A Background Character’s Path to Power Chapter 62 62: I Signed Up for Training, Not a Cosmic Dodgeb

"...No."

The word hung in the air, blunt and final.

I nodded slowly. My expectations hadn't been high to begin with—Zephyr wasn't exactly the nurturing ntor type. No, he in fact was, but I only saw him that way in academics while teaching . Sa couldn't be said for combat, right?

But then—

"Soone else can."

My head snapped up. Zephyr's expression hadn't changed, but his gaze flicked aningfully behind .

Soone else?

"Who?" I asked, pulse jumping.

Zephyr's lips thinned. "...My master."

His master?

My brain stuttered for half a second before clicking.

No way.

I whirled around—

And there, floating midair with a book held delicately in his tail, was Virion. The erald-scaled serpent peered at over the pages, its eyes gleaming with amusent.

Sneaky as always. Like he hadn't just materialized out of nowhere.

"What?" Virion's voice was dry as desert wind. "Don't want to?"

I barely stopped myself from gaping.

How could I refuse?!

This was a primordial being—an entity older than kingdoms, stronger than legends, who'd apparently trained Zephyr into the nightmare he was today-no, yesterday. And he was offering to—

Wait. Was he actually offering?

...Whatever.

Without hesitation, I cupped my hands and bowed deeply, the motion smooth but urgent.

"Master Virion," I said, voice steady despite the adrenaline sparking through , "will you take as your student?"

I didn't bother hiding my eagerness. This wasn't just about training—this was about survival. If Virion could teach even a fraction of what he'd taught Zephyr, I might actually stand a chance in this world.

And if he said no?

Well. At least I'd tried.

Virion's tail flicked, snapping his book shut with a sound like a cracking whip. His grin widened, revealing needle-sharp fangs.

"Tch. Finally, soone with manners." He floated closer, circling like a shark. "Zephyr took three days to ask properly. You? Straight to the point." A pause. "I like that."

My breath caught.

Is that a yes?

Virion's erald eyes glinted. "Tell , wingman boy—" His voice dropped to a whisper that slithered into my bones. "How much pain can you take?"

"?"

Behind , Zephyr exhaled—almost like a sigh.

...It's not what I think it is, right?

"Wait, you don't need to tell , I have seen everything that day."

...Is he talking about that bath incident?

Virion's grin widened to an alarming degree, his fangs glinting. "Hehe, it will be fun to beating—" He paused, tail flicking thoughtfully. "—training you. Yes, training, not beating, haha..."

The way he said it made the word sound infinitely worse.

I swallowed hard.

Because I alreaady knew, right then, that I was in for hell.

...I won't regret this later, right?

Zephyr's sigh behind sounded suspiciously like "You already do."

Virion's tail coiled around my wrist like a living shackle. "First lesson starts now. Let's go."

Oh no.

"W-Wait, let change—!"

My protest died in my throat as the world lurched violently around . The library's wooden shelves, the scent of old parchnt, even the solid ground beneath my feet—gone in an instant.

My stomach dropped as I found myself standing on a floating stone platform, suspended in an endless sky that defied logic. Above , not one, but dozens of moons hung in the air, their surfaces covered in what looked like... wings? They twitched occasionally, as if alive. Countless big shiny stars blinked like eyes, watching with unsettling curiosity.

What the actual—. No cursing.

But... Are we in a children's fairy tail or what?!

"JieJie."

A mischevios chuckle echoed from above.

I looked up to see Virion lounging on thin air, tail curled around a bag of snacks and a cup of what slled suspiciously like expensive fruit juice. He grinned down at , fangs glinting.

"Well? Like the place?"

I forced my jaw to unclench. "Yeah, I think it's... good?" My voice ca out strangled. "Umm... Where are we exactly?"

"Hehe," Virion's tail flicked proudly. "Welco to my playground, wingman boy."

"Playground?" My head filled with question marks.

"And your training ground." Virion added probably to correct itself.

I nodded absently, my mind already racing through possibilities.

Is this a pocket dinsion like that phantom heart place? Or perhaps a personal domain?

My mind quickly guessed the right answer - because most stories had sothing like this for overpowered ntors. Convenient for training montages, terrible for student characters like .

Virion took a dramatic sip of his wine before continuing. "Ti flows slower here than outside. A day out there? Might be a week in here. Neat, huh?" He smirked. "Also, injuries heal almost instantly. So don't worry about you health."

My lips twitched.

That sounded suspiciously like "I can break you repeatedly without consequences" you know.

"And I can change everything." He added. "Wait, let show you."

"I bel-"

To demonstrate, he snapped his tail.

The platform beneath lted into quicksand.

"Gh-!"

I yelped as my legs sank instantly, the cold sludge swallowing up to my waist before Virion lazily reversed it, the stone reforming like nothing had happened.

"See?" He popped a snack into his maw. "Fun, right?"

I was still gaping at the now-pristine platform when he added, voice dripping with faux innocence:

"Oh, and you don't have to worry about dying too. I will watch over you."

Dying too?!

Before I could demand clarification, Virion's eyes glead.

"Lesson one: Survive The Starfall."

W-What? Survive The Starfall??

The na alone sent a chill down my spine.

That sounded like the title of so tragic hero's last stand—not a first lesson.

Before I could voice my concerns, the moons above twitched.

My breath hitched.

They weren't just twitching.

They were opening their eyes—cartoonishly round and glowing with mischief.

My blood turned to ice as they blinked their oversized eyes at causing my background character senses tingling nonstop. Their mouths stretched into wide, unsettling grins—like children about to play a ga.

Oh no.

The closest one—a moon with a face that looked suspiciously like it belonged in a children's bedti story—giggled.

"JieJie~"

Then it spat.

A single, glittering star shot toward , trailing a brilliant cot-like tail. My body moved before my brain could process it—I lunged to the side just as the star struck the platform.

BOOM.

The explosion sent skidding across the stone, my ears ringing. When the dust cleared, my stomach dropped.

A crater the size of a small house had been blasted into the platform. The edges were still glowing, molten rock dripping into the endless abyss below.

What kind of training is this?!

Then—

Crack.

My breath hitched.

Spiderweb fractures raced across the platform, branching out from the impact site. One thin, jagged line slithered directly beneath my feet.

Shoot—!

I barely had ti to leap before the stone beneath shattered.

"Lesson One: Don't stand still!" Virion's voice echoed from sowhere above, far too amused.

The moons above cackled in unison.

And then—

They opened fire.

A rain of glittering stars descended, each one leaving a dazzling trail before smashing into the platform with the force of a teor.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The world beca chaos.

I sprinted, zigzagging wildly as the platform disintegrated beneath . Chunks of stone broke away, plumting into the void. My heart hamred against my ribs, every instinct screaming at to move, move, MOVE—

A star whizzed past my ear, close enough that I felt the heat.

Too close!

I rolled to the side just as another one cratered the spot where I'd been standing. The shockwave sent tumbling.

This isn't training—this is an execution!

"Haha, good job guys, don't let him relax too much!"

Virion's delighted voice rang out like a cheerleader at a sadistic sports festival.

This psychotic snake—!

I barely had ti to curse him before the next star exploded at my feet, sending flying toward the crumbling edge of the platform.

The last thing I saw was Virion's grinning face as he raised a toast with his juice—just before the world dissolved into white-hot pain.