Online Game: Confessing to a Noble Lady at the Start

'Habika?'

Victor was slightly taken aback as memories from the game began surfacing in his mind.

This was one of the many gods within the game's lore.

A figure that only existed in the game's background, mentioned solely in side quest storybooks.

No one had ever seen his true form.

According to the game's records, every time Habika appeared, he either brought natural disasters or human catastrophes.

One of the most severe incidents ever recorded claimed that Habika's appearance once caused the world's human population to be cut in half!

He was a sinister and terrifying god.

"Of course, you may also call me by my current name—Vega."

The crow, who introduced itself as Vega, politely crossed its wings over its chest and bowed.

Victor couldn't quite grasp the creature's intentions, so he chose not to react.

Seeing Victor remain silent, Vega flapped its wings slightly and adjusted its posture.

"Interesting. It seems you have heard of me."

Victor: "I don't know you."

He knew all too well—being entangled with a god was never a good thing. That was common knowledge among players.

Especially with a background-exclusive evil god like this—he reeked of danger.

But why had this malevolent deity, who had never appeared in the game's story, suddenly sought him out in advance?

Vega opened its beak, letting out a hoarse, crow-like voice that cut him off before he could speak:

"You are not Victor. Your soul is not filthy enough."

Its single eye locked onto Victor, trying to detect any trace of panic on his face. But Vega was soon disappointed—Victor's usual deadpan expression didn't waver in the slightest.

"Gods can see through souls," it said.

"But that doesn't matter. I came here for you."

Vega shook its feathers, and a long, black feather drifted onto the desk, transforming into a dark piece of paper. White, twisting lines formed a series of words—it resembled a demonic contract.

Victor felt a headache coming on as he read the text.

He had just arrived in this world and hadn't done anything yet, but in a single day, he had already received two contracts.

I'm a power-leveler, not some overworked office drone.

Taking the paper, he read through it while mockingly commenting:

"Aren't you supposed to be a god? You fallen on hard times?"

He hadn't expected even gods to be out here recruiting clients.

The contract stated that if he signed his name, he would be responsible for providing this crow with food and shelter and even helping him establish a church to gain followers for this evil god.

The more believers Vega had, the stronger his power would become.

And that was it.

Victor: "..."

Even a predatory contract wasn't this ridiculous. He had to feed and house this thing, recruit followers for him, and in return, Vega got all the benefits while he got absolutely nothing?

Victor looked at the crow, speechless. It was elegantly preening its feathers like some noble bird.

If only he could ignore its single eye.

"My power is mostly sealed. I need someone's protection. Accept this deal, and you will gain a god's friendship."

"It's worth it."

Vega croaked while continuing to groom itself.

Victor was unimpressed. A god's friendship? What a joke.

The crow turned its one eye toward him, seemingly reading his thoughts, and calmly said:

"It can save your life."

"Deal!"

Victor signed his name with a flourish on the contract.

He wasn't too worried about getting scammed—gods always kept their word.

Even the evil ones.

The moment he signed, he felt a strange, subtle connection forming between them.

As if, with just a thought, he could always sense where this crow was.

Vega flew onto Victor's shoulder and pecked at its feathers again.

Liya had been right—keeping a crow as a pet really wasn't a great aesthetic choice.

But since he was new to this world, and the contract was already signed, he might as well consider it an unusual pet.

All he had to do was feed and house it.

As for the church? He could always build one later with money.

Victor then turned his attention to the other contract lying on the desk, which also required his signature.

It was from the prestigious Magic Academy, formally inviting him to join as a professor and granting him an official title.

That's when he remembered—despite being a villain, Victor was also a magical prodigy.

While countless aged mages struggled at the second tier of magic, Victor had already reached the third tier by the age of twenty.

And in game terms…

Victor focused his thoughts, and a game-like status screen appeared before him.

[Name: Victor Clavenna]

LV: 39

HP: 1000/1000

MP: 4900/4900

A textbook glass-cannon mage.

That confirmed Victor's suspicion—he had indeed transmigrated into the game.

A third-tier mage corresponded to levels 30–39 in the game, and beyond that, the pattern continued upward.

