I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Brian PoV]

A few days after the attack, I kept training relentlessly to grow stronger — stronger than anyone, to avenge Inquisitor Marcus's death.

I couldn't accept him dying like that!

He'd already won the fight, yet the enemy had resorted to dirty, cowardly tactics, striking him from behind.

Why did villains always share that same trait — cunning, filthy, and cowardly?

Why did the brave always die first, while cowards always survived? I refused to accept this!

"Aaaghhhh!"

I screamed as loudly as I could, swinging my wooden sword.

The gust of wind from my slash struck the training dummy set up here.

I had to grow stronger!

But just as I was about to resume practicing my swing, I heard footsteps approaching.

I turned and saw a black-haired woman walking toward me.

It was Inquisitor Elvira.

"Brian, stop training and come walk around the city with me," she invited.

"I'm not in the mood, Inquisitor. I still need to keep training to get stronger."

Hearing my words, the Inquisitor simply smiled and stepped closer.

"Just do as I say for once. I'll treat you to your favorite grilled meat," she said, ruffling my hair with her hand.

"Fine, fine! Stop messing with my hair," I protested, irritated. "Wait for me outside the fortress — I need to wash off all this sweat first."

I headed to the communal bathhouse at the fortress. Only men used it here. I kept mulling things over as I rinsed my body with the cool, refreshing water.

How could I become stronger?

Incursio, Infinity Mana, and Justice Spirit were the three Profound Codex abilities I possessed. I needed to develop them to level two to grow stronger.

Master Pendragon once said that if someone could develop every ability of their Profound Codex all the way to level three, they could unlock an Awakening of their Codex.

Master said only certain people could ever reach that Awakening stage.

Records showed only six people in the Aragon Empire had ever managed it. Most of them were heads of the great noble houses of this nation.

I needed to reach that Awakening stage if I wanted to become truly powerful...

Still, I'd heard rumors that even great nobles typically only reached that stage in their thirties. I had no idea when I'd get there myself. What was certain was that it would take hard work and discipline to achieve.

Once I finished cleaning up, I left the fortress and met Inquisitor Elvira, now dressed in casual clothes.

"Oh, you look quite different in casual wear, Brian," the Inquisitor said, complimenting me.

"Same to you, Inquisitor. You look far more elegant and captivating out of armor," I complimented her back.

We then flagged down a passing carriage and asked it to take us to Grenaut City, only 10 km from Alcantara Fortress.

After a journey of a little over an hour, we finally arrived in the city and got off the carriage.

The streets were bustling with activity. People wore all kinds of expressions — some angry, some cheerful, some indifferent.

They had no idea an attack had occurred within this city — the authorities had deliberately kept it from the public to avoid panic.

This made me realize something...

So many soldiers died protecting citizens or carrying out their duties. Yet life goes on, and people only remember their sacrifice once a year, on Heroes' Day.

Only great knights get remembered, while ordinary ones fade with time — just like what happened with Inquisitor Marcus's death.

Even his own comrades showed no real resolve to avenge him against those heretics.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to NovelPhoenix for the genuine story.

After walking for a few minutes, we arrived at a large building.

"Isn't this the Blackfire Dragon Museum?" I asked Inquisitor Elvira.

"That's right. Let's go inside, Brian."

Entering the museum, I saw the skeletons of many defeated monsters — Minotaurs, Gargoyles, Wyverns. But none of their skeletons compared to the one standing before me now.

"The Blackfire Dragon..."

At 20 meters tall and 50 meters long, this was the largest monster ever defeated by a single human.

Unlike a Wyvern, a dragon possesses a Mana Core, allowing it to use magic. That's why dragons are classified as Magical Beasts.

"Its real name wasn't actually Blackfire," Inquisitor Elvira said. "The dragon defeated by the Legendary Hero Pendragon was named Syrax. It became known as Blackfire because it breathed black fire."

"Is that so? By the way, where are this dragon's wings?" I asked, since I couldn't spot one of the most distinctive traits of a dragon anywhere.

"This dragon's wings were destroyed during its battle with the Hero Pendragon, so we couldn't preserve them," the Inquisitor answered.

I see. Maybe I'll ask Master about that battle sometime. I want to know just how powerful this dragon, said to be the strongest Magical Beast ever, truly was.

"Didn't the Hero Pendragon have a sword? Is it stored here in the museum too?" I asked the Inquisitor.

"That's right. The Hero Pendragon carried a holy sword called Excalibur," the Inquisitor answered. "But Excalibur vanishes once its wielder passes on, and only reappears once a new Chosen Hero is inducted and recites the Knight's Oath."

The Knight's Oath, huh? If I remember correctly, that's the vow one must recite upon being inducted as a knight of a nation.

