# Chapter 2: The Abyss Gazes Back
The Great Hall of Aethelgard Academy was designed to make you feel small.
That wasn't a metaphor. The ceiling was enchanted with spatial expansion magic, making the obsidian arches stretch endlessly upward into a faux night sky. Beneath it, a thousand students stood in formation, terrified silence hanging over them like a shroud.
I stood in the third row of the noble faction, keeping my posture rigid. My back screamed in protest. This body—Valerius's body—was soft. It was used to feather beds and carriage rides, not standing at attention for two hours while a senile Headmaster droned on about "Legacy" and "Honor."
Honor doesn't pay the bills, I thought, suppressing a yawn. And it certainly doesn't stop a fireball.
[System Alert]
[Current Villain Points (VP): 50]
[Shop Unlocked: Beginner Tier.]
I mentally opened the interface. The translucent blue window hovered in my peripheral vision, invisible to the rest of the world.
I needed a weapon. Not a sword—Valerius couldn't lift a broadsword without pulling a muscle—but a narrative weapon.
In the game, the Awakening Ceremony was Valerius's second humiliation. He would touch the Mana Crystal, it would glow a dull, pathetic grey (E-Rank), and the instructors would sneer. Baron Guntram would laugh. Caelum would look at him with pity.
I couldn't let that happen. A villain can be hated, but he cannot be pitied. Pity is death.
I scanned the shop items.
* Lesser Mana Potion (10 VP) – Useless.
* Basic Fireball Scroll (30 VP) – Too obvious.
* Aura of Fear (Passive - 50 VP) – Tempting, but I don't have the mana to sustain it.
Then, my eyes caught an item in the "Consumables" tab.
[Item: Shroud of the Nameless]
[Cost: 45 VP]
[Effect: For 3 minutes, your mana signature is obscured by chaotic interference. Assessment tools will fail to read your rank, returning an "Error" or "Void" result.]
[Visual Effect: Unsettling darkness.]
Perfect.
It wouldn't make me strong. It wouldn't raise my E-rank. But it would turn "weakness" into "mystery." And in this world, mystery was power.
Purchase.
[Transaction Complete. Item stored in Inventory.]
"Next! Caelum of the River District!"
The instructor's voice boomed, snapping me back to reality.
The murmurs began instantly. A commoner? Here?
I watched Caelum walk up the stairs to the dais. He looked nervous, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers. He placed his hand on the giant, floating quartz crystal.
Flash.
A blinding pillar of golden light erupted from the crystal, piercing the faux night sky. The heat was palpable, smelling of ozone and summer rain.
"Light Element!" the instructor gasped, adjusting his spectacles. "Mana Capacity... S-Rank!"
The hall erupted. S-Rank. The realm of heroes.
Caelum stood there, stunned, a goofy smile breaking out on his face. He looked into the crowd, seeking validation.
His eyes met mine.
I didn't scowl. I didn't look impressed. I simply raised a single eyebrow, looking at him as one might look at a dog that had successfully performed a trick. Good job, Spot. Now get off the stage.
Caelum's smile faltered slightly, his victory tainted by my indifference.
"Next! Valerius Thorne!"
The whispers changed tone immediately. From awe to mockery.
"Here comes the trash."
"I bet the crystal won't even light up."
"His father must have bribed the crystal to not shatter from embarrassment."
I ascended the stairs. Every step echoed.
[Active Skill: The Masquerade.]
My heartbeat slowed. My face settled into a mask of aristocratic boredom. I reached the dais and looked at the instructor—a wrinkled old mage named Professor Lorne.
"Proceed, Mr. Thorne," Lorne said, not bothering to look up from his clipboard.
I reached into my pocket, pretending to adjust my glove, and crushed the invisible [Shroud of the Nameless] card in my hand.
A cold sensation, like ice water, rushed up my arm.
I placed my hand on the crystal.
Showtime.
I expected a glow. I didn't expect the sound.
Thrummm.
A low, bass vibration shook the floorboards. The crystal didn't glow white or gold. It turned pitch black. Ink-like tendrils began to swirl inside the quartz, devouring the light from the room.
The air temperature plummeted. The golden light from Caelum's turn felt like a distant memory.
"What..." Professor Lorne stepped back, his wand raising instinctively. "What is this?"
The crystal began to crackle. The reading needle on the mana gauge was spinning violently back and forth, unable to find a number.
[System Warning: Item Effect Active. Intimidation Factor High.]
I removed my hand before the item expired. The blackness vanished instantly, leaving the crystal clear and inert.
Silence. Absolute, suffocating silence.
"Result?" I asked, my voice cutting through the quiet.
Professor Lorne stammered. "I... The reading was inconclusive. It... it registered as Void. An anomaly."
"Anomaly?" I scoffed, dusting off my glove. "Or perhaps your equipment is simply too antiquated to measure nobility."
I turned to the crowd. They weren't mocking me anymore. They were confused. Unsettled.
Guntram, the boar-like noble from earlier, looked pale. He couldn't understand what he had just seen. Was it power? Was it a curse?
I walked down the stairs. I was still E-Rank. I was still weak. But now, I was the "Void Anomaly."
As I stepped off the final stair, a shadow blocked my path.
The temperature dropped again, but this time, it wasn't my item. It was actual, biting cold. Frost began to creep across the stone floor, freezing the moisture in the air.
I looked up.
Seraphina von Zephyr stood before me.
She was taller than Caelum, possessing a lithe, dangerous grace. Her silver hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall of moonlight, and her amethyst eyes were currently dissecting me, layer by layer.
In the game, Seraphina ignored Valerius entirely. He was beneath her notice.
Now, she was blocking my way.
"Valerius Thorne," she said. Her voice was melodic, soft, and terrifying. It sounded like wind chiming through a graveyard.
"Lady Seraphina," I replied, bowing my head slightly—just enough to be polite, not enough to be subservient. "You are freezing my boots."
She didn't move. She stepped closer, invading my personal space. The scent of winter roses filled my nose.
"You are a liar," she whispered, too low for the crowd to hear.
My heart skipped a beat. Did she use Inspect? No, my System blocks that.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I watched you," she murmured, her eyes narrowing. "At the gate. You let that boar insult you, then you crushed him with words. And just now... that crystal didn't react to mana. It reacted to... something else."
She reached out, her gloved finger tracing the line of my jaw. It took every ounce of my willpower not to flinch. Her touch was cold enough to burn.
"Everyone says you are trash," Seraphina said, a small, dangerous smile touching her lips. "But trash is boring. And you... you are suddenly very interesting."
She leaned in, her lips inches from my ear.
"Don't disappoint me, Valerius. I break the things that bore me."
She pulled back, the frost receding as if it had never been there, and walked past me toward the dais for her turn.
I let out a slow, controlled exhale.
[System Alert]
[Relationship Update:]
[Seraphina von Zephyr: Interest Level 15% (Fixation initiated).]
[Warning: High-Risk Target.]
I adjusted my collar, my hands shaking slightly beneath my gloves.
I had survived the ceremony. I had fooled the school. But I had caught the eye of the monster.
One day down, I thought, walking toward the exit. Only three years to go.