Villain Seduces to Rise in Status

Chapter 25: 25 - Breakthrough

After finishing her lecture, Rafaela left the room without another glance at Cale, her departure marked by the sharp click of her heels against the stone floor. All the students ran out of the hall as if they were children being released from detention, eager to escape the oppressive atmosphere and get back to their various pursuits around the academy grounds.

Cale later made his way to the capital’s marketplace, but not the larger, more prestigious one where noble families conducted their business. Instead, he went to a smaller one frequented by lower-class merchants selling cheap goods and refurbished items. The noise was overwhelming—vendors calling out their wares constantly.

Every vendor was trying to sell their items—”all kinds of refining crystals, don’t miss out!”

”Mister, miss, please take a look at what we have!”

”Here, buy this bronze armor set, only eight hundred silver coins!”

A student from the academy approached him, interrupting his browsing through the crowd of haggling customers and desperate merchants.

”Oh, hello. Are you free right now?”

Cale thought the approach was weird, coming out of nowhere with no introduction, but he still replied cautiously. ”Mhm... yes, what’s the matter?”

”The thing is, the guy you beat in the last duel was bullying me for quite a few days. When I heard you defeated him, I thought I should thank you for what you did.”

Cale shook his head dismissively. ”I did nothing that awesome, and also, don’t thank me. Defeat someone like that yourself instead of relying on others.”

The student’s expression fell slightly. ”But still, if you defeated him, you must be strong, right?”

”Nah, I’m nowhere near strong. My meager skills are nothing compared to the toppers.”

The kid got a slight grin on his face, though his internal thoughts were clearly different from what he was expressing. You must’ve tricked him to win, right? There’s no way you actually overpowered him.

They both walked together for quite a while through the marketplace, moving past various vendors and stalls. The student eventually broached the subject that seemed to be his real purpose for approaching.

”Uh... how about we both train together? Like sparring and all. We could share pointers and help each other improve.”

Cale, who had been alone most of the time and couldn’t care much about friends and social connections, still found himself agreeing since it was a first offer. He also had a bit of suspicion relating to this guy’s approach that made him want to investigate further.

They were already inside the academy grounds now, having walked back from the marketplace. Cale wanted to test this student more carefully before committing to anything.

”Forget it. I don’t usually spar with people. Even this fighting I’ve been doing is purely for necessity, not for pleasure or training.”

The student raised his voice with a bit of desperation that seemed unfiltered. ”That’s not going to work for you. You should at least try fighting with me and then see how it goes. You might actually improve more than you realize.”

Is this some kind of confession? What is this guy even on about? Why is he pushing so hard for this sparring match?

The student saw Cale’s expression changing, saw him starting to realize there was more to this act than simple friendliness. He spoke quickly, trying to salvage the situation before it fell apart.

”I train every single day and even get beaten up by seniors regularly, so I wanted to ask you to train with me since you looked strong unlike the others around here who bully with power.”

Well, he seems quite desperate to spar with me. Maybe he’s trying to use some trick or technique I’m not aware of yet. But it’s not even the designated day for formal duels, so my academy points are safe anyway. What could I lose by testing him?

”Alright, alright. Sigh, fine, I’ll spar with you.”

The student got excited in a way that was almost creepy, his entire demeanor shifting to barely concealed enthusiasm.

”So, what’s your name anyway?”

”My name is Carl.”

”Okay, Carl. Before we even begin to spar, I need your help with something since you’re taking my time away from shopping.”

Carl nodded eagerly. ”Yes, please, tell me anything you need. I’ll get it for you.”

Cale leaned toward his ear and told him quite a few things to bring back—specific herbs, certain potions, and other materials that would cost him his entire savings.

Carl left running immediately, eager to prove his usefulness and secure this opportunity.

Who knew there would be kids like him ready to spend money on my stuff while I only have to fight him a bit? Hehe, he’s a good piggybank for materials I need.

Cale went to the sparring ground and sat down on a stone chair, waiting patiently for Carl to return with the materials. The system detected a gaze on him, but he let it be, thinking it was just one of the Horkens who had gotten quite interested in his movements and activities over the past few days.

Carl came running back after ten minutes, his breathing heavy and his face flushed from exertion. He carried a bag filled with herbs and potions in his hands, having rushed through the marketplace to complete the task as quickly as possible.

