Chương 101: Chapter 94: Altered Plot

Onyx Spire Academy sprawled across the landscape, looking like a sovereign kingdom of its own. Monolithic black-and-white buildings rose proudly behind enormous iron gates. Sharp spires pierced the low-hanging clouds, and massive arching windows stretched across the grounds, catching the morning light. Lucion stood before the gates, adjusting the unfamiliar fit of his uniform. It was a tailored black coat that rested snugly over a crisp white shirt and a dark tie, falling gracefully to his thighs.

It layered seamlessly over form-fitting trousers tucked into polished leather boots. A utility belt wrapped loosely around his waist, anchoring a small pouch meant for carrying essential supplies. Though the past two months of brutal training had filled out his frame somewhat, it still wasn't quite enough to render him intimidating to the passing crowd. So many students… and from what I can tell, I'm the only Recommended Student standing in this line, he thought grimly, his gaze sweeping over his peers.

This is not going to be very fun. Every single student wore a thin, rectangular metal insignia pinned to the edge of their left sleeve. It was a stark marker of status: royals bore gleaming white, nobles carried crimson, commoners were branded with black, and Recommended Students—those who didn't have the capabilities yet still got in—wore blue. As Lucion remained lost in thought, a luxurious carriage rolled to a halt just behind him. A maid stepped forward, opening the door with a practiced bow.

From the carriage emerged a demon dressed in the same uniform as Lucion, his dark ash-blond hair swept back neatly with a subtle side part. The demon walked past, intentionally ramming his shoulder against Lucion's. Lucion stumbled slightly, turning to look at him in confusion. The noble—his rank clearly announced by the crimson insignia on his cuff—paused. He glanced back over his shoulder, throwing Lucion a mocking sneer.

"Get out of the way, you filthy commoner." Without waiting for a response, he strutted toward the main entrance. I remember that face. Cedric Vaelthorn, a high-ranking noble from here in Gergrain. Lucion watched Cedric's back, his gaze calm. In the original game's story, this guy gets killed by the main character around chapter 30 after attempting to assassinate Seris, the commoner heroine. Lucion picked up his pace and headed for the entrance, tightening the grip on his luggage.

"Show me your student verification letter," demanded a dark-skinned security guard who towered over Lucion. Lucion reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a crisp piece of parchment stamped with the academy's official wax seal, and handed it over. The guard scanned the document with a critical eye. Adjusting his glasses, he nodded curtly.

"Continue on." Lucion stepped through the gates, carrying his heavy bags onto the academy grounds. He was staring into thin air. Well, at least for others he was. [Chapter 01: Beginning] [You have entered the Onyx Spire Academy!] [Story Mission: Completed!] Well, the system really sticks to its word. I literally just had to walk through the front door to complete the first mission, Lucion thought with a faint smile. Let's see what I got. Rewards.

[Rewards:] [Vein Lock (Rare) → Acquired] • When activated, temporarily stabilizes the user's internal Aether flow. [Choose an attribute to increase:] • Strength: E • Agility: D • Endurance: E • Mana: F • Intelligence: C Nice! [Vein Lock] can at least help me slow down the progression of Black Vein Erosion, and having [Basic Aether Sensitivity] should multiply its overall utility. Now, as for the free attribute point… He raised a finger and tapped the floating screen.

[Agility: C → B] The grand arena resembled a luxurious stone colosseum, carved directly into the heart of the academy grounds. At its center stretched a massive circular stage floored with reinforced quartz, enclosed by an invisible barrier designed to protect the audience. Layer upon layer of elevated stone seating rose dramatically around the perimeter. The lower sections were packed with ordinary citizens and standard academy staff, while the grand upper terraces were reserved for foreign guests.

Down in the central arena, the freshman students had gathered. It was a vibrant sea of diverse races from countless kingdoms and nations, each student wielding their own unique weapon of choice. What insignia you wear or what background you're born into doesn't actually mean anything. Here, only wealth, connections, and raw strength truly matter. Naturally, a commoner like me has zero influence and even less coin. Lucion narrowed his eyes, his gaze dropping to the iron sword resting at his hip.

I have to do my best in this opening ceremony and leave a solid impression on my future sponsor. While the anxious students milled about, striking up conversations and forging early alliances, the booming voice of the announcer introduced the arrival of the distinguished guests over the din. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Whoa… who is that?" a student whispered from afar, his jaw dropping.

"She's insanely beautiful," a beast-woman added, leaning over her staff to get a better look.

"She's… a moon elf? And that silver hair—wait! I think I know who she is," a student wearing a white insignia breathed, his voice dropping into a respectful tone.

"That's Princess Sylene Vaelor from Noctherys." Lucion turned his head with an exhausted sigh, already knowing exactly what he was about to see. There she is. One of the main heroines of the game. Almost every male student in the arena had turned to stare at the girl, mesmerized by the flawless features characteristic of high-ranking moon elves. Her cascading silver hair carried a faint, pale-blue tint beneath the sunlight, flowing like liquid silk down her back.

A delicate, crescent-shaped silver hairpin held a portion of it behind one ear, exposing her elegant, pointed profile. Her luminous violet eyes were cold and distant, perfectly matching the untouchable aura she carried. She looks gorgeous, she's a genius mage, and all that stuff… but her personality in these early chapters is the last thing I want to deal with right now. Lucion quickly shifted direction and slipped deeper into the crowd, actively putting distance between them.

Moon elves don't mix well with other races, and Sylene is no exception early on. It takes some time for the main character to break down her walls before she finally changes.

