Chapter 1 : You Call This Hitting the Jackpot?!

[All characters in this book are 18 years or older]

During a fortune-telling session on a mountain hike, Ron had his fortune read at a street stall.

The fortune-teller said Ron would “hit the jackpot” on his eighteenth birthday.

Ron was half skeptical, half hopeful.

He figured this so-called “jackpot” meant he’d ace the college entrance exams, get into a top university, and kickstart a life of success.

What he didn’t expect…

Was that the “jackpot” the fortune-teller spoke of turned out to be a damn dump truck.

Amid the blaring horn and the screech of brakes grinding against the pavement.

Ron was quite literally sent flying.

By the time he hit the ground, his body was twisted like a pretzel.

Lying on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance…

Under the horrified gazes of the paramedics…

Ron, by sheer force of will, opened his eyes.

Enduring the agony of broken bones, he pulled out his shattered phone from his pocket.

“Hey, Siri,” he said.

“Delete all my cloud files and system photos.”

Blood-covered, Ron stared at his cracked screen with grim determination.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Siri replied.

Hearing the response…

Ron’s eyes widened.

As the heart monitor let out its sharp, continuous alarm—

His head lolled to the side. 

Dead, eyes wide open.

But when he opened his eyes again.

Ron was shocked to find he was still alive.

Staring at the unfamiliar yet lavish bedroom.

He jumped up and ran to the full-length mirror!

The moment he saw himself in the mirror, he nearly dropped to his knees in gratitude.

Golden blonde short hair. 

Fair, smooth skin.

There was a little braided ponytail at the back of his head, sure—

But judging from the extremely manly medieval male outfit he was wearing, and the reassuring handful he got when he grabbed his own “equipment”.

His gender hadn’t been forcibly changed!

Not a Walmart shopping bag. 

Not an attack helicopter.

“Still a dude!”

“YES!!”

With that confirmed.

Ron flopped backward onto the soft carpet.

Sure, becoming a cute girl wouldn’t be the worst fate in the world.

But for a man who had died a virgin in his previous life, that would’ve been way too cruel!

With his biggest worry out of the way.

Ron finally started thinking about the reality he had to face.

No doubt about it — from the current situation, Ron had pretty much transmigrated.

Just like the countless protagonists in online webnovels, he had been granted a second life in a brand-new world.

Judging from the layout and furnishings of the room, and the texture of the clothes he was wearing, his new body’s social status didn’t seem too shabby.

Probably the young master of some noble family?

From the decor style of the room, he guessed this world had a Western-fantasy setting.

Ah~ the classic world of swords and magic…

In an instant, Ron’s brain filled in the blanks with the typical storylines of generic isekai light novel adaptations.

Things like: “Looks like trash, but is secretly the world’s strongest!”

Or: “Playing dumb to slap faces and act cool!”

Or: “Single-handedly defeating the Demon King’s army and living shamelessly with a harem of cute girls!”

Tsundere catgirls, cool and aloof swordswomen, gentle big-sister nuns — all welcomed into his red palace of love!

As he fantasized about his cheat-code life, Ron was so overjoyed that he had snot bubbles forming.

“Hehe~”

“When I first got hit by that so-called good luck, I wanted to curse out that damn fortune-teller…”

“But looking at things now, it’s pain before gain, baby!”

“Ehehe~ gyahahahaha!”

Just as he was rolling around on the carpet giggling like a creep, a sudden, searing pain struck his brain.

Amidst Ron’s pained screams, the original body’s memories flooded into his mind like a tidal wave!

“Zero magic affinity?!”

“Holy crap, what kind of mega trash is this?!”

‘Hahaha, the declining Castrellero family really produced another worthless loser — when it rains, it pours!’

‘Zero magic affinity is bad enough, but even the guy’s physical abilities are pathetic…’

‘Ugh, poor thing.’

‘Hey, don’t hang out with Ron the loser. If you keep talking to him, we won’t hang out with you anymore!’

‘Big brother, can you stop telling people you’re related to me?’

‘You’re seriously ruining my reputation!’

‘Ron, I’m sorry.’

‘Even though you have noble blood…’

‘With your condition, we have no choice but to expel you from the academy.’

‘Ron, the marriage agreement between our families… I’m afraid we can’t honor it anymore.’

‘I actually wanted to cancel the engagement too. After all, Miss Crasis and I don’t have any emotional foundation.’

‘But… our families formed a blood pact.’

‘Besides, our families have been allies for generations. My father died saving Miss Crasis’s father.’

‘If not for that, our families wouldn’t have made that blood pact in the first place…’

‘Of course I know a blood pact can’t be undone once it’s made.’

‘But think about it — you, with zero magic affinity, do you really deserve someone like Miss Crasis?’

‘Don’t you feel ashamed calling yourself her fiancé?’

‘She’s destined to become the Holy Maiden of the Empire, and you — her husband? That’s just embarrassing.’

‘Honestly, your very existence is a disgrace to your family’s honor!’

‘If I were you, I’d absolutely, absolutely—’

‘Uncle Jon, what exactly are you trying to say…?’

‘What I’m saying is…’

‘If you died, the blood pact would be nullified.’

‘If I were you, I’d have too much shame to keep living.’

“This is the Elixir of Drunken Dreams. It tastes like sweet rice wine,”

“Drink it, and you’ll die in the happiest illusion imaginable.”

“If you’re willing…”

“You’ll be my benefactor, Ron. A benefactor of the Phinip family!” 

“Our family will help yours rise from decline. Your younger siblings will be fully supported and trained to take over the family!”

“If you don’t trust me…”

“I’ll form a blood pact with you!”

Fragments of memories flashed past like a slideshow.

There were sweet ones, but they mostly stopped before the age of eight—before his aptitude test.

Everything after that was ten years of bitterness and cold stares.

Feeling the storm of emotions in those memories, Ron stared blankly at the ceiling, a single tear soaking into his hair.

His last memory was of kneeling beside the bed, and the awful bitterness on the tip of his tongue from that medicine.

Ron stood up, his gaze complex as he looked at the empty little vial on the nightstand.

“Said it’d taste like sweet rice wine—bullshit. That stuff was bitter as hell…”

His expression heavy, he walked over to the nightstand and pulled out the suicide note his predecessor had written.

Looking at the neat handwriting, and sensing the deep guilt for family between the lines,

Ron’s brow furrowed tightly.

“What an idiot…”

“If I were you, I’d never…”

He trailed off.

If he were just an outsider, he’d definitely scold the original Ron for being a coward—for giving up his life over a marriage contract.

What shame? 

As long as you’re alive and stubborn enough, who can really do anything to you?

But as someone who now held all of Ron’s memories, He fully understood his despair and helplessness.

In that situation, There really didn’t seem to be another choice.

Rather than live as useless trash, wasting air, he chose to use his death to bring a sliver of hope to his family’s future.

Recalling all the humiliation and sorrow in those memories,

His tears once again soaked the suicide note — which had already been stained before.

It took a long while for Ron to finally emerge from that sadness.

Coming back to his senses, he wiped his tears and let out a deep sigh.

“What a miserable life…”

“But since I’ve transmigrated…”

“That must mean I’m meant to make a comeback, right?”

Ron rubbed his chin, recalling all the online novels he had read in his previous life.

Come on, come on—

Was it a system?

An old master hiding inside a ring?

Or maybe… a god-tier bloodline awakened after dying once?!