I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Raul PoV]

Leaving the main hall, I set off to find my subordinate, the Potioner. I wanted to ask him to brew something for me, a concoction that would decide my victory tomorrow.

The tournament would run for three days. Tomorrow would only feature eight matches, while the quarterfinals through finals would take place on the third day.

"Hey, Raul."

As I made my way toward the dorms, I heard someone call my name.

I turned around and saw Valeria sitting alone on a bench.

"What are you doing out here by yourself, Valeria?" I asked her.

"Not sure, mourning my loss, maybe?" she answered, sounding gloomy.

I walked over and sat down beside her. It seemed she was still dwelling on her defeat against Vlad that morning.

"The world's pretty vast, isn't it?" Valeria murmured, looking up at the night sky. "Full of magic and mysteries we barely understand."

That was true — this world held countless unique and dangerous spells. In the game Path of Destiny, characters with special abilities were exactly the ones you had to watch out for most.

No matter how strong you were, if you got caught by someone's unique spell, that could be the end of you.

Top-tier mages and fighters generally possessed abilities like this. Academy students' level was still far below what it took to fight opponents like that.

"Don't dwell on it too much," I told her. "If I'd been in your position, I probably would have lost too, not knowing what he was capable of."

If I didn't have knowledge of this world I'd built myself, I'd have had zero chance of beating Vlad, plain and simple.

"Even now, I still don't understand how he was able to control my body like that," Valeria said. "He's your opponent tomorrow, isn't he?"

"That's right. Come watch my fight tomorrow," I told her. "I've got a secret that should catch that man off guard."

"You mean you already know about that strange spell of his, the one that can control someone else's body?" Valeria asked, sounding curious.

Hearing this, I smiled at her and said, "You'll find out the answer tomorrow, if you watch."

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After chatting with Valeria for a bit, I headed into the regular students' male dormitory. My destination was Barney Dolando, a disciplinary committee member skilled in brewing potions.

The academy offered a wide range of subjects to its students. Those on the Knight track usually only took physical and magic-based courses.

Meanwhile, those on the mage track sometimes attended Potion classes, learning how to brew magical concoctions.

Arriving outside Barney's room, I knocked on the door. Before long, it opened, revealing a bespectacled man looking rather nervous.

"Ca-Captain, what brings you to my room this late at night?" Barney asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Barney, have you managed to brew a Randomize Blood potion yet?" I asked him.

This potion was typically used by mages conducting experiments on magical beasts, combining different species to create stronger hybrid creatures by matching their respective Bloodline Factors.

A fairly complex process, even for someone like me who'd built this game from scratch.

In the game, this process happened briefly, resolved by a certain probability, without ever showing the detailed operation involved.

"I've only made it twice before, in Potion class," Barney answered. "What do you need this potion for, Captain?"

"Well... you'll find out tomorrow."

"Alright, Captain. I'll brew it for you," Barney said. "Come back tomorrow morning."

Leaving Barney behind, I headed toward the noble students' dormitory to return to my own room.

Several students were still lingering around the academy grounds, chatting about tomorrow's second round. Some looked irritated over losing bets, while others theorized about the spells and combat techniques the participants had used.

Arriving in my room, I took off my academy uniform and collapsed onto my comfortable bed.

"Alright, time to meet the real Raul and unlock another one of my Profound Codexes."

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The next morning, I returned to Barney's room to collect the potion he'd promised.

"Here, Captain, the effect only lasts an hour," he said, handing me a bottle filled with green liquid.

"You're sure this potion actually works?" I asked him, just to be safe.

That's because if this potion failed, my entire plan to defeat Vlad would fall apart completely.

"Of course, I already tested it earlier."

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After collecting the potion from Barney, I hurried toward the arena. The ticket booths were already packed with spectators eager to watch the second round.

It seemed I'd arrived a little late. Had the first match already started?

Entering the arena building, I spotted Miria coming down the stairs, heading into the corridor leading to the dueling arena. Several of her friends were seeing her off, offering words of encouragement.

"Miria, beat that senior, okay?" one of her friends said. "You're the last hope for the first-year class — don't let the seniors look down on us just because none of us made it to the quarterfinals."

"O-okay, I'll do my absolute best!" Miria shouted, clenching both fists.

Climbing the stairs, I passed the two of them. Before long, I arrived at the stands reserved for participants.

I took an empty seat in the front row.

"You're late, Raul. The match is about to start."

Hearing a woman's voice call out, I turned to the side. A beautiful gray-haired woman, looking every bit like Snow White, sat beside me, her focus fixed on the arena below.

"Princess Alisha, sorry, I had to prepare something before my own match later," I answered her.

At my words, she turned to look at me. Her blue eyes, like ice crystals, met mine directly.

"Hee~ Have you found the Blood Prince's weakness yet?" Alisha asked, sounding curious. "Your match against him should be quite interesting."

Honestly, analyzing and unraveling the mystery behind Vlad's abilities wasn't particularly difficult. It was simply that the perspective of someone actually fighting differed from that of someone merely watching.

"Will you finally reveal your own Nature Mana this time?" she asked further. "Yours is shadow, isn't it? I read it in the academy's student database."

So she was quite dedicated to this tournament, it seemed. Despite possessing powerful magic herself, Princess Alisha hadn't gotten complacent, still studying the abilities of the other participants.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to the second round of the Grunbelt Academy Tournament!"

Our conversation paused as the announcer's voice rang out.

In the center of the arena, a white-haired man and a brown-haired woman with a side ponytail stood facing each other.

