Ren felt that he wouldn't want to relive those dark memories even if someone paid him. Whenever he thought back to that time, the hair on the back of his neck stood up and a cold sweat broke out.
Back then, he wasn't just stupid; he was practically walking into a powder keg with a lit match. He was a master of digging his own grave.
What on earth made him think that a regular soul from a peaceful modern era, armed only with a system, could suddenly rule over a world of swords, magic, and rigid social hierarchies?
The tragedy began with that "Villain" option and his own ridiculous delusions.
After Ria saved him from the Pig-Orcs, he was still trembling when several figures wreathed in powerful mana descended from the sky. At the head of the group was a woman with a face as cold as stone. The aura of frost she radiated almost froze the air itself. One look from her icy blue eyes was enough to silence even the rowdiest child.
"Sister..." Ria's voice was barely a whisper, trembling with a hint of fear.
"You used magic?" The woman—Angelica—spoke with a voice as heavy as a coming blizzard. "Remember your place. In public, you will address me as 'Teacher'!"
From their conversation, Ren managed to piece together what was happening. They were currently outside the Empire's borders. Those usually dim-witted Pig-Orcs had recently grown smarter, learning to disguise themselves as humans to kidnap children for "winter rations." Ria, a recognized prodigy of the Liyue Academy, had stumbled upon the plot and gone undercover to leave a trail for the rescue team.
Hearing the name "Liyue Academy," Ren's heart raced. Wasn't that where the game's protagonist, Leon, started his journey? Ren got excited again. He figured he'd be taken to the academy just like the hero, and thanks to his "near-death bond" with Ria, he'd get special treatment.
Reality, however, gave him a swift slap to the face.
"Foolish!" Angelica hissed, suddenly striking Ria across the face with a sharp crack. "Do you have any idea what you've done? The blood of the Alseido family flows through your veins! You risked your life for a handful of commoners? You even dared to use the family's hidden trump-card magic!"
The sound of the slap made Ren's blood boil. He instinctively started to speak up: "Hey... how could you hit her—" But before he could finish, Angelica's gaze pinned him to the spot like a spear of ice. It wasn't just authority; it was a physical weight of spiritual pressure that made it hard to breathe.
In that moment, he realized just how small he was. Faced with true power, his "transmigrator's pride" and his system-granted luck were pathetic.
"Is this the boy you risked everything to protect?" Angelica's eyes were like frozen needles, dissecting Ren from the inside out.
Ria bit her lip and remained silent.
"Heh, you have quite the nerve. A mere commoner, daring to eye the future pillar of the Alseido family?" Angelica's voice grew colder with every word.
And so, Ren's nightmare began.
Later, he understood the root of the problem. The Alseido family had a legacy of powerful fire magic. In this generation, no male heir had the talent to inherit it; only Ria, who was being raised as a boy to bypass noble tradition, fit the bill. In a world where noble inheritance was a cutthroat game, a female lord was a target. The family could not allow Ria to develop even the slightest "uncontrolled" affection for a male—especially a commoner she had risked her life for.
To Angelica, Ren was a "loose end" that needed to be cleaned up.
He wasn't taken to the academy for a fresh start. He was thrown into a pitch-black sensory deprivation room. Angelica used mental magic to assault his will day and night. The magic didn't cause physical wounds, but it dug up his deepest fears and replayed them in an infinite loop.
In those dark days, Ren was forced to relive his modern-day nightmares over and over: a bratty kid breaking his rare collectible figurines; being starving at midnight only to find the pantry empty and the kettle broken; being betrayed by a "best friend"; and that one time his "online girlfriend" turned out to be a middle-aged man with a beard.
In hindsight, it sounds like a bad comedy, but at the time, every second was psychological torture.
The most terrifying part was when the mental torture didn't work fast enough. Angelica, that crazy woman, ordered Ria to kill Ren personally to "sever unnecessary ties and prove her resolve."
Fortunately, Ria hadn't been completely brainwashed yet. She stood her ground and refused the cruel order. However, her resistance only made Angelica more determined that Ren had to go.
Locked away, Ren spent every waking moment thinking about how to survive. Drawing from all the anime, novels, and games he'd ever consumed, he drafted a "Survival Manifesto":
Never meddle. No "heroic rescues" or "sticking up for the underdog."
