The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

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"Now then, everyone, you will all be in a single team, no exceptions," Magnus announced, emphasizing that last part while shooting a glance at Kael.

He soon continued, "Combat is a sacred act, and it's our duty to improve it. Therefore, I will be teaching you all combat tactics, practically. You will learn how to use the terrain to your advantage."

Sounds simple enough. Neraxis nodded.

Yet Magnus was not finished. "Our academy owns a small mountain just slightly outside of this city, and that's where you will all be going today."

"Huh? What about food?" a single student exclaimed, only to be met with a stern explanation.

"If you want food, then hunt for it. You can also find berries where we will be going, as the mountain is in the middle of a forest."

Neraxis grew slightly curious and asked, "Who exactly will we be training against? I believe most of us can kill monsters now. Unless you're planning to train us yourself?"

"I am not," Magnus shook his head before nonchalantly adding, "I've gathered prisoners and scattered them all around the mountain range as well as the forest below. Your task is to simply use the terrain and kill them all."

What the fuck? Neraxis's eyes widened as gasps resounded from all around him.

"You want us to play executioner? Are you serious?" he asked.

Magnus's reply was cold. "You lot are the special class. Therefore, I am giving you special treatment. As such, I am allowing you to get accustomed to killing, since while this city, Argon, might be peaceful, the other cities, not so much."

Once everyone quieted down, he continued, "Argon is blessed to have so many individuals to defend from the constant onslaught of Rift Breaks, while the other regions and cities are not so lucky, most being turned into monster zones."

"That is why," Magnus raised his voice, "I am teaching you to kill, so you don't get yourselves killed."

...I find that hard to believe unless the academy is planning to send us off to those monster-infested zones. Neraxis narrowed his eyes, but alas, Magnus clapped his hands, gathering everyone's attention again.

"Everyone, head to the top floor and onto the rooftop, where a transport helicopter is waiting. It should have just enough room for 20 of you. I will meet you there. Good luck."

As his words finished, Magnus suddenly vanished from their eyes, and soon, the entire class was left alone with just a single instruction: go to the roof.

Hmm... this is—

Neraxis's words were interrupted when, all of a sudden, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Upon turning around, he saw Aella looking at him with a smile.

"Did you sleep at all? Or were you actually training all night?"

"Haha... No, I didn't really have time to sleep," Neraxis responded when Kael suddenly nudged him before saying,

"You sure have your focus all over the place."

His voice held a bit of disapproval, to which Neraxis merely shrugged.

"At least I'm not a battle junkie who has a 3-0 loss record."

"W-What did you say!?" Kael was startled by Neraxis's bold comment, but before he could respond, two other people approached.

"You are grouping up, right? We are joining," Celina said while pointing toward Aurelia behind her, who waved back in response.

"Sounds good to me. The bigger our group, the less work we'll have to do," Neraxis added with a chuckle before turning toward Soren, who had been standing idly by.

"Soren, do you want to come along with us?"

However, Neraxis was met with a shake of the head.

"No. I told you to leave me alone."

Fair enough... Neraxis sighed before turning to his makeshift group and saying, "There are five of us in total, so it should be enough for most problems that could arise. Let's go up."

At his words, they all began walking, with the rest of the class trailing not too far behind.

However, Aella was being a little closer than usual, and their hands were nearly touching.

But upon noticing the smile on her face, Neraxis did not push her away, walking closely until they eventually reached the rooftop, where the helicopter waited for them.

A pair of instructors appeared, neatly guiding each and every student into the helicopter while, at the same time, providing a parachute in case of emergency.

Neraxis was taken inside too, and after getting comfortable—alongside Aella, who sat beside him, and Kael in front of him—they were off.

The flight took longer than he expected.

A whole hour, meaning they were actually farther from the city than Magnus had made them believe.

And soon, Neraxis saw a vast mountain range appear in the distance, followed by thousands of trees rising into the sky.

Zarj Encampment. He grimaced, being reminded of the past.

This forest, as well as the mountain range, was nothing but a cover-up for a monster zone, and in the very middle of it all was the encampment called Zarj.

It housed corrupt militia and other kinds of rotten people who were better off dead.

Yet the fact that they were descending there currently was only the beginning.

After just a few minutes, they landed, and soon, one of the instructors who had tagged along with them escorted each of the students out.

However, as Neraxis began looking around, he suddenly felt a gust of wind, followed by the helicopter flying off, leaving them behind.

Of course... He groaned and glanced around this so-called encampment.

There were tents, while at the same time, a few makeshift brick houses that were mostly used to build pubs where the people could get drunk.

As for the streets, they were either littered with shit or with blood, mostly mixed in between.

Just as he remembered.

"Everyone." Neraxis turned to his group. "This is a monster zone—not very high-ranked—but still, remain on guard."

"Huh? Is it really?" Aella's puzzled voice rang out, a sentiment shared by the people around her.

"Neraxis, the Zarj Encampment is a safe zone," Celina commented, making his brows furrow.

This is one of the events that happens not long after the academy starts... how could I forget? Neraxis mused before turning to the mountain off in the distance.

Within this week, if not tonight, there will be a mass Rift outbreak on top of the mountain, and it will unleash monsters to decimate this entire place. He gathered his thoughts and said,

"Kael, could you stick around the encampment for a little while? In the meantime, we will go look around."

"Hmm?" Kael hummed with confusion before suddenly halting, a grin appearing on his face, coupled with a knowing look.

"Y-You are a player," he stammered and gave Neraxis a thumbs-up.

This idiot... It did not take Neraxis long to figure out what he meant, but he did not bother correcting Kael.

After all, once these Rifts appear, all the corrupt militia here will go on to kill each other instead of fighting the monsters.

And if Kael was there to prevent that from happening, then that would be perfect.

As for Neraxis, he was going to set up escape countermeasures in the high chance that something goes wrong.

He turned to the girls, receiving a puzzled look from Celina, an embarrassed look from Aurelia, and, well, a surprisingly obedient look from Aella.

Letting out a sigh, he gestured toward the forest.

"Shall we scout the area?"