The Villain's Game: Origin of X

Chapter 8: Awakening Ceremony [1]



A week passed by in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it—the day of the Awakening Ceremony had arrived.

Honestly? The last few days were rough.

Adjusting to this world and its nature was like being shoved into someone else's life mid-disaster and told to act like I belonged.

However, I didn't do much of anything either.

Most of the time I just stayed in bed, like a half-dead koala clinging to a tree.

But seriously, this body was done for.

Every muscle ached, and even turning over felt like some sort of punishment.

I couldn't tell if it was some side effect of being reincarnated or just Lucien's past incidents' remains catching up, but either way, both my mind and body needed rest.

And I gave it.

Because deep down, I knew this might be the last time I get to rest for a very long time.

As this world wasn't just a fancy noble play but it was the beginning, the start of a life inside a brutal game world.

The only way to stay alive was to grow stronger. Fast enough to stand on their own in this world.

For that, the Awakening Ceremony was the first step. A process that revealed two things: your affinity and your talent.

Using a weird, glowing crystal, it pulled the hidden potential from inside your body and told the world what kind of Mystic you were.

Yeah. This world had magic, as if everyone didn't knew.

Mystics were people chosen by the world or maybe the universe, but the information was not complete as the game skipped such parts. They could use mana, which was like invisible energy floating everywhere, and mold it into different forms.

You could see the mana as a soul essence of the universe, without it..the universe would die.

Mana could be used for many things. For example, spells, enhancements, explosions, etc, just like any fantasy story or game.

But to use mana, you needed a core.

Only the special individuals selected by the world would be able create their core inside their body.

Normally, one could awaken their core past ten years as it would establish the relation between the world and them.

The core stored mana inside your body and let it circulate, like a heart, but for energy.

Without one, you would be just a regular human in a very dangerous world.

Now, the type of mana someone could use depended on their affinity. Think of it like this: mana is electricity, the core is the wire, and the affinity is the appliance.

Fire, wind, water, earth—whatever your body most resonance with, that's what you get.

Most people only get one affinity.

That's normal.

But sometimes, someone is born with more than one. That person is called a Deviant.

Lucien? Yeah. He was one of those.

Add to that, the ceremony also reveals your talent level....basically your ceiling.

The highest potential you're expected to reach. Like a character stat cap in an RPG. You could still train, still grow, but your talent told others how far you'd likely get.

But it wasn't absolute either, as it was just the most probable peak of the individual's talent.

So some people would be able to break past it and reach a new height in their strength.

It was rare, for sure but not impossible.

Together, talent and affinity decide your future as a Mystic. People with high talent and rare affinity were treated like walking treasures.

Meanwhile, those without either?

Were in dire need of luck.

Of course, nobles had it better. Their bloodlines passed down powerful traits, and almost every one of them awakened smoothly.

But sometimes, a commoner would pop up with a freakish talent and throw the whole system into chaos.

It was not my problem though.

As for Lucien, he was hated, yeah, but he was a genius. A Deviant with freakish talent. Someone who, if trained right, could go far beyond the standard limits.

And I had that body now.

So, no matter how twisted this world got, I had one card to play and that was ...strength.

And I'd play it for all it was worth.

'Hah... why is this so hard?'

I muttered, standing in front of the mirror, trying for the third time to tie the damn tie around my neck. It twisted like it had a personal grudge against me, wrapping itself into something that looked more like a dead snake than formalwear.

'Oh! That reminds me I hate snakes. They suck!' I remembered a bitter memory of mine but shoved it off, focusing on the matter before me.

In my past life, one of my friends used to help me with this stuff.

I always thought ties were a bother. Like, seriously, why bother with this tiny piece of strangling cloth just to look fancy? Now I regretted every time I'd dodged learning it.

Earlier, a couple of caretakers had tried helping me dress, fussing over my hair, brushing lint off my shoulders like I was royalty.

But yeah, no thanks. That kind of hottie-young-master-pampering just wasn't for me.

I liked doing things on my own since I was a self-dependent person.

I nodded to myself at this.

"....."

I mean, sure, I sucked at it… But at least I sucked with pride.

