Chapter 11
"Oh, the room looks cool," he thought to himself.
The room was a disaster. The bed was positioned in the middle, close to the door. To the left stood a wardrobe and a cabinet; to the right, a shower stall. Straight ahead, a large glass mirror offered a great view of the garden, the pond, and the back of the school, where another lodge stood close by. The floor was cluttered with training equipment and half-eaten delivery food. A table and chair sat in front of the bed, and on the table, a sword stand held three different swords, each one completely unique.
"I guess he was a total otaku before I came in," Vincenzo thought. "Anyways, time to clean," he muttered, starting to tidy up the mess.
Ding Ding!
Synchronisation complete.
A torrent of memories flooded his mind. My name is Alexander Rutherford Vincenzo; I am the third child of my father, the patriarch. I was a genius, but not for very long.
It all started during the Sword Ascension, which all five families attend. It's a celebration congratulating us for becoming mages. One of my family's weapons should have resonated with my mana, but instead, my mana resonated with three of the famous swords belonging to our first patriarch.
Two weeks later, after taking my entrance exam to the most popular academy for heroes, I was almost assassinated. As a result of protecting myself, my core shattered. Since then, I haven't been able to use mana.
Then yesterday, I was almost assassinated again—by who I thought were my close friends, Edward and Elliott. I managed to escape, but they were keeping an eye out for me during class. They even changed the beast from an F-rank to a D-rank for my final test.
The vision faded.
"And they ended up killing him," Vincenzo finished, the truth settling in.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Alexander Rutherford Vincenzo
Title: None (Yet)
Level: 1
System Level: 0/100
HP: 100/100
MP: 30/30
Stats: Strength: 7 / Agility: 6 / Intelligence: 7 / Vitality: 7 / Sense: 0
Stat Points: 0
Skills:
[ Alexander Swordsmanship ] Lv 1
[First Form: Void Slash]
Description of Void Slash: A foundational, high-velocity vertical slash that momentarily absorbs all light around the blade just before impact. This subtle visual distortion makes the attack appear to strike from an impossible angle or disappear for a fraction of a second, aiming to disrupt the enemy's visual timing. This move is a prerequisite for all future offensive forms.
[ Shadow Blend ] Cost: 3 MP / Lv 1 / CD: 4 Seconds
Description: Generates a faint visual distortion around the user's outline for 5 seconds, resulting in a -5% penalty to enemy Accuracy against the user.
[ Shadow Bullet ] Cost: 7 MP / Lv 1 / CD: 3 Seconds
Description: Condenses MP into a single, high-velocity projectile of pure shadow. Inflicts higher base damage than Shadow Darts.
But at least he had pretty good stats. "And he's learned two skills," Vincenzo said, looking at the three swords on the cabinet. "Or is it because of the swords?"
But how did that bastard manage to do all this? And why did he send me to the future after sending me to the past ninety-nine times? Vincenzo thought, running a hand over his head. "I have to know what happened," he muttered. "I remember being killed by the Demon Lord, and then I met that bastard Umbra, and then... I'm here."
"Besides," he continued his internal debate, "how do I deal with those two—Elliott and Edward? With his current stats, I can easily deal with 'em, but it would be hard."
Ding Ding!
MISSION: PURGE ASSASSINS
OBJECTIVE: Neutralize Edward and Elliott (Confirmed Traitors) and eliminate all immediate threats to the host.
TIME LIMIT: 48 Hours
REWARD: +50 EXP, +1 Stat Point, Protocol: Core Stabilization I unlocked, System Level Progress: +10.
CONSEQUENCE: Failure: [Shattered Core] Debuff is permanent.