The SSS Ranked Villain's Return - Chapter 142

Chapter 142: Hollow Ascent
“Screee!” A massive bird dived toward him, its beak threatening to pierce straight through his head.

But before it could, Neraxis evaded the attack, and by grabbing its foot, he sent it toward one of the incoming javelins, effectively impaling the bird and sending it downward.

[1x (B- Ranked Monster) Corrupted Griffin Slain! Reward: Stigmata 0.1% → 0.2%]

That’s a griffin? Neraxis thought with a raised brow.

It looked like a zombie, its skin practically ripped apart and its brains sticking out.

But if it had “Corrupted” in the name, then it made some sense.

Nonetheless, Neraxis continued scaling the mountain, as more monsters began flying at him.

The javelins from before had also sped up, and it was starting to become difficult to dodge them while also avoiding the monsters.

Soon, a new species of monster emerged—one he hadn’t seen before, not even in the past.

It had an eagle head, wings, and a humanoid body, eerily crawling along the mountain toward Neraxis.

Its appearance sent shivers down his spine, but nonetheless, he used {Simple Stab} and pierced straight through its heart.

Yet in the same moment, the hole expanded, severing its entire body in two.

[1x (B Ranked Monster) Eagle Amalgamation Slain! Reward: Stigmata 0.2% → 0.4%]

His {Cosmic Sight} was really beginning to show itself now, and with that, he had already realized the true speed of those javelins.

Neraxis’s perception slowed everything down significantly, mainly due to his Intelligence stat being so high, as well as the {Cosmic Sight} perk now having higher proficiency.

And from the looks of things, those javelins were going at several times the speed of sound.

I wish they were stronger, though. Neraxis grumbled, glancing at all sorts of monsters to the side.

They feared him, as not even one managed to get close to him before he instantly killed them.

But that was how the tutorial floors were supposed to be—easy.

[I don’t think fighting B-ranked monsters in the first 10 floors of the tower is exactly easy,] Evangeline commented with a giggle before adding, [After all, from what I can see of your memories, there are at least 100.]

True, though the floors after the 10th are different, so I’ll just have to see for myself. Neraxis replied and stabbing his sword sideways, impaling another ugly bird creature.

[1x (B- Ranked Monster) Corrupted Griffin Slain! Reward: Stigmata 0.4% → 0.5%]

Although he was unsatisfied with the rate of progress, considering something like this would have netted him around 20% usually, Neraxis bore through it.

After all, fighting A- ranked monsters was not off the table now.

Neraxis finally managed to reach the clouds and ran past them, yet the sight ahead made him flinch.

It seemed like the mountain was split into several parts—the lower, the middle, and the highest level—with him currently entering the middle level.

The only reason he figured this out because instead of snow, a raging heat assaulted him.

At the same time, magma was being spewed all around him, which he swiftly dodged.

Monster-wise, they had changed again, but he could recognize a few.

Fiery Toad, D+ Rank. Demonic Magma Imp, B Rank. Lastly, monsters he had only fought a handful of times.

Drakes.

Essentially, they were young dragons, and after a couple more years, they would evolve into an actual dragon.

Nonetheless, their strength was still high and likely even in the A- rank territory.

Now that the clouds were gone, he was able to see the level above the volcanic mountainous area, and it seemed to be a combination of both—just more intense.

Taking a deep breath, Neraxis sped up, dashing through each and every monster, as killing them would barely give him any progress.

Of course, he wanted Evangeline to get the best kills, not some slop.

But alas, his peace of mind did not last long, as in the midst of his sprint, a large ball of magma emerged from the ground, and landed squarely on him.

At the very last moment, he used {Aura of the Abyss}; however, it was not the usual usage.

Instead of covering himself, he covered the world around him, choosing instead to slightly alter the laws of the world.

Therefore, Neraxis completely altered the magma’s composition, turning it into slightly warm water as it flowed past him.

Yet despite his success, he clutched his heart in pain.

Fuck… Even though I learned how to control it… it’s still a bit too much to use in an actual fight, he thought with rough breaths, but after a few seconds, his condition stabilized.

However, as it did, the claws of a massive monster appeared before his eyes, and on instinct, Neraxis raised his arm, stopping the claw in place.

But since his arm was covered in {Aura of the Abyss}, the claw of the monster was soon turned to ice and then, finally, dust.

And as Neraxis looked up, he spotted the pained expression of a drake, struggling as it tried flying away but couldn’t since its wings deteriorated—until eventually, nothing was left.

[1x (B+ Ranked Monster) Fire Drake Slain! Reward: Stigmata 0.5% → 0.8%]

So not A- rank yet… Neraxis mused.

Merely touching it had made the Decay accelerate even further.

The additional ice property was neat, and he was now able to cycle between them—though unless he wanted to torture someone, Neraxis preferred to use Decay instead.

He kept on sprinting, with the monsters once again avoiding him, until eventually, he arrived at the third and likely highest area in the entire trial.

The mountainside he was on was fully encased in ice, yet at the same time, both the ice javelins and the magma began raining down on him.

Just this time, it was not only from the top but also from the sides.

Thankfully, there were no more monsters in sight, so all he had to do was simply make it to the top, which, from his estimations, was merely a kilometer away.

But as his relief set in, the entire mountain suddenly shook, and in the very next moment, one of his fears came true.

A massive winged monster—several times larger than the drakes.

An actual dragon had appeared, and from the looks of things, it had both fire and ice affinities.

That meant unless he dodged, he was done for.

[It seems like a newly born dragon, though. Are you sure you can’t kill it?] Evangeline asked softly. [I don’t want to overestimate you, but I feel like underestimating you is also the wrong thing to do.]

“Pfft…” He held back a laugh. Is that so…

Gripping his sword tighter, Neraxis locked onto the dragon, who was closing the distance fast.

Yet his plan remained the same. When it finally came within range, Neraxis used {Eve of Ruin: Mark of Destruction}.

Immediately, a swirling silver orb appeared around the dragon, and before long, he also cast {Stellar Dominion: Cosmic Cascade}.

Damage-wise, it dealt enough to char its wings, making it unable to fly, as it barreled down the mountain and stopped right in front of him.

Neraxis put on a wide grin before raising his sword toward it tauntingly.

“Well, little dragon, I’m afraid I’ll have to offer you as a sacrifice.”