Struggling as a Villain

These were the last few words Bellarine told him before Richard left for the Academy.

He knew that his status would no longer hold any meaning within the boundaries of the academy, but still, it was a little odd to be treated like a commoner once again after two months.

The way the instructors, administrators and even the academy staff treated him showed that they didn\'t even care what his rank was or what family he belonged to.

In a way, it was a refreshing feeling.

And considering his mother\'s advice, Richard deemed that the green-haired instructor was just assessing how he reacted to her scolding. Well, he hoped that such was the case.

Glancing at the girl beside him, Richard asked, "Nervous?"

Amelia, with a soft smile, responded, "Not until you arrive."

Richard chuckled at that, however, before he could reply to her the instructor began,

"My name is Olivia and I will be conducting your first test to see if you all are really fit to take this course as your primary subject or not."

She continued, "In the first test, we\'ll weed out those who are naturally unfit to become true hunters. Anyone accustomed to a sheltered life will be dismissed, as a hunter cannot stay indoors, enjoying comfort. A real hunter is always on the move, out in the wild, searching for their next prey. That\'s the true nature of a hunter."

While she uttered those words, her eyes travelled across the students and paused on several of them for more than a second. Including Richard.

No one raised any queries as they were not allowed to speak before Olivia gestured towards the entrance of the building.

"Agh..." Someone from the students who have a highly sensitive nose cringed and instantly covered his nose upon smelling the weirdest and nastiest scent of his life.

Pushed by four tall men was a huge cart on which rested a dead beast.

Many other students started to block their noses, and some of them even gagged at the odour of the dead beast.

Even Ethan had to cover his mouth before he could have puked all his breakfast.

However, when he glanced towards his left, he was surprised to see Amelia and Richard discussing, without being bothered even a little.

"Tidal Wyrm, is it?"

"Hmm. One from the salt water." Amelia affirmed.

Amelia has been through enough adventures in the past seven years that the stench of dead beasts has long stopped bothering her.

And about Richard...well, he has lived for two whole days, trapped under several dead zombies until he was reduced. That day he probably lost the ability to react to scents.

The Tidal Wyrm lay on the cold stone slab, its once-mighty form reduced to a grotesque, decaying carcass. Its massive body, now bloated and sagging, reeked of salt and death, filling the examination chamber with a putrid stench that made even the most seasoned students gag.

Dark patches of rot covered its thick, leathery skin, which was split in several places, exposing festering wounds and partially decomposed muscle. The creature\'s gaping maw, filled with jagged, broken teeth, was frozen in a permanent snarl, while its once-glimmering eyes were now dull, clouded orbs, sunken into its massive skull.

Its enormous, frayed fins lay limp, the once-powerful appendages now reduced to tattered remnants. A thick, oily fluid slowly seeps from the body, pooling on the floor and creating an uncomfortable slickness underfoot.

Many students turned pale at the grotesque sight as they heard the instructor speaking,

"Your first test is very simple and slimy. Just enter the creature and find Aembr-stone from it. There are several of them stuck in there, so you surely get one. And the stone which belongs to the whale is still there. The one who brings that one would get an additional ten points."

"Any questions?"

Suddenly several hands were risen.

Olivia picked one randomly before asking, "What is it, student Pascal?"

The said boy looked ghastly pale as he barely spoke some words, "I want to withdraw and let the administration choo-bwag!" He puked. And followed by him, those who were raising their hands also vomited.

Olivia rolled her eyes before she asked people to carry the soft and spoiled children out of the place.

Suddenly, the number diminished to fifty-five from one hundred-five.

Those who remained were either completely unaffected or slightly uncomfortable and those who were barely holding themselves based on their stubbornness to get selected.

Olivia glanced at the child of the renowned witch, and every time she looked at Richard she felt surprised.

\'How is he doing that?\' Every student has been scanned for any artefact. That\'s why Olivia knew that Richard wasn\'t cheating. Then how does a bonafide mage like him endured such a strong stench?

