Lin Yue looked left and right, feeling the abundant magic power flowing within his body.
According to the game’s settings, after leveling up you could restore your stamina and mana to full, making it convenient to return to the city’s save point after exhausting yourself.
This was different from the magic reconstruction done by Lia; this magic was entirely his own, without the slightest sense of alien intrusion.
“Looks like the match is settled now…”
Lin Yue twisted his wrist, looking at Charles who was sitting on the ground, and said lightly.
Impossible… no… ugh!
Charles hadn’t given up yet and tried to reach for the magic wand beside him, but Lin Yue stomped on his wrist.
He squeezed his eyes shut, afraid Lin Yue would finish him off, and after a moment, when he opened his eyes again, Lin Yue had a dagger pointed right at his chest—yet did nothing.
I… I!
“You’ve lost.”
Lin Yue looked down at Charles from above, cold on the surface but secretly letting out a breath of relief.
Luckily, he’d somehow stumbled into becoming a Tier 2 Magician; otherwise, he really might’ve lost this time.
Looking at the calluses worn onto Charles’s hand, he knew that this kid was actually stubborn too, just that his direction and mindset were wrong.
“The match is over, so let’s just—eh?”
For some reason, Charles on the ground suddenly began foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling back as he fainted on the spot.
It seemed he was knocked out by sheer frustration.
“……”
Lin Yue imitated the way Charles had just used lightning magic, gathering power before his chest.
This move was pretty useful in reality, but would it work here…?
Zzzt!
“Haaah! Cough, cough…”
Lin Yue gave him two quick jolts to the chest, instantly shocking Charles awake.
“You… what are you trying to do…”
Charles had barely woken up and was still dazed, scrambling back in fear, his heart pounding from the shock.
Come on… aren’t you a villain too?
Don’t make me out like I’m some kind of demon king…
Lin Yue squatted in front of Charles, putting on the air of coaxing a child and said, “Relax, I’m not going to do anything to you.”
No matter how much he said it, Lin Yue would never truly feel murderous intent towards him.
After all, this was the ultimate young master, way more formidable than the minor nobles in his own family.
Leaning against a tree, Charles finally calmed down.
He was silent for a while, his expression gloomy, and finally said, “Why… why can someone like you shine so brightly…?”
It wasn’t until he arrived at the academy that he understood—there’s always someone better, always someone stronger.
Even those regarded as geniuses—like himself—would suffer setbacks and be overshadowed by monsters like Isabella.
No matter how hard he trained, it was useless.
Now he’d even been defeated in a duel by Lin Yue, whose talent was said to be trash.
There was no excuse, no one to blame.
It was so damn humiliating…
Charles had always thought himself extraordinary, believing he could bring change to the world—whether through literature or magic.
But now, he’d been dealt blow after blow by Lin Yue in front of him, and by Allen, who was just a commoner.
He ran into walls at every turn in the academy, his writing grew increasingly irritable, unlike before.
In order to put his mind at ease, he chose to challenge the supposedly weakest, Lin Yue.
Next, his target would be Allen, who possessed the Blade of Laws.
Yet he couldn’t even pass the first hurdle.
Looking at Charles, Lin Yue’s eyes shifted.
He didn’t know if it was for Charles or for himself, but he said, “I didn’t step up to become some so-called hero. I just had no choice. At that time, on the field, I was the only one who could do something. If I didn’t step up, what else? Wait for death?”
“And I was scared too. Who isn’t afraid of advanced magic?”
Lin Yue pushed his hand out, recalling how he’d felt at the time.
“Wha… what?”
Charles looked utterly disbelieving.
Lin Yue always seemed so calm and collected—how could the word “afraid” possibly come from his mouth?
“When I saw the meteor coming down, my heart was pounding, my hands shaking… It’s really hard to just be an ordinary person…”
He so wished he could transmigrate as those protagonists who started off with overwhelming strength, or become a major figure who could sway the fate of the world.
Even being Charles would be so much better.
