The Villain Wants to Live

Description

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The mid-level boss of my company’s AAA-game.

Deculein, a villain who dies in 999 out of the 1000 playthroughs.

Now I have transmigrated in his body.

Associated Names
One entry per line
TVWtL
VWL
악당은 살고 싶다
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
The Main Heroines are Trying to Kill Me (15)
Academy’s Undercover Professor (13)
The Novel’s Extra (12)
My Death Flags Show No Sign of Ending (10)
Trash of the Count’s Family (9)
The Villain Who Robbed the Heroines (7)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Gems collection
  2. My Top Novels From the 500 Novels I have Read (KR,...
  3. KR Novels Recommended by a Picky Reader
  4. The most interesting Light Novels
  5. self sacrifice mc's [Non BL & BL]

Latest Release

Date Group Release
07/20/21 Selfish Translations c13
07/20/21 Selfish Translations c12
07/13/21 Selfish Translations c11
07/12/21 Selfish Translations c10
07/12/21 Selfish Translations c9
07/12/21 Selfish Translations c8
07/12/21 Selfish Translations c7
07/12/21 Selfish Translations c6
07/12/21 Selfish Translations c5
07/06/21 Selfish Translations c4
07/05/21 Selfish Translations c3
06/29/21 Selfish Translations c2
06/28/21 Selfish Translations c1
06/28/21 Selfish Translations prologue
Write a Review
185 Reviews sorted by


Dante3d
Dante3d rated it
August 25, 2021
Status: c50
One of the best novels, it is similar to "my death flag shows no signs of ending" but better. MC is a fraud originally but after memory transplanting he decides to change bcz he knows his future.
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Sceer
Sceer
August 19, 2021
Status: --
I shouldn’t really complain since I read this knowing there is a harem tag. I’m just interested in the magic explanation and everything else aside from romance, which isn’t that interesting at the moment. 😔
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
pomoli
pomoli rated it
August 13, 2021
Status: c32
Excellent, as always with this author, the characters feel "more" alive and complex than the typical cardboard ones you can find in the genre.

If you're like me and like romance/harem where the characters aren't one dimensional, and where MC isn't some lecher or breeding machine, and the idea of transmigrating into a villain and try to change him, I highly recommend it.
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Ihartkimchi
Ihartkimchi rated it
August 11, 2021
Status: c32
I've read other works from this author and they have a tendency to write really good novels but with half-assed endings. They're 1st novel is pretty ok but overall tr*sh but the 2nd one is pretty good until you reach the 200+ chapters.

So far, this story is going smooth and I hope they keep the momentum like that since I don't want to end up with wasted potential.

I'll rate it 4 star for now since we are just at the start of the novel but so far so good and... more>> it has a lot of potential to be a solid 5 star novel. <<less
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songweiming01
songweiming01 rated it
July 18, 2021
Status: c11
I must say that this is really a promising novel. It is taking a good shape. If you like TNE, you will also like this too.
Recommended to those who like to pluck out death flag left, right and center.
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Lordgrim231
Lordgrim231 rated it
July 18, 2021
Status: c14
JEE GAB SONG BACK IT AGAIN BABY, probably my favorite author of all time. His two previous stories are top tier but unfortunately, the ending of one of them was complete tr*sh and the other was kinda rushed but I did like it in the end. Hopefully, he breaks the cycle and nails this stories ending
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
tapeonmyars
tapeonmyars rated it
July 14, 2021
Status: c140
Started off loving this novel, but now I find myself dropping it.

Unlike many I actually loved The Novels Extra. So I was so excited for the author's new book, and at the beginning, they delivered.

However at this stage, the story just isn't exciting, I don't mind the harem or ridiculous misunderstandings, as long I'm entertained I'd say it's a good book. But I lost interest. I don't really care for any characters anymore.

One thing I liked about TNE was that MC was super desperate to go back to his world.... more>> He had family, friends, a whole life back where he came from. This MC... I guess he forgot about it.

I might come back to continue reading it. But for now I'm giving it a rest. <<less
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Peristeria
Peristeria
July 6, 2021
Status: c40
Honestly it's quite an interesting read. So far the other characters hate the MC but they changed their minds after MC changes. I generally like hated to loved stories. But it kinda feels like foreshadowing and everyone's gonna hate the MC for one reason or another. It's like TNE but worse.

