-……
After training for hours and having even awakened as an Executor, that guy, Edwin, must have reached his physical limits.
But that’s that, I need to confirm it for sure.
– Thud.
I kicked him in the shoulder with my foot.
“Hey, wake up.”
No response.
‘Hey hey hey, wait a minute, he’s not dead is he?’
As I leaned down towards him,
– Gluu…
I could hear the faint sound of snoring mixed with some soft groans. Fortunately, since it was an old wooden sword and my stats were so pathetic, he was passed out without any serious injuries.
‘Alright. With this, I should be… undetected?’
To awaken the Executor, he needs to face a Demon, so this is for the best.
I showed my demonic form for less than a second. Thanks to Lev Denec’s innate mana being 1.0, I could control it. If I had even a bit more intrinsic mana, I would have fully transformed into a Demon.
Moreover, Edwin’s mind was wandering, and he was completely in a coma right now.
So if I play it cool, he’ll just think it was a dream.
“Anyway, do your part, alright? I helped with the awakening and did what I could.”
I rambled on like that, leaving while pondering where to invest my supporting role points.
*
“Ugh…”
Aria, who had been watching all of this, was frozen in place with her hands covering her mouth.
“……”
Until Lev Denec disappeared from view.
She had just come out for a walk, curious if Edwin was still training, but she had witnessed an unbelievable sight.
Lev Denec clearly appeared in front of Edwin, and suddenly, the two began to duel.
And just as Aria was about to step in to intervene,
– Kwoooom!!!!
Her feet didn’t move first.
She saw, felt, and experienced it.
The same feeling of exhilaration she had felt in the past.
The ominous, familiar, yet foreign pulse of magic.
The aura of the Demon, Andras, from that day.
It felt like her buried painful memories were being violently unearthed and torn apart.
Aria began to feel nauseous.
“Ah… Ugh.”
The monstrous fear had her legs shaking slightly.
– Thud.
But, the lavender-haired girl stepped closer to Edwin, one shaky step at a time.
She was the only witness; thus, she felt a duty to help him.
“Thank goodness…”
There were no signs of blood around Edwin.
His pulse was steady.
– Shaaaa…
From the way the healing magic didn’t respond, it seemed like Lev hadn’t dealt substantial harm to him.
With her mind calming down a little, Aria began to think.
Why did he do this?
Was he just thirsty for victory?
That seemed odd.
Lev Denec was someone who loved to show off. He’d surely want to win the duel in front of everyone.
No. It could be the opposite.
He might have been afraid of losing, and if he won against someone weak like this, it would suffice.
“If that’s the case, then he’s cowardly… really cowardly…”
Moreover, even if he spread rumors about defeating Edwin tomorrow, she knew he wouldn’t deny it strongly.
So if this was truly the reason, what was with that Demon-like appearance, or rather, that black aura?
“Phew.”
Aria exhaled, still holding her trembling legs tightly.
The memories that were strongly embedded in her mind and that ominous energy were undoubtedly connected.
Even if she tried to deny it, she couldn’t.
That figure that always appeared in her dreams and tormented her…
But looking back, Lev Denec was merely an ‘aura.’
“Could it really be an illusion…?”
Surely, she misread it. There was no way that could be true.
No matter how many times she repeated that thought, the notion that Lev Denec might actually be a Demon connected to the one who took her family away…
Didn’t make sense.
So it was reasonable to think she saw a figment.
He had always been just an aristocratic human, a scoundrel, someone completely disconnected from the Denec family and Demons.
“……”
But what if, just what if…
Lev Denec was connected to it…?
“……Revenge.”
Revenge.
That two-syllable word resonated within Aria’s heart.
Perhaps this powerful echo was straining the young girl left behind in the past.
What was supposed to be a casual walk for her refreshment seemed to add confusion to her mind instead.
So until Edwin wakes up, Aria would have to calm her heart again and again.
*
On Monday morning,
In this world too, it’s the day the new semester begins.
“Damn, I don’t want to go.”
In my original world, school was never a place anyone wanted to go to.
After a semester break, I might find myself missing the lively atmosphere of the class, but thinking about going back on the first day is a horrifying memory that is too terrible to imagine, especially the night before watching a comedy program that isn’t even remotely funny.
“If it’s that bad, I might as well confess my feelings.”
Literally anything would be better than that.
I went for a confession.
To not one but two of the most popular girls in the academy.
One was a girl with a blunt expression but small dainty features, the smiling beauty, Aria Bluebell.
The other was an impressive woman known for always being top of her class, sharp-featured Melissa de Prominence.
On top of that, my reputation at school was the worst,
My likability was rock bottom, and my actual stats were lousy, too.
