I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Raul PoV]

The next morning, I made my way toward the academy's main arena. Outside, the arena gates were already packed with students crowding in.

Quite a few of them had even bought betting tickets, trying to guess who'd come out on top in the upcoming matches.

I entered through the VIP gate, set aside specifically for participants and the visiting nobles and military officials present here.

I made my way to the stands reserved for participants. Everyone competing in the tournament had already gathered here.

"Ah, Raul. Late as usual," Elena said, smiling at me.

Prince Vlad sat beside her. He shot me another mocking smile, same as the one from last night's party.

"Sorry, President. I had a few things to prepare before the matches started," I answered Elena.

"Hee~ Is that so? So this time, will you finally get serious and use your Nature Mana?" Elena asked, sounding excited.

I simply shrugged without answering and took an empty seat.

From here, I could see the entire arena packed with spectators. Even the academy gates had been thrown open, letting citizens of the capital watch the students in action. The purpose was clear—to show that Grunbelt Academy stood far above the ordinary magic and combat schools scattered across the Empire.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 212th Grunbelt Academy Tournament!"

The announcer stepped into the center of the arena to officially open this year's tournament.

For reference, the academy was nearly 250 years old. It had been founded in the year 370 of the Frankian calendar, shortly after Queen Isabella took the throne of Aragon, back when the nation still held the status of a kingdom.

"This year, a total of 36 participants will compete for the title of strongest at this academy!" the announcer continued. "Tell me, who are you all betting on to take home the crown!?"

At the announcer's question, shouts erupted from the students, calling out the names of their favored contenders.

"Senior Jerome's got this in the bag!"

"Princess Elena is the strongest here!"

"Brian won't lose to any of the seniors either!"

Hoo~ Not a single mention of my name among the crowd's shouting, huh? Well... not that I particularly cared about their support or lack thereof. If anything, it suited me fine.

"Alright! Without further delay, let's begin the first match of the day—Viera Regnan of the second-year class versus Mariana de Cinamon!"

Hearing their names called, the two of them stood and left the stands, heading toward the dueling arena.

Mariana de Cinamon, huh...?

If I remembered correctly, she was a Brawler, same class as Scarlett. In terms of technique, the two of them weren't all that different. But Scarlett's magic ran considerably stronger than Mariana's.

This would prove a tough match if Viera couldn't break free of the pressure Mariana was about to bring. Honestly, given their respective classes, Viera was at a distinct disadvantage here.

Let's see just how far the training I'd given her had actually paid off.

Both competitors had entered the dueling arena. Viera drew out her magic bow.

For this tournament, participants had all been issued a limiter ring artifact, same as during the first-stage exam. The artifact would activate once a participant's body reached its limit, and they'd be declared eliminated from the tournament.

Additionally, participants would also be eliminated the moment they spoke the words "I surrender."

The match wouldn't stop until one of these two conditions was met.

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"Are both competitors ready!?" the announcer asked, having already stepped back from the center of the arena.

Viera and Mariana both nodded, settling into their respective combat stances.

"The first match of the Grunbelt Academy Tournament... begin!"

The moment the announcer declared the match underway, Mariana immediately rushed toward Viera, combining Charging and Acceleration techniques, unleashing a punch crackling with red lightning.

But Viera seemed to have already anticipated Mariana's movement, dodging sideways instantly using Axio magic. Still, Mariana refused to let the distance between them grow, denying Viera the room she needed to fire freely.

The woman continued pursuing Viera, red lightning flickering around her legs, a sign she was using Nature Mana to move even faster, much like Elena.

Seeing this, Viera abandoned her shot, focusing entirely on evasion.

Mariana's fist nearly grazed Viera's face, but the archer managed to dodge just in time. Still, Mariana didn't stop there, launching hook after hook, left and right, continuing to corner Viera.

Yet neither of Mariana's strikes landed—Viera dodged them all with ease.

For this tournament, I'd instructed Viera to focus on training her Agility and Observation rather than boosting her shot's offensive power.

That was because, unlike before, this time she'd have to rely entirely on her own defensive capabilities—no allies would give her the space or time to line up a shot against her opponent.

