Chapter 21 - 20: Fools and Masters
Victor took a long, slow sip from his porcelain coffee cup, allowing the rich, dark roast to warm his throat as he leaned back in the high-backed velvet armchair. Beside him, Aria stood in absolute, motionless silence. Her eyes, cool and sharp, remained fixed on the floor ahead, her shadow flickering faintly against the candlelight as she waited patiently for her master’s command.
Victor flicked his fingers, calling forth the translucent blue window that shimmered silently in his line of sight.
[System Status Panel]
Host: Victor Vance
Academic Year: 3rd Year (Imperial Royal Academy)
Mana Core: True Sovereign Core (Evolved / Unrestricted)
Current Mana Capacity: Tier-5 Apex (Refining Phase: 86%)
System Directive: Eradicate the Hero’s Providence & Reclaim the Crown
Active Dominance Attributes
Aura of the Sovereign (Maximized -Pressure Command): Radiates a smooth, terrifying pressure that can make other senior students stiffen or be used to instantly suppress opponent’s energy.
Fate-Shattering Perception (Passive - Truth & Illusion Lineage): Allows Victor to scan environments for narrative anomalies and view the underlying "destiny" and vulnerabilities of targets.
Shadow-Binds of the Master (Active - Bound Retainers: 2): Tracks and manages those who have submitted to his core.
Bound Retainers
Lady Lyra von Frostguard (Affection: Absolute / Core Linked)
Under 100% Devotion (Absolute Binding) after her divine seal was destroyed.
Aria (Affection: 72% / Absolute / Shadow Linked)
Bound as a shadow retainer with absolute submission.
Target Progress
Elena von Crest: Favorability 14% | Status: Curious, Nervous, Suspicious, Anxious
Mission Status: A Date with Saintess - Successful (+500 Villain Points)
Current Villain Points: 11,500 / 45,000 (Required for Evolution)
Unlocked Skills
Obsidian Mana Control: Allows him to coat his palms in a dense, liquid shield of obsidian-black mana capable of withstanding holy light attacks and breaking enemy structures.
Shadow Strider: Enables instantaneous short-range phase-stepping through ambient shadows, completely masking heat, sound, and mana signatures.
Dominator’s Authority: When used, his voice carries a deep, irresistible authority that demands immediate compliance.
Unlocked Titles
[The True Sovereign]
[Acquired System Items
Bond of Submission
Cursed Collar of Absolute Devotion
Contract of Absolute Possession]
Victor rested his chin on his knuckles, contemplating the numbers.
So evolving to Tier 6 is still far away, he thought, letting the panel fade from view. Regardless, there is no rush. The Hero is still far weaker than me. My biggest strength is that I know the plot-as long as I have that, I’ll win every single time.
A slight, satisfied smirk touched his lips as he recalled Lyra’s favorability. A perfect 100%. She was, without question, his most obedient and loyal woman. As for Aria, she was proving invaluable at keeping tabs on the Church’s internal movements. The King hadn’t made his move yet, though according to the original novel’s timeline, he would act soon. And Elena? She would be his slowly, but surely.
The grandfather clock in the corner ticked heavily. Forty minutes had passed. There was still no sign of Silas Kross.
Suddenly, a loud, sharp knock echoed against the grand front door.
It wasn’t Silas.
When Aria opened the door, a pompous-looking man dressed in fine silk stepped into the foyer, flanked by two imposing guards carrying heavy, enchanted longswords. Victor’s Fate-Shattering Perception instantly picked up their mana signatures both guards possessed Tier 3 cores.
Victor didn’t rise. He calmly gestured for the man to sit. The servant took a seat across from Victor with an smug, relaxed posture, adjusting his cuffs as if he owned the room.
"Where is Silas?" Victor asked smoothly, setting his coffee cup down with a soft click. "Why isn’t he here?"
The servant scoffed softly, crossing his legs. "My master is extremely busy, Lord Victor. He cannot spare the time to meet with you."