In TNE only Chae Nayoon hated the MC because of a misunderstanding that the MC doesn't do sh*t about until later she finds out the truth by herself much muuucch later down the story. In this novel, I think a... more>> bunch of characters are gonna hate the MC for one reason or another that he probably wouldn't bother to care about. That's worse than just one person hating the MC. However until chapter 40 the frustrating part of 'everyone misunderstood the MC but the MC didn't do sh*t about it' part hadn't happened so who knows? Maybe it'll be a better read than what I expected. But considering the author's previous work I doubt it LOL. TNE is good though don't misunderstand me. I just don't like the part where the MC didn't bother to clear the misunderstanding because it's so frustrating to read, ok?

Lastly, thank you the translator for opening a new door for me LOL. I wouldn't have known this novel exists if I didn't see the translator's work. Nice translation btw :) <<less
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Tobi
Tobi
July 5, 2021
Status: c3
What an insane start!

It's still far too early to give my genuine review of this novel, but bravo Author and Translator. This novel have a huge amount of potential! Don't give up this novel please! It's a waste to see such an unpolished gem goes unpolished.

Villain body takeover, but with an actual villain that is hated by everyone? My friend, that hooked me right in!

Highly recommended for my fellow readers to give this a try, even a few chapters would be fine.
Give your support to the Translator as well, without them this gem would go undiscovered. :&Gt;
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
purit2006
purit2006
July 5, 2021
Status: c3
I hope the translator keep this up. It's pretty interesting if you don't mind some usual trophs. But it's just a couple chapters so, fingers crossed I guess and the translation is pretty solid.

Seriously, I want more. My sole purpose of commenting this is just to let the translator knows that lol. I might as well write a serious review by the time there are plenty of chapters.
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Xyn
Xyn rated it
January 15, 2023
Status: c361
This was awesome.

For those that are confused by the scrambled chapters -> the real translation came from another website than the one linked here, just find it.

This story was sooo cool to read. The end is bittersweet, but fitting.

... more>> If I could have wished for something more, it would be more meaningful male characters. Thought I consider this story one of the rare to make a 'harem' not annoying.

I loved all the characters, even though I found them irritating sometimes, the story ends up explaining why they were that way and makes them relatable.

Great story. <<less
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freecandy
freecandy
January 11, 2023
Status: c85
My eyes became blood shot from staying up till morning to continue reading this. VERY GOOD.

The characters are complex, fun, and interesting.

The plot is never boring and keeps you interested even when there is no "action".

The setting is creative and good enough to immerse yourself in.
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Choon
Choon rated it
December 13, 2022
Status: c200
While reading the the MC's struggle with his identity, and fighting back the original owner's personality, I thought that it was a really interesting take on transmigration, because most stories just either have the MC take over someone's body who just died, or they take over the body completely while inheriting the memories (or not). But then the author hits us with the fact that deculein's original personality is an in-game trait that is so strong it is hard for the MC to resist, which makes it so that all... more>> character development was lost and thrown out the window. Now yes, there are numerous times where characters are surprised with the way the MC talks because it's not like how deculein used to talk, but it still doesn't change the fact that the way he talks and acts is so infuriating. I think the author really shot himself in the foot, making it so that deculeins personality is an in-game trait that is hard to resist, since it just causes so many problems, or maybe the author did it on purpose since he wanted to write more and more misunderstandings.

This fact alone made me drop the novel, because most problems could be solved if the MC could just speak his mind and be honest, but noooo, deculein wouldn't do that. I get that conflicts drive a story, but when said conflicts are so drama heavy and braindead I just can't help but cringe.

TLDR: Original owner of the body that MC takes over has a built-in in game forced trait of being edgy and problematic <<less
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VillageMoron
VillageMoron rated it
December 1, 2022
Status: Completed
This is one of the best novels. There are many things it does well, but the thing it does better than any other novel is the profundity of the writing. The last chapters had so much emotion and meaning. It was all so perfect. I think about the novel a lot, it really touched my soul. So yeah, its beautiful and I just can't give it enough praise.
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SteelWasp
SteelWasp rated it
November 3, 2022
Status: ~c219
Starts well. Makes you familiar and invested. Then goes downhill. Slowly. Gradually. One undesirable turn at a time. It's not bad writing. I would rather describe it as some kind of sophisticated psychological torture.

