I Became the Third-Rate Villain in My Favorite Novel!

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Ah… this is so boring…

The class is lively enough, everyone chatting, laughing, teasing each other, except for me.

I’m basically the only one sitting alone with absolutely no friends.

What a depressing school life you’ve got, Cale…

But well… it isn’t all bad.

I get to see my favorite characters, the ones I once admired from beautiful illustrations, now alive, breathing, talking right in front of me.

That alone is worth something, right?

The only downside…

“That second spell was too hard…”

“Right?! Cynthia, how did you chant it so easily? You’re as talented as ever!”

“Hmm? It’s not that difficult, really… If you focus the mana perfectly into the circles, you can-”

“No waaay!! Even as S-Class students, we can’t keep up with you!”

Cynthia felt my gaze for a moment. Her brow furrowed, her lips tightening into an irritated line.

I instantly looked away.

Gah… right. The downside is… I can’t look for too long. They’ll think I’m leering at them or planning something vile…

Haa… it’s hard living in the body of someone everyone hates. Especially when the people you admire the most now can’t even stand to see you breathe.

But well… it’s fair, from their point of view.

From the outside, a guy like Cale staring at girls chatting and smiling probably does look creepy.

Damn it, Cale. You ruined everything…

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The professor finally walked in. His robe trailing slightly behind him, eyes sharp like a hawk.

He clapped his hands once, and the room fell quiet.

“Alright class, lecture will soon start. Please quiet down and return to your seats. Listen carefully, this is important.”

He set his belongings on the desk, then slammed his palm down with a loud bang!

“Prepare for a mock battle. A duel. Next week.”

As expected… the duel’s coming.

“Eh? Seriously? A duel? Why?”

“Yeah! Why so sudden?”

The professor slammed his hand again, shutting everyone up.

“Silence! I’m not finished. Next week is the 30th anniversary of our academy. To celebrate, there will be an arena. All students must participate. It’s also an opportunity to showcase your progress… since powerful archmages will be watching.”

“Ehh? For real? That’s amazing!”

“Yeah, but… more pressure too…”

Right… archmages.

Beings who once started as regular humans… but have lived centuries, maybe millennia.

Capable of shattering entire kingdoms with a single spell.

And if someone gets lucky, they might get chosen as an apprentice… or even better, become a disciple.

I’d read that part in the novel too…

“I understand your concerns,” the professor continued, “but this is necessary. Our academy must prove it remains the #1 in the kingdom.”

“There will be skilled healers on standby. Even the Saintess herself may attend. Your injuries will be healed before any lasting damage occurs.”

“Ah… maybe I’ll get healed by the Saintess! Imagine that blessing!”

“Now I’m getting fired up!!”

“This is going to be easier than i thought!”

The professor raised a single hand, and a massive gust of wind slammed into the room, making robes and hair whip around.

Those quick enough raised barriers to block it.

“Silence, you fools. Do not take archmages lightly. If you think you’ll get chosen just by defeating an opponent, you are wrong. They look for talent, creativity, potential. If you fight like arrogant brutes, they won’t even spare you a glance.”

The whole room fell dead silent.

He’s right. They’ve lived longer than we can imagine. Nothing about cheap wins will impress them…

“Fight as if your life depends on it. Do not hold back. Failing to do so would only disgrace this academy’s reputation. I expect greatness from all of you. Understood?”

“Yes, professor!”

Right… now that I think about it…

Cale was dead last in the novel’s version of this event.

Zero wins.

Absolute disgrace.

Afterward, professors and even the headmaster completely gave up on him.

So if I want to avoid being expelled or disowned, I at least need to do better.

Win three times. That’s my goal.

And if I get matched against Isaac?

…I’ll just surrender immediately. No shame in that. He’s the protagonist, after all.

“Now then, let’s begin today’s lesson.”

The professor grabbed a piece of chalk and started drawing intricate circles on the board.

