XkarnationAlt

[Villian] Chapter 60: Blackthorn’s Rickety Walkways

Torrential rain rhythmically drummed on the car’s roof as Damien watched people scramble off the street in a desperate search for shelter; some cowered under walkways while others hid within various houses that doubled up as shops. Lightning illuminated the dark clouds in flashes of white as thunder rumbled through the sky.

Damien drummed his fingers on the car seat as he crossed his legs. “Walter, did you complete your task yesterday?”

Walter turned his head slightly, and h...

[Villian] Chapter 59: An Uncertain Future

Early signs of rain hung in the air, and morning mist swirled through the streets of Blackthorn as dark clouds that formed from the mountains loomed in the distance, casting an ominous sign for the day’s weather.

Damien stood upon crudely crafted stone stairs in front of the mayor’s house with a frown, looking down at the street closely resembling a marsh with murky puddles filled with overgrown weeds after an early morning rain shower.

He heard some creaking noises and notice...

[Villian] Chapter 58: Food or Friend?

Pulling his rough overcoat tighter to combat the winter chill, an elderly man glanced around his humble abode. Wood cracked and burned in the simple cast-iron fireplace, illuminating the rustic room. He was a retired blacksmith, and the fire always comforted him and reminded him of simpler times.

A door creaked open, and a middle-aged woman wearing peasant clothing with her brown hair tied in a bun walked in. “Father, it’s getting late. Go to sleep.” She frowned as she looked at h...

[Villain] Chapter 57: Spiderlings

Mike stumbled through the desolate and dark winding streets of Blackthorn. With only the moonlight to guide him along the muddy and uneven paths, he tried to navigate the land carefully from his memories, yet found himself tripping as he ran.

He exhaled continuously from his mouth, producing clouds of mist like a runaway train. His footsteps were heavy, and his heartbeat was rapid. He had just committed murder, and it weighed heavily on his mind. Being a scumbag and slave trade...

[Villian] Chapter 56: Hidden Stash

Leon opened his parched lips and mumbled with a hoarse voice, “Money has blinded you fools. Why do you remain here? Do you wish to become enslaved?”

Mike walked over to the bed with a slightly annoyed expression but tried to hide it. “Whatever do you mean, boss? How did you end up in such a sorry state?” Mike’s words were laced in a snake-like tone. He clearly only respected Leon when he could provide him with benefits, but now that his boss was weaker than himself, h...

[Villian] Chapter 55: Slavers from Staedbergh

Damien and Fay lay upon the large but creaking bed. Damien attempted to suppress his germaphobia from acting up. Fay had thoroughly cleaned the room and bed sheets multiple times yet couldn’t remove the yellowing of the sheets nor the peculiar stains from the floorboards.

Having been hospital bound on modern Earth, Damien wondered how anyone could settle for these awful living conditions. He was staying at the most prestigious inn the town had to offer, yet there were no toilet facili...

[Villian] Chapter 54. Immortality is Such a Fickle Thing (Content Warnings)

Deep within the vast Kazimir Mountains, a vampire princess awakened from a lengthy slumber.

Snow-white fingers with deathly sharp black nails appeared on the rim of a crudely constructed wooden box. The owner of the hand put some force into their grip, causing the wood to creak in protest as they pulled themselves from the depths of the box.

A woman with hair as white as her skin surveyed the bland stone room with her bored red eyes. She let out a disinterested sigh as an...

[Villian] Chapter 53: Incompetent Subordinates

Damien looked at the pathetic man below him. His skin was shredded and torn, his eyes were sunken, and his skin looked deathly pale. With a wave of his hand, the many black vines encasing Leon’s body like a cocoon slithered away.

“What a smart little plant,” Damien said with amusement. “Maybe you are the one absorbing all the mana here and making those spiders mindless?” he said while poking the vines with his cane. The vine gradually curled up his cane but paused before his h...

[Villain] Chapter 52: Happy Memories

In disbelief and horror, Leon slipped and fell to the floor as the cavern plunged into darkness. The ground was damp with drool, and protruding rocks painfully grazed his back. Deprived of his sight, Leon focused his hearing on the hissing and scuttling of movement from the hundreds of spiders above him.

Damien’s calm voice echoed through the void. “Night Crawlers are a giant subspecies of spiders, a D-grade threat on their own but can increase to a B-grade with enough numbers. They...

[Villian] Chapter 51: Natural Predator

The basement of the mayor’s estate was dark and desolate. Dust swirled through the air, prompting the intruders to cough. Well, except for Damien—his Deflection skill had naturally formed a bubble of dustless and sterile air around him. Fay waved her hands and summoned gusts of wind, manipulating the dust into small piles.

