That night, I couldn’t sleep right away. Tomorrow, I would be trained by someone even the warriors of the Valerius family feared.

  Helena Valerius.

  I stared at the ceiling of my room for a few moments before finally speaking.

  “Cleo… who exactly is Helena Valerius?”

  Roh Cleo appeared beside my bed like a faint shadow.

  “She’s a comrade and fellow fighter alongside the Patriarch,” she answered casually. “From what I’ve heard, she once defeated a level-two demon alongside the Patriarch.”

  I sat up slightly.

  “Wait… a level-two demon?”

  I looked at Cleo in disbelief.

  “Demons in this world have levels?”

  Cleo nodded.

  “Yes. There are five levels of demons in this world.”

  She began to explain calmly.

  “Level-five demons are weak. Usually, they serve as minions or lowly creatures.”

  “Level-four are demon soldiers.”

  “Level-three are captains and commanders.”

  “For level-two… they are the right hands of the Demon King. Generals, warlords, even demon queens.”

  Cleo paused briefly before continuing.

  “And finally… level-one demons.”

  “The Demon King.”

  “His power rivals that of a god.”

  I fell silent for a few seconds. That information was far greater than I had imagined. I asked again.

  “Wait… if there’s a Demon King…”

  I looked at Cleo.

  “Does that mean there are heroes in this world too?”

  Cleo nodded.

  “Exactly.”

  “The heroes of the current generation… are actually from the same generation as me.”

  “However, for now, their hero skills haven’t fully awakened.”

  I let out a long sigh. Damn. I had briefly imagined myself as the main character of this world. It turns out, I wasn’t.

  “So… there’s no plot armor for me.”

  I rubbed my face gently.

  “If I end up on the brink of death… I could really die.”

  Cleo tilted her head slightly.

  “Plot armor?”

  “What’s that?”

  I paused for a moment before shaking my head.

  “Ah, forget it.”

  But suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

  “Wait… Cleo.”

  “Is there a skill called Plot Armor in Anime Knowledge?”

  Cleo thought for a moment.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “But I can look it up.”

  I smiled faintly.

  “Please do.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Cleo nodded.

  “Alright.”

  “It might take some time.”

  I closed my eyes.

  “That’s fine.”

  “Thanks, buddy.”

  Cleo looked slightly happy to hear that. That night, I finally fell asleep.

  The next morning, Helena was already waiting for me at the training arena.

  The Valerius family’s training arena was behind the main castle. It wasn’t as large as the duel arena where I fought Martin, but the atmosphere felt far heavier.

  The ground was hard, covered in the dried marks of countless sword strikes. Traces of Valerius warriors’ training over the years were left behind. And in the center of the arena stood someone who made the entire place feel heavier.

  Helena.

  The Valerius family sword instructor.

  She carried no sword.

  Wore no armor.

  Just simple dark training clothes and a neutral expression that seemed to say that no matter what I did, it wouldn’t impress her.

  I finally asked,

  “Why are you training me personally?”

  Helena looked at me as if my question were foolish.

  “Are you stupid?”

  I went silent immediately.

  “Next year is the Valerius family’s coming-of-age exam.”

  “Since you just joined… you’re already far behind in training.”

  Her eyes studied me for a few moments. Calm. Cold. Like someone assessing how dangerous a puppy could be.

  After a few seconds, she said,

  “Attack me.”

  I moved instantly.

  Anime Knowledge: Ignite Eyes — Activated

  Mana Consumption: 1 mana per minute

  A sensation of heat flared in my eyes. The world around me seemed slightly altered. Helena’s movements, previously too fast to track, now became slightly clearer.

  I stepped forward. The wooden sword in my hand slashed toward her shoulder. Helena merely shifted her body slightly. My strike cut through empty air.

  I didn’t stop.

  Second strike.

  Diagonal slash.

  Straight thrust.

  Change of rhythm.

  Feint.

  Yet Helena continued to dodge.

  One small step. Half a step back. Simple movements. Too simple.

  Yet every strike I made still failed to touch her.

  Then Helena moved.

  Just one step forward.

  One blow struck my chest. My body flew backward. Air was forced from my lungs. The wooden sword slipped from my hand.

  I tried to breathe, but the pain in my chest made every inhale feel heavy.

  Helena approached.

  “Your technique is interesting,” she said.

  I forced myself to stand.

  But she continued.

  “But your body is weak.”

  She stared at me for a few seconds.

  “Very weak.”

  I gritted my teeth.

  Helena looked deeper into me.

  “You don’t fight like a Valerius family swordsman.”

  She tilted her head slightly.

  “Your fighting style is strange.”

  “The techniques you use don’t come from any tradition I know of.”

  She pointed to the corner of the arena.

  “Now, the real training begins.”

  A bad feeling immediately rose in my chest.

  Helena tossed a sword at me.

  I caught it. But I immediately sensed something was wrong. This sword was far heavier than a regular training sword.

  “Run,” said Helena.

  “…What?”

  “Circle the arena.”

  “Ten laps.”

  She paused briefly.

  “If you stop…”

  “We start from the beginning.”

  Days later, Helena’s hellish training truly began. Every morning, I ran around the arena with the heavy sword.

  Helena threw stones at me.

  I had to dodge them while running continuously.

  Then sparring.

  I always lost.

  I always fell.

  “Get up.”

  That was the only word she ever said.

  Day after day passed. My body was covered in bruises.

  But gradually, something changed. Breathing that once felt like fire now began to stabilize. My trembling arms became accustomed to the sword’s weight.

  My stamina increased.

  My mana also grew from constant skill usage.

  Helena’s training remained hellish.

  But my body began to endure.

  One day, after brutal training, I sat leaning against the arena wall.

  That’s when Cleo’s voice appeared again.

  “I found it.”

  I immediately opened my eyes.

  “Plot Armor?”

  Cleo nodded.

  A system screen appeared before me.

  Anime Knowledge — Skill Discovered

  Plot Armor

  Description: When the user faces an almost certain-death situation, reality bends slightly to provide a single chance at survival.

  Effect: Grants survival from impossible situations.

  Cost: Does not use mana.

  Does not use stamina.

  Cooldown: 6 months.

  I stared at the screen for a long time.

  “This really feels like cheating.”

  Cleo asked curiously,

  “By the way… what is plot armor?”

  I chuckled softly.

  “Plot armor is something that often appears in stories.”

  “When the main character should die…”

  “Somehow, they survive.”

  Cleo fell silent for a moment.

  “…That sounds like cheating.”

  “Exactly.”

  I looked at the skill screen again.

  And smiled faintly.

  Elsewhere in the Valerius castle, Martin sat alone.

  His left arm was gone. His shoulder was wrapped in thick bandages. The family’s best healers had tried to reconnect his arm. But they failed.

  The technique I used didn’t just cut flesh. It destroyed the energy pathways in his body.

  Martin stared at the empty space where his arm had been. His eyes full of hatred.

  All of this…

  Because of me.

  Suddenly, a soft voice sounded.

  “You want revenge… don’t you?”

  Martin lifted his head immediately.

  The room was empty.

  Yet the voice sounded again.

  “I can give you power.”

  “Enough to destroy the one who stole your future.”

  Martin slowly turned toward the desk in the corner of the room. A black book sat there. It had never been there before. A chilling aura emanated from its cover.

  Martin stared at the book for a long time.

  Then slowly stood up.

  And walked toward it.