Name: Lucien Ashborne

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Race: Human

Affiliation: Imperial Academy / House Ashborne

Stats

• Strength: 21

• Agility: 9 (+50*)

• Endurance: 7

• Intelligence: 17

• Mana: 14

• Charm: 63

Skills

• Mana Control Lv. 5 ↑

• Horse Riding Lv. 3 ↑

• Basic Etiquette Lv. 4

• Intimidation Lv. 6 ↑

• Cooking Lv. 8 ↑

• Marksmanship Lv. 7 ↑

• Detection Lv. 7 ↑

• Movement Arts Lv. 6

• Culinary Creator (Passive)

Points Remaining: 5,200

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"…Neat."

My strength stat had finally passed the 20 mark.

At least now I won't go numb after firing a couple rounds like some frail scholar.

And the 5,000 points—my reward for neutralizing Eldric's incident—that was the real jackpot.

All in all, I'd call this a very profitable disaster.

There was just one regret.

I wasn't able to recruit the third villain.

But what could I do?

I arrived in this world a month earlier than the original timeline.

That villain hadn't been kidnapped by Eldric yet, hadn't undergone the experiments, and thus… he never awakened his terrifying potential.

And now, given Eldric was dead, he never would.

A lost opportunity, but acceptable.

Because I gained far more than expected.

My life was actually trending upward for once.

My strength had grown.

I wasn't going to die as nameless background fodder anymore.

My diner business was booming—two more outlets in the capital, both packed every evening.

Alicia had broken into the rank of an advanced mage—her fire magic reaching Level 5.

Ariana was no longer the trembling rabbit she once was.

She'd found her strength, her talent, her confidence.

Sure, my public reputation was still buried deep in the mud… but who cared?

Reputation was for main characters.

Extras didn't need it.

And as for the people gossiping?

They were just that—extras.

Not worth even a fraction of my mental energy.

Life was good.

Almost… unnervingly good.

*****

For the next few days, I could be found in the Imperial Academy's library—practically living there.

Surrounded by tomes, scrolls, grimoires, and theoretical magic dissertations, I spent my days and nights trying to learn spells.

Since my mana stat had finally risen to something more dignified than "wet cabbage," I decided it was time to actually use it.

The result?

Humiliation.

Even with Mana Control Lv. 5, magic theory and spellcasting refused to cooperate with me.

Again and again, I was reminded of a very simple, painful truth:

My talent in magic was absolute trash.

Meanwhile—

My maid had become an intermediate-level mage in a month.

Alicia casually tossed out firebolts like someone flipping pastry dough.

And here I was… struggling to learn a single damn Fireball.

"WHY DOES THIS NEED SIX SYLLABLES?!"

"WHY DOES IT NEED A PERFECT MANA SPIRAL?!"

"WHY DOES THE BOOK SAY 'SIMPLY IMAGINE THE FLAME'?! I AM IMAGINING IT, DAMN IT!"

Three days of frustration and borderline insanity later—

I succeeded.

Not in Fireball.

No.

Of course not.

I learned my first spell.

And it was…

[Haste]

A support spell that increases movement speed.

Yes.

My very first offensive magic breakthrough…

…was learning how to run away faster.

I sighed.

"Fine. Running away is a tactical technique. Not cowardice. Tactical courage."

But still—

Damn.

*****

When the weekend arrived, I decided enough was enough.

It was dungeon crawling time.

And this time—

I wasn't going alone.

"Alicia," I said casually over breakfast, "let's go to a dungeon."

Her eyes lit up.

"A dungeon expedition? With Master?! YES!"

She nearly dropped her spoon.

She had the raw talent.

She had the magic.

But she lacked one thing—

real combat experience.

So I chose a safe option:

An E-class dungeon.

The bottom tier. For beginners.

Appropriate difficulty:

Weak monsters, Mild danger, Low magic concentration, Low reward, Low threat of sudden death

Perfect for a mage's first fight.

Also perfect for me to shoot some bullets, look cool, and hopefully avoid being crushed by a surprise troll.

As we prepared to depart, I took one last look at my status window…

…then at Alicia's bright, excited face…

*****

E-Rank Dungeon – "Bug's Nest."

The rank wasn't high.

Inside were, at best, E–F rank demonic beasts.

Frankly, Alicia could have soloed this.

Her current combat power was enough to make many academy cadets kneel in awe.

Yes—

in theory.

But.

"…But still, that's not it."

I sighed, stopping Alicia—who was already trembling and pale—only three minutes after entering the dungeon.

We hadn't even encountered a single monster yet.

All she had seen was—

Some old bug carapace near the entrance.

The moment she saw it, she shrieked like a banshee and tried to tear the return scroll on the spot.

"I WOULD RATHER DIE THAN GO IN THERE!"

"Okay. Then go in and die."

After an emotional argument, three threats, one shoulder throw, and some necessary physical restraint—

I successfully dragged Alicia inside by the scruff of her cloak.

All the while she muttered like a trauma survivor:

"What does not kill me makes me stronger… what does not kill me makes me stronger…"

"…"

Incredible.

What a legendary display.

"Get a grip. You need to learn how to fight under any circumstance."

I lectured as I dragged her through the tunnel.

"Or do you not want to get stronger and reclaim your kingdom?"

At those words—

Alicia's eyes snapped into focus.

Her breathing steadied.

Her trembling slowed.

She didn't speak again—but the panic subsided.

Good.

Because we had company.

"Ah. They're coming."

"Wh—who's coming?!"

"What do you think appears in a dungeon? Demonic Beasts."

A sound began to echo through the cave.

A skittering, scraping noise.

Something crawling across stone walls and ceilings—

Multiple legs. Many legs. Too many legs.

Alicia's complexion faded from pink to ghostly white in real time.

"F-first…"

I murmured—

—and drew the rapier from my waist.

The blade flashed—silver-white in the dim torchlight.

Something lunged from above.

SWISH—

The rapier cleaved through the creature cleanly.

Smooth resistance—then a wet cut.

The beast fell in two halves, collapsing on either side of me.

…God, that felt satisfying.

I exhaled.

I wasn't going to use my gun here—this dungeon run was meant to be Alicia's training.

The rapier was for emergencies only.

Lightweight. Agile. Efficient.

Much better than lugging around a full sword.

I flicked the blade clean.

"Alicia," I called.

She stiffened, snapping her staff to her chest.

"Y-Yes?"

"Time for your first kill. Aim for the front legs. Focus your mana. And remember—"

I stepped aside—

As three more shapes skittered forward from the darkness.

"Don't panic."

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