The Villain Is Destined to Die: But as the Creator, I know All Endings

The Eclipse Institute was busy as usual. Students and professors swarmed the corridors.

But above all, the disciplinary committee members were in rougher shape than usual.

The reason was simple.

Today marked the first day for first-year students to get officially registered under a class rank.

It was a big event in Eclipse.

To make sure everything went smoothly without any hurdles or problems, the disciplinary committee had to take charge.

"Please don't swarm the entrance!"

"And move to your respective classes!"

To avoid delaying the class schedules, students received a letter early in the morning indicating which class they belonged to.

"Class C? Heh, are they serious?" one boy snapped, crushing the letter in his hand. "I did better than half the idiots who got into Class A!"

His friend beside him scoffed.

"You're not the only one. I asked my father to take action. There's no way this result is fair. The Eclipse must have been bought."

"The Eclipse had sold," the boy muttered bitterly, glaring at a passing group of smiling students. "Just look at them. That guy, I saw him before, and he barely passed the entrance test, yet he's in Class B."

"Connections," his friend replied. "It's always the same story… talent means nothing here."

A girl with blonde hair walking by overheard them and rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you just weren't good enough," she said casually.

The two froze, glaring at her retreating figure.

"Tch, arrogant," one hissed.

They went back to grumbling, ignoring the truth that their own test results hadn't been impressive in the first place.

They chose a high-star book over two and miserably failed it.

It wasn't Eclipse's fault if they wanted to act all high and mighty, even after being specifically told not to go beyond two stars.

The classes were held in separate buildings across the institute.

The lower-rank classes, from D to F, were placed together in a large building.

It had wide training halls, lots of equipment, and many instructors.

The reason was simple.

These students needed more guidance and focus. The instructors there were patient yet firm, helping them build their basics and discipline before moving on to other topics.

Classes C to A were given a different building on the other side of the campus.

It wasn't luxurious, but it had everything they needed.

These students were known to be average in most aspects.

Teachers preferred teaching these batches because they followed orders and rarely caused trouble. They feel comfortable.

And then there was the S-rank class.

Unlike the others, they had their own building. A whole place just for one class of one hundred students.

They were the pride of Eclipse.

Each one was a strong, gifted individual. The ones who were called geniuses since birth.

However, there was one individual who got registered in the S-ranked class, despite not being called one of those geniuses.

And right now, he was getting the looks of prey as he was passing through these crowds.

Maintaining his posture and wearing his uniform, Leon walked, never bothering to bat an eye at any one of them.

He was not here to attend class but to meet the Headmaster of Eclipse.

Earlier this morning, Myra had contacted him with a letter in hand.

In that letter, it was stated that Leon was to be summoned to the Headmaster's office as soon as he entered the academic block.

Leon looked back at the letter in his hand.

'Well, I brought this on myself.'

He sighed, thinking back on the things he did during the examination.

He can easily predict the type of questions the headmaster would ask him.

'He probably inspected the Astral Resonator.'

And if he did, then Leon was afraid that he was going to ask him some really nasty stuff.

Ignoring the glares and murmurs around him, Leon took a turn and climbed the stairs.

Just above this floor, the Headmaster's office was situated.

"Haaah…" He took a deep breath and brought his hand up to knock on the door.

"Headmaster, it's me," he said politely.

No voice came from inside.

The door opened without a single sound.

Leon stepped in.

The room was vast, lined with towering bookshelves that reached the ceiling. And dozens of papers were stacked on the table and shelves, and every wall was decorated with paintings, artifacts, and even weapons on display.

'Wow.' Leon internally admired the aesthetic look of it.

It looked less like an office and more like a royal general store.

He looked up.

A large window stretched behind the desk, sunlight pouring through the curtains.

Sitting there was an elderly man with sharp features and crimson-red eyes that seemed to glow faintly in the light.

'Is he angry about what I did to Alice?'

Maybe Leon is overthinking it—

"Leon Valentine," Raizen said, his deep, commanding voice filling the room. "You look unharmed."

Leon's eye twitched. It wasn't exactly a greeting… it felt more like a taunt.

And Leon could guess why.

'But, he can't blame me.'

Leon made it look like an accident, not something deliberate.

No matter how hard Raizen tried to figure it out, all he could do was guess.

