Cheaters Prosper 2 (Patreon)

Daniel took a deep breath, trying to come to terms with the sudden new situation he found himself in. It was hard. His hands — Gregory’s hands — trembled as he tried to process the fact that his whole life was gone.

But, once that shock was gone, he found himself surprisingly alright. After all, what did he lose? A crappy job, a pathetic life with no friends or family worth remembering, a life that seemed to achieve nothing…

Admittedly, replacing his life with Gregory wasn’t too much of an improvement.

Gregory was a minor villain in the book, a brute who caused trouble for Henry and his friends but was ultimately inconsequential to the grander scheme. He was a stepping stone, a minor challenge for the hero to overcome on his path to greatness. He did nothing, achieved nothing.

Just like Daniel.

Daniel’s head spun as he tried to process it. He’d spent hours complaining about Henry’s world, about the predictability and lack of consequences, and now here he was, thrust into the body of a man who was destined to lose, to be outsmarted and overshadowed by the golden boy hero, discarded by his allies.

It was absurd. It was terrifying, or at least, it was supposed to be. And yet, as Daniel looked at his new reflection, something else sparked in his chest. A sense of opportunity, a wild, rebellious glimmer of possibility.

He was Gregory now, and the new Gregory didn’t have to play by the rules. He didn’t have to be a minor villain, a bootlicker to Raum, a mere footnote in Henry’s story. He had access to magic. More importantly, he knew the future. This was his chance to change the narrative, to carve out a place for himself in a world that had always seemed just out of reach.

And, it wasn’t like there was no advantage. He took a deep breath, feeling the strength in his new form, the raw potential that pulsed in every muscle. He might not have asked for this, but if life had taught him anything, it was that you didn’t get what you deserved, you got what you took.

Having a body that was built like a tank, commanded by a mind that knew the future seemed like a good idea.

“Let’s get a sense of the place,” he said as he started looking around. Gregory’s quarters were luxurious in a way Daniel had never experienced. The room was spacious, with high ceilings adorned with carved wooden beams and walls lined with tapestries depicting the exploits of ancient mages. A large, four-poster bed with heavy velvet drapes dominated the space, and a grand fireplace sat opposite, cold now but still imposing with its intricately designed mantle. The floor was covered with thick, richly patterned rugs, and a polished mahogany desk was littered with parchment, quills, and wax seals, all indicating a lifestyle far removed from the cramped apartment Daniel had known in his old life.

However, despite all the luxury, one thing stood out. Every single item in the room was old, which was to be expected when it came to tapestries, but not the quills and other disposable items. And, even for the antiques, the lack of care was showing.

It didn’t surprise Daniel. Gregory’s home situation was merely explained by a few offhanded mentions about some old debts, but his destitute had already been established. And, even if that wasn’t enough, all he needed was to take a step forward to look at the papers filling the desk.

Letters demanding payment, contracts of dubious legality, and detailed notes on magical artifacts that could be sold on the second-hand market filled the desk. His eyes caught on a thick, yellowed document bearing the crest of a once-prominent noble house.

The house of Stonebridge, if he remembered correctly from the books, was a fallen noble line, stripped of its titles and lands after generations of mismanagement. Gregory was the last of his line, struggling to restore his family’s lost glory, a task that had driven him into the hands of Raum.

Daniel took a step forward, his feet sinking into the soft rug. He ignored the looming debt and focused on his new body. He felt strange, but in a good way; taller, stronger, more powerful. He flexed his hands, watching the muscles shift under the skin.

There was a raw strength here, a physicality that Gregory’s brute form embodied, and Daniel felt a rush of both exhilaration and unease. He was no longer the average, unremarkable man he had been just yesterday, easily mixing with the crowd, ignored just as easily. No, for good and ill, Gregory was not someone who could be ignored when he was in the same room.

Mostly ill, Daniel concluded as he remembered the books. He had to remember that. He had magic, but he was also someone with a past, with debts, and a reputation that he would have to navigate carefully.

He processed the memories. In the books, Gregory’s loyalty to Raum didn’t make much sense in the books, making him look more like a plot device than an actual character. It made sense now. Raum had promised him the impossible: not only covering the debts, but the resurrection of his noble family.

Daniel wanted to blame Gregory for believing it, but he didn’t. He certainly did more stupid things. And, Raum was a manipulator, always looking for pawns to play, and Gregory, desperate and burdened, had been an easy target.

