Chapter 2: Chapter 1: An adventurer once again

I'm The Lowly Villain In The Game | Chapter 1

「An adventurer once again」

I didn't realize how important introductions were until now. First impressions were everything, after all. You could come off as an interesting person or a boring one depending on your first impression. Naturally, as the new possessor of a third-rate villain, I plan on keeping it low key. 

But, why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? I already calculated all the variables to ensure I don't attract any negative impressions or anything to warrant a beat-down from the prota—… 

AH! THE PROTAGONIST! 

My eyes scurry across the entire classroom with bated anticipation. The classroom looked like a standard one for students, with organized desks and chairs placed in a rectangle room. There were 50 students in each classroom, meaning in the 1st year alone, there are over 300 students and over 900 students in Vanitas high school. 

My eyes landed on a particular student. As I was situated in the farther back side of the classroom, I could only make out his back, but his distinct and unique hair color, the way he carried himself, and the charisma that flowed just from staring at his back confirmed my conjecture. 

"Okay, let's start with you." 

Mr. Jackson explained that we would start from his right and go from there. Coincidentally, the student I was frantically hawking at was chosen first. He stands up with confidence. All students looked at him but he didn't seem nervous. His dark blue hair fluttered as he turned around to face the class. The girls squeal in excitement as they see his handsome face.

I bitterly smile at the scene. Was this how it looked like to the NPCs when we played the game? Anyways, this guy could be my enemy in the future if I'm not careful. Villains will always oppose the hero after all. At best, I would prefer if I was just a stranger to him. 

"My name is Andrew Rubis. I aspire to be a 《Fighter》and an adventurer when I graduate. Nice to meet you all." 

A calm yet firm voice traveled across the classroom. His words, as plain as they were, were powerful and held his determination. The classroom erupted into chatter after he sat down.

That was the protagonist Andrew Rubis. As an orphan who dreamed to becoming an adventurer, he fought his way from 6th class and opposed the higher classes. As the playable character for the male protagonist, Andrew had beginning stats that weren't below 7 and an inherent skill called 「Sword Mastery」. In short, he was overpowered from the start. 

After waiting for the crowd to calm down, Mr. Jackson gestured the next student to introduced themselves. 

"Hello, my name is…" 

Time passed as various students introduced themselves to the class. Some introduced themselves meekly whilst others did with vigor. After a few minutes, a female student with blonde hair and light blue eyes, the same as me, stood up. My interest rekindled as I realize who this was. 

"Hello! My name is Stella Wilson and I want to be a 《Priest》or maybe a 《Caster》… I haven't decided yet. I plan on being adventurer like most of you! . Anyways, nice to meet you all!" 

She was one of the heroines in the game. The classic air headed kind girl that you would see in most harem anime. Her bubbly and innocent demeanor made all the boys looks at her affectionately. The girls, on the other hand, look in envy. She was short for her peers but had a figure that made even models jealous. Her beaming smile, that could cleansed the damned, made the atmosphere comfortable. 

After she sat down, another student stood up. Panic filled my eyes as I registered the iconic red hair. My overflowing emotions made my body stiff. It took almost all my willpower to lower my head. 

"My name is Rose Hart. I aspire to be an adventurer and 《Fighter》. Nice to meet you all." 

Her voice was hardened and composed, something I found strangely alluring. I knew it was Lukas' influence, but I was Lukas now. Suddenly, my heart ache even harder, leaving me out of breath.

What the… Why is it getting worse? I had worse control of my emotions back in the auditorium. So why is the response from seeing her much worse than earlier despite being more prepared? 

Wait… Is it because of the collision of memories? My feelings were getting harder to control by the second. I felt like my heart sank to the pits of my stomach. A sense of betrayal and indescribable sadness washed over my entire body. I felt so empty, so trapped. Like I was about to drown or suffocate from my feelings. I hated it. But I couldn't do anything with Lukas' feelings that were now mixed with mine. 

"He…" 

I could control it. But as Lukas' feelings were so overbearing and intense, the effect was minimal. His love for Rose was too much for me to handle. But my current state confirmed my theory. 

"Hell…" 

Lukas and me are one now. Lukas' emotions were raging from knowing that Rose will be stolen by another man. Hence, the feeling of betrayal and sadness. I even held animosity and great hatred towards Andrew despite my favorable impression of him earlier. 

"Hello!" 

"…! Yes?" 

"I've been calling you for a while now. Are you okay? You're a little pale." 

Mr. Jackson looked at me with a raised brow. That's when I noticed that all the students were looking at me. Even Rose with a frown of her own. My face was originally pale. But now I looked like a vampire. 

"Sorry, I'm a bit out of the weather. Ahem… My name is Lukas Gasper. I plan on being an adventurer when I graduate and a《Ranger》. Nice to meet you all." 

