Chapter 65

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Episode 14 - Second Form of Inverted Heaven [2]

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"So now then, how are villains born?"

The cadets fell silent at Professor Gregory’s words.

The birth of a villain is unknown to many cadets, especially commoners who have never studied the subject.

And some nobles honestly do not care; to them, villains are simply a nuisance.

They believe they are safe and that someone else will deal with them.

So, what is the point of studying how villains are born?

Well, not everyone is like that.

At that moment, someone raised a hand.

I slightly turned my head in that direction; the beating of her heart, the rhythm of her breathing, the circulation of her blood, everything reached me.

Clementine raised her hand and looked at Professor Gregory.

"Cadet Clementine, then, how is a villain born?"

She lowered her hand and answered without hesitation.

"The most well-known method behind the birth of a villain is obtaining a Cube of Chaos, then using one of their emotions, specifically the strongest one, but only negative emotions; and the third step is..."

She paused, as if saying the next words would affect many mentally weak cadets.

Professor Gregory nodded, and after receiving permission, Clementine continued.

"It is the act of killing, enjoying killing others, torturing them, or causing them any kind of harm, even cannibalism in the worst cases, as long as the emotion they will use to absorb the Cube of Chaos is strong enough for a Class 1 villain to be born, even one stronger than others of the same rank."

Professor Gregory nodded calmly. At that moment, some cadets who were mentally weak felt fear.

From my perspective, the emotions of fear were quite strong within many of them.

But Professor Gregory did not care and continued speaking.

"Exactly, that is one of the ways to become villains, but there is also the method of Soul Corruption: devouring your entire bloodline, parents, siblings, your whole family, among many other methods."

Then he turned around and wrote on the board.

I did not know whether this professor simply loved writing on the board, because in the end, he always said out loud whatever he wrote.

"Now then, what makes a villain different from a human like us?"

This time, the one who answered was Rinna.

"Professor, the difference mostly lies in morality. They are immoral, they do not care about the lives of others, they do what they believe is right, they pursue inhuman dreams or purposes, they are cruel by nature, but..."

Rinna paused briefly before continuing after taking a breath.

"... The greatest difference lies in their bodies; their insides are completely different, as if every organ had been replaced. They are also mostly known for having black blood, thick like tar."

In simple terms, a villain is no longer literally human.

They can choose to abandon their emotions, their rationality, or anything else that humans possess.

They follow a path that, for them, was the best decision in a world or environment where nobody accepted them from the very beginning.

Professor Gregory nodded and looked at the other cadets before opening his mouth.

"It is not for nothing that most of Class B-1 are the best first-years, right?"

Some cadets smiled smugly.

Meanwhile, Professor Gregory, smiling, said,

"Then, let’s continue. Now, next question."

He looked at each of the cadets present before pointing at one randomly.

"You, tell me why you think there are so many villains in this Empire. No, on this continent."

The cadet, somewhat nervous, answered in a weak voice.

"I uh... because they like doing all that stuff... I mean, killing... right?"

Professor Gregory shook his head.

"No, it’s because, before becoming what they are, they lived through rejection as humans. That’s all. They lived being ignored, without receiving help or comfort from others. But once everyone rejects them, something inside them changes: they find a goal or purpose and seek strength, and what better way to become strong quickly than by becoming a villain..."

He paused slightly before continuing.

"... If a newly born villain had 10 Cubes of Chaos in front of them, they could absorb all of them in a single day and, by the next day, become a Class 10 villain. That is why many of those who are rejected follow this path: they gain strength faster and can fulfill their goals more easily and in less time."

Then he sighed, as if remembering something.

"Anyway, a villain is born from rejection, becomes a villain through terrible or emotional acts, and gains power quickly through the Cube of Chaos. Now let’s move on to the topic of the Power of Chaos."

Meanwhile, I listened to everything in silence. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Honestly, I already knew most of these things more or less.

