Chapter 5: The Hero and the Parasite
If this world had a stage, today was opening night.
The main actors were finally showing up.
And me?
I was the background prop waiting for his turn to steal the show.
---
"All first-years, report to Arena C for demonstration class."
The announcement echoed through the dorms. A crowd of yawning, half-dressed students shuffled out like mana-deprived zombies.
Except me.
I was wide awake.
Because I already knew what today was.
The game called it "Chapter 1-3: The Bright Comet Descends."
Today marked the arrival of one of the five main characters—Eiden Ragnel—the Sword Saint's last disciple and a literal walking cheat code.
---
Arena C: Colosseum of Magic and Might
The place was packed. Hundreds of students filled the viewing galleries. Professors in robes watched from floating stands, sipping mana tea like they were at a magic opera.
And in the center of the arena stood him.
Eiden Ragnel.
Tall. Lean. Silver hair that refused to be dirty. Eyes like moonlight and death had a baby.
He wore the standard academy uniform, but on him, it looked like armor forged in heaven's tailor shop.
He wasn't just strong.
He felt inevitable.
The announcer—some old elf with a voice like molten bells—stepped up.
"Today, young Ragnel will demonstrate the ancient power of his lineage—Mirage Flow."
Murmurs. Gasps.
I already knew what that was.
Cheat Trait: Mirage Flow
Effect: Automatically adapts sword techniques in real-time to counter any visible combat style. Can imitate enemy movements with a 92% efficiency.
In the game? That trait made him a nightmare.
Fast enemies? He got faster.
Tanks? He found gaps.
Spellcasters? He redirected attacks by predicting casting rhythms.
Eiden didn't fight fair.
He fought like a mirror that learned your moves before you finished them.
And today, he was going to spar a third-year knight student.
---
Sparring Match: Eiden vs. Some Poor Soul
It lasted ten seconds.
The third-year swung. Eiden dodged without blinking, blade flashing like a silver whip. He parried, shifted, and tapped the guy's shoulder with the flat of his blade.
Ten seconds. No sweat.
Cheers exploded.
Professors nodded with pride. Students gaped.
But me?
I was staring at something else.
Because behind that arena, in the stone bleachers, hidden beneath a loose tile?
Was a Piece.
---
[Parasite Seed: Root of the Forgotten Bloom]
Effect: Bonded parasite that grows by feeding on unused mana channels. Mutates to grant the host additional skill trees at the cost of minor spiritual erosion. Evolves with each fight.
In the game's timeline, no one ever found it.
It didn't glow. It didn't pulse. It just sat there like a weird root. Some lore nerds dug it out years later and found out it could let a player access multiple class abilities at once.
If you had the stomach for it.
Most players died trying.
But I wasn't most players.
---
Later: Dorm Workshop Basement
I sat cross-legged, the parasite seed floating in a jar of distilled mana, twitching like it was dreaming.
"Spiritual erosion, huh?" I muttered.
The shovel—Karen—leaned against the wall.
"This is probably the dumbest thing I've done," I said.
Pause.
"…today."
I crushed the mana jar and let the seed touch my skin.
Pain hit instantly—like my blood was boiling backward. My vision shimmered. My thoughts twisted.
A voice whispered in a tongue I didn't understand, yet knew.
Then—silence.
A screen blinked in my vision.
> [Bonded: Parasite Seed – Bloom Stage 1]
Skill paths unlocked:
– Warrior (Adaptive Counter)
– Rogue (Phase Dash)
– Caster (Spiritual Anchor)
– Current mutation rate: 4%
– Side effect: Slight auditory hallucinations
"…Okay. That's not bad."
Then the shovel whispered, "Feed me blood."
"Okay that's bad."
---
The Next Day: Academy Courtyard
I passed Eiden on the steps. He didn't look at me. Why would he?
To him, I was a nobody.
But now, I had a trait too.
It wasn't clean. It wasn't noble. And it sure as hell wasn't approved by the Academy's mental health department.
But it was mine.
Mirage Flow might copy styles.
Parasite Seed created them.
If Eiden was a prodigy shaped by fate...
Then I was a roach, evolved by desperation.
And roaches don't die easy.