Damien had personally never visited this dungeon during any of his playthroughs. The villagers had abandoned it for a reason. This dungeon was indeed bey...

[Villian] Chapter 50: The Forgotten Treasure of Blackthorn Town

Damien stood tall, black wooden cane in hand and a majestic silver robe hanging casually from his broad shoulders. With dangerous eyes, he observed the world beyond the window glass. Blackthorn was a town with interesting but primitive architecture, shadowed by a hill and mountains in the distance. Yet, from this vantage point, Damien could also oversee the never-changing barren landscape that encircled the little oasis of Blackthorn.

The streets were deserted and devoid of any...

[Villain] Chapter 49: Unexpected Powerup

Damien stumbled up the wooden staircase while clutching his head. A metal door stood in his path, but a simple thought and flick of his eyes manipulated the door’s lock, popping it open.

Finding the headache developing into a terrible migraine, he resorted to pushing the door with his outstretched arm and forcing his way inside. Compared to the smell of mold from the staircase, the room he entered was surprisingly fresh and clean.

A grand oak desk dominated the far side of the r...

[Villian] Chapter 48: Blackthorn Guild’s Rat

A man looked down at his mug of half-drunk ale. He lightly drummed his gloved fingers in a rhythmic beat on the tavern’s wooden table. Then, looking up from his table, the man surveyed the interior of the building for the umpteenth time before hastily lowering his gaze.

“How long will I have to remain in this shithole?” the man murmured while taking a swig of the ale. The crude liquor tasted of wet cardboard and smelled stale. “Bleh.” The man spat onto the floor, trying to rem...

[Villian] Chapter 47: Comply or Die

The main storyline of Throne and Awakening took place on the central continent, which was the largest and most populated continent in the world. Many different races had fought over its resource-rich lands for generations.

A vast peninsula cut off by a monstrous mountain range at the continent’s southernmost point had been long forgotten. Ever since the second most powerful species, the vampires, took control over the border, the people that called this peninsula home had been forsake...

[Villian] Chapter 46: Tarlington Fortress

Before entering the now empty fortress, Damien pulled Beldroth to the side of the bridge with a stern expression.

“Beldroth, it appears you owe me an explanation,” Damien said in an annoyed tone. Although Damien knew the prince’s motives from the game, he still wished to obtain the maximum benefits from this incident, so he pretended to be more annoyed than he actually was.

The short man trembled and said with a bitter expression, “Duke Nightshade, I offer my sincere apolo...

[Villain] Chapter 45: Eternal Servitude

The bandits watched in fright as the vampire defended the kobold and himself from arrows with simple waves of his hands while a fog of chaos surrounded the kobold, breaking down spells into raw mana.

“I’m dreaming, right?” a terrified man said in between sobs. He grabbed a woman next to him and shook her shoulder. “Linda, please…tell me this is a dream!” The woman had a frozen expression as she watched the scene.

“How can humans ever fight against such a thing?” th...

[Villian] Chapter 44: Kneel Before a Superior Existence

Damien stood there in the middle of the bridge. The cold January wind whipped his hair and rustled his clothes. From afar, the bandits eyed him with wary expressions. As residents of the north, their parents had sung tales of vampires since they were young. If Damien’s slightly unusual white hair or blood-red eyes weren’t a giveaway, his name…

Nightshade.

The vampire royal family. They had guarded the Kazimir Mountains for centuries, imprisoning the people of Kassin...

[Villian] Chapter 43: A Venomous Murder Plot

Feeling the warm rays of the early morning sun on her face, Fay opened her tired eyes. Her legs felt deathly numb, but she was happy. Her master’s face was peaceful. Fay noticed that Varn and Thar were also slowly waking up and looking around the car.

Fay was surprised that Walter had kept up his Water Cannon spell for an entire night. “Good morning, Walter…” she said in a sleepy voice.

“Good morning, Miss Fay,” he replied in a calm voice. “We will be arriving soon.�...

[Villian] Chapter 42: Be Careful Who You Surround Yourself With, Damien

A vampire, dwarf, and half-orc sat around a table with complicated expressions.

“So, in summary, each card can hold two runes, with all one hundred cards that would be two hundred runes feeding off Master Damien’s mana supply simultaneously,” Thar said with a sigh. “It is simply impossible to manage that many runes at once.”

Dalon chimed in, “Aye, even as a master mage.”

Damien almost couldn’t hold back his laughter. They had strapped the angry dwarf to a cha...

[Villian] Chapter 41: A Pleasurable Morning

Fay opened her tired eyes and took in Damien’s sleeping and peaceful face. His short white hair was carelessly covering his face as he breathed in and out at a steady rhythm. Fay smiled at the sight; although she liked seeing Damien in his bloodthirsty state, his innocent and vulnerable side was also refreshing.

