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

Flood Line Seven opened beneath Halcrest’s eastern field as a vertical wound filled with gray water and broken stone platforms.

Damien stood at its lowered gate wearing a helmet camera above one temple, ’the novel called this novice terrain, sure, nothing says beginner quite like an underground river trying to eat students.’

Thirty first-years waited behind painted team markers while proctors inspected weapons before testing armor seals, then tugged each emergency return charm.

Mina wore a cropped uniform jacket over her tool harness, with amber goggles lowered and two folding constructs clipped beside one hip.

Lucas stood beneath the lead marker in white-and-gold armor, Daybreak resting across his back while every nearby camera favored his side.

’Even the lenses like him more, damn, Fate could at least pretend it does not have a favorite child.’

The lead proctor approached with a tablet held against her armored chest, wearing dark curls braided close around a broad brown face.

Professor Imani Cross, serving as the route’s field marshal, had powerful shoulders beneath a blue field coat, while one clouded eye remained fixed behind a cracked mana lens.

"Listen carefully, first-years, the route carries live beasts and unstable water pressure," she said, turning her clear eye across every team.

"Marker seven collapses within ninety minutes, then the western support path floods," Damien called from behind the independent line.

Several students laughed before Imani finished speaking, though Mina immediately looked toward the route map above her wrist.

The professor lowered her tablet and studied Damien, "Lord Sterling, do you possess current information my rift office somehow missed?"

"No current information, only a strong suggestion that you record my warning before somebody needs it," he replied, meeting her stare.

Lucas stepped from the lead marker with one hand raised toward the laughing students, his polished concern settling across the group.

"Well, caution costs us nothing, Professor, so perhaps marker seven deserves another sensor sweep," he said, smiling toward Damien.

’Lucas only supports the warning after everyone laughs, damn, even his perfect timing waits for an audience.’

Damien watched Imani record the delayed support, ’good, now the official log remembers who warned them before hero concern became convenient.’

Imani entered his statement on the tablet and assigned a drone toward marker seven, then pointed at Damien’s independent tag.

"The prediction is recorded, Sterling, which means failure will follow your name through every Board review," she said, locking the entry.

"Good, success should follow my name through every Board review too," Damien replied, checking the saber Mina had balanced against his left hip.

The rift gate opened with a grinding roar, revealing a descending bridge above water moving far too quickly beneath its rails.

Teams entered by rank while helmet cameras flashed green, and Lucas led the first group down without touching either handrail.

’Rain misses Lucas, dirt avoids him, now slippery bridges behave, I genuinely hate how convenient his life looks.’

Damien reached marker two and found emergency supply crates stacked along the east wall, exactly where the novel left them before the collapse.

He lifted one medical case and carried it toward marker six, ignoring two proctors who shouted about assigned staging zones.

"Hey, those supplies belong near the entrance until an emergency order moves them," a thin student called, grabbing the opposite handle.

"The emergency arrives below marker seven, so help me now or explain your empty hands later," Damien replied, continuing forward.

The student released the case after noticing Damien’s [#388] shining across one cuff, then hurried toward his own team without another word.

Damien carried the weight alone toward marker six, ’rank finally makes people move, useful, though fear remains a terrible substitute for sense.’

Mina caught up beside marker four while a spider-shaped sensor construct unfolded across her shoulder.

"Moving academy equipment during a recorded exam feels wonderfully subtle," she said, taking the case’s second handle, "which disaster comes next?"

"Place weaker teams near the eastern support wall, then keep your sensor around marker six," Damien answered, stepping over a cracked channel.

"You assigned me somewhere safe yesterday," Mina replied, nodding toward the lower route, "I chose close enough to watch your prediction fail."

Damien studied her compact barrier packs and felt irritation mix with fear, ’of course she ignored the safe route, why are capable people always terrible at being protected?’

"Marker six becomes the dangerous post after seven drops, so choose again," he said, lowering the medical case beside one support beam.

"Good, then my scanner might catch something useful before your prediction kills us," she replied, releasing two folding constructs onto the stone.

Lucas arrived with his lead team before Damien could argue again, and several weaker students straightened when his gold-trimmed coat appeared.

"Damien, relocating supplies has disrupted the assigned formation around our weaker teams," he said, looking from the medical case toward Mina’s constructs.

"Then move your formation around them before the ceiling starts helping me," Damien answered, checking the wall behind marker nine for its hidden ladder.

Lucas kept smiling while Daybreak’s golden hilt caught the rift light, "We should avoid confusing frightened students during their first descent."

"They will become more confused when the ceiling lands across their assigned route," Damien replied, pressing his palm against the supposedly solid wall.

Mina’s scanner clicked near his shoulder, finding empty space behind stone before the academy map acknowledged any passage.

"There is definitely a ladder behind this wall," she said, tracing its metal rungs through the sensor image, "your bad memory remains annoyingly useful."

Students nearby stopped laughing, and Lucas’s gaze sharpened when the hidden structure appeared across Mina’s projection.

’That bothered him, not the danger, the fact I found something his scene needed, interesting.’

Imani reached marker nine with two field assistants, then struck the wall using a proctor seal until its false stone turned transparent.

"Maintenance route confirmed, which means your warning now carries operational priority," she said, looking toward Damien without warmth.

The team order changed across every helmet display, moving weaker groups toward marker nine while Lucas remained responsible for the lower survey.

Damien watched Fate’s chosen hero accept the adjustment with perfect grace, though his fingers pressed hard against Daybreak’s strap.

’He knows nothing about the script yet, so why does losing the rescue position feel personal already?’

A low vibration passed through the floor before the ninety-minute mark, making Mina’s spider construct lift every metal leg.

The rift water darkened below marker six as bubbles rose beneath platforms that should have remained stable another hour.

Mina’s construct clicked against his helmet channel, ’that sound never appeared in the novel, shit, the altered route brought something else with it.’

"Professor, pressure just tripled under the eastern shelf before our clock reached thirty," Mina called, throwing her sensor projection above the route.

Imani checked the elapsed clock and swore, "That reading is early, all lower teams return toward marker nine immediately."

Lucas drew Daybreak and moved toward the retreating students, "Maintain formation, nobody runs until the proctors clear each platform."

Damien felt the floor shift under one boot, ’too early, fuck, I moved the placement, so the story changed its timing.’

Marker seven split before the first team crossed back, dropping three students toward the black water while rock sealed the western route.

Mina’s nearest construct fired a cable and caught one falling girl, though the second student vanished beneath the broken platform.

Damien triggered Flicker across the widening gap, landing below marker seven as stone collapsed behind his empty starting point.

His helmet camera flashed red when the upper signal disappeared, and the tunnel ahead filled with beast cries absent from every memory he retained.

’The ladder remains above while Lucas stands beyond the collapse, great, something new woke down here after foreknowledge stopped holding my hand.’

He drew his saber while gray water climbed around both boots, then followed the submerged student’s bubbles into the dark.