《The SSS Ranked Villain's Return》


 Chapter 1: The Calm Before The Storm

    The battlefield had calmed down. It was not the kind of quiet you would expect to hear after achieving victory; instead, it almost seemed like his efforts had been in vain.


    However, the proof was right there, on the ground: a never-ending pile of corpses¡ªthe corpses of monsters he had slain to protect the people.


    As well as the rowdy bunch who called themselves heroes; instead, they had all been reduced to mere cannon fodder the moment the monsters poured out of the rift to attack.


    Jeremy''s gone. Can''t say I liked him, but it''s a pity. He was the least useless one of them all, Neraxis expressed with a sigh. They were not friends by any means, more like acquaintances, but nonetheless, he had developed a sense of camaraderie with the others.


    The same as the other ''heroes,'' but here he was¡ªbloody and beaten¡ªwhile they were most likely hidden somewhere.


    That was supposed to be the final rift, although humanity had been saying that for the last couple of decades. The cycle never ends, and it certainly does not wait for you to grow stronger.


    The rift this time around was the first S-ranked rift in the entirety of recorded human history. The highest humanity had faced up until this point was an A-ranked rift.


    At least I can get the last laugh. I''m glad I put in the extra training while the others were slacking off, Neraxis exclaimed with a shallow breath. Even as strong as he was, injuries could not be avoided.


    But that did not matter. After all, Alice was one of the best healers in the world as well as the one he loved. The fact that she was also somewhere nearby made him feel a bit at ease.


    What is taking those fuckers so long? Neraxis was growing a bit impatient. They were most definitely aware that the fight had ended, so where were they?


    The silence had not lifted even slightly. It felt ominous to even stand by, and though he had killed all of the monsters, there was still a fair bit of tension in the air.


    Most importantly, there was malice directed right at him from many sides.


    The heroes who had hidden all this time finally appeared in his vision¡ªeight people in total, and behind them was a crowd of the people he had saved.


    A faint smile appeared on Neraxis''s face. It seemed like his effort had not been for nothing; he managed to save them all. He just felt a bit strange seeing his party of heroes looking at him like that.


    It was caution, fear, and lastly... Resolve?


    Suddenly, a few messages appeared right in front of his eyes that he opted to ignore. The system had been pestering him about random stuff ever since the rift opened up, so he muted it.


    [Task Failed Successfully!]


    [Generating Evaluation: ETA 5 Minutes]


    "The fuck does that even mean?" he muttered under his breath, making sure no one heard him. The situation did seem a little strange.


    "Hey Nera, good work out there," Lar said while slowly walking toward him. The man behind the wheel, the one who was supposed to be the actual hero according to the media, yet here he was, reduced to a coward who had to abandon his party members.


    What a pathetic guy. If I had been any weaker, his stunt would have got me killed, Neraxis expressed inside his mind and stretched out his hand. He wanted to lean on Lar since he did not have that much strength left. The adrenaline was slowly disappearing.


    However, he did not receive a hand to lean on. Instead, Lar stopped just a few meters away from him and looked down at him with disgust clearly visible on his face.


    "How far you have fallen, to think you would resort to killing humans..."


    Neraxis was left stunned at that comment. "What bullshit are you spouting?" However, Lar completely ignored him and continued speaking.


    "What do you all think? What should we do with this traitor of humanity?" He was trying his best to hide the grin forming on his face but failed. The only one who could notice it was Neraxis.


    What is he doing...?


    The people all around were cheering, screaming all sorts of things he never imagined hearing in his entire life.


    "Kill him!"


    "End him already!"


    All different kinds of insults were being hurled at him, and for what? What had he done to deserve any of this?


    He fought for them, he defended them, he nearly died for them, yet they were returning that gratitude by alienating him.


    You worthless sacks of shit...


    "Now, now, everyone, calm down. There is a time for such things," Lar said with a single finger over his lips, signifying for everyone present to quiet down.


    "Alice, why don''t you come over and heal him? He is looking a little roughed up." At his words, Alice, the girl Neraxis had been in love with for the past couple of years, walked up right next to him.


    The gentle smile he had grown accustomed to was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she had a scowl on her face, looking down at him as if he were mere trash "You really expected me to help you... Pathetic."


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "You fuck¡ª" Neraxis was about to use his signature attack, Hell Scythe, however, the blue system window appeared before his eyes again.


    [Usage Of Skills Blocked | Rating Evaluation In Progress]


    [Generating Evaluation: ETA 2 Minutes]


    System, are you fucking crazy!? Stop the generation or I am about to die! Neraxis exclaimed, but nothing happened. He was practically doomed to die.


