The Villian Who Broke The Story

Kael arrived late.

Again.

At this point, nobody in Class 1-A even looked surprised.

The door opened slowly, and Kael walked inside with the same tired expression he had worn almost every morning since transferring into the class.

His uniform was neat enough.

His hair wasn’t.

And judging from the way he yawned, he had probably spent more time sleeping than getting ready.

Lyra stopped in the middle of writing on the board.

She turned.

Their eyes met.

Kael smiled awkwardly.

"Good morning."

Lyra stared at him.

"You’re late."

Kael looked at the clock.

Then at Lyra.

Then back at the clock.

"...By how much?"

"Twenty-three minutes."

Kael scratched his cheek.

"That’s not too bad."

The entire classroom became quiet.

Lyra slowly put the chalk down.

"Twenty-three minutes."

"Yes."

"You consider that not too bad?"

"When you put it that way, it sounds worse."

Felix covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

Zion simply shook his head.

Auriella remained seated with her usual straight posture, though Kael could have sworn he saw the corner of her mouth twitch.

Lyra sighed.

"Take your seat."

Kael immediately headed toward his usual place.

"Actually, before you sleep..."

Kael stopped.

Lyra pointed at him.

"Today isn’t a normal lecture day."

Kael blinked.

"What?"

"We aren’t having lectures today."

Kael’s expression brightened.

"Free day?"

"Study day."

His expression immediately fell.

"That’s the same thing with a different name."

"No, it isn’t."

"It sounds the same."

Lyra ignored him.

"The theory examinations are approaching, and the academy has decided to give every first-year class time to prepare. You are free to study whatever subjects you need to review."

Kael slowly sat down.

"So we still have to work."

"Yes."

"That’s unfortunate."

Lyra looked at him.

"You’re one of the top-ranked students."

"Exactly. Which means I should be allowed to rest."

"That isn’t how it works."

Kael sighed.

He placed his head on the desk.

"Wake me up when the exam starts."

Lyra’s eye twitched.

"Kael."

"I’m listening."

"You are literally lying down."

"I’m listening horizontally."

Felix finally laughed.

Lyra pointed toward the books.

"Study."

Kael lifted one hand weakly.

"Yes, ma’am."

His hand dropped.

Within seconds, he was asleep.

Lyra stared at him.

Then at the rest of the class.

"Ignore him."

The students gradually returned to their studying.

For almost half an hour, Kael remained asleep.

The classroom filled with the quiet sounds of pages turning.

Pens scratching against paper.

Occasional whispers.

Someone sighing in frustration.

Kael slept through all of it.

Until someone kicked the leg of his chair.

He didn’t move.

Another kick.

Nothing.

A third.

Kael finally raised his head.

"What?"

A girl stood beside his desk.

Vedia.

She had her arms folded and was staring down at him.

"You’re sleeping."

Kael blinked several times.

"I noticed."

"We’re supposed to be studying."

"You’re studying."

"So are you."

"No."

Vedia frowned.

"You haven’t changed."

Kael looked at her for a moment.

There was something strangely familiar about standing across from her like this.

Before the academy.

Before the tournament.

Before everything became complicated.

They had known each other for years.

There had been a time when seeing Vedia meant nothing more than knowing someone familiar was nearby.

Then their families had decided they were going to be engaged.

Then they had broken it off.

Neither of them had ever properly talked about how strange the whole thing had been.

Kael leaned back.

"Why are you bothering me?"

"Because I remember what you used to be like."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"That’s ominous."

"You hated studying."

"I still do."

"You’d complain whenever your tutors gave you work."

"They were terrible tutors."

"They weren’t."

"They were."

Vedia pulled the chair beside him and sat.

"You used to say that you would memorize everything the night before an exam."

Kael smiled.

"And did it work?"

"No."

"It worked sometimes."

"Only because your mother bribed your tutors."

Kael’s smile disappeared.

"...That happened once."

"Three times."

"Details."

Vedia opened her book.

"Come on."

Kael stared at it.

"No."

She looked at him.

"Yes."

"No."

"Kael."

"Vedia."

"Study."

"I don’t need to."

She paused.

"You’re confident."

Kael shrugged.

"I’ve seen most of this."

Vedia looked suspiciously at him.

"Most of it?"

Kael nodded.

He couldn’t exactly explain that he had spent countless hours playing the game this world was based on.

That he had encountered the academy’s examination material repeatedly.

That he knew which subjects would appear.

Which questions were usually considered difficult.

Which concepts teachers liked to emphasize.

And which topics students consistently misunderstood.

To him, the material wasn’t new.

It was old.

Almost painfully old.

But saying that would raise far more questions than he wanted.

So Kael simply opened the textbook.

"Fine."

Vedia smiled.

"Good."

She pointed at the first section.

"Explain this."

Kael glanced at the page.

"Mana circulation."

"Yes."

"Mana naturally moves through the core before circulating through the body’s channels. The efficiency depends on the quality of the channels, the strength of the core, and the user’s control."

