Young Master's PoV: Woke Up As A Villain In A Game One Day

====Name: Samael Kaizer TheosbaneSpirit Essence: 953/953Soul Rank: C (Absorb 47 Essence to level up)Soul Potential: SSOrigin Card: MateriokinesisAcquired Cards: Quickstrike (Common) || Piercing Bolt (Common) || Battle Reflex (Common) || Flame Lash (Common) || Bleeding Edge (Common) || Fire Arrow (Common) || Barrier Breaker (Common) || Vortex Pull (Common)====I used the Appraisal Card I had stolen— ahem, I meant to say taken— from Rexerd's collection.

«Identity»A holographic display hovered in front of my eyes, visible only to me, listing my stats and Cards.

Nothing fancy.

It didn't look much different from a normal Appraisal Card layout.

At least, not when I was inspecting myself.

A little over two weeks had passed since Selene Valkryn interrogated me.

Honestly, I'd expected her to pull something by now.

A second attempt.

Some authoritative pressure.

A threat, maybe.

But nothing.

She'd been quiet.

Too quiet for my liking.

She had to know I was lying back then when I answered her.

I mean, come on.

I didn't even try that hard to be convincing.

Yet, she hadn't done anything.

I didn't know whether she reported her suspicions to the Syndicate or kept them to herself.

Either way, I was sure the Nameless Lords would come to know about me sooner or later.

And when they do, they'd act.

Maybe they'd try to kill me for screwing up their plans.

Or maybe they'd try to recruit me instead — especially now that Aurieth, the Divine Sword, was bound to my soul.

Regardless, I wasn't scared.

They could come for me if they wished.

But I doubted they'd be bold enough to do something while I was still at the Academy.

Because even though they had planted a few high-ranking moles like Selene here, they couldn't move their pawns freely inside a Monarch's Domain.

After all, a Monarch's Domain wasn't just some territory on the map.

It was a conceptual field made from their Will.

Inside it, Monarchs were nearly — emphasis on nearly — omnipotent.

They were called modern-day gods of humanity for a reason.

No one could enter or leave a Domain without its Monarch's permission.

And anything that happened inside it, they'd sense.

Well, okay, not anything.

Most things.

Like I said, they weren't truly omnipotent.

They were called gods, but they still had limits.

Which meant it was possible to hide oneself from their all-seeing gazes, even within their own Domains.

For example — the Academy's Dimensional Chambers existed in a neutral space, constantly shifting locations, disconnected from fixed reality.

So even though the Ascent Isles fell under the Central Monarch's Domain, she couldn't perceive what went on in those Dimensional Chambers.

There were other ways to hide too, like by using powerful relics or ancient treasures.

Oh and also, if a Monarch wasn't physically inside their Domain — like how the Southern Monarch was reportedly busy fighting an Elder Beast in the Spirit Realm these days — then their perception wouldn't extend to the Domain they left behind.

So no.

I couldn't completely let my guard down.

Ever.

Even while I was on Ascent Isles.

But unless the Syndicate was willing to expose themselves to the Monarchs — which they absolutely were not — they wouldn't send any top-tier assassins or high-profile secret agents my way.

Meaning I'd only have to deal with the low-level ones.

It was still not going to be easy, of course.

So I needed to keep getting stronger.

Fast.

…Which is exactly what I was doing.

Right now, I was sitting cross-legged in my living room, grabbing one glowing Essence Stone after another from the tall pile in front of me and crushing them in my fists.

My home theater system was playing ambient background music — purely for aesthetics — as I relaxed, eyes closed, focusing on my meditation.

I was using my unique Circulation Technique to absorb every last bit of Essence released from the shattered crystals.

As I'd explained before — normal C-rankers couldn't feel Essence.

Not in the air.

Not in their bodies.

Which meant they couldn't absorb it properly either.

So Essence Stones were basically wasted on them.

And while I myself couldn't sense Essence either, I had a Circulation Technique linked to my breathing that let me absorb it anyway — with the efficiency of a B-ranker.

It meant I could not only rank up faster than most Awakened at my level, but I could also absorb far more Essence than any other C-ranker naturally could.

Ahh, truly!

Learning this cheat from Michael was absolutely worth all the trouble.

"...

Are you even listening to me?

"I lazily opened an eye.

Juliana was standing before me, arms crossed, giving me an accusatory stare.

In her hand was a black marker and behind her stood a whiteboard on a tripod.

There were formulas and headings scribbled on that whiteboard, written so elegantly that one might even mistake them for an artist's calligraphy.

