In the grand hall, the originally lofty and dignified expression on Llyn's face abruptly stiffened. His handsome features scrunched together, the earlier indifference completely gone, replaced by pure bewilderment.

"Hacked to pieces... and scattered?"

Llyn, the First Disciple of the Five Rings Mage Tower of the Balance School, subconsciously repeated what Louise—the daughter of the Tower Master of the Five Rings Mage Tower, the Prince of the Bauhinia Kingdom, and his mentor's only child—had said.

He blinked in disbelief.

How could such cruel and severe words come from the mouth of that exquisite girl, usually pampered and protected within an immaculate ivory tower, untouched by the dust of the mundane world, and exuding the fragrance of lilies?

"Her Highness Louise is right!" However, before Llyn could react, the crowd of apprentices below echoed in righteous indignation, "Such a lowly wretch daring to desecrate the sacred Hall of Arcana naturally deserves the extreme penalty! Otherwise, if people from other schools' mage towers find out, they might think our Five Rings Mage Tower is a place that shelters filth!"

"Exactly, exactly! How dare that lowly Dust Clan spout such insolence!"

In an instant, waves of condemnation surged from all corners of the vast auditorium, eventually converging into a monstrous tide of killing intent.

‘This is troublesome…’

Llyn's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was beating like a drum.

In this world of rigid hierarchies, the status of the Dust Clan, positioned at the very bottom of the four great races—Sun, Moon, Star, and Dust—could not be described merely as "lowly." In many regions, they had no legal protection whatsoever, and their lives and deaths drew no inquiry.

Unlike the Sun Clan, who could resonate with magic and become lofty Arcanists, or the Moon Clan, who mastered Alchemy and Word Spirit, or even the Star Clan, who at least possessed the Soul Flame to pray and grant beneficial enhancements to Sun Clan Arcanists, the Dust Clan were utterly useless, living up to their name.

‘In other words…’

Beads of sweat emerged on Llyn's forehead, ‘At this rate, His Excellency the Protagonist really will die?!’

The apprentices' anger was no act. Although there was an element of currying favor with the universally adored Louise, the fact that a lowly Dust Clan member dared to boast about "bloodline means nothing" had indeed touched the bottom line of many Arcanists.

‘So... why was Louise's reaction completely different from last time?’

Llyn cast a sidelong, annoyed glance at the enchanting figure who had just walked up to him and given him a charming smile.

Louise, the most treasured princess of the King of the Bauhinia Kingdom, hailed as the most dazzling star of the Neutral City-States, had countless admirers in the original work and was practically a walking incident trigger. She served as the catalyst for many of the protagonist's side plots, including "Provocation by Cannon-Fodder Noble," "Royal Capital Martial Tournament," and "Treasure Hunt in the Secret Realm."

In the original work, during this segment, her inherently kind nature should have been shaken by the protagonist Ivan's lowly status but never-give-up spirit, leading her to speak up and plead for him.

‘But now…’

"Llyn~" Just as Llyn was vexed, Louise opened her crimson lips once more, emitting a soft and pure voice, "This kind of shameless, reckless scoundrel doesn't require your personal involvement. Leave him to my... proper care~"

‘Proper care? Wait, I get it!’

In a flash of lightning, a thought streaked through Llyn's mind.

‘A feint! So that's it. I underestimated you, Louise. It must be that my acting just now was too convincing, making Louise feel that merely speaking up wouldn't be enough to stop me from punishing him. After all, Llyn's character setting was that of a cold-blooded aristocrat with no personal feelings, single-mindedly obsessed with reviving his family, and caring nothing for fellowship.

In my previous life, although I had shown intent to punish the protagonist Ivan, my attitude hadn't been this severe, so Louise had directly intervened and persuaded me. The Guide had also said that any slight difference in my performance at each plot node would produce a butterfly effect, causing the storyline to diverge.’

"Since Junior Sister is so thoughtful..."

Having figured this out, Llyn quickly regained his composure. His every gesture was once again imbued with a naturally imposing aura. "Then this lowly servant shall be handed over to your disposal."

Clap.

With those words, Llyn snapped his fingers.

Whoosh—

Through the magic in his hand, the protagonist was lifted straight up without any power to resist and brought before Louise.

"Boy." Understanding Louise's true intention, Llyn immediately went all out with his acting, setting up a perfect stage for the upcoming "discerning hero" scene between the female and male leads. "Didn't you just say that bloodline doesn't mean everything? Heh, could it be you've forgotten that only the Sun Clan can practice the Arcane in this world?"

Llyn put extra effort into stirring the already agitated atmosphere, aiming to create contrast for the protagonist's upcoming "debut show." He continued aggressively, "Since you keep vowing to prove yourself, very well. Why don't you reproduce the Arcane Art just taught by the instructor and have a little spar with Louise?"

After speaking, Llyn deliberately raised the corner of his mouth in a scornful sneer and let out a cold laugh.

Well, it was a bit exaggerated, but who could blame him? It was his natural duty as a stepping stone~

Come to think of it, in the original work, Llyn, this so-called "First Disciple," was originally meant to be a stepping stone that shaped the protagonist's extraordinary nature.

For example, his lineage was noble, his family background illustrious, and his Arcane talent outstanding, but compared to the protagonist Ivan, who bore a super bloodline, he was insignificant.

Or, his appearance was handsome. Even the protagonist Ivan's childhood sweetheart from his hometown, upon seeing Llyn, immediately lost her soul and abandoned the protagonist, volunteering to become a maid at his mansion.

Yet, although the male lead Ivan had an ordinary appearance, as the plot developed later, his team gradually included female leads with top-tier conditions in every aspect, completely overshadowing that "gold-digging" childhood sweetheart.

