The Villian Who Broke The Story

Kael sat on the infirmary bed.

Stella’s words continued to echo in his mind.

”Maybe I’ve been overestimating myself a bit. I’ve been too focused on training my body and copying techniques. I completely neglected my own affinity.”

The realization bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

Ever since arriving at the academy, he had relied heavily on two things: improving his physical abilities and abusing the advantages granted by his cheat skills. Whenever he encountered a technique he liked, he copied it. Whenever he found someone stronger, he adapted.

It had worked so far.

Too well, perhaps.

He had become so focused on what other people could do that he barely spent any time understanding what belonged to him.

After all, Darkness wasn’t just another element.

Even in the game, Darkness was rare.

Extremely rare.

Kael slowly got off the bed.

His body still felt sore, but compared to the pain he experienced inside the simulation room, it was almost nothing.

Walking outside the infirmary, he immediately spotted Charlotte sitting on one of the benches.

Her head was lowered.

Fast asleep.

Kael stared at her for a moment before lightly tapping her forehead.

”Huh?! Who’s that?”

Charlotte jerked awake.

Seeing Kael standing before her, her eyes widened.

”You’re up already?”

”They said with the damage you took you would be recovering for at least a week.”

Kael stretched his arms.

”Well, I feel spectacular.”

Charlotte looked unconvinced.

”We’ll resume training tomorrow,” Kael continued. ”Although my head still feels a little fuzzy, so I might not stick to my usual schedule.”

”Don’t worry.”

Charlotte immediately stood up.

”I’ll come wake you up tomorrow.”

Kael paused.

For some reason, Lilith’s face flashed through his mind.

Knowing her behavior...

That sounded like a terrible idea.

”Wait a minute, I’m not sure that’s—”

Kael stopped halfway.

Then another thought crossed his mind.

Actually... they might never meet each other.

The academy was huge and Lilith seemed to be avoiding him.

There was no reason their paths had to cross.

Probably.

”Never mind,” Kael said.

The two walked back toward the dormitory together.

The evening was quiet.

Most students were either preparing for the tournament or enjoying the remaining weekend.

When they entered the elevator, Kael couldn’t help but shake his head.

”Both boys and girls staying in the same dormitory building is either a terrible decision by the academy or a terrible decision by the game developers to aid in the story.”

”Not that I’m complaining.”

”At least not yet.”

The elevator stopped.

Kael stepped out.

”Good night, Kael.”

Charlotte waved from inside.

”Rest up. I’ll wake you tomorrow.”

Kael turned.

For some reason, hearing that felt strangely abnormal.

”Good night too.”

His reply came out slightly awkward.

Charlotte smiled.

The elevator doors closed.

Kael continued toward his room.

Today had been exhausting.

Between fighting Sean, experimenting with illusions, nearly frying his nerves inside the simulation room, and getting lectured by Stella, he felt mentally drained.

Opening the door, he entered his room and collapsed onto the bed.

But sleep didn’t come.

Instead, Stella’s words returned once again.

”You’ve got the basics of mana manipulation down but you haven’t mastered it.”

”But if you continue down this path, you may never unlock your aura.”

Kael stared at the ceiling.

Then sat up.

”Guess sleeping can wait.”

Crossing his legs, he began circulating mana throughout his body.

Unlike before, he deliberately slowed the process.

He wanted to feel every movement.

Every fluctuation.

Every reaction.

Dark mana flowed through his mana core.

Cold.

Heavy.

Silent.

It felt completely different from ordinary mana.

In the game, Darkness could be used to either increase Gravity or Density of an object or Devour both objects and living beings.

But it belonged to the category of conceptual attributes.

Among the four conceptual elements—

Light.

Darkness.

Time.

Space.

—Darkness was considered one of the most difficult to understand.

Not because it was powerful.

Because nobody fully understood what it actually was.

Different users interpreted it differently.

Some used it to erase.

Others used it to conceal.

Some used it to consume.

And a few used it to distort perception itself.

Even among the people who possessed the affinity, no two fighting styles were exactly alike.

Kael pushed mana toward his hand.

Nothing happened.

He pushed harder.

Still nothing.

”Come on.”

A thin layer of black mana briefly appeared around his fingers before immediately dispersing.

Kael frowned.

His control was terrible.

Until now, he had mostly used mana automatically based of what he copied.

The assassin’s weapon enhancement method.

