My trainer was walking through the halls of his castle, made of mostly brass and iron, with a casual swagger. Meanwhile, the number of explosions every minute had only been increasing. He was either well-prepared or overconfident. I couldn't tell which.

The building seemed sturdy enough. The walls were made of stone, and lined with metal pipes. A few had glass panels, showing electricity, steam, or more of that violet energy running through them. Wherever we were headed had quite a lot of them.

“Ya don't talk much, do ya?”

The goblin spoke up for the first time in a while. Either to let me adjust or because he was equally naturally silent. He was a good match for me so far. I had nothing against Peggy, but she was a bit too talkative for my tastes.

“...I spent most of my life alone. Conversation is one of my weaker skills.”

“At least ya got a good eye. Proper infrastructure here. Funnels all the steam, lightning, and psi energy to my defenses. Can't tell you how much of a pain that was to make. Well worth the price I tell ya. Cuts through armies like butter on a fresh mornin’”.

I got to see what he was talking about. Arriving at a balcony, the pipes funneled into turrets of various types. Steam-powered ballista, an electrically charged cannon, and some sort of crystal pillar glowing purple. They were all active and automatically firing into the horizon.

A literal army was at the castle gates, attempting to invade. Artillery was being fired, only to be stopped by some arcane barrier of sorts. An enemy ballista bottle shattered mid-air, a hexagonal shape appearing right in front of it. It was what caused the explosions. Even with defenses, shockwaves were vibrating the castle.

I was impressed. Whatever automated system he was using was well made. Why keep the technology seemed outdated because of the materials used, overall quality was pretty good. I'd argue even my own personal turret systems would fail to match these defenses. Granted, I didn't have forcefields to help me.

“Your handler or orientation officer, I don't quite care which, probably failed to enlighten you before arriving here. I’m a defensive Villain at the moment. Made myself a big target for the people of this world. Just trying to survive the onslaught these people are throwing at me.”

“That does not seem quite Villainous. If anything, you are just defending yourself.”

The goblin smiled, a mouth full of needly teeth appearing. He took off the tesla gun resting on his shoulder and aimed it at the oncoming army. A moment of silence, and then a forceful explosion went off where he had shot. A ballista had been destroyed. It appeared his weapon was quite powerful for such a small object.

“A rail gun? Impressive.”

“Is that what ya call it? It's known here as a thunderbolt. Quite the rare weapon around these parts. Mostly because of limited resources. Resources I've monopolized by building my here castle onto the only vein for miles and miles. Most ain't too happy about me being selfish like that.”

I could see why. I could only imagine what something bigger would do in a war. Extreme levels of damage probably. I too would be intimidated if someone was holding missiles in my immediate area. Especially if they were the only ones able to make them because of holding.

That still didn't sound like a good enough justification to go to war. He must have done something else to enact this sort of response. From a visual perspective, it looked like there were at most tens of thousands of people trying to break into his castle. I wonder what he will teach me considering the situation?

“How do you win? Are you here until you die or hold onto the castle for a long enough time?”

“Smart question. Depends. When ya become a Villain, they let ya set your own goals. The harder, the more rewards ya get, like conquering a whole country. Of course, the harder, the more likely you will get killed. Can't say it gets any easier when you meet a protagonist.”

One of the turrets exploded, crumbling into a ball. It was then ripped off the castle wall and thrown against another turret. A barrier appeared, preventing further destruction. The entire display had an ethereal purple glow following the crumpled turret.

“Speak and he shall appear. Alright, it's showtime! Stand there all quiet like and watch a pro do his thing. Ya will learn a lot.”

The goblin's skin broke, metal pipes and gears popping out. He went from a short goblinoid creature to a staggeringly large automaton in seconds. He even got a cape from somewhere. It looked like royalty. His majesty could only be met by the flying woman floating across from him.

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He'd call her an elf, but most depictions of elves didn't have violet skin. Her floating hair framed a pretty face, as did the yellow dress she wore. I immediately disliked this woman. Why would you come to a battlefield unrequited and vulnerable? My teacher didn't seem to mind.

“Being a little zealous aren't you princess? That was quite an impressive piece of equipment you just shattered. I will have to add that to the list of war reparation your kingdom will be paying after the war.”

His voice came out synthetic and with a different voice. His speaker for a mouth now sounded much lower quality than how he spoke earlier. Was this an act? A part of the villainous role he had taken? It seemed far more theatrical than I had been expecting.