But fate played a cruel joke, and he ended up as this good-for-nothing young master.
Lin Yue recalled the time he provoked Allen during the exam.
He’d only wanted to nudge the game’s plot, but nearly got himself killed.
If he hadn’t been clever, memorized the game countless times, and gotten rescued just in time, he’d already be in pieces.
Even in the game, he couldn’t clear it without dying—let alone now, when he wasn’t Allen or any other main character, just an insignificant side character.
How could he possibly believe he could clear the game with this little villain’s power?
In the game, [Lin Yue Hawk] only managed to train to mid Tier 2 as a warrior before hitting a bottleneck, forcing him to take an unusual path and study magic.
Even with all the treasures and resources of his family, he still couldn’t break through and eventually let himself go, ending up on the roadside.
Lia’s magic reconstruction could only broaden his lower limits; it couldn’t solve his fundamental upper limit problem.
In the early story, he could still accomplish things.
But in the later stages… without real strength, he’d be nothing in this world.
What good was knowing the plot?
With his current identity, who would believe him?
That’s why he had no choice but to come up with the “hug-the-protagonist’s-thigh” plan.
But…
Even someone like me still has things I can do.
His real-life experiences had long taught him how to live, and even excel, as an ordinary person.
He had to fight desperately, squeeze out every last bit of himself, do whatever it took…
So what if he started at a disadvantage, so what if the plot was off course?
I must… fight with everything I have…
I must go back…
There are still things I have to do.
Thinking of the people he missed in the real world, of the things he had yet to accomplish, Lin Yue’s resolve to return home no matter what only grew stronger.
“But everyone has something they pursue.”
“For the sake of my goal, I’ll fight with everything I have, struggling desperately. I’ll do my best to stay alive.Until I finally reach that goal.”
A conviction erupted from Lin Yue, the likes of which Charles had never seen before in his life.
Though he didn’t know the real reason, he knew it was a hardship he could never understand.
“You… sigh…”
He lost.
Utterly defeated.
This arrogant guy didn’t even know what Charles truly hated, yet with just one sentence, he’d moved him.
How foolish…
Charles shook his head, mocking his own stupidity.
Lin Yue reached out a hand to pull him up, returning to his usual manner and said, “Remember our agreement about academy authority. Don’t go back on your word.”
Charles opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, a sudden red light shot up from where Avelina was, then began to envelope the whole academy perimeter.
Lin Yue whipped around, stunned by the abrupt turn of events.
“The second act… it’s happening early?”
Seeing Avelina in crisis, Lin Yue gritted his teeth and said quickly to the still-dazed Charles, “You—go to the front gate and find Allen! Tell them to hold the main gate at all costs, there are reinforcement runes elsewhere. If the main gate falls, it’s all over! If you see Airella, take her with you. Please!”
“And! The key to breaking the siege is the twenty Apostles hidden among the army—deal with them, and the assault will collapse on its own!”
At this moment, Lin Yue could no longer care about others’ suspicions or opinions.
He hurriedly blurted out the key information.
Everything had exceeded his expectations.
The first act: the forbidden beast severely injures the academy.
The second act: the enemy takes advantage.
Everything’s gone to hell!
The Church is really desperate, striking at the academy this fast…
Lin Yue was also baffled—how had they set up such a massive trap right under Avelina’s nose, with all those high-level magicians around?
This was bad!
He wondered if Lia had been affected too.
If anything happened to her, he’d have to restart the whole round from scratch.
“Hey! My mana is drained, how am I supposed to do anything? Hey!”
Charles called out frantically as Lin Yue rushed off.
“You have to hurry!”
Catching the “Youant Special Recovery Potion” Lin Yue tossed him, Charles forced a wry smile.
Damn it…
Everything was happening so fast, he couldn’t believe any force on the entire continent would dare attack Avelina so brazenly.
“Damn!”
He gulped down the potion.
The replenishing effects quickly took hold, and without a moment’s pause, he sprinted toward the front gate, hoping Lin Yue’s advice would make a difference.