Villain's Refund System: The Protagonist's Harem Is Mine

Damien woke in a chair he did not own, in a room he had never seen, with a woman shouting at him.

The first thing he noticed was zero pain below his skull, and he was damn sure he went to sleep with a very sore neck.

Rain moved down a tall window across the room, its glass throwing his reflection back, ’what in the hell?’ he thought as that face was definitely not his, like at all.

Black hair framed a super model jaw, while one thin silver scar cut through the left eyebrow.

The man looked about twenty and wore a black shirt with its cuff frayed, ’am I dreaming?’ He thought as one heavy signet ring appeared on his raised hand, in other words, bro was stupid rich.

The crest cut into the face of it meant nothing whatsoever to him, ’very strange, I feel like I have seen this somewhere before, but where?’

"Are you listening to a single word coming out of my mouth?" A woman’s voice asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

She stood on the other side of the desk with her hands behind her back. Ash-blond hair hung in a low tie above steel-blue eyes, while her fighter’s build made even Damien realize this woman was not to be messed with.

A white cape rested near her throat while one hand stayed beside the phone. "The engagement ends at the Foundation Gala," she said, "your family will not turn this announcement into a spectacle, so behave yourself."

Damien had never seen this woman before in his life, and he was entirely certain of that, ’Vivi?’ He thought to himself, the body remembering the name by itself.

underneath the name came a lurch below his ribs that clearly belonged to the body’s owner.

Vivienne Ashe was a nineteen-year-old beauty from a sword lineage four generations deep, plus she was apparently his fiancée.

’Why does my head keep filling with memories I do not own, what type of sick dream is this?’ He thought, trying to remember his night, he recalled the unwashed dishes and his office chair that damaged his lower back after years of use.

He also remembered his monitor going white around four in the morning, followed by a particular silence only possible at that hour.

Most of all he remembered finishing a webnovel about half an hour before he died, ’there is no way, it cant be-’

Fated Ascension ran two thousand Chapters, he had read every one across three years of night shifts. It ended with the villain losing his fiancée before the family took his inheritance, then Lucas claimed the final life so the hero could climb higher.

He typed one comment underneath the last Chapter, his only response ever left on anything.

{This is some bs, the villain deserved better than that, the author knows it}

Then he had put his head down on the desk to rest his eyes for a minute, ’This scene again,’ he thought, looking at her, ’fuck, of course my mind made me the villain, could any dream feel so real?’

He recognized this room, and worse than that, remembered the conversation from one Chapter with terrifying clarity.

A translucent panel opened across his vision before he could decide whether panic felt reasonable.

[System binding complete]

[Host: Damien Sterling]

[Aspect: Blood Ledger]

[Tier: Trash]

[Level: 38]

[System Points: 0]

He looked away, then returned his gaze just to confirm the vision remained, and sure enough, it stayed.

"Trash tier," he said out loud, "this piece of trash sounds fair, actually, I appreciate the honesty."

Vivienne’s expression hardened, since she had walked in expecting his usual behavior but was getting none of that. Then a red line wrote itself in under his level, the room suddenly felt suffocating to him.

[Death Flag Detected: The Finale]

[Fatality: 100%]

[Reward: ???]

[Instruction: Survive]

He knew that phrase all too well, ’Damien dies at the gala, in front of every major house in the country, that means, I am pretty far into the story.’

’This idiot went for the hero in such a place and of course, he was dealt with. The ’precious’ hero, Lucas Arden being the one to give the final strike.’

The novel called it a necessary punishment, while readers underneath found the death satisfying, ’why start me at this stage though, can I survive?’

Another block dropped in underneath, this one was laid out like a contract clause.

[Unique Trait Detected: Death Refund]

[Effect: Survive a fated death, and every attached reward multiplies by 10]

He read the whole thing and felt his heart beat in excitement, ’for real? Now that is what I call a broken ability, damn,’ he thought, unable to hold back his smile.

The world hated him beyond reason, but this skill could turn every hostile feeling into enough growth to outshine everyone.

He had spent his entire first life on the receiving end of other people’s schedules so a system that paid him for surviving death was, at minimum, an improvement in his book.

"Tch, cocky asshole. Just make sure you attend," Vivienne said, looking very annoyed at his stupid smile, "sign the release, and let this finish quietly."

The original Damien would have shouted first, then begged before throwing something costly across the room.

His phone buzzed beside her hand, showing eleven missed calls. Three family notices sat above a gala committee invitation on the screen.

She had not simply decided to leave his side later, she set everything up to humiliate him before famous houses while thousands watched through cameras.

"Arguing changes nothing," he said, putting one hand flat over the invitation, "but apologising for an arrangement signed before anybody asked me feels ridiculous."

Vivienne’s chin came up as the small scar under her ear pulled tight, looking at him properly this time, "ohh? Since when did that sharp tongue appear while your chest puffed out so proudly?"

’Since about four minutes ago, technically,’ he thought, ’and I have read your entire arc, so let us not pretend anybody here is winning.’

"Just make sure you are there," he said, sliding the invitation off the desk into his pocket, "I will even show up early, ahead of the speeches and long before anybody wheels a camera through that door."

Vivienne stared at him a second too long, then turned for the door, her white cape brushing the black wood as she went.

Her hand settled on the handle and there was a small tremor in her fingers that she covered by gripping it harder, ’huh, so she is not enjoying this either, how interesting.’

She left without another word and the door shut behind her, ’so that is my fiancée, cool, very normal relationship we have going.’

[Quest Deadline Confirmed: 72 Hours]

[Primary Objective: Attend the Foundation Gala]

[Failure State: Canonical Humiliation]

[Clear Condition: Unknown]

[Reward: Unknown]

[The annulment speech is already scheduled]

’Already scheduled, of course it is,’ he thought, looking from the panel to the calendar on the phone, which matched the novel right down to the hour and the stage.

He pushed the chair back and stood up, feeling zero stiffness in a spine that used to click every morning, ’three days, alright, that is more than enough.’

"Let them book the hall with every camera ready," he said to the empty office, unable to stop a grin, "she can have her whole damn speech," ’then I will cancel the ending before a single person applauds.’