Chapter 63: Preparation

In a quiet courtyard, the two young men shouting furiously were the same disgraced Dragon Knights who had stirred up trouble for Vinny a few days prior.

These two were reckless—completely unaware of the importance of restraint.

Born into noble families and raised without ever tasting hardship, they had developed a delusion that the entire world should bend to their will.

Youth, as always, was blindingly naïve.

“We worked our asses off to get into the Dragon Knights, gave it everything we had—and because of that damn rat, it all went to waste! Our bright future, gone! Can you honestly just swallow this?!”

The hot-tempered noble slammed the table.

“So what do you want to do? We’ve already been expelled! What the hell are we even supposed to tell our parents?”

“It’s all that damn rat’s fault!” the other spat, grinding his teeth—blaming everything on Vinny.

But what about [N O V E L I G H T] Charon, the one who stirred things up? Or Mirecia, the one who personally had them thrown out?

One was the son of the Knight Commander.

The other, the princess of the Kingdom of Camellia.

They didn’t dare point fingers at either of them. Not even if they were given ten lives to try.

So, all their resentment landed on Vinny.

It’s all that damn rat’s fault.

He was going to die anyway, so why couldn’t he just lie down and let us step on him?

How dare he resist? Does he even deserve to resist?

The more he thought about it, the angrier the hot-headed noble got.

Sure, they were still nobles—still heirs to their family estates even if they weren’t Dragon Knights anymore—but the humiliation?

That was something they just couldn’t take.

It was absurd. Their whole lives had been smooth sailing—servants bowing, compliments flowing. No one ever told them they were wrong. They truly believed they were born to succeed, no matter what.

And now? Their reputation shattered. Their futures crushed... all because of some worthless rat they’d never even taken seriously.

And their families?

Laughing at them.

Mocking them.

How the hell were they supposed to tolerate that?

After stewing in silence, the hot-tempered youth’s eyes gleamed with malice. A twisted grin crawled across his face.

“Heh. I’ve thought of a way to deal with that damn rat.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“The entrance exam for Cariliman Academy is coming up, right?”

“That bastard’s actually got a spot in the entrance exam?”

“Yeah. He didn’t earn it himself—the king handed it to him like a pity prize,” the first sneered.

“Wait, wait—you’re thinking of messing with him during the exam? But we’re already enrolled, aren’t we?”

“We can’t do it ourselves. But who says others can’t?” he grinned wider.

“There are plenty of nobles and even talented commoners who hate that damn rat. All we need to do is nudge them a little, toss in some incentives... and they’ll be happy to ‘take care of’ him in the Dungeon.”

“But that kind of stuff is strictly banned, isn’t it?”

“Banned?” he snorted. “If you don’t say anything, and I don’t say anything, who’s gonna find out? No one’s going to question it if the guy gets ganged up on. Everyone wants to punch his face in anyway.”

“Still... isn’t it kinda pointless? Do you really think he’s gonna pass the exam?”

“Him failing is one thing. Me wanting him beaten bloody is another. They’re not mutually exclusive.”

“So? If you’re not against it, then we’re settled.”

“Sure, killing’s off the table during the exam... but if someone were to beat the bastard into the ground, maybe even cripple him a bit?” He grinned cruelly. “That’d be perfect.”

****

In just a few days, Cariliman Academy would hold its opening ceremony—and with it, the freshman screening examination.

Knowing how things played out, Vinny was well aware the king would be the one to hand him his exam qualification.

After all, the whole “descendant of the goddess” thing made it politically inconvenient to ignore him—even if most people didn’t believe it.

Not that Vinny could explain it to them.

How could he?

What, was he supposed to transform into Vanessa in broad daylight, stand beside the goddess statue, and ask the clergy, “So? Do I look like her?”

That’d just get the Church’s knights banging down his door.

So no, he wasn’t about to explain anything. Let them whisper whatever they wanted.

In the meantime, Vinny was busy working on something else—training.

For the past two days, he’d been pushing himself to improve his physical fitness, especially in his normal state. The goal? Endure wearing [Armor Fortress] for longer without burning out.

He also hit up almost every Soul Armament shop in the capital, hoping to find some usable skills.

And that’s when the real despair set in.

Because [Armor Fortress] was really living up to its one-star rating.

Vinny spent days scouring the entire capital—and still didn’t find a single magical skill he could use.

Everything armor-related was just boring brute force.

Not totally worthless in combat, sure—but close.

Honestly, it was a miracle armor-type Soul Armaments hadn’t gone extinct already. Everyone knew they were trash. Only those with zero magical talent even considered using them.

Skill acquisition in this world boiled down to three things:

Magical Talent — the quality that determined the upper limit of which Soul Armaments you could consume.

Elemental Affinity — the element you're most aligned with, influencing the power and type of magic you could learn.

Chosen Soul Armament — which determined what kind of skills and abilities you had access to.

Take [Magic Swordsman], for example. It couldn't cast something like [Fireball] the way a proper mage’s Soul Armament could—but it could let you coat your sword in elemental magic and turn every slash into a magical strike.

Pretty damn cool, and it only needed three stars of magical talent.

Meanwhile, [Armor Fortress]?

The bottom of the barrel.

Vinny’s synchronization rate with it was at 100%, but until the Soul Armament matured, he’d still be vulnerable as hell against magic.

Why?

Because [Armor Fortress] took time to activate and deactivate. No instant toggling. In battle, that lag could get him killed.

At this early stage, sure—most people didn’t have overwhelming magical power yet. But still, charging into a spellcaster’s barrage while wearing heavy armor?

Basically suicide.

Last time, he’d lived thanks to a charmed pendant, and the fact that the enemy attack had hit it dead-on.

Next time?

What if it wasn’t fire-elemental?

What if the pendant didn’t help?

The odds weren’t in his favor.

Those few extra points of fire resistance meant jack.

He couldn’t just scream “Vanessa, save me!” in front of the entire Academy.

After going in circles for hours, Vinny made up his mind.

If he couldn’t rely on magic in combat, he at least needed something.

And with nothing left to lose, he stepped into the final Soul Armament shop in the capital.