Reborn As The Villain

"—Allow me to introduce Arnold, the savior of our village." Lian stood next to Arnold.

The atmosphere became awkward when he came in.

Lian noticed that Kohana was staring at his face blankly.

"You put on quite a performance earlier today! The whole capital will come watch you tomorrow!" Rasuke went "kahahaha" as he shook Arnold's hand, "My name is Rasuke Zhurosan and this here is my older sister, Kohana."

"Zhurosan… The name of this empire."

"Yes, despite taking it from our family, Ko Johun hasn't renamed it to anything else. He knows we're alive and wants to rub it in our faces."

"If he knows you're alive then he must also have prepared for any retaliation you're planning."

Rasuke and Kohana looked at each other, with her speaking first, "We think this tournament to determine who gets to become an inner martial might be because of that as well."

"With Funiji in front, he can't afford to give any attention to what happens behind his back."

"Exactly," Kohana nodded, "He knows every battle with Funiji ends with both of them gravely injured so he needs people around him to protect him when such a time comes. That's why we also…" Kohana fidgeted with her fingers, "—need strong martials to aid my brother in bringing his personal force down…"

'They're aiming to take Ko down when he's injured.'

The unrest of one tyrant dying will cause an uprising and people will march to Funiji and attempt to kill him as well. However, what happens after that?

"How are you planning to deal with millions of people finally gaining freedom from these two tyrants when most if not all of the powerful sects are gone?"

Kohana shook her head slowly, "We can only hope we can use my father for that. He might be gone but his legacy should still be remembered by everyone today. Back when he ruled as the emperor, he maintained peace, punished fairly and treated all equally. In his eyes, everyone had the potential to become powerful martials so martial education, in all institutions, was free. If everything stayed the same as before he became emperor, we would not have had so many strong peasant martials protecting the throne back then. Even I had a personal guard who came from humble beginnings but that man protected me with his life during the war. Were it not for him, I wouldn't be here today. I vowed to take the throne and become a ruler like my father."

"I will stand beside her." said Rasuke with determination, "If our words fail to reach the people and they try to charge into the throne room then I will kill every single man and woman who tries to take her life. If it exhausts me, then I will make sure my sister lives and gets a chance to fight for her rule to the throne."

All of them looked at Arnold, probably thinking he's moved to the point of tears and will help them.

Arnold closed his eyes and considered the events that will follow upon Ko and Funiji's deaths. There will definitely be some kind of revolution to change things since there aren't any sects left to tell the common people what to do. Many will consider Rasuke a coward and someone unfit to lead a whole empire's people. Traitors will no doubt emerge and attempt to take Kohana and him down the same way.

But fear will stop any attempts at this.

He opened his eyes and spoke:

"I want you to come with me and Lian to the World Tree Forest, Princess."

"Eh? Me? Wait, why is Lian going and where is this World Tree Forest?"

"I'll follow you sister, wherever it is." Rasuke smiled confidently.

"No, you remain here." Arnold shot him down.

"What!? Why!"

"You will not be needed for the trip. Just make sure you're ready for a war when your sister comes back with an army."

"A-An army? Do you mean…" Kohana gasped.

"I know someone who can help but it will be your job to convince that person not to just take over your world and enslave your people."

"…" Kohana looked at Lian.

"He's serious." She answered flatly.

"First, I need the martial book that Ko and Funiji hid away. I suspect that the two of them have some method to destroy the book if none of them are able to get it. I want to get it before they even realize it's gone and to do that, I don't need their attention on me."

"How can I help?" Rasuke asked instantly.

'These two were strangers just ten minutes ago…' thought Lian.

Rasuke knew what was at stake if they couldn't get Arnold's cooperation so it's only fair he provides his services to Arnold.

"Since Ko is expecting your attack, I need you to create a big disturbance when the time comes—"

Arnold laid out the plan in detail:

If nothing in the plan changes, it will go down like this: When Ko's attention is focused elsewhere, Arnold will slip into the palace and look around for clues. A letter, a scroll or a map… Anything to confirm the agreement between the two tyrants to hide the martial book. If necessary, he'll dispose of any witnesses. There probably won't be any servants around at that time, only guards.

The Future Letter would be really handy right now but (again) he's saving it for when it's really necessary.

As of right now, he determined that whenever a day passes in this world, an hour goes by in his world. He confirmed this through the system after doing the calculations himself. There's three days left until he starts his life as a fifth year (if he passes, of course) which equates to 72 days in this world. Of course, he has no reason to stay here that long but it's enough time to make preparations.

