I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 256 Mana Circles Theory Class [1]

”Ah...” Letting out a tired sigh, I roused my sluggish body out of bed.

I really wish these dreams could become a regular occurrence. I miss her voice, her touch...

Itʼs becoming rather bothersome, to be honest.

Iʼd give anything to find her, but I have absolutely no leads.

And yet, whatʼs the point of finding her if I canʼt ensure the safety of this world by ignoring the Games and leaving it to its fate? It would be both pointless and foolish. Thatʼs why I have to strive for a happy ending in these final two Games.

Yawning, I made my way to the bathroom. However, I paused when I caught sight of myself in the mirror. My body was lean and athletic, but the scars... they were truly unsightly. The worst among them was the one on my back from Pyresʼ sunfire.

”What about this one...” I carefully unwrapped the bandage from my left arm. It had healed, somewhat, but there were still faint red marks.

Damn.

She didnʼt hold back, did she?

[]

”I did take her seriously. Sheʼs the Leading Main Heroine, after all.”

[]

”I donʼt recall ever saying that!” I retorted, and then proceeded to the bathroom for a shower.

I suppose I should mend things with Mom and my sister.

I donʼt like being at odds with them.

I want them to pamper me like they usually do.

After the shower, I put on my uniform, slung my bag over my shoulder, and made my way downstairs.

The sight that greeted me in the dining hall was rather astonishing.

Five out of the six seats at the table were already occupied - Mom, my sister, Annabelle, Samara, and... John.

”Seems like hunger takes precedence over family,” I grumbled.

John shot a quick glance at me while wolfing down his omelet before resuming his meal with little concern for my remark.

Typical of him.

”Annabelle!” I spread my arms wide, a bit dramatically, really needing a hug right now.

”Papa? Iʼm eating.”

”Ugh…”

Samara, looking a bit perplexed about how to react, was rather endearing. But Mom and Christina didnʼt even spare me a glance.

After a minute, both Mom and Christina stood up and began to put on their shoes, clearly getting ready to leave the mansion.

”Bye, Anna, Samara,” Christina waved in a casual manner, and Mom followed suit.

”Thank you, John, for the discussion,” Mother offered a grateful smile to John before departing.

”Huh?”

What on earth just happened?!

Did they all just... abandon me?

Could it be that theyʼre grooming John to become the new heir?

I donʼt like this eerie feeling of déjà vu.

”May I know what that discussion was about?” I questioned John.

”About you,” he replied, cleaning his plate. ”Weʼre running late; we need to hurry.”

”Yeah, fine. Not like I was eating anything anyway,” I scoffed.

”Feeling down, Nyr?” Annabelleʼs voice reached me as she approached with a concerned look on her face.

I managed to smile and patted her hair affectionately. Sheʼs growing up so quickly. ”Iʼm okay now,” I assured her before turning my attention to Samara. ”Letʼs get going.”

Samara nodded silently and vanished from the room.

”Todayʼs probably going to be just as tiresome as yesterday,” John grumbled. It was understandable – the prospect of a second day of school wasnʼt thrilling for either of us.

”Howʼs your arm?” I inquired, noticing his new bandages on his right arm.

”Itʼs fine, but the next time, youʼre doing it. I wonʼt accept the drawback again.”

”There wonʼt be a next time, though?”

”W-What?!”

I was merely curious and my curiosity has been satisfied.

[]

ʼIndeed.ʼ

”Come on, weʼre running late,” I stated, slipping into my shoes and heading towards my blue car. John followed suit, and we set off for school.

…

…

”Then what was the discussion about?” I probed as we strolled through the academyʼs garden, making our way towards the school building.

”Your life in Celesta,” Johnʼs response hit a nerve, making me flinch involuntarily.

”What exactly did you discuss?” I pressed further, my curiosity piqued.

”How much of a mess you were-”

”You utter bastard!” I wasnʼt particularly eager to share the period of my life between the ages of seven and sixteen. Those years were the epitome of my existence as a third-rate noble.

