A Villain's Survival Guide

"I am Mystery."

The tone was soft and innocent, almost childish, but with a taunting edge. Leomaris couldn’t mistake it. There was no one there, though. Just the cold breeze.

’Rosemary called it an entity, so it’s not a spirit. Then why can’t I see it?’

"You mustn’t worry, my dear. You are simply not at the level to see me yet."

Despite himself, a smug, taunting expression forced its way across Leomaris’s face. Conflicted emotions and all, but the entity’s next words dragged his thoughts further into the depths.

"How long have I longed to meet you, only for you to meet me with silence?"

The confusion couldn’t be mistaken. In that moment, he was starting to wonder if it was this entity that had pulled him into this world, their compatibility too close to be a coincidence.

’...No, that doesn’t make sense. Once an entity is sealed, it shouldn’t be able to act like that.’

Leomaris’s eyes swept the room again, searching for the creature. But his mind had already latched onto false images of the entity to make the conversation feel more grounded.

"What do you mean? Why didn’t you call out to me earlier? Why are you only starting this now?"

Soft chuckles...

"Hehe... I didn’t feel you until a while ago. And when I did, my voice couldn’t reach you. Something higher blocked me... like an unclimbable wall."

Leomaris stroked his chin, mind leaping between thoughts. If those words held true, then Mystery had nothing to do with his transmigration, that much was clear.

But who would block their connection? Was it Rosemary?

After sitting with his thoughts far longer than he’d intended, Leomaris let it rest and turned back to the contract.

’Mystery sounds quite shady... but names like that aren’t entirely uncommon.’

"Tell me, what are your conditions? And wouldn’t it help build trust if you showed yourself?"

The cold sensation grew colder, and a thick silence stretched through the room as though the entity was deliberating over its answer. Or perhaps it was simply making its chilling presence felt in a way Leomaris wasn’t ready for.

"I wouldn’t be Mystery anymore... if you could solve me so easily, would I?"

When it spoke, a slight heaviness settled into the ground. Leomaris’s attention shifted to his left, and instinctively, his back straightened, breath under control, and posture elegant.

He didn’t feel the need to pose questions or chat idly, remaining silent like a windless body of water.

Gentle and slow, the wind moved from one spot to the next, steady enough to settle the atmosphere, yet enforcing a presence that was nothing short of overwhelming. Leomaris’s eyes followed it, taking each direction it blew toward as where the entity currently stood.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"You and I are one. We must work hand in hand... to become what stands in plain sight yet cannot be perceived. What thrives on nothingness. What cannot be answered. We are one, and this belongs to you as much as it belongs to me."

To look at him, Leomaris was calm, almost too composed for the situation he was in. But he was terrified. The entity’s presence was the only thing keeping him so tightly under control.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Possession... that was what the creature wanted. The last thing Leomaris needed. A pact would have suited him just fine, granting his own ability at a manageable cost. Possession offered the highest potential and a wide range of abilities, yes, but the costs were nothing short of insane.

"Is that all?"

"I’m afraid so. Possession suits us best... nothing less."

Biting his lip in frustration, Leomaris’s face contorted with pain and emotions he’d been holding back. He could only imagine how ridiculous the cost for that would turn out to be.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Soft giggles...

"Don’t worry, my vessel... I will only feed on your memories each time you use me."

Leomaris’s heart skipped when it spoke. Relief, brief and welcome, it wasn’t going to take half his remaining life. But the conflicted emotion that came after didn’t give that relief long to breathe.

"Wait... my memories? Are you going to take one each time I use your ability?"

"Ha! We are quite similar in the way we understand each other."

Under those words, his body shivered. Sweat pushed through despite the cold, and his emotions grew less forgiving.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

His eyes moved from one spot to the next, mouth falling open in awe.

Extremely favourable, but it would haunt him in the long run.

Entities used possession to wield their abilities and grow stronger, sustained by the costs they extracted. In exchange, humans received supernatural abilities: tools to protect themselves and navigate what lay beyond their understanding.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Every contract carried the same inevitability: creature and human, slowly becoming one over time. In Leomaris’s situation, that might not be possible. If the entity fed on his memories, he could forget who he was or what he’d fought for long before he grew strong enough to live the way he wanted.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

’With all my memories gone... I’ll become an empty shell, and this creature will use me as its vessel.’

Trembling fist, irritation barely contained. He was teetering on the edge of a stupid decision, and then, as if the entity knew him better than anyone, it spoke.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"Calm down, would you? Don’t rush into a decision you’ll regret. Do you want to be recognized as an Invoker?"

Relief crossed Leomaris’s face, eyes widening. He’d nearly forgotten about that. An Invoker called forth a creature through ritual, and right now, that was exactly what he was. But walking out without a contract meant the title wouldn’t amount to much.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Finding another compatible creature was already a slim prospect, but an Invoker’s chances shrank even further. Another grimoire could be found, and the creature within might not show itself at all, simply on account of him being an Invoker. And that said nothing of how society would treat him for it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

’An Invoker is always seen as a misfit. It doesn’t matter how absurd the creature’s demands might have been... I have no choice in this matter.’

More affected by this ritual than he’d intended. Before the theoretical exam, he’d have had some faith in overwriting or changing the cost, but now, with the possibility that the rule had changed from the novel, he was well and truly in a pickle.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Even amid the chaos, his mind was already working through countermeasures. Keeping a diary was his safest option, but even that wouldn’t protect him forever.

’If that’s how it will be, then I need to know exactly what I stand to gain from this.’

Reaching down with a gentle stretch, he grabbed the grimoire. It was dropped on the floor long ago. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

His attention already moving toward what could benefit him.

"What can you do? I have many enemies, and if all I can do is conceal my presence, then I am done for."

Soft laughs...

"Become a magician and obtain all the skills you need to survive."

Leomaris remained seated in the crimson room without another word. The grimoire was empty, but once the contract was sealed, the entity would fill it with every ability available to him and the path to the next rank.

Magician, the first rank, was built on mere skills. Whatever he wanted would depend on his own strength and psychic ability to execute. The grimoire would simply outline what he could achieve once certain conditions were met.

’Honestly, I don’t have much faith in Mystery. It doesn’t seem like something that can protect me against the main character. Lucius has Timeless, and his defenses are already absurd, soon they’ll be unbreakable.’

Doubts and all, he had no option. Besides, if the Mystery Entity hadn’t had the ability to back its claims, the Entity of Seal would have rejected the possession contract outright.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He exhaled, leaving the merits and demerits untouched, and switched the subject back. The conversation that followed was casual, but underneath it, he was probing for the entity’s true intentions.

One drop of blood away from sealing the contract, and yet his mind was already shifting to pressing matters. First-year results would be out tomorrow at ten in the morning, and anxiety over whether he’d made the top five was already creeping in.

More importantly, tomorrow was his last chance to recruit Charlotte Greenwood.