Rise Of The Villain : In a World Ruled By Anomalies

Chapter 134 - 133 : Written Exam (1)

[ ABSOLUTE CHOICE SYSTEM QUEST ]

[ A target with extreme arrogance has been detected. ]

[ Choice A:

• Get 1st Place in the Written Test.

• Break Diana’s arrogance and prove yourself superior.

• Demand her underwear as the price of defeat.

Reward:

+4500 Vitality

Penalty:

Lose sense of taste for 48 hours. ]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[ Choice B:

• Intentionally get Last Place.

• Become the laughingstock of the academy and dance naked in front of the crowd.

Reward:

Low-Rank Dagger and 1000 Attribute Points.

Penalty:

Lose sense of touch for 48 hours. ]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[ Select Your Choice ]

► A

► B

A vein popped on Arthur’s forehead as he read the choices.

’Are you kidding me...?’ he thought, staring at the floating window.

He clicked his tongue and, before he could stop himself, spoke out loud.

"Oh come on, you seriously want me to choose from these?" he said, not even caring that he was still inside the library.

The quiet rustle of pages stopped.

Dozens of eyes turned toward him.

Diana’s voice came from behind him instantly, sharp and irritated, because she thought he was talking to her.

"Yes, I am giving you a choice," she snapped. "Now choose. You can walk away from me like a coward... or accept my challenge."

Murmurs spread between the nearby tables.

Diana folded her arms, chin slightly raised.

"The loser will do anything the winner asks," she added, smirking arrogantly, clearly convinced he would back down.

Arthur slowly turned to face her.

Her confident posture, the way she looked at him like he was already beneath her—it all piled on top of the system’s nonsense.

He felt his patience scraping the bottom.

"Alright," he said calmly. "Challenge accepted."

For a brief second, Diana’s eyes widened in surprise.

Then she laughed.

"I thought you were a coward, but it looks like you do have some backbone," she said. "Get ready to dance naked in the streets, then."

Arthur’s lips curled.

"We’ll see who dances for who," he said.

Inside, he focused back on the translucent window still floating in front of him.

’Choice A,’ he thought.

[ Choice A selected. ]

[ Quest locked in. ]

A faint tingling ran through his body as the quest was confirmed.

Diana took a step closer.

"Alright then," she said. "Now tell me your name... so at least I can find you when you try to run away."

Arthur smirked.

"You’ll see it on the top of the rankings today. Don’t worry," he said.

One of Diana’s eyes twitched at his tone.

He turned away from her and walked toward the exit of the library.

No one stopped him. But he could feel all the stares on his back—the curious ones, the mocking ones, and Diana’s sharp gaze most of all.

The moment he stepped out into the corridor, the system’s voice echoed in his mind.

[ Are you really confident you can get more marks than her? ]

Arthur shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked.

’Well, we read the same material just now,’ he replied in his head. ’So everything will work out.’

The system didn’t sound convinced.

[ Looks like you need to get ready to dance naked in the streets. ]

Arthur rolled his eyes internally.

’Yeah, I’ll choose a fancy underwear dance, don’t worry,’ he thought.

[ I don’t think you understand what "naked" means... Also, she was preparing for months, and you studied for two hours. ]

Arthur clicked his tongue.

’We’ll cross that bridge when we have to,’ he said inside. ’Now don’t annoy me. That bitch already annoyed me enough... and believe in me, everything will work out fine.’

The system went silent—for now.

On the other side, back in the library, Diana sat down again.

Her expression was calm, but her fingers tapped lightly on the table.

Diana Stormborn was not some small figure.

She was the daughter of Duke Stormborn of the Velmora Kingdom, known everywhere for her high IQ and strategic brilliance.

And now, some unknown boy with dark hair and red eyes had accepted her challenge without flinching.

The students who had seen their exchange did not keep it to themselves.

By the time Arthur had left the building, the story was already spreading through the academy like wildfire.

"Did you hear? Diana Stormborn was challenged in the library."

"Yeah, by some handsome guy with dark hair and red eyes."

"They made a bet, right? Whoever gets first place in the written test wins."

