Chapter 1
I had just wanted to fangirl.
I had wanted to prove that I loved that work more than anyone else, and to be recognized.
I had just wanted to continue watching the characters’ lives even after the work was completed.
Thus, I—who was just a typical hardcore fan—had gained an opportunity that all other fans would envy.
And as a result.
I was dying in real time.
“Ugh! Cough… cough!”
“My lord! My lord! Are you okay?”
Bang, bang, bang!
I heard frantic knocking at the door. But I didn’t have even an eyelash’s worth of capacity to pay attention to that.
I felt like I was going to die.
No, that was neither a joke nor an exaggeration.
At this rate, in a year. No, surely within three months I would definitely die.
“Damn… cough!”
I covered my mouth with my hand and coughed.
Something mixed with blood burst out from inside.
Tiny metal fragments the size of baby fingernails.
‘Fuck….’
It felt like these metal fragments had shredded my airway as they shot out. As I started bleeding, the coughing grew ever more violent.
After repeatedly coughing and spitting up blood for quite some time, I finally managed to cling to consciousness as it grew faint.
I barely managed to hold onto the sink so my body wouldn’t collapse.
Dropping senselessly onto the floor might have felt easier physically, but my pride did not permit that.
No, more precisely, ‘my body’s’ pride did not permit that act.
And my strong ego didn’t even allow me to curse out loud. Thus, even in this situation, I had to vent my rage silently inside.
‘Damn. I’m truly fucked. I’m going to die without accomplishing anything like this.’
I felt pathetic thinking that choosing this body had once been the best decision I had ever made.
All of the perfect plans I had in my head were entirely derailed by a single factor: 'incurable disease.'
“Huff… huff…!”
After regaining just a bit of strength, I lifted my head and stared at the washbasin in front of me. At that, the smart mirror sensed my gaze and immediately began to display my face.
[Hello, Lord Aaron.]
[Today, your health score is 11. Abnormal substance reactions were detected in 123 parts of your body including your heart, lungs, and kidneys.]
[It would be best to visit a hospital promptly. Shall I place an emergency call to your attending physician?]
“Shut up and just show my face.”
[Cancelled.]
The attending physician’s number that had popped up on the display mirror disappeared. Soon, the face of a young man came into view.
The moment I saw him, I smirked despite myself.
‘Even in this situation, he had to look stylish.’
His black hair was neatly slicked back with pomade, and his sharp eyes glowed amber.
His jawline was sleek yet masculine.
Even I—though a man—could have been smitten by such a handsome face.
In accordance with the immutable law of originals, if I had been in my previous life, I would have spent countless millions just to approach that beauty.
Even the blood smeared on his mouth, and the deathly pale skin from the fatal illness, felt as if they were staged to amplify that beauty.
“Aaron… Stingray.”
Wiping the blood from my mouth, I murmured the name that was now ‘mine.’
Aaron Stingray.
A villain who appeared in volume 2 of my favorite novel, Cyber‑Module’s Necromancer. He had threatened the protagonist, but didn’t last long before an early exit.
He was the first son of Stingray Corporation, the evil corporation that dominated the novel’s world, and the only person in the entire series whom the protagonist had never definitively beaten.
In other words, one of the strongest in the entire universe.
‘Up to that point, all was fine… but the problem was that this guy had a death sentence.’
The cause was the malfunction of the military nanomachines, “Adam,” implanted in his body.
I had heard that normally only one in five million people would be afflicted—but unfortunately, Aaron Stingray drew that unlucky lot.
Symptoms involved sharp metallic substances forming throughout his body, gnawing at his organs, bringing him closer and closer to death.
The reason such a powerful character lost to the feeble, early-stage protagonist was that he died mid-battle due to the rapid progression of this disease.
In the novel, the protagonist even explained, “If he hadn’t been ill, I would surely have died by his hand.”
But if you asked why I, merely a reader of a novel, somehow became that impressive guy…
“Who could I blame… it was my choice.”
---
Two weeks before now.
A notice had popped up on the official site to celebrate the completion of Cyber‑Module’s Necromancer.
