Chapter 143: Chapter No.143 Protagonists Are Villainous?!
The only thing stopping me from beating the living shit of out this lizard is...I\'m weak.
Weaker than this bastard who seems to have everything handed to him on a silver platter. I can\'t stand it. Watching him surrounded by those talented girls, all eyes on him like he\'s some sort of hero—it just makes my blood boil.
Who does he think he is anyway? Just because he\'s strong, he thinks he can act like he\'s better than the rest of us. Well, I\'ve got news for you, Samael Ashwood. Power and talent aren\'t everything. You might be riding high now, but your luck will run out eventually.
"Hey, Aiden," a voice called out, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was my friend, Marcus, one of the few people in this academy who shared my disdain for Samael. "You see that smug look on his face again today? I swear, it\'s like he\'s taunting us."
I turned to Marcus, who had the same frustrated look I felt inside. It was comforting to know that someone else saw Samael Ashwood for who he truly was. That smug arrogance, that air of superiority—how could everyone else not see it?
"Yeah, I saw it," I muttered, clenching my fist. "It\'s like he thinks he\'s untouchable, like nothing can ever go wrong for him."
"Well, someone needs to bring him down a peg," Marcus said, crossing his arms. "The guy walks around like he\'s already won the whole academy, like he\'s the next big thing. What about the rest of us who actually have to work for our power?"
"Exactly," I agreed, my voice filled with bitterness. "He didn\'t earn it. He\'s just lucky, born with talents handed to him on a silver platter. And then he has the nerve to act like he\'s this great leader, like he\'s the only one who can save everyone else."
Shush! Shush!
"Professor is Here!"
I quickly turned my attention back to the front of the class, forcing myself to let go of the anger simmering within me. This wasn\'t the time or place to show my frustration. But as the professor entered, the flicker of resentment remained, smouldering just below the surface.
Marcus leaned over, whispering under his breath, "One of these days, Aiden. One of these days, we\'ll show him what we\'re made of."
I nodded slightly, a small, grim smile forming on my lips. "Yeah," I replied, my voice almost a growl. "He won\'t stay on top forever. His time will come."
"Here! Listen here, I have an announcement to make," Professor Lincoln walked into the classroom, his voice booming as he commanded attention. The chatter of the students quickly died down, and all eyes turned to him.
"This year\'s mid-term exams are turning up, and this time instead of a written test and combat test, the academy council have decided to make it even harder by replacing the combat test with a dungeon exploration test—"
"What!"
"Are you serious—"
"We Can\'t—"
"We\'ll Die—"
"SILENCE!" Professor Lincoln released a burst of mana pressure to quiet the uproar from the students. His sharp gaze swept across the room, ensuring that everyone was paying full attention before he continued. "Yes, you heard me right. The combat test has been replaced with a dungeon exploration test this year.
The academy council believes that real-world experience in handling life-and-death situations will be far more valuable than simple sparring matches."
"And since you all are \'elite\' students of the first-year batch, You all have to work \'extra\' hard since those who fail will be expelled from this elite class and join other standard classes," he added with a smirk, his eyes gleaming with amusement at the visible tension in the room. "This isn\'t just a test of strength—it\'s a test of survival, strategy, and teamwork.
So, if you\'re not up to the task, now\'s the time to realize that this academy doesn\'t tolerate mediocrity."
T-This... This is my chance!
A sinister thrill ran through me as the professor\'s words sank in. A dungeon exploration test? A test of survival, strategy, and teamwork? This was it—the perfect opportunity to prove myself and crush that arrogant bastard, Samael Ashwood. No more sitting in his shadow, watching him bask in the admiration of everyone around him.
If there was one place where things could go wrong for him, it was a dungeon, where the stakes were real.
I leaned closer to Marcus, whispering in a low, conspiratorial tone. "This is it. The chance we\'ve been waiting for."
Marcus glanced at me, an excited gleam in his eye. "You think we can do it? Take him down in the dungeon?"
"Not directly," I said, keeping my voice low. "But dungeons are unpredictable. All we need is one misstep, one moment where he lets his guard down, and then…" I clenched my fist. "He\'ll fail, and when he does, we\'ll be there to rise in his place."
Marcus grinned, catching on to my plan. "And with him out of the way, we can take the top spot."
"Exactly. But we need to be smart about it," I cautioned. "We can\'t just go after him openly. We\'ll use the dungeon to our advantage, set traps, manipulate situations, make him think he\'s invincible—and then we\'ll let the dungeon do the rest."
