Ever since Julian was chosen by The Augury Crystal as the sole Heir of the Adler family, internal conflict within the family erupted.
Those who were not chosen refused to accept it because Julian was the illegitimate son of their father. they believed that The Augury Crystal, which had long served as the guide for selecting Heirs for each of the Seven Great Noble Families, had finally malfunctioned.
the most vocal opponent was Wilhelm Von Adler. Naturally, he was the eldest and the legitimate son of the Adler family.
However, there was nothing he could do because the selection by The Augury Crystal was considered Absolute, having served faithfully for hundreds of years.
Wilhelm, feeling insulted, constantly tried to bring Julian down, but every attempt failed as if Julian were protected by something. Furthermore, Julian remained completely indifferent in his responses.
Therefore, to vent his frustration, Wilhelm shifted his target to Julian's younger biological brother, Edward.
Mocking him.
Bullying him.
Even occasionally resorting to violence.
Hoping that the cursed brat would feel unwelcome and leave.
He did this without Julian's knowledge—or perhaps Julian already knew but simply remained silent.
That was why, without Julian's presence, the Adler noble residence was a living nightmare for Edward.
Even now, as Edward was about to leave for University, all the members of the Adler's family—numbering more than seven—stared at him with sneers.
"Look at that. How can a nerdy brat like him be called a noble?"
"*Chuckles* Truly embarrassing."
Sarcastic remarks had become Edward's daily bread to the point where he no longer felt anything.
'Maybe it's because I'm not as indifferent as my brother that they always do this to me.'
'I have to put on a poker face like him.'
Even though Julian was sometimes harsh toward him, Edward remained convinced that his brother didn't actually want to act that way, as they shared beautiful memories of being commoners before all of this happened.
He only wanted to make him strong.
===
My destination is one of the central hubs of the story: the Grand Asteria Crucible Academy.
Because of that, there are naturally many Named Characters there who are destined to kill Julian in the future.
So, I shouldn't be surprised if my Death Progress has increased to [40%], right?
Yes, I'm serious.
I checked it multiple times, but that is indeed what it says.
"Ehh... s-should I just turn back?" Seeing the Death Progress spike so drastically made me break into a cold sweat.
Glancing out the car window, the Tower of the destination was already visible from here.
On second thought, turning back would be useless since it would likely keep rising anyway. In fact, I think it would be scarier if it rose slowly. So, my choice was correct.
Instead of worrying about this, I'd better check my statistics—
I tapped my forehead twice, and the Interface screen appeared before me—
===
Physical Strength: D-
Agility: D
Endurance: D
Stamina: D
Vitality: D
[Points: 10]
[Mana: 2009]
===
There's nothing special about the physical statistics. I sighed. Languidly, I swiped the Interface screen to check the SP (Skill Pages) and Special Aspects.
It turned out Julian possessed three Skill Pages with two empty slots.
Two of them were D-rank silver Skill Pages common in the game: 'Steel Body' to enhance the physique and 'Iron Heart' to fortify the mind.
Each provided only a five percent effect with a Mana cost of ten per second.
However, the final blackish-red SP made my jaw drop.
It was an SSR Skill Page.
Unfortunately, it was locked.
When I touched it, a new Interface screen appeared.
===
[To use this, you require the memories of the body]
How am I supposed to get the memories? Wasn't the process a failure? I asked myself.
[Processing]
[You can obtain memories by continuing the plans made by this body]
Then, a quest appeared: [Plan Continuation Progress] with a reward per plan equal to a certain percentage of Julian's memories, but without any description of what the plans were.
Good grief, what is this now?
Continuing the plans? Let me guess, those plans definitely involve his role as a Villain in this world, don't they?
===
I dismissed the system from my sight.
I have no intention of continuing Julian's plans because I am not him.
Ignoring that, I proceeded to check Julian's 'Special Aspects' and found [Life Vision], [Hearing], and many more, testing them one by one.
Finally, my car arrived in front of the Magic Academy gates.
My luxury car came to a halt; I opened the door myself even though the driver had already rushed to open it for me.
The driver looked confused and frightened by my sudden movement. He probably thought I was angry. In reality... I'm just not used to being a noble who always has doors opened for him.
Hehe, sorry, Mr. Driver.
A few steps before entering the gate, I encountered the guards.
I half-expected to be punished for being more than an hour late. In fact, I wasn't. The guard actually saluted me.
So this is what it feels like to be an important person, huh? Even breaking the rules can be overlooked? I shook my head.
After that, I stepped through the gates.
And just as depicted in the game, this Academy had a vast courtyard filled with luxurious buildings. One of the Academy towers almost touched the clouds. In a corner of the Academy sat a massive Colosseum usually used for sparring.
I had practically memorized everything here.
Seeing this place in person left me in awe. It's much better than seeing it through a screen.
It felt like déjà vu.
Entering the Academy campus, I immediately looked for my class listed on Julian's name card.
After a few exhausting minutes, I finally stood in front of my classroom.
[10-B]
Before entering, I straightened my clothes. I took a deep breath. Then, I slowly pushed the door open.
===
"As you know, the Interface screen and its contents such as 'Statistics', 'Special Aspects', and 'Skill Pages' can only be seen by the owner. The same goes for their weaknesses.
"Therefore, do not reveal your abilities to others. Not only because someone could learn your weaknesses, which would be bad enough, but some people might be so interested in your abilities that they would want to steal them by killing you..."
The Professor, who introduced himself as Thorne, explained at length about the basics of the Interface Screen, before gradually moving on to the use of conventional magic outside of the general system…
However, none of those explanations reached the ears of a blonde-haired girl named Sarah, because her head was currently noisier than the
amplification magic used by Professor Thorne.
'A week has passed...' Sarah glanced at the empty seat that should have been occupied by the person she had been waiting for.
Her fists clenched tightly.
Then, while Professor Thorne was teaching, the door suddenly opened slowly.
Sarah glanced over. Dozens of students in the class looked in the same direction.
From behind the door emerged a pale man with jet-black, shimmering hair. His eyes, which possessed silver irises, had a deep gaze. And though his face looked flat, it did not hide the charm and handsomeness that could make women gossip about him for a long time.
But that didn't apply to Sarah.
Upon seeing his physical features, she was now certain that he was the masked figure who had killed her father with a smile.
'Julian Von Adler... It really is you. You're the one I saw there.' Sarah's hands clenched so hard her nails dug into her palms.
She wanted to retaliate, that was her reason for entering this Academy, but she had to hold back for now.
"Oh, Lord Adler. You've only just arrived. Please, take your seat," Professor Thorne said nonchalantly.
"Wait a moment, Professor!" Sarah stood up from her chair, her chest burning with anger.
"That person is more than thirty minutes late. According to the rules, a teacher must punish that student. So why is he being let off so easily?!"
All the students' eyes turned to Sarah. Her seatmate tried to calm her down, but that didn't stop her.
"O-oh, well... right now I'm not—"
"I know he is a noble. But that doesn't mean he can just escape the rules, does it? You must be professional."
===
Why do that woman's words feel like she hates me personally?
As a result of the blonde woman's words, all the students were influenced to demand justice.
The Professor stood awkwardly, confused about how to make a decision.
I sighed…
Dammit, this is my first day here and I'm already running into trouble like this.
However, the woman's words were true.
I approached the Professor by a few steps, then bowed.
Maybe Julian wouldn't do this?
"What she said is correct, Professor. I apologize. And you should punish me."
[-5%]