Villain's Odyssey: Enslaving heroines, Conquering Villainesses
Chapter 66: The Dante Encounter

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: The Dante Encounter

"Asher... right?"

Asher turned toward the voice as he approached the seemingly endless queue, finding himself face-to-face with a young man he knew all too well. Dante, he thought, though he simply nodded outwardly.

"The name’s Dante—Dante Frontez," the young man said, extending his hand with a friendly grin.

Asher accepted the handshake, offering a small, gentle smile in return. "Nice to meet you, Dante."

The guy standing before him was moderately dark-skinned with a neat, low-cut black hair and warm light brown eyes. Asher knew him well because they’d been roommates back in his first year, when he wasn’t elite yet and was just another low-ranked student crammed into a tiny room with two other guys. Those had been different times—the academy’s treatment of non-elite students was notoriously harsh, which was exactly why everyone in the elite ranks fought tooth and nail to stay there. The difference in treatment was like comparing night and day.

"You a transfer?" Dante asked, studying Asher’s face with mild curiosity.

Asher made an uncertain expression, tilting his head slightly. "Um... sort of."

"I see," Dante nodded, seeming to accept the vague answer without pressing further.

"Anything I can do for you?" Asher asked, genuinely curious about the unexpected encounter.

Dante shook his head casually. "No, not really. I just felt like talking, you know?"

Asher nodded in understanding. Sometimes random conversations were exactly what you needed.

"Swordsman?" Dante asked, giving Asher a once-over.

"Yeah, is it that obvious?" Asher replied.

"You’ve got a good build, and that kind of muscle development is rarely seen on mages," Dante observed, which made Asher purse his lips thoughtfully.

"Well, that’s true. Not everyone can have these bad boys," Dante flexed his arms with obvious pride, striking a pose that was so typically him.

Asher wasn’t surprised by the display. This was classic Dante—the guy had always been a bit of a showoff when it came to his physique. He looked like your average muscle-brained simpleton, but appearances could be incredibly deceiving in this academy. The fact that he’d managed to achieve high rank status should have made it clear he wasn’t nearly as simple as he appeared.

"I can’t argue with that," Asher said with a visible sigh, partly amused and partly exasperated.

"What about you? Also a swordsman?" Dante asked, looking genuinely curious now.

Asher definitely didn’t have the firm build typically associated with sword users. Even after the transformation his body had undergone, he remained fairly lean, so it would be surprising if he turned out to be a traditional swordsman.

"I... dabble," Asher said carefully.

Dante’s eyes widened. "Wait, so you’re a mage... RIGHT?"

"I dabble," Asher repeated with the same noncommittal tone.

"Huh...? Then you must be an Alchemist... RIGHT?" This time Dante looked almost desperate for confirmation, his voice rising slightly.

"I—" Asher started, but was quickly cut off.

"Please don’t say you dabble," Dante said, his expression growing troubled. Those were literally the top three professions at the academy—if none of those were his specialty, then what the hell was the guy doing with his life?!

"I won’t," Asher assured him.

"Then... you’re an Alchemist?" Dante asked hopefully.

"No."

"EH?!"

"I know a few things about Alchemy," Asher explained, which only made Dante slap his forehead in frustration.

"Then what the heck do you specialize in?" Dante demanded, looking like he was developing a headache.

"Um... well, nothing for now," Asher replied with remarkable calm.

Dante stared at him like he’d just announced he was the child of a dragon. How the hell was someone just months away from the Arcane Legacy still unsure of their path?! That was... that was... complete INSANITY!

"Ugh," Dante groaned, feeling a genuine headache coming on.

"But I am pretty good with a sword," Asher finally added, as if this might somehow help the situation.

Dante looked at him through his fingers. "Like... how good? From one to ten?"

"A three...? No, maybe a four... could be a three... No, probably a four," Asher said, sounding genuinely uncertain about his own abilities.

"Well, I guess you must have a pretty sick ability to be this laid back," Dante said with a resigned sigh. That had to be it, right? For someone to be so carefree when they were clearly useless at everything only meant they had some hidden ace up their sleeve... right?

"I’m not sure about that," Asher smiled, completely unbothered by the implication.

"...!" Dante’s eye twitched.

"Hey, move it!" someone shouted from behind them.

Asher looked around and realized the line had already started moving during their conversation. He quickly joined the flow, leaving behind a stunned Dante who was beginning to realize his plan to recruit a useful lackey wasn’t going to work out—the new guy was clearly trash!

But as he watched Asher walk away, something nagged at him. "No... something doesn’t feel right about him. He’s clearly hiding something," he muttered, keeping his eyes on the young man who was now approaching an official.

"Card," the verification officer said in a bored tone when Asher reached the front.

"New student. I just joined yesterday, still don’t have a card," Asher explained politely.

The man frowned, clearly not thrilled about the extra paperwork. "Wait a minute." He spoke directly into a communication device, then gestured for Asher to step aside. "Please step away from the line while verification is taking place."

Asher shrugged and did as he was told, watching the line continue moving past him. After what felt like an eternity, the official finally approached him again.

"You’ve been verified. You can go in," the man said, sounding slightly less irritated.

Asher nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

"Also, when you’re done here, head to the admin block. Your card is ready for pickup," the officer informed him.

"I will," Asher replied, then walked through the entrance into the hall.

The moment he stepped inside, he found himself in a massive space—so huge it could accommodate the enormous crowd without any problem. The ceiling stretched high above, and the acoustics were clearly designed to carry voices across the entire area.

"HEAD FOR YOUR PREDESIGNATED POSTS!" a voice boomed across the hall, echoing off the walls.

Asher looked around, taking in the organized chaos of students moving in various directions toward their assigned locations. Each seemed to know exactly where they were going, while he stood there trying to get his bearings.

"Now, where is post 103?" he wondered aloud, beginning to walk deeper into the hall while scanning for any helpful signage or directions.