The moment Ethan stood up, silence swept across the cafeteria like a guillotine. Trays stopped mid-air. Gossip froze. Even the background noise of cutlery seemed to hesitate, as if the Academy itself was holding its breath.
"Did he just… accept Jackson's challenge?"
"That guy's dead."
Jackson, the golden boy of the Academy, smirked with lazy confidence. "You're new, so I'll give you a chance to back out before you embarrass yourself."
Ethan looked him dead in the eye.
"I don't do one-on-ones," he said, voice calm but cold. "I prefer group packages."
The room blinked. Then erupted.
"GROUP PACKAGE?!"
"Is he challenging the whole squad?"
"Dude's insane!"
Jackson's smirk twitched. "Tomorrow. Arena 5. Don't cry when they scrape you off the floor."
Outside the arena, the crowd was erupting. Not cheering. Not jeering. Just… stunned silence, followed by whispers that rippled through every hallway of the academy like a virus.
"Did he really win alone?"
"Jackson couldn't even get one clean hit..."
"He turned Lola's ice against her."
"He tanked lightning. With sarcasm."
Inside the instructor observation booth, several teachers exchanged uneasy glances. Dean Isaac Monroe, a middle-aged man with golden lenses and silver beard, leaned forward with narrowed eyes.
"This wasn't luck," he said. "This was… calculated madness."
One of the senior mentors grunted, "He's not following the Academy's combat protocols."
Another replied, "He's not breaking them either."
[System Alert]
Your actions have disrupted campus balance.
Your name is now being watched by: 3 instructors, 2 rival families, and 1 unknown observer.
New Passive Unlocked: Notoriety Field – +10% intimidation to any character who has heard your name.
Back in the locker corridor, Ethan stood alone in front of the mirror.
He wasn't smiling.
He was thinking.
It's starting. They'll either try to recruit me... or erase me.
He opened his system panel, now glowing faint red instead of the usual blue.
Villain Curriculum: Lv.1 Unlocked
Teach lessons through confrontation
Control classroom hierarchy
Mold students with villainous potential
Expand "Class V" to at least 5 official members
Defy Academy Hero Standards at least once a week
Next Reward: Forbidden Skill Tree access
He closed the panel and walked out into the sun.
By lunchtime, a message spread across the student body like wildfire:
"Ethan Drake has been granted provisional authority to establish a new class: CLASS V."
"Enrollment is open to students deemed incompatible with standard hero doctrine."
"Classroom is located in West Wing, Hall Z, previously condemned."
Later that evening, Ethan pushed open the creaking doors to Hall Z.
Dust. Cracked tiles. Broken windows. Faint spirit residue from some forgotten experiment long ago.
Perfect.
He dropped his bag, stepped into the center, and spoke.
"System, register this as my territory."
[Territory Bound] – Class V HQ established.
Villain Domain Effects Activated: Enhanced training gains, psychological pressure, hidden stat resonance unlocked for all members inside this zone.
Behind him, footsteps.
Ember Killgrave—the short-haired chaos girl with an eyepatch—stood leaning on the doorway, smirking.
"So... this your evil lair?"
He glanced at her. "Temporary. Until the world gives me something bigger."
She stepped inside. "You really beat Jackson?"
"Three hits."
"That's hot."
A second shadow appeared—Mute, with his sunglasses and coffin. He didn't speak. He just dropped the coffin beside the window and nodded once.
Then came Lira Moonfall, the quiet girl with moon affinity. She entered without a sound and took a seat in the back row, gazing at Ethan like she was watching a storm form.
Ethan didn't say welcome.
He simply raised his hand, and a glowing rune etched itself onto the floor.
"Class V begins now."
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the academy tower, behind an enchanted glass window, a figure watched the scene unfold.
A man in black robes, face hidden beneath a metallic half-mask, turned to a glowing spirit mirror.
"It has begun," he said.
"The Villain Seed has bloomed."
The mirror flickered. A voice replied, cold and amused:
"Let him grow.
The world needs a villain worth fearing."
That night, the system finally spoke again.
[System Alert: You've officially triggered a School-Wide Plot Disturbance.]
[Main Mission Activated: Break the Academy's Balance.]
[Objective: Defeat at least three top-ranking students within 72 hours.]
[Reward: Shadow Vein Manual (Tier B), +500 Reputation, Unlock: Villainous Curriculum Lv.1]
Ethan smirked. "Finally. Something to do."
The next morning, Arena 5 was packed. Even teachers came to watch. Students filled the stands, excited to see a public execution—because nobody expected a newcomer to survive Jackson's crew.
They were the golden elites.
Top-tier talent, influential bloodlines, and cultivation resources shoveled into their mouths since birth.
Ethan stepped into the ring alone.
Across from him stood Jackson and three others: Vincent the Flame Fist, Lola the Ice Witch, and Zheng Bao, the Lightning Fang. Together, they were considered unbeatable in freshman rankings.
"You've got guts, newbie," Jackson said. "Pity they won't help you today."
"I brought something better than guts," Ethan replied.
He raised one finger.
"Villain's Curriculum: First Lesson – Let the trash take itself out."
[Skill Activated: Echo Counter – Reflects next technique at 150% power. 1 use per day.]
Vincent lunged forward, flame-coated fists blazing. He unleashed Burning Mountain Strike—a technique that had shattered stone and even injured a senior once.
Ethan didn't move.
The fist landed—
—and rebounded.
Flames howled backward like a reversed explosion, striking Vincent in the chest and hurling him across the ring.
Boom!
Vincent slammed into the barrier, smoke rising from his unconscious body.
"ONE DOWN!" the crowd screamed.
Jackson's face darkened. "Lola, ice him!"
The Ice Witch summoned spears of frost, dozens of them. They hovered in the air, aimed at every pressure point on Ethan's body.
He activated another skill.
[Passive: Apex Villain Aura – All enemy morale reduced by 30% within 10 meters.]
Lola hesitated.
One spear shattered mid-air.
Two more cracked.
"I…" she stuttered. "Why can't I control—"
"Because you're not the main character," Ethan said. "You're a side quest."
Lola's body went stiff. A wave of frost rebounded into her, sealing her in her own prison of ice.
Two down.
The crowd was losing it. Even the professors looked stunned.
Zheng Bao roared and summoned a bolt of lightning from the sky. "You'll pay for this!"
[System Passive: Narrative Disruption – Plot-based attacks become unstable.]
The lightning… swerved.
It hit Jackson.
BOOM!
Jackson screamed and dropped to his knees, smoke curling from his robes.
Ethan walked up and crouched beside him.
"You wanted a duel," he said, voice low. "But this is war. And in war, the rules are mine."
[System Alert: Mission Complete.]
[Reward Granted: Shadow Vein Manual Unlocked.]
[Reputation +500. Villainous Curriculum Lv.1 Activated.]
The crowd was silent now. No jeering. No mocking.
Only fear.
And awe.
Later that day, a notice appeared on the school's main board:
"By the decree of the Council, Ethan Drake is hereby assigned his own classroom—Class V. Students willing to challenge norms, laws, or sanity itself may apply."