“We are unconcerned with your toys. We stand here, once again, asking for your surrender. Blood need not be shed so wastefully. Do you accept?”

My teacher shot her in response. More of that violet energy appeared, deflecting the untraceable shot. It ricocheted into the army, killing more of their soldiers. She didn't look too happy about that.

“I have earned my place here. Not you or your ignorant church will take what is rightfully mine. Kill for your loot or leave. There will not be another option.”

The princess grits her teeth, her violet aura darkening. She looked ready to attack. Then, the fight seemed to leave her. She seemed genuinely saddened by my teacher's response. She must really see this conflict as pointless.

“Very well. Ready yourself. Your head will roll for your blasphemy. We will make sure of that.”

She flew away. How honorable of her. I would have tried to kill my enemy if I'd gotten that close. Of course, a suicide tactic doesn't sound like the most intelligent thing to do. Then again I'd have had my drones do that for me.

You have witnessed a Confrontation!

The Villain & Protagonist have exchanged barbs while setting the stage for future conflict.

1 Villain EXP.

“I see ya got your first bit of experience. Those come along when you prove you live up to the name of a Villain. Any interaction with the Protagonist will also provide experience. The more memorable an encounter the better your experience gain.”

“So she was the Protagonist then? She seemed powerful. Not necessarily heroic, I will admit. Who goes to war in a dress?”

He laughed, his body transforming into his shorter goblin form. He returned to his castle, walking away from the constant explosions. A high level of destruction was on display, but it appeared to be a stalemate at the moment. If he wasn't worried, then I guess neither would I be.

“There is a reason they're protagonists and not heroes. We used to be good guys vs bad guys. But I tell ya, one side loses too many people, and compromises need to be made. She's one of the good ones if a bit of a fashion disaster.”

Protagonists implied the main narrative lead in a story. Not being Heroes implied more flexible morals. Whoever I faced off against would be able to commit unexpected acts to kill me. No honorable knights riding straight into the dragon's jaws apparently.

“You seem to respect her. You're quite cordial overall. I haven't seen anything villainous so far.”

We had been walking down a flight of stairs. Each level of the castle became more crude in design the deeper we went. I began hearing mechanical sounds, which were revealed to be mining in progress. The valued materials were being collected from here.

It was a horrid display of inefficiency. Collared people were mining, each dirty and malnourished or injured in some manner. Slave drivers whipped any who slowed down, a couple executing others in a corner. The rocks and minerals were brought to an open furnace.

Smoke choked the air, tainting what little air there was underground. Whoever died or crumpled because of exhaustion was thrown into a pit of bodies. Corpses who have been left to rot had bloated and invited vermin. Sickness had clearly spread to even the slave masters.

“Ya care to repeat that friend? Before anyone tells ya, there's nothing illegal here. All the slaves here are criminals, sold into indentured servitude as penance. I bought this piece of land with my hard-earned money. There just happened to be some valuable minerals underground. So what if it was holy ground. The church should really stop letting their leaders develop gambling habits.”

The goblin was grinning from ear to ear. His mouth was much bigger than it needed to be. Being a machine under that skin, that had probably been intentional. His face and the poor priest’s gambling addiction. It was nice to see there was some efficiency to be found.

“Legality aside, I'm more offended by your poor logistical skills.”

“All part of the plan I tell ya. The one thing better than equipment and abilities? Villain EXP. The more you have, the easier your life. Sacrifices have to be made. Ya see that down there? Passive experience. Not only is it morally wrong, it's pointlessly brutal. Makes me look like the monster the Villain System asks you to be.”

From everything I’ve learned, that was the most unpleasant piece of information. I built my near genocide on the efficient allocation of resources. Not one bullet was wasted. Not one loss part of some grander plan. If I had to be some bubbling buffoon to please the system, I would have made a grave error.

“Don't cha look so down in the dumps. It's trading one form of efficiency for another. When it's your turn to be the villain, ya can act however ya please. Now, before we go any further here, we need to address something. Can't keep calling ya new guy in my head the whole time. Names Gritzkel. The former goblin turned clockworkman.”

He held out a hand. It was nice to finally have a name. Gritzkel seemed quite the proper individual. For a slavedriver. I raised my own limb for a handshake. Never thought I would do that. Finding someone worth touching, without the intent to kill.

I… liked the feeling it gave me.

“Unit 3347.V-8B at your disposal. I look forward to your education.”