I Became the Male Lead who was Clinging onto the Female Leads

Chapter 3: I can hear the sound of my life's difficulty level rising (2)

TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: N/A

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

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"It can't end like this. It just can't!"

Eugene slammed his fist on the floor repeatedly.

His face was a picture of despair, struggling to accept the reality before him.

Perhaps the reason he seemed more tormented than others who had faced rejection was that his love was, in essence, distorted.

These emotions seem... skewed.

His twisted desire to possess all three heroines simultaneously was the doing of a certain user.

"If only Tina had accepted my confession... or at least Celine.

Did it really go down like this?

As Woo-jin watched Eugene's attempt to confess to Celine, he couldn't help but shake his head.

That reckless user had rashly thrown himself in front of a carriage, ending the game.

But not before making hasty confessions to both Tina and Celine.

Given these circumstances, building a relationship with either Tina or Celine appeared increasingly unlikely.

After all, which woman would be drawn to a man who, after facing rejection, instantly turns to another?

Such a man lacked any semblance of sincerity.

"After school, I'll confess my feelings."

Woo-jin began to suspect that this user simply enjoyed being despised by the heroines.

Thud. Thud.

To Woo-jin, the sound of Eugene's footsteps seemed like the increasing difficulty of life.

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Raei Translations

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As the hours ticked by, afternoon arrived.

With the conclusion of all the classes, the school day ended.

Eugene left the classroom, his eyes searching for the silver-haired student, Celine.

"I've found her."

He soon spotted Celine.

She was at the fencing practice area.

Whenever she had spare time post classes, Celine would often be found honing her sword skills alone at the fencing club.

While many elements contribute to mastering swordsmanship, actual practice was of utmost importance.

"Have you come to blab about swords again?"

As she wiped the sweat from her brow, Celine sheathed her sword and turned to Eugene.

The way she looked at him wasnt much different from Tinas or Yerinas.

Though her demeanor was typically impassive, among the three, she seemed the most amiable towards Eugene.

This was due to Eugene's exceptional skill in swordsmanship.

Unbeknownst to all, the heroines-obsessed Eugene had stopped his sword training, even though he was a natural prodigy.

Yet, his insights, born from a unique viewpoint, were as invaluable as teachings from other sword masters.

Celine was of the belief that her significant improvement in swordsmanship since joining the Royal Academy was, in part, thanks to Eugene.

'His influence must have been enormous.'

With merely a few strokes, Eugene could grasp and understand the essence of the sword.

Eugene's understanding of sword techniques had already surpassed what was taught at the Royal Academy, though he himself wasn't aware of it.

Being such an overwhelming genius, Eugene shared his insights through 'Enlightenment Sharing' with Celine, who was unaware of his talents.

Without Eugene, it might be that Celine wouldn't have achieved even half of her current accomplishments.

The praises she received, hailed as a once-in-a-century sword prodigy by numerous teachers and students, were largely thanks to Eugene's contributions.

However, this went unnoticed by both of them.

"If you're going to talk about swords, get on with it. I'm busy with my training."

This was why she responded so curtly.

If Celine had been aware of how much help she had received from Eugene, her attitude might have been much warmer.

"I'm not here to talk about swords. I have something to say."

Their insignificant relationship seemed to be coming to an end.

"What is it?"

Celine narrowed her eyes as she asked.

Eugene, who found even this gesture of hers beautiful, swallowed nervously and put on a serious expression.

"You probably already know this, but I've liked you for a long time. Please, date me, Celine!"

"..."

Celine's expression suddenly turned icy cold.

"That's quite a trivial matter to interrupt my training for."

"It's not trivial! I'm very serious about this!"

"Eugene."

A hint of anger was visible on Celine's face.

"You think I dont know that you confessed to Tina at lunch today? I thought it was just a passing rumor, but now I remember because of you."

"W-wait! Let me explain."

"I didnt mention it to hear your excuses. Do you know who I am? Celine von Riel Luberuta? Im not some casual girl you can ask out without thinking about the consequences. Do you know what would happen if word of this gets out?"

Faced with her icy demeanor, Eugene fell silent.

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Raei Translations

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"Imagine the first son of the fallen Barony of Grace, Eugene von Lennon, stepping out of line, confessing his feelings to not only the sole daughter of the Earl of Florence, boasting the continent's greatest wealth, but also to the second daughter of the continent's most renowned sword family, the Duke of Luberuta. Aren't you worried about how this will tarnish your reputation and your family's name?"

Eugene's reputation wasn't great to begin with.

If such rumors were to spread, his life at the Royal Academy would become unbearable.

"Eugene. Please act in line with your and your family's reality. If your family members found out about your behavior, they'd be so ashamed they couldn't even show their faces."

With those words, the anger disappeared from Celine's face, leaving her expression cold once more.

"I'll keep what happened today a secret. Consider it my last favor to you for all the swordsmanship knowledge you've shared."

"Celine."

"The chance of me accepting your confession is, and will forever be, zero. So, you should leave now."

With that, Celine picked up her sword again.

'That must've hurt.'

Thinking about Eugene's shattered mental state, Woo-jin sighed.

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Raei Translations

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From that point on, Eugene remained silent.

He returned to the inn with a somber expression and simply lay on the bed, staring into space.

'I can't even tell what he's thinking now.'

Eugene's psyche appeared to be utterly broken, leaving him in a stupor.

'How much time do we have left?'

The countdown to Woo-jin's full possession of Eugene's body, leading up to the 'carriage collision', read:

[Time remaining until the carriage collision: 0 days, 12 hours, 05 minutes]

Considering it was around 7 in the evening now, the carriage accident was likely to happen the next morning on his way to school.

"......"

