Became the final boss in the game

Chapter 5
I followed Lionel, the leader of the Lion Knight Order, for about 10 minutes and arrived at a building near the auditorium where the opening ceremony would take place.

“Lady, I’ve brought the guest.”

“Come in.”

As soon as Princess Aris allowed us to enter, the door opened, and we stepped inside.

“Hmm. Are you sure about this man?”

She looked at me with a mysterious gaze, mixed with both suspicion and expectation.

“I don’t want to doubt your eyes, but in my view, this man doesn’t seem to be the same as the one described by the inspector.”

It seemed she doubted me because she didn’t sense any power from me.

“Lady, a true valuable treasure can only be seen by those with the eyes to recognize its worth.”

Lionel answered confidently.

Despite the princess’s doubts, Lionel seemed completely convinced that I was the mysterious knight who had saved her.

“Oh? So you see him as a treasure?”

“Yes.”

Lionel’s eyes were burning with excitement.

There were many emotions in his gaze, but the biggest one was definitely ‘competitive spirit.’

“As the leader of the Lion Knight Order, I’ve seen many warriors, but I’ve never seen anyone like this. This young man is the knight you’ve been looking for.”

Princess Aris was shocked by Lionel’s high praise.

“I’ve never heard such a high evaluation from you before. If you say so, then I’m convinced.”

The suspicion in Aris’s eyes vanished, replaced by an emotion I recognized as ‘greed.’

“I apologize for doubting you and speaking suspiciously after bringing you here. I tend to be a little cautious. I hope you understand.”

Princess Aris slowly approached me, reached into her sleeve, and pulled out a button, handing it to me.

“Here, take this. You’ll need it.”

I stared at the button for a moment, realizing this was a pivotal moment.

What I did now would greatly affect my future.

‘What should I do?’

The answer came immediately.

“May I ask what’s going on here?”

In truth, I didn’t have much to think about. The only option I had was to pretend not to understand.

“Why are you giving me this button? Why have you called me here? And what does ‘the knight’ mean?”

A man who’s hiding his identity and ran away after saving someone wouldn’t just say,

“Yes, that’s me.”

The best course of action here was to pretend not to know anything.

“Hoh.”

“Hehe.”

Princess Aris and Lionel both laughed, clearly entertained by my words.

“After coming this far, you still want to hide your identity?”

“Lady, it seems this young man has a special reason for hiding his identity.”

Just as I had predicted, my attempt to play ignorant only strengthened their belief in my true identity.

“I really don’t understand…”

Then, suddenly, Lionel’s energy exploded.

The power that matched his name, “Mad Tiger.”

A fierce aura that weighed down on my body.

[Resisting the ‘Mad Tiger’s Aura’…]

But no abnormal status effect was applied to me.

My mind easily shrugged off Lionel’s killing intent.

“Hahahahaha!”

Lionel laughed loudly, as if the whole thing amused him.

“Lionel?”

Princess Aris seemed surprised by his sudden burst of laughter.

The killing intent he released had been so controlled that she didn’t feel a thing, making her confusion understandable.

“Ah, sorry. I was just so surprised that I laughed. I didn’t expect you to be at a level where you could not only ignore my aura but also repel it…”

“…What?”

Aris’s face stiffened.

“So you’re saying he can repel your aura, meaning this man is a match for you?”

“Yes. Judging by ‘level,’ he’s probably equal to or even greater than me.”

“This is…”

The more Lionel thought about it, the more amused he seemed, chuckling to himself.

“Lady, this one isn’t just a treasure. Whatever happens, you must keep him.”

I silently chuckled inside, feeling the weight of the two focused stares on me. Well, this is how it turned out…

“Alright, young man. You’ve repelled my killing intent, so you’re not going to keep pretending, are you?”

Lionel grinned as he spoke.

‘Okay.’

Lionel had just confirmed I was the real deal.

There was no need for me to prove my abilities further now. There was no reason to continue pretending.

“Well, I can’t keep pretending anymore. Yes, that’s me.”

I answered confidently, with a proud expression and posture.

“I am the knight who saved the princess from the wyvern attack earlier.”

“Then I’ll see you again at the opening ceremony.”

“Yes, I’ll see you next time.”

“Oh, and please seriously consider the scouting offer.”

“…Yes. I’ll think about it.”

Princess Aris bowed her head as the man who introduced himself as “Jian” left the room. She waved him goodbye.

“Huff.”
After the door closed, Aris suddenly lowered her head and shivered.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Then, she stomped her feet and looked at Lionel with a bright smile.

“Lionel, Lionel! A blessing just dropped from the sky!”

Lionel looked at her, clearly amused, as if she were his own daughter. He gazed at her warmly with a smile.

“I can’t believe such good luck has come into my life. I just can’t believe it!”

Aris was extremely unlucky. So much so that she had never felt like she had good luck even once in her 17 years of life.

“Hehe. It seems the fortune-teller was right; that young man must be the one who will bring good luck.”

“Yeah. It must be him.”

Her smile was as bright as a blooming flower in spring. It was so radiant that anyone who saw it would feel uplifted.

“If what the fortune-teller said is true, then today marks the end of my unlucky life.”

Aris walked out of the room, looking incredibly excited.

“I need to confirm right away if this horrible bad luck is really gone…”

But just as she was walking out, her body brushed against a shelf, and a book fell down.

The book fell with its corner pointing straight down… and it hit Aris’s little toe.

Thud!

However, the book didn’t actually hit her toe. Just before it did, a mana barrier appeared above her toe, protecting it.

It wasn’t Lionel who cast the spell.

