Reincarnated as a Novel's Villain: Creator of Curses and Blessings-Chapter 29: I adapt

[Two suitable blessings have been found. Do you want to combine [Shadow Stepwork] and [Footstep of Wind] into a higher-tier blessing?]

"Yes! Do it."

--

[Congratulations! You have created a new blessing.]

Name: Dance of Shadow

Rank: ★★

[Description]: A dance of a widow who lost her son and husband. She created this dance as a gift for them before ending her own life.

No one sees your feet... no one hears your footsteps. Once you move, no one can chase you. Your speed resonates with the essence of shadow, even leaving afterimages behind.

--

Hector nodded in satisfaction. Then he resumed his journey to the top of the mountain. Of course, he didn’t forget to dispose of Max’s underlings’ corpses.

Now, somewhere else.

BANG!

All of the professors fell silent in worry. No one dared to look at Kevin, who was clenching his jaw in rage as he stared at the magical screen.

"Adjust the tracking tools. Find their corpses. We can use their deaths to expel him."

The professor nodded and quickly operated the tracking tools. But after around thirty minutes, they frowned in confusion.

"S-Sir... not a trace of them. It seems he’s already eliminated the corpses."

Kevin rubbed his temple in discomfort as a sudden headache struck. He gritted his teeth and slowly sat down on the chair.

Staring at the ceiling, he sighed in frustration.

"He died for nothing."

Obviously, Max was a disgrace to his family. No one cared about him, even in death. At the very least, his corpse could have had some value—enough to be used to expel Hector for killing within the academy. But now, with the body gone, it was all meaningless.

"I misjudged him."

However, his expression soon turned indifferent. He gave a faint smile.

"But no matter how strong he is, he’ll never pass my exam."

***

After three hours, Hector barely faced any trouble on the way to the top of the mountain.

He didn’t know what awaited him, but at least it was a good time to rest mentally.

Finally, he arrived. However, he quickly frowned in confusion as he looked at the scene before him.

A crowd had gathered ahead, chattering about something. What was going on?

He headed over and stopped one of them.

"Hey, man. What’s going on here?"

The student blinked, then let out a sigh.

"Just look ahead. You’ll see."

Hector nodded and turned his attention forward, where a student was fighting a strange wooden figure.

"Damn it! Why would they put something this strong in our way?!"

"Aahhhhh!"

"You failed. Step aside—my turn."

In the blink of an eye, the wooden figure swung its wooden sword downwardly, cracking the student’s weapon. Half a second later, before he could even snap out of his daze, a kick slammed into his chest, sending him skidding across the ground.

Sure enough, the student had failed.

"Fuck! That thing’s a monster!" one student yelled in anger.

Another student shrugged, looking exhausted and dejected.

"I think that thing is literally impossible to beat. Maybe the academy just wants to expel us."

Others around them shared the same thoughts and emotions.

The gloomy atmosphere quickly covered them. No one wanted to fight the wooden figure again, as if they had already accepted their fate.

Meanwhile, Kevin and the professors, who had been watching everyone through tracking tools, simply laughed.

Kevin smirked, his voice filled with mockery toward the commoners.

"That figure’s swordsmanship is copied from the Principal’s blessing. There’s no way trash like them can defeat it."

"After all... no swordsmanship style in this world can surpass the blessing of the Sword God, even if that artifact is old."

Kevin snorted while gazing at Hector. He could tell that his mission had been fulfilled—removing the commoners from the academy.

"Let’s see what pointless moves he’ll try."

Kevin crossed his legs and slowly lifted a cup of wine.

***

Hector sighed as he observed the wooden figure.

Then he shrugged.

"For sure, this exam is impossible to pass. There’s no way anyone here can defeat that wooden figure."

Hector’s eyes were sharp enough to grasp how strong and masterful the wooden figure’s swordsmanship was.

Even right now, he had no way to get past it and take the red flags—unless he summoned Aharok. But that was his last resort.

He wasn’t desperate enough yet to use his hidden card.

He glanced at the sky, then toward the horizon.

He had around five hours left before the sun rose. If he couldn’t defeat the wooden figure and take the red flag before then, he would fail the exam.

Did he feel worried or afraid if he failed? Actually, not at all.

On the contrary, he felt thrilled—and even grateful to the academy.

This was the only path left for him right now.

To grow stronger and stronger, to break through the bottleneck of his swordsmanship.

His eyes glimmered sharply.

"Let’s do it."

He slowly stepped into the wooden figure’s attack zone, stunning everyone around him.

"Is he crazy?" one student muttered in confusion.

"Screw him. Let’s pack our luggage and leave the academy," another said coldly before turning away.

Still, some students remained interested in Hector’s actions. Most of them just wanted to see the look of despair on his face.

"See? He lost."

"Hahaha... what an idiot you are," a student chuckled.

However, Hector didn’t give up. He stood back up, steadied his stance, and lunged at the wooden figure once more.

And he lost again.

"Hahaha! Hey, dude, don’t you ever know when to stop? Just quit already," a student mocked loudly.

The laughter and ridicule spread among the students.

Hector kept standing up and fighting, ignoring the surrounding voices as he approached the wooden figure again.

He lost. Again and again.

At this point, Hector couldn’t even count how many times he had lost before the wooden figure.

Bruises covered his battered body. His breathing was ragged, yet his will remained unbroken.

A professor chuckled.

"Is there something wrong with his head? That’s just stupid."

Some professors mocked him.

But Kevin only scowled as he stared at the magical screen. He had noticed something strange about Hector.

Despite losing nonstop, over time, Hector had gradually reduced the intensity of the wooden figure’s attacks. The fight was no longer one-sided. At some point, Kevin finally realized Hector’s true intention.

Hector was adapting to the wooden figure’s swordsmanship.

"HOLY FUCK!" Kevin suddenly screamed and barked orders at his underlings.

"Trigger the wooden figure’s mana right now!"

The professor flinched and stammered,

"B-But... that artifact will be destroyed."

Indeed, they had used that artifact in this normal exam without the academy’s permission. If an old artifact capable of copying blessings was destroyed, they would be in serious trouble.

"FUCK YOU! I SAID USE IT! I’LL TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY!"