Volume 1
Prologue: I’ll Raise You Like a Dog!
“Fate is predetermined.”
Light snow drifted down.
At the edge of the desolate backyard of the Hysterm Duke’s estate, beneath a birch tree, stood a small tombstone that was clearly built by a child. A brown-haired young man, his glasses fogging up, clutched a cluster of white chrysanthemums, hard to find at this time of year, and spoke with a heavy heart.
He shed no tears, but his eyes were red.
“No matter the method, no matter how much effort is put in, no matter how meticulously planned… in the end… the death one deserves will be waiting at the end of your journey, which you thought you had reached by giving everything, to reap your head.”
Although he looked no older than ten, his words were mature and grave.
“Young Master Will? Are… are you alright?”
A maid beside him called out the young man’s name. She appeared to be around Will’s age, with short brown hair that just reached her shoulders. A distinctive feature was the pair of erect wolf ears atop her head, which shivered slightly in the cold.
“Oh, my dear Iaar, do not worry about me. I have long foreseen such a cruel fate. From the moment I was born into this world, I have been prepared for this day.”
He glanced at the rudimentary tombstone, which was already accumulating a thin layer of snow amidst the falling flakes. The wind rustled through the birch grove, carrying the sound of falling leaves.
“Um… Young Master, may I ask a question?”
“Ask away, Iaar. Surely, like me, you see the futility of fate—”
“Young Master, just now… just now, it was really only a dog that died, right? What was buried… it wasn’t… it wasn’t something else, was it? What you said was so terrifying—”
“…”
Will Hysterm, a noble young master who appeared to be ten years old, found it somewhat difficult to admit that he had actually reincarnated here.
The moment he opened his eyes, he heard people celebrating the birth of the Hysterm family’s young master, and his vision went black.
“Isn’t this the family of the villainous young master from that infamous light novel, ‘Spoiled Rotten After Leaving the Party and Taken In by the Dungeon Empress’?”
And himself…
He had been quite tortured by that trash novel. It was a plot so cliché and formulaic, a true hallmark of its genre. To make matters worse, its anime adaptation became incredibly popular – so much so that his boss bought the adaptation rights and told him:
“Little Will, we’re turning this IP into a mobile game, and the system design, numerical balance, and quest design will all be your responsibility. Good luck, the company’s performance for the shareholders this year depends on you!”
Ah, this must be karma. In his past life, he had turned this drivel into a cash-grabbing mobile game to make money, and now he had to be reincarnated as the villain in that trash novel, to be beaten by the protagonist.
Fortunately, the game didn’t seem to have been released yet. From his current observations, this was the world of the “novel,” not his “game” world. This meant he at least knew the plot’s direction, as he didn’t entirely trust the young female scriptwriter who wrote the mobile game’s plot.
As for why he said that…
It was because a series of original, money-grubbing enhancement materials he had created were nowhere to be found.
“Excellent!” he thought. “The divine, pure, and perfect (tentatively) original work has not yet been defiled.”
Will Hysterm was the villainous young master who appeared throughout the early parts of the novel. The adventuring party “Shining Star,” from which the original protagonist Xiu Boluoer was kicked out, was founded by him – oh, and the villainous young master was also instrumental in driving the protagonist away.
His teammates, after he ousted Xiu, gradually saw the light, cleared their minds, and in righteous indignation, defected one after another for Xiu’s sake. The ensuing battle was brutal. The heroines pursuing the male lead were not only beaten severely by the Dungeon Empress, who was allied with the protagonist, but they couldn’t even earn a glance from him. Each of them became a heartbroken loser, utterly incompetent, achieving nothing, and only capable of weeping forlornly on the spot.
“Wow, how tragic (sarcastic).”
And he, this young master, not only became a lone commander but was ultimately crushed to death by a giant slime in the first layer of a dungeon.
—His boss had said that user feedback indicated this scene was particularly popular and that it had to be included as an Easter egg in the event story. Having it as a BOSS would be even better.
Fortunately, there was still a long time until he would be squashed by a slime, perhaps about eight years. This would give him time to find a way to avoid it.
But…
“Is it starting?”
“It’s already over (laughs).”
The test for “fate’s level of restriction” ended today. In the original work, the timid maid Iaar, who had suffered under Will’s torment for many years, recalled that when she was ten, Will had beaten her severely because his pet dog, Sanqi, had frozen to death after he’d forgotten it outside.
The current Will was attempting to “modify” this fate. As a former system planner, he knew best how to manage development resources and nurture characters. He meticulously selected dog food, not only the most expensive but also one that increased frost resistance! He rigorously trained the dog, personally taking it out for a three-kilometer run every morning in winter, making it completely fearless of the cold! He painstakingly built a doghouse, and for three years, he had urged Iaar to circle the house three times before bedtime, ensuring the dog had returned to its warm, firewood-filled doghouse! Over three years, Sanqi became renowned in the nearby village, even capable of soloing groups of ice wolves in the surrounding monster-infested areas. Will thought it wouldn’t even be susceptible to being crushed by a slime.
