NXT_MARVEL

Our MC was an extreme introvert in his past life — a bookworm who avoided people like the plague, focused only on his studies, and had zero interest in anime, games, or romance. The only time he ever touched anime was when his one and only friend forced him to watch a single episode of some fantasy academy drama — and he hated every second of it.
So when he wakes up in an unfamiliar, lavish room and finds himself in the body of Lucien von Zephyr— a rich, handsome academy student — things seem… pretty okay. That is, until memory floods in and he realizes who  Lucien is: the pervy, obsessive side character doomed to die in Episode 7 for going too far with the main heroine!

Survive the Death Flag! (Or Die a Simp)

Lucien stared at the strange, thorned symbol on the page. It was small — easy to miss — but now that he saw it, he couldn't take his eyes off it.

"Why is this here…?" he muttered. He traced the shape with his finger, hoping for some kind of reaction, but nothing happened. Still, his gut told him this meant something important.

[Ooooh, mysterious symbols! Maybe it's a treasure map. Or a curse. Could go either way.]

"Helpful as always," Lucien said dryly. But he wasn't about to ignore this. Flipping back through the book, he searched for any other instance of the same symbol. It had to be connected to Xeranthis — the so-called Black Thorn — but why hide it like this?

As he scanned the pages, he found another one. Then another. The symbols were scattered throughout the book, always near descriptions of advanced summoning techniques or strange theories on magic.

Lucien's mind was racing. "This can't be a coincidence. What if this is a code? Or…"

Lucien flinched as the sharp sound broke his concentration. He glanced toward the door.

[Oh no, what if it's Leon? Quick! Pretend you're not home!]

"It's a dorm, you idiot. Everyone knows I'm here," Lucien muttered.

He got up and opened the door — only to find Aeris standing there, arms crossed and looking impatient.

"You forgot, didn't you?" she asked flatly.

Aeris sighed. "Sparring. Training field. Now."

"Right. Right! Of course, I didn't forget," Lucien said quickly, even as his mind screamed that he absolutely had forgotten. He glanced back at the grimoire, but Aeris was already turning on her heel.

[Wow. Priorities. You were about to unlock ancient magical secrets, but sure, go get beat up instead.]

"Not like I have a choice," Lucien muttered as he grabbed his gear and followed Aeris out the door.

As they headed toward the training grounds, his thoughts kept drifting back to the thorned symbols. What were they hiding? And why did he have the feeling that the answers were going to change everything?

The Thorn’s Secret