Is that why theyʼve been avoiding me?

”And how you were despised, ridiculed, excluded, disowned, disregarded, beaten, and almost died countless times. We also discussed the deaths of Aunt Oryanna, Louisa, and Elona,” John continued, an air of detachment in his words.

”Are you trying to be my therapist?” I grumbled, this whole conversation felt incredibly awkward.

”No, Iʼm just saying the things you never told them,” John retorted coldly. ”Your mother and sister believed that your life in Celesta wasnʼt as bad as you made it seem with your overly positive stories. But itʼs precisely because of those stories that they donʼt understand your reckless behavior and your blasé attitude towards near-death experiences. You saw their reactions yesterday.”

”You...” I gazed at John in surprise. ”Are you secretly a genius?”

”Fuck off.” John gave me his usual cold glare and quickened his pace.

I couldnʼt help but smile wryly at his retort. ”I just wanted to spare them the burden of my messed-up life, but I guess I need them to grasp that situations like what happened yesterday might occur again.”

[]

ʼI know…ʼ

Iʼm sorry, little sister.

I closed my eyes, my eyes reddening and a pang of sadness hitting me as I thought about Elona.

Itʼs not enough.

Walter Celeste might be dead, but Iʼm fairly certain that he had another ally. Thereʼs no way he could have evaded suspicion for so long without some kind of assistance. That person will also pay with their life, just like Walter.

[]

That bastard really banished me from the place I grew up.

And in Sancta Vedelia, Iʼm slowly getting accustomed to it even though itʼs difficult.

I looked up at the bright sky.

Where do I belong huh…?

Tell me Ephera.

…

…

”Mana Circle Theories... with Professor Priscilla Tepes?” The announcement caught my attention, though the name sounded vaguely familiar.

[]

Oh, right.

Itʼs going to be quite awkward with Christina, whoʼs still mad at me.

Anyway, I wonder if Priscilla was also the professor for the Mana Class Theory in the Game? I couldnʼt recall such trivial information, but the topic itself intrigued me. Mana Circle Theories, huh?

Itʼs an area Iʼm not very proficient in, so the class could definitely help me. Those anti-mana bracers might be a blessing in disguise, forcing me to use the surrounding mana and improve my skills. Itʼs a rather practical training, I have to admit.

Entering the designated classroom, I realized it was different from yesterdayʼs History Class. The desks were spaced about two meters apart, and there were no chairs in sight. Everyone was standing behind a desk, conversing with their peers. Thick red books were placed on each table.

After a momentʼs thought, I chose a table in the third row. Despite that, there was no one sitting in front of me. Most of the students seemed to be clustering in the back. Are we perhaps considered the ʼproblematicʼ class?

I placed my bag down and picked up the hefty book, starting to flip through its pages. It didnʼt take long for my brow to furrow at the complexity of the mana circles. Out of curiosity, I turned to the last pages, but quickly closed it as the information began to give me a headache.

”I should take this one step at a time,” I muttered to myself, closing the book and setting it back down.

The classroomʼs noise level escalated when the well-known quartet of Great Nobles from our class entered. Victor and Selene walked ahead in silence, followed by Cylien and Celeste engaged in animated conversation with serious expressions.

Recalling yesterdayʼs incident, I averted my gaze quickly and put on my model student persona, someone who wouldnʼt even harm a fly. Last year, I had been far too reckless, getting too involved in the Game. This time, I intend to take a more calculated approach, similar to how John and I intervened yesterday. While I was initially disappointed about not managing to eliminate Nora, after a good nightʼs sleep and some reflection, I realized that the outcome was quite satisfactory.

I mean, it was already amazing that we didnʼt end up with more serious injuries as Nora clearly held back because of the place we were in. If her identity as a member of [Behemot] leaked out, it would put the King into high alert and he would raise the security of the Horn without doubts. Well, we also held back since we were still in a store with innocent people inside it. In the end, it worked out quite well because we took her by surprise by playing the womanizer.