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

Fresh stone covered yesterday’s broken drain when Damien entered the midterm arena across from Ezra Noll.

The scholarship duelist checked every replacement tile before drawing his longsword, ’good, he trusts my warning now, but still plans to beat me cleanly.’

No sponsor representatives occupied the front row after Imani confiscated their sealed withdrawal token during morning review.

Mina watched beside the marshal station with Hallow’s rune plate locked against her wrist, while Rhea claimed three seats using one greatsword.

"Keep that repaired leg honest today, Sterling, or I will leave before your excuses begin," Rhea called, resting both boots on an empty rail.

"Your encouragement makes this entire academy feel emotionally supportive," Damien replied, rolling his shoulder beneath a fresh combat coat.

Ezra raised his longsword into a narrow middle guard, with both gray eyes fixed below Damien’s waist.

"She is right about your left foot, though I expect the lie before Flicker," he said, shifting one boot across the starting line.

"Yeah, everybody keeps helping my opponent during officially assessed combat today," Damien replied, letting his saber point toward the stone.

’He studies feet instead of tally light, damn, this one might actually make me work without trying murder first.’

Imani lowered one armored hand, and Ezra crossed half the arena through disciplined advance rather than a flashy skill.

His first cut threatened Damien’s wrist, then changed toward the shoulder after Flicker failed to appear.

Damien parried through one short movement and stepped inside the longsword’s comfortable distance.

Ezra turned his pommel into the gap, forcing Damien backward before Gutter Style could reach the elbow.

’Smart, no panic when I entered close, plus that recovery kept his arm attached.’

They exchanged six cuts without either blade touching cloth, drawing silence from an audience expecting another violent mismatch.

Ezra broke away and changed his middle guard toward a low academy form.

"Your Aspect has gained almost nothing useful from those careful exchanges," he said, glancing once toward the dark silver tally.

"Correct, which means you can stop staring at my weapon and protect that front knee," Damien replied, attacking before Ezra adjusted.

The saber entered through an ugly upward angle, but Ezra caught its guard and turned both blades toward the floor.

His knee struck Damien’s wounded thigh, producing real pain without enough damage to feed meaningful Debt.

[Flesh Debt: 18]

"Tch, that leg is worse than yesterday’s medical report claimed," Ezra said, retreating before Damien could trap his wrist.

"Halcrest reports buildings as safe until monsters hatch beneath them," Damien replied, changing his weight onto the injured side.

’Show him the weakness twice, come on, sensible duelist, believe my terrible decision before noticing it became bait.’

Ezra advanced toward the left leg exactly as expected, driving one precise thrust below Damien’s saber line.

Flicker carried Damien only half a meter instead of across the arena, leaving an afterimage where his damaged knee had remained.

He reappeared against Ezra’s sword arm and struck the inner elbow with his pommel.

The longsword dipped, though Ezra released one hand before Damien could fold its wrist against the joint.

"That short Flicker distance was deliberately wrong from the beginning," Ezra said, spinning away while feeling returned to his fingers.

"Please complain to Mina, she named the terrible method everyone keeps studying," Damien replied, following through natural footwork.

Mina lifted both middle fingers beside the marshal station without looking away from her conductance monitor.

’She found time to insult me while tracking six mana channels, yeah, that might be her most efficient repair yet.’

Rhea laughed hard enough to knock one empty chair backward beneath her greatsword.

’Apparently technical support remains available during public combat, wonderful.’

Ezra changed schools mid-exchange, abandoning Halcrest’s long guard for compact scholarship forms learned inside crowded community halls.

His blade clipped Damien’s side before the saber could close distance, adding another small entry across the Ledger.

[Flesh Debt: 47]

Damien branded him, but kept Reckoning sealed while their weapons met through a dozen shorter attacks.

The Eye caught Ezra’s shoulder dropping ahead of each retreat, revealing strain around an old injury beneath his coat.

’There, I can break that shoulder and finish now, though winning cleanly does not require ruining his entire semester.’

Damien attacked the longsword instead, trapping its guard beneath Mina’s angled grip before twisting Ezra toward the boundary.

Ezra released his weapon rather than letting the shoulder tear, then drove one bare fist into Damien’s mouth.

Damien tasted blood behind his teeth, ’good choice, damn, the sensible bastard sacrificed pride before giving me a permanent target.’

Blood touched Damien’s tongue while the crowd roared at a scholarship student punching House Sterling’s heir.

"That felt extremely personal after such respectful sword work," Damien said, blocking Ezra’s second fist with one forearm.

"You threatened my knee during registration, so we crossed into personal territory yesterday," Ezra replied, trying to sweep his wounded leg.

Damien stepped over the sweep and caught Ezra’s coat near the collar, then used his momentum to throw him beside the abandoned longsword.

Ezra rolled toward the weapon, but Damien planted his saber point through its canvas-wrapped grip before his fingers arrived.

"Stay down unless you want the next correction delivered through that injured shoulder," he said, keeping one boot outside Ezra’s reach.

Ezra looked from the pinned sword toward Damien’s unsteady left leg, measuring one final attack against the damage it might cause.

"I yield under personal power, Marshal Cross, before Sterling mistakes helpful advice for mercy," he said, raising both empty hands.

Imani confirmed the surrender and lifted Damien’s wrist while the Board recalculated above them.

[Midterm Victory]

[Eye of Reckoning Mastery: 3]

[System Points Gained: 620]

[Ascension Board: #160 → #146]

Damien pulled his saber from Ezra’s grip wrap and offered the hilt as leverage instead of reaching with one hand.

"Your shoulder drops during retreat, so strengthen the rear chain before somebody less charming notices," he said, pulling Ezra upright.

"Your jokes become worse after receiving mouth injuries," Ezra replied, checking his swollen elbow, "but the correction is useful."

’Good, humiliation never entered it, hidden killers stayed away, plus somebody earned another fight after both bodies recover.’

The clean victory felt quieter compared with Reckoning, yet Damien liked Ezra’s unbroken expression far more than another stretcher.

’Maybe every win does not need somebody terrified beneath my boot, careful, you absolute clown, readers might expect personal growth now.’

Rhea dropped over the gallery rail and landed close enough to make Ezra step away from her greatsword.

’One hundred levels before she considers me paperwork, damn, normal encouragement vanished when that woman entered Halcrest.’

"You spared the shoulder without making that choice soft," she said, studying Damien’s bruised mouth, "gain another hundred levels before finding me."

"That sounds less impossible after watching you kill three monsters by standing up," Damien replied, wiping blood against his sleeve.

"Those were merely eggs beneath my boots," Rhea answered, lifting her weapon one-handed, "calling them monsters insults everything interesting."

She left through the competitors’ gate while students opened the new training schedule across hundreds of phones.

[Training rift assignment]

[Route: Northglass Preserve]

[Anomaly warning: Unverified]

[Class deployment: Tomorrow]

Damien read the warning twice as black residue flickered beneath its final line.

’The original midterm never visited Northglass, fine, the Benefactor moved from hidden monsters to an entire rift.’

He took his saber from the stone and walked toward Mina before tomorrow’s anomaly could choose another victim.