Eighteen Days Later

I dragged my battered body to the cafe in Sector B. 

Sector B was thankfully within walking distance from my dorms. I didn't need to waste my money on a taxi.

Regrettably, it didn't make walking less painful. 

I wanted to puke. The training was hell.

Training was similar to potions. Repeated use would make them ineffective. We had to increase the intensity/dosage to see a similar effect.

It didn't mean I would stop.

Even now I was wearing training bands weighing 40 Kg on each limb.

The result was an explosive growth that came at the cost of pain and exhaustion. 

It was an insufferable yet pleasing situation. 

I could confirm the result of my training with my own eyes. Just like when I used to train for circus performances.

[Cornhub Cafe: The Cafe That Makes You Come] 

I entered the suspiciously named cafe. This was the meeting place 'we' had decided beforehand.

'We' being: Me and Doll, the heroine I was supposed to protect inside the academy.

Doll was one of the central characters of [Destiny Fall] and a possible romance partner.

She had many fascinating things about herself. For one, she was the only daughter of the Supervilllain [Maestro].

In this world, criminal metahumans were called Villains. The villains capable of threatening Galactic Kingdoms had the honor of being Supervillains. 

Doll Moore didn't like Villains. 

She wanted to make her father turn over into a new leaf, an impossible endeavor. It only led to countless failures.

Her frustration continued to grow. 

When it reached its limit, she ran away from the base of [Carnival], the organization led by [Maestro]. 

But she was never able to truly escape. 

Maestro found her easily. He tried to bring her back.

Doll used an underhanded trick. She blackmailed Maestro. If he forced her to return she would kill herself. 

The two continued to clash and settled on a consensus.

Maestro would appoint a bodyguard for Doll. The bodyguard couldn't be a Villain. 

It should've been impossible for Carnival, which was an infamous gathering of notorious Supervillains, to have a non-villain member.

But then I entered the picture.

Zain was the newest member of Carnival. He hadn't even got his Villain moniker 'Merryman'. 

In fact, Zain was an upright citizen until recently. 

He suited Doll's condition.

"You look tired. Here, have a latte." A hand passed me a cup of coffee.

"Thank—" I took a sip and nearly spat it out when a gorgeous redhead sat before me.

She was the embodiment of the heavenly angel of war. Her hair made her look as if she was bathed in blood. Yet it didn't overshadow her charming appearance and seductive curves.

I had never seen anyone as beautiful as her. But I knew who she was.

My back was drenched in the cold sweat.

"Don't be so nervous. I don't bite, unless you give me a reason to." She winked at me and sipped her own coffee.

"Why—"

"Shhh, too loud."

I was about to shout until she placed her finger over my lips. The scene made us look as if she was teasing me to the outsiders, but I couldn't care less.

If we followed the game's story, this woman wasn't supposed to be here.

"Hehe, I was just too happy to meet a colleague." I answered while hiding my emotions behind my Eternal Smile. I never felt more thankful that I couldn't show my real emotions.

She shrugged, "Boss' order."

Villain name: Valkyrie

Class: Genius

Talent: Fire element Battle Armor 

Personality: Loves explosions

Rank: OuterGrade

Evaluation: If you see her, a firestorm is about to hit. Pack your shit and run as fast as you can unless you want your ass to be grilled barbecue-style.

That was her character note on the game wiki.

Valkyrie was a member of Carnival and a controversial character for the Destiny Fall gamers. 

The newbies loved her due to her appearance while veterans hated her for being one of the most annoying mid-level bosses.

Valkyrie could blow the academy to kingdom come if she was annoyed. 

Snap! 

"Why are you so surprised?" She tried to get my attention by snapping her fingers. 

Oh, right. I was Merryman. She wouldn't harm her ally. 

"Hehe, the surprise was surprising."

"Tell me about it." She smiled bitterly. "The princess called me suddenly and asked me to come here as her bodyguard. One thing led to another, now I'm a trainee professor at Stellar Academy for the next four years." 

Trainee Professor? She was undercover like me and Doll with her real identity disguised? That would explain how a Supervillain roamed the academy grounds without being attacked.

In hindsight, something like this was bound to happen. Merryman was weaker than Doll so he couldn't be her bodyguard. It would make sense for Maestro to send a stronger metahuman. 

But that never happened in the game.

"I'm not late, am I?" As I was lost in thoughts, a voice that carried the gracefulness of a noble reached my ears.

A girl with sea blue hair entered the cafe. She wasn't below Valkyrie in terms of appearance.

Her serene aura made her seem like a mermaid and the hint of aloofness in her demeanor only strengthened that conjecture.

A bear-like massive boy followed her… Wait, what the fudge? 

Why was Sarah's brother here?

Sean pulled the chair for Doll and she sat with a giggle. The massive boy then took the last seat.

On the round table, it was me followed by Valkyrie on the front, Doll on the left, and Sean on the right.

Doll and Valkyrie exchanged friendly banters. My focus remained on Sean who was ogling at Valkyrie. 

He wasn't even trying to hide his intentions.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Zain, Combat Department First Year. You are?" 

I opened the conversation while secretly clicking his photo and sending it to Sarah. Soon, my intercom buzzed with non-stop incoming messages but I ignored them for now.

"Sean, an aspiring knight." He answered without shifting his focus from Valkyrie. 

Before I could bring the conversation to any meaningful topic, Doll turned to me. 

"Zain? Do you know Sean? You are staring pretty hard at him." The last part was said to me but not to me at the same time. Though it seemed Sean failed to get the message.

"Kind of," I answered vaguely. 

Sean was supposed to be at the Academy and following one of the main heroines. But that heroine wasn't Doll. 

"Hehe, I was acquainted with a Potion shop recently. The owner had a sibling who, well, looked like Sean."

Sean stiffened at my words. He turned his head like a rusted door and asked meekly,

"Is.. Is that shop called Gazi Green?" Sean was many things but coward wasn't one of them, at least until he faced his sister's fury. 

"You went to a potion shop?" Doll and Valkyrie reacted differently than Sean. 

It made me notice another thing that was different from the game. Doll was being kind to me, Merryman, a to-be villain and Valkyrie.

"I was looking for something that could help me with training," I answered with a half-truth. 

"Training, huh? You are like awfully motivated student. Make sure you don't train beyond your limits. It could be dangerous." Valkyrie glanced at my wrists. 

She should have long noticed my training bracelets with her high perception but waited to speak until I brought up the topic.

'Valkyrie is being careful about other's privacy? That's another thing different from the game.' the possibility of changes made me more nervous than I would've liked.

I needed to confirm if there was anything else that was different or if it was only these people.

"Hehe, I'll be careful." I raised my coffee and downed it in one go. Then I openly looked at the clock and Doll, "You called me for…."

"Oh, I completely forgot about it. Here." Doll handed me an envelope.

I examined the letter. There was nothing written on the cover. 

Doll said that the letter was from a girl who had seen me at the cafeteria. 

"This is a love letter?" I muttered to myself after leaving the three at the cafe.

I had to promise Doll and Sean that I would dine with them at the cafeteria starting today. Valkyrie wouldn't join us as the professors had different dining areas. 

The very thought of eating with others made me nauseous. 

But it was an opportunity. I could search for the source of changes in Doll, Valkyrie and Sean. 

"It's finally my popular phase." I chuckled while opening the letter. Sean's face was worth seeing when he heard about the letter.

The letter…

"Huh?"

The words started to wriggle and move around.