Villain Steal the Heroines

Chapter 6: Changes in Status panel

"Status!" I ordered mentally.

Ding!

A 3D model of my body, floating next to a crimson-red, translucent, game profile-like screen, appeared in front of me.

[Name: Luke Steeline] [Age: 7 years]

[Race: Human]

[Title: Destined Villain (EX), Anomaly (SS), Ruler of Light (S), Ruler of Darkness (S)]

[Rank: Sword Apprentice (Middle Stage)]

[Physical strength: 8] [Spiritual strength: 15] [Mana: 0] [Luck: 10] [Aura: 8]

[Destiny Coins: 119]

[Skills: N/A] [Techniques: Steeline Breathing Technique, Steeline Swordsmanship]

[System Shop - Now Open]

Since I first entered this Arcedian world exactly 7 years ago, a lot has changed on my status panel.

My age is the first thing that has changed, followed by my rank, which is now Middle Stage Sword Apprentice.

There are two types of ranking systems in this world.

One is for Aura users who use aura to strengthen their bodies and wield physically lethal weapons.

Second, for wizards who perform spells using mana and use artefacts with magical properties.

And because they use different approaches and methodologies, aura and mana are completely incompatible.

As for me, a sword user zaura, the division of my ranking can be categorised in five major ranks.

[Sword Apprentice < Swordsman < Sword Master < Sword Grandmaster < Sword Supreme]

This same ranking is applied to every weapon wielder who uses aura.

For instance, if I were to be a bow user, my ranking would still be classified into five major ranks.

[Apprentice Archer < Archer < Archery Master < Archery Grandmaster < Archery Supreme]

As stated above, wizards also exist in this world, but that is a discussion for another time because they have their own intricate and complex system that makes use of mana.

The novel "Reincarnated Hero of Arcedia" only mentioned the first five stages of Aura users, but after reading through the Steeline family's archives, I now know that there are rankings higher than that of a Sword Supreme, though I have no idea what they are or how to reach those heights.

They are so mysterious that they resemble a legend, and every time they have been mentioned in any sort of book or historical record, it was with such ambiguity, as if someone deliberately didn't want anyone to know more about them.

I wasn't concerned, though, because I knew I was still too young and ineligible to learn some secrets that were kept in the family's vaults and that only the head of the family was permitted to access.

The five major ranks I just mentioned above are each further divided into three minor ranks, such as early stage, middle stage, and peak stage.

And even though I had only recently started training about half a year ago, my Middle Stage Sword Apprentice rank at the tender age of 7 was something never heard of by anyone.

A few days ago, when I reached Middle Stage Sword Apprentice rank with just a few months of training, my father's face was really a sight to behold.

His disbelief and my mother's excitement at the time knew no bounds; they nearly passed out on the spot and were on the verge of telling everyone what had happened afterwards.

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"Thank goodness I stopped them."

I wasn't the main character, so it's not like I wanted to play it cool or act like a pig and devour tigers. However, my promotion to the rank of Early Stage Sword Apprentice had already caused quite a stir in the kingdom.

Anything more would just be self harming.

Coupled with the fact that I intended to detonate a massive bomb today at my 7th birthday party tonight, I had no choice but to hide this fact about my ranking, since I knew that at that point, not even the Dukedom of my father would be able to stop people from trying to assassinate me.

My father has many adversaries, and there are far too many individuals vying for our dukedom. I didn't want to give them the opportunity to band together to deal with us specifically because of this.

Additionally, there is a concept known as a "trump card," which is distinct from being low-key and involves keeping your opponent in the dark regarding your strength. I'm not that weak protagonist who hides his strength and is mocked everywhere. I'm the villain, who is feared for his great strength and the heaven defying trump cards he possesses.

As a villain with noble status, I can openly show off my strength to garner more respect, power, authority, and fear from the public.

which will serve not only as a deterrent to keep low-level bugs at bay but will also help me conceal the upper limit of my strength and secret trump cards to maintain an air of mystery around me.

