The atmosphere in the Academy Plaza was suffocating. Twelve minutes had passed since the start of the exam, and the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Most of the students were staring at the blue "Hard Mode" portal, waiting for Kaelen. The red "Nightmare" portal—the one I had stepped into—was largely ignored, dismissed as a tomb.
"He's dead," a noble student whispered, shaking his head. "Vayne is arrogant, but to enter a difficulty meant for veterans? He evaporated instantly."
"Shame about the face," a girl muttered. "But he asked for it."
Suddenly, the blue portal rippled.
A figure stumbled out, collapsing onto one knee as he hit the marble floor. It was Kaelen.
He looked like he had been through a meat grinder. His academy uniform was shredded, revealing fresh, bleeding cuts on his arms and chest. His face was bruised, one eye swollen shut, and he was gasping for air like a man drowning.
But he was smiling.
The magical scoreboard above the gate flickered to life, tallying his performance.
[Student: Kaelen]
[Difficulty: HARD]
[Time: 45:10 (Time Dilation Applied)]
[Rank: S (New Freshman Record!)]
The silence broke. The crowd erupted into a roar of approval.
"He did it! He survived Hard Mode!" "Look at that rank! An S-Rank on the first day?" "He really is a genius! A true commoner hero!"
Kaelen wiped a streak of blood from his lip, pulling himself to his feet. He looked around, basking in the cheers. He had pushed himself to the brink of death, fighting goblins and wolves with nothing but grit and determination. He felt validated. He felt heroic.
I did it, Kaelen thought, his eyes shining with pride. I proved that courage matters more than privilege.
He turned his gaze toward the red portal. It was silent. Dark. Unmoving.
Kaelen's expression softened into a look of pity. "Lucas... you fool. You threw your life away for pride."
The Proctor shook his head solemnly. "We will send a recovery team to retrieve Student Vayne's body. It is a tragedy, but—"
HUMMMMMM.
A low, vibrating bass note cut through the cheers. It didn't come from the speakers; it came from the ground itself.
The Red Portal didn't ripple. It pulsed.
The blood-red light twisted, turning a deep, abyssal black. A chilling mist began to spill out of the gate, rolling across the plaza floor like dry ice. The temperature plummeted instantly, causing students in the front row to shiver.
The cheering died. The smiles vanished.
From the depths of the black mist, a rhythmic clicking sound echoed. Click. Click. Click.
The sound of boots on marble. Slow. Calm. Measured.
A figure emerged from the shadows.
There was no blood. There were no tears in the uniform. There was not even a single bead of sweat on his forehead.
I walked out of the Nightmare dimension looking exactly as I had when I walked in: impeccable. I casually adjusted my gold cufflink, flicking a speck of imaginary dust from my sleeve.
"Fresh air," I said, my voice cutting through the dead silence. "Much better."
I looked up at the scoreboard. The machine seemed to be struggling. It whirred loudly, sparks flying from its mana-circuits as it tried to comprehend the data it had just received.
Bzzt. Crackle.
[Student: Lucas Vayne]
[Difficulty: NIGHTMARE]
[Time: 12:42]
[Enemies Defeated: 1 (Boss Rush)]
The text flickered violently, cycling through ranks. A... S... SS...
Then, the screen flashed a blinding red.
[Rank: SSS (Beyond Measurable Limit)]
The crowd didn't cheer. They couldn't. They just stared, their brains unable to process the contrast.
On one side was Kaelen—bloodied, battered, barely standing, holding his "S-Rank" like a trophy. On the other was Me—bored, pristine, and radiated an aura of absolute untouchability.
"Nightmare..." the Proctor whispered, his knees shaking. "He cleared Nightmare... in twelve minutes? That's impossible. The boss alone takes an hour!"
Kaelen stared at the board. His "S-Rank" pride, which had felt so heavy a moment ago, suddenly felt lighter than air. It felt like a participation trophy.
"You..." Kaelen stammered, his voice trembling. "You cheated. You must have! There's no way you fought the Abyssal Knight! You're not even hurt!"
I turned to look at him. My red eyes were glowing faintly with the residue of the [Shadow Sovereign] skill I had just learned.
"Hurt?" I repeated, tilting my head. "Why would I be hurt? Do you get hurt when you step on an ant, Kaelen?"
I began to walk toward the exit. My path took me directly past him.
As I drew near, I "accidentally" let my mana control slip. I released just 10% of the pressure from my newly acquired Level 10 status, combined with the terrifying, suffocating aura of the Shadow Sovereign.
BOOM.
It wasn't a sound; it was gravity.
The students nearest to me gasped, clutching their chests as the air grew heavy. But Kaelen took the brunt of it.
His knees buckled.
He tried to stand, to resist, but his "Hero's Will" was nothing against raw, overwhelming stat superiority. He collapsed onto the marble floor, his hands splayed out to catch himself, bowing before me like a servant.
"K-Kuugh!" Kaelen gritted his teeth, veins popping on his forehead as he tried to look up. He couldn't. The shadow weighed tons.
I stopped walking. I looked down at the back of his head.
"You worked hard, Kaelen," I said, my tone dripping with patronizing praise. "S-Rank on Hard Mode is very impressive... for a commoner. Keep it up. Maybe one day you'll make a decent minion."
I retracted my aura. Kaelen collapsed fully, gasping for air, sweat pooling beneath him.
I looked at the stunned Proctor, who was gaping at me like a fish.
"Is the exam over?" I checked my watch. "I have a dinner reservation at six, and I'd hate to be late."
Without waiting for an answer, I walked away. The crowd parted instantly, giving me a five-meter berth. They didn't look at me with mockery anymore. They looked at me with pure, unadulterated terror.
As I reached the edge of the plaza, I caught a glimpse of Seraphina Frost. She was standing with the other faculty members, her hands covering her mouth. Through the [Eyes of Truth], I saw her internal world shifting.
[Target: Seraphina Frost]
[Affection: +5 → +15 (Fear/Obsession)]
[Current Thought: "He... he is a monster. Why didn't I see this power before? Why is my heart beating so fast?"]
I smirked.
A cascade of notifications filled my vision, the sweetest reward for a job well done.
[ System Notification: Protagonist's Pride Shattered (Major) ]
[ Face-Slap Multiplier x10 (Global Academy Event) ]
[ Reward: +1,500 Destiny Points ]
[ Kaelen's Plot Armor Integrity: -40% (Critical) ]
[Current DP: 4,100]
I walked toward my waiting limo, the setting sun casting a long, dark shadow behind me.
The Tutorial was over. The Villain had arrived.