"And the loser has to dance naked in the street."

Laughter, disbelief, excitement—everything mixed together.

A storm had already started forming around Arthur’s name.

He just didn’t know yet how big it would become.

----------

Meanwhile...

Isabella, Aaron, and Julia were seated together in one of the other libraries of the academy, books and notes spread out on their table. Elizabeth sat beside them, legs crossed, pretending to read while mostly listening in on the noise around them.

The usually quiet library was buzzing in a low murmur.

Candidates who had come for the exam were whispering to each other, passing along the same piece of gossip.

"Did you hear? Someone challenged Diana Stormborn..."

"Yeah, some dark-haired boy... said the loser will dance naked..."

The words drifted clearly to their table.

Isabella and Julia both paused mid-page, their eyes twitching at the exact same time.

Julia sighed, closing her book with a soft thump.

"Why am I not surprised..." she said. "Of course trouble follows him around wherever he goes."

Isabella leaned back in her chair.

"Now I can’t argue with that," she said.

They both turned to look at Elizabeth.

Julia narrowed her eyes.

"You’re his maid, right? Did he study even a little after coming here?" she asked.

Elizabeth gave them a bright, cheerful smile that did not match the situation at all.

"The last time I saw him was when he was heading toward the library three hours before the exam," she said. "And why are you guys taking tension? Maybe it will be a good lesson for him if he dances naked in the streets once or twice."

Julia and Isabella looked at each other slowly.

"Now that you say it... maybe it will be a good lesson for him," they said almost together.

Both of them started smiling, then chuckling as they imagined the scene in their heads.

Julia covered her mouth with her hand.

"I can already see his face," she said.

Isabella snorted.

"I’ll record it," she added.

A fourth voice interrupted them.

"That’s not very nice. Arthur’s our friend. We should help him," Aaron said, frowning slightly.

Julia shrugged.

"Brother, only twenty minutes are left until the exam starts. What possible help can you give him now? He’s just reaping what he sowed," she said.

Aaron opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Well... when you say it like that..." he muttered.

Isabella stood up, stretching her arms.

"Let’s go. The exam is about to start," she said.

Julia and Elizabeth also got up, gathering their things.

They walked out of the library together.

Just as they stepped outside, they saw a white-haired boy and a magenta-haired girl waiting for them near the entrance.

It was Aiden and Evangeline.

Aiden took a step forward as soon as he saw them.

In a polite, almost gentle tone, he said, "Pardon me for interrupting you all, but you are friends with Arthur, right?"

Isabella’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Princess Evangeline! It’s an honor to meet you," she said. "Arthur talked a lot about you."

Julia and Aaron both bowed in greeting.

Elizabeth simply nodded, her expression neutral.

Evangeline smiled softly.

"Do any of you know where Arthur is right now?" she asked.

Isabella clicked her tongue.

"Well, if we knew, I would have surely given him a good smacking too," she said.

Aiden frowned.

"He did study properly for the exam... right? That’s why he just accepted that challenge against Diana Stormborn," he said.

Isabella and Julia slowly turned their heads and looked at each other.

Elizabeth, never missing a chance, spoke up first.

"He didn’t study squat," she said plainly. "He just went to the library a few hours before the exam."

Aiden froze as if he didn’t wanted to believe what he just heard.

"That bastard!" he burst out. "If he loses, he’ll tarnish Princess Evangeline’s name by dancing naked in the street as her second knight!"

Evangeline let out a quiet chuckle.

"Well, I don’t mind," she said. "It will be a sight to see."

Everyone around her burst into laughter.

Even Isabella couldn’t hold back.

Aiden stared at Evangeline for a moment, then sighed.

"Well... if you say it like that... it will be entertaining," he admitted.

Right then, a staff member walked up to them.

"All of you, the exam is about to start what are you doing wasting time" he said. "Head toward Exam Hall 29. Go straight from here."

As soon as they heard him, Isabella, Julia, Aaron, Elizabeth, Aiden, and Evangeline all started moving, joining the flow of students heading toward Exam Hall 29, where the exam will take place...