Chapter 2
Belladonna
All of this... just to save money and pay off that idiot Everton. Keep repeating it.
Just the thought of his beloved little brother’s “Muahaha!” face gave Dan a strangely powerful second wind.
Instructor Soros stood firm in the ring, poised with the calm precision of a veteran.
Dan Burn stepped in.
There was no mistaking it—from his unimpressive build to his complete lack of presence—everyone had already written him off. No one expected anything. Not even Rafinya gave him a second glance. Everyone had already assumed the previous candidate would be the scholarship winner.
And that assumption only felt more justified once the match started...
Dan Burn couldn’t even land a hit.
“!!”
His swordsmanship wasn’t enough to stand up to a fully trained human knight. Even with magic allowed, Instructor Soros had cast a light enchantment that gave him a +10 defense buff—stacking the odds even more.
All Dan could do was block. Block. And block again.
This is bad!
He waited for an opening to counter, but Soros was too skilled to ever leave one. Each strike was clean, efficient, merciless. Dan’s stamina drained by the second.
Eventually, he was kicked off his feet—body flying back, but miraculously still landing inside the ring.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
He glanced at the clock.
Only 50 seconds had passed.
No way… What the hell?!
Just 50 seconds?!
Plan A… wasn’t working anymore.
A split-second after that realization, Soros surged forward and bound Dan with radiant chains. He followed up with a crushing elbow—Dan barely deflected it, then cast a burst of wind to blind Soros momentarily, giving him space to leap back.
Zeedee, watching from outside the ring, tightened her grip.
Your Highness…
At that very moment, another figure arrived.
Nora Ophilis.
She’d come to consult Professor McClaff about the latest assignment—just in time to witness the knight trials.
She was mildly surprised.
They're doing knight evaluations right out here?
And then she spotted Dan—the final candidate—struggling to stay alive.
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“Khak!!”
Dan coughed up blood. He could barely stand.
And the clock read only 75 seconds.
No… No!
“I admire your spirit, student. Keep growing through this academy, and one day you’ll shine bright.”
Instructor Soros raised his sword, ready to end the match.
Rafinya crossed her arms, already turning to leave with a look that said Finally.
But then—
A moment before the blade came down…
All high-tier combatants around the ring felt it.
A titanic surge of energy, flaring from seemingly nowhere.
Instructor Soros and Professor Foden shuddered in place—instinctively on edge.
Time seemed to stop.
Their senses saw only darkness… and something vast lurking in it, breathing—watching.
It was too fast for anyone to see clearly.
Except for four people.
Nora. Foden. Rafinya. Zeedee.
They alone caught the flash of black-and-red lightning exploding from Dan’s body—just before Instructor Soros went flying across the ring.
His sword shattered clean in two. His body crashed into a Roman pillar, shattering the stone. His armor split. Every rib cracked. Soros was completely unconscious.
“!!!”
The scene played out before every student, several faculty members passing by, and a stunned knight committee.
Rafinya’s eyes widened. Nora froze. Zeedee smiled faintly.
Plan B it is.
The smoke cleared.
Dan still stood—on one knee, other foot planted firmly like a stabilizing cannon brace.
Both hands up in guard. Completely unharmed.
Let’s rewind.
In that flash of black-red lightning—
Dan’s arms had done something.
Both arms snapped their fingers at once.
That triggered a transformation: both arms became Fury’s, encased in hardened plating—the reason Soros’s sword had shattered like glass.
Left arm blocked the blade.
Right arm delivered the gut punch.
Dan hadn’t meant to kill—just launch the instructor.
Soros never had time to process what had happened.
Then, with another double snap, the arms reverted to Dan Burn’s human form.
The punch had recoil force so extreme that Dan had to brace his entire body with one leg just to avoid being launched himself. Like firing a cannon—without the brace, his lower half would’ve been tossed across the ring.
That was the rule of Fury’s transformation reversal:
“Double-finger snap.”
A guaranteed safety measure—since almost no one could snap both fingers simultaneously on instinct.
He could also choose which body parts to morph. Transforming just the arms was possible—but came with the cost of mass imbalance and recoil shock. Full upper-body transformation could collapse a human lower half under the weight.
So Dan chose a focused solution: arm-only morph, with bracing.
He stood.
Cracked his neck.
Turned to the stunned crowd.
“…So, scholarship—do I qualify now?”
“Y-you…”
“Professor Foden. Where’s my scholarship certificate?”
—
That day changed everything.
The name Dan Burn spread across Artheris Academy.
Even among the professors.
Rumors swirled of black-and-red lightning. Dan, of course, denied it all—claiming it was just martial skill, perfect timing, and a dash of magic. Let people believe what they wanted.
More importantly… maybe, just maybe…
Casca would hear about it—wherever she was.
And now, in the academy’s central atrium—
Dan Burn held a full-ride scholarship certificate in his hands.
“Your Highness. You’re famous now.”
“This is what I paid for to clear my debt. I sacrificed privacy… for freedom.”
“So that’s it? We’re done with Operation: Live Like a Nobody?”
“We’ll try.”
“Impossible.”
“I know. But I’ve got debts. And nobody else is paying them. Debt is terrifying.”
“I respect your decision, Your Highness.”
“…You, though. How the hell did you get a scholarship?”
“I’m amazing.”
“…”
“Just kidding. I didn’t pass the magic scholarship.”
“What? Then that certificate—?”
Certificate of Full Scholarship – Zeedee Lamb, Department of Magical Engineering.
“Magical engineering?! What did you invent!?”
“My poison~”
“You dragged that out again!? What about it?”
“I used your trick. When I knew I wouldn’t make the magic scholarship, I whipped up a few toxins from my own glands, bottled them, and presented them to the engineering faculty. Told them I was developing them with an experimental chemical method. They’d never seen anything like them. They signed me instantly. Smart, huh?”
“You developed those toxins… how, exactly?”
“I dunno. They just come outta me naturally. I handed them in. That’s it.”
“That’s a scam!!!”
“Heeey, don’t say that!”
Zeedee smirked, shrugging.
“I saved us money. That’s what matters, right? Muahahaha! AAAHAHAHAHAH”
“That laugh… sounds exactly like my brother. Here—50,000 years of debt for you.”
“Your Hiiiiiighness!!”