In other words, even if I attend school, only oppression and scorn would be waiting for me.
“It sucks…”
Is this what it feels like to be a third-rate villain?
I’m feeling this in real-time, and it’s painful.
[Current Supporting Role Points: 110]
Still, the only consolation is that I scored big in supporting role points yesterday.
A whopping 100 + 10 points.
With this, I could significantly increase my stats just by investing in them.
“Let’s see…”
—————————————————
[Strength]: 1.0 -> 1.1 (new)
[Stamina]: 1.0
[Dexterity]: 1.0 -> 1.1 (new)
[Magic Power]: 1.0
[Mana]: 1.0
[Mental Strength]: 1.0
[Sensor]: 1.0
[Specialization]
Magic Power – Circle Magic (1)
—————————————————
“Oh, that went up?”
Even though it was just one duel, my strength and dexterity rose a tiny bit as if to celebrate my victory.
With such low stats, it’s only natural the growth speed would be fast.
[Current Strength 1.1]
[Points needed to increase Strength by 0.1: 10]
[Would you like to invest?]
“Hmm…”
It seems like it costs 10 points for every 0.1 increase in 1.x stats.
Which means the required points will increase as I grow.
Also, I could increase physical abilities through actual training, so blindly investing might lead to wasting points.
Luck, resistance, penetration, and critical rates are special abilities that haven’t even opened yet.
“Then it’s time for traits?”
—————————————————
[Unique Traits]
▶ [Foundational Gamer] [Lv.1] (0/1000)
[General Traits]
▶ [Villain] [Lv.1] (0/100)
▶ [Supporting Role] [Lv. None] (Max)
▶ [Plausibility] [Lv.3] (0/500)
[Active Skills]
▶ [Magic Sight] [Lv.1] (0/200)
▶ [Demon Transformation] [Lv.1] (0/300)
Remaining Supporting Role Points: 110
—————————————————
On the other hand, skills or traits require a lot of points but had fixed requirements.
“Nothing worth getting, damn it.”
Unfortunately, I can only invest in being a Villain right now.
But investing in that just seems like a loss, doesn’t it?
Ultimately, it comes down to obtaining skills or traits that are worth the investment.
And those that would be worth it would likely fall into Kaeran’s hidden passive.
‘Intercepting is tempting.’
I started to outline what I need to do in my head.
First off, today is a day for positioning, and since it’s not a selection test, I won’t get expelled for not investing points.
Since I have a rough idea of what to do, observing the situation would be my priority.
Thinking positively, I exited my well-organized dorm room.
.
.
.
Soon arriving at the Claris Academy Temporary Class C.
After completing two months of training, this is the last event before the final selection test where the class is decided, known as positioning.
It marks the starting point for the main characters to intertwine, making it the absolute introduction of an academy story.
‘So many.’
In the fan-shaped classroom, dozens of neatly dressed students are present. Among them were the main characters of the Reincarnated Academy: Selena, Edwin, Melissa, and Aria.
“Phew.”
Relieved that the entrance was in the back, I plopped into one of the remaining seats.
In any case, a significant number of students will end up facing elimination in this class as well.
Lev Denec would be no exception.
Normally, he would have turned into a demon and been erased, so ideally, he wouldn’t participate in this positioning and selection test at all.
So it would be best for me to blend in as much as I can like a supporting role.
While sorting through my thoughts, I noticed Aria turning her head and glancing around.
Her gaze caught the attention of the surrounding students each time it passed.
Her ethereally beautiful cheong-geum-seong eyes and remarkably clear skin stood out, even though she wasn’t of noble birth, showing a different quality altogether.
She was indeed described as having outstanding beauty in the novel, so this detail was thoroughly documented.
She looked for someone for a while when suddenly,
– *!
She crossed gazes with me for some reason and quickly turned her head forward.
“What is it…?”
Her blunt demeanor was unchanged, but there was a complex expression on her face.
– Dudung!
At that moment, the classroom lights went out except for the one above the podium.
Then, a man dressed as a professor or instructor, presumed to be an adult, stepped up onto the podium.
“Ahem, ahem. Everyone, nice to meet you. I’m Instructor Sylvester, in charge of the freshmen. You all had a rough idea of this, right?”
Though my memory was hazy, I vaguely remembered his name. The character had long hair and used polite speech, portraying the impression of someone astute.
He looked like a dark figure but turned out not to be…
What I remembered best was he was quick-witted and had a tendency to end his sentences with a ‘?’ which meant he wasn’t a flat character.
“Now, shall we begin positioning?”
With his voice becoming quite serious, the first event of the academy commenced.
