ZIRKUS almost punched the mirror when he saw how he looked as Zirkus Huxford.
As expected of a minor villain like him, he had light brown hair (with two "antennas" shaped like a heart!) and dark chocolate eyes.
[Aka the most normal hair and eye color combination in a fantasy novel.]
He also had freckles. They would have been lovely, but his face ruined everything.
[This face looks like the main character of a horror-comedy film. It's ugly and scary, but it also looks like a joke so you can't take it seriously.]
Zirkus would have accepted an ugly face if he was blessed with a good build.
But no.
He was tall but lanky. Moreover, he was thin. Because of that, he looked feeble.
[I miss my toned body as Park Suho...]
Zirkus took a deep breath to calm down.
[This isn't the right time to worry about my new face and body.]
After Enzo Fenton, Rivo Creswell, and Nixie Winslet left in a hurry as if they thought Zirkus Huxford had gone crazy, he had no choice but to leave the forest behind the Holy Sword Academy as well.
That forest was known for being highly dangerous, after all.
[Zirkus Huxford is really crazy for bringing Enzo Fenton there just to bully him.]
He almost didn't find his way back to the academy.
Fortunately, he had Zirkus Huxford's memories.
Well, not all memories were clear in his head. It was as if the fragments of Zirkus Huxford's memory would only clear up if he needed them to guide him.
Just like when he was trying to go home.
The next thing he knew, he was already walking back to the 'Hero Dormitory 1.' It was the dormitory for the male students of Holy Sword Academy. It had three floors; each floor corresponded to the students' year level.
[According to Zirkus Huxford's memories, the Holy Sword Academy is divided into two groups: the Novice School and the Master School. Both schools are divided into three grades: the Freshman, Junior, and Senior year.]
It was similar to middle school and high school in Park Suho's previous world.
Anyway, he realized that Zirkus Huxford was now in Master School, Senior Year.
[I guess the three kids I met earlier are in the same school year as I am since we talked informally to each other.]
The second realization that hit him was the fact that Zirkus Huxford was rich.
According to this dude's memories, only the richest nobles could afford a solo room– that reminded him of an expensive one-bedroom apartment– in the dormitory.
The Guinevere Kingdom was a monarchy.
Naturally, there were nobles there.
[And it turns out Zirkus Huxford is the son of a rich marquis. But his parents are already dead. The one who currently leads the family is his older brother– Marcus Huxford.]
"Argh!" Zirkus clutched his chest tight when he felt a sudden yet painful squeeze in his heart when the name 'Marcus Huxford' echoed in his head. "Aigoo. Do you hate your brother that much?"
'Hate' was the only word he could think of to describe Zirkus Huxford's strong negative feelings towards his older brother.
"But it's not like I don't understand your pain," Zirkus said while patting his chest. Thankfully, the chest pain had already disappeared. "It must be hard to have a brother with a normal name when you're named 'Zirkus,' right? I would be mad, too, if my hyung has a normal name while mine sounds like a joke."
Especially if his stupid name suited his stupid face.
As Park Suho, he was pretty good-looking.
But as Zirkus Huxford...
<"You look like a sheepshead fish, don't you?">
It was the foul-mouthed System again.
"A what?"
The words on the Window disappeared and were replaced by the picture of an ugly fish.
[A fish with human teeth?]
It was a cursed image.
"Are you saying I look like that?"
<"You could pass off as twins! Kekeke!">
"Show me your face and I'll tell you what fish you resemble!"
<"Pfft! I'm attractive, though?">
"I need proof."
<"I'm not stupid~">
"Got you," Zirkus said, smirking. "You're human. Or, at least, you have a physical body that resembles humans."
<"...">
"Aigoo. Cat got your tongue?"
<"Since you already discovered one of my secrets, then let me share another one.">
"Sure. I don't think I'd get surprised at this rate."
<"I lied earlier.">
"About what?"
<"The reward for saving this world isn't knowing how your favorite manga ends.">
"Huh...?"
<"I only said that to stop you from making an enemy of Enzo Fenton.">
Now the System sounded defensive.
Zirkus would have retorted already, but he was too heartbroken to even open his mouth. The ending of his favorite manga was the only regret he left in his previous world. And now this bastard of a System was saying it lied to him?
[I was played...]
His knees buckled and, the next thing he knew, he was already sitting on the floor with his head hanging low.
<"Hey, sheepshead– I mean, Zirkus Huxford. Cheer up!">
"I don't care anymore."
<???>
"I already died once, so what if I died again?" Zirkus said, his back hitting the floor weakly. "I decided to do nothing and just wait for this world to end."
***
A WEEK.
It had been a week since Zirkus transmigrated inside the novel The Legendary Fisher.
He tried to escape the dormitory and leave the academy without permission, but he was caught by Swordsmen who guarded the gates.
Needless to say, he wasn't strong or smart enough to escape without getting caught.
[And I was scolded until my ears almost fell off.]
Hence, he just locked himself up in his room.
[Yep, I didn't attend my classes.]
He realized Zirkus Huxford didn't have friends because no one checked on him. Even the teachers didn't bother to find him.
[I guess the adults aren't worried because they know I'm still alive.]
After all, although he locked himself up in the room, he would religiously come out to get food. Plenty of food, at that.
[Hell, yeah! Being rich is the best.]
<"Ahem, ahem.">
The Window appeared in front of his face while he was plopped down on the couch while eating grapes. Fruits were expensive where he came from. But now, he could buy and eat any fruits whenever he wanted.
[Gods are fair. They gave this dude an ugly face. But at least, they gave him a handsome wallet.]
The currency in this world was called 'crescents.'
But the students of Holy Sword Academy didn't have to use cash when buying anything from the school dining hall. They had this plain silver band that worked like a credit card. The students just had to tap the bracelet on a magic device called 'Tablet' when paying.