"Finally, the honored guests of the Cursed Kingdom, Crimvane!" the announcer's voice boomed across the colosseum. At those words, a massive portion of the students and upper-tier guests instantly snapped their heads toward the royal entrance, a tense hush falling over the stadium.

"Their Majesties, King Noa Ravel and Queen Vionette Crimvane of Crimvane! Accompanying them are Lady Lina Ravel and Lady Elina, a red dragon!" Lucion had intended to ignore the VIPs as usual, but the moment that last name echoed through the arena, he froze mid-step. His heart skipped a beat. Elina…? He quickly spun around, his eyes locking onto the dragon girl. What's going on… it's really her.

Lucion stared up at the group with a bewildered expression, his eyes wide as his brain struggled to process the massive anomaly. Elina wasn't even supposed to be mentioned in the story's lore yet! She only makes her first appearance much later when the academy takes a trip to Cyradis. He narrowed his eyes, studying the dragon girl. At this point in the timeline, she's supposed to be suffering from severe wounds after trying to fight Cyradis. Why does she look perfectly fine?

His gaze slowly drifted toward the woman standing right next to her—Vionette, who had just crossed her legs and settled into her prepared seat with an unbothered posture. And… I've definitely read that name somewhere in the game's historical background texts. The Cursed Kingdom… Vionette Crimvane. Right! There's a brief lore note about Crimvane losing a war to Aurelyth, and the ruler at the time was named Vionette Crimvane. He then shifted his gaze to the man sitting beside her.

But I have never, not even once, heard the name Noa Ravel in any game book or lore wiki. How is he the King of Crimvane right now? As Lucion stared up at them, Vionette's crimson eyes suddenly shifted, locking dead onto his. Lucion's survival instincts flared; he quickly ripped his gaze away, ducking his head and melting deeper into the dense crowd of students. According to the game's original script, Crimvane was supposed to be destroyed by now. Elina was supposed to be captured by Cyradis.

Lina Ravel and Noa Ravel were characters who didn't even exist. And Vionette Crimvane was supposed to be dead. Something is wrong… very, very wrong here. Did my transmigration into this world somehow trigger a butterfly effect that altered the main plot? He stopped moving, his eyes tracking across the VIP terraces until he noticed a glaring cluster of empty seats. Wait, why did the announcer say 'finally' just now?

"... Where is Velmora?" he muttered.

"Didn't you hear the news? Oh, right, you're a Recommended Student, so you wouldn't know yet," a boy standing behind him replied. He wore thick, round glasses and had a noticeable scattering of acne across his cheeks.

"What happened?" Lucion asked quickly, demanding the boy's full attention.

"Last night, every single kingdom allied with Rellion was turned to dust, and the Velmora Kingdom was one of them," the boy answered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Velmora's rulers were already on their way to Gergrain when it happened, so they technically survived the blast. But without a kingdom to return to, they're basically just refugees now." He pointed a finger toward the abandoned seats.

"So it's only natural they won't attend the ceremony."

"How… did that happen?" Lucion stepped closer, gripping the boy's shoulders tightly.

"Uhhh… ummm…" The boy immediately grew flustered as Lucion invaded his personal space.

"I… I don't know the exact details! But most suspect it's Crimvane's doing."

"Why would they even do that?" Lucion pressed.

"Velmora had political connections with Rellion for power, sure, but they never once antagonized Crimvane or any other major nation." The boy's face suddenly darkened, a grim look settling over his features.

"Don't you get it? People with that kind of power don't care about political reasons. They destroy weak ones simply because they can." …It's Crimvane again. Now even my planned future sponsors are gone because of them. Everything in this timeline has changed because of whatever Crimvane is doing. After a few seconds, Lucion let out a long breath, rubbing his temples. For now, let's just survive this opening ceremony. He looked back at the flustered boy with a sudden realization.

"…Wait, who even are you?"

"Ah! I-I'm Adrian, the son of Marquess Edevane of Gergrain." The boy awkwardly extended a hand toward him.

"Pleased to meet you…?"

"…Yeah," Lucion muttered, giving it a loose shake.

<Yes, that is all, > Kaelen replied. <Nothing important happened yesterday either. Everything is completely fine here. > <Good. Then I'll talk to you later. Keep up the good work, > Noa replied, before severing the communication. Sitting to his right was Elina, who was currently trying to figure out how she could ask for some pocket money. To his left was Vionette, while Lina sat snugly beside the Queen. Their seats had been intentionally pulled close together, leaving barely a sliver of space between them.

[Accumulation Points: 52. 507 → 54. 036] It only went up by 1. 529 points from yesterday to today. Vionette sighed inwardly. All my subordinates' daily growth passively converts into Accumulation Points, but it can't even compare to the massive jackpots people like Kaelen grant whenever they hit a major breakthrough. She scanned the stadium full of students with idle curiosity, her gaze lingering on the system windows for only a fraction of a second.

The average daily points I can squeeze out at most right now is only about 2. Goddammit, this is so fucking ass! I seriously need to find a faster way to farm more points. Vionette paused as she felt a gentle tug on her sleeve. She turned her head toward Lina, who was lightly holding onto her. Lina's bright blue eyes were wide and glowing with a puppy-eyed expression, staring at Vionette.

"Vionette-oneesama…" Vionette instantly spat a spray of blood from her lips, struck by the cuteness overload.

"Tell me what you want. I'll get you anything, sweetie!" she squealed, wiping a trail of crimson from her chin. Lina beamed, her eyes sparkling.

"Can I get some money to spend around here too? I saw a ton of really cool new shops on our way."

"Of course you can!" Vionette instantly gave her a thumbs-up.