I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

Chapter 180

In the original work, the protagonist was neither reincarnated nor possessed the body of a noble family's child.

In accordance with the setting that it is hard to manifest the authority of the gods on this continent, the protagonist's body, originally from Earth, was remodeled and brought over, imbued with divine authority from an external figure.

In other words, the protagonist was a total orphan in this world, with no one he knew.

The fact that he suddenly entered the continent's greatest academy, Hernan Academy, was, in itself, absurd.

At the beginning, there was someone who guided him, helping him adapt to the continent and eventually enter Hernan Academy.

That someone was the man in front of him: Ben Dwight.

'He's basically the protagonist's first master.'

He appeared briefly at the start to guide the protagonist, then reappeared as a formidable ally toward the latter part of the story—a reliable sidekick cliché. Such was the character of Ben Dwight.

'He's even occasionally mentioned through the mouths of characters like Zeritz.'

He was a sort of rival to Zeritz.

Mentions that he saved the continent in the past with Eltima, or that his swordsmanship was on par with Zeritz, served to get under Zeritz's skin.

'To think I'd get to see such an important character here.'

He wasn't just an ally; he was a character who had a profound impact on the story. In a way, he influenced every action the protagonist took.

'I thought he only joined Heaven's Door later, but it turns out he was with them from the start.'

Though his swordsmanship was impressive, he had a signature ability, which led to many depictions of him working alone on secret missions.

That's why I thought I wouldn't be meeting him this soon.

Yet, here he was, meeting me now. Luca's heart fluttered with anticipation.

'Will I get to see that?'

Harboring subtle expectations, Luca spoke up.

"I'm Luca Traverse."

"Ah~ so you're that Luca."

As soon as Luca announced his name, Ben Dwight nodded, then extended his hand.

"Good, good. I've heard a lot about you. The boy that Eltima is expecting was you, huh."

Luca grasped the hand offered to him.

Clench!

"?"

At that moment, Ben Dwight squeezed his hand hard enough to hurt. A subtle pressure radiated from him.

"But I'm curious. What was it about a kid like you that made Eltima want to recruit you into our team?"

"......"

Luca hesitated. Should he let a jolt of lightning run into the man's hand, or just endure it and move on?

Sleek.

"?"

At that moment, a blade came to Ben Dwight's neck.

At some point, Bella had appeared behind him, wearing a chilly smile, and pressed a dagger to his neck.

"Oh my. Just what sort of family is the Dwight family, to show such disrespect to the precious second son of the Hernan Empire's fangs, the Traverse family?"

"... Haha. I thought the kid would be something impressive, but turns out he's just a young master hiding behind a lady's skirts."

Ben Dwight chuckled and released Luca's hand. Turning around, he spoke.

"Eltima, Herote... all of them become so over-impressed just because of such a kid's face. Pathetic."

This behavior from Ben Dwight was different from how Luca had seen him in the novel.

Luca bit his lip and spoke.

"Are you jealous that I'm being overrated by them?"

He might have been left with a good first impression from the source material, but he didn't like Ben Dwight's attitude in person.

Even before Luca Traverse inside me could speak up, I was already showing my hostility.

"I haven't done anything yet, and yet you babble about how I'm overrated. I expected more from a companion of Eltima, but this is disappointing."

"... Haha! I'll give you this—you're definitely bold. Quite tough for your looks."

Ben Dwight burst out laughing, facing him again, and lowered his head a little to look Luca in the eyes.

"......"

A brown eye, uncovered by an eyepatch, looked straight at him.

No—perhaps even the eye covered by the patch was staring straight at him.

But Luca didn't avoid that gaze, returning it with nothing but an indifferent look.

Ben Dwight stared quietly at his own reflection in Luca's clear eyes, then smirked.

"Pretty nice eyes you've got. Like a transparent lake without a single ripple. No wonder the Demonz hate them."

"......"

"But that alone isn't enough. Can you show me something more than what I saw at first glance?"

Ben Dwight.

He served as the protagonist's first master because he was truly an exceptional man.

He was a 'Hero' chosen by the gods, together with Eltima.

His strength surpassed swordsmanship—he was extremely powerful.

He could gauge Luca's abilities at a glance.

'There's some strange power inside, but in terms of physical and mental development, he's no more than a beginner master. That's the weakest level among our members.'

With a glance, he could tell how trained a person's mind and body were.

By his standards, Luca wasn't impressive.

At most, there was some suspicious 'hole' within his mind, whose nature he couldn't determine.

'No matter how great that force is, he wouldn't be able to use it properly with that body and mind.'

He found him lacking. To that, Luca replied coolly.

"You can find out by crossing swords with me."

"... Hahahahaha!"

Ben Dwight burst into laughter at his words.

It wasn't a scoff or forced laughter—he was genuinely amused, to the point of tears.

After laughing for a while, he caught his breath and said:

"Ah, sorry. I haven't laughed like this in a while."

Ben Dwight wiped the tears from his eyes and looked down at Luca.

"I do feel a bit bad for picking on a kid, but if that's the only way for you to prove yourself, I'll accept."

Thus, the duel between Luca and Ben Dwight was set.

