Stone Mage: Revenge of the Villain System

Ronin opened the pocketed message crystal before waking Cermin. It showed Donna at a table with the two girls holding a teacup.

"Hello, Ronin! Oh.... It took a while for you to accept it. Did something happen?"

"No, I was just being careful and waiting for a chance to open it without anyone else listening." He angled it where Cermin could not be seen.

"Say, Ronin." Calla sipped her cup loudly to gain his attention. "These crystals are really fascinating, how did you ever procure such a thing? I can feel that they are made of strong Illuso energy----"

Ronin only focused on Donna and said: "You should go back as soon as you can and prepare for classes. I have my exams to take care off too, I would probably be gone by the time you go back to the room."

"Oh, alright." Donna said. "He will be gone by then too, right?"

"Of course." Ronin turned to the sleeping prince and knew it would take a while to wake this guy up.

He tapped the crystal for the communication to be over, and broke it until it shatters and eventually disappear into a cloud of smoke.

Ronin nudged the prince again and again until he eventually woke up, and they had breakfast similar to the ones the girls were having.

"Oh, the fruits in my basket!" Cermin remembered. "You should eat those too!"

Cermin went over to take an apple and grabbed the small knife to peel the skin, but Ronin stopped him.

"I like eating it with the skin on. Leave it be." He told him.

"Oh.... I see. I dislike it so it became a habit." Cermin scratched his head. "But I do know some people enjoy it that way."

(He also likes eating apples that way.) He suddenly thought in a sort of fond tone.

Ronin couldn't guess who he was referring to, and treat it as another unimportant passing thought.

"Here, how about I slice it in half and peel the other half for you." Ronin said as a compromise.

"Ok!" Cermin nodded.

After breakfast, he eventually asked the annoying prince who have overstayed his welcome wayyyy too much already to go back to his dorm room, and they parted ways to prepare for another school day.

For Ronin, it was just like any other boring school day besides that argument with Espinella. He was not worried about the Scholastic exams at all.

During the exams, he was still the fastest to finish, and he spent the remaining time staring at the window and pondering.

Suddenly, someone whispered to him.

"Psst. Commoner."

He ignored this guy, and he eventually threw his quill at Ronin to get his attention.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" He hissed.

Ronin carelessly caught the quill. "What is it?"

"Answer these for me. I'll give you 1,000 coins." The guy said.

Ronin sneered. "Alright then."

He took the paper and scribbled as fast as lightning, then handed it back to his classmate.

"Whoah, thanks, Commoner! For what you lack in wealth and attractiveness, you make up for your genius!"

Ronin did not respond to that back-handed compliment and only waited for lunch time to come.

Once it did, he was walking towards his usual seat with Cermin when suddenly....

He spotted Rabuka being taken by the guards outside.

"Unhand me! I can walk by myself, hmph!" She said.

But she caught sight of Ronin by her peripherals, who just gazed at her with those dead eyes.

"The daemon fiend! It's you! The one who ruined my darling Pavone's life!!!!"

She rushed to get her claws on him, but the guards stopped her and had to drag her away.

"You should be taking him away, not me! He will kill us all! Monster! Bringer of the End!"

As she was shouting, her mind was remembering vividly a memory that Ronin managed to glean on through great focus:

"You must get his files for me, Rabuka. Find his name and the family he came from. That is how we could tell if he really was the one the prophecy foretold."

In Rabuka's perspective, she was speaking with Pavone who looked less fanciful than he was before and wearing rugged clothing, his hair a mess.

He was holding a dirty tome, pointing at a picture.

"My father spoke about the Bringer of the End again and again. I knew it wasn't just nonsense, Rabuka."

He showed the ancient script that the worn-out tome was written with, something that even Ronin who had studied very well all his life could not understand.

But luckily, Pavone explained it to his girlfriends. "These words.... The speak of a prophecy relating to someone born from lightning yet born of darkness."

Rabuka frowned. "And that means?"

"It could mean anything, my knowledge of the Primordial tongue is limited. But as long as you see any connection to him being related to lightning....."

"Then the chances of him being this Bringer, the one who will end us all, raises to almost absolute certainty."

Ronin just raised an eyebrow.

He put two and two together, understanding what happened last night:

Rabuka was looking for proof to link him in this prophecy, got caught by Calla, and now she was being sent away and was officially 'defeated' by the harem member.

But this prophecy.... This was already the third prophecy about him.

One as a child, being someone who brings sorrow to himself and others. One from the blind Headmaster, the last remaining descendant of the Diamant family, who said he was their savior who will restore what was lost from the Diamond God of Creation's passing.

And finally, this about him becoming the Bringer of the End.

They must all be pointing out to the same direction. His becoming of Ronin Dreadborne, that much was obvious.

What concerns Ronin was the road to get there. To the path of reaching this intended path of a villanous destroyer.

People knowing too much may be a hindrance to this path. They must be eliminated.

If Pavone ever dares shows his face here.....

Ronin smirked. 'I'll have you suffer a worse fate than your father, boy.'

Speaking of people blocking his path....

"That's him! This filthy Commoner!" The boy who asked his help to cheat pointed at him.

He had more men beside him, possibly to gang up on this 'filthy Commoner'.

But the Commoner just smiled.

"How may I help you?" He tilted his head to the side.

The boy grabbed his collar and dragged him into a more secluded area.

"I told you to answer my papers, how did I get this result!???"

The result of the first exam arrives quickly because a magical quill checks everything and it does not have to be done manually.

Ronin smirked at the never-ending X marks. "I did answer it. You never told me to 'answer it correctly'."

He even slyly added. "Now where's my 1,000 coins, eh?"

The boy aimed a punch at him.

"You dirty little peasant---"

"Stop."

The boy's hand stopped, and his and his friend's eyes bugged out in shock.

Ronin stared all of them in the eye while imagining the rune of a crown.

"All of you..... FIGHT to the death."

At the mention of that one emphasized word, they began to rabidly pounce and attack each other like animals in the wild.

Ronin just continued walking on his path, snickering. These tiny hindrances will be taken care of, and just end up being a funny joke to himself.

Whether its these pathetic 'bullies' or Pavone or something much more.....

Things will work out for him in the end.