He could always disregard all innocent lives and just fight Ko Johun at full power then kill the other tyrant after being enlightened with Lian's help but Arnold had no reason to do something so unnecessary when he had a plan already.

Not every perilous situation should be treated the same as Nuaria City where he could kill indiscriminately.

Another thing, it seems something is blocking the system's search function from finding the book. He wasn't sure why this is. The fact that he didn't know the name of the book might be the reason…

"—But what if Ko decides to confront my brother himself? There's no way for him to win!" Kohana voiced her worries.

"Do you have any means to teleport away?"

"Teleport…? Like magic?"

Judging from their clueless reactions, they definitely didn't have the means to teleport. 

"If the plan goes through, you can use my ring to teleport away." He held up his hand, showing the finger where he had the ring on, "We just need to agree on a location I've been to so that we can rendezvous later on. I might need your help to get the book itself as well."

He went "ah, another thing":

"Are there any relic tombs in this country that have been recorded?"

"We've discovered four in the last millennia. All of them were locked down by Ko and Funiji." Kohana answered, "They might be afraid of weapons or magic powerful enough to kill them lurking in those tombs."

Well, that certainly is a logical action to take… Strength doesn't always prevail since an artifact can determine the odds even at the last second. If Luke was capable of unlocking Flora's old sword's true untapped power, then he might be able to match high-level players without his golden aura. Of course, this is only in terms of raw power, not defense, speed and so on so he wouldn't be invincible.

Someone like Alitus, whose attack power is lower than a level 50 warrior on average, would greatly benefit from a weapon like that.

'Luxtivin might be capable of granting me similar power to a Semi-Star sword.'

But the problem remains that his proficiency was still very low and he could only use illusions (or A.I) at the moment—a skill bestowed by the sword itself.

"Were you thinking they might've hidden the book away in the tombs?" Kohana asked.

"Yes, but it seems a bit too obvious, especially since they locked the tombs down to anyone other than themselves. If I were them, I'd seal it away in a place no one would look."

Anyone would have this mindset.

"But for now, discuss your distraction plans on your own." Arnold stood up.

"Eh? Where are you going, Sir Arnold?"

"The tavern. I want to go get something from one of my new friends."

Lian then asked, "Should I wait up for you in the lounge downstairs? Every room in the coliseum's suite area is meant for two people so I thought we should… share..."

"I'll be able to find you so no need. I'll be back in a few hours." Without saying anything else, he headed towards the door while waving as he walked.

The moment the door closed behind him, Rasuke's friendly expression instantly faded, turning into one of extreme pain.

"Haa… Haa…. What the hell… It felt like my throat was being grabbed by a devil!"

Kohana smiled bitterly, "You held your cool together splendidly, little brother. So, what do you think?"

"He's a walking calamity… No, that's just underestimating his power. It's like some divine being graced us with his presence. I thought for a moment that he's some martial god in disguise here to steal back his creation."

"That creation being the book, right?"

Rasuke nodded as he tried to get his breathing under control. His sweat had made a small puddle on the table.

'They really believe he's the creator of that cursed martial arts book?'

The book's creator is unknown but some say it's the Death God himself, forgetting that he hates martial arts and sees it as inferior to his powerful magic.

"That book… Should we really entrust it to him? My family has had it locked away for centuries, fearing it could kill any person arrogant enough to peruse its knowledge or doom us all if such power falls into the wrong hands."

"Your highness, what kind of martial arts book is it exactly?" Lian asked. She wasn't sure about the specifics of the book since no one in this era had opened the book and read it. It was simply a dark red book (she recalled an illustration for the book in the palace's throne room). The aura from its cover alone fills any who lays eyes on it with dread.

"It's rumored to have direct martial arts recorded by its creator, making it a pure martial arts book. There are no known flaws in its martial skills and provides perfect synchronization between mind and body for all who practices it, that's if they can handle the power."

This power sounds really ominous…

"Do you know the nature of its power?"

"Erm, I've heard stories from my father. He said that the last man capable enough to wield its powers was able to gain full control of his body. I'm not sure what that means but he said that 'humans are incapable of controlling their own bodies even though we practice martial arts that builds the body into something greater than nature could ever give us. This book bypasses all bodily restrictions imposed on us by gods.' The last thing he said about it is that the consequence that comes with controlling a human body, down to its very soul, will corrupt the wielder. But in return, the wielder gains unfathomable power…"

Lian noticed that Rasuke—whose hands were on the table—were clenched so tight that they turned almost white.

'Unfathomable power… It's something Rasuke could use but the consequences will taint his soul.'

