Alexander Andersen was dying, and all he could think about was that he'd never see his stupid game finished.
His fingers froze over the keyboard as pain lanced through his chest. The office had emptied hours ago, leaving him alone with the harsh fluorescent lights, the gentle hum of his computer, and the fantasy novel that had consumed the last months of his life.
"Seriously? Now?" he gasped, clutching at his chest. The coffee cup tipped over, dark liquid cascading across his keyboard and pooling around the dog-eared copy of "Emblems of Destiny."
At thirty-two, Alexander hadn't expected a heart attack, but the sixty-hour work weeks adapting the novel into a video game had taken their toll. The bitter irony wasn't lost on him—dying for a fantasy world he'd never even get to play in.
The room tilted sideways as he slumped in his chair. His vision tunneled, darkness creeping in from the edges.
Death by overwork. How pathetically on-brand.
As consciousness faded, a final sardonic thought flickered through his mind: At least I finished the damn book.
The darkness swallowed him whole.
And then... light.
Pain jolted through him like an electric shock, followed by a desperate gasp as air rushed into unfamiliar lungs. Alexander's eyes snapped open to an ornate ceiling painted with dancing flames in crimson and gold.
"Young Master Flamingo! You're awake!"
A servant girl with wide eyes and a relieved smile hovered over him. "The fever's broken! Thank the Divine Emblems! We feared you wouldn't recover in time for tomorrow's return to the Academy."
Alexander blinked. Once. Twice.
Did she just call me... Flamingo?
He bolted upright, heart racing. The body that responded wasn't his—younger, leaner, with smooth hands that had never known calluses from years of typing.
"Leave me," he commanded, then startled at the aristocratic voice that emerged from his throat—nothing like his programmer's gravelly drawl.
When the door closed behind the servant, Alexander staggered to his feet, catching himself against a bedpost that was carved to resemble twisting flames. His legs felt strangely light, as if gravity had been dialed down.
"This has to be a joke," he muttered, stumbling across plush crimson carpets toward a full-length mirror on the far wall.
The face staring back made him freeze mid-step.
A young man of seventeen gazed back with a perfect blend of aristocratic features and wide-eyed shock. His hair was such a dark red it appeared almost black in the dim light, standing in stark contrast to the bright crimson eyes that matched the color of fresh blood.
Alexander's hand rose to touch his face—the other hand in the mirror moving in perfect sync.
"Oh hell no," he whispered.
Because he knew this face. Knew this character. Had spent months programming his pathetic villainous arc into the game adaptation of "Emblems of Destiny."
Alexander Flamingo. The perverted noble brat who tried to spy on the water-mage heroine in the bath, got expelled from the Academy, and eventually met a humiliating death at the hero's hands. A throwaway character designed solely to make the protagonists look good by comparison.
As his fingers traced the unfamiliar contours of his new face, memories that weren't his own filtered through his consciousness. A noble family renowned for their bright red hair and powerful fire magic. Himself—the disappointment, with hair so dark it was considered "defective" despite his normal red eyes.
His gaze dropped to the back of his right hand, where a red emblem marked his skin. Unlike the bright scarlet emblems that characterized the powerful Flamingo family, his was darker, almost burgundy.
"This can't be real," he whispered, pressing his fingers against the mark.
[Oh, but it IS real, handsome! And things are about to get MUCH more interesting!]
Alexander whirled around, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Who said that?"
[Only you can hear me, sweetie! Consider me your fabulous new roommate—the one sharing your brain space!]
Blue text materialized in mid-air, floating like the world's gaudiest hologram:
[Harem King System initializing...]
[Host identified: Alexander Flamingo, age 17]
[Original fate: Perverted loser, expelled from Academy, sides with demons, killed by hero—BORING!]
[New potential: Absolutely FABULOUS!]
A status window popped up beneath this introduction:
[Status Window]
Strength: 7/100 (Weakling Alert!)
Agility: 7/100 (Graceful as a drunk duck!)
Endurance: 7/100 (Winded from climbing stairs!)
Intelligence: 7/100 (Barely literate!)
Wisdom: 7/100 (Makes terrible life choices!)
Charm: 12/100 (Cute but creepy!)
Mana Capacity: 1-star(Magical equivalent of a night light!)