    Lar and Alice flinched upon realizing what he was about to do, but once they realized nothing happened, they heaved a sigh of relief and walked over to him, the other heroes following closely by.


    "Someone''s a little shy today. What''s wrong, Neraxis?" The hero who used the spear, Bale, came over, an arrogant grin plastered on his face, yet he was powerless against his taunts.


    "It''s nice seeing you again, Neraxis," Asher, the hero who used daggers, said. Out of all the heroes present, his and Lar''s animosity was evenly matched.


    The other heroes stood back, they were quite afraid of him since he did do his due diligence in making sure they did not step out of line.


    However, that seemed to not matter, since the only people he had put his trust in were about to end his life.


    [Generating Evaluation: ETA 20 Seconds]


    "Lar, why?" Neraxis asked in a helpless tone. This was not how he had planned on dying. He wanted to become rich, get married, start a family, be normal.


    But that was all but a fool''s dream... He let out an exhausted sigh and waited for an answer.


    [Generating Evaluation: ETA 10 Seconds]


    These system messages are really annoying, though...


    "Why else, Neraxis..." Lar said out loud for all the people to hear and then began coming closer, close enough to whisper in his ear.


    "You offset the balance. Now that there would be no more rifts, why would we risk having someone as strong and unpredictable as you kept alive?"


    "Hah...hahaha," Neraxis let out a laugh, finding his answer hilarious. "For that reason alone, you are planning to kill me?"


    [Generating Evaluation: ETA 5 Seconds]


    Just a few more seconds until I blast you all to bits. A small smile appeared on Neraxis''s face. However, as he stared at the countdown, a sudden pain in his chest assaulted him.


    Looking down, he saw a single dagger piercing right through his heart. It was the same dagger he had bought as a gift for Alice.


    Even at the end... you...


    "You bitch..." He groaned and noticed the other heroes unsheathing their weapons as well.


    [Generating Evaluation: ETA 1 Second]


    However, just as he resigned to his fate, the system messages began appearing once again, and at the same time, the ground began rumbling.


    A pair of daggers, a sword, and even a spear headed straight for him and pierced his body. In his last moments, he could swear he saw a massive pillar coming out of the ground.


    But he could not make sure as he began losing consciousness, until finally, he drew his last breath.


    Yet even in his dying moments, the blue system window was clearly visible.


    [Evaluation Complete: SSS-Rank]


    [Host Is Unable To Receive Rewards: Recompiling]


    I don''t give a shit. Neraxis exclaimed with the last of his will and closed his eyes, succumbing to the total darkness.


    [Using Unique One-Time-Use Skill: Rebirth]


    He was expecting to die. After all, he had lost most of his senses just a few moments ago. However, he was now feeling itchy instead.


    The fuck? Neraxis''s eyes shot open, and he saw a familiar ceiling right above his head.


    This is... my home? It''s not destroyed? His thoughts were racing with confusion, that was until an obnoxious knock on his door appeared, followed by a voice he had not heard in many years.


    "Wake up, idiot! You will be late!"


    My sister... Elara... she is alive? Neraxis''s heart began beating at an incredibly fast rate. The last time he had seen her was when he was picking up what remained of her from the rubble.


    He quickly got out of bed and darted straight to the mirror, and upon seeing the person in the reflection, his eyes widened.


    A young man who looked to be 16 years old, with completely white hair and crystal-like purple eyes, was staring right back at him.


    This is how I looked just before I entered the academy..? He lifted up his shirt and saw the flawless skin, a stark contrast to his body mere moments ago; it had been riddled with scars.


    "Neraxis! Are you deaf!?" Elara''s voice once again resounded as she began kicking his door.


    ...What in the actual fuck is going on?

 Chapter 2: Storm

    ...Status


    +-----+


    Name: Neraxis Valen


    Age: 16


    --Stats:


    Rank: G


    Strength: G-


    Agility: G-


    Stamina: G- I


    ntelligence: F-


    Mana Capacity: G+


    --Secondary Stats:


    Luck: G


    Charm: D-


    --Skills:


    +-----+


    All of my hard-earned skills are gone. The same goes for all my stats. Also, 16? Seriously? I was 24 before I died...


    Neraxis laid back on his bed, nearly stumbling onto the ground.


    So much had happened in the last couple of minutes that he found it hard to believe that what he was seeing was actually real.