And only the richest students like Zirkus Huxford had a bracelet with no spending limit.
[It's the 'black card' of this world.]
<"We have made a decision, Zirkus Huxford.">
Zirkus just raised an eyebrow, but he waited for the System to finish what it was saying.
<"We don't have the power to know the ending of your favorite manga. But, if you save this world, we'll grant you one wish. As long as it's within the System's power, we'll give it to you. Although you have to keep in mind that we cannot bring back the dead.">
"What if I wanted to be reborn as a lucky, talented, handsome, and rich dude in a peaceful world?"
<"It's doable. I mean, you really have to be reborn if you want to get rid of that sheepshead fish-like face, you know? The System feels bad for choosing a bad vessel for your soul, so we'll do our best to give you a decent face next time.">
[Why does this System feel like it's swearing at me even though it's not using curse words?]
Zirkus ignored the System's taunting because he already got what he wanted.
He was curious about one thing, though.
"Why do you sound like I'm the only one who can save this world?"
After all, the foul-mouthed System tried to speak politely while negotiating with him. In short, it acted desperate.
"Why me?"
"..."
The Window just showed three emojis of a monkey covering its mouth.
Ah, so the System had no intention of answering his questions.
[Well, it's not like it matters.]
"Fine, I'll just accept my fate as the so-called 'Chosen One,'" Zirkus said indifferently. He liked reading fantasy novels and comics, but it didn't mean he was thrilled to be in one. Of course, he wouldn't have minded it if he was just an extra. But saving the world was bothersome. Fortunately, there was a reward that made it worth trying. "So, you called Enzo Fenton my first 'Catch,' didn't you?"
<"Enzo Fenton hasn't become a Disaster yet, so we'll call him a 'Catch' for now. That means he's a potential villain that we need to catch and put in the Fish Tank.">
Zirkus knitted his eyebrows. "'Fish Tank?'"
<"Of course, it's not a real Fish Tank. You can think of it as a mental inventory where you store your 'catch.' You'll understand once you caught Enzo Fenton.">
Heh.
The System was rude, but at least, it seemed like it had faith in him.
[Which only means...]
"Spit it out," Zirkus said, smirking confidently. "Tell me the abilities you'll lend me in order to catch the future Five Disasters."
[I need skills to save this world, right?]
***
<"FIRST GIFT
Name: Nerd for Life
Ability: Memorize all the books, comics, and novels you've read in your life line by line.
Bonus: You also gained the ability to read and comprehend books in just the blink of an eye! No need to spend hours in reading one book~">
Huh?
<"SECOND GIFT
Name: Broke University Bro
Ability: Recreate all the dishes you used to make when you were still a dirt-poor student.
Bonus: The System will provide the ingredients– and you'll never run out of them. Pretty good deal, huh?">
Huh???
<"THIRD GIFT
Name: Trash Reporter Skills
Ability: Sleep is for the weak! With this skill, you can stay up all night writing whatever report you needed to finish! You won't get tired, hungry, and sleepy while this skill is in use.
Bonus: You can unlock more abilities related to the main one when you find the items needed to activate them. Of course, the System will guide you to find those items. But the rest is up to you. Fighting, Mr. Sheepshead Fish– I mean, Mr. Zirkus Huxford~">
HUH?!
"What kind of stupid skills are those?" Zirkus complained after reading the 'essay' on the Window. "How am I supposed to save this world with those petty skills?!"
Well, those skills weren't really petty because they allowed him to survive as Park Suho.
He lived quite a harsh life, so he would often escape reality by reading fantasy books. Although cup ramen was cheap, it was tasty and it allowed him to save money. Finally, being a trash "reporter" allowed him to live a bit better because of the decent pay.
[But those skills won't help me survive in this world as Zirkus Huxford...]
<"The skills we gave you are the skill you acquired while you were living as Park Suho. We even upgraded them, you know?">
"Aigoo," he complained while shaking his head. "This is why you shouldn't have picked a nerd to save the world!"
Had he known that he would be transmigrated into a fantasy novel, he would have been athletic as Park Suho.
"How do I survive in this world without any fighting skills? This is a world that would be terrorized by Sea Monsters and Dungeons in the future!"
<"You don't have to worry about Sea Monsters and Dungeons IF you succeed in stopping the Five Disasters from summoning the Cataclysm in this world~">
Oh.
[No Cataclysm = no Sea Monsters and Dungeons.]
Easier said than done, but it still made sense.
"So, my job is to collect the future villains and stop them from becoming a Disaster?" Zirkus asked while nodding. "But that means I have to find out what made them become a villain in the first place."
<"Yes, and your first Catch is Enzo Fenton.">
Fortunately, the novel mentioned Enzo Fenton a lot because he used to be Rivo Creswell's best friend.
And the reason that brat became a Disaster was because...
"According to the novel, Enzo Fenton fell in love with Nixie Winslet who's in love with Rivo Creswell," Zirkus said while trying to remember the details in the novel. "Apparently, Enzo Fenton thought killing Rivo Creswell would make Nixie Winslet magically fall for him?"
[Enzo Fenton neither looked like a fool nor a simp to me.]
And, to be honest, Enzo Fenton's eyes were so cold Zirkus couldn't imagine that punk loving someone else other than himself. The future villain was a two-faced bastard, and he also didn't look like the type who would go crazy because of love.
[Plus, the novel was written from Rivo Creswell's POV. Could I really trust the hero's narration?]
Well, whatever.
His first goal was clear now.
"Let's distract Enzo Fenton," Zirkus said cheerfully. "I should introduce him to a new hobby."
['Operation: Turn Enzo Fenton Into a Nerd' begins now.]