Eugene, fixated on the ceiling without a hint of movement, seemed set to remain in that state until dawn.

'What's my next move?'

Woo-jin, who hadn't even acquired a physical body yet, concluded that, other than planning for after the possession, there wasn't much to do.

'What should I do first after the possession?'

The subject that intrigued him the most was clear.

'Surely, it's swordsmanship and magic!'

Indeed, both swordsmanship and magic.

Even before his arrival in this world, these disciplines were at the forefront of Woo-jin's interests.

'No matter how I think about it, it's well-made.'

The AI of 'Lucia' wasn't restricted to emulating human interactions.

It enabled users to replicate and fuse combat skills spanning disciplines like swordsmanship, martial arts, spear techniques, and magic.

Woo-jin's favorite part of the game was combining swordsmanship and magic to create new techniques.

'I definitely need to train in swordsmanship and magic first.'

5-star sword Talent, 'Sword Soul'

4-star martial arts Talent, 'Martial Arts Genius'

4-star magic Talent, 'Magic Genius'

Owing to these three exceptional Talents, Woo-jin possessed the capability to surpass anyone in the annals of history in the art of 'crafting and refining new techniques through the fusion of swordsmanship and magic'.

'Power naturally follows.'

All Woo-jin had to do was enjoy learning and draw out the insights that naturally came with his Talents.

This process would be fun and would bring strength.

'I feel sorry for Eugene, but I really want to take over soon.'

Woo-jin closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Without a physical body and with no remaining concerns, sleep was the only option left.

Truly.

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Raei Translations

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The next morning.

Did he not sleep at all?

This is genuinely terrifying.

Eugene's eyes, reddened as though he'd been awake the entire night reeling from the previous day's trauma, were fixed on the ceiling.

Aren't you going to school?

Looking at the time left for the carriage collision, a mere 3 minutes remained.

Although it seemed like he was urging him to hurry up, he was actually holding back a little.

A week had already passed since he was trapped inside Eugene's body after having a complete one of his own.

He was anxious to escape this state of formlessness and acquire a real human body.

If a proper possession doesn't happen after the carriage collision, Woo-jin might go mad.

I should go to school...

Fortunately, Eugene rose.

With disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, not even having washed his face, he looked terrifying, a far cry from his usual unassuming appearance.

If he had a sword in that state, he would resemble a demon swordsman.

Which way to school again...?

Suddenly, Eugene found himself outside the inn and on the street.

His eyes are unfocused.

Possibly due to the shock from yesterday and the aftermath of staying up all night, Eugene's eyes lacked focus.

One could wonder if he was even seeing straight.

So much so, it was concerning whether he could avoid an oncoming carriage in the distance.

......

Without any apparent thought, Eugene began to cross the street as usual.

The coachman, coming from afar with the carriage, was preoccupied, attending to the noble's demands from the back seat, not looking forward.

They were on a collision course, and neither of them seemed to be aware of the other.

So this is how it happens.

In the game, it was just an accident caused by a player who had lost his mind.

But in reality, it was a tragic accident brought about by negligence on both sides.

Before he realized it, Eugene was so close to the carriage that if he fell, his nose would touch it.

BANG!

Ngggghhh!

The collision happened.

The startled horse let out a loud neigh.

Eugene, without even a scream, fell unconscious.

Ugh.

Simultaneously, Woo-jin experienced a peculiar sensation of detachment, as if his whole body was being pulled somewhere.

It was a strange feeling.

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Raei Translations

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When Woo-jin, or rather, now 'Eugene', came to, he was lying on a bed in an inn.

With his haggard appearance and hastily donned school uniform, people hadn't realized he was a student of the Royal Academy.

So, they simply brought him back to the inn.

Had they known he was a student at the Royal Academy, they would've taken him to a proper medical facility.

However, Eugene, without a penny to his name, would have been drained of his funds paying for medical bills.

Considering this, he felt that the current situation might have saved him from a decade's worth of debt.

"My back!"

Naturally, since he hadn't received treatment, he had to endure the pain.

'My back! My baaack!'

Upon regaining consciousness, Eugene was incapacitated by the excruciating pain in his back.

He could do nothing but lie there until the pain subsided.

He certainly couldn't go to the Royal Academy now.

Since he hadn't told anyone and was skipping school, he would undoubtedly be marked as absent without leave.

If he had been in the dormitory, he could have reported his injury and taken sick leave.

But being in an inn where nobody knew him, that wasn't a possibility.

'I can't go anyway, might as well get some sleep.'

Thanks to the previous owner who had stayed up all night, Eugene felt drowsy even after waking up.

He decided to rest his injured back and soon fell unconscious again.

When he next woke, it was 3 in the morning.

"How many hours did I even sleep?"

It felt like he had slept for over ten hours.

"In a few hours, I'll have to go to school again."

After his possession, he had planned to examine his new body and familiarize himself with the sword skills and magic it possessed.

But there wasn't much time left.

"This is inconvenient."

It was frustrating having so little time for what he had been anticipating the most.

He could literally feel the mana leaking from within him, which was somewhat discomforting.

"Wait, leaking?"

The mana?

Because of the Enlightenment Sharing Talent?

The ability that uses a small amount of mana in return for sharing one's enlightenment.

This ability, currently applied to Tina, Celine, and Yerina, seemed to be causing Eugene this discomfort.

'I dont particularly care about looking good in front of the heroines.'

I should just cut it all off.

"Status window."

Eugene called out, hoping to disable the Enlightenment Sharing, assuming it would operate like in the game.

However, nothing happened.

"What's going on here?"

Stats window!

Info window!

Item window!

Status window!

Talent list!

"Why isn't anything showing up?"

Faced with this unexpected situation, Eugene broke into a cold sweat.

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