    He picked up a nearby pencil and twirled it around. It felt realistic in his grip, but one could never be too sure.


    Here goes nothing.


    Neraxis took a deep breath and thrust the pencil straight into his thigh, and, much to his surprise, he felt pain¡ªa lot of pain, for that matter. It was a flat pencil, not yet sharpened, so it did not manage to pierce through his skin. Nonetheless, it still hurt.


    Just as he was about to scream, an even louder knock resounded from his door, followed by his sister''s voice:


    "If you don''t come out in the next five minutes, I am breaking down the door!" She finished with a kick to the door.


    She always liked to nag...


    It still felt unreal. He had died. Elara had died. But as doubt began creeping in again, a series of system messages flashed before his eyes.


    [Viewing System Logs...]


    [Evaluation Complete: SSS-Rank]


    [Removing Unique One-Time-Use Skill: Rebirth | Reason: Used]


    [Removing All Previously Acquired Skills | Reason: Incompatible]


    [Too Weak to Receive All Rewards: Progressive Reward System Initiated]


    [Would you like to accept the rewards? Yes/No]


    Neraxis stared blankly at the messages before him.


    Rebirth? Incompatible...? What the fuck...


    He pressed the Yes button. It didn¡¯t sound like he had much of a choice anyway.


    It was also how he got his first skill last time. It happened a few months before the academy officially started, back when he passed the basic exam to get in.


    After a few seconds of waiting, another message popped up. However, instead of his main skill, Hell Scythe, there was a whole new skill, one he had never seen before.


    [Progressive Skill Received: Eve of Ruin {G-SSS}]


    [Eve of Ruin {G}]


    [Skill Description: Harness the power of Vulnerability and Decay. Due to the low rank of the skill, most options are locked.]Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    [Skill Effects (1/2): Aura of Vulnerability: All enemies within a 5-meter radius take an extra 5% more damage from all sources. Duration: 1 minute; Cooldown: 15 minutes.]


    [Skill Effects (2/2): Mark of Decay: Mark a single enemy within a 30-meter radius and inflict the _Decaying_ debuff; Cooldown: 10 minutes.]


    [Debuff - Decaying: Each attack against the target has a low chance to remove a beneficial effect and temporarily disable healing. Each attack reduces the target''s Movement Speed by 1% per stack. Stacks up to 5 times. The debuff lasts as long as the target is being hit; if not hit for more than 30 seconds, the debuff vanishes.]


    This is... pretty shit.


    Neraxis read through the entire skill. While it seemed promising because it could evolve to SSS rank, it was currently pretty useless. Even his previous Hell Scythe skill started at C rank, which he evolved to B rank just before his last battle.


    The evolution happened mainly due to his proficiency. Now, though, he had no clue how to begin evolving such an ability. This skill would be good if combined with another skill, much like his previous main skill, but alas, the system decided to screw him over again.


    While it wasn''t what I expected, at least the Decaying debuff is alright. I assume the healing stays disabled until the debuff expires? That would be pretty overpowered now that I think about it...


    As he immersed himself in thought, his door suddenly swung open, nearly breaking the frame.


    The perpetrator?


    "Ten minutes, you idiot! If you don''t get there in time, they''ll expel you!"


    Elara walked up to the stunned Neraxis and grabbed him by the collar. Surprisingly, her strength was high enough to lift him.


    But that seemed fair. After all, he was a bit frail at the moment. Tall and frail¡ªdefinitely not the greatest combo. Still, he remembered improving his physique quite quickly after arriving at the academy; after all, it was one of the best in the country.


    He was already dressed, so Elara simply dragged him downstairs and stuck a fork in his hand, placing a meat dish in front of him.


    "Eat up. Try not to choke."


    Neraxis nodded mindlessly and began scarfing down the food, though his emotions were in turmoil.


    She¡¯s just like I remember her. Hair and eyes the same as mine. Her fierce look while washing the dishes... funny and nostalgic.


    Taking a deep breath after finishing his food, he leaned back in his chair.


    I really am back, aren''t I?


    But as his mind cleared, his confusion only deepened.


    Why had the heroes betrayed and killed him? He wasn¡¯t a bad judge of character. He had always ensured that those he opened up to were trustworthy.


    The same went for Lar. Up until the last fight, Neraxis noticed nothing wrong. Only after slaying all the monsters did they show their true intentions.


    Then there was that system message he received before everything began crumbling down. Scrolling through the logs, he ignored the random countdowns until he found what he was looking for.


    [Task Failed Successfully!]