Her heart started beating faster as she leaned in to kiss him good morning but pulled back before she got too close. She knew that was a quick way to ruin everything she had b...

[Villian] Chapter 40: Planning for the Future

Damien felt incredibly conflicted. He had just been presented with a huge opportunity that could greatly backfire. In front of him was Varn; he originally didn’t recognize the kobold since he was a very minor character at this stage in the storyline.

But all that would change when Varn finally advanced his Wild magic to B-grade in a few years’ time. After that, Varn would leave the Mage Tower and manage to survive crossing the Kazimir Mountains. After a month-long journey, he would ...

[Villain] Chapter 39: Soar to Become a Dragon

Damien wore a weary smile as he looked at the tiny fairy. Although she presented the cold and aloof facade of an empress, knowing her true nature made the whole thing seem ridiculous. Of course, Damien understood that people in high stations were only ‘human,’ too, as the saying went… They would obviously act very differently depending on the person they were talking to.

Master Gray was practically jumping around. “He did it! He really did it! Hahaha!” Despite being three hund...

[Villain] Chapter 38: Master Nightshade's First Disciple

Fay had a complicated expression. Was the outcome favorable or dreadful? She couldn’t discern the result from Damien’s expression, which showed one of complicated excitement.

“Master…please tell me.” It had been Fay’s dream since she was a little girl to become a mage. After learning the cleaning spell to B-grade in only a few days all by herself, she became confident about her own abilities. Why did she feel so apprehensive now?

Damien took his gloved hand away and po...

[Villain] Chapter 37: Tour of the Mage Tower

Damien managed to wrestle his hand from Master Gray’s fierce grip. For a man that appeared old enough to die from a sudden gust of wind, he sure was energetic. Running at a speed that would surprise even Usain Bolt, anyone would believe he was a lunatic escapee from the local nursing home. Damien followed closely behind, and to his surprise, Fay had no problems keeping up, although she looked exhausted, unlike Damien who always looked in pristine condition, no matter the circumstance.

[Villain] Chapter 36: Job Change

Damien located his car surrounded by a group of interested students; they hastily dispersed upon noticing his return. The duel had ended only moments ago, so it was unlikely that word of the outcome of the duel had spread yet.

Or that he had murdered the Head Professor.

Entering the backseat, Fay sleepily moved her body and sat up. “Did you win—” she asked, but Damien interrupted her.

“No, well, not exactly. Change of plans.” Tapping the front seat, he commanded, �...

[Villain] Chapter 35: Playing in the Palm of His Hand

Damien stood there with a calm expression.

This sure is a lot of people. I feel like some sort of celebrity. He clenched his hand, hidden in his pocket. Having spent most of his life in a hospital bed, he’d never experienced anything like this before. His gaze swept over the crowd. The life and energy of the place were all too real. Hundreds, even thousands, looked down upon him with varying expressions. Judging him for actions that the past owner of this body committed yet c...

[Villian] Chapter 34: May the Duel Begin

An exceptionally sleepy wolfkin meandered through the busy university campus. He desperately tried to rub the fatigue accumulated from a late night of studying from his eyes. His wolf ears were pressed flat against his head, showing his depressed mood.

The boy cursed to himself, making others look at him strangely. “I was up all night for Professor Victor’s assignment, yet my pyrokinesis is still at the D-grade. If this keeps up, I will fail the year and have to stay behind.” He l...

[Villian] Chapter 33: Sharing a bed with Master

Within a dark room filled with barrels of aged wine, a girl with black hair silently sobbed as she clutched the edges of her dress. The room would occasionally shake causing dust to fill the air.

“When will Master come back for me?” the girl muttered between labored breaths, “I hate these tight places.”

Vivid memories of a horrible childhood flashed past her eyes. Being locked in a cupboard for days at a time by her mother, who endlessly screamed at her through the door, �...

[Villian] Chapter 32: Mortal Demigods

Damien swung open the window and soared into the night sky with Levitation. As a B-grade mage, he could sense the movement of mana to a certain extent, but even a random citizen would notice the enormous movement of mana in the air.

Warning bells echoed out across the city.

This is going to be interesting. Damien thought as he looked toward the palace. In times of crisis like this, the citizens expected the power royals and nobles to take action.

Sure enough, a booming voice...

[Villian] Chapter 31: Date Night

Damien opened the car door and looked at the muddy road. Deciding to protect his shoes, he activated Levitation and floated over toward the entrance of the tavern while fixing his suit.

“Are you sure this is a blacksmith, Fay?” Damien asked in puzzlement as he looked at the door.

“I’m sure of it,” Fay said as she jumped from the car onto the porch of the building to avoid the mud.

Damien shrugged, and with a flick of his hand, he opened the doors and was greeted wi...