Reborn as the Fated Villain

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.

The joyful old man paid no attention to the various greetings from the Apprentice Mages as he charged passed. Within minutes, they arrived at the Mage Tower's entrance. Unlike the main gate, outsiders were absolutely forbidden from entering without permission.

"Come on, stick near me, young ones. Let this senior lead you," Master Gray said while waving his hands in an exaggerated manner. Damien and Fay flanked the old man's sides as he tapped the ring on his finger.

Damien naturally knew the functions of the ring, but the old man explained anyway. "This here is an artifact you will receive upon joining the Mage Tower," he said while pointing toward a silver-colored ring inlaid with golden runes. "It has many functions. Come, I will show you them."

Fay eyed the beautiful ring with interest. Master Gray tapped the ring upon the Mage Tower's closed wooden door. After a second, the door warped like jelly. "Try to enter the door the usual way, and it will eat you up and deposit you into a dungeon below the surface."

"But with the ring, we can walk straight through…" Without warning, he grabbed both Damien and Fay's wrists and dragged them through the wooden door that was wobbling. Damien had seen this before, but Fay was astonished as she passed through a solid door as if it was only an illusion.

Once inside, a bubble wrapped around the trio. "This is the next feature of the ring. If you look up, you will see…"

Both Damien and Fay looked up. What greeted them was a kilometer-wide, hollowed-out tube inside the tower. Covering the walls were books and diagrams, all meticulously labeled by 'school of magic' and organized in alphabetical order.

However, the space in the middle was not empty. The top of the tower was impossible to see due to the hundreds of floating platforms that moved about. Upon these platforms were desks and chairs with the outline of foggy people.

"Welcome to the vertical library, the home of all knowledge and research within the Mage Tower!" Master Gray exclaimed while waving his arms around.

With a simple thought, his silver ring glowed, and the trio felt gravity disappear. "Within the tower, gravity can be ignored. However, the tower is split up into different realms."

The trio floated past a floating platform with five outlines of foggy people, all discussing over a table that was also covered in fog, obscuring the details of the discussion. Surprisingly, despite floating so close, no sound escaped the foggy people's mouths.

Fay couldn't contain her curiosity. "Master Gray, what are all those people made of fog?"

Master Gray chuckled at the comment. "We are one of those foggy people too, ya know? The ring comes with an illusion spell that masks the wearer's identity and aura. It even stops sound from escaping, allowing for total privacy and the ability to discuss important matters without disturbing other people."

"Hiding identities?" Fay pondered out loud.

"If an Archmage required knowledge that is stored in this lower realm and descended down here, they would be swarmed with both Master and Apprentice Mages hoping to gain some insights into the arcane. Archmages are like celebrities here in the tower.

"With this artifact, the person studying something right beside you could be a thousand-year-old Archmage or a twenty-year-old Apprentice Mage. Without knowing, nobody bothers each other unless they wish to work on projects together."

Fay then asked, "How do people work on projects together if they can't see each other?"

"Silly girl, although we spend most of our time here in the tower, sometimes we still leave to eat or sleep. While outside of the tower, the illusion doesn't function. You saw me being swarmed with Apprentice Mages earlier, right? I had just gone to pick up a sandwich, and that happened… Sigh. I usually get one of my minions—erm, disciples to grab me food, but they were all busy today.

"Anyway, the point is that mages can meet outside of the tower, and if they touch their rings together, they are added as 'friends' and can see through each other's illusion spell while in the tower."

Fay finally nodded in understanding. Damien understood her concerns, but he already knew all this information, so he decided not to speak. It would seem odd if he knew everything, so he asked, "Master Gray, what are the differences between the realms?"

"Ah, glad you asked. This will be important, especially for you. The tower is divided into many invisible sections. The higher one goes, the more advanced and secret the knowledge becomes. Everyone is allowed to reach the top. It's all reliant on your contributions.

"Basically, the more knowledge you contribute to the tower, the more knowledge you gain access to. This rule was put in place to stop spies or useless people acquiring knowledge they either shouldn't know or was too dangerous for them to know."

Master Gray then turned to look Damien in the eye, grinning. "For example, Blood magic is kept right next to Necromancy knowledge right at the top. We can't have new mages experimenting with Blood magic that uses weeks, if not years, of a person's vitality with every spell cast."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Master Gray then waved around. "We are currently in the lower realm. As you can see, it's very busy and contains a lot of books. These are all common books that could be found in the university or magic stores in the capital."

Skillfully weaving through the thousands of floating platforms, Master Gray seemed to pass an invisible line. The number of platforms decreased by around ninety percent, and the number of books lining the walls also diminished.

"We are now in the middle realm. Here is where I spend some of my retirement—erm, work time, yes. This area is usually populated with Master Mages, but the occasional Apprentice Mage with great contributions can also come here. These books contain more advanced topics like B-grade spells, alchemy, runes, and more."

Master Gray then grinned, showing his toothy smile. "Usually, the tower would suppress you and never allow you up here, but since I'm a council member, I have some added benefits, such as escorting people around the tower."

Damien then noticed on a small floating platform that was made of stone and had a small fish pond. A man was meditating on a cushion. Unlike all the other foggy people masked by illusions, this man could be seen as normal.

"Oh, that's my friend Dave. We are working on a project at the moment, so we are friends. Since you are in my ring's sphere, you will naturally be able to see my friends as well. Anyway, that's not important. He's an old fool who likes painting instead of studying."

