The day I entered this novel, I decided to deviate from the plotline entirely. The reason was simple: the catastrophe in Volume 7 of <> had to be avoided at all costs.

My goal was clear – get as strong as possible quickly, uplift others, and save as many talented individuals as I could, all without hindering my own growth.

Even if it meant doing some rather questionable things to my favorite characters.

Jin and Seraphina followed me as I led them far away from the others. I could feel Jin's scrutinizing gaze on my back as he wondered where I was taking him.

Suddenly, I stopped moving, turned around, and lunged at Jin. He drew his shortswords, but before he could attack, I whispered, "I know about Rin."

His eyes widened before he grunted from the kick I landed on him.

Jin Ashbluff.

Born with the powerful Gift and a dual affinity for dark and ice magic, he was the heir to the Ashbluff family and a genius. Sadly, he was born in the golden age of talent and was only Rank 4 in the first year.

However, what the vast majority of the world didn't know was that he wasn't an only child.

A secret that the Ashbluff family hid from even the Slatemark Imperial family.

The existence of Jin's twin, Rin. A talent that matched Lucifer.

A talent that was too great.

Gifts can broadly be categorized into two types: physique-type gifts and magic-type gifts. Physique-type gifts, like Sera's and Lucifer's, grant various abilities by augmenting and changing the body beyond the normal to a degree that cannot be matched by current bioengineering.

Magic-type gifts are more unique. They impact a variety of abilities seemingly distinct from physiques. An example of this type of gift is Rachel's.

Then there are gifts in between, like Ren's [God's Eyes].

Rin was born with the gift that could be considered the singular greatest boon to ever exist, surpassing even [Yin-Yang Body].

[Duality].

This gift, befitting its name, allowed Rin to become the first human to wield both black magic and normal magic.

However, she was limited to only the dark element of both variants of magic.

Even then, this gift was beyond Jin's [Necromancy]. Why? Because she could combine the two variants of magic to perform magic a full level beyond her.

For example, with a -rank core, she could use 6-circle dark magic.

A completely broken gift. However, the drawback of magic-type gifts is that the body cannot handle the power of the gift.

In Rin's case, her mind couldn't handle it either.

Rin is confined under the 9-circle dark magic spell cast by Jin's father, [Eternal Coffin].

Now, why was this information so crucial? Well, if the influential families got wind of Rin, there's no way they would let the Ashbluff family off the hook for keeping her alive.

As far as they know, Rin is a black magic user with great talent and an unstable mind.

She's perceived as very dangerous.

Even the Ashbluff family would eventually succumb to pressure from the influential families and the public, being forced to execute her.

The reason they haven't done so is that, despite what everyone thinks, Rin's parents don't want to just end her life. The necromancer family members do have feelings, after all.

Killing her is incredibly difficult for them.

And this information is what I'll use to blackmail Jin.

Why do I need Seraphina here? Because I know Jin will lose his cool and attack me in rage without considering the consequences.

I know their personalities inside out.

In terms of strength, currently, Seraphina isn't too far behind Jin since she covered her weakness in magic quite well. She would lose to him in a one-on-one, though, which is why I'm here.

The two of us together can beat him.

Jin ground his teeth in anger before unleashing the power of his Gift. At his current level, he only had ten shadow soldiers, all quite weak, hovering around the level of a Class 1-C student.

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But when he reaches the -rank, he can summon an army of a hundred thousand undead, earning him the epithet "Emperor of the Dead."

I wonder how many he can summon if he reaches -rank?

I snapped out of my thoughts as Seraphina wielded her blade using her Mount Hua swordsmanship, plum blossoms blossoming with each swing of her blade.

The shadow soldiers were no match for her, and Jin knew it.

He charged with his twin shortswords, employing the formidable Grade 6 art of his family.

[Soulweaver's Sorrow]

A swordsmanship that uses both ice and dark magic, perfect for Jin. He swung his twin swords in tandem, countering the blossoms that Seraphina sprouted.

I wasn't about to stand idly and watch them fight.

[4-circle spell: Flame Lance]

I unleashed my 4-circle spell at Jin, simultaneously charging at the undead with my sword. Jin countered my spell with [4-circle spell: Ice Wall], but that created an opening for Seraphina to launch her attack using her sword art.

When I decided to tread the path of a magic swordsman, I developed some 4-circle spells to aid me. One of these spells was inspired by one of Lucifer's renowned moves from the future.

Though just a modest imitation, it promised to be effective against Jin.

[4-circle spell: God Flash]

The name might have been too flashy for a 4-circle spell, but I paid it no mind. Lightning, manipulated using the circle method instead of the aura method, enveloped not only my blade but also my entire body.

I was consuming more mana than usual, but I had no intentions of prolonging the battle.

BOOM!

My body propelled off the ground, as if the entire world was rushing past me. I sliced through two regenerating shadow soldiers, my blade closing in on Jin.

He managed to track my movements and raised his shortsword to block, but I pushed him back forcefully and landed a decisive cut.