It made me feel hurt; not simply dissatisfied or touched by a tragic event, no, it made me go through a series of mental breakdowns. To the degree of flailing about on the floor in anguish. Thanks to experiencing that and later having my existential questions answered, I'm now equipped to deal with this kind of pain...... more>> though scars or scabs remain. I learned much from this novel, yet I can't say that I was happy to.

At least now I know better when to stop. It makes me feel good that I dropped it months ago, quite so since reading the last review. Perhaps a bit late, but having defined more clearly what I like and the limits of what I'm willing to tolerate made making decisions that much easier.

Well.

The story was pretty interesting. Especially earlier on, when I was bamboozled, enchanted, hexed, blinded... If you are unlike me, you may perhaps enjoy this book, even. Though I myself dislike it now, I find the memories of it valuable. It's worth at least that much. <<less
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Mahesvara_
Mahesvara_ rated it
September 11, 2022
Status: c132
Ugh. It's really great and the characters are very interesting. It's a story of the MC who transmigrated into villain's body and tries to right the wrongs. The protagonist is like an umbrella in the middle of raining knives protecting his own people. The MC can be seen as a tsundere on the outside and this is quite the fun part of the story.

But tbh the theme is very sad and lonely. It wasn't written over dramatic but it's making you sympathize with the MC. The Title: "The Villain Wants... more>> To Live" is kinda sad. He just wants to live, he doesn't want to die but so many deathflags coming to him even so from the people he's trying to protect. I've been reading novels with Misunderstanding but mostly focused on being funny but this one is very melancholic and lonely. People might disagree with me, after all everyone is free to interpret the theme of the story as they like. I guess I was just brainwashing the people who might read this review to have the same feelings as me about this story. Some readers might've come to be looking for a Badass Strong Protag, some might just wants a Smart Protag, or some other elements etc— but I came to read the story expecting for a melancholic theme and I was right on the money. It's not edgy at all, it's a silent sadness welling inside as I read on is what I'm searching for. If you're looking for melancholic story and wants to to be whipped by sadness to satisfy your masochistic cravings for heartache then better believe what I said and let me brainwash you~!

If there's something that ruin this then it's the translation, it's not that bad actually but compared to the level of how good the story it's quite lacking, especially when it's on the complicated parts things become more confusing. At first it's quite great but quality going up and down and at chaps 120+ the story becomes a bit complicated and the translation also suffers as they didn't even bother with proper paragraph spacing. Add to that the edit is also very messy. I'm not really sure why but someone from reviews praised the translation so much I mean if it isn't the TL's fault then that's indirectly passing the fault to the author I guess. But it was really done bad and lacks edit. I'm not even sure if it's complete 'cause it feels like some parts is missing like some transitions often changes suddenly.

Edit: Oh f*ck everything, imma drop this! After 120ish it's really becoming unbearable, the decisions made by the MC frustrates me to no end. I don't want any of this anymore. <<less
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superyunyun
superyunyun rated it
January 30, 2022
Status: c246
I will preface this with the fact that I have already read the author's previous works, namely "A Monster That Levels Up" and "The Novel's Extra"

And though the former is rather subpar compared to TNE, it's not as if TNE was perfect to begin with. I was a bit sad to see that a handful of the things that made me shake my head at the previous novel had come back to haunt this next one.

I will only talk about the worst ones.

It's impossible to pick this apart without spoiling,... more>> so yeah.

Bad news first, let's start with the cons:

Spoiler

1. The synchronization thing. This sucks. Essentially, the MC is neither Deculein nor Kim Woo-jin, but a mixture of both. I loathed the synchronization in the previous work, too. This time, however, it came at a much earlier time (right from the beginning) instead of arriving late and has hopefully no chance of devouring Woo-jin.

2. Chae Nayuns. There's a handful of Chae Nayuns. By this, I mean there's more than 1 heroine that has a love/hate relationship with the MC, where they both love him but also wanted to kill him at least once. Included, but not limited to in this list are Epherene, Julie and Sylvia. Probably Ellie, too.

3. Mopping drama. Mopping drama is the unfortunate event when Wooculein, neither Woo-jin nor Deculein, is forced to mop up after the original villain Deculein because he's a genuine ass and everyone hates him. It would be fine if all of the drama ever comes from characters that Deculein had wronged in the past, but the current Wooculein inherited Deculein's emotional intelligence of a brick and he is equipped only with a 5% ability to empathize, which is definitely Woo-jin's. What really sucks is when the current Wooculein gets hindered by past Deculein's words and actions, especially since they are already established facts with no room for discussion. Like the mu*der of a certain character's parent, or the mu*der of another character's parent, or perhaps the other awful stuff Deculein has done over 30 frickin years.