Damn it.

Even her handwriting was flawless.

I know it won't make sense, but the fact that she could be so perfect whenever she wanted infuriated me sometimes.

Probably because I knew it was all an act.

She hid her true self behind her actions.

Behind a mask.

I did it too.

And because I did it, I was envious of her control.

Of her ability to be so immaculate all the time, despite whatever she was really feeling underneath.

I could never pull that off — not like she did.

My own mask was never quite right.

There were too many cracks.

Too many gaps.

Too many weaknesses exposed.

But her mask was perfect.

Far better than mine.

"Of course I'm listening," I said, letting my head fall back against the couch.

"Just meditating a bit as well.

"Juliana's expression didn't budge.

If anything, a vein on her forehead twitched violently.

"You haven't heard a single word," she accused.

I lifted a finger and pointed vaguely at the board.

"Something about...

partial differential equations?

"Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"That was an hour ago.

We've long since moved to Tensor Calculus and Differential Geometry.

"I groaned and rubbed my face with both hands.

"Oh heavens!

Just stop talking, Juli!

Please just stop talking!

"Juliana ignored me, turning back to the whiteboard with the kind of sharp movement that would've made any military instructor nod in approval.

With a few flicks of her marker, she drew a new diagram — a warped grid, like a stretched rubber sheet, curving around a heavy black dot at the center.

"Essence concentrating above critical threshold folds space," she recited, voice cold and clinical.

"From then on, your calculations must be done on a pseudo-Riemannian manifold, not flatspace coordinates.

Otherwise, your movement predictions will be off, and you'll end up creating a black hole instead of a gate.

There are other variables involved too, but that's not covered in our course.

This—""This is abuse!

This is torture!

" I finished for her, already slumping deeper into the couch while mumbling in my palms.

"Not to mention, none of this will ever be of any use to us!

Why does the Academy even teach us this stuff?!

"She turned her head slightly, just enough for me to catch the faintest twitch at the corner of her mouth — not quite a smile, but close.

That bitch!

She was enjoying my misery.

Of course she was.

"It's applicable once you reach [A-rank] and use your Spirit Force to open a Gate to the Spirit Realm.

If you don't understand the theory behind it — and the math — you could cause a disaster," she explained, barely hiding the mirth in her voice.

I groaned.

"Please, that's such bullshit!

I can bet everything I own that no high-ranked Awakened in the history of mankind ever did curved-space math while opening a Gate.

It's all instinct for them, Juli!

Once they master their Force, they just do things!

It's that simple!

It's magic!

"Juliana rolled her eyes and returned to scribbling more equations that looked suspiciously close to ancient spells for summoning demons from hell.

"Magic becomes science once it's explainable.

So you'll have to learn it as science," she said flatly.

"Also, you called me here, remember?

So pay attention.

"I resisted the urge to groan again.

Yes, I had called her here.

Since I hadn't attended more than half my classes, I needed her help to catch up.

The half-yearly exams were close, and if I wanted even a chance of passing, I needed to finish the course.

Apex Academy was still an academy, after all.

I had to do the bare minimum in academics.

This was one of the many reasons I hated fantasy school settings.

"You know, all of this could've been avoided if you'd just attended your classes regularly," she remarked without looking back at me.

"Now you'll have to study everything at once.

What are you going to do about your elective course?

""Stop lecturing me and teach," I snarled, crushing another Essence Stone in one hand while waving the other.

"And don't worry, I've got it covered.

"My elective was Forging and Artificery 101.

It was a course about creating objects and enchanting them with runes.

Michael was in the same class.

And in the game, the instructor taught nothing but metal refinement and basic forging up until the half-yearly exams — absolutely nothing about artificery.

So, my elective exam would probably be a practical task, something like forging a weapon.

Conveniently, my innate ability was all about forging things.

So I should be fine there.

"And what about your optional classes?

" Juliana asked.

I smirked.

"Oh, those?

I'm definitely failing those.

"She paused, then sighed.

"You really make things harder for yourself.

"I took mild offense to that.

"Excuse me, I didn't plan on skipping classes!

I took a single day off, and then it became a habit!

This is merely a small academic setback.

My grand comeback is inevitable!

You won't find anyone else insane yet brilliant enough to pull it off like me.

"Juliana just shook her head, the ends of her shoulder-length white hair swaying gently.

"The fact that you think you're brilliant is already proof of your insanity.

"I took much greater offense to that and gasped dramatically.

"You—"Ding—!

But before I could retort back, the doorbell rang.