"I heard that, old man!" Dave's ancient eyes slowly opened, and he roared out.

"Such an awful morning person, tut tut," Master Gray responded with a light laugh and hastily ascended toward the peak of the tower.

After a few minutes of flying, the basic-looking floating platforms of the middle and lower realm vanished into the darkness below, and instead, massive fancy mansions appeared. They were all built upon floating islands of white rock. "This is where the Archmages, Council Members, and trusted Master Mages live."

Within this upper realm, the walls were no longer large bookshelves but instead beautiful waterfalls flanked with floating gardens containing many mystical and rare flora. It was like another world.

Master Gray floated over toward one of the smaller mansions and landed in its courtyard. The mansions were all constructed in various styles, and Master Gray's happened to look like a Chinese pavilion from ancient times.

Damien had to admit the pavilion, mystical surroundings, and Master Gray's appearance almost made him believe he was in an eastern cultivation novel. Luckily the other floating islands had castles with a more European style, and there were no shocking geniuses or jade-like beauties walking around.

Master Gray then showed them inside his home and sat them down. He tapped a communication stone that was placed on a table with a label below it: "Archmage Amaltheia Magigrace."

After a moment, a ranging aura of power engulfed the building, and a very angry fairy with a tiny towel wrapped around her pink hair appeared at the entrance. "Old Gray, if this matter isn't important, I am assigning you twenty more disciples. Do you think you can summon me for every trivial matter?"

Despite being so small, her voice practically exploded Damien's eardrums, and he rubbed his ears in annoyance.

Master Gray ignored the fact he had summoned an Archmage while they were having a relaxing bath and quickly began explained. "Archmage Amaltheia, I have discovered a very promising new addition to our tower!" He waved toward Damien, who sat at a table with an annoyed expression.

"Who is this brat?" the little fairy said without a hint of respect.

"Now, now, I understand you are angry—"

"NO, YOU DON'T!" Amaltheria shouted while pouting heavily.

"Shh, listen to me, and stop interrupting. Erm, as I was saying, his name is Damien Nightshade, B-grade or above in—" He turned toward Damien. "What school of magic was it?"

Damien replied, "Psychic mag—"

Amaltheia interrupted again. "Wait, Nightshade? Is he a descendant of that Nightshade?"

"Can you please stop interrupting me? As I was saying, Damien here is a vampire with a B-grade in Psychic magic… Wait, Psychic magic? Can vampires even use Psychic magic?"

Damien just put his head in his hands in disbelief. He knew both of these Mages were over a hundred years old, yet they acted like little kids. Where was that aloof aura of indifference he had witnessed when the fairy fought off the pack of Wyverns only two days ago?

Standing up, he decided someone with some social intelligence should lead the conversation.

"Stop, be quiet both of you." He commanded his [Noble Aura] active.

Master Gray stopped rambling into thin air, and Amaltheria shot him a death glare but shut her mouth.

"Thank you, let me introduce myself again. I am Damien Nightshade—yes, that Nightshade. As a vampire, I can naturally use some Blood magic. But beyond that, I can use Psychic and Spatial magic."

Damien saw both of their mouths open, but he shot them a knowing glare, and they clamped their mouths shut.

"As I've previously mentioned to Master Gray here, I was offered the position of Head Professor at the university, but I wish to pursue the arcane and develop my own strength in the safety of the Mage Tower. I will naturally teach some Apprentice Mages and fulfill other duties expected of me, but I will not be staying here forever. I have matters to attend to in the mortal world."

Amaltheia finally couldn't keep silent and said, "Although you are a vampire and a royal one at that, what evidence do you have of your ability to teach? Not just any B-grade mage can become a Master Mage here. You have to have some contributions toward the tower for the tower's suppression to not to keep you to the lower realm."

Damien grinned. "How about I grant enlightenment to three random Apprentice Mages?" Although he knew with certainty that he could accomplish this, he expected them to shout at him for being arrogant and to get out of their sight.

Much to his surprise, their eyes sparkled. "Does the school of magic they study matter?" Master Gray exclaimed.

Damien thought for a moment and replied, "So long as it's one of the basic elements, then it should be fine. However, I have some conditions. The three mages I awaken to B-grade must become my disciples, and I will not perform this action again. At least not for free."

Master Gray nodded with understanding. "I will go and retrieve some of my useless disciples and gift them for this experiment, hehe," he said with an evil grin, and with a snap of his fingers, the man vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Amaltheia suddenly panicked and flew away. "I will be back! I just need to change clothes."

Damien stood there dumbfounded. These crazy people didn't give a damn if he was spouting nonsense since that was all they did all day! He thought they would be less willing, and it would take some more convincing, but alas, he was the foolish one to assume they followed normal ways of thinking. Anyone who studied magic all day for hundreds of years would likely be insane.

With the pavilion empty, Fay turned to Damien and asked in a quiet voice, "Master, can I learn magic here, too?"

Damien glanced at Fay with a warm smile, "Of course, I didn't just bring you here to be my lunchbox."

Fay's eyes lit up, and her previously depressed aura vanished. "Can I also be enlightened, Master?"

Damien chuckled. "Sure thing, let me check your magic affinity first."

Damien placed his gloved hand on Fay's forehead and closed his eyes in concentration.

After a second, his eyes opened wide in shock. "No wonder you learned that cleaning spell so quickly. This is going to be difficult, even for me…" he muttered while stepping back.