The Whispering Woods was not a place meant for freshmen.
Located directly behind the towering obsidian walls of the Royal Magic Academy, this C-Rank danger zone was a chaotic, sprawling forest corrupted by residual demonic mana from ancient wars. For the freshmen's three-day survival trial, the Academy heavily strictly instructed them to stay within the outer fringes, where the sunlight could still reach the ground and the most dangerous things were Tier-2 Slimes or Horned Rabbits.
But deep within the inner zone, the rules of the world changed.
Here, the canopy of twisted, black-barked trees grew so thick that it completely blotted out the sun. A constant, suffocating gray fog hung in the air, carrying the faint, nauseating stench of rotting vegetation and dried blood.
Squish. Snap.
A heavy leather boot broke through a thick layer of rotting leaves, snapping a hidden twig.
"Leon... please. We have to turn back," a trembling voice pleaded.
Tim, a chubby commoner student who used to look at Leon Bright with absolute hero worship, was now leaning against a damp tree trunk, gasping for air. His cheap Academy robes were torn to shreds, revealing nasty, bleeding scratches on his arms and face.
Next to him was Mark, another commoner. Mark was clutching his left thigh, which was slowly turning a sickly shade of purple from a venomous spider bite they had suffered an hour ago.
"Turn back?" Leon Bright whispered, his voice dangerously low.
Leon hacked viciously at a thick wall of thorny vines blocking their path with his cheap iron sword. Slash! Slash!
He looked nothing like the radiant, confident "Son of Fortune" who had challenged Victor Nightshade at the Awakening Ceremony. His golden blonde hair was matted with sweat and mud. His eyes were deeply bloodshot, surrounded by dark circles, giving him the manic, feverish look of a desperate gambler.
"We are not turning back!" Leon suddenly spun around, his voice cracking into a furious roar that echoed unnervingly through the silent fog. "We are so close! I can feel it! My destiny is just ahead!"
Tim flinched, shrinking back. "Leon, you're not making sense! You're hurt! We're all hurt! This is the inner zone! If we run into a Tier-5 beast, or god forbid, something stronger, we are all dead!"
"And what awaits us if we go back?!" Leon marched up to Tim, grabbing the chubby boy by the collar of his torn robes. "A life of being stepped on! A life of being laughed at by those arrogant, inbred nobles! Do you want to go back and polish Victor Nightshade's boots?!"
At the mention of Victor's name, a violent spasm of pain tore through Leon's chest.
He let go of Tim and staggered backward, clutching his heart. He coughed violently, a few drops of dark blood splattering onto the mossy ground.
The phantom pressure of that terrifying, abyssal black dragon aura returned to haunt him. That single, careless touch from Victor hadn't just shattered the indestructible Monolith; it had completely fractured Leon's S-Rank Light mana core.
Every time Leon tried to channel his mana now, it felt like someone was driving a rusted nail directly into his heart. The Academy's Head Healer had looked at him with pity, stating that unless he received a miracle, his path as a mage was over.
I refuse, Leon thought, his eyes burning with a twisted, fanatical fire. I am the Light! The heavens chose me! They wouldn't give me an S-Rank talent just to let a villain like Victor destroy me!
His 'Protagonist Intuition'—that mysterious, heaven-sent instinct that had always guided him to lucky encounters since he was a child—was screaming at him. It was a rhythmic, pulling sensation in his mind, guiding him deeper into the deadly fog.
It told him that ahead lay a supreme treasure. A miraculous plant known as the [Starbloom Herb]. It possessed purifying properties so potent that it could not only instantly repair his fractured core but also forcefully elevate his rank straight to the Expert tier.
Once I find it... Once I consume it... I will show everyone! I will expose Victor's dark magic to the Church of Light! I will make him kneel in the mud, just like he made me!
"We keep moving," Leon commanded coldly, turning his back on his terrified companions. He forced a tiny bit of his cracked Light mana into his sword, illuminating the dark path ahead, even though the effort made his face pale with agony. "If you want to run away and be cowards, go. But don't expect to share in the glory when I return."
Mark and Tim exchanged terrified, regretful glances. They had followed Leon because he was supposed to be their beacon of hope against the noble faction. But now... he just seemed crazy. However, without Leon's Light mana to guide them back through the fog, they would definitely die. They had no choice but to drag their injured bodies and follow him.
Meanwhile, sixty feet above the miserable group, the world was completely different.
The air up here was cooler, free from the nauseating fog and the stench of decay.
Standing effortlessly on a thick, moss-covered branch of an ancient oak tree, completely concealed by the dense shadows of the canopy, was Victor Nightshade.
He wasn't covered in mud. He wasn't bleeding. In fact, his bespoke black and gold-trimmed Academy uniform was so immaculately clean that he looked like he was about to step into a royal ballroom rather than a deadly forest.
Victor casually leaned his shoulder against the broad trunk of the tree. In his right hand, he held a perfectly crisp, red apple that he had ordered his private chef to prepare that morning.
He took a slow, elegant bite. Crunch.
The sweet, refreshing juice was a stark contrast to the miserable atmosphere below.
"System," Victor called out in his mind, his tone completely relaxed. "Activate the Destiny Radar."
[Ding!]
[Destiny Radar Activated. Tracking the Son of Fortune's signature.]
[Cost: 10 Villain Points per Minute.]
A translucent, highly advanced holographic blue map expanded in front of Victor's eyes. It mapped out the entire topography of the inner Whispering Woods.
Right below him on the map, a bright red dot was moving slowly and erratically. That was Leon.
But Victor's gaze was focused on what lay about half a mile ahead of the red dot. There, a golden icon shaped like a glowing treasure chest was pulsing rhythmically on the map.
[Target Encounter Detected: Supreme Tier-3 Magical Plant - Starbloom Herb.]
[Current Status: Guarded by a Tier-8 Novice Magical Beast (Iron-Hide Bear).]
"Look at him go," Victor chuckled softly, peering down through the leaves to watch Leon hack aimlessly at a bush. A cold, thoroughly amused smirk played on Victor's lips. "Dragging his injured 'brothers' into a death trap just to fix his own shattered pride. And the Church calls my magic evil? How hypocritical."
To Victor, Leon was no longer a threat. He was an incredibly efficient, self-driven treasure-hunting hound.
Victor didn't need to struggle through the thorns. He didn't need to fight the venomous spiders hidden in the bushes.
He simply finished his apple, tossing the core carelessly into the abyss below.
Victor's violet eyes glowed faintly. He locked his gaze onto another deep shadow cast by a massive tree branch a hundred meters ahead.
Shadowstep.
He didn't chant. He didn't expend massive amounts of mana. His body simply dissolved into a wisp of elegant, dark smoke. The world blinked, and in less than a fraction of a second, Victor materialized flawlessly on the distant branch.
Below him, Leon and his lackeys suddenly stumbled into a nest of Tier-4 Acid-Spitting Centipedes.
"Defend!" Leon screamed as the massive insects lunged from the mud, spitting highly corrosive green acid.
Tim shrieked as a drop of acid melted through his sleeve, burning his skin. Leon recklessly swung his sword, ignoring his own defense, getting violently whipped by a centipede's tail. Blood splattered across the leaves. It was a desperate, ugly, chaotic fight for survival.
High above, Victor watched the bloody spectacle for a moment, his expression one of complete, aristocratic apathy.
"Work harder, hero," Victor whispered to the wind, his voice smooth like dark silk. "The treasure is waiting."
With another silent activation of Shadowstep, the Ultimate Villain vanished deeper into the forest, arriving at the destination long before the protagonist even knew what was waiting for him.