Victor did not hesitate as he quickly made a pick.
"Choose three."
[Selection successful.]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the special talent: Magic Devour.]
[Magic Devour]
[Grade: S]
[Effect: After defeating magical creatures or Professionals, you may absorb a portion of the ownerless magic power dispersed from the target and permanently increase your own maximum magic power.]
[Current Daily Absorption Limit: 100 Points.]
An S Rank talent.
Meanwhile, his strongest original talent had only been Advanced Fire Element Affinity.
For the first time, a genuine smile appeared in Victor's eyes.
At that moment, a calm voice sounded from ahead.
"Victor."
Ryan finally spoke, his voice deep and carrying a certain charisma that compelled anyone to listen.
"Your men attacked me. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
Everyone's attention immediately shifted back to the two of them.
The atmosphere instantly became subtle.
'Here it comes!'
Excitement even appeared in the eyes of many students.
Over the past month, Ryan's reputation in the academy had grown rapidly.
Meanwhile, Victor was one of the most infamous young nobles among the aristocratic students.
It was only a matter of time before these two truly collided.
Victor slowly turned around.
This was the first time since transmigrating that he had truly looked at this world's protagonist.
According to the original plot, he should lose his temper right now.
He should threaten Ryan.
He should bring up the Alves Family.
Then, in front of all the surrounding students, he should worsen his already terrible reputation while further stimulating Ryan's growth.
Unfortunately, Victor had no interest whatsoever in following the original plot anymore.
"An explanation?" Victor chuckled. "Of course."
He raised a hand.
Snap!
A crisp snap of his fingers.
Karl immediately stepped forward and placed a black pouch filled with gold coins on the table.
"Bruno attacked you. According to academy regulations, the compensation is two thousand gold coins," Victor spoke indifferently, his face cold.
"Medical expenses are separate. If you think that isn't enough, you can request arbitration from the Discipline Department."
Ryan frowned slightly. Clearly, he had not expected Victor to be so straightforward.
"However..." Victor's tone suddenly changed. His gaze landed on Ryan's face.
"Compensation is compensation. But you injured one of my people. That matter isn't simply going to disappear either."
The air inside the hall seemed to freeze slightly.
Ryan's gaze also turned cold. He was slightly taken aback by Victor's words. He had always prided himself on being someone who could read others and predict their actions, but everything happening here was far beyond his expectations.
"What do you want?" Ryan asked.
"Right now?" Victor glanced around. Then he suddenly smiled.
"Not interested. We'll settle it during the tournament."
With that, he showed no intention of continuing the confrontation and directly turned toward Karl.
"Send Bruno to the highest grade treatment room," he said on his way out. "Starting today, anyone who follows me and gets injured while carrying out my orders will have all medical expenses covered by me."
Karl visibly froze.
Victor continued.
"Also, inform the others."
"Tomorrow morning. Everyone still willing to follow me is to gather at the training grounds. I'll redistribute resources."
"Gold, Potions, Equipment, Skill Books."
He paused slightly and then added in a serious tone.
"As long as they have value, I'll give them what they need."
For a moment, the entire hall was deathly silent.
Bruno stared fixedly at Victor's departing back, wondering what had happened to his young master.
In the next second, System notifications appeared one after another.
[Bruno's loyalty has increased.]
[Current Loyalty: 97.]
[Karl's loyalty has increased.]
[Current Loyalty: 91.]
[The Host's actions are altering the original fate trajectory.]
[Villain Fate Deviation: 1%.]
[Special Function will soon be unlocked.]
Victor did not turn back.
He simply watched the system notifications continuously appearing before him as the corners of his lips slowly curved upward.
Die one year from now?
That was the original Victor.
As for him, since this world had already decided he was a villain, then he might as well see what happened when a villain stopped treating his subordinates like disposable cannon fodder and instead used the resources of an entire ducal family to turn them into monsters one after another.
Would the so called heaven chosen protagonist still be able to step over all of them and reach the peak just as easily as in the original plot?
What Victor did not know was that not long after he left the Discipline Department with Bruno and the others...
On the second floor of the hall, a young woman dressed in a white and gold academy uniform stood quietly behind the railing.
Silver white hair fell all the way to her waist.
Her violet eyes reflected Victor's gradually disappearing figure.
Beside her, a female instructor spoke in a low voice.
"Your Highness. Should we continue investigating that young master from the Alves Family?"
The girl continued watching Victor's disappearing figure, almost as if she had not heard her servant.
A moment later, she narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Of course. A man who never cared whether his subordinates lived or died has suddenly started winning their loyalty."
"Either something happened to him, or..."
Her gaze settled on the now empty entrance of the hall.
The faintest trace of a smile slowly appeared on her lips.
"He has finally decided to do something interesting."
At the same time, a system notification appeared before Victor that made him pause in his steps, causing his heart to beat violently.
[Ding!]
[High value investment target detected near the Host.]
[Target Potential Evaluation: SS Rank.]