Three days of brutal training under his mother's supervision had taught William exactly two things. First, that having S-tier potential meant absolutely nothing if you didn't know how to control it, and second, that Duchess Arabella Cross did not understand the concept of taking it easy on beginners.
William stood in the entrance hall of the Cross estate with a travel bag that had been packed by servants who knew far better than he did what someone needed for academy life, his body aching from dozens of training sessions that had left him face-down in dirt more often than not, and his head spinning with magical theory he barely understood despite three days of intensive study.
The family had gathered to see him off, and William felt distinctly uncomfortable standing in front of six siblings he had no memories of while trying to figure out which ones were allies and which ones were waiting for him to fail spectacularly.
"Try not to embarrass us more than you already have," said the eldest brother Asher, a tall man with their father's severe features and an expression that suggested he'd rather be literally anywhere else than watching his disappointing youngest brother leave for the academy, "the Cross name has standards to maintain and we'd prefer not to spend the next four years hearing about your failures."
William bit back the reflexive urge to snap something sarcastic because apparently the original William Cross had a terrible relationship with his oldest brother, and antagonizing him right before leaving seemed counterproductive.
"I'll do my best," he said neutrally while keeping his expression carefully blank, and he caught his mother's slight nod of approval from where she stood overseeing the departure.
"Don't die immediately," added the second brother Adrian with slightly more warmth though his tone still carried disappointment, "father's already planning your memorial service assuming you'll wash out or get killed in some training accident within the first semester, so surviving longer than his expectations would be appreciated."
The four sisters stood together in a cluster that ranged from outright hostility to mild indifference, and William tried to match faces to the brief descriptions his mother had given him during breaks in training.
Victoria, the eldest sister, looked at him with cold assessment that reminded him uncomfortably of corporate executives evaluating whether an employee was worth keeping, her arms crossed and her posture suggesting she'd already written him off as a lost cause.
Celestia and Diana, the middle sisters who were apparently twins though William could barely tell them apart, whispered to each other while shooting him glances that were equal parts curiosity and skepticism, like they couldn't quite believe he was the same brother who'd spent his entire life being useless.
The youngest sister Seraphine, who was only a year older than him, surprised him by stepping forward with something that might have been genuine concern on her face.
"Mother said you've been training seriously for the past three days," she said quietly enough that the others couldn't hear, "is it true you're actually trying this time or is this just another one of your schemes to get attention."
William looked at Seraphine and saw someone who wanted to believe in him despite presumably years of disappointment, and he decided to be honest with at least one family member.
"I'm trying," he admitted while adjusting the bag on his shoulder, "whether I succeed or fail is another question entirely, but I'm done being the family embarrassment who coasts on the name while accomplishing nothing."
She smiled slightly and reached into her pocket to pull out a small wrapped package that she pressed into his hand before stepping back.
"Good luck then," she said simply before retreating to stand with the twins again, and William pocketed the package without opening it because whatever it was could wait until he wasn't surrounded by judgmental relatives.
Duke Edward Cross appeared from a side door looking exactly like his portraits suggested—severe, aristocratic, and deeply unimpressed with everything around him, particularly the youngest son who had apparently been a thorn in his side for nineteen years.
"The carriage is ready," he announced without bothering to address William directly, speaking instead to the Duchess as if William wasn't standing right there, "the academy has sent an escort to collect him along with the other northern territory students, they'll be waiting at the main gate."
Duchess Arabella moved to stand beside William and placed a hand on his shoulder with surprising gentleness given how brutally she'd been training him for three straight days.
"Remember everything we discussed," she said quietly while everyone else pretended not to listen, "control before power, observation before action, and most importantly, don't reveal your true potential until you have the skills to back it up."
William nodded because those had been her three main lessons drilled into him alongside basic essence manipulation that he'd barely managed to grasp, and he understood the stakes even if he didn't fully understand the world yet.
"I understand," he said while meeting her eyes and seeing genuine concern there mixed with hope, "thank you for the training, even if my body currently hates you for it."
She smiled slightly at that and squeezed his shoulder once before stepping back to stand beside the Duke who still hadn't acknowledged William's existence beyond confirming transportation arrangements.
"The Cross family expects results, not excuses," Duke Edward finally said while looking at some point over William's head rather than at him directly, "you've been given every advantage despite your consistent failures, and this academy attendance represents your final opportunity to prove you're worth the resources we've invested."
It was the warmest send-off William had ever received from a parent figure, which was to say it was cold enough to freeze water and came with conditions attached, and he felt a surge of sympathy for the original William Cross who'd grown up with this level of conditional affection.
"I understand, Father," William said with all the emotion of someone reading a grocery list, because apparently that was how this family communicated, and then he turned toward the door before anyone could add more criticisms or warnings.
The carriage waiting outside was absurdly luxurious with the Cross family crest emblazoned on the doors, and William climbed inside to find he'd be traveling alone since apparently none of his siblings were attending the academy this year, which suited him fine given he had no idea how to maintain relationships with people whose memories he didn't share.
As the carriage pulled away from the estate, William finally allowed himself to relax slightly and pulled out the system interface he'd been monitoring obsessively for three days.
[Current Status: William Cross]
[Rank: S-Tier Cultivator (Dormant)]
[Actual Combat Capability: D+ Rank]
[Elemental Affinity: Omni-Elemental (Severely Limited Control)]
[Essence Capacity: S-Tier]
[Essence Control: E-Tier]
[Skills Acquired: Basic Essence Manipulation, Elemental Sensing (Passive), Enhanced Physical Conditioning]
[Note: Large gap between potential and ability creates unstable foundation]
[Recommendation: Focus on control exercises before attempting advanced techniques]
Three days of training with his mother and the family's master cultivator had resulted in William being able to manipulate his essence enough to enhance his physical abilities slightly and sense elemental energies around him, which apparently put him just above D-rank in actual combat despite his S-tier potential.