"Such evil power shouldn't be used by the pure-hearted. And yet Sir Arnold wants its anyway. I doubt he knows what he's doing and is only chasing after power."

"Despite already being so strong… He still wants power…?" Rasuke leaned forward with his face in his hands.

At this moment, he had truly seen the ceiling he was hoping to reach, but that ceiling was aiming for something higher.

"Brother…"

"I feel like giving up, Hana… I've always thought every ceiling can be surpassed if only I train hard enough, drive my body to the absolute limit, absorb every 'Internal Energy Pill' on the market (legit or not), learn every martial art this country has ever seen… I even thought I could stand up to Ko Johun when the time comes but I was ready to run out of this room like a coward when I stood in front of Sir Arnold who wasn't even hostile. Even if he's probably weaker than Ko Johun, the fact that I couldn't look at him without shivering is so pathetic!"

He took a deep breath.

"But I won't give up just yet. Lady Lian, I'd like to start my meditation right away. May I have some of your internal energy pills? I will listen to your advice and avoid training for a whole week."

Lian sighed but soon nodded.

"I told your sister already that you should rest but… meditation is fine. It will give you time to heal your body while you absorb internal energy."

"Thank you!" he bowed his head. Kohana did the same.

 **

The city teems with life as cultivators and common folk alike fill the stone-paved streets. Vibrant paper lanterns, painted in deep reds and blues, line the roads and cast a warm glow as the sun dips below the horizon. Stall vendors call out, hawking everything from rare spirit herbs to finely crafted talismans, their voices adding to the hum of the crowd.

The clothes of the residents, their food, the buildings' architecture and the culture itself were so different in comparison to where Arnold comes from that he was almost surprised they didn't speak a language he wouldn't be able to understand.

The people also looked different. No matter where he looked, he couldn't spot a single person that didn't have black or brown hair. Kohana and Rasuke were the exception, it seems.

He could feel stares on him since he was also a rare sight to see. He heard some people secretly ask each other if he was the prince.

The smell of booze drew his attention. He could just tell by the drunks puking and pissing outside that this was the tavern.

'What is she doing here? Gambling?'

If she is then she's probably ripping a lot of people off. People with Thief classes are incredibly skilled in that as if it's an ability that comes with the class.

The tavern door opened with a bell ring when Arnold entered. He could hear the sounds of bards playing their instruments, laughing drunkards and moans and groans from the bathroom stalls more clearly when he came inside.

Looking around, there were exclusively waitresses tonight dressed in skimpy outfits. From the corner of his eye, he spotted one of the customers groping one of them while she took their order.

Judging by her unperturbed expression, this is probably normal. He had this thought to ask if the moans coming from the bathroom belonged to one of the waiters… But he quickly banished that thought when he found who he was looking for.

'Did she find herself a new gang?' there was about half a dozen new faces sitting at the same table as the person he's looking for.

Arnold swiftly moved through the closely-spaced tables and sat down at table that was across the one the Thief Girl was sitting at. He focused on what they were discussing.

"—What!? Breuk broke contact!? How am I supposed to get another connection to the inner martials when he's my only shot!?"

"W-We tried to reason that there's a lot of cash in working with your family but he just wouldn't listen…" one of the gang members said hesitantly.

"He didn't want to be associated with weaklings, he said. And money isn't what's important to him…" another said.

"My brother will never let me have my freedom if I don't get that book for him… I'm going to die bound by his rule, alone…" Thief Girl's head fell on the table.

"Is your brother… really that powerful that you can't escape him?"

"That's not it… If you disobey the leader of the family then you're essentially an outcast and with our history and what I know, they'll try to get rid of me. Unlike my eldest sister, I'm not brainwashed like a good little soldier waiting for her master's commands."

Sounds like she's from an assassin family. They tend to get rid of the exiled and hunt them down until the Head decides to call it off. Of course, with the knowledge this exiled had, this is something that rarely happens since letting that information leak will cause significant damage to the family.

That last part was kind of strange but he didn't focus on it.

Arnold tried to look at her status again to see if he could identify the family by name.

· System's [Analysis] skill is still at level 2 and needs level 3 to be able to bypass this illusion.

'Tch, what a troublesome magic item.'

"—Hello! Would you like to order something or are you still deciding?" a waitress came up to him. She stood awfully close, her thigh touching his upper arm. That was probably to make it easier to grope her but Arnold wasn't exactly interested. She's probably a walking sex disease biohazard despite looking so cute so he'd rather not risk it.

"Do you have juice?"