"Of course, this is the first class where we discuss these three topics, and there will be more classes with greater detail in the future."

Even so, my thoughts returned to Professor Harris’s killer.

’Even now, I feel like she was simply forced by the situation.’

But what can really be done about it? Being a villain literally means everything this class has just described.

Without resorting to those steps, you cannot become a villain.

And on this continent, the religion of the God of Light, Ordeal, is truly powerful; everyone in this place simply values strength and their twisted religion above those who suffer.

Anyway, I continued listening to Professor Gregory’s class.

Honestly, now came the topic some people had been waiting for the most.

Then Professor Gregory wrote on the board once again.

’This is bothering me, it’s seriously bothering me.’

Doesn’t he know I’m blind?

Anyway, Professor Gregory’s voice echoed strongly throughout the classroom.

"Power of Chaos, what exactly is this energy that grants powers like mana?"

One of the cadets quickly responded.

"As far as I understand, it is similar to mana in terms of attributes; however, at the same time, it is the complete opposite of mana."

Professor Gregory nodded and asked:

"And what exactly is this difference between the Power of Chaos and mana?"

The same cadet hesitated for a moment, but eventually answered.

"First of all, the Power of Chaos is corrosive, or rather, simply being near that energy destroys life itself. A clear example would be nature itself, like what was explained in the first topic of the class."

Nodding, Professor Gregory continued the cadet’s answer.

"Exactly. Just getting close to it can kill any living being within hours, and some villains who have better control over the Power of Chaos can even corrupt the mana of a Star user or the mana in the environment itself. But those are rare cases, since the Power of Chaos is far from easy to control."

He let out a faint sigh and pointed at a cadet.

"You, tell me what makes the Power of Chaos special compared to mana."

The cadet nodded and straightened his back.

"My knowledge is limited, so this is all I know: what makes the Power of Chaos special is that it can easily surpass any Class limit of any villain. In comparison, those of us who use mana cannot grow stronger unless we absorb mana and train or, of course, use some special trait that increases each individual’s power."

Nodding, Professor Gregory let out a faint laugh.

Then he sat down in the desk chair and said:

"Next question, how do we protect ourselves against the Power of Chaos?"

Someone answered immediately.

"With Mana Coating, which can be used at the 4-Star level."

And Professor Gregory asked another question.

"Why are we able to sense the Power of Chaos?"

"Because of their similarities: one gives life, while the other is death."

"Is it possible to destroy the Power of Chaos using only mana, just like the Power of Chaos does?"

"No, it’s not possible unless a trait is used."

And Professor Gregory continued asking several questions, one after another.

At that point, I stopped paying attention.

Honestly, I was only curious about learning more about everything related to the Abyss and its power system.

Mainly because I barely have any memories containing useful information about it.

And on a positive note, Professor Gregory’s classes are more than useful.

Finally, at the end of the class, Professor Gregory said something that left everyone in silence.

"For the next class, I need you to create a thesis about the structure of the Power of Chaos and its different functions and reactions with attributes, as well as why they can be used. Work in teams, maximum of five people."

After those words, he gathered his things and left as if what he had just said were something casual.

But in my thoughts:

’Damn, this is even more annoying than Veronica.’

Seriously, there is literally a blind person in his class, and he still doesn’t make any exceptions.

Internally shaking my head, I let out a long sigh and muttered:

"My God, I’m a helpless blind man."

Rinna seemed to hear me and frowned; she opened her mouth and then closed it again.

But after a brief internal struggle, she murmured:

"That’s... kind of strange, I’m not exactly sure how to say it... normally, he doesn’t like receiving help."

"..."

I shook my head, and besides, the thesis is for the next class, which is next week anyway.

’For now, let’s focus on learning the Second Form of Inverted Heaven.’

With that thought in mind, the hours passed, and eventually it was time to begin the first practice session with the Second Form of Inverted Heaven.

I felt somewhat excited, so I hurried back to my room and went straight into the personal training room.