Explaining the theory behind wind magic, how mana flows, how circles amplify it, how to maintain balance.

He’s an expertise, in the field of wind.

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There are six elements in this world…

Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Darkness.

Then there’s the ultimate element, powerful and above all other elements, Light.

Bestowed only by the gods, like the protagonist Isaac… or the Saintess.

And me?

Heh. Glad you asked.

None.

I’m talentless. The ultimate joke. I got into S-Class purely because of connections.

I can do basic spells, like making a small fire since i do have mana inside my body.

But not enough to call it good talent.

Damn you! Cale Vincent…!

“Cale Vincent!”

Hearing my name snapped me out of my thoughts so fast I nearly fell off my chair.

I shot up. “Y-Yes, professor!”

“Are you daydreaming again?”

All eyes were on me.

Ah crap… the gazes feel heavier than a mountain…

“No professor, I’ve been listening the whole time.”

“Is that so? Then step right up.”

Oh god… seriously?

I was at the very back, so maybe from his view it looked like I was dozing off.

Not entirely wrong, since I was lost in thought about the novel’s lore…

What a pain…

I slowly stepped forward, my heart pounding in my chest.

Alright, Me… don’t screw this up. You can’t afford to.

You have to look like you’re making effort…

As I stepped right up, the professor handed me a piece of chalk.

“Can you fix the hexagram within the circle, inscribed with precise geometric patterns, to unlock the Wind’s Fury spell?”

Ah… that sounds familiar enough.

I took a closer look at the drawn circle. Sure enough, the runes at the inner points were misaligned. And the hexagram was slightly off-center…

Well, I’ve always been pretty good at geometry back in my world…

I swallowed, trying to keep my hand from trembling as I lifted the chalk.

The classroom was completely silent. I could almost feel everyone’s eyes drilling into the back of my head.

Slowly, carefully, I started correcting the lines.

Realigned the hexagram… balanced the symmetry… redrew a few inner circles until the pattern finally clicked together.

A few minutes passed. I stepped back, looked at it from a distance, and made one last adjustment to perfect the flow of mana.

There…

The professor’s brows lifted slightly, a rare hint of surprise in his usually sharp expression.

‘Oh…? How fascinating. A perfect circle spell…’

He’s impressed…!

I lowered the chalk, my heart pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears.

“I’m done, professor.”

“How impressive. You’ve made a perfect circle.”

Relief rushed over me, and I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.

“Thank you, professor… may I go bac-”

“But…!”

The professor cut me off, voice sharper again.

“Tell me, could you explain what was the problem with the circle… and how you fixed it?”

I froze for a moment, my mind racing.

Crap… I’m not entirely good at this part!

But then I raised my hand to my chin, pretending to ponder deeply.

Think, think… the flow of mana depends on perfect symmetry. If the hexagram is off-center, the channels won’t align…

After a moment of silence, I spoke up, trying to keep my voice calm and steady..

“The problem was with the hexagram’s alignment. It was slightly off-center, which would cause the mana to flow unevenly when trying to cast Wind’s Fury. That would result in the spell either failing or backfiring.”

I paused to tap gently at the corrected part of the diagram.

“So, I redrew the inner hexagram to match the exact geometric center of the outer circle. Then I corrected the runic inscriptions at the six points, so that the mana could circulate properly and gather at the core before release.”

The professor’s eyes narrowed, studying my expression as if trying to catch me bluffing.

The room was dead silent, every student staring.

Please buy it… please buy it…

Finally, the professor nodded slowly.

“I see. That’s… correct, looks like you did listen for once.”

A quiet gasp rippled through the class.

“Eh? Did Cale Vincent really…?”

“He actually answered properly…?”

The professor looked at me, still slightly suspicious but unable to hide his reluctant approval.

“Very well. Return to your seat.”

“Thank you, professor.”

I bowed lightly, turned around, and walked back to my lonely desk, my heart still pounding like crazy.