He would order alcohol but judging by the stink of ale drifting around, nothing that will suit his palette will be here. For that he'd rather go to some restaurant. He now had the coin for that, after all.

"Erm, we have oranges…"

"Then squeeze some for me and bring it over to that table." He pointed at the table where Thief Girl was at.

"Right away!"

After she left his side, Arnold stood up and walked over to that same table. The gang members noticed him and—probably thinking he's bad news—immediately got up and stepped back. Maybe that rumor of the third Divine Dao having silver hair reached their ears?

"What's wrong with you guys?" confused by that, Thief Girl looked back. Immediately, her face paled.

With the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster, Arnold spoke:

"Let's talk."

"Y-You…" she glared at him but didn't move an inch, "…Are you here to take my body as some kind of victory prize after you robbed me?"

"That money wasn't yours to begin with," Arnold sat down across her. The gang members looked awkwardly at each other but didn't intervene, "You have the face and ears of an elf but not the body of one."

"What's that supposed to mean, hah?" she hissed.

"Elves have an incredibly fast metabolism that keeps them slim no matter how much they eat. Some, depending on their genes, can still develop fuller curves, like larger breasts, during puberty. Their legs are much longer than humans' because their pelvis sits closer to the ribcage, and there's a natural gap between a female elf's thighs, which causes a gentle tilt toward the knees. I've been with many elven women and seen their naked bodies so I can tell the difference between an elf's body and a human's."

"…." Arnold could see the sweat dripping down her fake face.

"You fooled everyone with that face that's given to you by a magic item. I want you to give it to me."

"W-Why would I do that!? Don't t-think you can order me around!"

"You can have the coins back. I was thinking of using it to buy a better sword for myself and some armor but I can survive fighting empty handed in the tournament tomorrow."

"Eh? You're in the… tournament?"

"Just joined recently. I just need to show up to the coliseum tomorrow."

Thief Girl looked at her acquaintances, "Leave us."

"Hey, you aren't gonna show us what you really look like?"

"Yeah! We've been working for you for months!"

"Scram." Arnold's cold voice made them jump and quickly leave the tavern.

"—I'm guessing you want something from me?"

"There's a reward in it for you." She grinned widely, "I come from a family that tends to take the possessions of their "targets" after the job is done. This led to many of my family members becoming interested in tomb raiding dungeons. We even managed to get artifacts from a certain relic tomb."

Arnold's eyes widened slightly at the mention of a relic tomb.

"What my brother—the head of our household—seeks, is something that's far more valuable than any of those treasures. Of course, I can't give all of them to you as a reward."

"That Dreum fellow… Did you offer him the same thing?"

Before she could answer, the waitress from earlier brought Arnold's juice. Since he had only been drinking water these past few weeks, this beverage was a welcoming treat. He took a sip while Thief Girl continued.

"Not him, rather his brother who's way stronger than him and has more connections. Breuk is currently on track of winning the tournament. I want to use him to infiltrate the inner martial circle." Noticing Arnold's frown, she tilted her head, "What's with the frowning face? It's not like it's taboo to say you want the information that inner martials have access to."

"Is that so… But you won't clarify what that information is, will you?"

"Nope. Not until I know I can trust you. I'd like to avoid drawing unnecessary attention towards myself."

"Are you certain you can afford this caution when Breuk broke contact?"

She glared at him but soon sighed in defeat.

"…If you can promise me you'll help me get what I'm looking for, we have a deal. But I need to revise my approach and Breuk needs to be dealt with before he spills the beans to the inner circle members. I don't want them hunting me. Most of all, I don't want my family to clean up my mess again…"

"What level is he?"

"This world doesn't measure strength by level. They have an entirely different ranking system determined by your martial prowess."

'Then I'll assume he's as strong as Rasuke.' Arnold took another sip from the cold beverage. Even if it was just squeezed fruit, it tasted really good. He didn't remember oranges tasting this good. Maybe the chef—or whoever made this—added some kind of sweetener that enhances the sweet flavor. It was certainly better than cheap ale.

Thief Girl stood up, "I'll be watching you from the coliseum's highest seats tomorrow."

"Are you interested in my martial arts?"

"No, I've just never had a breather lately even though it's supposed to be my vacation, which is ending in just a few days." She sighed like an old man, "Anyway, we should meet tomorrow after the tournament matches. I'll have a talk with Breuk, see if I can't change his mind. If not… Well, I'll cross that road when I get there. See ya."

Without exchanging names, affiliations or pleasantries, the two of them parted that night, both unaware of the other's intentions and identity.