I want to become strong, just like Master, able to defeat a monster as terrifying as this one...

I want to be as strong as the heroes of old, wielding the Holy Sword Excalibur to wipe out every enemy of humanity...

I want... to become a hero...

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[Raul PoV]

In the game Path of Destiny, Brian was inducted as humanity's Hero after graduating from Grunbelt Academy. Everyone knew Brian was the Chosen Hero the moment he summoned Excalibur to defeat a noble demon terrorizing the city.

I had no idea when Brian would summon that Holy Sword now, given how much the story's course had shifted. Still, I was certain he'd summon it, sooner or later.

That's because it was his destiny to become humanity's Hero, to wield the Holy Sword against attacking demons, and to serve as a symbol of hope for humanity to keep fighting against its suffering.

"Hey, Runa! Warm up my food!"

"Mine too!"

Right now, I was at the orphanage, watching over the Cursed Children here. I'd also been tasked with teaching them to control their powers, so they wouldn't slip out of control so often.

I saw Runa, the recently brought-in Cursed Child, smiling and playing with the other Cursed Children here.

They never got angry when Runa accidentally hurt them, and never avoided her either, even though she often caused them trouble.

Instead, these children kept helping Runa learn to better control her power.

Runa herself possessed the power to generate heat waves from her entire body. After analyzing it further, I found Runa could project this heat wave over a distance of more than one kilometer.

That meant she could easily destroy an entire village if she ever lost control.

—Clack!

The orphanage's front door suddenly opened, revealing a woman in her late twenties walking in, carrying a bag of groceries filled with vegetables and cooking ingredients.

"Sister! You're back!"

"I'm so hungry! The leftovers in the kitchen are cold and don't taste good anymore!"

The children immediately swarmed around the woman they already treated as their own mother.

"Alright, be patient, okay? I'll cook something right away," Sister Giada said, smiling at the children.

She then noticed my presence and walked over.

"You're still here, Joker?" the woman asked.

"I'm on watch duty today, aren't I? I wanted to see how the children interact with each other," I answered her.

"Is that so? Puppeteer never stays this long when it's his turn to watch the children," Sister Giada said, setting down her groceries on a table. "He's not particularly fond of children, so he's used to watching over them from outside the orphanage."

I figured that was probably for the best — the children might feel a bit scared seeing Puppeteer inside the orphanage.

"Can you cook?" Sister Giada asked, now wearing an apron. "I think the kids might be getting tired of always eating my cooking."

Cooking, huh? Back in college, Liana and I used to make pasta at my place whenever we couldn't order takeout because of bad weather.

"Do you have flour, eggs, butter, milk, and cheese?" I asked her.

"Of course, feel free to use whatever's here."

I then gathered all the ingredients I needed to make this dish.

First, I made a dough by combining flour and a few eggs, mixing it until fully blended.

After that, I used a rolling pin to give the dough a good, smooth texture, then cut it into fettuccine strips.

I boiled the fettuccine in salted water.

While waiting for the fettuccine to cook, I made a sauce by combining cheese, milk, and butter, then seasoning it with salt, pepper, and diced onions.

Once the fettuccine was ready, I tossed it into the sauce I'd made earlier and mixed it thoroughly so the sauce coated every strand evenly.

"Voila... please give this a try, Sister Giada," I said, handing her the dish I'd made.

"Hmm... what's this dish called, Joker?" Sister Giada asked.

"Fettuccine Alfredo... enjoy, Sister," I answered with a smile.

Sister Giada then took a fork and tasted my cooking, chewing it before swallowing.

"Not bad, Joker," Sister Giada said, smiling at me. "I think the kids will love this."

After that, Sister Giada, the children, and I all had dinner together here. They said my cooking was delicious and asked me to make it again sometime.

Well... seemed like my workload in this group had just grown. Still, I didn't want to disappoint the children, so I agreed to their request.

Once we finished dinner together, I said my goodbyes and headed back to the Margraviate of Cataluna.

"Thank you for helping me look after the children here, Joker," Sister Giada said, smiling at me.

"You're welcome, Sister. Still, it seems this place could really use more hands."

"That's true. If only I had another member helping me as a Sitter, my workload would be much lighter."

After saying goodbye, I left the orphanage and leapt onto a rooftop.

I couldn't walk through the city streets while disguised like this, so I had to leap across rooftops to get out of Grenaut City.

But suddenly, I spotted something flying toward the museum building.

I followed the two flying creatures from a distance. They landed on top of the museum building and appeared to be discussing something.

There was no mistaking it — those two creatures were Vampires. Just as I'd suspected, some of them had remained hidden even after we discovered their base in that mansion last month.

What exactly were they planning, visiting this museum?