I wasn't expecting any cheers so I just sat down without hesitation. Unexpectedly, a few students clapped and cheered. Some girls even waved at me. Puzzled, I waved back. After the cheering stopped, the remaining students introduced themselves. 

I was lying about my future class. 《Ranger》is a safe and well balanced class in the early game, it was lacking later on though. I wanted to show I didn't have the same ambitions as the heroines or protagonist. I plan on obtaining 《Bandit》for the skills and focus on 《Caster》. But that was in the near future. 

"My name is Troy Anderson. I aspire to be a《Caster》. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance." 

A handsome man with black hair and blue eyes stood up and introduced himself. The girls erupted in cheers, chanting about another handsome guy in our class. I was a little baffled but I kept my mouth shut. 

Troy Anderson. If the female protagonist is Stella Wilson, then her best friend would be Rose Hart. The same concept applies here. Troy is the future best friend of Andrew. Although they are only acquainted, they'll undoubtedly get to know each other when they dungeon explore together. 

My impression of Troy is neutral. I never liked him nor did I dislike him. If you picked the customized male character, being friends with him was entirely optional. Naturally, I didn't bother being friends with him other than the time I played as Andrew in the game. His personality was slightly cold, strict, and overall the smart-ass of the friend group. 

His background is rather interesting. He is the only son of a noble household. A baron to be specific. Their household can barely be considered nobility. In fact, they are more in line with the commoners than nobility.

Because of this, Troy's father, the head of the household, suffers humiliation and ridicule from other barons and higher ranked nobles who have nothing better to do. Troy, naturally angered by the behaviors of the nobles, swore to achieve good results in Vanitas to increase his father's standing in the social ladder. 

I was honestly surprised when I first found out. It was too detailed compared to the other characters. However, I couldn't be more wrong. 

First of all, Andrew Rubis has a special bloodline only available to him that makes him eligible for the unique class 《Sword of Light》. It was a trash class in terms of PVP but unrivaled in monster hunting and dungeon exploration. You'll learn more about Andrew's past if you pursue the human princess who is one of the heroines. 

Stella Wilson has the bloodline of a 《Saint》. A rare and powerful class in the world that could resurrect the dead and buff allies indefinitely. You could obtain the class much later if you grind the requirements in the MMORPG but having the special bloodline expedites the process. 

Rose Hart… Hah… Just thinking about it makes me a little depressed, is a character that will experience hardship and tributes. She's the only one with the most normal background, but she made up for it with talent. In the future, she would obtain a powerful class called 《Sword Saint》. The class is amazing in PVP and farming but you needed the technical skills to pull it off. In the game, I had two accounts. One of them had the 《Sword Saint》class and the other had a unique class. 

I'm honestly happy for Rose for getting such an overpowered class. With her talent, she'll undoubtedly become one of the strongest in the distant future. However, the troubles, harassment, and hardships she'll have to deal with to get to that point leaves me conflicted. 

I didn't want to see her get hurt. I didn't want to see her cry from the reality of this place. But I wasn't in any position to help her. That was the protagonist's job. All I could do is not pester her with Lukas' past behaviors and move on from my unsalveagable first love, no matter how painful it was. Actually, I believe she would be more depressed if the boy she loathes with all her being comforts her. 

Anyhow, I shouldn't interfere with the plot all willy nilly. I could interfere when it gets messy, but I'll let nature take its course. I should lay back and comfortably level up behind the scenes. 

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RINGG—

"That is all we have for today. We have more to discuss so don't be absent tomorrow. Class dismissed." 

Mr. Jackson said with a clap before taking his things and leaving the classroom. The students of class 1-6 also weren't idle. Some immediately left after packing their things, others waited for their friends, and the rest stayed in the classroom to be more acquainted with their classmates. 

I wasn't in a rush so I just sat there. My right hand supporting my right cheek as I look outside the window with a blank look. I wanted to leave but I didn't know where to go. I didn't even know where my house was. I needed to sit down and recollect all of Lukas' memories. 

16 years worth of memories were alot to process. It might take a few hours before I process them all. Luckily, I could skim through his memories like a video tape. This allowed me to reduce the time it took to find out about my house. 

A couple minutes passes as I skim through Lukas' memories. I had my eyes closed so I couldn't see anything, but by the loud chatter and some laughter, students were still here. 

"Hey." 

A familiar voice called out to me. It was Rose. However, compared to earlier when I was emotional unstable, I was more calm, albeit slightly. 

"Yes?" 

I open my eyes and stared at her. I finally got a closer look to the girl I love. Bright red hair that spanned above her shoulder. Her face held an aloof and indifferent look as she sharply stared at me. I didn't notice before but her body was voluptuous. Something a girl her age normally wouldn't possess. She looked ethereal in my eyes, as if I was staring at a goddess. 

