VILLAIN'S RISING

“That’s so not true! I know Lancer could’ve won if it wasn’t for the plot armor!”

“And I’m saying that wasn’t plot armor! That was just Lancer’s bad luck!”

“Drake, babe, are you stupid! What is plot armor if not luck?!”

“But I’m saying it wasn’t plot armor because it was Lancer’s bad luck!”

“Lancer’s bad luck was Saber’s good luck you dumb fuck!”

Arguments like this between Robin and Drake were happening since the moment Sam brought up the topic.

They were currently sitting in the living room of their dorm mansion while Sam was facepalming.

He was kind of regretting bringing up this topic now because Robin and Drake were arguing back and forth since they were in the Academy’s cafe.

Anthony, who was also sitting there with an amused smile while watching the couple fight, suddenly saw Sam facepalming.

He misunderstood Sam’s action and thought he was worried about Kiara. Seeing that Anthony spoke up.

“Sam, are you okay?”

Robin and Drake fell quite at those words from Anthony and eyed Sam themselves.

Sam, on the other hand, didn’t reply. His face was still buried in his hand.

Robin, who was sitting closest to Sam, shook his hand.

“Haa?! Yeah?” startled, Sam asked while bringing his hand down from his face._.

“I asked, are you okay?” Anthony repeated himself. “You must be worried about Kiara, right?”

Sam was about to deny his concern but instantly he changed his mind.

“Yeah, I think I went overboard,” Sam replied in a worried tone. “I hope she’s fine.”

“While we are at that, I wanted to ask, how did you even win against Kiara?” Drake inquired in a genuine curious tone.

Before Sam could answer his insensitive question, Robin pinched his cheek.

“Don’t mind this dumbhead, it wasn’t your fault, the Academy shouldn’t allow duels in the first place!” Robin said, trying her best to console Sam.

“Although I’m in support of the Academy’s decision, I do agree this wasn’t a good time for students to engage in duels too!”

The one who said that was Anthony. He was trying to make Sam feel better too.

Afterall, Sam was the first person who called him his friend, so seeing Sam so down was not pleasant for Anthony either.

Mustering up a light kind smile, Sam nodded.

Before he could speak up, however, the door to the living room opened up.

“Heyo guys!” A black-headed girl entered. “I heard you all had dueling exercises today!”

Behind her entered another girl with snowy white hair, “Yes, I heard that too. Are any of you hurt? I can patch you up in a second!”

Without giving anyone a window to reply to that offer, a burly tall guy with light brown hair entered.

“Come on Sira, they are men! And true men embrace the wounds on their body as medals!” The brown-haired man spoke, in his eyes one could literally see the fire blazing.

“But not everyone here is a man, you meathead!” The white-haired girl named Sira spoke with a pout. “There’s also Robin!”

These people who made an appearance just now were the new dormmates of Sam, Anthony, Drake, Robin, and Kiara.

Including Rebekah, who also lives with them now, there were 8 people living in this mansion. Although the limit has yet to reach its cap, it seems like no one new will be coming to live with them.

The white-haired girl was named Sira Ishta and she was a healer. She could heal an injury by making the injured drink her blood.

The black-haired girl was named Lucy Griffin and she was a speedster. Her class was initiator and she belonged to a big family.

The brown-haired muscleman was named Adam Stealth. And despite his burly appearance, he was also an initiator with an ability to switch places with any target.

They all were quite good with some really useful abilities so, of course, Sam had his eyes on all of them.

It’s just been two days since they started living together but everyone seemed to get along quite well.

“We’re fine, Sira. Besides, as Adam said, we are men! And men can endure this much!” Drake voiced up.

Despite his thin figure, pretty face and shoulder long red hair which he usually ties into a ponytail, giving him a femenine look, Drake had this huge masculinity.

“Indeed!” Adam shouted, firing up already excited Drake even more.

Everyone couldn’t help but heave a sigh at that interaction.

“Well, as long as everyone is okay~” Lucy said before taking a spot on the couch.

“True, I am glad too!” said Sira as she slouched back into the couch beside Lucy too.

