Chapter 82: Villain Emerges

After crushing Professor Barkov,
I walked out of the professor’s office without a word.

The compatibility between Professor Barkov and me is the worst possible.
In particular, I am the worst enemy for attribute mages who deal with multiple attributes.
‘Most magic doesn’t work on me anymore anyway.’

If Barkov had not clung to his past and had focused on proper magical research, I would not have dared to stand against him.
But Barkov extinguished his own light.
Drunk on the glory of his past, he stopped honing his magic and became complacent.
As a result, his magical skills have regressed compared to what they used to be.
‘Perhaps he clung to the Magic Tower even harder because he knew that himself.’
He simply turned a blind eye to it.

Twisted dreams often leave behind such ugly remnants.
‘That’s probably why he ultimately lost to Lucas as well.’

Of course, Lucas didn’t defeat Barkov as easily as I did.
I exploited Barkov’s arrogance and negligence, developed over years of teaching and being far removed from real combat, and landed consecutive successful attacks.
On the other hand, Lucas could only barely defeat him after a grueling battle.

Even so, Barkov was a formidable foe, one difficult to overcome without Lucas.
‘To be fair, I also relied on compatibility to beat him.’

The resistance stats steadily accumulated in my body.
Even though stats can’t be seen with the eyes, my body had clearly built them up.
Among them, my most prominent attribute was resistance.

Physical resistance, fire resistance, electric resistance, frost resistance.
Having pushed my body to its limits so many times, I’d built up resistance to just about everything.
‘Especially frost.’

As I covered my right eye, I could feel the flow of frost.
The remnants of an ancient dragon that forcibly blocked Barkov’s frost magic the moment he used it.
It seemed irritated that someone dared to use frost magic against it.

Thanks to this, I was effectively immune to all lower-tier frost magic.
‘Things have calmed down a bit for now.’

Sharin once likened me to an ice bomb.
I always had to keep in mind the potential rampages of the dragon’s remnants.
What happened today could happen again, so I must remain cautious going forward.

BOOOOM!
Suddenly, another explosion echoed from the direction of the student council.
The student council members alone wouldn’t be able to break through the boycott group.
So, this would be the time for someone other than the council to step in.
Usually, it would be Lucas and his group, but this time, it was likely going to be Isabel instead…

“Arghhhhh!”
At that moment, from below the window,
I saw the boycott members being swept away in an instant.

‘What?’
This was far too fast, much faster than I had anticipated.

I hurriedly leaned out the window to see the scene below.
The moment I caught sight of what was happening, I couldn’t help but gape in shock.

The ones breaking through the boycott now…
They had gathered forces far beyond what I had imagined.

At the forefront was the lazy genius, Van.
Each time his sword moved under the moonlight, boycott members were swept away without even the chance to resist.
Few could stand against Van’s sword, which utilized sword aura.
Even the carefully selected boycott members couldn’t face Van head-on.

Then there was the genius among geniuses, Sharin Sazaris.
Each time she flicked her staff, starlight projectiles erupted, blasting the members away.
The projectiles were so powerful that even I, with my high resistance, would struggle to endure them.

There was no way the boycott members could endure it.
The two strongest forces from the Martial Arts and Magical Studies departments.
To the students, those two were akin to natural disasters.

But the problem wasn’t just them.
There was Beakiring Monem, a second-year Special Studies student who had contracted with a top-tier spirit, though she had once been outmatched by the Spirit Lord of Poara.
Pasen Zabiroth, the eldest son of the Holy Knight Commander, a towering man wielding a massive greatsword.
Mina, Isabel’s friend, and others.
Renowned names from Zeryon Academy had all gathered there.

In the face of their advance, the boycott members were no different from fallen leaves in the wind.
They were some of the most powerful individuals the academy had to offer.
Naturally, there was no way to resist them.

And at the center of it all stood Isabel Luna.
Even among such remarkable members, she held her own, fighting as freely as a butterfly.
‘How on earth did she gather such an elite team?’

Even as a veteran player of Blazing Butterfly, no matter how meticulously I played the game,
it wouldn’t be possible to assemble a team like that at this point in time.
It was undoubtedly Isabel’s ability that had brought them together.
‘Of course, who else could be the main heroine?’

She had a talent for drawing people to her.
‘Now what do I do?’

No matter what, the boycott can’t be subdued this quickly.
The bigger the commotion, the more impactful the message that the boycott happened in the first place.
Moreover, the boycott members still searching the professor’s office and the student council room needed more time.

After a moment of thought, I climbed onto the window frame and stood tall.
I tightened the Veil Bandages around me.
With Sharin there, this was a double disguise.
There was no other choice.
I’d already exited once as a third-rate villain, but I’d have to reuse that card one more time.
A third-rate villain to buy time.

Kicking off from the window ledge, I leaped into the air.
The robe I was wearing billowed as I flew through the sky.

Boom!
I landed directly in front of the group breaking through the boycott.
The impact from such a leap reverberated through my body, but I steadied myself.

Slowly, I raised my head.
The attention of Isabel’s party immediately focused on me.
I had appeared abruptly, piercing through the dark night sky.
Moreover, my striking appearance made it impossible not to stand out.
Their stares were only natural.

