I, The Villainess, Will Seduce All The Heroines Instead-Chapter 9: Entrance Exam (1)

Irasios Academy is the pinnacle of magical education in the whole empire and possibly the whole world, specializing in Zodiac Weaving, where students harness celestial power from the twelve zodiac constellations.

Built atop a powerful leyline convergence, the academy itself shifts subtly with the stars, hallways stretching, doors appearing only when the planets align. Magic isn't just studied here; it's woven into reality.

It's a labyrinth of power, prestige, and danger, where only the strongest or the smartest thrive.

Passing the Irasios Academy entrance exam was no small feat.

While Verena barely remembered the plot details, the world-building and magic system was burned into her brain.

She had struggled so much to understand it back then that she even dabbled in astrology just to make sense of it all.

"It shall now commence!"

The exam was finally beginning.

There were two categories: Awakened and Unawakened.

The Awakened already had their Zodiac Connection, while the Unawakened, well, they were a mystery.

Some had dormant signs waiting to bloom, but it was never empty.

Until Verena came, that is.

According to the novel, she had nothing. No signs. No latent energy. Just a big, fat blank slate.

Unfortunately for her, that meant taking the Unawakened exam, which was way harder.

Oh, and another problem, she hadn't even thought about which department to join.

Irasios Academy had five:

Astramancer Department – The scholars, researchers, and diviners. They study the Zodiac Weave, predict celestial shifts, and craft fate-altering theories.

Warden Department – The warriors, duelists, and enforcers of cosmic balance. Masters of Zodiac-infused combat and astral weaponry.

Artificer Department – The crafters, alchemists, and celestial engineers. They forge magical artifacts, weave sigils, and distill planetary essences.

Veil Department – The mystics, dreamwalkers, and spirit channelers. Experts in prophecy, astral projection, and weaving fate itself.

Eclipsor Department – The feared scholars of the void, unravelers of destiny, and masters of forbidden magic.

Yeah. I really should've thought this through.

For sure, she was not crafty. Hated running. Reading cryptic prophecies was such a snore. And Eclipsor just sounded way too ominous.

So, the most logical way to pick a department? Close her eyes and let fate decide. Genius.

She took a deep breath. Walked. Another breath. Walked some more. The plan was foolproof.

...Until the environment turned cold.

She cracked one eye open.

Huh? Where was this? An empty hallway?

"Uh... am I lost?"

Silence.

But right in front of her, a door was opened, just waiting. A faint, shining mist curled around its edges, glittering, shifting, whispering in a way she absolutely did not trust.

Yeah. No. That was textbook horror movie bait. She spun on her heel—

[SYSTEM ALERT!]

[Quest Triggered: The Path of Stars!]

[You have unknowingly stepped onto a fated path. Proceed forward.]

[Warning! Refusing the call will result in:]

[Debuff: Cosmic Misalignment -10% luck for 3 days]

[Missed Opportunity: ???]

[Time: 3 Minutes]

...Wait. A debuff?!

She glared at the system message. "Oh, come on!"

The door shone again, mocking her hesitation.

"Fine. Fine. Whatever."

She stomped toward the door. "If I die, I'm haunting this school."

And with that, she stepped through.

It instantly felt wrong. Too quiet, too dark, like the walls had swallowed all sound.

There was a strange, unseen weight. The ceiling stretched into a swirling black void, speckled with shifting stars that moved when she wasn't looking.

At the far end, a massive mirror loomed, its twisted metal frame curling like clawed hands. The glass was fogged over, but something inside rippled. Moved. Watched.

A thin mist crept along the floor, curling around her ankles like whispering fingers.

Yeah... Absolutely Not.

The only sound was her own hesitant footsteps as she wandered through the space, taking in the details. No desks, no chairs, just a bunch of creepy collections of dusts and crystals.

Then, she saw it.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Tucked away at the far end of the room, suspended in a glowing barrier, was something small and dark, cradled in a pedestal of twisting, blackened metal.

The barrier shimmered, a veil of deep indigo light, flickering with constellations she didn't recognize.

On the far side, words were etched in celestial script, their meaning burning into her mind the moment she read them:

"Unreachable by mortal hands. Only a Weaver may claim what lies beyond."

"Huh. Well, that's dramatic."

Stepping closer, she squinted at the object inside.

A small, obsidian pendant, cracked with veins of silver, pulsing like a trapped heartbeat. It radiated something... wrong. Unnatural. Powerful in a way that made her bones hum.

Her instincts screamed at her to leave it alone.

But her instincts were boring.

"So if I touch it, my hand won't go through?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she reached out, fully expecting to feel the crackling resistance of the magical barrier.

Maybe it would zap her a little. Maybe it would throw her across the room.

But it didn't.

Her hand slipped through like water.

[SYSTEM ALERT!]

[Unidentified Celestial Connection Detected!]

[Warning: You have formed an unauthorized link with an unknown Zodiac]

[Status: Connection Pending...]

[WARNING!]

Everything around her twisted.

The moment her fingers brushed the pendant, the world snapped apart.

She was somewhere else.

The sky was a churning void, shifting like spilled ink.

The stars above weren't fixed; they moved, rearranging themselves in an endless, silent pattern.

She stood on nothing and everything, weightless, unmoored, infinite.

And then, someone or something spoke.

"You are not meant to be here."

The voice wasn't a sound.

It was a sensation, a thread winding through her soul, tightening, constricting, filling her with something too vast to contain.

She tried to breathe. Failed. Her body wasn't her own.

She was dissolving, unraveling like a celestial thread being woven into a greater tapestry.

Then, a hand.

Shadowed, ethereal, reaching for her. Before she could react, it pressed against her chest—

And dragged her under.

She gasped awake.

The cold stone floor of the room bit into her back.

Her body felt wrong, stretched, filled with something that wasn't her. Her vision blurred, but through the haze, she heard someone calling.

"Hey, hey! You breathing?"

A face hovered above her. Someone she didn't recognize.

The pendant was clutched in her hand.