—What? If you answer all the quiz questions correctly, you’d get an amazing prize?
The quiz questions related to the content of the novel. What was unusual was that the questions weren’t multiple-choice or short answers—they were open-ended.
For example, questions looked like these.
[Question 1. In chapter 28, explain why the female lead “Iri Elisbell” said “I’m sorry” to the male lead, and describe her feelings. (within 300 characters)]
[Question 2. In chapter 35, the genius Moduler “Miyu” spoke of her “goal”—relate this to the episode in chapter 51 and describe. (within 300 characters)]
“Is this a quiz, or an essay exam….”
Even if open‑book was allowed, it would be truly difficult for anyone who wasn’t a devoted reader to solve.
In other words, the questions were intended to gauge how well the reader understood the novel and its characters.
Of course, I, who prided myself on being a hardcore fan of Cyber‑Module’s Necromancer, neatly filled in all the answers in about four hours.
And the final question.
That one was a little different from the previous ones.
[Bonus Question. Would you like to live in the world of Cyber‑Module’s Necromancer? If so, which character would you become? Why?]
The novel’s world was overwhelmingly bleak, but I answered “yes” right away to that question.
After all, my reality was just as bleak. In fact, the novel—where my faves existed—had more room to harbor hope.
And for the question of who I wanted to be, I wrote, without hesitation, one character’s name.
“Aaron Stingray.”
I had a few reasons for choosing him.
First.
Being the eldest son of the Stingray conglomerate, Aaron Stingray possessed immense beauty and wealth. In any world, having money and good looks made life worth living.
Second.
Before his illness, Aaron Stingray was the universe’s strongest warrior—one whom even the protagonist could not defeat. With strength, most threats could be brushed aside.
And third.
He exited early in the story and didn’t affect the later plot.
And as a supplementary explanation, I wrote this:
—Of course, the limited lifespan is a problem, but if one could fix the nanomachine malfunction, it would be entirely resolvable.
—If I became Aaron, I’d use his wealth and talent to cure the disease, then quietly watch the other characters’ paths unfold from behind with satisfaction.
Yes. Fangirling!
I had loved the characters in the novel more than anyone else.
They were fictional beings, but they were my saviors who helped me forget my miserable real-life existence.
And since he died early and exited the story, if I just lived quietly as though I were dead, I wouldn’t significantly affect the later developments.
I wanted to watch the journey of my favorite characters!
But I didn’t want to suffer by getting directly involved in the story! I just wanted to enjoy things moderately!
The most suitable character to fulfill that kind of fan-hearted wish was none other than Aaron Stingray.
With that, I wrote out the happy fantasy I had rolled over in my head hundreds of times on the final question, and after reviewing it about three times, I hit the submit button.
And just four days ago.
The event winner had been announced.
I had gone straight to the webpage, and to my surprise, I found my name listed in first place for the quiz event.
“Official merch! It’s official merch!”
While I was overjoyed and wondering what kind of special gift the author had prepared personally, I suddenly lost consciousness as light spilled out from the monitor.
---
“And when I woke up again, I had ended up like this…”
Cough, cough.
The coughing fit began again.
I quickly swallowed the painkillers on the sink with some tap water. The effect was so potent that the coughing and pain stabbing through my whole body stopped immediately.
“Haa…”
Only then could I catch my breath. I wiped the cold sweat trickling down my forehead with a handkerchief and left the bathroom.
Then I collapsed onto the wide sofa placed at one side of the large room and began lamenting my fate.
“Possessing a character is fine. It’s not like those NovelBins where I got dragged into a world I didn’t want to enter—I got to possess the character I actually wanted…”
On top of that, I had placed first in the official event.
In other words, I was the person who understood this work and its world the most—second only to the author.
I was confident I could somehow restore the story’s trajectory even if my possession caused some deviation in the plot.
So all that remained was to carry out the detailed plan I had set up in my past life.
But there was just one unforeseen problem.
‘It hurts too much…’
It hurt.
It hurt too damn much.
