[POV: Raelar]
The training blade cracked against my side again.
I grunted—harder than I should've—but stayed standing.
My opponent blinked, stunned. "You're still up?"
"I'm used to worse," I muttered, stepping forward.
And with a pivot, I disarmed him.
The arena instructor raised a brow. "Victory: Raelar."
Polite applause.
Muted.
No fanfare. No flags. No excited screams.
Just another match won by the boy from nowhere.
I rolled my shoulder, breathing through the ache. The sting was real, but familiar.
Pain was honest. It didn't care who you were born as. It just told you that you were alive. Learning.
That had been my life.
A commoner in a kingdom built on bloodlines.
Nobles with gilded names and elemental blessings handed down like family heirlooms.
And me?
Just a boy with dirt under his fingernails and fists too bloodied for his age.
Born to a miner who coughed blood by thirty. Raised by a mother who taught me to read by candlelight when we couldn't afford oil.
I wasn't supposed to be here.
But I clawed my way into the Ascension Academy anyway.
I awakened late.
Earth. Lightning. Ice.
Three affinities.
Rare. Especially for someone like me.
The instructors whispered. The nobles scoffed. Some even tried to recruit me—but with strings attached.
I refused.
Because it wasn't about glory. It wasn't about proving I was special.
It was about making sure no one else had to bleed just to be seen.
They still didn't see me as a threat.
But that would change.
And then—there was her.
Later – Practice Yard
I found her again.
Same bench. Same corner. Same book too big for her hands.
Nia.
The first time I saw her, she was apologizing to a statue.
Actually apologizing. For bumping into it.
That's the kind of person she was.
Shy. Soft-spoken. The kind who'd flinch at her own shadow, then try to comfort it for being startled.
Most people overlooked her. Or teased her. Some just called her "background furniture."
But I noticed.
Every time.
She always tucked her hair behind her ears when she talked, voice trembling like she wasn't sure the world wanted to hear her.
But I listened.
Because I knew what it was like to feel invisible. And sometimes, the quietest people have the clearest hearts.
Today, I just sat beside her. Quietly.
She noticed me. Blushed instantly.
"I-I… h-hello again…"
I smiled. "Nia. Reading the same book?"
She panicked. "I-It's g-good! T-the author i-is s-so s-subtle a-and—"
"I'm not judging," I said softly. "I think it's brave. Reading something that complex."
Her blush deepened. She stared at her lap.
"…Th-thank you…"
Her smile was small. But real.
And just like that, I knew I'd fight for her too.
Because maybe I wasn't just chasing justice anymore.
Maybe I wanted to build something worth protecting.
Back at the Dorm – Raelar's Inner Monologue
I stared at the cracked tiles above my bunk.
Still damp from sparring. Still sore from training. Still fighting.
But not for glory.
For something more.
"They still laugh. But one day... they won't."
I looked at my calloused palms. My student badge. The nicked training blade beside me.
"I'll prove you don't need a name to be respected. Just a spine that doesn't bend."
I clenched my fists.
Not just for me.
But for Nia.
For everyone like us.
[POV Shift: Theo Duskblood]
Meanwhile, across the courtyard…
I lounged on a shaded bench, sipping imported iced tea, watching the scene unfold like a bored god overseeing lesser mortals.
Raelar.
The Academy's tragic poster boy.
The people's champion.
The perfect contrast to everything I am.
System Notification: Observation Detected
Target Identified: "Raelar – Hero Candidate"
Reputation: Rising
Public Approval: High (Among peasants, several professors, and cafeteria staff)
"He even has kitchen worker approval?" I muttered. "Truly dangerous."
He was helping Nia pick up a book she dropped, hands shaking like the world would collapse from indirect contact.
She was doing the 'I-I-I' thing again.
Too wholesome. 10/10 tragic. Definitely a protagonist type.
Then—
DING.
System Alert: New Villainous Mission Available
[Quest: Break the Righteous]
Primary Objective: Humiliate Raelar publicly within the next 7 days.
Bonus Objective: Steal the affection of Nia (his emotional anchor).
Optional Style Point: Do it while making it look accidental or justified.
Reward: +250 System Points | Unlock: Villain Skill "Narrative Control"
Failure Penalty: System Mockery. (You will be laughed at.)
I froze.
Then laughed.
"System," I whispered. "You magnificent bastard."
I stood.
Brushed off my cloak.
And started walking.
The hero's arc had begun.
Time for the villain to rewrite it.
Let the corruption of perfection commence.