I Am a Villain, So What?-Chapter 167: Level Up

I lost. Let’s just admit it.

...No, that wasn’t quite right. To be precise, it was more like a technical knockout.

’A decision loss. Yeah, that’s the term. I didn’t even use the Reaver shotgun. I didn’t use the Divine Bullets. Didn’t use the [Flash] step either.’

I muttered these excuses to myself while sitting on the edge of my bed, reviewing my current capabilities.

’First-order Divine Bullets, the Reaver, and Auto-Healing granted by the Rune of Vitality.’

Those were my trump cards. The custom Magic Bullets were always loaded in my tactical pouches. I could use them anytime. My firearms, especially the Reaver I had looted from the Lumeveil ruins and heavily modified by Merle, had become far smoother and structurally reinforced to handle high-tier mana.

’The problem isn’t the gear. It’s the user.’

[Name: Lucien Ashborne]

[Age: 17]

[Gender: Male]

[Personality: Pragmatic, Calculating, Cynical]

[Intimidation: Lv. 7]

[Cooking: Lv. 8]

[Marksmanship: Lv. 8]

[Detection: Lv. 8]

[Sixth Sense: Lv. 3]

[Movement: Lv. 7]

[Riding: Lv. 4]

[Strength: Lv. 3]

[Endurance: Lv. 3]

[Stamina: Lv. 5]

[Agility: Lv. 4]

[Mana: Lv. 2]

[Divine Force: Lv. 1]

[Blessing of the Divine (Rank E)]

Everything had been going relatively well up until now. But I had hit a hard physical wall. A chronic shortage of System Points had stalled my core stat progression, forcing me to rely entirely on firearms and positioning.

But my wallet was heavy again.

[Current Points: 9,758]

The Theme Park Terror Incident, the Primordial Treant in the Fern Kingdom, the Vance Bombing, and... the brutal alleyway brawl with Kael Ardyn. Major events had piled up back-to-back, earning me a substantial payout.

I had considered burning through these points mid-fight against Kael, but I couldn’t. Against a freak of nature swinging a golden aura sword at breakneck speed while pinning me to a brick wall, I simply didn’t have the luxury of opening menus.

’And then there’s the Divine Force.’

The [Flash (Blink)] footwork used by the Holy Assassins—the covert operatives of the fallen Holy Empire—was strictly powered by Divine Force.

’I can’t beat the Protagonist with ordinary stats or standard mana.’

To have even a sliver of a chance at surviving the late-game disasters, I needed to master both standard Mana and Divine Force.

In my opinion, my Marksmanship, Sixth Sense, Detection, and Movement were perfectly fine. What I desperately needed was raw, physical durability. Ability scores.

...The fight with Kael had made my limitations painfully clear. Sixth Sense’s transcendent danger detection and Marksmanship didn’t matter if my body was physically too slow to dodge the incoming strike. My Strength was lacking, my Agility was insufficient, and it had ended with me knocked unconscious in the mud.

"System. Upgrade Strength, Endurance, Stamina, Agility, and Mana to Level 7."

[7,000 Points have been consumed.]

A sudden, intense rush of heat filled me as pure energy surged through my muscle fibers and mana circuits. My bones popped, and a heavy weight lifted off my shoulders.

Standard physical stats like Strength, Endurance, Stamina, Agility, and Mana had a hard cap at Level 10—the absolute pinnacle of human training. To go beyond Level 10 required transcendent enlightenment or highly specific artifacts. Reaching Level 7 put me squarely in the realm of elite Imperial Knights.

"I’ll use the remaining points to raise Divine Force’s level."

Unlike standard physical traits, Divine Force was an entirely different beast. While raising Mana from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 cost a mere 50 points, Divine Force was exorbitantly expensive.

[To level up Divine Force from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2, 1,000 points are required. To level up from Lv. 2 to Lv. 3, 1,500 points are required.]

"...Do it."

[2,500 Points have been consumed. Divine Force has risen from Lv. 1 to Lv. 3.]

[Remaining Points: 258]

’Phew.’

Thinking about it, I had only ever used Divine Force passively to trigger [Flash]. I was completely ignorant of its actual offensive properties or how to wield it properly in combat. It might be the most potent weapon I possessed. Wasn’t the volatile energy enveloping my Divine Bullets basically weaponized Divine Force?

But with the fall of the Great Empire a century ago, practical knowledge about Divine Force had been systematically erased. There was no one alive from the Holy Nation’s church. Everyone who could natively use Divine Force had been hunted down by the Demons so no unexpected variables would occur during their conquest of this world.

Maybe I should just ask Merle.

He had mentioned that the Lumeveil Dimension Research Institute had defense contracts with the Holy Empire. He had personally manufactured the ballistic weaponry used by the Executioners.