Vedia stared at him.

Kael looked back.

"What?"

"You didn’t even read the page."

"I did."

"You looked at it for two seconds."

"I read quickly."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Continue."

Kael sighed.

"The three basic stages are circulation, refinement, and release. Poor circulation leads to inefficient mana usage. Poor refinement causes instability, while poor release control results in unnecessary mana loss."

Vedia slowly lowered her book.

"Since when?"

Kael shrugged.

"I’ve been paying attention."

"You sleep through half the classes."

"I pay attention to the important parts."

Zion, who had been studying a few seats away, finally looked over.

"That’s actually correct."

Kael pointed at him.

"See?"

Zion returned to his book.

"Don’t look so proud. It’s basic theory."

Kael frowned.

"You could support me a little."

"You don’t need support."

Vedia laughed quietly.

"Some things never change."

Kael looked at her.

"What does that mean?"

"You always had someone correcting you."

"That’s because everyone enjoys bothering me."

Vedia smiled.

"Maybe."

They continued.

Vedia asked him questions.

Kael answered almost immediately.

Elemental interactions.

Mana density.

Domain formation.

Combat theory.

Dungeon classifications.

Monster weaknesses.

Even some of the more obscure history surrounding the founding of the academy.

Kael knew almost everything.

At one point, Vedia closed her book.

"You’re different."

Kael glanced at her.

"How?"

"You weren’t this good before."

Kael remained quiet.

She continued.

"Even before the tournament, I knew you were talented. But this is different."

Kael looked down at the textbook.

"I trained."

"I know."

She paused.

"I fought you during the tournament."

Kael looked up.

Vedia’s expression had become more serious.

"I remember that fight."

Kael smiled faintly.

"You lost."

"I know."

"I wasn’t trying to rub it in."

"You just did."

Kael laughed.

Vedia shook her head.

"But that’s not what I mean."

She looked directly at him.

"During that fight, I couldn’t recognize you."

Kael’s smile faded.

"You moved differently."

"I improved."

"That’s not all."

Vedia rested her chin on her hand.

"You fought like someone who had already seen the fight before it happened."

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly.

For a moment, he wondered if she had noticed more than she should have.

Then Felix suddenly leaned over from the desk behind them.

"Maybe he’s secretly a genius."

Kael looked at him.

"Maybe."

Felix nodded seriously.

"Or maybe he’s possessed."

The atmosphere went quiet.

Kael stared at him.

Felix immediately raised both hands.

"Bad joke."

Vedia gave him a look.

"Very bad joke."

"Sorry."

Zion sighed.

"Can everyone stop discussing demons for five minutes?"

Kael leaned back.

"I agree with big brother."

Zion looked at him.

"Don’t call me that."

"But you are."

"I regret acknowledging you."

Auriella, who had remained quiet throughout most of the conversation, finally spoke.

"Kael."

He turned.

"Yes?"

"Answer this."

She slid a sheet of paper toward him.

Kael looked down.

It was a complicated theory question involving mana control and combat applications.

He read it.

Then answered.

Auriella looked at the response.

Correct.

She looked at Kael.

"You answered that quickly."

Kael shrugged.

"I’ve seen something similar."

Auriella nodded.

She didn’t seem completely convinced.

Vedia, however, smiled.

"Then you’re studying with me."

Kael’s expression dropped.

"Wait."

"No."

"I already proved I know everything."

"Exactly."

"So I can stop."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you need practice."

Kael looked toward Zion for help.

Zion deliberately looked away.

"Traitor."

"You brought this upon yourself."

Kael sighed.

He picked up his pen.

"Fine."

For the next hour, Vedia kept him working.

Kael answered questions.

She corrected his handwriting.

He corrected her answers when she made mistakes.

Zion occasionally joined the discussion whenever the topic became complicated.

Auriella quietly contributed when combat theory came up.

Felix occasionally made comments that had absolutely nothing to do with studying.

And somehow, despite Kael’s complaints, the classroom became comfortable.

It reminded him of something he couldn’t quite put into words.

Not the game.

Not the academy.

Not even his old life.

Something simpler.

People sitting together.

Arguing over answers.

Making fun of each other.

Studying because they had to.

For once, Kael wasn’t thinking about becoming stronger.

He wasn’t thinking about the next dungeon.

He wasn’t thinking about his strange connection to the original Kael Draven.

He wasn’t thinking about the simulated version of himself.

He was simply sitting in class.

With people he had somehow grown used to being around.

Vedia nudged his shoulder.

"Kael."

"Hm?"

"You’re falling asleep."

Kael’s eyes were already closing.

"I’m resting my eyes."

"You said that twenty minutes ago."

"And it was true then too."

Vedia shook her head.

"You really haven’t changed."

Kael smiled.

"Maybe not."

She looked at him for a moment.

Then smiled back.

"Maybe that’s not such a bad thing."

Kael didn’t answer.

He simply picked up his pen again.

The examination was approaching.

He already knew he would pass.

But for some reason...

he didn’t mind studying today.

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