    What task did I fail? And what does it mean by successfully?


    Before he could delve deeper, Elara hit him over the head with his own bowl.


    "Six minutes. If you run full speed, you might just make it."


    She reminded him while taking his plate to the sink to wash.


    Understanding it was time to leave, Neraxis headed to the front door. Pausing with one leg out of the house, he turned back to Elara, who was still washing dishes.


    "See you later?" he asked with a shaky voice.


    "Five minutes," she replied, scrubbing another plate.


    Without another word, Neraxis began running.


    His stamina was horrible. The academy was only 5 kilometers away, and since he was a superhuman, running that far in 5 minutes was definitely doable. The world had changed quite a while ago; the norms were not the same as they had been a few hundred years ago.


    It was currently the year 2367, and the last rift outbreak had been 17 years ago. He already knew when the next one would happen¡ªexactly 8 years from now.


    Superhumans first appeared in the year 2195. Random humans began seeing status screens right before their eyes, and then there were skills¡ªabilities that granted them immense strength.


    But alas, with the appearance of the first superhumans also came a time of chaos. In the year 2200, the first-ever rift outbreak happened, wiping out a good portion of humanity.


    That continued on, the difficulty increasing each time until finally, Neraxis put an end to it¡ªor so he thought, anyway. He had no way of knowing if whatever he had done even had an impact.


    As he was in the middle of running, he spotted something strange in the corner of his eye. It was a perfect time to take a break since he felt like his lungs were on fire anyway. It was a good thing the academy was just in front of him.


    But that was not what caught his attention. Instead, it was the massive, slim, purple tower stretching straight into the clouds. He could not even see the very top of it. There was an ominous feeling emanating from it, but he could not quite put his finger on what exactly it was. In the end, however, one thing was certain.


    That was definitely not there before...

 Chapter 3: Havenspire Academy

    Neraxis''s gaze was fixated on the tower; after all, it had not been there before.


    However, there was a single memory that had been replaying in his mind, and that was the moment he died¡ªor more specifically, the sight he saw just before he died.


    There was a tower rising in the distance, its design eerily similar to what he was currently seeing. But even then, he had been barely conscious at the time.


    For all Neraxis knew, it might have been more of a foreboding. He was still a bit dazed after all that had happened. Therefore, he would leave the thinking for later. First and foremost, he had to attend the academy.


    And according to his phone, he was about to be late. Only 20 seconds remained until the gates of the academy closed.


    But as he approached the gates, he noticed another thing off¡ªthe name of the academy, which had previously been Arcanum, was instead Havenspire.


    Even this has changed... Am I in a different timeline or something? Neraxis felt conflicted but nonetheless headed inside. Although he was not exactly late, he was certainly the last one to arrive.


    Passing through the gate, he saw the familiar sight of the academy. It seemed like the only thing that had changed was its name.


    It was a pretty long structure, stretching out several hundred meters in all directions. Safe to say, it was massive¡ªenough to fit all the students inside with space left over.


    But despite that, the academy was not known for its high acceptance rate. The only reason he had passed was because of his Hell Scythe skill. However, that was gone now.


    That meant his chances of retaining his spot had decreased by quite a margin. And while Neraxis did have a lot of experience, some skills tended to be a bit overpowered¡ªespecially for those in the academy.


    Not that he had that high of a spot anyway. Out of 1,000 students, he was pretty much down the very middle¡ª488th.


    "You are late," a voice came from the side. It was one of the guards stationed near the entrance of the academy, also responsible for leading everyone to the auditorium.


    "Sorry... the bus was full. Had to run over," Neraxis tried making a half-hearted excuse that even he could not believe, but nonetheless, it seemed to work.


    "I don''t give a shit. Follow me quickly." The guard signaled with his chin toward the academy''s wide entrance door and began leading him at a brisk pace.


    They were practically jogging for a few seconds until finally, they arrived at a door Neraxis remembered very well. The auditorium was a place where the whole academy gathered whenever a student achieved something unbelievable.


    Normally, it was supposed to be used once every couple of years. However, due to the sheer number of talented people who had joined this year, the congratulatory ceremonies happened at least once a month.


    The guard whisked him forward as Neraxis stood still for a few seconds too long. Before he knew it, he was inside the auditorium, its size speaking volumes about the wealth of the academy.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    However, that was not the issue now. Instead, it seemed like he was now the center of attention. It was not like he hated it, but being in the spotlight on his first day with no way to defend himself from jealous students down the line? Not what he had on his agenda.


