I was sprawled out on the couch in my dorm, the soft glow of the TV lighting up the dim room.

Not that I was watching news or anything remotely useful, no, I was binging anime.

The episode was reaching that insane cliffhanger point, the kind that makes you want to scream at the screen because you know the next scene is going to change everything.

My attention was locked, my body leaning forward in anticipation, when it happened.

The system window blinked into existence, cutting straight through the scene like a rude notification from hell.

A glowing panel hovered right in front of me.

==== Villain Quest ====

Word:

True power doesn't only come from having high stats alone.

Quest Info:

Steal a technique from The Aegis Collective.

Reward:

Performance-based.

Time Limit:

72 hours.

Penalty for Failure:

All stats reduced by 5.

=============

I froze, eyes scanning the words. By the time I finished reading, I let out a loud sigh and slumped back into the couch.

Of course. So this was why the system had been pushing me, sharpening me, dangling quests in front of me like treats in front of a starving dog.

The warm-up was over. My duty as a villain had officially graduated into something serious.

And now it wanted me to rob The Aegis Collective.

Great. Just great.

Sitting up straighter, I rubbed my temples and forced my brain into planning mode.

Infiltration wasn't some casual side errand, it was messy, dangerous, and worst of all, complicated.

An organization that hoards techniques? That was basically a vault of living weapons. Probably second only to robbing a bank, probably.

I leaned forward.

"System," I said, "tell me everything about 'Aegis Collective.'"

By now, talking to the system was second nature. For the last five days I'd been conversing with it more than with actual humans.

It had become something like an assistant, a subordinate that existed solely to help me be a villain.

The creepy part? Sometimes it felt too natural. Too human.

A response flashed instantly.

[Sure! The Aegis Collective is an organization dedicated to the preservation of arts. They believe that certain techniques are too dangerous to be widely known and must be protected, studied, and only used in the most dire circumstances.]

I blinked at the words, processing.

So, basically a bunch of hoarders. They keep powerful stuff locked away instead of using it, just because it's dangerous. They just… sit on it.

[Almost precisely!]

The window pulsed like it was pleased with me.

[They aren't 'evil,' but they are intensely secretive, elitist, and isolationist. They see themselves as shepherds of humanity. However, their refusal to share their strength during smaller conflicts makes them appear arrogant and cold.]

I snorted.

So they're not villains. Just the kind of 'neutral' that makes you want to punch them in the face.

[Correct!]

I dragged in a slow breath, steadying myself.

Neutral or not, that didn't make this easy. In fact, it made it worse.

Secretive organizations don't exactly leave the back door unlocked.

"This is going to be hard…" I muttered, already imagining how tight their security had to be.

Dangerous, ancient or normal techniques stored away? No way they left that unguarded.

The place would be crawling with elites, maybe even monsters in human form.

If I went in unprepared, I wouldn't just fail, I'd be crushed.

That meant I needed two things: information and power. Lots of it.

Information would tell me where the cracks in the walls were.

Power would let me actually slip through them without being turned into paste.

At least I knew how to level up now. That part wasn't the issue. Timing was.

I leaned back against the couch, watching the faint reflection of my own face on the darkened TV screen after the anime episode had ended without me noticing. My expression was tight, focused.

Three days. That's all I had.

"Alright," I whispered to myself, "tomorrow, right after class, I start moving."

The thought of robbing an organization like the Aegis Collective should have terrified me.

Maybe it did, a little. But underneath the anxiety was something else. Excitement. A thrill I hadn't felt before.

This was me stepping onto the villain's stage. It didn't feel that bad.

----------

The window was way more interesting than whatever was happening inside this classroom.

The clouds were shifting lazily, the sunlight streaming through in patterns that made me feel like I should be outside doing something else. Anything else.

I'd come early today, don't ask me why. Maybe I was trying to act like a model student for once, though we all know that's a joke.

More importantly, I hadn't even touched today's villain quest yet. Still sitting there in the back of my mind like an unread text message.

I wasn't planning to leave it undone, of course, I'd get to it right after this little circus.

But first was the little circus… the rank announcement.

Everyone said the waiting period was supposed to be this big emotional storm.

