Several hours ago…
The new Licht D. Valtier was still trying to adapt to his current situation—but it wasn't easy.
Everything was just so foreign to him.
The world he was in.
His body.
The way he walked. The way he talked. Hell, even the way he dressed—it was all alien.
But if Licht had to pick the most unsettling thing of all, it would be the constant, chilling tone of his voice and the expression that seemed permanently locked in a faint, downward frown.
All of these were inheritances passed down from the original bastard—Licht.
The more he thought about the original Licht, the more disgusted he became.
Licht had always been a fraud. Sure, he was annoying to deal with and interact with back in the game, but it was only after possessing his body that he realized how truly bad it was.
He had inherited the memories of the body's previous owner, so he knew how to operate and utilize various Mana techniques.
In terms of theory, he could be called a knowledgeable expert.
But theory was one thing. When it came to practical experience, the original Licht was absolute dogshit.
If left to his own devices, even literal children might have been better than him in combat.
Of course, there had to be a workaround.
No matter how terrible you were, at the very least, you needed to be able to put on a show enough for others to believe in you and allow you into the academy renowned for nurturing the greatest talents on the face of the earth.
For that, the original Licht had no shame and used the one thing spoiled, golden-spoon brats like him knew best: overpowered gear.
'The current time should be right before the entrance ceremony.'
At this point in time, Licht had already used his family's influence and schemes to cheat his way into the academy. Next...
'Licht will use the power of this ring to make a name for himself as a genius swordsman.'
Now, Licht was wearing a black, jewel-studded ring on his right hand.This was an important artifact in the game—known only to a few members of the Valtier family.
It was a relic passed down by the founder of the Valtier Family.
If a descendant of the family wore it, they could use it to imitate another person's techniques, using them as if they had possessed the abilities from the beginning.
Simply put, it was a ring that granted the ability to copy other people's techniques.
In the game, Licht constantly copied the abilities of other characters, pretending to be a versatile genius.
However, the ring's copy ability wasn't absolute.
To copy someone's technique, it required something that contained their essence—like a drop of blood.
And even then, the ring could only replicate the technique at one or two levels below its original strength.
An A-class skill might become a B-tier or even C-tier skill, if he was unlucky.
This sight alone had driven the original Licht to tears more than once.
But it was precisely because the ability of this ring was so unreliable that Licht was able to own it.
The other Valtier family members were all exceptionally talented, so there was no need for a device that granted them skills worse than what they already had.But for Licht, this was his lifeline.
As if things weren't already bad enough, Licht's physical abilities were horrendous.
He couldn't even properly demonstrate the copied techniques in battle.
For Licht, having these skills was like installing a racecar engine into a cardboard chassis—he'd fall apart the moment he tried to move.
If he followed the original game's trajectory, Licht would go on bluffing his talent, maintaining the persona of a genius, only to eventually be exposed.
Licht raised the hand wearing the mystical ring to his face and stared at it with a strange gaze.
Though he despised the original Licht, he had to thank him too. At the very least, he was grateful for the powerful background. If it weren't for the ring, Licht wouldn't even know how to move in this world.
But just as he was admiring the strange piece of jewelry, an ominous notification sounded in his mind.
Ding!
Compatible soul detected!
Scanning for compatibility degree…
Error 93393!
Recalibrating…
Erroor93393!
Error!
E…Err…
The notifications were deafening—a long stream of error codes and numbers filled his mind until Licht felt he was on the verge of going insane.
Then, just as he was about to break—Silence.
Even Licht was surprised.'Was everything just now a hallucination?'
Unfortunately, the moment he let his guard down, a blinding beam of light erupted from the ring.
It split into twin rays, mercilessly piercing straight through both of his eyes.
"ARGHH!"
A savage, animalistic scream tore itself from Licht's throat.
It burns… IT BURNS!
The agony Licht endured was beyond human comprehension.
His eyes rolled back into his skull as a searing torment unlike anything he had ever known surged through him. It felt like molten metal had been poured directly into his sockets, branding every nerve with demonic malice.
And the torture didn't stop there.
His entire body was under siege. Thousands of phantom insects seemed to have birthed themselves beneath his skin, gnawing mercilessly at his flesh. His veins bulged and twitched as if trying to crawl free of his body, writhing in sync with his uncontrollable spasms.
His limbs trembled, his spine bent unnaturally, and his skin grew slick with sweat as his body quivered like melting rubber.
Licht was just a civilian.
He should have passed out, no, he should have died, simply from the sheer trauma alone.
But his body, this twisted unrecognizable thing, simply refused him .
Even as his mind buckled beneath wave after wave of searing agony, his body clung to consciousness with a defiant, almost spiteful arrogance. It was as if the will to survive had been carved into his very DNA.