4. Why's everyone a woman? In the previous work, at least there was Kim Suho to fall back on when lacking in male screentime (Jonghak to a lesser extent), but in the first 100 chapters of this, all of the major characters are female except for the MC. This gets balanced later on, but that must have been the author taking in reader feedback. One of the rare male characters was even a trap all along, what the heck? She's 2nd best girl though, so I forgive it to an extent.

[collapse]

Now for some good news, maybe this way we can curb the bad feelings, no?

Pros:

Spoiler

1. The characters are fleshed out. I especially love

Spoiler

Sophien. God she's the best.

[collapse]

Heroines have normal friendships with each other and aren't mere sock puppets for the author, they interact with each other even without the MC's intervention, they have disagreements, gripes, their own circles of friends or none at all, dreams, objectives. In one of the later chapters, the MC tells another character about the person he still loves (his ex), which one of the heroines overhears. Her reaction to this was to flop in bed and murmur, "I wish it was me..." twice, in sadness. It was something so, so small and it's these small, insignificant things that turns these characters into people.

2. There's two people that got isekaid. Well, so far. The other one is his ex, Yoo Ara. As of now, we still don't know why they broke up. She's suffering the same disease as the MC, where she's assimilated with a character. Neither of them know the other got isekaid as well, for now. Both of them can't recognize the other despite knowing each other for years which is kinda weird, but maybe that's because neither are acting the way they usually do because of their assimilation with the game characters. I just like that there's more than one transported individual.

3. Sophien. Yes, she gets her own number. Her development, her motivations and her reactions to other heroines are so well-written. She's in love with Wooculein and knows what she wants, even harboring an almost ugly jealousy of Julie, whether she's aware of it or not. She's even doing everything in her power to make sure Julie hates Deculein in order to make a permanent rift in the two's relationship.

4. The misunderstandings. Oh god the misunderstandings. The way they weave together are just so good. They would be so much better without the bittersweet, tragic drama. The way two characters misunderstand MC and they think he's dying because of a precedent case and confirmation bias, how they develop by themselves believing he will die in the near future, how they might reveal it to other characters and how that might affect certain characters, all this anticipation is enough to drive a woman mad.

[collapse]

It's not perfect, but man am I craving for more. Closer to 4 than a 2, but it gets a 3 for now. <<less
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Veritas
Veritas rated it
January 19, 2022
Status: c231
This is one of the best novel that I've ever read.

If you have any doubt, just give it a try. Everyone has their own preferences, and this one is the perfect cup of tea for me. Everything from the MC, FMC, side characters, the story, everything is so engaging, that I can't wait for the next chapter.

Since the newer chapters are locked (you need to pay to open it early), I even considered paying. The only thing preventing me to do so is that I don't have PayPal. Therefore, I... more>> have to wait every day for a chapter to open.

If you've read the other two works of this author and like them. You definitely will like this one. <<less
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SayMrrp
SayMrrp rated it
January 19, 2022
Status: c201
I'm not a fan of some of the side characters (*cough the pseudo-harem), but they... grow on you. I feel fondly annoyed towards a couple of them.
I do like some of them though, and all of them are written well.

Some things didn't make sense to me and there are a few filler-like chapters, but overall everything's cohesive and flows well.

The hype moments are really good! Also, when the manipulations are revealed and everything falls into place... brilliant.

The MC's personality is also interesting. He acts coldly, but he's actually soft on the inside... not. It's interesting how the original and the MC combined. Haven't seen another novel do it like this.

The MC isn't the strongest in the world, but it feels like he's unbeatable. His "cheats" are also pretty interesting. The MC's brains/manipulations are where it's really fun though.
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SSS26032002
SSS26032002 rated it
January 8, 2022
Status: c150
I just give this novel a 5 star because I like "reincarnated as a villain" that have good characters in them. The world is interesting while the magic system makes sense till it doesn't because the author cut us some slack from an exposition dump.

Thinking about it flaws, only one flaw comes to mind. The men in this novel (till what I've read) except the MC are not given that much character. And that feels somewhat tolerable, it's maybe because I'm dumb or something.

All in all, I would recommend this... more>> to all who crave a "reincarnated as a villain" story without the other crap some of the isekais try to pull. <<less
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