According to the lore, Victor hadn't progressed in magic for nine years, and his once-renowned genius had long been forgotten.

But now, inside Victor's body, he realized—it was all an act.

His accumulated experience bar had likely been stocked up for who knows how long. He could have easily broken through the third-tier barrier and advanced to the fourth tier, reaching the level of a Human Saint Mage.

Yet, Victor never did. He had been setting up a grand scheme all along.

While his personality was questionable, his genius was undeniable.

This contract—he had to sign it.

Not to mention, his sister and fiancée had fought for this position on his behalf.

With the professor title, he would gain the protection of the Magic Academy, making it much harder for the Duke to cause him trouble.

At least on the surface, he needed a reasonable excuse.

A duke targeting someone just because his underage daughter got confessed to by a scumbag? That argument wouldn't hold up.

Everyone has the right to admire beauty—was his daughter never going to get married in her lifetime?

Victor picked up the pen and signed his name on the contract, handing it over to a servant to deliver to the academy. Then, he stood up and headed toward the backyard of the mansion.

Vega finally stopped preening its feathers and asked what he was planning to do.

Without turning back, Victor replied:

"I'm starting as a teacher tomorrow. Practicing some magic so I don't get rusty."

"Take me with you."

Vega perched on his shoulder, chattering incessantly.

Before long, they arrived at the training grounds, where several massive stone targets stood tall.

Victor looked up at the towering statues, a bit surprised.

In the game, players also had magical stone targets in their backyards, used for skill proficiency training.

The stones would display damage numbers, allowing players to gauge their skill mastery and attribute levels.

Seeing the same setup in Victor's mansion gave him a strange sense of nostalgia.

Vega noticed him standing still and assumed he was intimidated by the training dummies after so long without practice.

Then, like a true crow, it started squawking non-stop.

"Magic, you see, is all about technique…"

It went on and on about things like efficient spellcasting and maximizing power.

Shaking off some loose feathers, Vega added, "If my powers weren't sealed, I'd show you some high-level magic myself."

Victor didn't respond, letting the bird ramble.

He checked his skill list and was immediately satisfied.

The spells available to Victor were already second nature to him.

As the final boss of Chapter 7: Kingdom's Chaos, Victor was a challenge every player had to face.

And as a professional power-leveler, he had memorized Victor's skillset down to muscle memory.

The moment the boss raised his hand, he knew exactly what move was coming.

Vega was still droning on: "There are many aspects to consider when casting magic! Spell formations, chanting speed—"

Before it could finish, Victor raised his hand.

Boom!

A streak of black lightning shot forward.

[First-Tier Spell: Black Thunder Spear]

Victor's expression didn't change in the slightest, as if casting spells was as effortless as breathing.

Then, without hesitation, he unleashed a barrage of second- and third-tier spells, lighting up the training grounds like a fireworks display.

A relentless bombardment rained down, carving deep marks into the massive stones.

The entire backyard shone brilliantly.

Vega, perched on Victor's shoulder, finally shut up.

Victor checked his MP, feeling a little dissatisfied.

Boss characters were weak when it came to mana pools—after casting just a few spells, he was already nearly out of MP.

A regular player, decked out in top-tier gear, could easily have tens of thousands of MP. Who would even worry about conserving mana?

"You don't need to draw spell formations?"

Victor ignored him.

Mage players were often called spell machine guns in the game community.

Because in the game's mechanics, spell formations were handled automatically.

All players had to do was press a hotkey, wait for a short cast time, and boom—instant magic.

And for someone like him, who had played every possible class, casting spells was as easy as muscle memory.

Reaching the conclusion that his magic proficiency was more than adequate, Victor prepared to leave.

But Vega suddenly spoke up:

"Wait, don't leave just yet! The way you cast spells fascinates me. Do a few more!"

Victor wasn't interested.

What did this crow think magic was? Fireworks?

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he caught a glimpse of Vega's lone eye flashing with an intense blue light.

A strange energy wrapped around his body.

He suddenly felt as if an invisible thread had connected him to the crow.

Victor immediately pulled up his status screen again.

MP: 995,099 / 999,999

He looked down at Vega.

I need to report this.

This bastard is cheating!