Magic, Mayhem, and a Side of Jealousy: The Chronicles of the Reluctant Villain

Sensing something strange with the guy, Rhea suddenly had a bad feeling and uttered, "Hey, the teacher will come soon. Don't play around, or you'll be punished."

Meanwhile, all the students' eyes were drawn to them, having grown quite bored from waiting. But now, excitement buzzed in the air.

"What's happening?" one student asked, leaning in with curiosity.

"Something fun," another chimed in, eyes sparkling.

"Is that Richard? Ah, I see. Trying to pick on Arion again," someone observed, pointing discreetly.

"Yeah, that guy seems to be trying to beat him up since Arion proved he was unattuned with Ether. But since we're all still newbies, he must have figured out there's no way to take him down," another student replied, shaking their head.

"Arion still looks as handsome as before," a girl sighed dreamily.

"Yeah, our charming prince is back!" another girl swooned.

"F*ck off, you all horny women!" a boy shouted, rolling his eyes.

"Tsk, before you all avoided him like the plague. Now what? He managed to perceive Ether, and now you all want to latch onto him again. Shameless!" a boy retorted, crossing his arms.

"Shut up, you monkey! An ugly guy like you will never understand!" a girl shot back, glaring.

"What did you say?" he challenged, stepping forward.

"Let's bet a thousand Riel. I bet if Ms. Bella is disfigured, you all b*stards will avoid her like crazy, right? Talk about cattle calling someone black," she said with a smirk.

Another girl behind her chimed in, trying to sound wise to her friend. "Psstt, it's the pot calling the kettle black..."

"Nah, it's still the same," the girl insisted, waving her hand dismissively.

"What do you know about guys? As long as the shape is there, what's a little problem with the face?" a boy shrugged, grinning.

"Ew, you all dirty f*ckers. Go die!" a girl exclaimed, her face scrunching up in disgust.

"Pervert b*stard!" another girl added, shaking her head.

"Yeeah, we're perverts, so what? Now, hand over a thousand!" he demanded, grinning mischievously.

"No way! Over my dead body!" she shot back defiantly.

"You women are liars. Can't be trusted at all!" he accused, pointing an accusing finger.

"Do you want to fight? Huh?" she challenged, fists clenched.

"Ha! Do you women want to fight? Ridiculous!!!" he laughed, shaking his head.

"You ashfueanj#kfd*huo23huhfdbe…" she sputtered, her frustration evident.

"…"

Arion, who overheard the conversation of the other students in the back, couldn't help but sweat profusely. 'Who is the one that is now in conflict? It seems you guys are more likely to break into fights by now,' he thought in disbelief.

"Hahahaha, these students are really funny. Ahhahaha!" Shera exclaimed, clearly enjoying the chaos. Her mindset had gone off flying with the fun.

She then materialized a bucket of popcorn, a chair to sit on, and a pair of movie glasses, settling in to watch the unfolding drama under the shade of an ancient tree inside Arion's mind.

Out of nowhere, Richard, who was in front of the trio, suddenly moved his leg, taking a stance with his feet positioned wide apart, knees bent, and arms positioned at his waist with clenched fists.

Next, he shouted out loud, "HAAAAAAAA!"

"Classic…" Shera said, giggling at the spectacle.

After his shout, a blue circle intermingled with white lines of magic filled with symbols and complicated patterns appeared under his feet. The crowd behind Arion began to stir, their interest piqued once again.

"As expected of a rich guy," one student remarked, nodding appreciatively.

"Yeah, it seems to be a strength enchantment, right?" another added, eyes wide with awe.

"Seems so. I heard it costs around 100 thousand Riel in the black market for the formula. Who knows, it might be more," someone else chimed in, shaking their head in disbelief.

"What? Rich b*stard!" another student exclaimed, throwing up their hands.

"What can you do? Just like the saying goes, being born into a rich family is a privilege and a fortune," a boy said, sighing dramatically.

"If only I was fortunate enough to have a f*cking lot of money. I'd try my best to learn time-stop magic," another boy lamented, his eyes glimmering with dreams of wealth and something more.

"Ew, you dirty b*stard…" a girl at the side interjected, her expression one of pure disgust.

"Hey, what does that have to do with you? F*ck off, woman!!!" he shot back, clearly annoyed.

"Yeah, you dirty-minded woman," the boys around him defended their questionable friend.

*

Different from the others, Nesa, Rhea, and Arion were quite impressed with Richard. It had been around eleven days since his awakening, and Richard was already learning how to use magic, and was even capable of performing it.

Despite it being one of the simplest and most basic forms of magic, it was far from easy to master, contrary to what everyone claimed.

For normal Weavers who had just awakened, it typically took time and practice to control their Ether. With the added challenge of using magic on a shaky foundation, most would find themselves stuck for at least two weeks, if not a month, before they could grasp strength enhancement magic or any other basic spells.

Yet, Richard had managed to learn it in under twelve days. No matter how wealthy or well-connected someone might be, there was simply no way for an ordinary person to learn magic that quickly.

Arion, who was also aware that Richard was in the same class as him and Nesa, couldn't help but notice Richard's impressive scores in academics, sports, and martial arts.

His ranking consistently hovered around the twenties, while Nesa languished at the bottom of class A because of how terrible she was at the written test.

Looking past Richard's ridiculous, unreasonable, spoiled, high-maintenance, and infuriating attitude, Arion had to admit that he could practically be called a genius.

'No wonder I didn't see his high-and-mighty nose when I failed to awaken my sense of Ether. The usual Richard would have tried to provoke me to death at least. Guess he is too busy mastering the magic formula,' Arion thought to himself.

With a flickering light dancing across his body, the magic circle vanished, along with the lights that seemed to be buried beneath his skin.

Richard then took one hand to his neck and the other to his mouth, putting on a show by cracking his neck left and right.

In reality, there was no sound at all; it was just his mouth that opened slightly, creating a cracking sound.

Arion knew this because he had once stumbled upon Richard in the academy bathroom, alone in front of the mirror, practicing beatboxing without any of his underlings around.

'Damn, this guy is talented,' Arion had thought at the time. Richard – caught off guard, glared at him menacingly before hurriedly running off, his face flushed with embarrassment.

After that experience, Richard tried even harder to bully Arion, targeting him in every possible way, though he always ended up getting beaten down in return.

After putting on his little show, Richard pointed a finger at Arion. "I don't like hitting weak women. You. B*stard. Come here now. I'll beat you up for lacking respect."

'Huh, lacking respect? I didn't even say anything yet,' Arion thought to himself, not knowing what to say.

Arion shrugged his shoulders, ready to step forward and give Richard a taste of his own medicine.

But Nesa, sensing his intention like a mother hen sensing danger, hurriedly placed her hand on Arion's chest, stopping him.

"Hey, it's no joke. It might be strength enhancement or agility magic. You can't fight him. Let's just avoid him for now."

Richard watched this unfold, and had a twinge of jealousy hit him hard like a rogue spell. What he saw currently was way different than the rest of the others.

It was a kind of intimate moment between the two main characters of a soap opera, while he, the little villain, was trying to ruin the moment, just like in many novels written these days.

"F*ck," he muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth hard.