Emblem: Fire (Defective Variant—Family Embarrassment Edition!) Current Vile Points: 0 (Poor and powerless!)
"A system?" Alexander's programmer brain immediately kicked into gear, analyzing the interface. "Like in those trashy isekai novels?"
[Trashy? I prefer 'deliciously scandalous'! And honey, I'm no ordinary system. I'm the solution to your terminal case of patheticness!]
Alexander narrowed his eyes at the floating text. "You're extremely rude for a magical entity."
[I'm honest, darling! Have you SEEN these stats? The average person has 10 in each attribute. You're practically handicapped. No wonder your family treats you like yesterday's garbage!]
Alexander glanced back at the mirror, processing everything at lightning speed. If he truly had become Alexander Flamingo from "Emblems of Destiny," then tomorrow he would return to the Academy for his second year—the year where, according to the novel, he'd spy on Claire Aquamarine, the water-mage heroine, get caught, and be expelled.
The first domino in his path to becoming a dead villain.
"What exactly are you offering?" he asked, addressing the floating text.
[The Harem King System offers power through connection, charm, and, yes, seduction. Each relationship you forge increases your strength. Form your harem, and you'll gain abilities beyond anything in this little story's original plot.]
"And you want me to become a... harem king?" Alexander couldn't help the skepticism in his voice. "Why?"
[Let's just say I have a vested interest in making this story more... entertaining. The original was so predictable! Good triumphs, evil falls, yada yada yada. But you—a villain who knows he's a villain, who knows the future—now THAT'S a plot twist worth watching!]
Alexander paced the opulent bedroom, mind racing. He remembered every plot point from the novel—who would rise to power, which families would fall, every secret and betrayal.
That wasn't just knowledge. That was power.
"I was a nobody in my previous life," he murmured, a slow smile spreading across his face. "A corporate cog working himself to death for someone else's profit." His fingers traced the defective emblem on his hand. "But now? I know everything that's supposed to happen."
[That's the spirit! But first, let's address the pathetic specimen you're inhabiting. The original Alexander turned to perverted antics because he couldn't earn respect through ability. You, however, have ME!]
The system's enthusiasm was almost endearing in its shamelessness.
[First quest: "Touch a female student's breast within 24 hours of returning to the Academy." Reward: 10 Vile Points.]
Alexander froze mid-stride. "You want me to sexually harass someone? That's exactly what got the original Alexander expelled!"
[The original Alexander was an idiotic pervert who groped the protagonist in broad daylight with witnesses everywhere. YOU are a strategic genius who can complete such quests without damaging your reputation. Think of it as... a puzzle!]
Despite his initial revulsion, Alexander's analytical mind was already mapping possibilities, evaluating variables, calculating outcomes. The system wanted him to behave like the original Alexander, but with enough intelligence to avoid the consequences.
"And these Vile Points? What can I do with them?" he asked, already thinking several steps ahead.
[Everything worth having, darling! Stat increases, skills, special abilities, traits, knowledge—the tools you need to avoid your pathetic canon fate and become something... extraordinary.]
"How does one officially add someone to this... harem?" he asked, the word feeling ridiculous on his tongue.
[Getting right to business! I LIKE you! To add someone to your harem: First, their affection for you must exceed 200 points. Second, you must have kissed them at least once. Lock in their permanent affection through more... intimate activities. Each harem member grants you access to abilities reflecting their talents!]
A sharp knock interrupted the bizarre conversation. "Young Master? Your father demands your presence at dinner. The family wishes to discuss your return to the Academy tomorrow."
Alexander took a deep breath, straightening his shoulders. Time to face the family that, according to his borrowed memories, had always treated him as a disgrace—the defective son with the wrong-colored hair and embarrassingly weak magical ability.
"I'll be right there," he called, his tone surprisingly steady.
[Ready to meet the family that considers you nothing but a perverted disappointment? Remember, they think you're weak, worthless, and destined for failure. They have NO idea what's coming!]
Alexander turned from the mirror, a calculating gleam replacing the earlier shock in his crimson eyes.
"They're expecting a perverted weakling," he murmured, a cold smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I think I'll give them something entirely different."
As he strode toward the door, his mind was already mapping out contingencies, calculating advantages, plotting his first moves in this new reality. The terror of finding himself in a strange world had faded completely, replaced by something he hadn't felt in years.
Possibility.