Anyway, after understanding that the situation involving my strength had to be kept a secret, my father gave me an aura-suppressing ring, which suppressed my aura and allowed me to show only Early Stage Sword Apprentice rank on the outside.

Speaking of ranks, to advance in rank, one must satisfy two prerequisites.

The first is a set amount of aura, and the second is a way to use aura that you have to be able to do, which changes based on your rank.

For instance, the Early Stage Sword Apprentice rank requires that I have at least 5 points in aura while also being able to use that aura to increase my strength using a technique known as "inner strengthening."

Early Stage required that I have five aura points and be capable of increasing my strength by two times while fortifying myself with aura. And I needed to have eight aura points and the ability to use my aura to triple my strength for the Middle Stage.

A genius, such as the main character Kevin, takes about two years to advance to the Middle Stage Sword Apprentice rank. Now, this must have shown you in no uncertain terms how ludicrous and unbelievable my rate of ranking up was.

Nevertheless, even though it would be very challenging, people might still be able to accept the idea that I am a 7-year-old Early Stage Sword Apprentice because they would believe I have a special title and that I was raised with a variety of priceless herbs and medications to boost my aura.

After my birthday, this reality would be even more acceptable to the public.

However, even I am unsure of the kind of storm that would ensue if word got out that I had reached Middle Stage Sword Apprentice rank.

You must now be wondering how I was able to accomplish such a seemingly impossible feat.

All I can say is that my extremely gifted body and the fact that I train hard every day deserve all the credit.

Despite how often it is said in fanfiction and novels that a child as young as 5 or 6 years old is capable of this and that, for them, I can only say one word: bullsh*t.

It is all a bunch of bullsh*t.

Before the age of 7, a person is not allowed to train in magic or swordsmanship because doing so is harmful to the body, and even the protagonist Kevin only started his training after turning 7, and till then all he did was learn to live in the mountains and study.

So how did I train before the age of seven years old?

Simple!

I am a GENIUS, that is why.

Cough!

Alright, alright, I confess that I was bullsh*tting just now.

I am sorry, okay?

What do you think I'll say?

That on my sixth birthday, I begged my mother to train me, but eventually I got bored of training, and after that, I spent nearly all of my "hard-earned" Destiny coins to increase my rank?

Ah! Do you really think I'll say this?

Y-You!!

You are absolutely correct.

This is exactly what I did.

Don't laugh at me; it was really just a whim, and I even lost hundreds of Destiny coins.

Although I don't regret what I did, but it really made me broke at that time.

Ahem!

I got a little overwhelmed there.

Anyway, now that the truth about my strength has been revealed, let's move on to the next and last update in my status panel, because the technique column essentially symbolizes the techniques I employ to develop myself.

Which at the moment are what my family gave me as they are my best option for the time being.

Let's talk about the most recent change to my Status panel: destiny coins.

As you may have all realised by this point, Destiny coins are the system's currency, or, to be more precise, they are the power of Destiny in this world, extracted by the system.

The Omnipotent Villain System is capable of doing anything, but the fundamental tenet is that it must spend an equivalent number of Destiny coins.

which are obtained through altering the course of this world's destiny.

Since my birth, I had already accomplished a lot of things that, albeit insignificant, had yet altered the course of the world's destiny to some point, earning me some destiny coins.

Of course, killing and plundering the Children of Destiny is the greatest way to alter the course of the world's destiny.

Although doing so is not possible for the time being, making some big impacts on the various opportunities available to the protagonist can still make quite a difference.

And that is what I'll be doing at my birthday celebration tonight, because the more I change the canon timeline and the more I plunder the opportunities, luck, status, women, etc. of the protagonist, the more Destiny coins I will acquire.

Moreover, if I could kill a protagonist, I would get special rewards and a huge amount of Destiny coins.