”Those damn vendors, they dare ask for eight silver just for a bunch of grass! But what even is this guy doing with this... who knows what grass and all? Potions I understand, but this?”

Nobody could guess, since Cale was trying something very foreign to this land—to cultivate like in ancient fantasy novels with aura and mana, blending xianxia cultivation methods with the local system in a way that would give him advantages over his peers. He was preparing himself for the life ahead in a few weeks when the portal opened.

”Oh, you’re back. That was faster than I expected.”

Carl huffed heavily, his chest heaving with exertion. ”So, can we fight now? I brought everything you asked for.”

”Shouldn’t you rest a bit? You just ran all through the marketplace.”

”It’s fine. I took a stamina pill beforehand, so I’m good to go.”

”Tch, rich kids.”

They moved to the open sparring grounds where academy students trained regularly. This was to be a no inner energy fight, meaning pure physical combat without using any cultivation techniques or aura channeling. Just raw strength and technique against technique.

Carl came jumping forward with a palm strike aimed at Cale’s chest, but Cale repulsed the attack easily with a punch to his palm. The punch wasn’t weak—it was rock hard, so Carl’s palm couldn’t possibly react or counter the force behind it.

Carl backed away quickly, but Cale caught up faster. The student tried to punch Cale’s solar plexus with a desperate offensive, but Cale took a smooth turn and held his wrist instead. Before Carl could even react to the grapple, Cale kicked his chin with precision, sending him flying backward.

Carl barely tried to get up when Cale sped up to him and kicked him again before he could fully recover his footing.

”Wait, sto—”

Cale punched him without giving him a chance to speak.

”It’s ove—”, kicked his face, cutting off his words.

Cale got a slight smirk as he watched Carl struggle to stay conscious.

”Sto—”

He didn’t give him a chance to speak at all, continuing his relentless assault.

Carl curled up and screamed desperately. ”It’s over! Please spare me!”

”Huff... you let me win. You’re a good guy.”

Cale gave him a hand and helped him up. ”Come on, get up. Surely it doesn’t hurt that much.”

While fighting, Cale had already realized that the stares he’d been feeling weren’t coming from the Horkens. The technique was unrefined and too oblivious, belonging to someone far less trained in observation. His suspicions had been correct from the start.

Cale quickly ran toward a nearby tree and saw the three figures hiding behind it poorly, their position obvious to anyone actually looking.

”I knew it would be you idiots.”

It was Elon and his group of goons, exactly as Cale had suspected when he felt those crude stares during the sparring match.

Man, I don’t have time to play childish games like this every single day. These people are seriously starting to become a nuisance.

Cale put a hand on Elon’s shoulder, and the senior gave a shocked reaction, not expecting to be discovered so easily.

”When... did you know we were here?”

”I already knew something was suspicious, so I kept checking my surroundings every few seconds since I met that guy Carl. You can trust my eyes at least, if not my actual strength.”

Elon’s expression twisted with frustration. ”So we were being fooled.”

They ran away just like that, unable to face Cale directly, their plan having collapsed before it could even properly begin.

”Haah, take care of yourselves, guys.”

Two days passed just like that, with nothing particularly new or interesting happening at the academy. Training, classes, chores—the routine continued without significant incident. The Horkens continued their observations, but they maintained their distance now, aware that Cale was far more perceptive than his rank suggested.

But on the early morning of the next day, something significant occurred.

Cale woke before dawn, his body tingling with an energy he’d felt building for days. The pressure in his cultivation core suddenly released like a dam breaking, and the sensation flooded through him completely.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: CULTIVATION BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED]

[HOST: NOVICE RANK 6 ATTAINED]

[CULTIVATION SPEED INCREASED: x1.5 MULTIPLIER (PREVIOUS x1.2)]

[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: AURA SENSING - DETECT PRESENCE AND CULTIVATION LEVEL WITHIN 50 METERS]

Cale laughed happily, unable to contain his excitement at this development. ”I finally broke through! Now I can practice more advanced methods from the system archives!”

The possibilities had just expanded exponentially. With aura sensing, he could now avoid threats and understand who around him was actually strong. With his new cultivation rank, he could access more complex rune patterns and body enhancement techniques. The trajectory of his power was accelerating faster than he’d anticipated.

He had just over three weeks left before the portal opened and he could escape this academy. At his current rate of progression, he would be far more formidable by then.