The fact that I had underestimated this incurable disease with such a rare probability was the only thing I had overlooked.
If I didn’t take medicine regularly, waves of extreme pain would hit me, and once I did take it, my mind would go half-blank, making it hard to think properly. In fact, even now, because I had just taken the medicine, I felt like I was floating on a cloud.
At least, if I braced myself, I could stay conscious and carry out daily life for a few hours. That was a relief, I guess. But it was far from enough to actually push the plan forward.
I honestly found it amazing—how someone with a disease like this could have ever overwhelmed the original protagonist. Though, of course, he ultimately died from forcing himself to fight.
“I feel drained…”
As the painkillers fully kicked in again, my eyelids began to droop.
Taking medicine, falling asleep, waking up writhing from pain, then seeking more painkillers—that had been the pattern of my life since I possessed this body.
“I need to find ‘that’ quickly…”
Just as my vision began to darken again, the door suddenly burst open.
“Young master!? Young master Aaron!”
The one who came in calling my name was a woman with long black hair and bangs cut straight across.
Thanks to Aaron’s remaining memories, I recognized her immediately.
“Maria…”
My exclusive secretary and attendant.
She had been taken in by the Stingray conglomerate as a child and raised to be a capable combat weapon and subordinate.
She appeared to be a delicate East Asian beauty, but I knew the truth.
Her modified body was equipped with enough firepower to wipe out an entire police SWAT team.
But I felt no fear at all facing such a human weapon. My mouth moved on its own, spitting out words in an arrogant tone.
“You’re being extremely rude, Maria.”
“I-I apologize. However, considering your current health condition…”
“Silence. I know my body better than anyone. This isn’t something you need to meddle in.”
“I’m sorry.”
Maria immediately knelt on one knee like a knight and bowed her head. Her shoulders trembled slightly—almost imperceptibly.
The emotion I sensed from that was a mix of anxiety and reverence.
It showed just how terrifying a presence Aaron Stingray was to her.
But unlike the original Aaron, I had no interest in tormenting beautiful women like her. I couldn’t keep letting the physical personality of this body dominate me.
“…Enough. Get up. More importantly, what about ‘that’? Did you find it?”
That.
The first step of my plan.
A clue to cure this damned body.
Maria’s face turned pale at my question. She didn’t answer, but I immediately knew what that meant—she hadn’t found it yet.
“…”
A surge of anger flared up instantly.
My life was on the line, and these people couldn’t even accomplish this simple task?
Just as that thought hit me—
‘No…’
My head cooled down again.
A wave of unease swept through my mind.
The medicine had made me a little foggy, but not so much that I’d miss something like this.
‘…Something’s off.’
In the story, the Stingray family boasted incredible intelligence capabilities—they could track down a nameless orphan in the slums in a single day if they wanted.
And yet I, the eldest son of the Stingray family.
Had personally instructed them to find something absolutely essential to saving my life.
And they had failed to do so, even after four whole days?
‘This might not simply be because of incompetence.’
I closed my eyes and quickly ran through the novel’s content and settings in my mind.
Aaron Stingray.
The eldest son of the Stingray conglomerate.
The largest military-industrial company that controlled the city.
Above me was my father, the conglomerate's head. Below me were two younger siblings.
“I see…”
The author had never explicitly laid out ‘that’ kind of setup in the novel, but the possibility was high.
I quickly arrived at a conclusion and forced myself to rise from the sofa.
“I’m heading out. Prepare my clothes.”
“W-Where are you going?”
“The commercial district in Sector E. Watching you fools fumble around is more exhausting—I’ll find it myself.”
“B-But, young master! Sector E is extremely dangerous in terms of public safety…!”
“Dangerous? For me?”
“M-My apologies.”
When I shot Maria a glare and asked, she bowed her head in apology.
Yeah, the problem wasn’t the thugs in Sector E—it was this damned disease.
I couldn’t keep leaving my life in someone else’s hands. I had no choice but to find it myself.
If I failed…
I would eventually die following the original plot’s flow.
And that too—
At the hands of my own family.