The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

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The moment he spoke those words, the entire area suddenly burst into silver flames, expanding as far as the eye could see.

At the same time, however, Neraxis could feel a massive surge of mana entering his body, essentially restoring all of his previously used mana and completely relieving the fatigue he had felt.

However, he definitely did not expect this amount of destruction.

Each monster's distorted scream resounded until eventually, it all died down.

And just as he expected, a column of red system messages appeared before him, bringing a smile to his face.

[469x (F+ Ranked Monster) Goblin Slain! Reward: Stigmata 0% -> 4.69%]

[311x (F+ Ranked Monster) Venomous Wasp Slain! Reward: Stigmata 4.69% -> 7.8%]

[95x (E- Ranked Monster) Demonic Imp Slain! Reward: Stigmata 7.8% -> 17.3%]

[70x (E+ Ranked Monster) Dire Wolf Slain! Reward: Stigmata 17.3% -> 34.8%]

[3x (D- Ranked Monster) Troll Scout Slain! Reward: Stigmata 34.8% -> 37.8%]

[1x (D+ Ranked Mini-Boss) Ogre Sentinel Slain! Reward: Stigmata 37.8% -> 45.3%]

What a great haul, though I am a bit surprised the Ogre wasn't C- rank, he remarked inwardly before jumping back on guard.

For all he knew, there could be more monsters, simply because the Ogre was a Mini-Boss.

Naturally, where there was a Mini-Boss, there was also a Boss.

However, even after the minutes ticked down, not a single monster appeared; the boss included.

Finally, he was down to his last minute.

Only then could he feel something happening again, but this time, he definitely did not expect it.

On the outskirts of the gladiator-like arena appeared a bunch of doors, and out of them came Troll Scouts, each holding a boulder.

Shit, Neraxis expressed before glancing at the time.

[0:51]

There wasn't much left, but with over 10 Troll Scouts surrounding him, it would be a tad bit difficult to avoid.

Yet he wouldn't give up; if anything, it might even be a bit easier to fight them head-on.

And that's exactly what Neraxis did, proceeding toward where the slowest of the bunch were.

The boulders came flying in, but before they could make contact with him, he seamlessly dodged, even cutting a few in half.

For some reason, ever since earlier, he felt his sword swings become more efficient, faster, and more precise as well.

No skill rank-up notification though, Neraxis grumbled and cut another boulder in half as he finally approached one of the Troll Scouts.

Waiting for the one in front of him to throw the boulder, he made a feint, tricking the stupid monster as he slid under its legs, and soon, cut its ankles.

Immediately after, Neraxis proceeded to touch the parts he had cut with his blackened-out hand, and soon, the Troll Scout's legs deteriorated, not regenerating anymore.

Thank God that worked; my marks are both on cooldown, he nodded to himself, watching as the shocked Troll Scout turned its body toward him.

But before it could even complete that motion, Neraxis sent a swift cut at its neck, drawing blood.

And like before, he followed it up by touching the wound with his hand, immediately killing the monster.

Yet his victory did not last long, as suddenly, a rain of boulders hurtled right at him.

However, as they did, he used what was left of the Troll Scout's body to block, since despite Neraxis's easy killing, it was pretty sturdy.

Right after the impacts stopped, he saw a trickle of blood appear before him, and immediately he got an idea.

Slicing through the Troll Scout's back, Neraxis drew blood and immediately used Crimson Sovereignty's Blood Sovereignty, creating a single construct that quickly took on a new form.

[1x Blood Construct Summoned! Type: Defense—Blood Shield]

It was definitely not big enough to cover him entirely, but holding it in his left hand, Neraxis felt like he could at least block a single hit.

And that was enough, as he headed toward the next Troll Scout beside him and repeated the process of slicing its ankles, deteriorating them, before finally delivering the killing blow.

However, unlike the other times, he did not see any new boulders being hurled at him.

As those thoughts fell, Neraxis suddenly twisted his body, dodging the incoming fist of a nearby Troll Scout while deeply cutting into its wrist.

But he could not relax, as soon, the other Troll Scouts approached, not even giving him a moment to take a breath.

Despite these circumstances, however, he had a smile plastered over his face.

It was just as he remembered—the exhilarating feeling of dancing with death, where he could be literally crushed at a moment's notice.

The same feeling that made him that much stronger in the past.

I'm glad I can experience it again, Neraxis expressed before attempting something new.

Evangeline, is there any way you can make the black mana on my hands travel up to the tip of the sword?

[It's definitely possible; however, the mana consumption will be immense because you don't have the right skill for it,] she explained before adding in a cheeky tone. [But since we are so compatible, I'll try my best to lessen it.]

...Thank you, he said, and immediately, Neraxis understood what she meant.

The mana began traveling up to the sword, turning it completely black. However, it also made his hand numb from the sheer amount of mana it was using.

By his estimations, he could keep this up for only 10 more seconds, and with 20 more seconds left on the clock, it was definitely possible.

Neraxis bore through the discomfort before suddenly lashing out at a nearby Troll Scout.

To his surprise, its chest immediately caved in, and its entire body soon followed after, turning into ashes and mixing with the dried blood on the ground.

Now this is what I'm talking about, a grin soon formed on Neraxis's face, as instead of being on the defense, he now turned to offense, narrowly dodging each attack before delivering a precise strike straight toward the Troll Scout's vitals.

His swordsmanship was getting better and better, yet he still felt like something was missing, something he could not quite figure out.

Nonetheless, with the skills he had, their numbers swiftly dwindled from 7 to 5, to now only 2.

Yet he miscalculated a little bit, as the blackened-out parts of his arm soon disappeared, meaning his Aura of the Abyss perk automatically disabled itself.

The reason? Lack of mana.

Neraxis felt a bit groggy, yet he persevered, slashing both of the Troll Scouts' knees in half, making them fall onto the ground.

They tried attacking him in the last moment, but he simply stepped backward before jumping into the air and swiftly positioning himself in a way where, in the next attack, he could end them both.

Immediately, Neraxis used the Simple Horizontal Slash, cleaving both of their heads off.

But he wasn't done, since even after having their heads lopped off, new heads soon began emerging, forming in an excruciating manner.

However, before it could get too far, he used the blood that had flowed out of them and quickly made a few more constructs.

To his surprise, since they constantly regenerated, it also seemed like their blood was being replenished as well.

Because of that, the number of Blood Constructs he was able to summon was a bit ridiculous.

[1559x Blood Construct Summoned! Type: Combat—Blood Needle]

Soon, Neraxis felt a massive joint connection, and without waiting further, waved his hand downward, piercing the Troll Scouts with an ever-increasing amount of Blood Needles.

That was until eventually, they died, and the notifications finally dawned before him.

[10x (D- Ranked Monster) Troll Scout Slain! Reward: Stigmata 45.3% → 55.3%]

Yet that wasn't the end of the notifications, though, as the timer finally reached zero.

[0:00]

[Dreamspire - 1st Floor Hard Mode: The Arena of Beginnings - Complete]

[Climber: Neraxis Valen]

[1st Floor Rating Generating...]

Oh? he raised his brow at the unexpected stream of notifications before his eyes widened at the next set of them.

[Rating Generated: SSS]

[Position: 3,776,511,055 -> 1,221,559,971]

[Current Progress: 1/? Floors]

Positions? Oh, that's what determines those rankings I looked up back then, he nodded to himself before looking for the way out button.

Yet he stumbled upon something more interesting, which made him halt.

[Dreamspire - 2nd Floor Hard Mode: Maze of Precision - Available]

[Do you wish to enter?]

[Yes/No]