Victor raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Our master cannot personally come to meet an Academy student with no real standing," the servant replied, his voice dripping with condescension. "The only reason Master Silas sent me was to instruct you not to contact him again. He cannot afford to have his reputation tarnished by associating with someone like you."
Victor’s face remained completely unbothered. He leaned back in his chair, taking in the man’s arrogant expression.
"So that means he won’t come?" Victor asked softly.
Before the servant could offer another word, Victor spoke over him, his eyes turning pitch black. "Then lead me to him. Since he won’t come to meet me... I’ll meet him instead."
Victor had no interest in wasting time. The novel’s plot was already accelerating into its next major phase, and he needed to secure the mining rights to that rich mana vein before Lucas or the Church caught wind of it.
The servant let out a harsh laugh. "Can’t you understand what I just said, kid? Master cannot meet"
BANG!
In a flash of motion too fast for the eye to track, Victor leaned across the table, grabbed the servant by the back of his head, and smashed his face flat into the solid mahogany table. Wood splintered. Blood sprayed across the white tablecloth.
"Master!"
The two Tier 3 guards instantly drew their blades, surging forward to strike. But before they could even step past the rug, two pitch-black blades of compressed shadow hovered directly against their throats.
Aria stood behind them, her expression completely detached as her shadowy threads wrapped tightly around their wrists and necks, completely neutralizing their mana before they could even channel a spell. She didn’t go for the kill she simply pinned them in place, utterly helpless.
Victor didn’t even glance back at the guards. He kept his gloved hand firmly pressed onto the back of the servant’s skull, lifting the man’s bloody, ruined face off the wood.
"What’s your name?" Victor asked casually.
"R-Raymond..." the servant choked out, coughing up blood as he trembled violently beneath Victor’s grip.
"Raymond," Victor said, his tone as light as if he were asking about the weather. "Take me to Silas, or I can kill you right here. And ask those guards? Hm?"
Raymond’s heart seized in sheer terror. Looking up into Victor’s cold, empty eyes, he realized with sickening clarity that this wasn’t an arrogant young noble playing villain this was a monster whose hands were thoroughly soaked in blood. He wouldn’t hesitate for a single second to end his life.
All the rumors they had heard in the capital were wrong. They thought Victor was just a spoiled playboy who had somehow seduced Lyra and relied on a lucky ancient artifact to push back the Hero. Neither Raymond nor Silas knew what had actually transpired at the Sunken Temple, nor did they know about Victor’s ruthlessness with the Church. The Church had buried the truth behind fabricated lies to protect their own shame and mask Lucas’s humiliating defeat.
If Silas had known the truth, he never would have dared to act so brazenly.
Victor smiled, though there was no warmth in it. He raised his fist and punched Raymond squarely in the jaw again. CRACK.
"Have you become a retard by being hit on your head?" Victor murmured, handling the man like a broken, useless toy. "Let me hit you a few more times to fix you."
"PLEASE! FORGIVE ME, LORD!" Raymond sobbed, blood running down his chin, his words slurring together in sheer agony. "I’ll take you to Master Silas! Please spare me!"
Victor let go of his hair, a satisfied, genial smile returning to his face. He patted the man on the shoulder and helped him stand up.
"See? You should have done that from the beginning," Victor said smoothly. "Now... lead the way."
Raymond staggered back, his knees shaking uncontrollably. He glanced at his two elite guards men who had reached Tier 3 without noble backing through pure combat experience and saw them utterly subdued by a shadow assassin without a single drop of sweat spilled.
Raymond swallowed hard, a wave of cold regret washing over him. He had walked straight into a lion’s den.
He turned around on trembling legs and began walking toward the door, praying he would make it out of the night alive.
Victor stepped up behind him, planting the tip of his boot firmly onto Raymond’s rear, shoving him forward.
"Walk faster, pest," Victor commanded coldly.
Raymond broke into a frantic, trembling shuffle, wiping the cold sweat and blood from his face. "Y-Yes! Yes, sir!"