Not a trace.

Only a folded note sat where he had been standing moments earlier.

Aiysha stared at it, then bent down and picked it up.

"Give me a moment, kid."

"I’m your age."

"Blah blah."

Ignoring him, she unfolded the note.

[Dear Ms. Moon,

It was lovely speaking with you. Unfortunately, I must take my leave.

I know this may upset you, and for that, I sincerely apologize. Please forgive me with a cherry on top :)

You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Trust me.

Kind regards,

Your one and only future fiancé.]

Aiysha stared at the paper.

Her hand trembled, then she slowly crushed it into a ball.

Her voice echoed through the barrier.

"BASTARD!"

...

’Everything is being set in stone, just as it should be.’

This event occurred slightly later in the novel, but nonetheless, Cassien adjusted well.

The [Side Character] was only meant to give both Aiysha and Ren Castor some alone time to learn more about each other.

She was a key figure who held a vital role in the protagonist’s path to power; thus, this was bound to happen.

All Cassien did was progress this event from the story.

Sooner than expected, at that.

...

Cassien checked the time, [12:00 AM].

He was now simply lying on his bed, calmly awaiting his supposed ’roommate’ to arrive, who still hadn’t shown up.

He couldn’t remember who it was back in the novel.

It was never explained clearly enough for Cassien to know.

Currently, however, his mind drifted back toward the fight.

The one where he stripped Jameson of the dominant status everyone feared him for.

Since they were both third-degree nobles, [The Third Rate Villain] wasn’t able to orchestrate anything severe enough to get Cassien suspended or slowly torn apart piece by piece.

The only difference between them was the simple fact that Jameson had far better PR.

As Cassien thought about it, something finally came through.

------------------------

[Sync Percentage: 50%]

└ Well done, embarrassing Jameson while also maintaining a low profile. Also, every other event has proceeded accordingly. Job well done.

[80 Character Points Received!]

------------------------

"Status."

------------------------

[Status]

Level: 10

[Attributes]

Strength: 21

Agility: 23

Endurance: 20

Intelligence: 25

Perception: 26

Luck: 29

[Weapon Mastery: Pistol]

Accuracy: C

Reload Speed: C-

Handling: C+

Critical Aim: C-

[Skills]

Basic Firearm Handling Lv. 10

Quick Draw Lv. 13

Observation Lv. 23

Sniper Lv. 3

[Weapon Mastery: Metal Knife]

Accuracy: D-

Cuts: D

Handling: E+

Critical Aim: D-

[Skills]

Quick-Stab Lv. 6

[Mana Updated]

Current Mana: 100

Maximum Mana: 100

Mana Recovery: 1.2 per minute --> 1.15 per minute

------------------------

He began attaching all of those character points evenly to each given attribute.

[10 on Strength.]

[10 on Agility.]

[10 on Endurance.]

[10 on Intelligence.]

[10 on Perception.]

[30 on Luck.]

Why 30 on luck?

Because in his previous life, he was a massive gambling addict.

That was why he had stopped going outside for a large period of time.

Because his first steps outdoors would’ve likely been a full sprint toward the nearest casino.

Yeah... as one could probably imagine, it was genuinely unholy.

As he allocated his system points into their respective slots, a ring came from the doorbell.

’No way she found where I live already... no way.’

Cassien leaned toward the peephole and looked through it.

Nobody.

’Weird.’

He unlocked the door and slowly opened it, only to find a note placed below.

He picked it up, unfolded it, then shut the door before returning to his bed.

His gaze remained fixed on the letter.

As he began reading, a vaguely familiar voice entered his mind again.

The same one from earlier.

The voice connected to the note that first introduced the [Transmigration Games].

[Fyi: This note has been sent privately to those who have already unlocked the first fate of Jameson Sparrow.

Hello all, hope you guys are doing well... so um, whoever is reading this note, well, yeah... that means you’ve unlocked a clear view of Jameson Sparrow’s second fate.

Now for the reveal.

[Fate #2: Fated to become the bastard Side Character.]]

A slight chill ran down Cassien’s spine as he continued reading.

[Because you have unlocked his second fate, that means Jameson Sparrow failed to accomplish it.

Thus... he remains stuck on his first one.

And that is where I take my leave.

Author Kun out.]

For some reason, the supposed ’Author’ sounded far lighter and more childish than expected.

Nothing like the tone Cassien had imagined.

’Maybe it’s a trick? No... but I remember seeing his second fate back there as well. Whoever this person is, they know what they’re doing.’

The note slowly vanished within his palms.

As it disappeared, his thoughts returned to the same topic from earlier.

The battle against [The Third Rate Villain].

What still bothered him was how exactly he won.

Mana combined with mana would explode, assuming both quantities were equal.

That was common knowledge any academy student would eventually learn.

His knowledge of this world simply let him abuse that fact earlier.

However, if less mana was infused compared to the object it was colliding with, the attack would instead be deflected back, depending on its horizontal or vertical trajectory.

Still, even if that logic held true, it should’ve failed.

A regular pistol shouldn’t have been capable of deflecting that fire attack.

Of course... that was true.

But bastards don’t play by the rules.

The moment the explosion triggered, Cassien gambled on everyone redirecting their attention from the fire toward the bullet itself.

Thankfully, it worked.

After that, he infused mana into a knife hidden inside one of his concealed pockets, using it to slice through the weakened flames while dodging the rest, since the attack was still too powerful to fully cut apart.

He won because he understood one thing well.

Humans are naturally drawn toward anything that appears impressive, shiny, or valuable on the surface, even if it lacks actual worth.

That was precisely why this academy required more than brute force to survive.

It also required intelligence.

Cassien sighed.

’What a hassle today has become, and the fact that this is only the beginning... truly makes a man wonder whether befriending the protagonist is even worth it at this point.’

...

Ring!

A sudden buzzing sensation pulsed through his head for a moment.