Shaking her head, she called out, "You have ten minutes. You can\'t use any spells nor use potions. If you somehow swallow something or get infected, the medic will take care of you, so you all don\'t need to be concerned about it."

Since Olivia didn\'t see any raised hands, she first gave every student a helmet with an ether stone attached at its crown, and then she whistled to commence the first round.

Immediately, every student, some fast and some slowly began to advance towards the several feet large whales.

Richard narrowed his eyes and rolled his sleeve.

He had never entered a wyrm before; however, it wasn\'t like he hadn\'t skinned a beast in this world before. He has researched many inhumane things in this world as well.

There were several deep cuts on the dead body of the whale. Just as he was about to step inside one of those cuts, he heard Amelia\'s voice,

"Good luck," But before he could have looked at her, she had already entered the beast.

Richard shook his head with a smile before he also entered the whale, and instantly, the stone on his head began to shine—illuminating a few meters ahead of him in a \'V\'.

Richard, fortunately, had worn boots today. He couldn\'t have guessed what was waiting for him in this test since none of the main cast took the hunter\'s test during enrollment.

\'If my guess is right then Eleanor must have joined Alchemy, Nora had chosen the Magician course, and Emily had gone for the knight course.\' Richard was unsure about Elizabeth and initially believed that she would choose the Hunter\'s course as her primary subject, because of obvious reasons.

"Ewwww..." Suddenly, the guy who was not so far away from Richard let out a strange noise after getting his hand coated with a slimy fluid which must be stinking awfully.

Richard looked around and found that he was standing over the whale\'s liver. Biologically, whales have several stomach pouches, and it seems every student has gone to a different one. Seriously, this wyrm was quite huge.

Richard had dug into the flesh and bones of several living beings before, so he didn\'t hesitate to pry his hand inside the small gap between the liver and stomach wall and penetrate it as deep as he could.

He wasn\'t using Detection but just moving on his whim.

Sadly, he found nothing and his hand was completely coated in the slimy fluid.

Richard swatted away the mucus as much as he could before continuing his hunt.

He moved around the place and inserted his hand wherever he felt he could find a stone.

After three minutes of searching, he finally came across an octopus\' arm-like vein hanging down, which he squeezed from the other end and found a red ruby-like stone dropping from the inside.

With a smirk, Richard caught it and safely stored it in his pouch.

\'Hmm...\' Just as he turned to move out, he suddenly had a thought.

The wyrm of salt water generally has their magic stone in their crown, and Richard was quite near to the head of the beast. So taking the chance, he headed towards the possible location where he could find himself the extra points.

After coming across several students and passing by several narrow spaces, he finally felt a bigger source of energy coming from a distant corner.

The space to reach there was quite narrow as it seemed the part of the whale was punched from either side to make it difficult for the students to reach there.

However, Richard has no problem passing through the four-inch wide path with his body turned and hands raised above his head.

He used the lubrication of the mucus to his advantage.

"Hmm?" Richard sensed that someone else was approaching this way, so he fastened up his pace, and within seconds, he reached the spot from where the energy was radiating.

The big diamond-shaped stone remained levitating as Richard finally touched it—and turned to look at whoever arrived late.

However, Richard was thoroughly surprised to see Ethan standing there, with his lips parted and a regretful look on his face.

But the kid didn\'t let that expression linger for long and with a nod, he said, "Congratulations."

Richard looked at Ethan and then at the stone before he suddenly threw the four-foot-tall stone in Ethan\'s direction, which the latter barely caught with his slippery hands.

"Eh? Why are you giving me this?" Ethan was baffled and thought that Richard was showing pity to him.

However, Richard\'s following words cleared his doubts, "Extra points allow the students to buy premium meals in the cafeteria. I don\'t need that since I have brought my cook along. So...there you go?"

Richard shrugged and looked completely uninterested in the points and the fame he could have gained on the first day.

Once again, Richard proved to him that there aren\'t only bad and selfish people in this world.

Ethan helplessly smiled at the redhead, before uttering, "I will definitely repay you one day for everything you have done for me."

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A/N:- Damn, this was an unexpected development.