Reborn As The Minor Villain In A Romance Fantasy Novel - Chapter 175

Chapter 175: Small Contest
“Huh?” Lucius asked as he looked at the young man prostrated on the ground… letting out a continuous stream of praises like Lucius was some kind of god.

He stared blankly for a moment, feeling a wave of second-hand embarrassment hit him.

Did this guy truly have no shame?

Sure he was shameless but prostrating in front of another man… as a grown ass man yourself had to make you embarrassed to some degree, no?

‘There are truly people that are more shameless than me in this world.’ Lucius thought with a shake of his head.

“My eminence, do you not remember me?” the young man asked as he lifted his head with his eyes full of admiration.

He looked so serious that it was almost painful to watch.

Lucius tilted his head, studying his face… the young man really did look like Alexia, they both had the same sharp nose, same eyes, though his hair was a tad shorter than her long hair and the edges of his own were tinted purple.

But remembering him? That was another story entirely… Was he supposed to remember every single person that he met in this new life?

“I don’t,” Lucius said plainly before sighing, “You were using the training room even though you knew it wasn’t yours. That’s technically a crime, you know.”

“I’m sorry!” the man bowed again, hitting his head on the polished floor. “My sister was the one taking care of this place, so I thought it wouldn’t be too much to use it for a bit… even though she said I should leave already.”

Lucius turned to Alexia who had been standing behind him, clearly trying to look invisible.

“What about the face and palm verification?” he asked.

Alexia immediately stiffened and lowered her head. “He was helping me test out the gear, Boss. So I had to register his face in the control system so the room wouldn’t… vaporize him.”

“Hm?” Lucius muttered, raising a brow, then gave a small nod. “Makes sense. But they’re fully functional now, right?”

“Yes sir!” It was the man on the ground who replied this time, his voice was full of life and excitement. “You’re completely set for workouts! Though it isn’t easy for an Unawakened to use the awakened gear… I made it work somehow.”

Lucius looked at him for a moment before gesturing lazily with his hand. “You can stand up now.”

The young man quickly obeyed, straightening up and standing tall.

Up close, Lucius noticed that he was slightly taller than Alexia but still shorter than him.

“You said I’ve met you before… in person?” Lucius asked.

“Yes!” he said quickly, nodding like his head might fall off. “I was one of the people you saved from that rogue who flooded the streets with water. I owe my life to you, sir.”

“Oh?” Lucius tilted his head while thinking.

The face didn’t ring a bell, but the event did.

That had been a long day… and it was also the first time he’d broken the sound barrier using space. It was also a scene that boosted his popularity.

“Good times,” he said casually. “Well, nice to meet you again.”

He extended his hand and the young man’s eyes widened in disbelief before eagerly shaking it.

‘I can’t believe I’m shaking Lucius’s hand…’ the man thought, holding back tears.

Lucius let go of the handshake and walked past him, leaving the poor guy trembling in awe.

‘My eminence is so cool…’

Even though he was a grown man, he didn’t care if he looked ridiculous.

His dream was to become someone like Lucius… strong and untouchable. Even if it meant acting like a fool, he was willing to do it.

Meanwhile, Alexia followed behind Lucius, quietly exhaling in relief. ‘Thank God I didn’t lose my job because of my stupid brother…’

She quickly composed herself and spread her arm forward.

“This is your private gym, Boss. Everything here was designed specifically for not only your body type and strength level but the ones of the women as well.”

Lucius stopped walking and glanced around the enormous space.

It wasn’t just a gym… it was a fortress of equipment.

Rows of shining machines filled the room.

He walked to a nearby stand… and there were two massive pillars with a thick barbell between them.

The bar was long, metallic, and the ends looked like a pair of spiked maces. It was intimidating and he liked it though. Though he didn’t know which one of the girls liked stuff like this.

“Hey… I’m not an awakened, so I can’t use all this awakened gym stuff,” Luna’s voice came from behind.

She crossed her arms and frowned at the intimidating setup. She was definitely not going to lose her head because she wanted to lose some weight…

Alexia smiled politely and turned to her. “Don’t worry, Lady Luna. That side is for normal training.”

