Stone Mage: Revenge of the Villain System

Volken came, and the whole team welcomed him with a bunch of manly bear hugs and pats on the back.

"Former Captain!"

"Give us some of your blessing!"

"What brings you here, Former Captain Volken?"

The last one was cold and unwelcoming unlike the rest, and came from their new member. His chosen protege, Don Asuli.

Don approached Volken with crossed arms. Volken just patted his tiny head, looking down at this 12-year-old boy, and acted all brotherly with him.

"I just wanted to give you something before the game." Volken said, presenting a bottle with a little blue bow on it.

Don's eye twitched at this bottle. "What is this, Former Captain?"

"It's a strength enhancer. From the crushed bones of a Silver Wolf." Volken grinned. "Very rare, but it would help your performance with metal objects, especially silver ones."

"Wow, Volken must have paid an arm and leg for this potion!" One of them exclaimed. "I have only heard legends about it!"

"Yes, it says that it helps the body become stronger and faster, in exchange of course for a temporary connection with the Silver God of the Moon, Skollhati!"

One of them whistled and said: "Can I have some too? It would be a really great boost for the game!"

"Me too!"

"Sorry, boys. This was so expensive so I only had bought enough for Don. He's a new player, so be kind and let him have it, alright?" Volken grinned.

Don knew this was a trick. He shook his head.

"Thank you for this, but I do not need it. I would also feel guilty using such a boost instead of relying on my own skill. You may hand it to someone else."

"Oh, don't be so prideful, Bluebelle! Only maidens get to play coy, go on and take it!" Volken said in a 'joking' way.

Don growled deep in his throat. He's doing this tactic again.

With his teammates and peers looking expectantly at him, along with Volken's constant discreet blackmails...

He was left no choice but to accept it and drink.

Maybe he can force himself to vomit it afterwards, during breaks between games.

Suddenly, someone unexpected appeared in this room full of men. A priestess with luscious pink hair and golden skin came.

"Good day, players." She smiled and bowed to them.

The men blushed at her beauty and bowed as well. "Good day, Sister... What brings you here?"

Marigold scanned the room. "I received news that one of you may be feeling unwell. Can I ask who that was?"

The moment Don drank, he knew something was wrong. He narrowed his eyes.....

And then took this as an opportunity to go towards the priestess. "I do. I've been feeling a little nauseous since this morning."

The other players were surprised, as Don seemed to be acting fine except that his shoulders slumped a little more than usual.

But it was good that he took the initiative to tell a healer about his trouble, and had himself checked.

"Oh, alright...." She raised her hand to his shoulder. "Hmm... You have some tension on your back and shoulder muscles. Other than that, I do not see a problem."

Don narrowed his eyes. So either the potion Volken gave him was not poison.....

Or the effect had not settled in yet, and the priestess could not sense it.

They then heard a horn signalizing that the game was about to start, and Volken left. "Well, since there has been no problems, I would have to go. You'll be fine during the game, right, Bluebelle?"

Don gritted his teeth. "Yes."

Sister Marigold sighed in relief, but she also didn't want to take any chances. "I will tend your muscle problems, but other than that, you would be good to go."

She added. "I will watch over you too during the game and will come to your aid if anything happens. Would that suffice?"

Don was a little stunned by how caring this healer was and how comforting her voice was. Even her touches on his back and shoulders that terminated a small golden glow felt... Very nice.

Volken left with a vow. "Thanks again, Sister Rozenaur..... But may I ask who told you someone from the team were having problems?"

"Oh.... I never really caught his name. I didn't see his face either, but he seemed to be a kind and caring soul to worry about this boy...." She turned to Don. "What is your name again?"

"D-Don Asuli." He answered, then cleared his throat. (Why am I stuttering.)

"Don. Good luck in the games, may the gods above bless you." She told him.

Volken nodded, though his face was dark. "Yes, yes... Bless you, Bluebelle."

He left the break room, deep in thought.

(I managed to give it to him, so this doesn't really change anything. The priestess was not able to detect it, since there was no foul play really in giving him an actual strength enhancer.)

(However... She may become meddlesome later. It has got to be that rat that squeaked and told her, I'm sure of it.)

Ronin watched behind a wall and scurried off to his seat barely noticed, just like a dark rat.

The game begun.

"ONE, TWO, THREE, STRIKE!"

Don had done well on his first three rounds. With the power of the Hiemal Morningstar and his control over hail and blizzard, they had managed to won those three rounds consecutively.

"Well done, Don!"

"If we won three more times, victory is ours!"

The Ursa Wes team were feeling hopeless with this freakish powerhouse of a new player. Who would expect a child so young to be so good at what he does...

But Don was not feeling close to victory. His performance really was enhanced.

In fact, it was enhanced by tenfold!

But he felt his movements were too erratic, and he was losing his sense of calm observation. It felt like ti was pure instincts to hunt down the ball that was taking over, instead of strategy.....

"Wait..... why did I hit the ball in that direction? I don't...."

He felt like he was slowly losing control of himself, and some beast was trying to occupy his body. Some large wolf that had had no good intentions for him at all.

The whites of his eyes turned red, and he let out a roar!