She'd have to carve out those shooting opportunities herself if she wanted to win in this wide-open arena.

"That archer's going to struggle."

"You're right, fighting in open ground against a speed-type Brawler like Mariana is a nightmare for her."

The other participants in the stands were commenting on Viera and Mariana's match. It seemed most of them expected Mariana to win this easily.

Now, Mariana unleashed a full combo of strikes against Viera.

The archer couldn't dodge the entirety of Mariana's rapid combo. She evaded two punches, took one square on the shoulder, and blocked the last two with both arms.

But Mariana didn't stop once her combo ended—her leg crackled with red lightning as she launched a kick straight toward Viera's head.

The archer blocked Mariana's kick with her left arm. Still, her body was sent flying regardless, unable to fully absorb the force behind Mariana's powerful strike.

Viera's body tumbled across the ground before rolling to a stop. She tried to get back up, blood trickling from her mouth, a clear sign the kick had done real damage.

Viera's left hand began to glow, signaling she was about to cast a spell.

Seeing this, Mariana rushed forward again to close the distance. But just as she drew near, a sudden gust of wind swept through the arena.

Dust swirled into the air, obscuring the spectators' view of the ongoing match.

This was one of Viera's wind spells, seemingly setting up a counterattack.

Five seconds passed...

The arena remained shrouded in dust, blocking our view of both competitors' condition.

Ten seconds...

The dust filling the arena began to clear, revealing Mariana standing alert in the center.

On the other side, Viera stood behind Mariana, already releasing an arrow toward the Brawler. But the arrow only grazed Mariana's shoulder, since she'd shifted position just moments before.

Mariana winced in pain and spun toward the direction the magic arrow had come from, only to look utterly confused.

That was because Viera had already dashed into Mariana's blind spot the instant the Brawler turned around.

"Hey, why does Mariana look so confused? Isn't her opponent just running around behind her?"

"Exactly, shouldn't she be able to hear or sense that archer, given she keeps positioning herself right behind her?"

The participants here continued commenting on Viera and Mariana's match, clearly puzzled by what was unfolding.

What Viera was doing was the trick I'd taught her earlier—Vanishing Step.

Human vision covers roughly 180 degrees. Which means people carry a blind spot of equal size, 180 degrees.

Vanishing Step was a technique where the user constantly repositioned themselves into their opponent's blind spot. It demanded exceptional Agility and Observation to keep matching one's movement against the enemy's.

But with Viera's Profound Codex, Silent, every movement and attack she made produced absolutely no sound at all, creating the illusion for Mariana that Viera's strikes were coming from nowhere.

From Mariana's perspective, Viera seemed to be vanishing entirely within this vast, open arena. She probably assumed the archer had some kind of Invisibility ability or Illusion magic at work.

Viera kept peppering the still-confused Mariana with arrows, using a Shoot-and-Run approach.

Blood and wounds began covering the Brawler's body, yet she still refused to give up.

Mariana's body became wrapped in red lightning. She shouted out the name of her spell, and bolts of lightning began scattering in every direction, aiming to catch Viera wherever she was.

But the archer managed to dodge by leaping into the air, keeping herself within Mariana's blind spot even now.

Viera's position was now directly above the Brawler, her bow and arrow beginning to glow, a sign she was preparing her finishing blow.

Mariana glanced upward and, for the first time, finally spotted Viera. But it was already too late—Viera had already loosed her magic arrow, streaking toward the Brawler at tremendous speed.

—Boom!

A massive explosion erupted as Viera's attack struck Mariana, smoke billowing across the arena once again.

Before long, Mariana's body could be seen lying on the ground, covered in wounds, a red glow now surrounding her, signaling the limiter she wore had activated.

Which meant... Mariana had been eliminated, and Viera had won this first match.

"The winner of this match, Viera Regnan!"

The announcer's voice broke the silence hanging over the arena.

Before long, cheers and applause erupted from the spectators who'd witnessed the match.

"Was that one of her Profound Codexes?"

"Never expected Mariana to lose to an archer!?"

Several participants here reacted to Viera's unexpected victory as well.

The training she'd put in had clearly paid off, with impressive results.

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