Lucius followed her finger to the far end of the gym, where things looked more… normal.

There were treadmills, lifting benches, and one big punching machine with a bright screen above it.

“Whoa…” Luna said in awe as she walked toward it. “Nice setup.”

“Go ahead,” Lucius said, waving his hand. “Try the punching machine.”

Then he looked back at the man who was still staring at him like a puppy. “You,” Lucius said. “Come here.”

The man’s head shot up. “M-me, sir?”

“Yes, you,” Lucius said as he folded his arms. “If you can get a higher score than her on that punching machine, I’ll humor your request and take you on as my student.”

The man’s eyes went wide, and even Alexia looked shocked.

“Wait, Boss, are you serious?” she asked.

“Perfectly serious,” Lucius said with a nod.

Luna laughed nervously. “You’re comparing me to him?”

Lucius shrugged. “Fair fight. Just hit the thing with all you’ve got.”

Ryder looked nervous but excited.

He nodded firmly. “Yes, my eminence!”

Lucius sighed. “Stop calling me that. Just Lucius.”

“Yes, my… Lucius!” Ryder corrected himself and took a deep breath.

“Huh?” Lucius thought with a twitch in his brow. “‘My Lucius?’ This guy’s hopeless.”

“What’s your name?” Lucius finally asked, deciding to get this over with.

“It’s Ryder, sir,” the man said as he stood and followed a few steps behind Lucius, who was now walking toward the punching machine with calm steps.

“Ryder, are you an awakened?” Lucius asked without looking back.

“No, I didn’t manage to awaken yet… but I hope to. Even if it’s a late awakening.”

“I see…” Lucius stopped in front of the punching machine and turned his head slightly toward Alexia. “Alexia, why don’t you explain how to use it?”

“My eminence, I already kno—”

“For Luna,” Lucius cut her off. “Not you.”

Alexia blinked, then bowed her head.

Lucius wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. He already had a team of over-excited subordinates… adding another one, especially an unawakened to the list would be asking for trouble.

“Alright, Lady Luna,” Alexia said as she stepped forward and pointed to the center of the sleek machine. “You are to hit this part here… the bullseye. Once you make contact, the system calculates the power behind your punch and converts it into points. For reference, the average strength of an unawakened is around thirty points.”

Luna nodded, her pink hair swaying lightly. “Got it.”

Lucius crossed his arms and looked between the two of them. “So… who’s going first?”

Before he even finished the question, Ryder had already stepped forward, cracking his knuckles and taking position in front of the machine.

“I’ll go first, sir,” he said confidently, rolling his shoulders.

Alexia moved aside. “Go ahead.”

Ryder took a deep breath and his expression turned serious.

Then, without hesitation, he drove his fist forward.

BAM!

The machine shuddered slightly from the impact before a mechanical ping sounded. The digital display blinked to life.

[ 35 PTS ]

“Whoo! Thirty-five!” Ryder cheered, pumping his fist.

He was grinning ear to ear, chest puffed out. In his mind, that had to be a winning number.

‘I’m sorry for oppressing you with my superior strength as a man,’ he thought smugly, ‘but I have to do this. I need to become his student… even if it costs me everything!’

Lucius didn’t react, only yawning quietly.

Luna cracked her knuckles though she was nervous…

“That’s all?” she asked.

“Go ahead,” Lucius said, stepping aside with a smile.

Luna took a deep breath, tightening her fist.

‘I’ll just pour all my anger into this,’ she thought. She swung forward with full force.

The punch landed with a thunderous THUMP! so loud it almost made Alexia flinch.

The whole machine tilted back an inch before stabilizing. The screen went wild, numbers racing upward in bright yellow digits.

Then it stopped.

[ 100 PTS ]

The room fell silent.

“What?!” Ryder shouted, eyes bulging. “That… That’s impossible! I trained for months!”

Lucius tilted his head, staring up at the ceiling as if lost in thought. Luna turned to him immediately.

‘Did you do something Lucius…?’