The SSS Ranked Villain's Return - Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Trial of Synchrony
With each thump on the ground, Neraxis moved, and frankly, killing monsters was beginning to get easier.

However, at the same time, he saw this as an opportunity.

Each time he swung his sword, it had the perfect trajectory, which shouldn’t normally be possible.

There was only one explanation for such a situation, and that was: The trial was trying to better his swordsmanship.

It had given him time back in the fifth trial, and now, in the seventh, it was assisting him with his swordsmanship.

Nonetheless, he brought out his sword, stretching it forward before suddenly cutting in an arc, stopping for less than a second, and then continuing once again.

The monsters acted as training dummies, so even if he did not attack them, they were not of a high enough rank to give him stigmata progress.

Even without that, his swordsmanship was growing rapidly, to the point where each attack was more accurate than the last.

His defenses improved by leaps and bounds too, as, coupled with {Cosmic Sight}, Neraxis felt like no one could hit him as long as he wanted to evade.

However, instead of evading, he took on each attack, redirecting it toward the others while actively killing every single goblin in sight.

As he was doing that, a red system screen suddenly appeared in front of him, making his eyes widen.

[Phantom Step {G}]

[Skill Description: Slightly Enhances movement speed and agility, allowing for quicker repositioning in combat. Grants a minor boost to balance and reduces the chance of tripping or stumbling while evading attacks.]

A footwork skill…? Neraxis thought, nearly breaking his tempo.

Nonetheless, it was a passive skill, and an overpowered footwork one at that.

He could immediately tell its effects, as moving had gotten much easier, but in turn, so had his swordsmanship.

It almost seemed like it had become twice as easy now that he began combining footwork alongside his swordsmanship; therefore, the monsters were not even able to get close to him before Neraxis slashed them all in half.

However, not even two minutes later, another red system screen appeared.

[Phantom Step {G→F}]

[Skill Description: Slightly → Moderately Enhances movement speed and agility, allowing for quicker repositioning in combat. Grants a minor → medium boost to balance and reduces the chance of tripping or stumbling while evading attacks.]

As he finished reading that notification, Neraxis could immediately feel his balance growing even firmer, allowing him to follow the rhythm perfectly without even having to try.

Yet he noticed something was off.

The rhythm was slowing down, and soon, it mixed into a completely different tempo.

As it did, the monsters from earlier retreated, and in turn, a new wave of monsters approached. But this time, they were much stronger

Shadow panthers, the same C- rank monsters, and unluckily, they specialized in speed.

However, as one of them dashed at him, and Neraxis thought it would be a problem, he attempted to dodge while relying on the rhythm.

But midway through the dodge, he noticed a gap in the monster’s defense, and before it could even react, he stretched out his sword, neatly striking it through the heart, before finishing his dodge, not breaking the tempo in the slightest.

[1x (C- Ranked Monster) Shadow Panther Slain! Reward: Stigmata 10.8% → 10.81%]

[That’s even lower than I expected… I guess you’ll need to start killing S-ranked monsters soon,] Evangeline remarked with a giggle.

I’ve only killed a few S- monsters; they were all something the current me would die to in an instant, Neraxis replied with a sigh. For some reason, the jump between A+ and S- ranks is massive, even larger than the other ranks.

[Well, the stronger you get, the more possibilities open up,] Evangeline said plainly. [Or so I think.]

Who knows, I’ll find out once I reach S- rank.

As the last of his thoughts were finished, he finally glanced at the timer.

[1:22]

[1:21]

The time sure flew by, huh? Neraxis remarked inwardly, before dodging the claw of a Shadow Panther and impaling it.

[1x (C- Ranked Monster) Shadow Panther Slain! Reward: Stigmata 10.81% → 10.82%]

All of the monsters were waiting for him to eventually mess up so they could go in for the kill, only a few stupider monsters ran in to actually attack him before then.

However, the way he was able to counterattack with such rhythm really made Neraxis in awe of what perfect timing could do.

And soon, another bout of messages appeared, greatly shocking him.

[Phantom Step {F→E}]

[Skill Description: Moderately → Significantly Enhances movement speed and agility, allowing for quicker repositioning in combat. Grants a medium → high boost to balance and reduces the chance of tripping or stumbling while evading attacks.]

Already!?

Neraxis couldn’t believe it, since even in the past, due to his rough fighting style, he hadn’t been able to unlock any kind of footwork.

The government had also been stingy with their skill books since, unlike this time around, back then they were greatly scarce.

However, as the last minute finally dawned, each and every single Shadow Panther suddenly began attacking at once.

He was startled for a moment but did not break rhythm, merely continuing to evade their attacks until, eventually, he moved to a position where they all appeared before him perfectly.

As they did, Neraxis brought his sword to the side before using {Simple Horizontal Slash}.

From the momentum of his footwork, he was able to muster up more strength; therefore, his attacks, which already caused miniature wind blades to appear in the air, managed to do something even more impressive.

The slash flew out, however, behind it, small trickles of black and white mana emerged, before coming into contact with the Shadow Panthers.

They did not even manage to react, as the slash neared them, and from a distance, they were turned to ice in an instant, followed by the slash finally reaching them.

Once it did, the ice turned black, and in the next moment, it shattered, not letting out even a drop of blood in the process.

[34x (C- Ranked Monster) Shadow Panther Slain! Reward: Stigmata 10.82% → 11.14%]

[Woah…] Evangeline’s amazed voice rang out. [You just used aura by accident. And you haven’t even reached D rank in swordsmanship. Impressive…]

It was a fluke, Neraxis replied, downplaying his achievement as he continued following the rhythm around, with no monsters even remotely being in sight.

[0:16]

[0:15]

[Trial Stopped!]

Hmm? He raised his brow, and soon, the clearing messages poured down.

[Dreamspire – 7th Floor Hard Mode: Trial of Synchrony – Complete]

[Climber: Neraxis Valen]

[7th Floor Rating Generating…]

[Rating Generated: SSS+]

[Position: 102,966,003 → 69,221,028]

[Current Progress: 7/? Floors]

[Dreamspire – 8th Floor Hard Mode: Room of Silence – Available]

[Do you wish to enter?]

[Yes/No]

Neraxis stared at the messages and noticed that he finally managed to break through the 100 million barrier.

Yet it was still a bit surprising that more than 69 million people had gone past the 7th floor, but it was a wonder how far the top had gotten.

After all, if the rankings were based off Dreamspire, then the strongest had definitely reached the 60th floor by now.

Nonetheless, putting those thoughts aside, Neraxis mentally prepared himself for the 8th floor, as, while it wasn’t difficult for him, he couldn’t imagine what kind of debuff hard mode would give him.

Therefore, after a few minutes of preparation, Neraxis finally pressed the “Yes” button.

Immediately, he appeared in a completely dark room, with only a single lightbulb on the ceiling.

Yet that was not all, as he could hear a pair of footsteps every couple of seconds, seemingly getting closer.

[Dreamspire – 8th Floor Hard Mode: Room of Silence]

[Objective: Do not let out a sound, and kill the being hunting you, before it can kill you. Time limit: 15 → 5 minutes]

[Status: Started]