Just thinking about how absurd and incredible it is to have money that could be used to buy practically anything in the cosmos is just mind boggling.

Tonight I will take the first step in my grand scheme against Kevin and all the upcoming protagonists.

My plan will soon begin. With one arrow, I will hit three targets tonight, and if my assumption is correct,...

"Hehehe." Just thinking about it makes me smile uncontrollably.

In these previous years, only my family members, such as my uncles, aunts, and their offspring from my father's side, the aristocratic families under our Dukedom, etc., had attended my birthday celebrations.

However, tonight will be the first time that people from different kingdoms will come and attend the banquet because tonight will be my 7th birth anniversary, and according to this world's customs, it's also the age when children awaken their titles.

However, I was born with all of my titles already awakened, which were bestowed upon me by the system.

And only my parents are aware of this information.

Of course, they only know that I have one title, and I remember when I told them it was an S rank as a Ruler of Light, they immediately lost all of their sense of reality.

That was also a funny memory.

Now you guys might be wondering, what are titles?

Let me explain.

Titles are like supernatural powers that only some destined people are born with.

A person is born with only one title, and although titles can be transferred through some forbidden ancient techniques, they are taboo and have already been lost in the great river of time.

Titles are classified into seven ranks, with F being the lowest and S being the highest, according to people in this world. which is, of course, an incomplete classification.

Titles are unique.

There cannot be two living individuals with the same title.

Even a person with an F ranked title is considered a genius.

Because of this, when my parents learned that I had an S-ranked title, which is legendary in and of itself, and that from all the titles I could have gotten, I awakened as Ruler of Light, which is a title bestowed upon the hero of the era, the one who is capable of ruling the power of light, which eradicates all evil existences.

They almost passed out from shock.

Thankfully, my mother, who always believed her son to be a genius, accepted this fact quickly and salvaged the situation.

Since I actually have four titles, it stands to reason that what I told my parents was only partly true.

It's not that I didn't trust them or that I didn't want to inform them; rather, I understand that sometimes it can be really dangerous to know too much.

People might not understand my rationale right now, but given what I know now and what I want to accomplish in the future, I know it's better to hide some things from them until I get strong enough to protect them and myself.

* * * * * * *

Destined Villain.

The highest ranked title in my status panel is a title that shouldn't even exist in this world: a title with rank EX.

According to System, this world isn't capable of containing an EX ranked title.

Even [Regression SSS rank], the highest title this world can bestow, can only be awarded once every millennium.

However, given that my system already has access to the World's Destiny Net and that "The Almighty" gave it his blessing,

No matter the universe, I will have the power of the title "Destined Villain."

Even if I travel to a universe where EX-ranked titles or supernatural abilities are possible, my title rank will automatically rise to the highest level possible without destroying the world.

This is a privilege provided to me.

So, what's Destined Villain?

[Destined Villain] (EX)

A title granted to me by the system and the Almighty

It shields me from the world's destiny, so even if I kill the protagonist, I will suffer no backlash. Any halo from any protagonist will be useless against me.

The world can't make the main character hate me instinctively, the way they hate other bad guys.

I am like any other person to them.

This title also allows me to see other people's information as a status panel.

Now, coming next is the second highest ranked title in my status panel.

[Anomaly] (SS)

a title bestowed upon someone who contradicts the laws of the universe and is not constrained by them.

The user is able to accomplish what was previously regarded as impossible.

The possibilities increase as efficiency increases.

Since there are countless uses for this title, I had many plans related to it. However, since that is a discussion for another time, I will move on to the final two titles.

[Ruler of Light] (S) and [Ruler of Darkness] (S)

allows me to rule the powers of light and darkness separately.

Since both titles are different and incompatible with each other as well, I cannot use them simultaneously.

The more experience I have, the more I can accomplish with it.

grants limitless potential to the user with the use of light and dark elements.

Although these titles seem like a scam, one must remember that they are only as strong as I am.