A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Deculein (2)

A man towered over everyone, his height having surpassed six foot and three, which gave him an imposing presence. Dressed in flawless formal attire and possessing strikingly handsome features that easily caught one’s eye, he showcased the perfect golden ratio.

Deculein von Grahan-Yukline was truly what one might call the Epitome of Noble Dignity. There was not a single flaw or lack in his demeanor; his walk, gestures, and expressions all radiated elegance.

"That bastard..." a robed mage said.

However, to some, no, perhaps to many, his perfect external factors were nothing more than a false front.

"Sigh..."

Epherene Luna had been suppressing her surge of anger since the moment Deculein appeared. It wasn’t just her words that were harsh, her actions were as well. She clenched her fist so tightly that it could have drawn blood and incessantly bit her lower lip.

Deculein had taken all the credit for her father's achievements, thereby reducing him to a wreck, which ultimately led to his death. Although the world praised Deculein as a Genius of Spell Interpretation, she knew that his reputation rightfully belonged to her father.

— Attention.

Suddenly, a crystal orb amplified Deculein's voice.

— I will begin the lecture.

Deculein finally stepped onto the stage and looked out into the vast auditorium filled with hundreds of people. His gaze was as sharp and imperious as a blade. She felt the urge to pull out a dagger and stab him in both eyes.

"That asshole..." Ephrene said with full anger.

However, it was not the right time for her to take action. Although she certainly wished to see Deculein wiped off the map and the only reason she had enrolled in the Mage Tower of the University was to take revenge against him, she knew that blind revenge would only bring her sadness.

After all, her own talents surpassed his. Whether it involved learning more powerful magic to kill him with her own hands or rising to a higher status to obliterate him socially, her revenge would become sweeter the longer it ages. Since she was only living for that single sweet moment when she would get revenge, waiting a little longer was not a problem for her.

— Greetings.

But a little troublemaking wouldn’t hurt. As a lightbulb turned on in her mind, Epherene pulled her robe tighter and smiled.

***

In the wide auditorium with high ceilings, hundreds of eyes were fixed on me. Their gaze was overwhelmingly bright, and the flashes of antique cameras felt almost dizzying. I faced the attention all alone, but, strangely, I didn’t feel bothered by it.

Instead of being intimidated, I found attention to be natural, as if it were my prerogative. It seemed that a lofty sense of chosen elitism was ingrained in me like a second skin.

“Greetings. I am Deculein from the Yukline family.”

Thus, I began the lecture with ease. The opening of the lecture on the script served as both the introduction to the class and the introduction of Deculein himself.

"I am the Head Professor at the Mage Tower of the Imperial University, a Monarch-rank mage in charge of elements. I manage the four elements—water, fire, wind, and earth—and am not limited by any categories of magic."

The statement had an unmistakably narcissistic tone to it.

"As is known, magic is divided into three Properties and nine Categories. The properties include elements, origins, and instruments. The categories are Summoning, Elemental, Destruction, Support, Enchantment, Manipulation, Ductility, Harmony, and Specialization."

I recited exactly what was written in the script. Even that was enough to draw everyone's attention, thanks to the Intimidation and Dignity attribute.

"Therefore, all mages have to concentrate on the properties and categories that suit them to achieve magical success."

Snap!

I snapped my fingers after saying that and following the sound, the lights in the auditorium went out as magic spells appeared in the air.

"Executing these spells with mana is the act of performing magic. Therefore, understanding these spells is essential before implementing magic. We will now take a look at the spell above," I explained, pausing briefly to allow the audience to see the magical circle.

It appeared briefly as a fractal, composed of dozens of straight and curved lines—a geometric shape.

“This sixty-eight stroke magic circle spell forms a curved shape, where mana first concentrates in the center before extending outward. The spread from inside to outside typically signifies destruction and support, however, since destruction magic requires the magic circle to be linear, this pattern is clearly to support magic. Moving on...”

The first chapter, Basics of Magic, continued for about fifteen minutes, and I did not lose my composure for a single moment. The script seemed to flow effortlessly from my mouth. Interestingly enough, I had perfectly comprehended the arrangement of this script, which I saw for the first time today.

"Spell-based magic works as follows. However, one might ask whether the magic always results from mana and whether one must always learn these spells perfectly to use this magic?"

Now, the topic was Methods of Using Mana. Since the auditorium also had participants, including guests who were not mages but were ordinary students, knights, or aspiring adventurers, the topic was specifically arranged for them.

"That is not true. It depends on where in the body you have your mana stored."

As I finished speaking, the magical spells scattered and were replaced by a human anatomical diagram showing blue masses of mana positioned in the heart, head, and abdomen.

"Firstly, the head or the brain can easily imagine spells, making it capable of forming complex lines and circles. Therefore, mages usually store mana in their heads."

I probably also have mana points stored in my head. If expressed numerically, they would be 3,375. This is not very high, considering I had seen some named characters with initial mana points at 30,000.

Perhaps the ability to lecture well was fully comprehended from the attribute, Comprehension.

I almost laughed while reading the script. If any of your talent is modest, efficiency should be considered focus and make choices, perfect advice for Deculein at the moment in reality.

"Eh, ah, my name is—"

"... What?"