1 THE CATCH

[I SHOULD have read One P*ece before I died instead of binge-reading another dungeon-themed web novel.]

What was Park Suho's biggest regret in life?

Was it the fact that he was only a twenty-one-year-old university student when he died?

[Nope. I was actually thinking of dropping out of school because I was broke. People also looked down on my background as an orphan, so I didn't have friends either. That's why I was cool with being transmigrated.]

Then was it the fact that his death was pathetic? After all, he died in a road accident after he got in a car chase with a top male Kpop idol. All for a part-time job, at that.

It wasn't an exaggeration when he said he was broke as hell. To get by, he needed a part-time job that paid well. Hence, he sold his soul to the devil when he accepted a job in 'Eyepatch'– an infamous media outlet known for stalking celebrities.

Suho was an average dude, but he was a talented photographer.

If he was rich, he would have started a career in photography. But since he was poor, he had no choice but to stalk celebrities and take "scandalous" photos of them for a living. It was okay at first, except for the fact that his conscience was killing him.

But everything went completely downhill when Eyepatch assigned Suho to stalk a famous male idol. His camera caught the said idol on a late-night date with a rookie female idol, and that was when shit hit the fan.

When the male idol spotted Suho, the celebrity tried to confront him. He wasn't getting paid enough to deal with an angry idol, so naturally, he stepped on the gas instead of talking it out with his victim.

But the hot-tempered idol got in his car quickly and chased Suho.

And… boom!

A wild truck appeared and hit his car on the side.

Then he died.

[Probably.]

Even so, he didn't regret dying that way because he thought it was his karma for ruining several celebrities' lives by exposing their "scandals."

[I didn't live a decent life, so I knew I'd die a horrible death.]

So, what did Suho really regret in life?

Was it waking up as a minor villain inside the fantasy novel 'The Legendary Fisher?'

It was a novel where Sea Monsters and Dungeons terrorized the world. The people who were equipped to slay Sea Monsters were called 'Fishers.' But not everyone could become one, including Suho.

After all, he possessed the body of a minor villain.

[So fucking cliché.]

Worse, the character that he possessed was named ZIRKUS Huxford.

[English isn't my first language, but doesn't 'Zirkus' sound like 'circus?' It reminds me of clowns, and it makes me think the character I possessed is nothing but a huge joke.]

But Suho had a bigger problem than his new name: the timeline of the novel.

The story was indeed The Legendary Fisher. But the single moon in the starry night sky told him this timeline was before the main story began. To be precise, it was before the Five Disasters hit the Eaton Continent.

And the most worrying part?

Every single Disaster that destroyed the Eaton Continent came from the Guinevere Kingdom.

[Guess whose homeland is that? Obviously, Zirkus Huxford's– and now, mine.]

Having said that, he didn't regret his new life.

[Haaah– I should have read the latest chapter before I died.]

Suho's one and only regret was he wouldn't be able to read One P*ece anymore.

"Goddammit," Suho whispered, closing his eyes tight as a single tear rolled down his right cheek. "How am I supposed to know how One P*ece ends now?!"

What was the 'One P*ece L*ffy and his nakamas had been looking for all this time?!

[I'm so gonna be pissed if the 'One P*ece' ends up being the journey itself and not a real piece of treasure!]

***

AS IF Suho's luck wasn't bad enough, he had to wake up with a foul-mouthed System.

<"What's up, loser?">

Yep, that was the first thing the floating Window– that only he could see– "said" to him when he woke up as Zirkus Huxford.

And he woke up in a very… uh, INTERESTING "scene."

Zirkus was about to punch a silver-haired boy with gold eyes.

His experience as a novel reader for many years told him that a character with silver hair and gold eyes couldn't be a random dude– especially when the dude in question was handsome.

[Silver hair and gold eyes are reserved for important characters!]

It wasn't easy, but thankfully, Zirkus managed to grab his left wrist with his other hand to stop himself from landing a punch on the probably-an-important-character dude.

[Whew!]

He was distracted by the floating Window right in front of his face, but he did his best to remember who among the characters in The Legendary Fisher possessed silver hair and gold eyes.

[I saw the illustrations for the main characters and villains in the novel. But the characters are all adults. This silver-haired dude looks like a teen to me.]

"Huxford, what are you doing?"

Huh?

Aside from the probably-an-important-character dude, there were two characters in the "scene" at the moment that he just noticed.

Both boys had brown hair and dark eyes, in different shades.

[Ah, they're random dudes. If a character has brown hair, they're a minor character at best.]

"Why aren't you hitting him?"

Zirkus responded with a dumb question. "Who?"

Both random dudes pointed at the silver-haired dude. "Enzo Fenton!"

Zirkus' eyes opened wide from shock.

[That name…!]

As the realization hit him, the foul-mouthed System sent a message using the Window.

<"Surprise, motherfucker! Your first Catch is Enzo Fenton– the First Disaster that erased half of Guinevere Kingdom from the Eaton Continent's map in the original novel! Kekeke!">

Zirkus yelled at the Window in the heat of the moment. "You fucking bastard!"

Oops.

He totally forgot that he was the only one who could see the damned Window.

No wonder the two random characters looked shocked.

After all, it looked like he cursed at Enzo Fenton– the FIRST DISASTER!

[Dammit…]

Zirkus was scared to death while looking at the blank look on Enzo Fenton's face.

[Aigoo.]

He remembered the novel described Enzo Fenton as someone who looked naïve on the outside. But inside…

[This punk has probably killed me in his head already!]

