Stealing Heroines' Affections Is My Job as the Villain - Chapter 8: Esmeralda Kirkwood

Holographic viewing technology allowed audience members to enter a movie and personally experience it for themselves. Naturally, romance movies were the most popular and well-received, while nobody was interested in horror movies.

“Why don’t they think about training to grow stronger during a time when just breathing makes you stronger?”After possessing someone, he decided to silently train to become a great mage.“Did it appear?”[You have acquired the All-Attribute Body (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Wood, Electricity, Light, Darkness).][You have acquired the highest-grade elixir, Dragon’s Essence (SSS).]……Let’s take a slightly different path to growth from others.

As soon as Rong Yan entered the book, it was a bloodbath.Faced with a deathly hellish start.She ended up with Liu family's slacker gang.And the people coming to catch the cheaters were just a few minutes away.One step forward, an abyss; one step back, into the dragon's den.Rong Yan: Wow, this is thrilling!***Fortunately, she has a space with trillions of resources, otherwise, this house would be empty.She genuinely felt like she could die on the spot.But what's with the control group?Her man is a cannon-fodder unlucky chap?Her brother-in-law and sister-in-law's fate is extremely tragic?Is she that doomed original match where the more miserable she is, the better off the female protagonist?Well, go to hell!Kicking those bloodsucking relatives, punching those scoundrels...Qin Ye stops her: ”Wife, let me handle this.“Rong Yan: ...Can I still get a divorce?Qin Ye's cold laugh: ”Only widowhood, don't think about divorce.“

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.