Even as his mind screamed for mercy, his flesh denied him.
His consciousness, which should have faded into merciful darkness, was instead gripped tight and nailed back into his body—as if forced to endure every agonizing second of this transformation.
Just as Licht was beginning to snap—
Ding!
Synchronization completed.
Compatibility rating: 100%
Congratulations, Player [Licht Draven Valtier]—you have awakened the SSS-Rank Trait:
[Infinite Copy Eyes]
「Infinite Copy Eyes (SSS)」 Level 1
◆ The personification of greed and desire—your eyes see through the very essence of all things and crave to possess them.All techniques and spells observed with your eyes can be copied and permanently acquired.
Time Limit: 5 minutes
Cooldown: 1 hour
If someone had looked at Licht now, they would be left astounded by the changes.
His face remained slightly pale and sickly, but his eyes—his eyes were no longer human.
The once-purple irises now blazed with eerie, blood-red star-shaped sigils.
Around the crimson star, golden lights flared and vanished at impossible speeds.
It was like witnessing the birth and death of countless stars in the heart of a newborn galaxy.
But Licht didn't waste time admiring aesthetics. As he came to his senses, new notifications appeared:
Name: Licht Draven Valtier
Age: 19
Strength: 9
Agility: 12
Endurance: 7
Mana: 100
Intelligence: 15
Techniques: Howling Fang Sword (C)
Traits:
「A Valtier's Pride (S)」
◆ The pride of the Valtier Family is renowned throughout the world, even among other noble families. As one with the purest concentration of blood, your pride is unparalleled. Even the skies must bow before you!
「Abysmal Sword & Magic Talent (-SS)」
◆ Your body's talent for swordsmanship and magic is so bad even the heavens are astonished. Pigs have a higher chance of flying than you do of succeeding in any of these fields.
「Mana Theory Mastery (S)」
◆ In an effort to compensate and fix your abysmal talent for sword and magic, you studied Mana theory obsessively—to the point it comes as easily as breathing. In this aspect alone, you are indeed a genius.
「What Goes Around Comes Around (???)」
◆ Your actions in pursuing power are deplorable and unforgivable—even the world itself is disgusted by them. You will eventually have to pay the price for your karma. But what doesn't kill you…
Licht looked at the new status panel and scowled.
His stats and traits were bad.
No—bad was an understatement. They were downright horrendous.
Let's talk stats first.
An average man had stats ranging from 7 to 10. So for a civilian, Licht wasn't too bad.
But this was a world of superhumans.
Licht was someone who had been eating treasures and elixirs since birth like they were candy—and yet his stats barely rivaled that of a regular man.
If it weren't for his Mana, bloated from countless precious resources, he'd be complete garbage.
Licht genuinely began to wonder how the original owner could even call himself human.
Even pigs would have shown better results given the same treatment.
And how does someone even have a negative grade talent? Much less one ranked -SS?
Licht had spent countless hours in the game. He'd combed forums and lore. Never once had he encountered something this terrible.
He didn't know whether to be enraged or impressed.
With the -SS [Abysmal Sword and Magic Talent], there was almost no hope of achieving anything in life with sword or magic.
Even with a game-breaking trait like「Infinite Copy Eyes 」, his body could barely take advantage of it.
A skill with only 5 minutes of use per hour wasn't enough to save this broken vessel.
Groaning, Licht took a deep breath to steady himself.
No matter how much this body held him back—
He wasn't the old Licht anymore.
He wouldn't charge recklessly toward death.
There was no reason to stick his neck out.
Laying low. Avoiding conflict. That was the smart play now.
If he could just scrape together enough money, maybe he could retire somewhere quiet and remote.
Demons? The Valtier Family? Cultists?
They could all go to hell.
As soon as he had enough coin, he'd disappear and live out a forgotten life.
That was the plan.
Until the notification appeared—
——「Act One – Academy Lifestyle」——
◆ Mission: Successfully complete the Entrance Ceremony
◆ Rewards:
• +100 Enlightenment Points
• Favor of the Academy Principal
◆ Failure: Acceleration of World Collapse
Note: Enlightenment Points (EP) can be used to enhance or upgrade acquired Mana techniques. They can also be used to solidify Achievements into new Traits.
Licht at the notification and blinked.
"…You've got to be kidding."
But even after rubbing his eyes several times, he realized the screen in front of him wasn't a hallucination.
Licht was very unhappy.
I mean, who wouldn't be?
The second he finalized his resolve to run away, he was greeted by a strange mission panel.
Coincidence?
Hah! Licht wouldn't believe that for a second.
If something seemed to good to be true, that was becasue it was.
So that could only mean one thing...
'I'm being watched….'