“Isn’t that… Vikarmern-senpai?”
Isabel’s friend Mina reacted, recognizing me as I emerged under the moonlight.
She muttered to herself while staring at my face, ‘Still as handsome as ever’.

“Vikarmern-senpai, we’re in a hurry. Could you step aside?”
The Holy Knight Pasen politely requested, even to someone like me, who had been expelled.
A demeanor befitting a holy knight.

But.
“Sorry, but this area is off-limits to unauthorized personnel.”
I raised my arm through the folds of my robe, firmly blocking their path.

At the same time, I quickly scanned the group gathered there.
Sharin’s sleepy eyes widened slightly as soon as she saw me.
It was Sharin with Mirinae.
She had undoubtedly seen right through my disguise.

But I was wearing the Veil Bandages in this form as well.
I had kept them on to respond to any situation that might arise.

So Sharin would only think I had disguised myself as Vikarmern.
She wouldn’t suspect that I was actually Vikarmern.
However, she would have definitely realized that I’m Hanon.

As for Van, he seemed intrigued.
He had likely gauged my skills based on my movements earlier.
Lately, Van had been rediscovering his enjoyment of wielding a sword, and his interest in a new opponent was evident.

Lastly, Isabel.
For some reason, she smiled.
Isabel has always been prone to smiling, but this wasn’t a situation where smiling would typically be appropriate.
Moreover, that smile appeared the moment she saw me.

“How does one become authorized personnel, then?”
Why did her smile seem oddly sly?
Isabel had definitely changed a bit.

“No way.”
I cut her off firmly and stomped my foot, marked with a magical sigil, onto the ground.

Boom!
The vibration from my foot spread across the entire area.
Rumble!
The combination of the magical sigil and its mystic properties amplified the effect.

“It’s magic!”
Mina shouted as she leaped off the ground.
The others followed suit, instantly reacting to avoid being caught in the tremor that would disrupt their footing.

But being airborne also disrupted their stance.

Bang!
The moment my foot hit the ground, the magical sigils inscribed on my body exploded in succession.
Using the force of the explosions to propel myself, I soared toward them.

A towering holy knight stepped forward to block my path.
Even in midair, Pasen twisted his body to intercept me.
He swung his greatsword directly at me.

But swinging a sword at me was the worst possible decision.

Clang!
My hand collided with the greatsword.
‘After all, I already charged it up earlier.’

The Lightning Catcher concealed beneath the Veil Bandages, charged with Barkov’s lightning magic from before, surged into action.

“You’re sturdy; you won’t die from this.”
Barkov’s lightning magic, emanating from my hand, enveloped the greatsword.

Crackle!
Black lightning exploded, scorching Pasen to a crisp in an instant.

Thud!
Pasen plummeted to the ground, black smoke rising from his mouth.
No matter how resilient a holy knight was, even they couldn’t withstand lightning magic from Barkov, a master of such spells.

Everyone stared at me, wide-eyed, as I landed.

“That’s high-tier magic! How is that possible without a staff?”
Beakiring, a spirit scholar with expertise in magic, frowned in disbelief.

“Vikarmern-senpai was only capable of low-tier magic, wasn’t he?”
Mina, too, seemed surprised, as if she had known Vikarmern’s original level of skill.

Thanks to the magical sigils and Barkov’s lightning magic, I had instantly become a high-tier mage.
Not bad at all.
If they believed I was a mage, they’d be even more cautious about fighting me.

‘Let’s keep riding this momentum.’

At the moment I thought I’d pull away—

Chill!
A sudden shiver ran down my spine, and I instinctively tilted my head back.
A blade emerged from the darkness, grazing the edge of my chin by the narrowest margin.

When I lowered my gaze, Van was standing there.
Even amidst the commotion, Ban had silently closed the distance.

Swish! Slash!
I hurriedly dodged the swings of his sword.

Van, this guy…
His skill had improved significantly since the last time.
While I had also become much better at handling my body, dodging his strikes was noticeably more difficult than during our sparring match.

‘How long has he been preparing for this?’
While his growth was praiseworthy, the fact that his blade was aimed at me made it maddening.
Moreover, in their eyes, I was currently seen as a mage.
Blocking his attacks head-on wasn’t an option.

‘Looks like I have no choice.’
I prepared to use the remaining charge of Barkov’s lightning magic to create an opening.

Just as I was about to unleash it, Van’s sword twisted in an instant and lunged toward my chest.

It was an illusionary sword technique, enhanced with sword energy.
So, he had already reached this level.
I had fallen for his trick.

I had no choice but to move my arm to block.
From the angle, others wouldn’t be able to see what I did.
Using this opening, I decided to rely on my Steel Skin to endure the blow.

Clang!
Both Van and I widened our eyes in surprise.

Between me and Van—a single axe had intercepted the attack.

The wielder of the axe was a small-framed woman with flowing red hair.
Her face was concealed behind an unexpected mask, and her forehead, exposed above the mask, glistened under the moonlight.

“I-I’ll take you on!”

Seron Parmia.
She had appeared out of nowhere.