I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Thomas PoV]

I was just an ordinary commoner's son from a village at the very edge of the Empire. My mother worked as a plant gatherer, and my father sold clay pots for a living.

We lived a modest life, and I never imagined I'd end up at the most prestigious academy in the entire Empire.

But fate had other plans, the day I befriended a young girl, the daughter of the Baron who ruled over the village where I lived.

We played together for five years straight. She dreamed of becoming a great knight of the Empire. But that dream was one she'd never be able to reach herself, having been born with a frail body.

Unwilling to watch her keep grieving over a dream she couldn't chase, I made her a promise—that I would become the knight she wished to be, someday.

I started training hard from that point on, working at her family's estate clearing plants to earn enough money to enroll in a good elementary school in the city.

When I turned thirteen, I left my village to sit for the entrance selection at that school. She gave me a lucky pendant before I left. She told me she hoped that when I returned, she'd see a brave, gallant knight riding on horseback, someone who could take her on adventures to all the wondrous places across the Empire.

To make a long story short, I managed to get into the elementary school in the nearest city. I studied there for three years, working toward the scholarship that would let me enter Grunbelt Academy in the imperial capital.

Every year, I ranked among the top five in that school. I studied and studied endlessly, chasing that scholarship, which was only awarded to the top three students on the final exam.

In the end, when graduation results came in, I placed third overall at that city's elementary school, earning my place at Grunbelt Academy.

I cried without end that day, spending hours offering prayers of gratitude at the Temple of Goddess Diana for finally answering what I'd wished for all this time.

After receiving that good news, I wrote to that girl, telling her I was just one step closer to fulfilling her dream and keeping my promise. But nothing went the way I'd planned once I actually enrolled at Grunbelt.

At this academy, knowledge alone wasn't enough—students had to demonstrate everything through actual practice. On top of that, everyone who made it into this academy was the best of the best.

The reason I'd been accepted was my knowledge of magic and combat techniques, but I simply couldn't execute any of it properly in practice.

Only about ten percent of the academy's students came in through scholarship, and most of us struggled badly to keep up with those admitted through the standard selection process.

They beat me in every duel, outmatched me physically at every turn, leaving me nearly ready to give up on my education here entirely.

I'd even come close to being deemed unfit to advance to the second year.

Realizing this, I tried joining one of the academy's clubs and picked up the Brawler class.

After joining, I was given guidance to focus on developing a single fighting style. My progress was noticeable, but I still lagged far behind members who'd joined back in their first year.

I kept losing every time I sparred against them, and the other club members started looking down on me because of it.

It all came to a head today, when I lost to a first-year student. Several club members dragged me into Eldwood Forest and started beating me there.

"Aren't you ashamed, losing to a junior!?"

Those words cut deep. I wanted to become strong—I wanted to fulfill that girl's dream for her.

I wanted her to look at me with pride and wonder when I finally returned as a true knight.

I'd thought I could make her dream come true simply because I had a healthy body, unlike her. But I'd underestimated this whole problem far too much. Only a select few ever became knights, and it had nothing to do with whether your body was sick or healthy.

None of that mattered at all.

The ones who achieved it were the truly gifted...

An ordinary, weak person like me could never reach it...

At first, I'd just wanted to play the hero, easing her sorrow by achieving the dream she never could...

I wanted to prove to her that I was someone special, despite my humble background...

I wanted to hear her praise when I returned after graduation, bearing the title of knight...

But look at me now, sobbing on the ground while being urinated on by my own bullies...

Unable to fight back, able only to mourn my own fate...

I really was pathetic...

What would that girl think if she saw me like this? Would she be disappointed? Would she forget about me, the man she once thought strong, now revealed as nothing but a loser next to all these gifted students?

"I want to become strong..."

I knew it was nothing more than an empty wish...

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—Tap... tap... tap...

While I was still wallowing in my own miserable fate, I heard footsteps approaching.

"Hey, want me to teach you how to become strong?"

At those words, I lifted my head. A man in a second-year uniform stood before me.

"Wh-who are you? I've never seen you before," I asked him.

His face felt entirely unfamiliar. I knew most of the faces in my year fairly well. But I couldn't recall ever seeing him around the academy.

"Of course you wouldn't remember me," the man answered. "I only arrived at this academy a few days ago."

Could he be a transfer student? What did he want from me? Why was he asking me this?

"If you want, I can make you stronger, strong enough to get back at the people who've been bullying you," the man said, smiling at me.

Become strong...? Of course I wanted that!

I wanted to make them pay for what they'd done!

I wanted to prove to everyone who'd always looked down on me that they were wrong!

I wanted... I wanted... I wanted to become strong and finally keep my promise to that girl.

But how? I was just a weak man with nothing to my name. I envied the noble children and wealthy kids who could train in combat from a young age, becoming strong the way they were now.

I was just a poor man's son, with no support for anything like that.

"I want to become strong..." I answered him quietly.

The man stepped closer and leaned in near my ear.

"Good... your first step toward becoming strong is destroying the people who've been bullying you... understand?" he whispered to me.

Me? Destroy people far stronger than I was? If life were really that simple, I wouldn't be suffering like this in the first place.

"I'm just a weak loser who can't do anything! What do you mean, destroy those bullies!" I snapped at him, irritated by his nonsense.

The man then stepped back, putting some distance between us. "That's exactly your problem," he said coldly. "You need to get rid of that oppressed, inferior mindset of yours by defeating the people who bully you."