My emotions begin to gush out. Small, tiny ripples began to appear in my heart. They were tiny but firm. With each passing second, each ripple became larger and more violent, stirring both my heart and my mind. I was losing control of my emotions yet again, but this time, I wasn't going to show it. 

"Mom asked me to go home with you." 

Her face held a scowl. It was obvious she was being forced to get along with me. I was saddened by her visage but didn't let it show in my face. My eyes wandered behind Rose. Three people stood behind her, eyeing our conversation. They were Andrew, Troy, and Stella. 

I heaved a sigh of relief. Although I was quite distressed by their interest, I was still happy that Rose had friends to rely on and worry for her. I quickly stood and started packing my things. 

"I have some errands to attend to. You go on ahead." 

"Okay…" 

Seemingly losing interest, she turned around and made her way towards her new friends. A deep sigh made its way to my lips. It held a number of emotions. Sadness, regret, and resignation are a few to speak. 

After one last glance at the protagonist's party, I left the classroom in a hurry. 

Staying any longer would kill what little sanity I have left. 

... 

"Gulp. Gulp." 

I sip on a soft drink that I bought in a nearby vending machine. You may think that this world was in the medieval times, but you would be wrong. 

The world is modern…. ish… There aren't any nuclear weapons and guns but they did have smartphones, televisions, and most modern entertainment. The technology was modern. But because of the influence of magic and other supernatural events, the science and technology of this world was more inclined to support and aid magic. 

You could say that this world was modern. But instead of science and electricity, it was science and magic. It couldn't classify as sci-fi because most modern weapons such as guns, missiles, and nuclear warheads didn't exist. Even if they did, it would be obsolete because of the presence of magic that would topple its effectiveness. 

It's been about 30 minutes since I left school. I was trying to find my house but to no avail. My only option was to look through Lukas' memories but it would still take a while. Around 2 hours if I estimate it correctly. 

I walked around aimlessly. Actually, I thought I was. Before I knew it, I stand in front of a familiar building. It was the biggest building in the area. Just a quick glance and you could tell that it had more than 50 floors and some more to count. It was a building I knew all too well. In fact, I probably spent most of my days in Vanitas Online in this place. 

It was the adventurer's guild. 

The most captivating features of Vanitas Online was its monster extermination and dungeon exploration. The adventurer's guild was created to support and aid players in those two features. Quests, trades, and parties were made in this place. Whether it was the story mode or MMORPG of Vanitas Online. This place became the most recognizable building in the game. 

I subconsciously made my way over here. It was an unexpected but welcomed surprise for me. I also had something to do in the adventurer's guild, so I should get it done while I'm still here. 

Waiting in the line, I look around the place. I was used to the interior in the game, but it was another story in reality. It felt oddly comforting to be here, similar to a house I haven't visited in a while. Was it because of my time in Vanitas or the fact that this place is the central point of the game? 

After a few minutes, which surprise me considering how long the line was, it was finally my turn to talk to the receptionist. 

"Hello. Oh, an academy student. Are you trying to get your A-ID (Adventurer's Identification Card) Licensed?" 

"Yes please." 

I hand her my Vanitas ID. She took it delicately and headed to the back. Students of Vanitas High have a privilege that allowed them to get their A-ID licensed without having to go through a test. It was the main reason why I went here. The earlier I get my A-ID, the better. 

The A-ID isn't just an identification card. It serves as a tool to properly enter dungeons and do quests. The benefits were amazing. In fact, you wouldn't be able to go anywhere as an adventurer if you didn't get one licensed. Basically, if you're starting off in Vanitas Online, whether it's the story mode or MMORPG, the A-ID is the most important thing to obtain. 

The adventurer's guild has a ranking system just like most fantasy guilds have. The lowest rank being 10th-grade and 1st-grade being the highest. Depending on your rank, you could take on more quests and have more privileges. By the way, both my main account and alternate account are 1st-grade and 2nd-grade respectively. 

The receptionist came back with my Vanitas ID and another ID in hand. Making her way back towards me, she hands me the two IDs. 

"Thank you for your patience. Here is your A-ID. If you have any questions regarding the adventurer's guild, please use one of our manuals. If you have questions that are not in the manual, contact us and we will do our best." 

"Noted. Thank you then." 

I took the two IDs and gently stuff them into my pockets. Not wanting to drag out the line, I quickly left the adventurers guild. Once I made my way outside, I sat down on a bench I randomly found. I take out my A-ID and examine it. 

 « Adventurer's Identification Card »

Name : Lukas Gasper

Class : - 

Race : Human

Rank : 10th-grade

A nostalgic feeling rose from the pits of my stomach, leaving me raw and vulnerable. The countless adventures in the game were made possible because of this small, rectangle item. I was never sentimental, but this left me weak. 

In the end, all I got say were the only appropriate words in my mind. 

"An adventurer once again…"