Caelen Vance was supposed to die in Chapter One.
Not metaphorically. Not “almost died but awakened hidden powers” died.
Actually executed.
Publicly.
By axe.
Unfortunately for the plot, Caelen remembers the game he reincarnated into.
And unfortunately for the world, he just unlocked the single most broken ability imaginable:
Endless Concept Extraction
Touch anything.
Steal one of its concepts.
Permanently.
Sharpness from swords.
Durability from shields.
Intent to Kill from monsters.
Later? Luck. Identity. Memories. Even Divine Authority itself.
There’s only one catch:
He can only extract once every 24 hours.
Now trapped inside the brutal dark-fantasy RPG Apocalypse: Reforged as a talentless noble bastard with a dead mana core and a 30-day countdown to execution, Caelen has exactly one goal:
Survive quietly. Get rich illegally. Avoid every main character. Retire before the apocalypse.
Naturally, everything goes horribly wrong.
The future Ice Tyrant overseeing his execution becomes suspicious of him.
The regressed heroine meant to save the world thinks he’s a timeline-breaking demon.
A terrifying demon assassin starts living inside his shadow after he accidentally frees her from slavery.
And a merchant genius keeps trying to convert emotional intimacy into legally binding business contracts.
Now Caelen must survive political conspiracies, eldritch horrors, noble assassins, and the increasingly violent cold war between four dangerously competent women all while pretending he is absolutely, definitely, completely normal.
Which becomes difficult after he accidentally removes a monster’s “Intent to Kill” and gives it an existential crisis.
After all…
It’s hard to stay a background character when you’re secretly stealing the concepts holding the world together.
Arthur04 · Fantasy · 14 ch