*****

"Divine Force... you say?"

Merle paused, holding a heavy cast-iron pan. He was currently roasting a fresh batch of coffee beans. The rich, earthy aroma filled the empty diner and enveloped my senses.

"I’m sorry to disappoint you, Boss Lucien, but I don’t know much about the internal mechanics of Divine Force. Only that it was the foundational holy power of the Church..."

"You were the Chief Researcher at the Lumeveil Institute, and you don’t know?" I asked, leaning against the counter.

Merle nodded deeply, wiping his hands on his apron.

"Yes. I am an alchemist and an engineer, after all. The Church viewed my mechanical science as... somewhat at odds with divine providence. That ideological friction was likely a significant reason my mentor was ultimately purged by the Inquisitors."

"Hm. I see."

Beside him, Nero was standing on a small wooden stool, staring blankly at the steaming coffee beans Merle was shifting around. The ten-year-old boy was perfectly still, absorbing the mechanical process with empty, terrifyingly precise focus.

Without thinking, I reached out and gave Nero’s neatly trimmed hair a brief pat. The boy flinched slightly but didn’t pull away.

Merle watched the interaction before turning back to me.

"Boss Lucien, why the sudden interest in harnessing Divine Force manually? You previously instructed me to prioritize translating the martial arts manual you recovered from the Fern Kingdom. Decoding that Holy Assassin manual will take some time."

"Sigh." I let out a long, exhausted breath, leaning heavily against the kitchen counter. "What else can I do? You saw how I returned unconscious yesterday. I was one-sidedly beaten by Kael Ardyn. It’s getting on my nerves. I want to get stronger. Strong enough to not lose again."

Merle wiped his hands on a clean towel, offering a mild, grandfatherly frown. "Boss, you shouldn’t consider yourself weak. You are already incredibly strong for your age. You faced the future Sword Saint head-on. And besides, you didn’t even use your trump cards—the Reaver shotgun, the specialized Magic Bullets, or your high-yield explosives."

"Hah," I scoffed bitterly, crossing my arms. "If I have to rely on lethal, area-of-effect trump cards just to beat a classmate in a brawl, that means I am fundamentally weak in the first place, old man. Gear can be disarmed. Ammo runs out. I need baseline physical superiority."

Merle sighed, shaking his head. "I know what you mean, Boss. But sometimes, haste can lead to far more dangerous consequences. Forcing a power you don’t fully comprehend, like Divine Force, could tear your mana circuits apart. You should just follow the natural course of action and build your foundation steadily."

He wasn’t wrong. But I didn’t have the luxury of a "natural course."

By using 7,000 System Points, I had forcefully dragged my physical stats. But having the raw specs of an elite knight was useless if my brain and reflexes weren’t synchronized with my new bodily limits. I needed a high-stress environment to forge that connection.

Maybe I should visit the tower again. Let’s test out my new stats.

******

[Evening]

The dining room was lively. Lily had prepared a massive feast, and Ariana had come over to check on my recovery. Merle, Irina, Alicia, and Nero were all seated around the long mahogany table. It was a rare, peaceful moment for the "freeloaders" of my household.

"I’m going to the Celestial Spire tomorrow for a training," I announced casually, cutting into my steak.

The clinking of silverware stopped instantly.

Ariana dropped her fork onto her porcelain plate with a loud clatter. She glared at me from across the table, her violet eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Absolutely not," Ariana declared.

"It’s just a few days of field training—"

"You just got beaten unconscious yesterday!" Ariana interrupted, pointing an accusing finger at the bandage on my cheek. "You have bruised ribs, a mild concussion, and your mana circuits are exhausted! I forbid you from entering a Dungeon."

"The Celestial Spire isn’t a standard Dungeon, Ariana. It’s a structured environment. I need practical combat experience to adapt to my current physical limits," I argued reasonably. "I can’t just swing a sword in the backyard and expect me to come out uninjured if real disaster strucks."

"I don’t care about your physical limits! I care about you returning home in one piece!" Ariana snapped, her aura flaring slightly.

We stared each other down for a long moment. Finally, I sighed, raising my hands in surrender.

"I promise I won’t push it," I assured her, softening my tone. "I’m not aiming for a floor boss. I just want to hunt regular mobs to sync my reflexes. I’ll carry an emergency return scroll, and I swear on my life I will forfeit and teleport out at the first sign of mortal danger."

Ariana bit her lower lip, clearly torn. She knew she couldn’t stop me if I was truly determined, but her worry was genuine.

"Fine," Ariana huffed, crossing her arms. "But you are not going alone. If you pass out again, someone needs to drag your stubborn body back to the portal."

"I will accompany the Master."