Alice, Raizen's granddaughter, still hadn't woken up.

The mental strain from dying inside the book was too much for her. Even with her S-rank stamina, she would need at least a day to recover. That was already considered early because most others would take weeks.

"Good morning, Headmaster," Leon replied calmly. "You called for me?"

Leon had to act carefully.

Raizen wasn't just the Headmaster of Eclipse; he was once a high-ranking member of the [Authority].

A single careless word choice could ruin Leon's academic life before it even started.

Leon stood straight, meeting his gaze.

"..."

"..."

Still, Leon couldn't help but think,

'Nah… Alice's glare is way nastier.'

Raizen leaned back slightly in his chair.

"I will ask this straight," he said. "Do you possess any skill that allows you to copy other skills?"

Leon didn't flinch.

He came prepared.

He could tell Raizen wasn't threatening him, even if it sounded that way. It was simply how the man spoke in situations like this.

'So he did inspect the Astral Resonator after all,' Leon thought.

Raizen couldn't ignore him. Leon had revealed too much.

Even with all his years of experience, Raizen couldn't figure out what Leon was hiding.

A trash of the Valentine family—

That was what people called him. For someone with that title to suddenly display such talent and power, enough to put even prodigies to shame, was something difficult to accept.

It wasn't that Raizen doubted him. He simply wanted to know what this boy was after.

And more importantly, why was he revealing his power now?

"You saw the Astral Resonator," Leon said. His tone was low, "It's as you've guessed."

He paused for a second.

"And yes," his voice unwavering. "I have that skill."

Raizen's hand, resting on the desk, twitched. His chair creaked faintly as he almost stood up, but he stopped himself.

A skill that allows someone to copy another's talent…

That was no ordinary ability. Such a thing, if true, could shift the balance of power within the entire capital.

Raizen's gaze hardened.

"Whose skill have you obtained till now?" he asked.

Leon didn't answer immediately. A faint grin crept across Leon's face as he looked up and snapped his finger up.

Without uttering a word, an ice spear appeared above Leon's head.

Screech—

Raizen's chair scraped against the floor as he stood up, eyes wide.

Letting him see was the only easy option he had in his hand, and knowing the condition of the kingdom and its relation to neighbours, Leon knew that he wouldn't dare to poke about him to the king.

"Impossible…" Raizen's eyes were still on him.

That was his own skill.

Voiceless Incantation, it was his unique ability, and now Leon possessed it too.

After seeing the Astral Resonator, Raizen had investigated it alone. He had stayed awake all night, carefully watching the recording of The Shattered Swordmaiden.

And he had to admit, it was something he didn't expect to see.

Not from a kid his age. From the way Leon fought, he seemed to know things that weren't meant to be known.

Leon slowly lowered his hand, and the ice spear faded away.

"It's not something I learned," he said, his tone steady. "It's something that happens when I understand how a skill of mine works."

"A skill of yours?" Raizen raised his chin slightly. "Elaborate."

Leon nodded once.

"Every ability has a pattern, a sequence, the flow of mana, and the logic behind its creation. Once I see that, I can recreate it using this skill."

He was referring to the underlying structure, the working mechanism, and the formula behind a spell.

His face remained unreadable. "It's not copying. It's comprehension."

He meant that one needed to understand a skill at its most fundamental level to make it their own.

That was even more impressive and more frightening than Raizen expected.

Raizen's eyes flickered with thought, silent for a moment.

Leon continued, "But it doesn't come free. Every time I do it, it takes a part of me."

Raizen's tone lowered. "Like what?"

Leon's eyes lifted slightly.

"The cost is personal," he said after a pause. "I'd rather not discuss it."

Raizen studied him in silence.

Leon held his gaze, unflinching.

Raizen glanced down at his desk, where 100 papers were stacked in a bundle. With the student's name written on it.

He reached out to one of the papers, and laying it flat, he tapped on it.

He thought about this situation.

One of them was the Headmaster of Eclipse.

And the other was the student who had just proven he could surpass him.

He didn't wait anymore; he picked up the stamp and slammed it on the paper.

Raizen's eyes moved across the page.

[Leon Valentine] [Year - 1 - Rank 02]

Allotted Class: S Rank [Pending] -> [Approved]