He then reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a small bottle filled with a purple liquid.

"Slip this into their food or drink, lure them somewhere quiet, and finish them off as quickly as you can," the man said, smiling in a way that sent chills through me.

"Wh-what is this thing?" I took the bottle from his hand.

"Just a single drop of this liquid entering someone's body is enough to weaken them, leaving them as helpless as a small child," the man explained. "They'll lose consciousness within a few minutes, and when they wake up, their memory will be somewhat disrupted."

Would getting rid of them this way bring back my confidence? Did I still have any hope left of becoming strong?

"Once you've dealt with your bullies, I'll give you something even more interesting," the man said, sounding excited. "And I guarantee it—this will grant you power, instantly!"

.

.

.

The next day, I made my way toward the Brawler club's room, located beside the Student Council building, once classes had ended.

Inside my uniform pocket sat the bottle of purple liquid the mysterious man had given me. For some reason, I'd forgotten to even ask his name, probably because my mind had been consumed entirely by the revenge I was about to carry out.

The three of them usually lounged around in the club room after classes let out.

Arriving there, I opened the door and saw the three who'd bullied me the day before, sitting comfortably, chatting away.

"Yo, Thomas! You finally showed up!"

"As usual, go buy us some food from the cafeteria!"

"And don't forget to clean this room once we're done eating, got it!"

This was my daily life—always trampled on, always ordered around by them, threatened constantly with expulsion from the Brawler club.

I hated them.

Starting today, I would make them pay for everything they'd done to me!

Heading to the cafeteria, I bought them the food and drinks they always craved. Having served as their servant for so long, I knew exactly what each bully preferred.

But before heading back to the club room, I first mixed their food with the purple liquid the mysterious man had given me.

Before long, I returned to the club room and handed them their food and drinks.

"Hey Thomas, what took you so long this time?" one of them asked, taking a sip of the water I'd already laced with the purple liquid.

"Sorry, I found a wallet full of money on the way," I answered him. "But I couldn't carry it since my hands were full with the food. Looked like it belonged to some noble—there was a huge amount of cash inside."

"Seriously!? What are you waiting for!? Take me there before someone else grabs it!" the man said, looking thrilled.

Look at his greed—he wouldn't even let me go get it myself, afraid I might pocket some of the money for myself.

Of course, I'd made the whole story up.

"Alright, follow me."

I led him into a narrow alley between two academy buildings. It was the perfect spot for bullying someone, tucked away in a corner of the academy grounds, rarely passed by anyone.

"Where exactly did you find that wallet, Thomas!" he demanded, grabbing me by the collar.

I could see the liquid starting to take effect—his eyes had begun losing focus, and his hands had started to tremble.

—Smack!

I brushed his hand away easily this time, shoving his chest to push him back.

"What the hell, Thomas! You think a loser like you can stand up to me!?" the man shouted, clearly irritated.

But I stayed calm, not the slightest bit panicked. The liquid's side effects were kicking in, exactly as the mysterious man had said.

"Feh! I'm done taking orders from you, you bastard!"

At my words, the man lunged toward me, trying to throw a punch. But I dodged it with ease, his movements now painfully slow.

"Get over here, loser!"

He tried again to land a hit on me, but his effort was pointless.

—Bam!

I punched him hard in the stomach, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Ughh... what's wrong with my body? Why does it feel so heavy?"

I climbed on top of him and started pummeling his face without mercy.

Hit him, hit him, hit him...

I let loose all the emotion I'd bottled up from the suffering they'd put me through. Every humiliation, every degrading thing they'd done to me—I paid it all back now, without a shred of mercy.

"Take this, you rotten bastard! Die! Just die!"

I kept beating him over and over, blood soaking my hands, until he finally lost consciousness after all those blows.

"HAHAHAHA! CAN'T FIGHT BACK NOW, CAN YOU!?"

I started stomping on his body, then unzipped my pants and urinated on him, just as they'd so often done to me.

Ahhh... I never imagined revenge could feel this satisfying...

Pulling out a knife I'd kept hidden inside my uniform, I intended to finish this bastard off for good.

After this, only two remained, and then the mysterious man would give me something that would make me far, far stronger.

—Tap... tap... tap

Damn it!

I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps and voices chatting, drawing closer.

Why did luck favor this piece of garbage!?

No, I couldn't kill him now. It would be too risky if they learned my identity! I had to run.

[Raul PoV]

So he really did intend to kill him...?

The human heart truly is fragile. Still, I couldn't bring myself to judge him, not after learning his reasons for doing this.

Right now, I was positioned atop a building overlooking where Thomas had been beating that man. Earlier, I'd instructed Eric, one of my subordinates, to head down and pretend to approach, hoping it would make Thomas abandon his intent to kill.

If that didn't work, I'd have no choice but to step in myself and take Thomas down. But my plan would fail if I captured him outright right now.

"Captain, why are we letting him get away?" Eric asked, clearly confused by my decision.

"I'm letting the small fish go, so we can catch a bigger one, Eric," I answered, deliberately vague.

I wanted to see what exactly Prince Vlad would give Thomas next. Something capable of making a person suddenly strong never came without equally horrifying side effects.

My guess narrowed down to two possibilities: either Vlad had some kind of connection to a demon, similar to Duke Alvaro, or he possessed a Devil Fruit, some relic left behind by the ancient demon race.

Only time would tell, for now.

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