A Psychopath Reborn as a Third-rate Villain

Morning arrived quietly at Ambrose Academy.

Andras woke, washed, dressed, and prepared for another day of classes. Nothing about the morning seemed unusual. He left his room and made his way through the academy corridors. By the time he entered the classroom, nearly half of the students had already arrived.

He took his usual seat beside Seraphina.

She glanced at him. "Good morning."

"Good morning."

A few minutes later, Professor Alaric entered. Conversations died down at once. Alaric placed several books on his desk before turning toward the class.

"In our previous lesson, I gave you an assignment. I asked you to study a spell you already knew. The purpose was simple. I wanted you to stop thinking of spells as something you merely memorize and begin understanding how they actually function."

His gaze swept across the room. "How many of you completed the assignment?"

Several hands rose. Seraphina’s was among the first. Elaria followed. Lenore raised hers with noticeably less enthusiasm. Aurelia also raised her hand.

Andras remained still.

He still could not consistently complete even a basic First Circle spell. Studying a structure he could not reliably cast would have been pointless.

Alaric counted the raised hands. "Ten students. Good. Understanding a spell you’ve already learned is one of the first steps toward eventually modifying it."

Andras listened quietly. His thoughts briefly returned to Seraphina and the Celestial Codex. For her, learning and modifying spells came with unnatural clarity. For him, even the foundation remained unfinished.

Alaric continued for a time, shifting the lesson toward the broader categories of talents—those that increased mana capacity, improved control, enhanced elemental affinity, sharpened spell construction, or accelerated comprehension. He also touched on the talents common among warriors: physical reinforcement, battle energy efficiency, heightened instinct, and recovery.

Andras already knew most of it. Still, there were details worth remembering. Talent determined potential. Potential alone did not determine strength.

Eventually Alaric closed his book. "That’s all for today. Dismissed."

The students began gathering their belongings. Andras stood. His next class was Combat Training.

---

Professor Valeria was already waiting when the class entered the training hall. She stood in the center of the room with a wooden sword resting against her shoulder, eyes moving across the students with sharp assessment.

"In the previous lesson, you fought me," she said. "Today, you will fight each other. I’ll choose the pairs."

She began calling names. One pair after another stepped forward. The students fought using wooden weapons while Valeria observed, interrupting only when a serious mistake appeared.

"Your stance is too wide."

"You’re exposing your left side."

"Don’t swing with your entire body unless you’re prepared to commit."

"You’re watching the weapon instead of the opponent."

Her criticism was blunt, but useful.

Eventually her gaze settled on Andras.

"You. Step forward."

Andras walked toward the center of the room.

Valeria pointed toward another student. "You as well."

Andras turned. His eyes met those of a young man with black hair and dark eyes.

Romeo Ravenhart.

Romeo stepped forward without hesitation. The two stood opposite each other. Andras’s expression remained calm.

Inside his mind, he spoke.

System. Display Romeo’s status.

[Ding!]

[Name: Romeo Ravenhart]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 18]

[Class: Mage]

[Realm: Peak 3rd Circle Mage]

[Talent: Mana Compression — B+ Rank]

Andras’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Mana Compression. A talent that allowed the user to densify mana before release, increasing both power and stability. Maintaining that compression required considerable control. For someone already at the Peak of the Third Circle, it was a meaningful advantage.

Romeo walked to the weapon rack and selected a wooden sword. Andras did the same.

Valeria stepped back. "Begin."

Romeo raised his free hand at once. Mana began gathering around his fingers, already starting to compress.

Andras did not charge blindly.

He stepped forward at a measured pace, wooden sword held in a neutral guard, eyes fixed not on Romeo’s weapon but on the subtle shift of mana around his hand. Echo Resonance picked up the densification immediately—a tightening of energy, controlled and deliberate. Romeo intended to open with a compressed burst.

Andras closed the remaining distance just as the mana stabilized.

His first strike was not heavy. It was precise, aimed to interrupt rather than overpower. Romeo was forced to abandon the incomplete release and bring his wooden sword up to block. The impact was clean. Controlled. Andras did not follow with a reckless flurry. He pressed just enough to keep Romeo from resetting his mana, then angled his blade to redirect the counter-thrust that came next.

Romeo disengaged and released a short burst of compressed mana into the floor between them. The shockwave spread outward. Andras had already stepped back half a pace, letting the force pass through empty space rather than contesting it.