Daniel ran a hand through his hair, his mind racing.

He focused on the first-year memories that had come flooding back when he’d woken up in Gregory’s body; moments of raw frustration, anger, and desperation. Gregory had arrived at the Everglade Academy with high hopes, only to find the world still stacked against him.

He wasn’t exactly a genius when it came to magic. Admittedly, he was no slouch either, but his impatience to resurrect his family and erase the debts meant he searched for quick solutions. A mistake with the curse of a fallen family name.

Not at Everglade Academy, where he was nothing more than a relic of a disgraced past.

And, when his poorly planned strategy failed, Raum had been there, lurking on the fringes, offering whispered promises of power and restoration. Daniel could still feel the echoes of Gregory’s resentment, the bitterness that had festered every time Henry Porterson breezed through another challenge, basking in the adoration of peers and professors alike.

Gregory’s descent into villainy hadn’t a quick but inevitable slide, fueled by a sense of being perpetually overshadowed by everyone, but in particular the golden boy hero.

But now, Daniel had a chance to do things differently. He wasn’t bound by Gregory’s original decisions, nor did he feel any loyalty to Raum’s manipulative schemes. Gregory’s past was tragic, yes, but Daniel didn’t have to repeat his mistakes. He had the advantage of knowing how the story unfolded—or at least how it was supposed to. Raum’s plans would ultimately fail, and Gregory would end up being just another obstacle for Henry to overcome, another name in the long list of those who had tried and failed to stand against him.

And, once he became a liability, Raum would abandon him without blinking.

Daniel wasn’t interested in being a footnote. He needed to think carefully about his next moves. Raum’s promises were empty, and Daniel knew that aligning with him was a path to ruin. But breaking away wouldn’t be simple; Raum had his claws deep into Gregory, and any misstep could lead to consequences Daniel wasn’t prepared to face yet.

He needed time to plan, to figure out how to navigate this new reality without getting caught up in the predictable spiral of defeat.

He turned from the desk and walked over to the large wardrobe in the corner, pulling open the heavy doors. Inside was an array of clothing befitting a nobleman’s son; though all of them were old, out of fashion. It had been a mistake for Gregory to wear them in the first place. It marked him.

Daniel ignored all, and instead pulled out a simple, dark coat and shrugged it on, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door.

The reflection was still startling. Gregory’s sharp, angular features stared back at him, strong and imposing. His eyes were dark, almost black, and there was a hardness in them that spoke of years of struggle.

It would take a while to get used to it.

Daniel turned away, heading towards the door. He needed to explore, to get a better sense of the mansion before he left for the second year in the Academy this afternoon.

The mansion was familiar yet new, a setting he knew from faded memories of someone else, but now it was alive around him, every detail sharper and more immediate. He stepped out into the hallway, the heavy wooden door closing behind him with a satisfying thud.

As he walked through the corridors, Daniel replayed the memories of Gregory’s first year in his mind.

It was like watching scenes from a movie he had seen a dozen times—Gregory’s initial optimism, the gradual realization that his family’s name was more of a curse than a blessing, and the slow slide into Raum’s orbit.

He then arrived at the armory, a location that held the old magical staff and other weapons. His memories suggested something interesting, a detail that wasn’t a part of the books. Gregory had picked a staff, one that belonged to one of the most successful heads of the family, but it had been an ill-fitting focus for him.

No, his memories suggested the presence of a sword. It wasn’t a fancy weapon, just a straight broad sword, one that could be used as a melee weapon as much as a magic focus. Gregory refused to use it because the staff was the superior magical weapon, the representative of archmages.

Daniel had no such concerns. It was better to be capable to look respectable. More importantly, as a stranger, Daniel could see something Gregory struggled to accept. Gregory didn’t have any respect to lose by switching, not when most of the school had already seen him as a bottom feeder and a bootlicker.

He didn’t have to search for long in the armory, as it was mostly empty. Other than the simple sword that resonated with him the best, there were only a few ancient staffs and other focuses, all falling into disrepair.

He ignored all, and instead grabbed the sword. There were no sudden magical lights, no incredible destiny. It was just a functional tool that could be used to cast spells and cut people at the same time, nothing more.

Daniel tightened his hold on the sword. He preferred it to a heavy staff that came with a pointless history that no one cared about every single day. He smiled.

He had a magical university to upend!