"…Tch."

I looked down at the tie again. Somehow, it had turned into a solid knot that I had no idea how to undo without scissors.

A long sigh slipped out of me.

Yeah, screw it.

Let's just... slide this little detail.

A self-dependent man doesn't need a properly tied tie anyway. Right?

It's called fashion-forward negligence.

Very avant-garde.

Nodding confidently to myself like I hadn't just failed a basic life skill, I let the tie hang loosely around my neck and finally took a proper look at myself.

I hadn't really seen myself in a mirror since waking up in this world.

And holy crap.

The guy staring back at me?

He was dangerously handsome.

Shoulder-length obsidian-black hair, loosely tied in a low ponytail, a few stray strands framing a sharp jawline.

His eyes..my eyes now, were deep grey, like a storm that forgot how to be loud.

Thin and long eyebrows sat above them, adding a bit of... charisma to them.

My height looked to be around 175 centimeters, and the body was... lean. Not bulky, but there was definition.

Like someone who could throw a punch and still have the balance to dodge one.

The black suit clung to the frame just right.

It was tailored, expensive, and paired with a red tie that...okay, technically wasn't tied, but it went well with hair.

I looked like someone who'd steal your girlfriend and then have the nerve to ask for directions to her house.

Was this really me?

No wonder everyone hated Lucien. That face? That build? That elegance? It just screamed, "I'm better than you and I know it."

He was a trash character, sure. But damn if he wasn't the kind of good-looking trash that made people bitter just by existing.

I frowned at the mirror.

"Why couldn't this guy be... I don't know, a quiet librarian or something?"

Just kidding.

Great.

Just great.

I loved this face, but only face.

Nodding to myself,

'Yeah! I am too handsome to be hated.'

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Then suddenly, someone knocked on the door, dragging me out of my extremely important self-admiration session.

I was pretty sure who it was.

Without even bothering to look, I raised my voice just enough for it to be heard outside.

"You can come in."

I gave one last glance to my reflection—perfection itself... or, well, almost perfection and turned around just in time to see the familiar maid step inside.

Ah, the brave soul.

The same one who led me to the lion's den last week.

'What was her name again...? Liya, I think.'

She stepped in quietly, her hands holding a crystalline watch that had been arranged for me.

Yep, this world had watches too.

Just like Earth but with a few changes. Instead of batteries or charging cables, everything here ran on magic crystals.

Honestly, I felt a little robbed. The game devs clearly gave up on trying to design a proper magical society and just copied and pasted Earth's appliances with a glowing rock upgrade.

'Come on, at least give the microwave wings or something.'

As Liya walked closer, her eyes fell on my tie... and I caught it. That tiny twitch in her lips. That soft sparkle of amusement in her eyes.

She was trying really hard not to laugh.

'Great. I knew I looked dumb.'

But still, to her credit, she didn't say anything rude. For the past few days, she'd been helpful and... surprisingly positive.

She introduced herself, helped me with a bunch of stuff, and never once ran away screaming.

Considering Lucien's past reputation where no maid or caretaker lasted more than a month, she was already making good progress.

"Um, pardon my intrusion," she said gently. "Should I do your tie?"

She placed the watch on the nearby shelf and stepped toward me, stopping a polite distance away, then she smiled softly as she looked at me.

She wasn't jaw-dropping gorgeous or anything, but with that light brown hair tied back neatly and those matching warm eyes, she had a kind of natural prettiness that stood out.

"No need. Just... tell me how to do it. I'll do it myself," I replied with a neutral tone, trying to sound like someone who hadn't just threatened to strangle a tie ten minutes ago.

She smiled again, patiently explaining the steps like a kindergarten teacher guiding a kid through their first craft project.

And, with her help, I finally managed to get the knot right in just under ten minutes.

A new record.

I patted my own shoulder like a proud dad and grinned at the mirror.

'Perfect.'

Reaching to the side, I grabbed the watch and slipped it onto my wrist.

'Hah! I'd wasted enough time trying to tame fabric today.'

"Let's go," I said, adjusting my collar slightly. "It should be time for my departure."

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