Free Web NovelChapter 4: The Villainess
He looked away, feeling strangely disappointed by the lack of drama.
And then, the atmosphere in the classroom rapidly changed again. The temperature in the room physically dropped by a few degrees.
The loud classroom fell into a deeply eerie, suffocating silence.
A gorgeous girl walked through the door. She moved with perfect posture and incredibly elegant, measured steps. Every single movement she made was highly refined and strictly aristocratic.
Her expression, however, was completely dead. She wore a cold, distant look that heavily emitted an aura making her feel entirely unapproachable.
Alicia von Valerion.
Yet another daughter of an SS-ranker.
She walked forward, ignoring the front row entirely. She walked straight toward Alden’s desk.
Alden stiffened internally, alarm bells ringing in his head, but he forcefully kept his face completely blank and deadpan.
She stopped right beside his desk.
"May I sit here?" she asked softly.
Her tone was shockingly gentle—completely different from the freezing, cold gaze she was actively giving everyone else in the room. Her harsh expression even softened just a tiny bit as she looked down at him.
’Why? Why me? Why the hell did she approach my desk? Why does this suddenly feel like the exact start of a major, life-threatening headache?’
She sat down gracefully beside him before he could even open his mouth to give her an answer.
’Well... whatever. She didn’t really need to ask for my permission anyway. It’s not like I own this desk.’
And for some strange reason that he couldn’t logically explain, the freezing, cold atmosphere in the room vanished the exact moment she sat down. He forcefully made himself look away from her and stared out the window.
Before he could overthink the situation any further, the classroom door opened one last time.
A calm, highly composed woman entered the room.
She carried a strong sense of elegance and maturity as she stepped up to the front podium. Her aura alone heavily suppressed the room, making everyone instantly realize that the person standing in front of them was anything but normal.
It was their class teacher.
"Good morning, everyone," she said smoothly, her voice carrying easily to the back of the room.
"I am Carasina von Salvonia, your magic instructor."
Every student in the room straightened their posture instantly.
"I am going to teach you everything there is to know about magic—from the core theory and complex formulas to actual, practical application. By the end of this academic year, I will make all of you capable magicians. You will be far stronger than any common mage of your exact rank."
She casually took a seat behind her large desk and continued speaking.
"Let’s start by introducing yourselves first."
"Let’s go strictly by the rank hierarchy from your entrance exam results."
"Edwin von Leonhart, the Top 1 student of the academy, stand up and introduce yourself."
Edwin stood up smoothly from the front row. He held his head high, brimming with natural confidence.
"I am Edwin von Leonhart. I am a Magic Swordsman. I am highly skilled at both elemental magic and swordsmanship, and my ultimate goal is to become the greatest swordsman in human history."
As he confidently stated his grand ambition, many of the boys in the room scoffed quietly out of jealousy, while the girls stared at his dazzling face in a complete daze. But no one dared to say anything out loud. Everyone already knew he had more than enough talent to actually back those arrogant words up.
"Okay. Good. You may take your seat," Carasina nodded.
"The next one is... Alicia von Valerion, the Top 2 student. Introduce yourself."
The silver-haired girl sitting right next to Alden stood up with perfect grace. She looked straight ahead, her facial expression returning to an utterly blank, icy stare.
For a split second, Alden just stared at her side profile, feeling that if she hadn’t just moved to open her mouth, he would have easily mistaken her for a beautifully crafted porcelain doll.
She started to speak. Her voice was soft, but completely devoid of any emotion.
"I am Alicia von Valerion, the heir to the House of Valerion and a wielder of Frost Magic. I suggest you all remember my name well, for it is destined to stand at the very top of this academy. Whether you choose to become my useful allies or merely my stepping stones, it is entirely your choice."
Alden stared at her in shock. He opened his mouth slightly, then immediately closed it.
’Wow... she is literally radiating a pure villainess aura. Is she deliberately trying to intimidate everyone so that people will hesitate to even approach her?... Honestly, that’s a pretty nice tactic to avoid small talk.’
Carasina just looked at Alicia, her face remaining completely normal as if that threatening introduction hadn’t affected her in the slightest.
"Okay, you may sit down. The next one is Sarah von Solaris, the Top 3 student. Introduce yourself."
Sarah stood up quickly. She wore a bright, cheerful expression on her face, which instantly seemed to brighten the heavy atmosphere in the room as everyone shifted their attention to her.
"Hello everyone! It is so nice to meet you all," she smiled warmly.
"I am Sarah von Solaris. I am a Mage, as well as a Healer. I am not overly strong in combat, but I am not entirely weak either. My main hobby is to explore new and exciting adventures, and my ultimate goal is to become a person whom everyone can truly love and respect."
As she introduced herself, there wasn’t a single hint of arrogance in her sweet tone. She looked like the literal, walking embodiment of a Saintess.
"Okay. Very nice introduction. You may sit. The next student..."
The remaining introductions continued down the line. A very long amount of time passed as they went through the list, considering there were exactly 200 students in Class A alone.
Finally, Alden’s turn arrived.
"Now... let’s go with the very last student in this room," Carasina read from her clipboard.
"Student Alden, Rank 1184. Stand up and introduce yourself."
The exact moment she muttered his rank, every single person in the room turned their eyes directly toward him as he slowly stood up from his desk.
Most of the students openly looked at him with highly mocking expressions. Rank 1184 wasn’t just the lowest rank in Class A—he was quite literally the dead-last, bottom-ranked student in the entire academy.
"Why is someone like that even present in this academy?" a boy whispered loudly.
"Yeah... I heard he is the exiled trash son of the von Astra family. He doesn’t even deserve to breathe the same air as us."
"Exactly. He is a literal stain on our elite class."
As everyone in the room started to openly whisper and sneer at him, Alden ignored them completely. He kept his face totally deadpan and opened his mouth to begin speaking.
"I am Alden."
He looked around the hostile room completely calmly.
And then—
[Ding!]
[Daily Quest Arrived!]
[MISSION: Make a solid impression on the class.]
[REWARD: A new Skill (Rank, based on your impression level)]
[Additional Secret Quest!]
[MISSION: Display a Villainous Trait.]
[REWARD: Instant rank breakthrough to the next tier.]
Alden froze internally as he stared at the interface floating directly in front of his face.
’...You actually want me to act like a villain right now?’
He slowly glanced over at Edwin sitting in the front, at the golden-haired Sarah, and finally at the Alicia sitting right next to him.
’Well... it seems like I won’t be able to stay safely in the background at this rate.’