Flash Step and Shadow Step.

Physical reinforcement.

Everything was based on established patterns.

He copied.

Then improved.

But now he was trying to do something from scratch.

And it showed.

Kael stood up.

If meditation wasn’t working, then there was only one thing left to try.

The Celestial Sword Style which seemed like a bad idea.

Picking up his practice sword, he moved to the center of the room.

He took a deep breath.

The first form naturally entered his mind.

Guiding Light.

The foundation of the entire style.

A strike that moved directly toward its target without hesitation.

Normally he reinforced his body with mana before using it.

This time he did something different.

He poured Darkness mana directly into the technique itself.

Immediately, something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

The mana reacted violently.

Almost as if it didn’t belong there.

Still, Kael pushed forward.

His body moved.

Then disaster struck.

Instead of moving in a straight line—

Kael shot sideways.

CRASH!

The kitchen table exploded.

A chair flipped over.

Several utensils scattered across the floor.

Kael lay buried beneath the wreckage.

Silence filled the room.

Then—

”Ouch.”

He slowly sat up.

His sword was still in his hand.

The kitchen was not.

Kael stared blankly at the destruction.

”I used the first form.”

Guiding Light.

The simplest form in the entire style.

A perfectly straight strike.

Yet somehow he had crossed half the room diagonally and crashed into his own furniture through his kitchen.

That definitely wasn’t supposed to happen.

Kael stood up.

Slowly.

Dusting himself off.

He examined the sword.

Then replayed the movement inside his mind.

The moment he infused Darkness mana into the technique, the trajectory changed.

The technique itself remained the same.

But the mana altered how it expressed itself.

Almost as though Darkness wanted to twist the path.

Or hide it.

Or bend it.

”I need to test that later.”

His eyes felt heavy.

His body felt heavier.

The moment he sat on the bed, exhaustion finally caught up with him.

Within seconds, Kael fell asleep.

Knock.

Knock.

Far away, another conversation was taking place.

Professor Ralph stood outside Stella’s office.

”You seem pretty invested in Kael Draven.”

Stella looked up from her paperwork.

”Do I?”

Professor Ralph frowned.

”I know Lady Draven is a powerhouse.”

”But your interest in the boy could get him killed.”

Stella leaned back.

”You’ve seen his talent.”

”You’ve seen his growth speed.”

”Someone with that level of potential needs to be pushed harder.”

Professor Ralph crossed his arms.

”Or broken faster.”

Stella laughed.

”You sound concerned.”

”I am.”

Professor Ralph didn’t hesitate.

”With the way you’re pushing him, you’re either going to break him or kill him.”

”It’s only a matter of finding out which happens first.”

Stella remained calm.

”You’re underestimating him.”

”No.”

Professor Ralph shook his head.

”You’re overestimating him.”

”I looked into the reports.”

”You sent a first-year student into a D-Rank dungeon.”

”That wasn’t a test.”

”That was practically a death sentence.”

Stella didn’t immediately respond.

After a few moments she simply said,

”But he survived.”

”He did more than survive.”

”He cleared it.”

Professor Ralph frowned.

”That doesn’t justify it.”

”What if he died?”

”What if the other students with him died?”

Stella tapped her desk.

”You and I both know the academy doesn’t care about what-ifs or students life.”

”The academy cares about results.”

Professor Ralph rubbed his forehead.

”I’m still trying to understand what the Principal saw in you.”

Stella smiled.

”The same thing I see in Kael.”

Professor Ralph stared at her.

Neither spoke for several moments.

Eventually he sighed.

”I’ll leave you to your methods.”

”But remember this.”

”If anything happens to Kael Draven...”

He paused.

”...not even the Principal will be able to protect you from Lady Draven.”

The room became quiet.

Lady Draven.

A name that had once shaken entire nations.

A woman who disappeared from public sight after Kael’s birth.

Most people had forgotten her.

But not everyone.

Professor Ralph turned and walked away.

Leaving Stella alone.

She remained seated behind her desk.

Silent.

Thoughtful.

Unknown thoughts passed through her mind.

Then her gaze shifted toward the academy grounds beyond the window.

Toward the dormitory where a certain troublesome student was sleeping.

A small smile appeared on her face.

”You’re finally starting to think for yourself.”

”And that’s far more dangerous than your talent.”

Outside, the academy remained peaceful.

But the closer the tournament drew, the more that peace felt temporary.