Jin grunted in frustration, but we didn't give him a moment's respite.

Seraphina lunged in with her petal attack, while I prepared for another charge.

"Enough!" Jin roared.

This was one of Jin's signature moves. Instead of using dark magic to spawn the soldiers, he channeled the energy into his own body.

[4-circle spell: Shadow Armour]

Jin was now clad in black knight armor, but it wasn't the bulky, flashy kind everyone was familiar with. The armor seemed custom-made for him, fitting his every contour as if it were an extension of his body.

"Sera," I said, swallowing hard, "You might have to use 'that' against him. Is that okay?"

Seraphina's eyes met mine, and she simply nodded. I was grateful to have an ally like her by my side.

Turning back to Jin, we both made the same move, stomping on the ground in front of us and casting [4-circle magic: Ice Barrage].

My magic was overpowered by Jin's, but Seraphina used the visual cover to rush at him. The plum blossoms draped around her blade turned violet as she unleashed her Grade 6 art.

[Violet Mist Divine Art]

This Grade 6 art was typically only passed down to the heir, but an exception had been made in Seraphina's generation, where both she and Sun received it from the sect leader.

[First movement: Violet Sunset: Genesis]

However, using this Grade 6 art was challenging, requiring a strong foundation in other Mount Hua arts. Seraphina, lacking that strong base, couldn't use the art without suffering internal damage, unlike her older stepbrother.

I had hesitated to ask her for this favor, knowing she would have to use this art to help me defeat Jin.

While keeping an eye on her, I charged at Jin, casting two 4-circle spells onto my sword to break his shadow armor. Mixing fire magic with lightning magic wasn't difficult due to the similarities between the two elements.

Seraphina's attack struck hard against Jin's swords, forcing him to dig into the ground. But as expected, it wasn't enough to finish him off. Jin pushed her back, and while she could use the first movement again to deal more damage, her job was done.

Now it was my turn.

In pushing her back, Jin had exposed the weakest point of his shadow armor.

I swung my sword, imbued with the power of two 4-circle spells and aura.

"Aghh!" Jin screamed as his dark magic clashed against my lightning and fire magic.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion engulfed us. Before the smoke could clear, I felt Jin's hand tighten around my neck.

Even while being choked, I remained calm and grabbed his hand. Ensuring his body was close to mine, I released [4-circle spell: Flame Burst].

My spell engulfed Jin, and his hand dropped from my neck. As the smoke cleared, I noticed that his shadow armor was gone.

But his determination remained.

Glancing at Seraphina behind him, I shook my head, signaling her to stay put.

I was going to end this myself.

Jin's mana core was nearly depleted, but his attacks with the shortswords were still swift. Trained on the battlefield much like Lucifer, Rachel, and Ian, he possessed keen battle senses and extensive combat experience.

Yet, I refused to be defeated.

Swiftly sidestepping, I dodged his right sword thrust and delivered a roundhouse kick to his face before he could counter with the other sword.

He raised his left hand to block, but my strike, infused with the little mana I had left, overwhelmed him.

Continuing to press on, I used a combination of kicks and swordplay to keep him on the defensive, patiently cornering him. Even a cornered rat can bite a cat, so I aimed to deliver the finishing blow when he could no longer fight back.

After deflecting his shortswords with my own blade, I seized the moment to go for the decisive strike. A forceful kick to his right knee made his body bend, and my elbow strike connected with his chin, sending him to the ground.

Kicking away his shortsword, I swiftly stomped on his chest with a mana-infused foot before he could rise.

"It's my victory, Jin," I declared.

"You only won because of Seraphina Zenith," he spat out in anger. He wasn't wrong. In a regular confrontation, Jin wouldn't even need to resort to his Shadow Armour form to defeat me, given his superior skills with shortswords and a higher-ranked mana core.

But there was a twist in this battle.

The twist lay in the secret of the Ashbluff family that I held.

My lack of concern about the secret leaking in this VR setting stemmed from the fact that the AI didn't capture all data in the world. Only what was deemed 'vital' was recorded, let alone processed and stored.

"What's your play now?" Jin inquired. "Are you going to flaunt your victory over the heir to the Ashbluff family? Or are you looking for some cash to keep your mouth shut?"

"Jin," I sighed, "Honestly, I'm not trying to manipulate you into working for me by resorting to blackmail for nefarious purposes. I only want what's best for this world."

I extended my arm, "Given my current weakness, this is the only way I can proceed. Work for me, Jin, or I'll expose the Ashbluff family's secret. Even if people don't believe me, an investigation will follow, and the truth will come to light. You won't survive that."

Jin knew the truth in my words. Firstly, I possessed accurate information about Rin that I could unveil, making it more likely for people to believe me, especially within Mythos Academy. Additionally, he might be considering that I could leverage Seraphina's connections as the princess of the Mount Hua sect to validate my claims.

"You leave me no choice, you bastard," he cursed as he reluctantly agreed.

One of my shadow pawns had been acquired.