The Return Of The Exiled Villain

The trip to Gloria Academy took three full days.

And every single one of them?

Hellish.

Gray was constantly irritated, not just by Ronan, who somehow never ran out of things to say, but also by Lira’s silent, watchful eyes.

Yes, she was going to Gloria too.

Apparently.

Why did she want a Knight rank?

Gray didn’t know.

And honestly, he didn’t care. It was probably the same reason he had to get into the Academy without paying for the travel.

But there was something strange about her.

She could read him... too easily.

The Clown class granted him a special passive skill that could hide his intentions, and from what Gray has seen, it worked on most people...

But not on her.

Every time she looked at him, it felt like she already knew what he was thinking. Like she could see something inside him that he hadn’t shown anyone.

There was only one explanation.

She had a skill.

And not just any skill, something even better than his. A stronger form of perception, or maybe even a higher-tier instinct ability.

Whatever it was, it made him annoyed.

...And as if that wasn’t enough.

[The Blessing of Beauty has reached Level 2.]

Yeah.

That happened.

He wasn’t sure what triggered it; maybe it was the extra attention, or maybe it was Jasmine’s stupid influence, but now, every time they stopped somewhere, more people started looking at him.

Men looked at him with cautious eyes.

Women stared longer than they should have.

Even children pointed at him, whispering stuff like ”pretty man” and ”he looks like a prince”.

It made him want to throw up.

But all of that finally ended when they arrived.

Gloria Academy.

That place was even more insane than Gray ever thought.

He had seen rumours about the size of it, but this... was comparable to an entire city.

The walls stretched wide like a fortress, and towers rose into the clouds. Magic lights floated through the air.

Flying carriages came and went from floating stations. Students walked across bridges made of glowing stone.

Elemental constructs moved like guards, patrolling the outer streets.

And in the center of it all...

...was the Academy itself.

A single building that was bigger than castles, longer than ships, taller than mountains if you looked from below.

Gray narrowed his eyes at it.

”...The entrance exam starts in exactly twenty-six days. By then... I should at least reach the peak of the Elementary Realm.”

[Peak...? Are there sublayers in the so-called realms?]

Jasmine asked curiously, as he hadn’t mentioned that.

”Yeah. I didn’t mention it before because the Trainee Realm is simple, and it doesn’t have sublayers. But every realm after that does. Four of them: Early, Middle, Late... and Peak. Once you pass the Peak, you automatically ascend to the next realm.”

[Mhm...]

She hummed softly before muttering again,

[I really need to recover my power... I can’t even use my Yin-Yang Divine Eyes right now. I can’t tell how strong your enemies are.]

”...You can’t measure their strength?”

[Yeah, I was giving you hints against your enemy based on my fighting instinct. Before, I could easily gauge the strength with a single glance because of my divine eyes, but now, I don’t have the power to use them, and they are my lowest-cost skill. You really need to find a way for me to recover more power if you want to get stronger fast.]

Gray let out a dry scoff.

”You say that like it’s easy to kill someone who also passed an Inheritance Dungeon.”

[...That might depend on who they are.]

”Whatever. For now... I just want to buy a low-grade artifact.”

[Aren’t those expensive?]

Gray let out a short laugh.

”Not as expensive as the ruby necklace I’ve got.”

With that, he started walking through the city.

The streets were wide and clean, with tall lanterns glowing softly beside every path. Magic threads weaved through the air, connecting stores, signs, and even people.

The whole place buzzed with life.

Gray scanned every corner, looking for a shop that sold artifacts.

Well, ”looking” was an understatement.

There were shops everywhere. Three or more on every street, all selling magical gear. But after checking through every single one, he found nothing useful.

Speed boosters, mana amplifiers, energy converters, absorption rings, and basic enhancement belts.

All trash to him.

What Gray needed was something different... he wanted an artifact that could hide his identity.

Of course, he wasn’t going to hide inside the Academy. He’d go in as himself. Same name, same face, same voice.

But outside...?

Outside was where his revenge against his stepsisters would begin.

He wasn’t going to just hurt them.

He was going to destroy the one thing they cared about.

And Maelis... the youngest one.

The cruelest punishment for her... wasn’t death.

It was love.

A love so deep it drowned her... Hope so sweet it blinded her.

And then?

He’d rip it away.

And he already had the perfect plan.

He just needed the right mask to play the role.

The right identity to trap her.

So yes, he really needed that artifact.

One that could change the shape of his face.

A disguise good enough... to make even Maelis fall in love with the man she should have feared most.