"Enzo!"

The two random dudes who were bullying Enzo Fenton with him cursed under their breath before running away.

Yep, totally leaving Zirkus behind.

[Oh, I was abandoned…]

Zirkus missed the chance to run away. It was because he was mesmerized by the appearance of the novel's male and female lead that looked younger than they did in the main story.

Based on his calculations, the two were probably around seventeen or eighteen years old?

[Rivo Creswell…]

Of course, the hero of The Legendary Fisher had black hair and red eyes.

Heh.

[Black hair and red eyes totally scream 'main character.']

Moreover, Rivo Creswell's face was also OP.

[How can someone be that handsome? It's unfair. He should have shared some of his good looks with the rest of the male population.]

"Are you alright, Enzo?"

[Nixie Winslet…]

The female lead had short pink hair and bright green eyes. Of course, as the fan favorite among the "waifus" in Rivo Creswell's unofficial harem, Nixie Winslet was beautiful and charismatic.

[Her vibes scream 'girl crush.']

Zirkus' thoughts were interrupted when Nixie Winslet suddenly grabbed him by the collar.

[Yep, totally girl crush material.]

"Huxford!" Nixie Winslet yelled at him, her bright green eyes burning with anger. "Why are you bullying Enzo? What did he do to you?!"

[I wish I also know why this stupid Zirkus Huxford is bullying a Disaster-in-the-making…]

"Nixie, I'm fine."

Oho?

Enzo Fenton finally spoke up for the first time.

Zirkus was a little surprised upon hearing the villain's voice.

[Wow. For someone who's going to destroy half of the kingdom in the future, Enzo Fenton sure sounds innocent.]

Rivo Creswell clicked his tongue. "This is your problem, Enzo– you're too nice!"

Zirkus couldn't help but scoff at the hero's claim that the villain was "too nice."

Unfortunately, that caught the attention of the three main characters.

Rivo Creswell, Nixie Winslet, and Enzo Fenton were now looking at him sharply.

Zirkus felt slightly frightened. The three kids were intimidating not only because of the pressure coming from them but also because of their faces.

[Why are these kids so good-looking?!]

Zirkus, during his life as Park Suho, was already immune to good-looking people because he stalked celebrities for a living. Hence, his beauty standards were crazy high.

[But these kids surpass those standards.]

The main characters were THAT good-looking.

"Why are you looking at us with a dumb expression on your face?" Nixie Winslet asked before letting go of his collar. She even took a step backwards, as if she was disgusted with him. "Huxford, this will be my last warning to you– leave Enzo alone."

Huh???

Zirkus wasn't listening to the female lead's threat because he belatedly realized that all of them– yes, including him– were wearing white school uniforms that looked cool and very fantasy-like.

But the thing that caught his attention was the crest and on the left breast pocket of the blazer: an elegant white sword pierced through a huge red rose.

Zirkus unconsciously whispered to himself. "We're students of the Holy Sword Academy?"

He remembered the name of Rivo Creswell's old school because it was mentioned quite a lot in the story.

[I can't believe I'm going to be a student again!]

He knew that he was thrown into the novel before the main story of The Legendary Fisher began because he only saw one moon in the sky earlier.

Once the main story finally began, the world would gain two moons.

[No thanks to the Five Disasters.]

However, he didn't expect that he would be in a world where the main characters were still students. No wonder they looked so young!

[I guess my luck isn't that bad…?]

"Yes, we're students of the Holy Sword Academy," Rivo Creswell said, knitting his eyebrows. "Huxford, are YOU alright? You seem to be out of it."

As expected of the hero.

[He even worries about a minor villain who bullied his friend.]

What a 'Chad.'

Should Zirkus try to act like a jerk towards the main characters? When else would he, as Park Suho, get the chance to bully Enzo Fenton– aka the future First Disaster– without getting killed?

He was only three years older than the main characters. It wouldn't hurt to act immature once after living a harsh life, right?

[Yep, this is fine. Enzo Fenton is acting innocent, so he wouldn't retaliate.]

Zirkus smirked while looking at Enzo Fenton, his resolve to bully the future main villain firm. "Hey, Enzo Fenton. Do you know why I enjoy bullying you?"

Rivo Creswell and Nixie Winslet glared at him.

On the other hand, Enzo Fenton just looked at Zirkus as if he was listening intently.

['I'm bullying you because you're acting like a beta even though you're an alpha!']

Zirkus didn't really believe in the beta and alpha shit. It was just his vague way of telling Enzo Fenton that he knew he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

[I can't be too direct.]

"Enzo Fenton, I'm bullying you because–"

Wait!

Zirkus was forced to stop talking in the middle when a new message appeared in the Window.

<"You stupid bastard! Didn't I tell you Enzo Fenton, the First Disaster, is your Catch?! It means you're supposed to stop him from becoming a future villain that will bring Cataclysm into this world! You better catch all the Disasters if you want to know the ending of One P*ece!">

That was the reward for saving this world?!

[Daebak!]

"What?" Rivo Creswell asked impatiently. "Why did you suddenly stop talking, Huxford?"

"And why are you smiling like that?" Nixie Winslet asked as if she was disgusted. "It's creepy."

Oh?

Was Zirkus smiling?

He couldn't help it since the reward was too sweet.

"The reason I'm bullying you is because I wanted to be friends with you, Enzo Fenton," Zirkus said while smiling at the future villain. Then he cleared his throat before he spoke very politely. "Excuse me, sir. Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Luffy?"

***

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