Know your place. Play the role of a commoner, a background character, an NPC. Avoid the "main plot" at all costs.
Avoid beautiful women. (And beautiful men, just to be safe!)
He even renamed his system in his head.
God-Level Choice System? NO.
NPC Growth System? YES.
Just as Ren thought he would rot in that dungeon, a turning point arrived. Claire, the Headmaster of Starlight Academy, visited Liyue Academy on official business. She and Angelica had an old rivalry. Sensing something was wrong, Claire intervened, claiming Ren had "destiny with Starlight" and forcibly took the emaciated boy away.
That was the prologue to Ren's journey as the ultimate master of staying under the radar.
Walking to the office now, these memories made his steps heavy. He shook his head, trying to clear the ghosts of the past. The first lesson he learned at Starlight was the "Talent Test." That was when the system had popped up with a critical choice:
[Option 1: Show an elemental affinity of over 60% across all five elements and awaken a rare Martial Physique. Difficulty: S-Rank. Reward: Protagonist Points +10]
[Option 2: Awaken Dark-attribute magic and fuse with a random monster bloodline. Difficulty: S-Rank. Reward: Villain Points +10]
[Option 3: Show an elemental affinity of exactly 5% across all elements. Difficulty: E-Rank. Reward: NPC Points +10]
______
Faced with those choices years ago, Ren—who had already been beaten into a state of total pragmatism—saw through the system's trap immediately.
The original hero, Leon, had high affinity and a rare physique. If Ren chose Option 1, he'd be a clone of the protagonist, forced to fight for the "world's favor." If he chose Option 2, he'd become a freak, an enemy of humanity. And to get the "good" rewards, he'd have to survive ten S-rank choices. He knew he'd be dead by the third one.
NPC points, however, gave him steady, safe stat boosts. Ren had chosen the NPC path with a sense of profound relief. When the results were announced and Headmaster Claire looked at him with undisguised disappointment, Ren was secretly thrilled. He had successfully branded himself as a "certified loser"—the perfect camouflage.
Ren took a deep breath and knocked on the heavy office door.
"Enter."
He stepped inside and froze. Three people? This didn't look like a casual chat.
Behind the ornate mahogany desk sat Claire. The blonde, mature woman wore half-frame glasses, exuding an aura of both intellect and terrifying authority.
The other two were a boy Ren didn't know, and... a girl who made Ren's entire body tense up. No wonder the system had flagged this as D-rank difficulty. Emma was there.
Emma was Claire's other direct disciple and Ren's senior. Dressed in the black uniform of an elite student, she stood perfectly still, her face expressionless. When she turned her icy gaze toward Ren, the temperature in the room seemed to drop five degrees.
Ren ducked his head and walked toward Claire with a submissive air. "Greetings, Headmaster Claire."
Claire's eyes narrowed. "What took you so long?"
"After class... I accidentally fell asleep in the dorms," Ren lied, scratching his nose sheepishly.
Low talent and lazy. Claire's gaze was full of "why-am-I-teaching-him" frustration. "You are truly the most unmotivated student I have ever taken on. Both in talent and spirit." She didn't waste time lecturing him further. "Do you know why I called you here?"
"I have no idea, Teacher," Ren said innocently. Being looked down upon was his comfort zone. He was just happy he hadn't been kicked out of the academy yet. For years, he'd worn the white uniform of a "Common Student" despite being a direct disciple. At Starlight, uniforms went White (Normal), Blue (Elite), and Black (Ultra-Elite). Ren chose white to blend into the crowd. He thought Claire had forgotten about him.
"Sven," Claire said, turning to the young boy. "This is your fourth senior, Ren Takashi. You may refer to him as 'Senior'."
Ren peeked at the boy. This was the new fifth disciple—the young master of the Raymond family, the survivor of the massacre.
The kid looked to be about thirteen or fourteen. He was thin but stood as straight as a pine tree, with a look of iron-willed determination in his eyes. He bowed to Ren. "It is an honor to meet you, Senior Ren!"