"Isn't that your attendant?" I asked Princess Alisha, even though I already knew the answer.

"That's right," Princess Alisha answered, refocusing her attention on the arena. "Raul, who do you think will win?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," I lied to her. "I still don't know much about Leon's abilities, your attendant."

"Of course he's strong," Princess Alisha replied, her expression full of pride. "He might be the only one capable of defeating me in this tournament."

What Princess Alisha said held some truth. Given Leon's Profound Codex, the only real way to beat him would probably be through pure physical combat. Though I supposed that depended entirely on what level Leon's Profound Codex currently stood at.

"The first match will be Leon versus Miria de Coruna!" the announcer called out. "Are both competitors ready?"

Both nodded in response to the announcer's question. Leon drew his sword while Miria raised her hand.

"Then... the first match of the second round in the Grunbelt Academy Tournament, begin!"

Tree trunks began erupting from the ground the moment the announcer declared the match underway — Miria wasted no time activating her magic.

Meanwhile, Leon's sword began to glow. Judging by its color, it looked like he'd activated Avilar magic, a spell that sharpened a weapon's edge.

He then charged toward Miria using Accel magic.

Seeing this, Miria responded by attacking Leon with the tree trunks growing around her.

Leon dodged the first tree by leaping into the air, but two more of Miria's trees were already poised to strike him.

The white-haired man sliced through both trees with ease before landing back on the ground. Without wasting time, he planted his feet and charged toward Miria again.

Then, the ground around the arena trembled slightly — Miria had summoned even more trees than before.

The trees shot toward Leon once more.

He tried cutting down each incoming tree one by one. But he couldn't keep it up indefinitely, as Miria kept increasing the intensity of her assault.

Leon's body was sent flying backward, struck by one of Miria's tree trunks.

He landed on the ground and wiped away blood trickling from his mouth.

"He's impressive, isn't he?" I said, opening the conversation. "Even as a first-year, he's able to compete with a senior with far more experience."

Hearing my words, Princess Alisha touched her chin, as if thinking it over. "You're right, her magic isn't just powerful, that girl can unleash it in massive quantities too."

Actually, Miria's magical talent was fairly comparable to Princess Alisha's own. But Miria's mana control still seemed considerably behind that of my future wife.

Back to the fight. This time, Miria summoned even more trees throughout the arena. The trees then shattered into small wooden fragments, floating in the air.

Miria aimed her hand at Leon, and the wooden fragments shot toward him like bullets from a gatling gun.

Leon didn't move at all, looking completely relaxed. Dust rose into the air as thousands of wood fragments slammed into him, obscuring the spectators' view of what was happening.

Once the dust cleared, the spectators could finally see Leon, standing there completely unharmed, without a single scratch on his body or uniform.

"Huh? How is he completely fine after taking that spell head-on!?"

"Could it be he's already mastered Unreality Field?"

"Don't be ridiculous, he's only a second-year! There's no way he could use it that perfectly!"

The spectators and fellow participants looked genuinely shocked at what had just happened.

One of them had a point — there was no way an academy student could use Unreality Field that flawlessly. Even I had no shortcut to mastering that ability.

"They all seem completely unaware of Leon's true abilities," Alisha said, smiling as she watched her loyal attendant. "That's exactly why I said earlier that he's the only one capable of beating me in this tournament. With his ability, no spell can ever hurt him."

Hey Alisha, why are you praising another man right in front of your future husband? I have some pride too, you know.

It was true that Leon's Anti-magic ability made him appear completely immune to magical effects at first glance. But Princess Alisha had no idea there were certain limitations to Leon's ability, given it was still only at level one.

Besides, he happened to be in the same bracket as our idiot protagonist. She had no idea just how strong his plot armor really was — practically indestructible.

Back to the match. Miria looked shocked that her magic couldn't hurt Leon at all. She seemed to be trying to work out why that was.

But she didn't have much time to think it over. That's because Leon was already charging toward her again at speed.

My junior summoned more tree trunks from the ground once more, attacking Leon the same way as before.

Seeing this, the white-haired man easily cut through and dodged Miria's magical assault.

He then leaped to dodge a massive tree trunk hurtling toward him at speed. But just as Leon was about to land, a root suddenly burst from the ground and wrapped around his leg.

The root lifted Leon into the air and slammed him toward the arena wall. But just before his body could strike it, the root binding his leg suddenly shattered.

He landed on the ground and charged toward Miria once more.

My junior began looking increasingly panicked as the distance between them closed.

She then summoned a massive tree trunk shaped like a dragon — the same spell that had finished off her opponent in the previous match.

The tree dragon lunged toward Leon at speed, and the white-haired man began murmuring an incantation.

Before long, a semicircular blue barrier appeared in front of Leon.

The tree dragon slammed into the barrier, and Leon didn't even break stride. The tree dragon shattered completely upon impact with the blue barrier.

Leon then arrived right in front of Miria, his sword resting a single centimeter from my junior's neck.

Miria raised her hand and declared her surrender in the match.

"The second match of this round is won by Leon!"

The moment the announcer declared Leon's victory, applause erupted throughout the arena.

"What in the world is that white-haired man's ability!? That powerful-looking tree dragon didn't even leave a single crack on him!"

"I never expected the strongest first-year student to lose in this round!"

That had been Leon's Anti-Magic Domain in action. Every spell that struck him would automatically shatter on contact. Judging by its form, it was true that his Profound Codex was indeed still at level one.

Which meant there was still a gap, a way to get past his Anti-Magic Domain.

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