    His main skill was plain yet had the potential to grow incredibly strong, considering most of its options were still locked. Despite that, now he was a sitting duck.


    Neraxis could feel the stares of annoyance from many of the other students. Every single one of them was a first-year. Though not all of them would last long enough to attend the second year.


    While it was an academy, it was also a strict training institute¡ªone that focused more on practical application rather than theory. It was, in a way, why he liked it so much. However, it was also the reason why so many students died.


    But damn... it sure is quiet...? As Neraxis was in the middle of his thoughts, he heard a pair of footsteps walking up to him. Upon noticing who it was, he froze.


    "Do you not understand punctuality? You are four seconds late."


    "Sorry... Miss Miranda," he tried his best to keep his voice steady. After all, the person before him was one of the senior-year teachers.


    And not only that, she was also one of the people who believed that the rifts were supposed to be opened¡ªto let in the outer beings of some sort.


    Basically an insane person. He was just happy he had the honor of ending her life in the future.


    She was not the only one with that kind of mentality. There were many who, after two centuries, assumed humans were the ones causing havoc and that the rifts were there to stop it.


    Flawed thinking for a flawed individual. Her personality has always been a little off-putting. Even if some things had changed, she sure hasn''t... Neraxis chuckled inwardly and waited out her glare. She would not expel him for being a few seconds late.


    That would be the case if his rank were in the 800s, though. He would not even be able to step through the academy''s entrance before someone threw him out.


    As he was lost in his thoughts, her stern voice interrupted him. "Student, if I find you are late to another gathering, I will expel you on the spot. Understood?"


    Neraxis merely nodded and proceeded to walk to a less crowded area. He did not want to be huddled together with all those arrogant kids who were glaring daggers at him.


    There were a few he recognized, some he even got along with previously. However, not many of them survived until the end.


    He was also thankful that the heroes were not from his academy. He did not know what he would have done to them if they were.


    However, as he looked around, he could not spot a certain individual¡ªthe one who was supposed to represent the academy.


    When is the headmaster showing up? Shouldn''t he have been here even before everyone else?


    But as those thoughts surfaced, he could suddenly feel his neck grow cold. His instincts told him someone was watching him.


    Neraxis immediately turned his head to spot the culprit. However, it seemed he was not the only one, as the majority of the students did the same¡ªsome much more spooked than he was.


    "All of you would have died just then, carelessly leaving your backs turned and guards down. Pathetic."


    An emotionless voice resounded from the podium, where a lone man sat wearing a luxurious pure black academy uniform with the crest of clouds etched onto the fabric.


    To say he looked intimidating was an understatement. One felt like they would die just by meeting his eyes.


    That reminds me... I forgot to change into the uniform. Neraxis inwardly sighed and glanced at the man again. He was looking over everyone as if they were bugs¡ªseemingly wastes of life.


    It was not a great way to motivate the students to learn more, but at least he acknowledged when someone did something praiseworthy.


    "I will keep this brief. Welcome to Havenspire Academy, I am the headmaster, William Whiltfrow. Those who were expelled and decided to try their luck at the entrance exam once again, nothing changed. If you are trash, then stay as trash."


    The headmaster spoke without remorse and stood up, waving his hand to the side and opening the back door of the auditorium.


    It led to the massive indoor field with many arenas scattered around. Their purpose? Duels or battle royale-type battles.


    However, that was not the problem. Instead, it was something else entirely.


    What do you mean there is another entrance exam!?

 Chapter 4: Start of The Entrance Exam

    I already took an exam months ago. What¡¯s he talking about? Another one? Neraxis glanced around with furrowed brows. Nonetheless, he followed the other students heading inside the massive indoor field.


    Today was supposed to be an introduction to how everything worked, led by none other than William.


    But instead, he was met with an unexpected situation. Again.


    He made his way past the multiple smaller round-shaped arenas until, finally, he ended up in front of one large round arena¡ªmany times larger than anything he had seen before.


    Did I really enter the right academy? He began to think he was somewhere else entirely. Most things looked the same, but the small differences kept adding up, making everything feel unfamiliar.


    "Alright, everyone, is there someone who doesn''t know what''s going on?" The headmaster, William, walked onto the massive arena and asked. His tone indicated he did not want to hear any questions.


    But alas, there were always people with questions. "Yes, sorry, I forgot to read the memo."


    Neraxis turned to his left. Surprisingly, the person who asked that stood right beside him. From the looks of it, his strength was very little compared to his naivety.


