The next day. He woke up to the pain of a whip hitting him. He looked at the one responsible and barely reined in a swear. The head butler was standing before him, holding a whip.
"This will continue until you manage to wake up in time."
'Wasn't it supposed to be a bucket of cold water, not a fucking whip?' Xian's complaints were left unsaid.
The butler stood unfazed like a statue, silently waiting for him to get ready.
As he expected, it was the first day to determine which 'areas' he excels in.
Before him, was a room filled with equipment's and strange facilities.
In the game, the protagonist only had to distribute the stats saying things like, 'its time to train!' or 'which should I focus on?'. Then the player would just click the desired stat and that's it.
But here in this route at the estate of Montagne's… It seems he had to train it himself. Such is the cause of reality and game merging together.
The head butler took his blood. Made him run until he was exhausted. Carry weights until he broke his bones. And drowned him in water. Specially dispatched maids were prepared to heal him whenever needed.
It was all in the name of determining his potential and current capabilities.
Xian wondered why they were being this strict. Then he remembered that it is the infamous Montagne household.
"Gah!" He gasped out with a deep and rough voice. It awfully sounded like thug coughing in a bar.
"Hmm.. Excellent flexibility and strength, everything else is normal." The head butler muttered. "Next is to measure your magic potential."
'Here it comes!'
Xian hated physical pain and activities. Back when he was still the Xian from before, his body was a wreck. Now the body he had was ten times better, but he still hates getting tired and it wont change anytime soon.
He would rather be a magic class than be a physical class.
'Please give me potential, please, please, please.' He inwardly begged to the entities or whatever gods who sent him there.
In a room stood a small pillar with transparent crystal in it. Beneath were lines of a circle counting up to ten. The method was very simple, the higher the potential the more lines will light up.
Measured in circle's, the ability to be a mage was simplified like that.
Xian stood before the crystal and reached for it. The cold touch pressed against his rather large and rough hands.
Xian had a sudden realization. The fact that he wasn't the protagonist, means he had replaced someone else with an unknown role in the story. He knew almost every character and extra in the story, but none resembled his appearance.
'I have a bad feeling about this.'
And based on the specs… It was someone that leaned more to the physical aspect. He wasn't used to the body but he could tell, his capabilities weren't being fully exerted.
It was all because he wasn't accustomed to this body. The orb glowed in silver light.
"Null Attribute." The Butler muttered and wrote something on his hand book. It was the most common attribute, having no ties to any element. Magic from this type leaned more on convenience.
One line was lit. Then another, followed by two more.
"Four Circles. Quite low." The head butler shook in disappointment.
'Damn, even my prospects weren't to my taste…'
The protagonist had the absurd potential of staggering 10 circle, one of the only two known in the game.
4 was basically a toddler compared to that damned guy. If Xian could make a fire ball the size of his fist, the protagonist can make a fire ball the size of a house or even a building and just nuke farm mobs.
If he recalled correctly the physical of the protagonist was at the excellent ranks too. The only low stat of the protagonist was his luck stat, which is 5, the highest average of common people.
Just how unfair would it be if enemies faced that kind of guy?
He wont happen to be one of those right?
"Hehe."
Xian, half crazily ran around the manor, doing various training. He planned to raise his stats all together, but it turns out he didn't need to plan at all!
"There is a certain standard for the servants of Montagne household."
Because there was a demon right beside him who only gave him whipping for a break.
"Even the servants must be capable to buy time should disaster befall the young miss or any of the descendants."
'...You won't even sugarcoat the fact that I'm being trained to be disposable bait?'
The head butler supervised his training like a demon. Even grimacing in pain wasn't allowed, spouting thinks like because Montagne's servants have a dignity to maintain.
"Argh!" At one final shout, he lifted weight equipment's under the watch of the head butler.
"Repeat this with faith everyday. Only then will you meet the standard."
"In the afternoon, you are to learn etiquette and basic service. This includes pouring tea, making tea sets, escorting the lady, maintaining discipline and picking the correct tea for the occasion or visitor."
'Why is a lot of it about tea?'
It was a lot of elaborate details for Xian. He felt like dying from the muscle pain, and had a headache due to the amount he needed to memorize in a short period of time.
And for a week, Xian's life spun in a cycle of pain and agony. Miraculously he didn't die of exhaustion.
On top of that.
"It's been one week. Is the 'special' butler ready yet?"
The lady villainess had her patience running out.
It was still the first week and Xian already wanted to end it all.
Head butler only stared at her and nodded.
"As you wish young miss." Then he looked at me.
'No, please no. Not yet.'
"You will be escorting her for today. While you haven't learned to guard her yet… it is the swordmaiden's job for now."
'Guard? Huh?'
The head butlers sentence went in one ear and out of the other.
Xian couldn't focus due to the fatigue.
Soon they went out on the carriage, with Xian sitting beside the coachman.
Followed by two swordmaiden's, and a black heart the villainess boarded a carriage with them. It was natural since they didn't have interaction yet besides their first meeting.
"How are ye finding the household young'un?" A coachman chewing a weed or something in his mouth called him out, laughing.
"?… It sucks." Xian unfocused and out of it, replied without caring too much.
"Bahaha! Careful, the young miss might here you."