Marcus nodded, his excitement barely contained. "We\'ll start planning right away. There\'s no way that pompous fool will see this coming."
As Professor Lincoln continued to speak about the details of the dungeon test, I sat back in my seat, already formulating a plan. Samael might think he\'s untouchable, but this dungeon would test everyone\'s limits—and I\'d make sure his downfall was one of them.
His reign at the top was about to end, and I\'d be the one to make sure of it.
But first I too build a reliable team, Now it only consists of me and Marcus we need to find a few more skilled members to round out our group. We couldn\'t afford to be careless in our selection—every team member would need to play a critical role in taking Samael down.
After class, Marcus and I stayed behind, reviewing the faces of the students we knew could be of use. "We need people who are cunning, not just strong," I muttered. "We can\'t rely on brute force alone."
"Agreed. We should approach Remi," Marcus suggested. "She\'s an illusion specialist. If we can create confusion in the dungeon, it\'ll be easier to set traps or make Samael second-guess his decisions."
"Good call," I nodded, already visualizing how useful Remi\'s illusions could be. "And maybe Eric for muscle—he\'s a physical combat expert, and we\'ll need someone to handle close encounters if things get messy."
"Yeah, he\'s not the smartest, but he\'s dependable in a fight. We\'ll talk to them after training tomorrow."
As we mapped out potential recruits, a dark excitement churned in my chest. We were finally making moves, and Samael Ashwood wouldn\'t see it coming. His team may be strong, but no one was unbeatable. All it would take was the right strategy and a well-timed moment of weakness.
By the time the dungeon test rolled around, we would be ready. And when we faced off, it would be his fall that everyone remembered—not his rise.
And then, I would take the top spot I deserved.
Now, let\'s go find my beautiful crush Seraphina. I still remember a month ago how that bastard almost killed her, I will definitely kill that scoundrel—Then I saw her...with that bastard laughing and...blushing?!
WHAT?!
WHY!!!
I thought she hated him too, then why was she acting like that around him?!
This isn\'t right. Seraphina should despise Samael just as much as I do! After what he did to her, I thought she\'d see him for the fraud he truly is, the arrogant snake hiding behind that charming smile. But now… she\'s laughing with him? Blushing? How did he manage to turn her against me too?
This isn\'t fair! It\'s not right! How does he do it? How does he always manage to twist things in his favor, to make everyone around him fall for his act?
Marcus seemed to notice my distress, his eyes narrowing as he followed my gaze to Seraphina and Samael. "So, she\'s with him now, huh?" he muttered, his voice dripping with contempt. "I thought she had more sense than that."
"She does," I snapped back, my voice laced with desperation and anger. "She must have more sense than that! This has to be some kind of trick. Samael\'s manipulating her, I know it!"
"Maybe," Marcus said, his tone hardening. "Or maybe she\'s just like the rest of them—blinded by his so-called \'charm.\' You know how he is, always playing the hero. But we can\'t waste time worrying about her if she\'s already fallen for his act."
I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles turned white. Seraphina was supposed to be different. She was supposed to be mine. And now, she was on Samael\'s team? This dungeon test was my chance to prove myself to her, to show her that I could be the hero she needed—not some silver-tongued fraud like Samael Ashwood.
I took a deep breath, struggling to calm the storm of emotions raging inside me. No matter what happened, I wouldn\'t give up on Seraphina or my goal of taking down Samael. If anything, this just made me more determined than ever.
"Fine," I said, my voice steady but cold. "Let her join his team. It\'ll make it all the more satisfying when we crush them in the dungeon. We\'ll make sure Samael fails so spectacularly that even Seraphina will have no choice but to see the truth."
Marcus grinned, a dark glint in his eyes. "Now that\'s the spirit. We\'ll take him down, Aiden. And when we do, Seraphina and everyone else will see him for what he truly is."
"You\'re right," I agreed, my resolve hardening. "This dungeon test is going to be the beginning of Samael Ashwood\'s downfall. And when it happens, I\'ll be the one standing on top, with Seraphina by my side."
I turned away from the sight of Samael and Seraphina, the fire of my determination burning hotter than ever. I might be weak now, but that was going to change. I would train, I would grow stronger, and I would find the perfect moment to strike.
.
..
...
[To Be Continued]
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Stone Me!, I can take it.
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