    Neraxis raised an eyebrow at the kid beside him¡ªsmirking like an idiot. Class clown, huh?


    But instead of answering, William headed back down and walked right up to the kid who asked the question. "What''s your name?"


    "Ron... sir."


    "I see, Ron. Do you think the academy is a joke?"


    Oh god, his academy monologues are starting again... Some things don''t change. Neraxis stared straight at the arena, avoiding William completely. He was a troublesome person and, at the same time, incredibly strong.


    Or he was, anyway. Back in the past, William used to be a top-tier A-rank mage. His main skill dealt with pure elements, so his spells were many times more powerful than those of other mages.


    However, as Neraxis kept his attention on the arena, he noticed something off. Silence.


    There was no annoying monologue about the academy. William merely stared at Ron with a judging gaze.


    "I... am sorry..." Ron looked down and apologized.


    "Good. Now then..." William patted Ron on the shoulder and headed back to the arena.


    After a few seconds, he continued:


    "I don''t doubt there are some of you who don''t know what is going on. Thus, I will explain it one last time." He looked over everyone present.


    "Each of you made it through the screenings, which means... well, not much yet. We''ve tailored exams to test you individually. Think of it as the academy¡¯s way of making sure we didn¡¯t make a mistake."


    For all one thousand...?


    "That is why I will call you up here in groups, judged based on your scores in the screening. Simple enough, right?" William explained and signaled for one of the nearby teachers to bring him a tablet. Immediately, he began calling out names¡ª20 in total.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Neraxis did not recognize any of them, but the exam had piqued his interest. What kind of test would these students be given?


    "Now then, all of you, attack me at once," William announced and stood in the very middle of the massive arena, awaiting the confused students'' attack.


    "Hey, I think we sho¡ª" One of the students began trying to devise a plan. However, a hot-headed student dashed in, sparks of lightning coursing around him as he moved.


    The speed was impressive. Neraxis was barely able to follow it. But that was not the case for William. The moment the student approached, he stretched out his palm, striking him straight in the ribs. A loud crack resounded, followed by the student slumping down while holding his chest.


    Ouch...


    A few other students saw this, and a shiver went down their spines. A headmaster would do something like that to a student during the entrance exam? It was unheard of.


    The situation was especially dire for the other students up there. Out of the 20, there were 19 left, all of whom held a degree of fear in their gazes.


    However, that only lasted for a moment, as in the next, panic ensued. "G-Get him!" a few shouted and began mindlessly running straight at William. They were much slower and clearly weaker than the student from before. It was a bit hard to watch.


    William did not even bother dodging some of those attacks. There were some magical projectiles being thrown at him, but due to the fear they were feeling, half of those attacks missed. The other half hit their own teammates.


    The numbers quickly dwindled down until only six people remained. One of them was the person who first tried devising a strategy. It seemed like he managed to gather the remaining people and form a team.


    It''s a good decision. If only they had teamed up with the others from the start. Now... Neraxis sighed, clearly seeing the intention behind this test.


    It seemed like all of the tests would be pretty straightforward. He would not have to worry that much¡ªwell, unless he had to fight someone.


    Neraxis was not even used to his own body completely, as just a few hours prior, he had a muscular build and near-infinite stamina. It was a pity the monsters had ways of inflicting fatigue on him. Otherwise, he might have lived or even fought back in the very end.


    Anyway... He continued watching the exchange. The six remaining students slowly made their way toward the headmaster. They had a makeshift formation¡ªone that was pretty bad. However, it showed their determination, which, in a sense, was all that mattered.


    "You pass," William said to the six before him, then turned to the remaining students lying on the ground. "As for you, try again next year."


    They are all unconscious. Doubt they heard it. Neraxis chuckled inwardly as he thought about the first participants of the exam.


    Most were average, their strength nothing too extraordinary. However, there was the student who wielded lightning. Even by his standards, that is a very versatile ability. It would also be very useful in the future when the monsters begin swarming the world again.


    "You six, go toward that teacher." William pointed to a burly, bald man with a mustache, and the kids hesitantly went over to him.


    "Now that the first batch is done, the process will be a little bit faster. I will be overlooking the exam, so don''t worry." As his words fell, several other teachers began stepping up onto the arena and scattering to seemingly random positions.


    However, just as Neraxis thought it was a little anticlimactic, they pulled out some kind of metal rod, which they quickly stabbed into the ground. Immediately, pillars began sprouting, all of them of different colors.


    Ten in total. This won''t take so long after all. He thought and readied himself. Who knew what kind of exam he would need to complete?


