I Became A Third-Rate Villain In The Hero Academy

After Theo's group entered the training arena, the students in the stands voiced various opinions.

“Piel and Neike only had 4 injured, but can Theo do the same?”

“Well... Even if Theo has been doing well lately, he can't match Piel and Neike. Theo's a brainy character, right? Will his strategy work against Oliver? Oliver is a monster who entered the top 100 rankings of the continent at 23, you know?”

“I also think it won't work on Oliver. Didn’t I read in the knight’s journal that Oliver received one-on-one strategy training from the master of the Ataraxia guild?”

"Over or under four injuries for Theo's group, anyone want to bet? Over 50 have already joined!”

“What are the odds?”

“Let’s see... 15.57 times if you bet on under!”

“That would be a killer reverse bet. But who bet on under? And what happens if exactly four people get injured?”

"The one who's running this needs to earn too. Obviously, if exactly 4 get injured, I win. Why else would I do this, right?”

“You stingy bastard.”

“Then don’t participate.”

“Damn it. There goes a week's worth of food money on over.”

“Okay~!”

That's when it happened.

At the back of the arena, a group carrying a stretcher appeared.

The students all focused on this sight.

“Huh. Doesn’t seem like there are many injuries?”

“Just one person?”

The person carried on the stretcher was unconscious, not moving at all.

This person was immediately moved to the medical facility at the top of the arena.

Most students' eyes widened at this sight.

“Hey, the person on the stretcher... that’s Oliver, right?”

“Brown curly hair, brown skin... seems like it. And not in academy uniform.”

“Damn, in all my life, I never thought I’d see this... Oliver being carried out on a stretcher.”

“Was there an accident? Like a brick falling from the ceiling and hitting his head. How did they defeat this monster? Our group was annihilated in less than a minute.”

Following this, Theo's group returned to the arena.

There were no injuries.

All 50 were walking on their own.

Every student checked the number of Theo's team members and their jaws dropped.

Among them, some students’ eyes darted wildly, their teeth clattering.

“Damn it... it’s true that the unexpected kills you. Mom, Dad... did I just get wrecked by a reverse-bet demon?”

“Stop talking nonsense, you idiot! I bet three months' worth of food money! Let's go ask them quickly!”

The students rushed down from the stands towards Theo's group.

They bombarded them with questions.

“Hey, you guys won, right? You’re the ones who did that to Oliver?”

“Yeah, we did, but it’s a bit...”

"A bit what? Come on, just spit it out clearly! This is a huge deal! You know it too, if Oliver's cumulative achievements were a bit more, he'd be in the top 50 in terms of combat power!"

─I know that, but it's hard to explain...

"Ah, this is so frustrating! Did you guys make some secret deal with Oliver? Promise him an artifact if he lost?”

“Hey, idiot. That’s not it. Do you not know Oliver’s personality? He hates losing more than anyone, would he be swayed by an artifact?”

─Ah, that, um...

The members of Theo's group just glanced at Theo, waiting for his guidance.

Regardless, Theo didn’t respond.

He just looked at Oliver, who was still unconscious, being treated by a medic.

"Ah, these guys! There is definitely something!”

Failing to get a clear answer from Theo's team, the students all turned to look at Theo.

It was an unspoken pressure for him to represent and speak up.

That's when it happened.

"AAAAAAAAAH!!”

Oliver, who had been unconscious, suddenly screamed and bolted upright.

He immediately looked around.

Soon, he found who he was looking for.

“You, you... you son of a...!”

Oliver, pushing past the medics blocking him, rushed towards Theo.

“Everyone, stop Oliver! He's lost it!”

Oliver’s team, academy professors, and instructors nearby all rushed to stop him.

But Oliver was known for his agility among the continental heroes.

The reason he was carried on a stretcher was due to unconsciousness, not severe injury – a mere shoulder wound from a blade was already healed.

It seemed inevitable that Theo would be beaten to a pulp.

In the blink of an eye, Oliver was standing in front of Theo.

However, Theo did not budge from his spot.

He just continued to look, with an impassive face, at Oliver charging towards him.

"......Huh."

Looking up at that fearless guy, Oliver couldn't help but let out a sarcastic laugh.

His boiling anger calmed down, impressed by Theo's composed demeanor.

‘This guy is really insane.’

If there was a human completely devoid of fear, it had to be him.

In all his encounters with various people, Oliver had never met such a lunatic.

Oliver looked up at Theo and said,

“You. What did you do to me? This is the first time I’ve been knocked out in a fight since I was a student getting beaten by Professor Rok over there.”

Instead of answering, Theo pointed to the dagger Jang Woohee was holding.

The dagger's identity was the legendary artifact [Moonflower].

Used previously to capture Melon, Moonflower had a special effect [Moon Explosion].

[Moon Explosion] causes the opponent to fall into a random debuff after being hit a certain number of times or receiving a certain level of damage.

Even within Equilibrium, only a handful knew of its existence, making it an unknown artifact.

Oliver tilted his head in confusion.

"......Damn. Is there really an artifact that can incapacitate someone with just a light stab?”

To be precise, it wasn't the effect of [Moon Explosion] that knocked him out, but Theo's elbow that hit him directly.

Even with Moonflower, a single stab wouldn't cause unconsciousness.

However, Theo didn’t bother to correct him.

Oliver continued.

"I've never heard of such a thing. Hey, kid. Is that artifact a myth-grade one?”

Instead of answering, Jang Woohee shook her head.

"......Hah.”

Oliver laughed sarcastically again.

......Daring to answer his question with such disrespectful gestures.

If this had happened a while ago, he would have physically taught them a lesson, but now he wasn’t as angry.

After hearing an insult like 'half-breed' from Theo, his threshold for anger had risen.

"Hah. Both juniors have no manners. What, are you two dating? You do match well.”

This time too, instead of responding, Theo and Jang Woohee shook their heads.

The four aides standing next to Theo also simultaneously shook their heads.

Oliver smiled bitterly, lifting one corner of his mouth.

Was it because of their synergy?

They even looked cute to him.

A cuteness that made him want to smack them on the back of their heads.

"Tsk...... Well, the one who gets beaten is the fool. Theo, you won.”

Saying so, Oliver turned his back and headed towards the training arena where the training would be continuing.

Oliver’s team and the academy professors and instructors followed him, breathing sighs of relief.

The day's training continued.

─Uhuhuhuk...... I did everything Theo told us to...... I surely did...... Why......

─Aaaaaah, aaah-!! My shoulder! Look at my shoulder first, please! I can't throw if my shoulder is injured!

The teams following Theo's group were in a dire state.

There were injuries in every team.

Each group had more than 30 injured members.

They had heard about how to fight Oliver’s team from Theo's team, but it didn’t work at all.

Once again, the arena was filled with injured students and medics treating them.

From the stands, Theo looked down at the scene with a calm expression.

'Of course it wouldn’t work, you fools......'

Oliver is not a fool; obviously, he wouldn’t fall for it again.

Using the same one-time strategy was like scratching Oliver's temper even more.

It was the end for those who blindly copied without thinking.

Naturally, Theo felt no sympathy.

Just as Theo finished his reflection and was running battle simulations in his mind.

"Hey, catch.”

Piel, who had approached unnoticed, handed Theo a pouch.

"What's this?”

It felt heavy when he took it.

"Open it.”

Inside the pouch were full of gold coins.

Piel shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"I made quite a lot of money because of you. It's half of the money.”

“Thanks.”

Theo put the pouch of gold coins into his pocket.

Piel said.

“The professor wants to have a long talk with us.”