In short, according to Llyn's own understanding, the essence of his role as First Disciple was that of a tool character to enhance the player's satisfaction.

"Oh? Really."

Even though he was firmly suppressed by Llyn's immense magic, completely unable to fight back, and kneeling on the lectern, the protagonist's elegance and demeanor were undiminished. He declared firmly and loudly, "I will prove it to you. How laughable a pampered son of an aristocrat like you, relying on your bloodline, will be in the face of absolute power!"

Having made this righteous declaration, Ivan laboriously raised his head and stared directly at the breathtakingly beautiful figure standing before him, a flash of amazement passing through his pupils.

‘She's so beautiful.’

Even calling himself strong-willed, the moment Louise's devastatingly beautiful face entered Ivan's eyes, this nominal son of a blacksmith from a countryside town felt his heart thumping.

He made up his mind!

Ivan instantly decided, I will prove myself before this woman!

‘What lowly Dust Clan? Hmph, my Master said I am chosen by the heavens, the future Child of Destiny and Savior!’

"Are you Her Highness Louise, Princess of the Bauhinia Kingdom of the Emerald Alliance?"

Thinking this, Ivan reined in his previous arrogance and adopted a courteous manner to introduce himself: "It's a pity to meet you under such circumstances. I come from Lotto Town. By chance, I was chosen by Miss Sophie of the Rockhill Family of the Golden Oak Trade Alliance who was passing through, and selected to be her accompanying servant studying in the Neutral City-States."

Even surrounded by malice and barely able to protect himself, Ivan remained calm and composed, his eyes filled with indescribable confidence.

"Golden Oak Trade Alliance? Hmph! No wonder a lowly Dust Clan servant suddenly appeared in our mage tower—turns out he was brought by that ill-bred merchant family."

"Sophie? Isn't that the newly recruited student of our instructor? I heard that woman is a Sun-Moon hybrid? Tsk tsk, no wonder her taste is so poor."

Upon hearing Ivan's self-introduction, the crowd of apprentices looked at him with even greater scorn, and by association, the reputation of Ivan's master, the wealthy trade alliance's young lady and newly admitted student Sophie, also plummeted.

"Sophie." Hearing that somewhat familiar name, another proud and confident figure surfaced in Llyn's mind.

Unlike the universally adored Louise, Sophie, though wealthy, had an ordinary and even impure bloodline, and her situation in the mage tower was not good.

‘But she's also a very important supporting character in the early stages. Even though she's not at the level of a female lead, the protagonist Ivan initially built his foundation by helping Sophie slap others' faces.’

Llyn rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

‘According to the original plot, because Louise pleaded for him, I didn't personally intervene but merely set a few Arcane spell formulas to test Ivan, which were then easily resolved by the protagonist, earning Sophie considerable face in the process.’

And now...

He glanced at the eager Ivan, then at the elegantly smiling female lead.

‘Brilliant! The face-slapping impact of easily cracking a few spell formulas can't possibly compare to the shock of a real sparring match with a pure-blooded Arcanist, right?’

Llyn was practically applauding his own quick thinking.

‘According to the Guide, my job is to find ways to help the protagonist accumulate fame, resources, and gain recognition from the other female leads, thereby condensing the power of destiny to become the Savior... Is there anything more fitting than having a friendship born of a fight with the female lead herself?’

Thus, Llyn waved his hand. "Hmph, no point in saying more. Boy, I hope you won't embarrass our instructor's newly recruited student in front of Louise."

Clap.

With that, Llyn withdrew the restraints he had placed on Ivan.

"Ah..." Ivan's breathing immediately became smooth. He swept a cold glance at Llyn.

‘What's there to be smug about? Just a rich young master relying on his bloodline. As long as I diligently train in the secret arts taught by my revered teacher, heh, it won't be long before I can trample him underfoot. So what if he bears royal blood, so what if he's a high-born young master…’

Ivan recalled the infatuated face of his childhood sweetheart as she gazed at Llyn, and her determined longing to voluntarily become a maid at the lord's mansion.

‘I will make you pay back all these humiliations double!’

"Louise, you may begin." Llyn folded his arms and announced coldly, then turned around as if he didn't care at all about this "spar" with its predetermined outcome.

Buzz, buzz—

Within the magnificent hall, a low-frequency resonance, transcending the material and born from the resonance of soul and magic, began to stir.

‘Oh? Louise's cultivation is stronger than I thought? Even though she's only a senior apprentice, this magical power could probably rival that of an Arcanist at the Expert rank. Indeed, she possesses royal blood after all. And unlike me, a half-baked fallen royal with only a town left to my name, Louise belongs to the Bauhinia Family, a top-tier house ranked among the Seven Great Kingdoms of the Emerald Alliance. I just wonder which Arcane spell the female lead will use? The Drowsiness Spell? The Bewilderment Technique? At any rate, it's definitely an appropriate spell that will stop just short, leaving room for mercy, while not giving a "cold" prefect like me any excuse to pick faults, right?’

Zzzzz—

‘Hmm?’

Llyn keenly sensed the restless elements in the air.

‘Wait, this is... this is... Could it be that my soul hadn't fully adjusted after the rebirth, so I misperceived it? But the feeling of this spell module is so similar to…’

"Forbidden Spell: Soulrend."

BOOM!!!

A blinding white light completely engulfed the entire hall.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Accompanied by a heart-rending scream, the scene was plunged into dead silence.

Llyn stiffly turned his neck.

Ivan, the destined Savior, the hero chosen by the World Will, was now rolling on the ground in unbearable agony, his eyeballs bulging, foam spewing from his mouth, and traces of blood seeping from all over his body.