    "I will assign your groups shortly." The moment William said that, a bunch of little marbles began appearing right above them, just barely not reaching the very top of the roof.


    They were of all kinds of colors: red, yellow, blue, and many more.


    Neraxis waited patiently until, finally, William finished his preparations and began floating the marbles downwards. Each one landed in a student''s hand.


    The same went for him as well. After a few moments of waiting, he caught a marble that was pure black. There was something written on it¡ªa number carved into the surface: the number 4.


    Most of the students already went to their respective colors. However, Neraxis stood still. The reason? There was no black pillar in sight.


    But there was one thing that had caught his attention: some sort of cane that had not been there before. And it belonged to the headmaster, William.


    The two made eye contact, and Neraxis received a faint smile in response, causing a shiver to go down his spine.


    Well... this just got a lot more difficult...

 Chapter 5: New Skill

    Neraxis opted to trust his gut, so he went over and stood by William without even greeting him or introducing himself.


    If he thought about it, where else could the color black be? There were certainly no pillars in sight with that color, nor were there any objects except for the single cane, which had not been there previously.


    That, coupled with the fact that William was not saying anything, meant that he was right.


    The seconds turned into minutes as he remained the only one standing beside him, until a girl approached and silently stood by as well.


    Neraxis could not recognize her. She had crimson red eyes and black shoulder-length hair. She was quite a beauty; it was certainly a wonder how he did not remember her.


    Maybe one of those who died early on? he thought and decided not to pursue the matter further. It wouldn''t do him any good worrying about others when he himself was in an unpredictable situation.


    It was still unbelievable. He really had died and come back to the past¡ªor what he assumed to be the past anyway. So far, the only thing that had not changed since his return was his sister.


    As for his parents? He was not sure where they were. Most of the time, they only came back for holidays. However, Neraxis had a grievance with them. When his sister had died, they did not even bother showing up to the funeral.


    But he decided to stop his depressing thoughts and instead focus on what he could do now.


    The first would be to pass the entrance exam. At the rate it was progressing, it was likely he had already passed.


    After that¡ªand most importantly¡ªfigure out what was going on with the world and why exactly there were so many differences compared to the past.


    As he was lost in thought, another person showed up, followed by yet another one, making it four people in total if he included himself.


    Neraxis and the others patiently waited for a couple more minutes until, finally, the cane William was holding disappeared, and suddenly, they found themselves encased in some sort of black bubble, expanding several dozen meters around them.


    However, he immediately realized where they were: a barrier, one that seemed to completely isolate them from the outside.


    Suddenly, William''s voice rang out, as if it was coming from everywhere but where he was standing. "You four pass: Jay, Celina, Damien, and lastly... Neraxis? What a weird name."


    ...Ouch?


    "However, I still have another test for you. It was supposed to be completed with more people, but out of the 36 others I gave the black marble to, only you four managed to perceive past their foolishness and find the obvious clue in plain sight," William explained slowly, as the voices around them all began growing quieter.


    Neraxis turned around and attempted to find some sort of loophole in the barrier, but it seemed flawless. It looks like you are even stronger than before I returned... This world sure is something.


    As he turned back around, he was met with the three other students, who had equally confused looks on their faces. William had suddenly disappeared in the moment he looked away.


    "Now then, I will cut the bullshit while it''s hot." William''s voice resounded all around them once again, this time much louder than before.


    However, his tone did not sound normal¡ªat least not how Neraxis remembered it. He had been a pretty cold-blooded man, but despite that, Neraxis had never heard him speak with such little emotion.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    "I will choose two of you to enter the special class. The other two will be expelled. I will give you ten minutes to prepare. Until then, I am going to be standing by."


    That''s more like it. Neraxis nodded to himself. It seemed like all William wanted to do was intimidate the others¡ªa final test of wit. It even managed to fool him for a moment.


    Turning around, what greeted Neraxis''s eyes were two students, Jay and Damien, who seemed to already be fighting each other.


    Eliminating each other was a great idea¡ªif one did not think through the question. Obviously, all they had to do was stay put for ten minutes and William would pass them all. After all, he said there were 36 others who didn¡¯t make it.


    But as he thought that, he suddenly froze. Unless that is also a lie? Shit.


    It would certainly fit the theme. He tested their perception, and now perhaps it was decision-making under unknown circumstances?


    There were a lot of possibilities going through his mind. However, they were all interrupted when a kick flew straight at his head. Just before it was about to land, Neraxis quickly sidestepped, barely dodging the attack.


