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[Villian] Chapter 8: Eyes of a Predator
🕑 Added 2025-03-31 02:40:29 +0000 UTCAfter ten minutes of traveling, Damien felt mentally drained and almost ill from mana exhaustion.
In the game, Damien played as characters from various countries. However, in his opinion, no capital city captured the medieval walled city aesthetic quite like the capital city of Kassinki.
The city had one hundred fifty thousand residents, making it the third-largest city on the continent. To the north lay the Kazimir Mountain Range, named after the first vampire who established the Nightshade stronghold there.
The vampires were powerful but few in number and had well-documented weaknesses. Official records suggested that over a thousand vampires lived in the mountains, but Damien knew the actual number was closer to five hundred.
To the east lay the Oshal Empire, the country from which Fay fled. Its capital city was larger than Kassinki, boasting a population of two hundred thousand, all of whom were humans. Oshal was a deeply religious nation that preached the inferiority of all demi-humans and other races.
Technically, they were correct from a gamer’s perspective. In the game, humans were a blank slate; they had no unique qualities, but they also lacked apparent weaknesses. Vampires were nearly immortal against any metal except silver and could swiftly heal surface wounds, except those inflicted by Light or Fire magic.
Oshal had a somewhat aggressive stance against Kassinki because it was a diverse city that harbored many different races. It was a proper fantasy city.
Despite his headache, Damien marveled at the tall gray stone walls. He had seen this sight many times through a VR headset, but viewing it in person was a completely different experience.
“Master, drive the carriage over to the noble gate,” Fay calmly said while pointing to the left.
Damien already knew about the noble gate, but Fay thought his moment of taking in the scenery was because he was lost. “Tsk.”
With his last bit of willpower, Damien directed the carriage to the left. A long line of people waited to enter the city, and they all stared in wonder at the horseless carriage, which seemed to move by itself. To the left, a fancier-looking gate sat at the end of a small, cobbled road.
Beside the entrance stood a man in plated armor, who shouted at the horseless carriage. “This is the noble entrance! Please return to the line with the others!”
The others waiting for the main gate seemed to agree with the man. “How could a noble ride in such a shabby carriage? Even a farmer could afford a carriage like that to carry his wheat!”
The carriage stopped, and a man stepped out with grace and a commanding presence. He walked casually up to the armored guard. Everyone quieted down and felt a strange wave of inferiority wash over them, as if they were gazing upon a superior existence.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say he possessed a magical presence with a certain gravity.
[Noble Aura] (Intimidation increased)
One of Damien’s traits had activated automatically. When others attempted to look down on a king, they would feel his wrath and learn to bow their heads.
But unlike the ordinary citizens who trembled from his aura, the guard’s face drained of color. He was the guard of the noble gate; a mere aura like that would never affect him.
No.
It was those eyes. The eyes of a predator sizing up its prey. Damien’s expression was neutral, but his eyes smiled.
Fay swiftly moved in front of Damien before reaching for the guard’s throat and presenting a noble crest.
“I am Fay Karles, the first daughter of Baron Karles, and this is my…um…distant brother who is visiting us.”
The guard inspected the crest under Damien's watchful gaze and nodded. He would typically conduct a more thorough background check and call his supervisor, but every fiber of his being screamed that this man belonged to pass through this gate. This is going to be my last day on the job. I’m not paid enough for this shit; that brother is terrifying! the guard screamed in his mind He bowed slightly.
“Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Karles, to our city.”
Despite the guard’s average height, Damien easily towered over the man and looked down upon his head. “I will leave the carriage in your care. Careful with it; despite its cheap look, it’s worth more to me than your head.”
Did he just threaten my life for a cheap carriage like that? Of course, the guard was utterly terrified at this point. Wait, wasn’t he driving this carriage with magic? How am I supposed to move it without a horse? Yep, I’m resigning tomorrow after this psychopath leaves; screw this job.
***
After parking the carriage and leaving it with the friendly guard, Damien proceeded toward the university grounds. Although it was a ten-minute walk from the gate, the campus occupied a significant portion of the eastern wing of the city.
Since all races were allowed in Kassinki, its university was the most popular learning institution for the demi-humans across the continent. Many rich demi-humans would send their sons and daughters on a month-long trip to have the chance to study here.
Due to its popularity, they had to implement an entrance exam that became more rigorous every year. At this point, it rivaled the difficulties of the Oshal Empire’s Royal Academy. However, if you mentioned that to an Oshal student, they would likely react violently. The very idea of being considered on the same educational level as a demi-human irked them to no end.
Damien walked through the streets with Fay closely behind; she tried to match his pace without jogging, opting for a slightly unusual form of speed walking.
“Brother, huh?” Damien asked Fay, and she seemed to freeze for a moment before answering.
“Well, I needed to provide a believable excuse since I come from the Oshal Empire, which rarely shares information about its nobles with Kassinki. So, I knew they couldn’t fully confirm or deny the validity of my statement.”
“Hmmm.” Damien tried to use telepathy to read Fay’s surface thoughts but just got a confused mess.
Does she not hate me? She could have told the guard I was a vampire that killed a baroness, and they would have tried to detain me, or at least they could have saved her and chased me away. What is she plotting? Maybe she’s suffering from Stockholm Syndrome? At best, Fay was a side character, so I never bothered to read her wiki page on her backstory. I just assumed she was a crazy person or had a deep hatred for Damien after what he did to her mother.
While deep in thought, Damien arrived at the university’s front gate; the guard waved them in after noticing their clothes. The guards were primarily there to prevent drunk individuals or suspicious people from entering, so anyone walking in with a purpose was simply let in.
Once inside the gates, Damien was greeted by a plaza adorned with patches of grass and trees, where students of various races chatted happily under the limited shade. Not that the shade provided much, considering it was January and the trees were bare of leaves.
Some wooden benches were dotted around, with young couples sitting on them, holding hands while eating meat sticks. To Damien, however, it just looked like a zoo filled with livestock wandering about.
Fay noticed the hungry look in Damien’s eyes and tried to direct his attention toward a food stall, as she was starving.
A beastman who appeared to be half bear and half human was selling something that looked like a hamburger from Earth. Fay asked if she could have one, and Damien obliged. The smell of burnt meat and the beastman’s body odor caused Damien considerable distress, so he threw a coin at the beastman, which he caught with surprising reflexes, and then Damien retrieved the hamburger from range with psychokinesis.
The beastman paid no attention to his actions since a line of students waited. They shot Damien hateful glares for cutting in line, but they all averted their gazes when his [Noble Aura] subconsciously activated again.
This [Noble Aura] trait sure can be useful sometimes. Far better than a negative one like [Germaphobe].
The duo then proceeded through the plaza toward the public library. The magnificent Mage Tower loomed in the distant skyline. The public library contained books on every topic, including mathematics, economics, literature, and even some basic ones for magic.
The public library seemed almost older than the city itself, resembling a grand museum made all the more mesmerizing by the three entrances, each featuring a set of marble stairs. The dark wooden doors stood wide open, inviting students to freely enter and exit.
Just as Damien climbed the staircase and was about to enter the middle door, he heard a snide voice from behind, “Damien, you bastard. Is that you?”
He turned to see a middle-aged man in spectacles and a suit who resembled a seasoned scholar. Damien instantly recognized him. He was the head professor, his boss, and, most importantly, he held the position that Damien was striving for to survive the upcoming assassinations.
Damien put on a fake smile.
“Greetings, Head Professor. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
