The Legendary Programming Mage

The dorm room felt colder than usual, my bedside lamp casting a pale glow while my thoughts spiraled.

Sylvia.

Honestly, I had suspected it for a long time.

Being from Earth, I had seen a lot of videos saying that if a character in a story suddenly changes, it can't be normal.

And the same way I behaved differently from the original Allen was the same way Sylvia behaved differently.

Plus, she reacted when I said that name.

Which meant....

Sylvia was Kim Jin-ah.

Lying on my bed and staring at the plasterboard overhead, I let out a long sigh.

"Who the fuck is messing with my life?"

It wasn't like there was a 0% chance that someone from my world wouldn't also get transmigrated.

In fact, that suggested I wasn't in a simulation or anything.

However, it just had to be my number-one nemesis, Jin-ah; she was like a younger sister to me, but still...

Even that wasn't the main problem.

"The fact that she wanted to get so close to me was the main problem."

If it was the same story she read as I did, then she would surely be confused and try to get close to Valentina or Beatrice.

If her goal in getting closer to me was to reach my master, then she was smart.

But seeing the way she acted, Sylvia definitely had feelings for me.

And to her, I wasn't just a background extra — which meant she knew plot points I didn't.

I sat up, placing my hand on my chin.

"Actually, if I think about it properly, this wasn't the first time she had shown signs..."

During the first day of classes she said something about liking a criminal and a villain.

I hadn't given it much thought back then, but now that my mind was being pushed that way; it did seem strange.

If she was talking about the same person, then...

"No way, right?"

The magic lamp beside me flickered once, the kind of flicker you only saw before something terrifying happened.

I'm going to end up a villain?

Or was it the original Allen who was meant to be a villain?

I scratched my head, fingers dragging through my messy hair.

'If the author remade his novel and I'm in the remake, perhaps that's why my knowledge and the world don't correspond.'

But I still couldn't dismiss the possibility that I was the villain she knew, and she was trying to stop my fall by getting close to me.

"This is so fucking confusing."

Haaah.

I took a deep breath, the air dry in my throat.

Hooooo.

Exhaling sharply, my gaze sharpened.

"Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and those you don't understand closest."

Sylvia was already in the same class as me, so if she wanted to stick together, then so be it.

I had to know who became a villain in the story she knew.

No, I needed to know the entire plot so I could know how it affected me.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The metallic chimes reverberated inside my skull, unnatural and sharp, before glowing text washed across my vision.

『 User has discovered the second transmigrator 』

『 The Arcain Records has taken notes of your intellect 』

『 Intelligence Stats: +1 』

Hmm...

'So that's how intelligence is upgraded?'

"Status."

Ding!

╔═════════════════════════════╗

║ ⚙ STATUS WINDOW ⚙ ╚═════════════════════════════╝

┌── " Character Info " ──┐

│ 📌 Name: Allen Vanderbilt

│ 📌 Title: The Legendary Programming Mage

│ 📌 Age: 17 | Gender: Male

│ 📌 Race: Human (Pinnacle) | Class: Mage

│ 📌 Affiliation: None

└─────────────────────────┘

┌── " Rank " ──┐

│ 📊 Prospect Rank: 『 ??? 』

│ • Rank: E │ Path: 2nd Circle └─────────────────────────┘

┌── " Energy " ──┐

│ 🔮 Perception: Mana

│ 🔮 Rank Mastery: 4 / 10 └─────────────────────────┘

┌── " Mana Pool " ──┐

│ 💧 Active Flow: 110 / 1000

│ ↳ <10% (heavy usage)

│ ↳ 30+ min sustained usage

│ 💧 Ascension Reservoir: 60 / 2000 └─────────────────────────┘

┌── " Traits " ──┐

│ ✨ Pinnacle of Humanity

│ ☠️Primordial Corrosion

│ 💠Life Force

└─────────────────────────┘

┌── " Life Force " ──┐

│ 💠 Current: 881 days

│ ↳ +5% of defeated monster's stats

│ 💠 Drain Speed: 0.1% / day

│ ↳ +0.01% / min (heavy usage) └─────────────────────────┘

┌── " Affinities " ──┐

│ 🔥 Red Flash

└─────────────────────┘

┌── " Spells " ──┐

│ 📖 Tier 9: Displacement — 2/5

│ 📖 Tier 9: Red Chains — 3/7

│ 📖 Tier 8: Disruption — 0/10 └─────────────────────────┘

┌── " Base Stats " ──┐

│ • Strength — E

│ • Agility — E+

│ • Endurance — E+

│ • Stamina — E+

│ • Dexterity — E+

│ • Intelligence — S

│ • Charm — ???

│ • Luck — ???

└─────────────────────────┘

"So satisfying to see your stats in real time."

Hmm...

"Come to think of it, I have never used Disruption before."

Tomorrow was basic magic classes and, after that, dungeon exploration; I'm sure I will have the time.

I lay back on the bed.

"Another transmigrator..."

Somehow it didn't seem so bad.

At least now I knew I was in another world — and it was a world with someone I knew.

Plus, it gave me the chance to get back at her for everything she put me through before.

'Work her to death...'

A soft chuckle escaped my lips. 'Perfect plan.'

"But..." I paused, still stunned by the reveal. "...Jin-ah liked me?"

That was definitely shocking.

And the dumbass had fallen for me again; how can someone...

"Damn, I sound narcissistic right now."

But I wasn't lying—falling for someone once isn't bad; but when you fall for two different personas and skins of the same person, it starts to get weird.

'Do I have to fall for her too?'

Perhaps that was the mission her system gave her.

Then, was it right for me to let my guards down and my feelings roam?

No, I wasn't sure if it might make me fall to the dark side more easily.

I covered myself with my blanket.

Tomorrow, I would find out more about her and her goals.

If need be, I'd open my heart to the suggestion of having someone in my life.

"Let's sleep."

I began circulating mana through my body from the two circles in my heart.

The energy hummed faintly, spreading like warmth through my veins.

I didn't know what their uses were yet, but Beatrice had told me to do it every single day.

And it always... helped me...

Sleep—

My eyes shut before I knew it, and I fell into the embrace of sleep.

Ding!

『 New Scenario Unlocked: "Villain's Awakening" 』

『 Do your best to rewrite your fate, Player... 』

---

A/N:

This is a bonus chapter for Forestking0137's castle.

Thanks again for the castle man! 😊

One other bonus chapter before my regular release and the last bonus chapter tomorrow.

(No illustrations for Bonus Chapters.)

Stay Safe.

Water7.