“So, what were you all talking about?” Adam asked as he sat on a chair himself.

“Sam and Kiara had a duel today, Sam won but Kiara is still in the medical room in the Academy. Apparently she has yet to wake up.”

Robin explained to which everyone expressed their shock.

“Wait, Kiara lost? Wasn’t she an [S-Rank] potential? How did she lose to a mere [A-Rank]?” Lucy asked with a curious face.

“A mere [A-Rank] huh? Ouch! My heart!” Sam placed a hand on his chest and acted to sulk.

“No! I didn’t mean it like that!” Lucy instantly raised her hand as she tried to justify herself.

“I’m kidding!” Sam waved his hand before laughing it off.

“To be honest, I was wondering the same thing too, how did you defeat her, Sam?” Anthony joined in with a question.

After waiting for a bit, Sam decided to open his mouth.

“Actually, I defeated her because she got careless.”

“Careless? How?” Robin asked.

“Well, you all couldn’t have seen it because the mist must’ve been blocking your vision, but she froze my legs to the ground. In short, she rendered me immobile.”

“Then how did you get out of that situation?” Luke asked and it seemed like he spoke the words on everyone’s mind.

“I didn’t. I thought I would lose so I tried to stall it as much as I could, before I noticed that she was closing in on me. She was trying to close the distance herself.” Sam said before taking a pause.

“If she wanted, she could’ve just used some long ranged attack and I would’ve lost. But she decided to end me in close range. That’s when she lost.”

“But we saw her sending a water clone in the mist too. How did you know who was the real one? The real Kiara?” Anthony asked with his interest piqued.

‘Because where else would a snake strike if not from behind?’ Sam thought that with a smirk but he didn’t voice his thoughts.

“I just got lucky,” he said with a shrug.

*

-Tap -Tap -Tap

In a dorm room, a boy with unkept light red hair was sitting on his desk, tapping the table in a rhythmic manner.

The boy was, of course, Lucas Redwing. And from the looks of it, he was conflicted as if he couldn’t decide on something.

Today, a boy came out of nowhere and declared himself to be the kin of Progenitor. Lucas was so stunned that he didn’t even have the chance to think straight.

The boy offered Lucas unimaginable power, wealth, women, and everything he desires.

Yes, Lucas was offered everything today. In return, the boy asked for but one thing. The boy asked for Lucas’ humanity.

Although Lucas doesn’t know what the boy meant by “humanity”, it couldn’t be a good thing.

It felt like Lucas was making a deal with a devil.

The boy gave Lucas the time to think about the offer until midnight. Once the midnight arrives, the will come for his answer.

Anxious, Lucas looked at the clock and found the numbers [10:40 PM] displaying on the digital screen of the clock on his table.

The midnight was about to fall and Lucas was still conflicted about his opinion. He even thought about going to a Hero for help.

By Hero, he obviously thought of Starsuper, but he stopped himself after remembering the warning he got from the black-headed boy.

The boy claiming himself to be the kin of Progenitor warned Lucas about not informing any Heroes about this matter.

To be clear, his words were something like this: “Remember, if you dare try to inform anyone, including Heroes about me, then your head would explode! Hahaha!”

Although one could interpret that as a joke, Lucas knew that was a threat. A clear warning.

No Hero could save him from this. He was all alone. Just like in his childhood, he was still weak. Even after all this power in the palm of his hands, he was still so powerless.

“Hic! Hic!” Tears started streaming down his face when he finally realised how weak he truly was in this situation.

He had no option but to oblige. He had no will to act upon, he could only obey.

-Knock

“Lucas, dinner is served! Come eat, you haven’t eaten anything the whole day!”

A feminine voice came from outside the room’s door. It was Lucas’ dormmate.

Even after everyone in the Academy considered Lucas a jerk, she was the only one who treated him normally.

Usually Lucas would feel irritated even by hearing her voice, but today it gave him a strange sense of tranquility.

Rubbing the tears off his face, Lucas put on his best smile before answering, “Coming!”