Counter-System: The Side Character's Revenge Chapter 1

In my last life, my junior, Liana, came to me in tears, complaining that our Grandmaster was too strict, forcing her to practice five thousand sword strokes a day.

I comforted her. "The Grandmaster means well. I trained just as hard, if not harder, to achieve the power I have today."

But Liana fled the Argent Spire in a fit of despair and fell victim to a terrible fate.

When the First Brother, Kaelen, returned from his quest, he shattered my magical core with a single strike of his blade.

"Liana is a gem, precious and rare," he'd snarled. "You're a mere Core Magus. What right do you have to flaunt your power in her presence?"

I was crippled, cast out, and left to die a miserable death.

When I next opened my eyes, I had been reborn, returned to the very moment Liana came to my door, weeping.

* * *

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The frantic, tearful pounding on my chamber door was relentless.

"Danielle! Sister, are you in there? Please, open the door!"

The disruption nearly sent my own mana spiraling out of control. With a flick of my wrist, I wove a ward of silence around the room, sealing it from the outside world. The calming scent of sandalwood incense did little to soothe the tempest raging in my mind.

I am Danielle, Second Sister of the Argent Spire. Above me is only the First Brother, Kaelen, a man who cares for nothing but his own path to power. Before our Grandmaster entered her seclusion for her final ascension, she charged me with managing the Spire's disciples, and especially with looking after the youngest of us, Liana.

That was why, in my past life, I had tolerated Liana’s rude, frantic knocking—an act that would have cost any other acolyte half their life force for its sheer disrespect. But I had excused her, thinking her new to the ways of magic.

I had even tried to soothe her when she’d complained about the Grandmaster's harsh training, sharing my own story as a form of encouragement.

"When I first joined the Spire, the Grandmaster was even stricter with me," I'd told her. "Eight thousand strokes a day, every single one perfect, or I would feel the sting of her training rod. Before I had even formed my magical foundation as an Adept, she pitted me against arcane beasts that had."

"So you see, little sister, she does it for your own good. Look at me. It was that same grueling practice that gave me the power I have today."

But after hearing my words, Liana had simply gotten up and run from the Spire.

She was captured by a chaos mage, nearly drained of her soul to become his spiritual conduit. Though she was rescued, her magical affinity was damaged, and she burned with a deep-seated hatred for me.

When Kaelen returned from his quest, he shattered my core. "Liana is a gem," he’d said. "What right do you have to flaunt your power as a Core Magus?"

Only then did I understand. My heartfelt advice, my attempt at camaraderie, had sounded like nothing but arrogant boasting to a girl who was not even a full-fledged Initiate. All the torture that followed began with those simple, well-intentioned words.

I, who had sought nothing but the path to true power and ascension, was tormented and killed for a single sentence. Perhaps it was the unquenchable fire of my rage that granted me this second chance.

The knocking outside continued for a long time before Liana finally gave up. Biting her lip, she turned and ran sobbing toward the training grounds, straight into the arms of Rhys.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. "Third Brother…"

Rhys’s heart immediately melted. "Little sister, what’s wrong?"

Liana's tears finally fell in a torrent of aggrieved sorrow. "Before she went into seclusion, the Grandmaster ordered me to practice five thousand sword strokes a day. I only managed five hundred today, and my wrist is already swollen like this. Look, Brother."

She pulled up her sleeve, revealing a bruised and purpled wrist.

Rhys was instantly furious. "How could the Grandmaster be so cruel!" He lovingly applied a healing salve to her wrist. "She's in seclusion anyway. It won't matter if you rest for a couple of days. Besides, with your brother here to protect you, what do you have to fear?"

Liana pouted. "But Second Sister Danielle is the same age as me, and she’s already a Core Magus. I haven’t even solidified my foundation as an Adept. I'm so useless."

Rhys scoffed. "You are a princess, cherished and adored. She was just an orphan the Grandmaster found in the wastes. How could she possibly compare to you?"

A smile finally broke through Liana’s tears, though she feigned annoyance and gave Rhys a playful tap. "Don't talk about my sister that way."