[...Sooo... is that your excuse to try and date your stepsister~?]

Jasmine’s teasing tone echoed in his mind.

And as always, Gray ignored her.

He just stepped into the next artifact shop, the bell above the door giving a soft chime as he walked in.

And suddenly, her voice sharpened.

[Wait. There’s something in here. A very strong artifact. Go to the third row.]

”...Huh.”

Gray raised an eyebrow, but he listened to her nonetheless.

He moved through the small shop, weaving past dusty shelves and racks filled with glass cases and cracked relics.

And when he reached the third row... he frowned.

It was full of weak stuff.

Bracelets that increased mana by 1%. Rings that slightly boost walking speed. Old belts with worn-out enchantments.

”...It’s really here?”

[I’m sure. Keep going.]

Gray kept walking slowly, his hand brushing lightly over a few dusty boxes—until his fingers froze.

There it was.

A small black box, plain and unimpressive.

Inside... a single pair of earrings.

They looked ordinary, thin, silver loops with a faint shimmer, but the air around them felt heavy.

Gray picked them up, narrowing his eyes.

”...What do these do?”

[Buy them. Bind them. Don’t ask questions. Just do it. You won’t regret it.]

Gray stared at the earrings for another second before sighing.

”Alright.”

He walked up to the counter, where the shopkeeper, a tired-looking old man with round glasses, barely lifted his gaze.

”I want these,” Gray said, placing the earrings on the counter.

The old man squinted at them, then gave a half-shrug.

”Fifty gold.”

Gray didn’t flinch.

Instead, he took out the ruby necklace from his inventory. The light hit the gem, making it glow a deep, seductive red.

The shopkeeper’s eyes widened immediately.

”This... this necklace is worth at least two hundred...”

”I know,” Gray replied flatly.

”Take it. I want the earrings.”

The man blinked, stunned and silent for a moment, then quickly nodded and swapped the items.

In fact, he didn’t just give the earrings.

He placed a pouch of gold on the counter, too.

”Here. One hundred and fifty coins in change... I can’t accept such a huge overpay without giving something back...”

Gray didn’t say thank you.

He just picked up the earrings and the pouch, then turned around and walked out without a word.

[Heh~ I told you. Those earrings are of a very high-grade... they just don’t look like it.]

”...High grade?”

[Mhm~ If I’m not wrong, those are Phantom Loop Earrings. They’re from the Era of Gods. I think... they used to belong to the Goddess of Nightmares.]

Gray paused.

”...You think?”

[I’m not totally sure about what they do, though. I only sensed them because there’s a leftover trace of God’s Divinity inside. Otherwise, even I wouldn’t have noticed.]

Gray stopped walking.

A long, cold silence followed.

And then...

”...So you made me spend fifty fucking gold coins on something you don’t even know the effects of?”

[W-Well! They can only be activated once you reach the Advanced Realm anyway! So you’ve got time to figure it out...]

Pop...

A vein twitched on his forehead as soon as she uttered those words.

”...WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO WITH THEM RIGHT NOW, THEN?!”

[IT’S A GOD-TIER ARTIFACT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW RARE THAT IS?!]

”WHAT GOOD IS IT IF I CAN’T EVEN USE IT UNTIL I LEVEL UP THREE WHOLE STAGES?”

[YOU BOUGHT A HISTORIC RELIC, GRAY! A LEGENDARY ARTIFACT! YOU SHOULD BEGRATEFUL!!]

”I DON’T WANT TO BE GRATEFUL! I WANT TO CHANGE MY APPEARANCE! I NEED TO TRICK A CRAZY WOMAN WHO TRIED TO SLICE ME UP AS A KID!!”

[Then you better level up fast, dumbass!!]

Gray looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel.

He stuffed the pouch of coins into his storage ring, grumbling under his breath as he walked through the crowded street again.

”...One day, Jasmine. One fucking day, I’ll toss you into a trash can.”

[Sure~ Just make sure you do it after I help you wreck Maelis’ entire life, okay~?]

”...Tsk.”

Gray clenched his fists in annoyance.

The real hunt hadn’t even started yet...

And he already wanted to kill someone.

Nonetheless, he grabbed the stupid earring and stuffed each of them onto his ears, filling a gap opened by forcing them in.

Drip...

Blood naturally dripped down, which he simply wiped with his handkerchief before throwing the same one away.

”...I hope those aren’t useless when I get to the Advanced Realm...”

Gray muttered in annoyance.