Villain's Refund System: The Protagonist's Harem Is Mine

Midterm banners covered Halcrest’s central court while Damien’s bracket drew more cameras than the championship lane.

He walked beneath them carrying Mina’s wrist sensor, ’seriously, I beat five seniors, so now everyone debates whether fighting one honest student is rigged.’

Public screens alternated between his Board rank and Ezra Noll’s scholarship record above crowded betting kiosks.

Ezra stood near the registration platform wearing a faded blue coat fitted over broad forearms and a compact duelist’s build.

His brown hair had been cut close around a square face, while gray eyes tracked Damien’s feet instead of nearby cameras.

A thin practice scar crossed his chin above one carefully mended collar, and both boots carried fresh academy soles over older leather.

’He spent his grant on blade maintenance before clothing, yeah, humiliating him for spectacle would make me exactly the bastard everyone remembers.’

Ezra approached with a straight steel longsword held inside a plain canvas sheath.

Damien noticed fresh oil around its guard, ’he prepared for me instead of the cameras, good, at least one person respects the actual fight.’

"Lord Sterling, I requested a clean arena without sponsor hazards or hidden conditions," he said, offering the marshal a signed rule card.

"Good, I have exceeded my weekly allowance for murderous paperwork already," Damien replied, reading every line before adding his mark.

"Your Aspect rewards damage, so I will not provide easy exchanges for that tally," Ezra answered, glancing toward the silver marks.

"Yeah, please keep believing direct hits are the only thing feeding it," Damien said, returning the card before Ezra could study his expression.

’Let him prepare against tanking, Gutter Style works better when sensible people wait for stupidity I never planned to attempt.’

The western gallery erupted as one woman pushed through seated sponsors and rested a huge blunted sword across their rail.

Rhea Kestrel had cropped red hair ending above her jaw, amber eyes bright beneath a scar cutting through one eyebrow.

Her tall athletic body filled a sleeveless black combat coat, with old impact marks covering both forearms above wrapped hands.

The greatsword looked absurd beside ordinary seats, yet she carried its broad weight like a walking stick between two fingers.

[Rhea Kestrel]

[Ascension Board: #1 overall]

[Level: 903]

’Nine hundred, damn, she could hit me into next semester before the marshal finished blinking.’

Rhea ignored Damien’s public profile and watched him shift weight away from his repaired thigh.

"Your left leg still lies whenever you prepare Flicker," she called, silencing three commentators below her, "fix that before wasting my afternoon."

"I was not aware your afternoon had entered this bracket," Damien replied, keeping both feet still beneath her gaze.

"It has not," Rhea answered, tapping the blunted greatsword against the rail, "fight me after becoming worth the paperwork."

The nearest sponsor representative laughed too loudly, then stopped when her amber eyes moved across his seat.

’She challenged me by postponing the fight, damn, that might be honest praise from somebody who can flatten this entire court.’

An academy moderator stepped between Damien and Ezra, raising both wrists to begin equipment checks.

Eye of Reckoning moved across the arena floor and caught a level reading beneath one sealed drainage grate.

[Unknown Rift Organism]

[Level: 219]

[State: Sedated]

Damien looked toward the grate while a forgotten novel scene surfaced through damaged foreknowledge.

’There was a monster during somebody’s midterm, shit, what bracket held it, how many years away, why did I burn that detail?’

He raised one hand before the moderator opened their starting barrier.

"Something alive is sleeping beneath the eastern drain, so clear those front seats now," Damien said, pointing his saber toward the grate.

"Lord Sterling, arena inspection finished this morning without detecting any active core," the moderator replied, keeping his wrist above the start rune.

"Then your inspection missed a level two-nineteen organism under seven centimeters of steel," Damien answered, backing away from the marked drain.

Ezra unsheathed his longsword and moved beside Damien without waiting for official permission.

"His predictions saved Flood Line Seven, so perhaps check twice before calling this performance," he said, guarding the nearest student section.

Rhea lifted her greatsword from the rail as everyone else stared between both duelists.

The moderator reached toward his emergency crystal, but the eastern grate bulged before his fingers touched its face.

Damien shifted toward the front row, ’too late for debate, protect the nearest body before that tongue picks a child.’

Stone exploded upward as a pale creature tore through the arena floor, carrying six wet eyes above a circular mouth.

Front-row students screamed while its hooked tongue struck toward the closest child beneath a family banner.

Damien Flickered across the court and cut through the tongue before it wrapped around her waist.

Ezra caught the falling girl against one shoulder, then rolled beneath another pale tendril with his longsword raised.

"Hey, move her toward the western barrier while I keep this ugly mouth facing me," Damien shouted, blocking two hooks across his saber.

"Gladly, though your plan needs an answer for those eggs opening behind you," Ezra replied, pointing his blade toward the broken grate.

Three translucent sacks pulsed beneath shattered stone, each carrying smaller shadows against its inner wall.

’Eggs were never in the scene, wonderful, Divergence added children before I saved the first one.’

Rhea dropped from the gallery and landed between the sacks hard enough to crack every shell beneath her boots.

She swung the blunted greatsword once, flattening three emerging creatures without releasing visible mana.

"Continue your midterm after killing the loud creature," she said, resting her weapon across one shoulder, "I removed its boring offspring."

"Thank you for leaving us something educational during our assessment," Damien replied, ducking beneath another tongue before cutting across the beast’s mouth.

The moderator finally raised emergency barriers around the audience, while cameras zoomed toward Damien’s predicted grate.

Ezra returned after delivering the child and attacked from the creature’s opposite flank through clean academy footwork.

"Its third eye closes ahead of every right-side strike," he called, stabbing beneath one pale lid, "use that opening before it adapts."

"Good catch, push the head left when those hooks retract again," Damien replied, applying Sinner’s Brand across its exposed throat.

They moved without competing for the finish, forcing the creature between Ezra’s formal cuts and Damien’s unreadable entries.

The tally gained four silver marks before Damien released a short Reckoning through its branded mouth.

[Reckoning]

[Debt Released: 244]

Its body collapsed across the broken drain while academy medics reached the rescued child beyond the barrier.

[Emergency Kill Confirmed]

[EXP Gained: 644,000]

[System Points Gained: 800]

[Level: 172 → 175]

[Experience: 125,000 / 175,000]

Damien cleaned pale blood from his saber as the moderator stared at the exact level printed on his emergency crystal.

"Level two-nineteen confirmed by this emergency crystal," the man said, looking toward cameras he had ignored seconds ago, "Sterling’s earlier warning was completely accurate."

’Nice, maybe next time officials move before the floor grows teeth, though experience suggests otherwise.’

A woman in a dark sponsor coat approached Damien after the arena emptied, holding one sealed withdrawal token between gloved fingers.

Her gold hair covered one cheek above a narrow smile, while a hooked black mark hid beneath the token’s academy wax.

"Withdraw from Ezra’s rescheduled bout tomorrow, and certain people will stop placing hazards near your friends," she said, offering the seal without touching him.

"Threaten Mina again after showing your face near twelve cameras," Damien replied, lifting his phone until her reflection filled its screen.

The woman dropped the token and walked away before academy security noticed their exchange.

Her reflection vanished among sponsor coats, ’she expected refusal, damn, that threat only existed to confirm Mina remains useful leverage.’

Black residue crawled from its broken wax, matching the Benefactor’s mark before Iron Veil trapped it beneath Damien’s palm.

’Good, the hidden bastard wants this duel badly enough to threaten people, so tomorrow I win without giving them another victim.’