'So what? I can regress.' Xian replied in his head. He would never tell anyone about his power. If it leaked, powers that could crush him in an instant will flock and research his body. Such is the world he was in.
"I see you're being whipped by the held butler a lot… blah blah blah.." The man seemed to be the type to make small talk while working. Xian didn't bother much and listened half heartedly.
The agenda for today was apparently to look around the academy. For that reason, only two swordmaiden and a coachman was entrusted with to her.
'Those two were already very skilled.' Xian trembled, and touched his neck. The cut he felt was way too clean and merciful, clearly they often did it under her orders. He decided not to think about it anymore.
Soon, boredom crept in and he felt sleepy.
"We're shocked you know. Never would've I thought, that the 'special butler' will actually make it."
He was trying to get a quick nap only to perk his ears and turn to the coachman with an unusually carefree attitude.
By this time, they were already half an hour away from the manor.
"After all, knowing that girl, she would've never allowed anyone to put her under surveillance."
"What are you getting at?" He didn't like where the conversation was going at all. The atmosphere was strangely quiet and people from the streets were few and discreet.
"I'm sayin, you're quite capable. I thought someone incredible had come."
He pulled the leashes and the horses gradually slowed down.
"But it turns out, you're more normal than I expected."
They stopped in the middle of a bridge. There's no stalls, guards, or townspeople walking around. Only a large road and the river underneath.
Before Xian could react, a hand pulled his head down forcibly, almost breaking his neck.
"Whoops!" The coachman dragged Xian as he spun away.
The carriage's other half launched into the air, split in two clean parts.
One of the swordmaidens was revealed holding an unsheathed sword.
"Heh, you're more like an innocent bystander rather than a 'special butler'. They don't even regard your life, so classic of them." He smirked throwing Xian aside.
Carmillia who somehow had no blemish in her appearance at all, was already standing authoritatively, with two guards in front.
Clad in black armor, one woman wielded a curved blade with one edge, a katana, and the other a classic knight longsword with wide sword guard.
Both took a stance at the same time and instantly reappeared before the coachman.
"Hmph." But he just repelled and held both of their swords in one place like nothing. The force shook the air around them that Xian could feel his hair being swept away by the air.
The man spun holding the edge of the blades barehanded, forcing the two swordmaidens to be separated.
The following battle only seemed like a blur in Xian's eyes. The coachman went for the one holding the katana.
He was met with a flurry of strikes that gleamed with dark light tearing the ground but he managed to evade and kick the woman's weapon away.
The next moment made Xian's spine shudder in fear, as the coachman held the swordmaidens neck with both hands and grunted pulling out her head out from her torso, a part of her own spine hanging down.
As the bloody mess transpired, a sword severed one of the coachman feet and tore a wound across his back, however, he was unbothered and lunged towards his next target.
Red glow started enveloping his body as he pierced his hand into the swordmaidens chest and ripped her ribs apart in two.
But that wasn't the end, as the other corpse in the side sprang up to hug the man, and the other followed suit, her head hanging.
"Shit!" The man finally let out a curse.
The corpses shone in blue light as a loud explosion of blue flames unfolded.
'Manaburst Detonation!' It was a skill used by disposable mobs or mad characters as last resort. The body moves on its own to latch on the enemy and deal considerable damage.
Such techniques were considered forbidden in the game worlds lore.
Xian stared in disbelief at the scene before him. Nothing was supposed to happen 1 month into the academy. Only some training and choices to develop the players preferred character.
*Gulp*
There's only one explanation why this is happening.
'A death event for Carmillia Montagne!'
But things weren't done yet, as a magic on the level of four circles hovered over the air.
Carmillia had been preparing to cast a spell. The core circle coated in deep darkness, a beam that swallowed light fell on the ground.
Whatever it hit was probably thoroughly dead.
"Tsk." The number '8' hovered over her head silently.
"Hey you. The useless butler."
She beckoned for Xian, but he was too flabbergasted to react.
The thought of killing him passed by Carmillia's mind, but seeing that there were no other servant around, she didn't.
"Pull the carriage or something. Were going back to the manor."
Xian turned to him with eyes that were looking for explanation.
She met him with cold and condescending eyes, "I will only count to three."
Hearing that Xian sprang up in his feet.
He could regress sure.
But the pain and fear was hard to forget. Death was never something a living man could go back to.
Just when he thought things had ended.
A sword was first thrown to Carmillia as a barrier flickered and broke, then red figure pierced her with a hand.
Behind her, bones and flesh, was a man glowing in red aura like a mist. Perhaps due to injuries, the man could only gurgle intelligible sounds. But it was definitely… Laughter with genuine happiness.
With his other remaining arm he reached out for Carmillia's neck and clutched it. His already exposed eyes bulging and bleeding.
Meanwhile Carmillia, caught by an ambush, the light in her eyes began fading away.
"W-what… What the hell!" Xian growled witnessing the absurdity before him.
Carmillia lost her life and slumped on the floor as the coachman stood in one feet. His clothes were burned and his stomach partially torn. It was nothing short of an impossible dying burst.
The coachman stared at him with bare eyes and flesh, before finally falling forward.
Just like that, he was left alone.
This time, he wasn't killed.
But everything soon distorted before his eyes as he regressed with a new feeling of dread.