Ren's internal alarm bells went off. Good-looking, tragic backstory, intense eyes... this kid is a 'Main Character' type. Ren's Rule #1: Stay away from anyone who looks like they have a plotline.
Right on cue, the system chimed:
[God-Level Choice System at your service.]
[Option 1: Look at Sven with righteous fire. "Junior, your tragedy breaks my heart! Those monsters must pay! I swear I will help you get revenge!" Difficulty: S-Rank. Reward: Protagonist Points +10]
[Option 2: Look at Sven with disdain. "The Raymond family was clearly overrated. You're just losers who couldn't even hold your own dirt." Difficulty: S-Rank. Reward: Villain Points +10]
[Option 3: Say: "Hey, nice to meet you." Difficulty: E-Rank. Reward: NPC Points +10]
Nice try, system. Ren gave Sven a polite, utterly forgettable nod. "Nice to meet you, Junior."
Sven blinked, clearly surprised that his "senior" was so... average.
Claire ignored the interaction and spoke to Sven. "The demonic corruption in your system is tricky, but not impossible to fix. For now, rest at the academy. The Empire and Starlight will not let the Raymond massacre go unpunished. I will personally investigate the source of those monsters."
Sven looked grateful. "Thank you, Teacher!"
Ren's "danger sense" tingled. People said Sven was a "trash" student now, but Claire's tone implied there was a way to fix him. And calling Ren here today...
"Ren," Claire's voice snapped him back. "Get your things ready. In two days, you're heading out with Emma."
"Heading where?" Ren's heart sank to his stomach.
"To the former Raymond territories, of course."
Are you kidding me? Ren thought. The place that was just wiped out by monsters?
"The Raymond lands are on the border," Claire continued. "The monsters involved in this attack were of a species we haven't seen before. This must be investigated. Starlight is sending a team as part of a joint task force with the other major academies."
"I—I'm going?!" Ren pointed at himself, his voice cracking. "Teacher, you know my level! I'm a bottom-tier student. For a mission this important, you should send Senior Sarah or Senior Dio! I'll just be dead weight!"
______
Ren's mind was screaming: I'm going to die! I'm actually going to die!
The Raymond territory was a slaughterhouse. If a high-ranking noble family with their own private army got wiped out, Ren knew it was a dragon's den. He just wanted to rot in the safety of the academy until the end of time.
Claire expected the pushback. Her voice became firm. "Sarah is currently at Liyue Academy for her High-Tier trials, and Dio is in deep seclusion for his martial arts training. Neither can be reached."
She paused, her eyes scanning Ren. "This is a joint mission mandated by the Empire. Every academy must send students with enough 'status' to represent the institution. Sven is your direct junior. Sending you—another direct disciple—shows that Starlight takes this massacre seriously. On paper, you are the most appropriate choice."
Ren was dying inside. "Teacher, look at me! I might not even pass the graduation exam! No one in the school even knows who I am. For the sake of Starlight's reputation, shouldn't you send someone... better?"
Claire glared. "If I say you're appropriate, you're appropriate! Your status as my disciple is what matters. This involves your junior's family blood-debt. You are going."
Ren realized there was no escape.
What made it worse was his teammate: Emma. She was a 3rd-Tier mage, which was impressive, but her specialty was Healing and Buffing Magic. (Healing was notoriously hard to learn and required rare Light-affinity). She was a pure support.
And Ren? He was a slacker who only knew basic 2rd-Tier utility spells and zero martial arts. A support and a slacker. They had no "carry," no damage dealer. In a world of monsters and rival students, they'd be sitting ducks.
Seeing Ren look like he was attending his own funeral, Claire softened her tone slightly. "You won't be alone. The academy is sending another teacher's disciple with you."
"Who?" Ren asked, grasping for a lifeline.
"Luke." Claire said the name, then sighed at Ren. "Look at Luke. He enrolled after you, yet he's already a 3rd-Tier Mage and tops every combat trial. Then look at you—drifting through life, sleeping and slacking. Do you have even an ounce of ambition?"
Ren didn't care about the insult. "You're absolutely right, Teacher! I'm a lost cause! I'll only embarrass you and the school. To save Starlight's honor, let's just swap me out for someone else? The school is full of talented people way better than me!"
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