Chapter 82: Chapter 82: The Manual Nobody Asked For

I stared at the screen as the reward materialized before my eyes.

A book appeared, floating gently with plain blank covers that revealed nothing about its contents.

══════════════════│

│ ✦ GACHA RESULT ✦

══════════════════│

│ EX-RANK ITEM

───────────────────

│ Manual Acquired:

│ “The One Who Was Summoned”

│ Volume 1

│ Containing Act 1 through Act 8

────────────────────

│ Item added to Library.

══════════════════│

I knew my luck was absolute garbage today.

But looking at this result, the system had truly outdone itself in mocking me. First, it teased me to the point where I genuinely believed I had obtained some world-shattering, pussy-destroying legendary item.

And what did I actually receive?

A book.

A fucking book that I had torn to pieces and thrown into the nearest dustbin back in my previous life.

Did the system genuinely think I would sit down and read this garbage? Did it truly believe I would get invested in some story and try to change its course or help it progress?

If so, that motherfucker was dead wrong.

I would never, ever choose that path.

But before I could properly curse the heavens, another notification appeared.

DING!

═════════════════│

│ ✦ MESSAGE RECEIVED ✦

═════════════════│

│ Sender: Pervy Lord

═════════════════│

I scanned the contents with growing unease.

“My degeneracy champion, I have been quite pleased watching your little adventure unfold. Though I must say, the pacing of your wickedness has been somewhat slow for my taste. I do hope you entertain me more vigorously going forward.”

The message continued.

“The reason I have drained my power merely to convey this message is to warn you about your current mindset. I can no longer protect you from anyone or anything.”

My blood ran cold.

“You are not within my domain to be shielded. Neither can I interfere with the powers I have already bestowed upon you. From this moment forward, you are entirely on your own.”

The final lines delivered the killing blow.

“If you harbor any thoughts that should you die, I can simply resurrect you or reincarnate you once more, then I apologize. That is not how any of this works. So live cautiously, for both your sake and mine. I do not wish to lose you after everything I have invested.”

The message ended.

And with it, all my remaining hope crumbled to dust.

Here I was thinking this day couldn’t possibly get worse. Now my divine protection had been stripped away as well.

I had officially lost everything.

And what always follows overwhelming anger?

The destruction of oneself.

I was marching down that very path. In my frustration, I opened my inventory and selected the very source of my misery. That useless book.

I was about to slam the discard option when something on the cover caught my attention.

The title read Volume 1, Act 1.

Below it was an illustration featuring multiple characters. Thalia was there. Freya as well. Several other faces I vaguely recognized. Even the vampire girl I had glimpsed during the tournament appeared in the composition.

But what truly seized my attention was one particular woman.

The same psycho who had blocked my path after my match with Freya. The one with white hair and green eyes who had claimed to have adopted me.

She looked like the main character of this artwork.

Curiosity gnawed at me.

Against my better judgment, I cancelled the discard command. Perhaps I would just peek at the information about her, then throw this garbage away properly.

I selected the use option.

The book in my vision snapped open. Pages began flipping with violent speed, rustling loudly as if possessed by some impatient spirit.

Then text materialized.

[Host does not possess access to the complete manual. Neither can Host investigate the particular plots or character stories contained within.]

More pages turned.

[Manual only reveals information pertaining to the current plot timeline. Thus, detailed histories and future events remain sealed.]

I thought bitterly to myself. ’Thus making it completely useless. What a magnificent day this has been.’

I just wanted to shut this stupid window, find some inn, and become a complete shut-in for the next twenty-four hours. Clearly, the god of bad luck had taken a particular liking to me.

But as I struggled to locate the close button, the manual refused to stop.

Pages continued flipping rapidly.

[Act 1 identified.]

More rustling.

[Host has passed Early Act 1: The Introduction of Heroines.]

Additional pages turned with mechanical precision.

[Host has passed Mid Act 1: The Entrance Examination and The Heroines’ Journey.]

The flipping slowed.

[Current timeline located. Host is presently situated in the Final Plot of Act 1: End of the Final Act — The Villainess in Making.]

I groaned audibly. “Okay, okay, I get it already. Now could you please shut up? Take your villainess nonsense and—”

But the manual wasn’t listening.

It flipped to a new page and displayed an image.

The same woman. White hair cascading down her shoulders. Green eyes that could freeze souls. That unmistakable aura of someone who ruled everything she surveyed.

[Diana Termina Winter]

[Main Villainess of Act 3]

[Current Position: Headmistress of Grand Ascendant Academy]

[Head of the Winter Household, one of the most powerful noble houses in Azuredel]

[Direct descendant of the Former Hero who established this land]

Suddenly, her words from our encounter made perfect sense.

When I had told her my business was none of her concern, she had responded as to why wasn’t it her business.

Because she ran the academy I was trying to enter.

But wait. Did this mean my current predicament was her doing?

Perhaps she was the one who had assigned me all those negative points. Or perhaps she was the one who had saved my ass from complete disqualification despite those negatives.

That would explain why I appeared on the waiting list instead of being removed entirely. It would be unfair to display my name among the top hundred publicly when my score sat so deep in the negatives.

She had manipulated everything from the shadows.

I needed more information about this woman.

“Oh dear manual,” I said with exaggerated sweetness, “would you kindly show me more?”

The pages flipped obediently.

[Headmistress Diana assumed her current position following the death of her beloved brother.]

My eyes narrowed.

[Location of death: The Tower of Unwritten Endings, Floor 80.]

[The two siblings had participated together in the Floor 80 Trial, which bore the theme of “Transmigrated as the Weakest Hero and the Villainess in a Romance Academy.”]

The next line made my heart stop.

[Her brother was killed by her own hand.]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep