Chapter 9: She Is Perfect

The gymnasium erupted into chaos.

Examinees scrambled backward, their eyes darting between the bullet suspended in midair and the instructor, who stood motionless, her sunglasses now slightly cracked from the impact.

"What the—" someone shouted.

"Did he just—?"

"Is she dead?"

But the instructor wasn’t dead. She was staring at the bullet suspended in midair with an expression somewhere between fascination and horror.

Slowly, she raised her hand.

The bullet fell to the ground with a soft clink, landing at her feet.

When she looked at me again, her entire demeanor had changed. The casual indifference was gone, replaced by something far more serious.

"That was..."

She reached for her sunglasses and removed them, revealing sharp, intelligent eyes that studied me with newfound intensity.

"That was incredibly dangerous and completely reckless," she said flatly. "You just tried to have me assassinated during a public examination."

"I demonstrated my ability," I replied calmly. "As you requested."

"Your ability is remote assassination through a third party," she repeated slowly, as though testing the words. "That’s not an awakened ability. That’s just... planning."

"Is it?" I tilted my head slightly. "Or is it the ability to command loyalty so absolute that someone will kill on my behalf without hesitation? The ability to recognize opportunities and exploit them? The ability to position pieces on a board until victory becomes inevitable?"

I stepped closer.

"That’s what the Riina family does, Instructor. We fight with power, influence, and resources that ordinary people can’t even comprehend."

The instructor remained quiet for a long moment.

Around us, the other examinees had put some distance between themselves and me, sensing that something significant was happening. Even the instructors from neighboring groups had stopped what they were doing to watch.

"You’re insane," the instructor finally said. "Do you understand what you just did? You had someone fire a live weapon in a gymnasium full of teenagers."

"I demonstrated my ability," I repeated. "Effectively."

She stared at me.

Then—

"Hehe."

It was a soft laugh. Unlike her earlier amusement, however, there was something genuine about it.

"You’re definitely a Riina," she said, shaking her head. "Only a Riina would be arrogant enough to think that level of recklessness would impress us."

She turned away from me and addressed the gymnasium.

"Everyone, remain calm. This was part of the examination. Some applicants choose to demonstrate unconventional abilities. This one chose assassination."

The murmurs of confusion continued, but the examinees gradually began to settle down.

The instructor turned back to me.

"Your results will be sent to you within a few days. Consider yourself lucky this time." She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Though I’m not sure whether that’s a compliment or a warning."

I nodded.

"One more thing," she added, lowering her voice so that only I could hear. "If you ever try something like that again, I won’t stop the next bullet. Understood?"

There was no anger in her words, nor was there any attempt to intimidate me.

It was simply a statement of fact.

"Understood," I replied.

I walked back to my position, aware that every eye in the gymnasium was now fixed on me.

Alice Storms was watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. Was it disgust? Contempt?

Perhaps both.

The examination continued, though the atmosphere had changed. What had begun as a routine assessment had become something darker and more intense.

The examination continued for a few more hours before finally coming to an end.

As we filed out of the gymnasium, I felt my phone vibrate.

A message from Enzo appeared on the screen.

[Mission failed. Failed to kill the assigned target. Awaiting further instructions.]

I smiled slightly.

Of course I knew that killing an instructor of acadmy with ordinary sniper bullet would be impossible.

I knew it and still went along with my plan, because i didn’t have anything better to.

...And honestly if she did died from that bullet, I would be very much disappointed.

The entrance examination had been only the first test.

But I’d already established something crucial: I wasn’t just another heir to a Mafia family. I was someone willing to operate outside the boundaries everyone else accepted. Someone who could make things happen that others thought impossible.

Someone dangerous.

Outside the gymnasium, the sun was beginning to set over Nova City. I found a quiet corner and opened the app on my phone.

[Lorenzo Directory Update]

Several new entries had been added.

[Instructor: Yuki Hayasaka] — [Combat Assessment Examiner] — [Status: Intrigued and Wary]

[Alice Storms] — [Granddaughter of the Sword Saint] — [Status: Neutral]

Several other entries had appeared as well, containing information about the examinees from my group. Their details had now been catalogued and stored.

For now, I needed to prepare for the next phase.

The entrance examination had been about demonstrating potential. The next phase would be about proving that I could survive Golden Dawn Academy’s actual training.

And if the game files were accurate, survival was going to be far more difficult than impressing an instructor.

Students had died at New Dawn Academy. Not from monsters or training accidents, but from the deliberate actions of other students.

The academy allowed it because it believed that death was part of awakening. That fear of death was the ultimate teacher.

They want me to become a weapon, I realized. And if I have to kill to prove myself, they’ll accept it.

I closed the app and slipped my phone into my pocket.

The Riina family motto echoed in my mind.

Vivere per la famiglia, morire per la famiglia.

Live for the family. Die for the family.

But there was a third part hidden within Lorenzo’s deeper memories—a phrase that Don Aldric had taught his son more often than anything else.

Uccidere per la famiglia.

Kill for the family.

Naturally, I had more than enough experience with killing. It was nothing new to me.

I left the quiet corner and began walking toward the exit gate.

My expression remained bored. I wanted to go home as soon as possible.

...And then it happened.

My gaze settled on a woman with raven-black hair as dark as a starless night.

She was the first person I had met after waking up as Lorenzo Riina.

Sofia Moretti.

The woman Lorenzo had become obsessed with because, according to his [Perfectionist] trait, she was perfect.

Her height, her weight, her beauty, the softness of her voice, her smile—everything about her seemed perfect.

Lorenzo had never met a woman like her, and he didn’t believe he would ever find anyone else as perfect.

So, what did he do?

He became obsessed with her and tried to force her to his will. He even forced an engagement by threatening her father, who was the mayor of a small town called Lumberberk, a few miles away from Nova City.

...Even after doing all of that, he still hadn’t managed to win her heart.

"Sofia..."

The woman flinched and turned toward me.

Her eyes widened as a mixture of fear, disgust, hatred, and contempt flashed across her face.

And finally, killing intent.

"Lorenzo!"

Only then did I break out of my trance.

Wait?! When did I get here?!

I was sure I had been standing far away from her.

I hadn’t intended to approach her at all.

So why was I standing right in front of her?