A Psychopath Reborn as a Third-rate Villain

Andras stopped in front of the old shelves.

For several moments, he simply stared at them.

So this is the place.

This was the place where Lucian, the protagonist of Rise of the Sword Hero, had obtained one of the artifacts that would eventually become an important part of his journey.

Andras’s gaze moved across the aged wooden shelves.

They looked different from the rest of the library. They were older and darker, and their craftsmanship was noticeably different. The wood had been worn smooth by centuries of time, while the shelves themselves were slightly narrower than those surrounding them.

This had once been the original library.

As Ambrose Academy expanded over the centuries, the library had grown with it. New halls had been constructed, more shelves had been added, and entire sections had been renovated.

Yet this portion had remained almost untouched.

Hidden somewhere behind these shelves was a chamber that had remained undiscovered for thousands of years—a chamber containing an artifact left behind by Ambrose, the founder of the academy.

In the original novel, Lucian had discovered it.

Andras remembered the scene clearly.

It had been one of those fortunate coincidences that seemed to follow protagonists wherever they went.

Lucian hadn’t been searching for a secret chamber, nor had he possessed some special ability that could reveal hidden passages. He had simply been reading in the library until sunset.

Then he noticed that several bookshelves looked older than the others.

Curious, he had gone to investigate.

And that simple curiosity had changed his fate.

Andras closed his eyes briefly as he recalled the exact description from the novel.

Lucian had read until sunset.

As the last rays of sunlight entered the library, he noticed that several bookshelves were older than the others. He walked toward them and stopped three steps past the seventh bookshelf, where the founder Ambrose’s statue cast a shadow across the wall.

When the shadow reached a particular point, Lucian accidentally placed his hand against the wall.

And then—

He disappeared.

Andras opened his eyes.

The memory was almost absurdly simple, yet that simplicity was precisely what had made the secret so difficult to discover.

Thousands of students had studied within these walls. Professors had taught here, and mages had undoubtedly used detection magic throughout the library.

And still, no one had found the chamber.

The novel had actually provided an explanation.

The entrance was concealed within the original structure of the library. It could not be opened through ordinary force, nor could conventional magic reveal it.

Ambrose had deliberately designed the chamber to remain invisible to standard detection methods. Even magical perception would reveal nothing unusual.

The mechanism responded only to a very specific condition: a particular location, a particular moment, and the shadow of Ambrose’s statue.

Andras glanced toward the statue standing at the far end of the library.

It depicted an elderly man dressed in flowing robes, with one hand resting upon a staff.

Ambrose.

The founder of Ambrose Academy.

The statue had stood there for centuries.

Andras watched as the afternoon light slowly shifted across the floor. The sun was descending, and the shadow cast by the statue gradually stretched farther across the library.

Andras’s eyes followed it.

The shadow was approaching the wall.

He quietly counted the shelves.

One.

Two.

Three.

...

Seven.

Andras walked toward the seventh bookshelf and stopped three steps past it, exactly as the novel had described.

He waited.

The shadow continued moving.

A few seconds later, the dark silhouette of Ambrose’s staff reached the wall.

Andras raised his hand and pressed his palm against the stone.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then a strange sensation passed through his fingers.

The wall rippled.

Andras’s eyes narrowed.

Before he could react, the surface beneath his palm seemed to lose its solidity, and his body was pulled forward.

The world blurred around him.

Andras instinctively tensed.

Then—

Silence.

His feet touched stone.

Andras opened his eyes.

The library was gone.

He found himself standing inside a hidden chamber.

For several seconds, he remained still as he took in his surroundings.

The room was larger than he had expected. Its walls were constructed from dark gray stone that appeared untouched by the passage of time, while thin lines of silver-colored runes were engraved across several sections of the walls. Most of them had faded with age.

There were no windows, no doors, and no visible entrance behind him.

Only a circular chamber illuminated by faint blue crystals embedded within the walls.

Their light was weak but steady.

Dust floated through the air, and the atmosphere was strangely still. It felt as though the room had been completely separated from the outside world.

Andras slowly turned around.

So this is it.

The hidden chamber.

The place where Lucian had obtained the artifact.

He couldn’t help but find the whole thing somewhat amusing.

It was one of those generic opportunities that protagonists seemed to encounter with remarkable consistency: a hidden room, an ancient founder, a powerful artifact, and a secret that nobody else had discovered for thousands of years.

And naturally, the protagonist happened to stumble upon it.

Andras almost smiled.

At least the original novel had bothered to explain why nobody else had found it.

The chamber wasn’t merely hidden behind a secret door. The entrance itself was practically impossible to detect unless the correct conditions were fulfilled.

Even if someone discovered the old bookshelf, they wouldn’t necessarily find anything. They could strike the wall, inspect it with mana, use detection spells, or search the entire structure, and nothing would happen.

The mechanism responded only when the shadow reached the correct location at sunset.

It was such a specific condition that even someone deliberately searching the library could miss it.

Andras looked around the chamber again.

He began walking, his footsteps echoing softly through the room.

The chamber contained almost nothing.

There were no piles of treasure, no ancient weapons mounted along the walls, and no elaborate magical formations. Only several empty stone pedestals stood around the room.

Perhaps they had once held other objects.

Or perhaps they had simply been part of the chamber’s design.

Andras continued toward the deepest part of the room.

He knew where he needed to go.

The novel had described the location clearly.

At the center of the chamber stood a small stone pedestal. Unlike the rest of the room, this pedestal appeared almost perfectly preserved, with a faint circular engraving surrounding its base.

Andras approached.

His eyes settled on the object resting upon it.

A small case.

It was made from a dark material and reinforced with thin silver lines. There were no visible locks, inscriptions, or elaborate ornaments.

Yet Andras immediately understood what it contained.

So this is where it was.

The artifact Ambrose had left behind.

A ring.

Andras remembered its description from the novel.

Artifacts followed the same six-rank hierarchy as weapons: Common, Refined, Masterwork, Arcane, Extraordinary, and Legendary.

Each rank represented an increasingly greater level of craftsmanship, magical power, rarity, and potential.

Common artifacts possessed minor supernatural properties, while Refined artifacts were considerably more sophisticated and could provide useful abilities to their users.

Masterwork artifacts were treasures crafted by exceptional artisans and often possessed abilities far beyond ordinary magical items.

Arcane artifacts were genuinely supernatural treasures capable of wielding powerful magical effects.

Extraordinary artifacts were exceedingly rare. Their abilities could influence battles involving powerful individuals and, in some cases, alter the balance of entire conflicts.

Above them all stood Legendary artifacts.

Treasures so rare that many were known only through ancient records and legends.

The artifact inside this case belonged to the fifth rank.

Extraordinary.

Its name was—

Ring of the Eternal Reservoir.

Andras stared at the case.

According to the original story, the ring would eventually become an important artifact in Lucian’s journey.

And Ambrose himself had created it.

Andras reached toward the pedestal and closed his fingers around the case.

It was surprisingly cold.

He lifted it.

Nothing happened.

There was no explosion, no magical barrier, and no ancient voice welcoming its successor.

There was only silence.

Andras examined the case once more.

There was no reason to hesitate.

He slowly opened the lid.

The hinge made a faint sound.

Click.

The lid opened.