Yet…
This day could not be avoided. On a snowy winter day, a robust dog lay in a narrow grave.
“Iaar, this is truly a pathetic life.”
“Um… Iaar doesn’t know what to say. Please accept my condolences, Young Master! If you want to cry, you can cry. Iaar will wipe your tears so they don’t freeze on your face. Don’t hold it in like that; you look too abnormal, and Iaar is scared.”
“There’s no explanation other than fate.”
Although Will had repeatedly told himself “it’s all fate” to comfort himself.
But whenever he remembered…
That Sanqi had died because, two steps after leaving its exquisite doghouse, it stepped on the de-icing dog bowl he had prepared, causing it to trip, somersault five times, slide onto a frozen ornamental lake, and then, using its own sturdy hind legs for super-acceleration, spin thirty-seven times before crashing into a tree on the opposite bank…
He couldn’t hold it together!
“Isn’t that too far-fetched?!”
Even if fate was fixed and tragic…
Did it have to die in such a ridiculously convoluted way?
The thought of that scene made the corners of his mouth twitch upwards.
“Then, then, then… Young Master, don’t mind Sanqi’s spirit! Laugh if you want to laugh! Perhaps laughing will… will make you feel better… *sniff*…”
“Hahahahahahahahaha… You stupid dog, your death is too damn funny—”
“Hahahahahahahaha…”
Iaar and he burst into laughter before Sanqi’s grave. The snow began to fall heavier.
However, this gave Will a new idea, prompting him to initiate Plan B. Iaar’s personality had become considerably more cheerful than in the original work; she wasn’t afraid of him and even joked with him. This was a testament to the care he had shown Iaar, a member of the protagonist’s harem, over the years.
Especially…
“Young Master, you must be tired and cold. Shall we go back inside for some hot tea? I’ve already prepared it for you.”
Under his care, Iaar’s inability to make tea, a trait strongly emphasized in the original work, was changed through a year of training. Now, Iaar was a skilled tea maker, and even the head maid, Susan, acknowledged her excellent skill.
Furthermore, the dog that was supposed to freeze to death, though its fate of death remained unchanged, had at least fought off all the surrounding monsters during this period, thereby strengthening its physique.
This meant that even if the ending remained the same, the personalities and abilities of the characters in this world could be “nurtured” by him. Just like in a game system, they could learn new skills and gain new abilities. They could become stronger!
And so…
He decided to put his rather darkly humorous Plan B into action.
He, the destined-to-die villainous young master, would nurture those three heartbroken losers who engaged in the pursuit of the male protagonist—
The unyielding, cold, and critical half-elf little princess who always belittled the protagonist’s lack of ability.
The little witch, cloaked in the body of a red-eyed, blonde loli, who was sharp-tongued, irritable, and always yelling.
And the one here, who, despite being a wolf-girl in her original form, was timid and fearful, afraid to step forward to protect the protagonist.
He would turn them all into blackened young girls, one by one!
As the saying goes, “Purified is weak by three points, blackened is ten times stronger.” In the original, they were incompetent and defeated, unable to defeat even BOSSes or the protagonist. They couldn’t express their feelings and could only cry helplessly after being toyed with by the protagonist. But if they were blackened, it would be different. If they were strong enough, crazy enough, and terrifying enough, they could torment the protagonist. They could tie him up, hang him, imprison him, leaving him unable to go anywhere or do anything, his eyes only for them, until his spirit broke and his body was worn down, never to leave them. As for him, he could sit aside, munching on melon seeds, and enjoy the spectacle. “When life is good, enjoy it to the fullest; do not let your golden goblet be empty before the moon.” Spring nights are short; since the ending won’t change anyway, he might as well find some amusement for himself.
This was the resolve of a former game planner. He was a professional at tormenting players.
“Hahahahahahahahaha—I can’t take your life, but I can make your life worse than death, hahahahahaha—”
“Young Master—Why are you acting crazy again?”
“Listen carefully, Iaar. I’ve figured it out.”
He took Iaar’s hand and looked earnestly into her sapphire-blue eyes. The reflection on his glasses, though slightly fogged, made him appear exceptionally wise. Since he could raise a dog that was supposed to freeze to death into something that could kill itself, if he could nurture them in the same way, there was hope!
“From today onward, I will raise you like this dog!”
“???”
Iaar tilted her head, her wolf ears leaning in the opposite direction of her head tilt. She thought that perhaps her brain hadn’t fully developed yet and she couldn’t comprehend the young master’s meaning.
“Then… Woof woof?”