He reset his stance.

Romeo’s talent was clear now. He densified mana before release, increasing both impact and stability. It allowed him to produce spell-like force without fully constructing a circle. Efficient. Dangerous at close range if given time.

Andras had no intention of giving him that time.

Romeo advanced, using short compressed bursts to control space while striking with his wooden sword. Each attack carried more weight than ordinary physical force should have. Andras did not meet those strikes head-on. He redirected, slipped past, and kept his own movements economical. Where Romeo applied pressure, Andras yielded just enough to avoid being pinned, then returned pressure at angles that forced Romeo to readjust.

Around the training hall, students watched with growing interest. Seraphina’s gaze remained steady. Aurelia observed in silence. Even Lenore looked more attentive than usual.

Romeo suddenly stopped retreating. A larger volume of mana gathered around his hand, denser than before. Echo Resonance registered the compression clearly—this one was meant to finish the exchange.

Andras moved before the release.

He stepped laterally as a dense sphere of compressed mana shot past him and struck the training wall with a heavy impact. The wall shuddered. Several students flinched. Valeria’s expression remained calm.

"Continue."

Romeo raised his hand again.

Andras closed the distance immediately. He did not allow the compression to settle. Their wooden swords met, locked, then separated as Andras angled his blade and forced Romeo’s weapon offline. Romeo responded with a radial burst of mana from his body. Andras had already released the bind and stepped back, letting the shockwave spend itself against the floor rather than his guard.

Romeo pressed forward aggressively now, chaining physical strikes with short compressed releases. His control was excellent. His timing was sharp. But the pattern was becoming visible.

Every significant attack was preceded by compression.

And that compression created a brief, readable fluctuation.

Andras stopped trying to overpower the exchanges. He began answering them half a breath earlier.

When Romeo’s mana tightened, Andras was already shifting. When the release came, he was no longer in its primary line. His own strikes remained restrained—never wasted, never excessive—aimed at the wrist, the forearm, the shoulder, the openings created when Romeo committed to a densified attack.

Romeo raised his hand once more.

Andras stepped in before the spell-like burst could fully form and struck the forearm with the flat of his blade. The compression collapsed. Romeo’s expression tightened. Andras rotated his sword and drove a clean, controlled strike into his side. Romeo staggered. Andras followed with three measured attacks—not a storm of blows, but a precise sequence that denied recovery. Romeo blocked the first two. The third caught his shoulder and forced him backward.

Andras advanced without urgency.

Romeo gritted his teeth and gathered mana again, denser than before. Echo Resonance registered the fluctuation immediately. Andras was already moving past the projected line of release when the compressed burst left Romeo’s hand. He closed the remaining distance in a single clean step, caught Romeo’s sword, pushed it aside, and set the edge of his wooden blade against Romeo’s throat.

Silence filled the training hall.

The fight was over.

Valeria raised her hand. "Enough."

Andras lowered his sword at once. He had not once used more force than necessary. He had not attempted a single spell. He had simply read the rhythm of compression, denied Romeo the time to stabilize it, and ended the exchange the moment a decisive opening appeared.

Romeo remained still for a moment before lowering his own weapon. His breathing was heavier than before.

"You figured out my talent," he said.

Andras looked at him. "Eventually."

Romeo’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing further.

Andras turned toward Valeria—

Then he froze.

Something had changed.

A strange vibration passed through the air. Echo Resonance reacted sharply, pulling his attention upward. Mana was gathering around the training hall—not residual battle mana, but something denser, larger, and structured in a way he did not recognize.

Thin strands of energy began forming in the air. Several students noticed.

"What is that?"

"Professor?"

Valeria’s expression changed at once. "Everyone, move back!"

The students obeyed quickly. Andras did not move. His eyes remained fixed on the phenomenon. The strands of mana twisted together, growing denser. The space around him and Romeo began to distort.

This isn’t a spell.

There was no magic circle. No incantation. No recognizable construction pattern. Yet the mana continued to gather, and Echo Resonance sent a clear warning through his mind.

Something was about to happen.

Andras turned toward Romeo. The other student looked equally unsettled.

"What is happening?"

Andras did not answer.

The distorted space collapsed inward.

For a fraction of a second, the world seemed to disappear. An immense force seized Andras’s body—

Then everything went black.

Andras vanished.

So did Romeo.

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