When Arin regained consciousness, he found himself trapped inside a body that was not his own.
The body of the third-tier villain, a character well-known in the novel he knew well, but far from the image of a hero.
This body was fat, flabby, and worn out. No agility, no strength, no sparkle in its eyes as he had expected.
Yet, deep within that exhausted mass, there remained traces of great talent, a talent that once shone brightly.
At the age of ten, the owner of this body was a child who shined in the Imperial Tournament, where he crushed four of the strongest competitors two years older than him.
That child was fast, strong, and confidently fierce.
But what happened after his mother's death was no mere accident.
It extinguished that fire and caused the body to gradually descend into the state Arin now found it in: a lazy person, lacking motivation, and physically deteriorated.
In an academy of a thousand students, despite not training or making any effort, he still held the rank of seventieth.
A truly astonishing rank for a neglected body, highlighting the contradiction between raw talent and destructive laziness.
On his first day, within moments, confrontation erupted.
The princess — his fiancée — whose true relationship with Arin he barely understood, attempted to slap him in front of everyone.
With a swift move, he avoided the slap, then responded with a powerful punch to her jaw, knocking her down in a shocking silence.
The teacher intervened immediately, trying to calm the explosion.
But Arin threatened him with cold, deadly calm:
"Dare to come near me again, and I'll show you what danger means."
This incident shocked the academy.
But what really ignited the fire was the leak of an old Imperial Tournament video.
The video showed the talented child at his peak, fighting mercilessly, proving he was the pinnacle of talent at the age of ten.
The students themselves circulated the video, but not to honor him.
Rather, they mocked and ridiculed the fate of that child.
New and biting nicknames followed:
"The Fallen Angel"
"The One Fallen From Grace"
"The Burnt Genius"
"Ember Under the Ash"
"The Living Curse"
Away from the spotlight, in a dark room, Arin watched the video.
No anger, no surrender.
But a silent challenge and eyes of steel.
He whispered in a low voice:
"Nice that you remembered who I was……But you have yet to see who I will become."