“Hmm…”

The barrier wasn’t something Aris cast herself. It was an automatic magic shield created by the palace mages specifically to protect her little toe.

“It seems my bad luck hasn’t completely disappeared yet.”

“…It seems so.”

Aris’s face immediately fell. She had hoped that now, she wouldn’t have to worry about stepping in bird poop or other misfortunes.

“This horrible bad luck… how long will it follow me?”

Aris sighed and looked down sadly.

“Screeech!”

Just then, a scream echoed from outside.

“Lady.”

“Hmm. Let’s go.”

Aris and Lionel immediately headed toward the scream. When they arrived, about a dozen people were gathered. Two men were at the center, surrounded by others.

“Jian?”

One of the two men surrounded by the crowd was Jian, and the other looked strangely like him.

“How dare you…! Do you know where this is…!”

The man who resembled Jian pointed his sword at Jian’s neck.

“I told you! Never show your face in front of me again! Go live like a rat in a place where our family can’t find you!”

Behind the man, a maid was lying on the ground. Based on her position and the way she fell, it seemed like she had been knocked down by the man.

The scream from earlier must have been hers.

“Can’t say anything now, can you? Did you really think I wouldn’t find you here? You were so sure I couldn’t pass the entrance exam for Garam Academy, weren’t you?”

The man’s eyes were bloodshot with anger. Jian, looking directly into his killing gaze, sighed lightly and spoke softly.

“…That’s not true, brother.”

“Brother.”

At those words, Aris understood everything she had been confused about earlier.

‘So, Jian hid his strength and lived quietly for this reason.’

Jian had been hiding his power to escape the watchful eyes of his family.

“Then what is it? You didn’t think you’d meet me here, or did you ignore my warning? Did you think you could ignore my warning?”

Aris furrowed her brows.

The words of Jian’s brother were all filled with jealousy.

It was so disgusting that just listening to them made her frown.

“No, I just…”

“Shut up! You ignored my warning. You disregarded my last mercy. So…”

Jian’s brother raised his sword, gathering a dark mana around it.

“Die!”

The sword quickly lunged at Jian’s neck.

“Screeech!”

Another scream spread through the crowd as everyone watched in horror, realizing a murder was about to take place.

‘What a foolish thing to do.’

Aris sneered, watching the scene unfold.

It was obvious to her that with such a clumsy sword, Zian would have no trouble avoiding it.

“I don’t really need to step in.”

Even without doing anything, it would all be taken care of. Deciding to just watch and not interfere, I thought everything was under control.

Then, suddenly, I locked eyes with Jian.

Despite the sword coming within 20cm of him, there was no sign of agitation. Even if the opponent’s skills were lacking, it would be normal for Jian to show some kind of reaction, especially with a life-threatening situation right before him.

But in Jian’s eyes, I couldn’t see any change in emotion at all. All I felt was indifference, and something like ‘expectation.’

‘That look in his eyes…’

To Aris, Jian’s eyes seemed to be saying:

“I’m giving you the chance to repay the favor.”

‘Interesting. Looks like his relationship with his family is even worse than I thought.’

It seemed like Jian couldn’t even lift a finger against his brother. In that case, I’d have to help him out.

Aris gestured to Lionel, signaling him to act.

Kaaaahhhhh!

Right after, Lionel stepped forward and perfectly blocked Jian’s brother’s sword.

“That’s enough.”

“Move! Don’t get in the way…! Ugh!”

Jian’s brother started to speak, but his words cut off as he widened his eyes.

“Th-the leader of the Gwangho Knights…? What are you doing here?”

“Kids grow through fighting, but this doesn’t look like just kids’ play anymore.”

“Tch…”

Jian’s brother bit his lip. His eyes, now burning with fury, glared at Jian, who stood behind Lionel.

“Not you again…!”

Muttering something incomprehensible, Jian’s brother sheathed his sword and turned away.

“I wonder how the Lord will react if he hears about today. I’m really looking forward to it.”

With those words, he disappeared into the distance. The storm passed quickly, and a brief silence followed before the area exploded into noise.

“What was that?”

“Aren’t they brothers? Why were they trying to kill each other?”

“Can we even do this here? Isn’t that guy gonna get expelled?”

Everyone around chattered excitedly, enjoying the juicy gossip in front of them. Jian, however, paid no attention to the onlookers, calmly turning and walking toward the entrance to the ceremony.

Bow.

Before leaving, he made sure to thank Lionel and Aris for their help.

“Lady.”

“Mm.”
As Lionel returned to Aris’s side, his eyes sparkled. Aris, understanding his thoughts immediately, nodded with a glimmer in her eyes.

“Investigate that man who claimed to be Jian’s brother, his family, and Jian himself.”

“Yes, I’ll send out investigators right away.”

Aris smiled as she watched Jian walking away. It seemed like ‘getting Jian’ wouldn’t be too difficult after all.

Entering a bathroom near the ceremony hall, I found the so-called ‘brother’ who had just tried to kill me.

Even though this situation was dangerous—being alone together after everything that happened in front of so many people—it was fine…

“I pay my respects to the great master.”

It’s okay. That whole thing earlier was just an act.

[Barahan]
[Doppelganger]
[LV.72]

“…Excellent acting.”

“Thank you! Master’s acting was perfect too! Especially your gaze to get Lionel moving—it was amazing! I truly admire it!”

The doppelganger’s eyes were filled with excitement.

“I’ll give my all in the next scenario too!”

I locked eyes with the eager Doppelganger Barahan, and thought to myself:

‘…What’s the next scenario?’

I only know the rough outline of it…