People bouncing between joy, fear, nerves, excitement, all that. And, yeah, it was. For everyone else.

For me? It was boring. The kind of boring that made me consider banging my head against the desk just to feel something.

My eyes drifted sideways, landing on Yara.

She sat there as calm as ever, dark eyes fixed on nothing in particular, not a twitch of emotion crossing her face.

She hadn't looked my way since sitting down, hadn't so much as acknowledged that I was breathing the same air.

Honestly? It was the best thing she could've done for me. Ignoring me was the safest possible outcome.

But… something about it didn't sit right. It was familiar. Too familiar.

I remembered the last time she played this silent game, right after I annoyed her.

She ignored me all day, pretended I didn't exist… and then casually dropped the threat of expelling me like it was a fun after-dinner topic.

So, yeah. Forgive me if her silence didn't exactly bring me peace of mind.

Still, she looked bored too. Which, well, made two of us.

That boredom shattered the second the classroom door swung open.

Every student stiffened. The conversations cut off. The entire atmosphere flipped, from restless to suffocatingly tense.

Instructor Gari walked in, his face calm, unreadable as always.

But it wasn't only him that entered. A woman also walked in behind him.

The academy secretary, Pims. Clipboard, no, tab, in hand, sharp heels clicking against the floor like countdown ticks on a clock.

She didn't even need to say a word; you could feel the weight of her presence pressing down on the class.

And just like that, all the whispered prayers, the bragging, the fake confidence, it all vanished.

This was the moment of truth.

Pims stopped at the front, lifted her chin, and scanned us like we were bugs pinned on display.

Then her voice, crisp and controlled, cut through the silence.

"Good morning all. Your first-year assessments have been graded and ranked. Many of you performed to expectation. Some… did not."

Her eyes moved across the room, cold and precise, and I could've sworn they lingered on me for half a second too long. My stomach gave a small twist.

She looked down at her tab.

"I will now call your names and announce your rank. So let's begin."

The first name she spoke was like a thunderclap.

"Yara Wall."

Of course.

I blinked at the back of her head, stunned for a moment even though I should've expected it.

She was first? Just like that?

Was her assessment really that good? I mean, yeah, she was terrifying and all, but rank one?

"Rank One," Pims said, her lips curving in the faintest, professional smile. "An exemplary performance, Yara. The examiners are still discussing your efficiency in completing two concurrent simulation tests. A remarkable feat, the best of all first-years we have ever had."

The room seemed to hold its breath. And Yara?

She didn't so much as blink. Just gave the tiniest nod, her face flat, unimpressed, like being the literal number one of our year was about as exciting as remembering to bring a pen to class.

I wanted to laugh.

If that was me? I'd be standing on the desk, declaring myself emperor of the academy.

But her? Nothing. Not even a flicker of satisfaction.

She probably didn't realize the gravity of it.

Rank One wasn't just a title, it was a spotlight.

Every guild, every organization would be circling her like vultures, desperate to recruit her.

They couldn't officially make their move until graduation or third year, but that never stopped the whispers, the favors, the constant hounding.

And she just sat there like it meant nothing.

Meanwhile, I caught something else.

The way Secretary Pims spoke to her. The praise in her tone. The little smile.

That wasn't how she'd spoken to me when I first got here. Not even close.

It looked sus...

*****

The names kept rolling out, a steady rhythm of victory and disappointment.

Some kids slumped in relief, some sat up straighter, others looked like they wanted to sink into the floor.

I tuned most of it out, waiting. Just waiting for my own name.

And then I heard it.

"Ryan Nether."

The sound dropped into the room like a stone into water. Ripples of silence spread out.

Some heads turned toward me. A few eyes narrowed, a few widened.

I felt the weight of their gaze pressing down, heavier than it had any right to be.

For a split second, I wondered why. Then I remembered.

Of course. My assessment. My name. People had been there, watching.

My fight had left an impression whether I wanted it to or not.

Pims raised her eyes from the tab, and for the first time, her expression shifted, though just barely.

Something unreadable flickered there, a pause, like even she wasn't sure what to make of me.

And then—

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