Transmigrated as the Villain: I Will Destroy Fate

The contrast between how the library was when he entered, versus when he went to exit, was immediate.

Where the deeper sections had been still, almost untouched, the main halls were alive with movement. Students moved in clusters now, gathering in groups that had been decided before the event. Classes stuck together.

Twenty-four hours had changed the atmosphere.

Ronan ignored the commotion and continued his exit. No one seemed to be getting close to where he just was, save the Princess.

Everyone had other priorities, and it was showing. Even though the library was full, there weren’t actually that many students using it for research. Most of them seemed to just use it as an area to meet up.

Ronan overheard conversations as he walked by. They would gather supplies, reinforce formations, and decide on roles they barely understood.

They were solving the wrong problem.

The rules weren’t fully revealed, the terrain was unknown, and the objectives were incomplete. Any foundation they would build now would have to be rebuilt when the exam started.

"Ronan."

Ronan turned towards the familiar voice.

"So you were in the library," Kazuma said.

Ronan turned to Kazuma. He looked the same, expression blank, posture relaxed, but there was a new sharpness to his eyes.

"I did," Ronan explained. "But I didn’t find what I was looking for, so I’ll just focus on preparations. What ended up happening in class B after I left?"

"They began organizing," Kazuma explained. "...A leader has emerged."

Ronan cocked his eyebrow up slightly. That soon?

"Who?"

"Darius Vale."

The name registered. Average talent, decent background, but his current strength was noteworthy.

From what little he knew, Darius had been trained from a young age in mana, so he was amongst the stronger students in the Academy, able to take on most A class and a good amount of S class students in a battle.

"I see," Ronan said. "And Elara?"

"She joined him."

"Voluntarily?" Ronan wasn’t surprised, but he decided to ask anyway.

"Yes," Kazuma informed. "He approached her early, and she is the second in command, and that seems to be the plan going forward."

Ronan let out a hum of thought. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"And he didn’t approach you?"

"No, he did. He approached me first."

"You declined, then?"

"I did, but I told him I would follow his lead, and it seems that most of class B is on board with his leadership in the coming event."

Ronan nodded in understanding.

"You don’t sound concerned," Kazuma said.

"As long as there is a leader present, that is all that matters. Elara wasn’t wrong about having the class become unified."

Elara wasn’t a leader of class B in the novel. It seems that his involvement was bringing about changes already.

"So you do not care who the leader is?"

Ronan shook his head. As long as the class had a leader, they wouldn’t descend into chaos. In the novel, class S had that problem. Their egos caused them to disagree on who the leader should be, causing infighting and leading to their eventual loss.

"Not at this stage. Do you disagree?"

"No... I do not. Stabilizing early will reduce chaos and maximize efficiency."

Even if it collapses later. But Ronan didn’t say that part out loud. He wasn’t certain if that was the care. Darius hadn’t taken Elara in the original timeline. That small change could result in a drastically different outcome.

"I’ll be on my way. I have to prepare, after all."

Kazuma nodded, letting him go.

Ronan didn’t look back.

· ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The next morning, the Academy felt different.

Not quieter per se – if anything, there were more voices than usual – but the noise had a specific, unified purpose now.

Ronan stepped into the assembly hall. It was massive, far bigger than anything he’d seen during his time at the academy.

Clusters of students had already formed, but they weren’t random. Classes stuck together. They weren’t mixing anymore, aside from a few select outliers.

Ronan didn’t plan on becoming one. He stepped towards class B.

They weren’t hard to spot.

Darius was proudly standing in front, displaying his status as leader. In fact, a lot of classes were doing this, showing off who their leaders were early.

It seemed more of a tactical decision than an ego thing, but you could never really know.

Elara didn’t come to greet him. She looked busy instead. Currently, she was speaking to a smaller group, organizing them as it seemed.

His eyes shifted towards class S.

There was no leader there.

He had expected that.

Every class had something to strive for, something higher to achieve. But class S was the pinnacle.

That led to many problems, but they all stemmed from a singular issue.

Ego.

Each student in class S had their own sense of pride and sense of self-importance. Lack of unification would lead to their downfall.

Right now, however, they only really seemed disorganized.

His attention shifted to Aura. She was standing next to his sister, Irene, and they seemed to be discussing something. Looks like Aura was taking his advice well.

For a second, Irene turned his way, and their eyes met.

But she quickly turned away.

That was unusual. Had something happened?

He remembered their last talk. Had she gone and asked their father after all?

That would explain it, but there seemed to be more to it.

"Ronan."

Kazuma was standing next to him, and Ronan hadn’t noticed his presence at all.

Creepy bastard.

Kazuma was about to speak, but then he stopped himself, and his gaze shifted.

Ronan’s eyes followed, but he didn’t see anything immediately. However, a few moments later, he saw what Kazuma sensed.

It was a burly man, with a large gray beard that was neatly trimmed, and a wrinkled face. Despite that, he did not look weak. No, it was the complete opposite. This man looked like he could lift a boulder with one arm.

"Attention."

The word didn’t echo, nor was it very loud, but it didn’t have to be.

The hall went silent.

So this was him. Headmaster Rubin.