The master cultivator had explained it as having a massive reservoir of water but only a straw to drink through, and William needed to gradually widen that straw through practice before he could access even a fraction of his true power.
"At least I'm not completely helpless," William muttered while watching the estate disappear behind him as the carriage traveled down roads that wound through territories he'd never seen before, "D-plus is better than the original E-tier, and it means I won't die immediately when someone decides to test the new student."
[Warning: Curse remains active]
[Time until academy arrival: 6 hours]
[Affected individuals detected at destination: 15 Major Characters, 47 Minor Characters]
[Recommendation: Survive]
William dismissed the warning because he'd spent three days trying not to think about the curse while focusing on not accidentally setting himself on fire during training, and now he had six hours to mentally prepare for what was waiting at Celestial Heights Academy.
He pulled out the package Seraphine had given him and unwrapped it carefully to find a small leather-bound journal with blank pages and a note in elegant handwriting.
"Dear William, if you're actually serious about changing then you'll need to track your progress and reflect on your mistakes, I've found journaling helpful for my own cultivation journey and maybe it will help you too, don't die stupidly, your sister Seraphine."
It was possibly the kindest thing any of his siblings had said, and William felt a pang of something that might have been guilt because Seraphine clearly cared about her brother even if that brother was technically dead and replaced by someone wearing his face.
He opened the journal and wrote on the first page in handwriting that looked nothing like the original William's based on other documents he'd seen.
"Day One: Successfully convinced my family I'm not possessed despite acting completely different from the original William Cross, spent three days learning I have godlike potential but toddler-level control, and I'm heading toward an academy full of superpowered students while cursed to make every important woman obsessed with me, if I survive the first week it'll be a miracle."
The carriage continued its journey through landscapes that shifted from the northern territory's forests to more populated areas with towns and villages, and William spent the time reading through the magical theory books his mother had packed while trying to memorize information that might keep him alive.
Hours passed with William alternating between reading, attempting small essence manipulation exercises that left him sweating from the concentration required, and staring out the window at a world that was beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.
"We're approaching the northern territory checkpoint, Young Master," the driver called from outside, "other students will be joining us for the remainder of the journey to the academy."
William straightened his clothes and prepared himself for social interaction with people who would expect him to be the arrogant William Cross they presumably knew from noble gatherings, and he had no idea how to navigate that minefield without exposing himself as an imposter.
The carriage stopped at what looked like a way station where several other expensive carriages were already parked, and William could see groups of young people around his age standing together with their luggage, all of them radiating confidence and power that made his D-plus ranking feel completely inadequate.
He stepped out of the carriage and immediately felt multiple sets of eyes lock onto him with varying degrees of recognition and hostility, and William realized that the original William Cross had apparently made quite an impression on his peers, and not a positive one.
"Well well, if it isn't the Cross family's waste," drawled a voice that dripped with aristocratic contempt, and William turned to see a tall young man with silver hair and eyes that practically glowed with barely contained power, "I'm amazed they're still funding your academy attendance after you failed the entrance exam twice and only got in through daddy's donations."
[Character Identified: Damien Silvermoon - Minor Antagonist]
[Rank: B-Tier Cultivator]
[Relationship with Original William Cross: Hostile]
[Novel Role: Gets humiliated by protagonist in Chapter 15]
William looked at Damien and the group of sycophants surrounding him who were all clearly waiting for him to either grovel or lash out with typical arrogant noble brat behavior, and he made a split-second decision about how to handle this.
"You're absolutely right," he said calmly while meeting Damien's eyes with complete sincerity, "I am a waste who got in through connections rather than merit, At least I'm not an overlooked grunt whose ego doesn't match him."
The shocked silence that followed was deeply satisfying, and William watched Damien's face cycle through confusion, suspicion, and anger as he tried to process a response that apparently wasn't in the script.
"Are you mocking me," Damien finally said with barely contained aggression, and essence began swirling around him in visible patterns that suggested he was preparing for violence.
"Not at all," William replied while keeping his posture relaxed and non-threatening, "I'm agreeing with you because you're correct, and I don't see the point in pretending otherwise when we're all about to attend an academy where my inadequacy will be on full display anyway."
He turned away from Damien before the situation could escalate further and moved toward where the academy escort was organizing students into groups, leaving behind a crowd of nobles who were whispering furiously about the weird behavior from someone who was supposed to be predictably arrogant.
[Warning: Deviation from expected personality may attract attention]
[Note: Curse effects beginning to manifest in surrounding individuals]
William ignored the system notification and focused on getting through the next few hours without incident, though he could feel the stares following him from multiple directions, some confused, some suspicious, and some with an intensity that made his skin crawl because he recognized what that intensity meant.
The curse was already working, and he hadn't even reached the academy yet.
This was going to be an incredibly long four years, assuming he survived the first semester without being murdered by a yandere heroine or beaten to death by the protagonist for existing near his love interests.
The academy escort finally called for everyone to board the larger transport carriages that would take them the final leg of the journey, and William found himself sitting across from a group of students who kept shooting him glances while pretending they weren't staring.
Six hours ago he'd been standing in his family's entrance hall being told not to embarrass them, and now he was on his way to the most dangerous academy in the realm with powers he couldn't control and a curse that would make his life infinitely more complicated.
But at least it wouldn't be boring, and after nineteen years of the original William's life plus however many years of his own corporate existence, William was almost looking forward to the chaos.
Almost.