unlock their arcane heart.

These methods were risky and lacked a guaranteed outcome. They didn't always work.

So, if one was born with an arcane heart but had below-average talent, without hard work, luck, courage, and risk-taking, they might never become a wizard.

Such individuals were classified as unawakened wizards. Valerius was precisely one such individual.

The appearance of an unawakened wizard in one of the strongest wizard families of Seph's wizard community was a matter of great shame.

Thus, he wasn't liked by his adopted family and even the servants of the family treated him with disdain.

Turning to them would be a waste of time. Considering the inner workings of the Khaleji family, they wouldn't help him.

Another option was taken out of the equation.

He couldn't run away from all the future troubles either.

The area surrounding the kingdom of Sephs' wizard community had its own dangers. An unawakened wizards like him wouldn't be able to last there for long.

He thought about getting help. Unfortunately, after going over his newfound memories, he found out he also had no one to turn to as the only people he knew were members of the family he was adopted into and they were a bunch of narcissists with very low morals who didn't care about his well-being.

Valerius J. Khaleji was a shy introverted teenager with low self-esteem, which he developed because of being looked down upon for being a useless good-for-nothing who brought nothing but shame to his parents as well as the family he was adopted into all because he was an unawakened wizard, thus he usually kept to himself, cooped up in his room, refusing to go outside and mingle with people. He didn't have friends who would have his back when he needed them the most.

'The khalejis are the worst kind of people. Back on earth, they would be reported for child abuse by their neighbors and get thrown into prison,' Valerius huffed.

The Khalejis thought that providing him with a roof over his head and two freaking meals a day was more than enough.

Now, who gives two unregulated meals to a growing child and expects him to develop properly?

Valerius had a name for these people.

He called them scums.