* * *

'Even the protagonist never fought Ben Dwight.'

As a test of how much he'd grown, it would have made sense for them to fight, but when they met again, things were already dire—right before the final showdown with the Demonz after the Aldnoa War.

'According to the description, Ben Dwight's swordsmanship is said to be not lacking compared to Zeritz's Invincible Sword. I wonder just how strong he is.'

The two of them stood in a clearing on the outskirts of the village.

Luca held a longsword; Ben Dwight, a slightly larger curved sword.

"Haha, this is fun. I never thought I'd be dueling like this at my age."

Ben Dwight looked noticeably excited. After fighting off remnants of the Demonz, this sort of duel seemed to genuinely please him.

"Still, since there's a power gap between us, I can't just fight you full out. I'll refrain from using magic power. You do as you like—use magic power, anything."

"And let's agree neither of us will blame the other for any injuries during the duel."

"Haha! Suits me fine! If I'm not using magic power, then I won't need to hold back with my sword!"

Laughing, Ben Dwight readied himself—a slightly drawn-back, rushing stance.

"Phew..."

Luca exhaled slowly, taking a defensive stance, more guarded than Ben Dwight's.

"Ready."

With Bella acting as the judge, both men held their breath at her call.

"Start!"

And the moment she shouted—

Clang!

The two blades met.

"You can use magic power, you know. This sword is a divine relic; it won't even get scratched by ordinary magic power coating."

"I'll do as I see fit."

Luca replied indifferently, parrying Ben's sword, then spun quickly, aiming for his waist and shoulder at once.

"Smoother than I expected."

Ching! Ching!

Ben Dwight lightly blocked Luca's fast two-strike combo, then expressed mild admiration.

Using his guard, he pushed Luca back, then, with a flick of his wrist, unleashed several sword strikes in an instant.

Kagagang!

Luca blocked and countered neatly. He wasn't using just the basics now, but the new sword technique crafted for him by Kryphi.

Clang!

"Yes, that's his swordsmanship. I watched him by his side before."

But Ben Dwight easily defended against it. He seemed to know this style well.

The two exchanged a flurry of attacks, then, for a moment, the battle settled into a lull.

Luca spoke indifferently in the gap.

"Are you fighting with your mouth?"

"... Haha! Fine, I'll get serious."

From that point on, the two exchanged blows in silence, blades clashing coldly.

But as time went by, Luca inevitably lost ground in terms of skill.

'Tsk. Not easy. Is it time to use the power of the sky?'

Just as Luca considered this, someone whispered inside him.

–If that's the case, perhaps it's time for a substitution.

"!"

Luca flinched, but didn't refuse the offer.

As he flinched and left an opening, Ben Dwight immediately went for the gap.

'Still a greenhorn, after all.'

Thinking that Luca had lost focus, Ben Dwight sneered—only, the moment he realized his sword had merely cut through empty air, he felt a chill around his neck.

Tong!

"!"

Ben Dwight instinctively shielded himself with magic power. Luca Traverse addressed him coolly.

"You said you wouldn't use magic power. Does that make this my victory?"

"...?"

Ben Dwight felt a strange sense as he looked at Luca Traverse.

'Is this... really the same person as before...?'

Something about the pressure was different.

Where the earlier Luca had a sort of soft humanity to him, now there was no emotion at all—only the intent to kill.

"I'll say it again. You said you wouldn't use magic power. Does that make this my victory?"

Luca Traverse repeated himself coolly. Ben Dwight forced a smile.

"H-ha. Sorry. Did I underestimate you too much? I don't mind letting this be my loss... but somehow, I don't want to end it here."

"Very well, let's just move on, then."

So saying, Luca Traverse charged at Ben Dwight again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Completely different weight and sharpness from before.

'What... Is this really the same person as before?'

Overwhelmed by the change, Ben Dwight found himself hard-pressed to fend off the attacks.

The completeness of the swordsmanship was fundamentally different.

Up until now, it had merely been decent swordsmanship, as if it concealed a hidden trump card rather than being solely honed—but now, Luca fought like a demon-possessed swordsman wholly devoted to his blade.

Shwing!

"!"

Then, for a moment, Ben Dwight exposed a weakness.

Luca Traverse's sword cut in at an unavoidable angle.

At that, Ben Dwight instinctively activated his ability.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch—

Ben Dwight's figure vanished, and in the next instant, a blade was pressed against Luca's neck.

"?"

–Hey, move aside.

Luca returned. Pouting a little, he turned to look at Ben Dwight.

"Isn't using that eye cheating?"

"... Ha. Truly extraordinary."

Ben Dwight had removed his eyepatch.

Click, click, click.

Beneath the patch was a unique gold eye made of clockwork.

It was one of the three divine relics bestowed upon him as a Hero: the "Eye of Time".

The sound of clockwork gears interlocked from within.

'So that's...'

Luca twisted his lips as he watched.

'So he's the very one who turned 〈I Became the Savior of the Academy〉 into a time loop story.'

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Damn, I like the personality switch dynamic...

Not completely erasing the OG Luca Traverse's personality and identity...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】