I Regress if the Villainess Dies! Chapter 1: Prologue

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PROLOGUE Xian is just an undergrad who found himself with too much free time and developed a liking for a certain type of game. The kind filled with beautiful heroines, each with distinct allure and quirks. Recently, he had been particularly obsessed with one such fantasy-themed dating sim game set in academy, a popular genre for a niche fanbase. He liked the way characters were drawn. Perfect, yet unique to each other, possessing plethora of characteristics, making varied expression, colored with vibrant palettes and topped with pleasing voice acting fit to their appearance. In short, he's just a hardcore fan who would go crazy for a character he found attractive. In his eyes they looked incomparably better than the stale reality he lived in. It is after all, a flexible game where you can date characters and have an academy life with them. Grow strong, interact, catch their interest and then the story progresses. He finished the stories of heroines he wanted except one character. These days, the one game he'd been obsessing over was repeatedly being ‘conquered' again and again by him for only one reason. In hopes of finding an easter egg and a hidden route, he looked for ways to save an antagonist who always met a bad end. And that character is a villainess in the game. She wasn't the major villain per se, but one of the many hurdles the player eventually has to go through, and most of the time, a rival and enemy of the heroine that the protagonist chose. Sometimes, she dies early depending on the choices the player makes, caused by another character in the game. Sometimes she gets defeated for a heroine's development in the story. In later arcs, she's an enemy of the academy and a betrayer of humanity who appears as a strong boss. There’s only one reason why he would go to such lengths for one character. Her unmatched beauty that hit all the right spot for her type. When he first saw her in game sprite, he was astounded and thought there was definitely a route for her somewhere. But after several playthroughs of trial and error, she only appeared as an antagonist. He wanted to ask the developers why they made such a character like her a villain and also absolutely gorgeous at the same time? After all, with her long silky dark crimson hair, pale porcelain skin, and thin red lips matched with a sharp pretty face, wearing her signature black dress, she was drop dead gorgeous. Instantly, she carved a place inside his heart at first sight. Just like when a wise man once asked, 'If evil, why hot?' She was the epitome of that question. And to Xian's fixation towards beauty, she more than met his tastes. But contrary to that, she was discarded in more ways than one, sometimes vain and sometimes dramatic without really playing a significant role. There was even a route where she got married to a random old noble after being stripped of her position as an heiress. A route he absolutely couldn't forgive! Such goddess-level beauty cast away just like that... it was too much for his heart to take. So like a true connoisseur and gamer of this genre, he dedicated himself into somehow getting involved with her and to be the first one in finding any routes that can save her. But… His patience was really being tested by the game. "Damn this bitch!" He would involuntarily fume at her for appearing as a hard boss instead, with a chance of team wiping the party when his members are already exhausted or dying in vain due to some aftereffects from an event. 'What an unfortunate character.' His first few attempts that ended in failure soon turned to a dozen, then forties and then he counted no more. Looking into online guides didn’t help either, as anyone who similarly tried like him didn’t find success nor hints. But he didn’t want to give up. To this at least. Until a strange tutorial event led to him applying as her butler early on, he finally discovered a new scene and interaction. "Finally! Is this her prelude route?" He was overjoyed to find