    It was Jay, and unlike the other students he had seen earlier, this one was pretty bland. However, it seemed like he was great at martial arts.


    Despite dodging the kick, Neraxis still felt the force behind it slightly stinging his arm. He couldn''t say for certain if it was the effect of a skill or not, but he would find out shortly.


    In his peripheral vision, he spotted Damien lying in his own pool of blood. It was hard to tell if he was even alive at that point.


    As for Celina, she was merely standing by the side, her presence greatly reduced to the point where Jay most likely forgot about her.


    She noticed Neraxis staring in her direction and flashed a look of surprise before quickly doing something he could only attribute to being a skill. Even though he was looking at her, the presence she was emitting was slowly dimming. It felt as though he was looking directly through her instead of at her.


    But he could not worry about that as he still had to deal with Jay, who had grown impatient since his first attack.


    Neraxis didn¡¯t have to wait long for another attack to come at him. However, this time he was ready. It was also the perfect opportunity to test out his new skill¡ªone that he considered mediocre.


    He immediately used Mark of Decay, putting it on a ten-minute cooldown, while simultaneously activating Aura of Vulnerability. The effects were instant, and he could see two orbs clearly orbiting around Jay, their colors black and silver. Usually, visual cues like these indicated that the individual was under the effects of a skill.


    Only he could see such things, while Jay would not notice in the slightest¡ªwell, until it was too late.


    As before, Jay dashed in and tried sweeping his legs. However, Neraxis kicked right at his knee as he jumped up and evaded him once again. All he had to do was hit him five times to stack the Decaying debuff to its maximum.


    As for Aura of Vulnerability, Neraxis wasn¡¯t sure if it was doing much. While there was a small bruise on Jay''s knee now, it was doubtful if a measly 5% increase in damage could cause that.


    Nonetheless, Neraxis kept dodging until, finally, the Decaying stacks reached their maximum of five. Surprisingly, the attacks felt a little slower, enough for him to dodge with less effort.


    However, one thing stood out the most: the black orb, which had begun glowing ominously, as if begging for Neraxis to reach out for it.


    The moment he thought about doing so, the black orb disappeared, leaving only the silver orb. It seemed pretty anticlimactic.


    Or so he thought. In the next moment, he could see Jay slightly wobbling, a pained expression on his face, and a groan escaping his mouth.


    However, before he had time to process what had happened, Neraxis ran up to him without hesitation and hit him over the head with full force, knocking him out on the spot and even caving in his jaw slightly.


    What just happened? Neraxis thought with a raised brow.


    As he gazed around, he noticed a system window, one that had been oddly minimized to the point where it was difficult to spot. But once he maximized it, his eyes widened.


    [Eve of Ruin {G} New Skill Option Unlocked]


    [Skill Effects (2/2): Mark of Decay: Mark a single enemy within a 30-meter radius and inflict the Decaying debuff.


    (NEW) Detonate the Mark: Instantly triggers the cumulative damage from the 5 most powerful attacks inflicted on the marked target while the mark is active. If the mark is detonated, the Decaying debuff ends early.


    Mark of Decay Cooldown: 10 minutes.


    Detonate the Mark Cooldown: 3 Hours]


    Neraxis stared at the new option, trying to keep his expression steady. However, it was difficult, as a smile still managed to form on his face.


    After all, a skill that dealt 5 of his strongest attacks at once out of all his hits combined was pretty overpowered. Even if it had a long cooldown, it was the perfect trump card.


    Now this is what I call a good skill.

 Chapter 6: Strange Encounter

    Now what, though? There''s still Celina left and, well, Damien, Neraxis thought as he looked around. It only took him a few seconds to spot Celina, as she seemed no longer to be trying to hide.


    As for Damien, he was still lying on the ground. Upon closer inspection, he was drowning in his own blood.


    What a good headmaster, Neraxis sighed and walked up to him, propping him up so he could cough out the blood.


    That was all he planned to do; he wasn¡¯t going to help him any more than that.


    Once Damien finished coughing out the blood, Neraxis went over and chopped him right at the back of his neck. Normally, it wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to knock anyone out, but due to Damien''s condition, it was sufficient.


    After that, he laid Damien back down, ensuring he wouldn¡¯t choke on his blood again.


    The surroundings were finally silent. There were still a few minutes left until William came back¡ªnot that he wasn¡¯t already watching them.


    But despite that, Neraxis had done what he set out to do: secure his position. Even if the situation had spiraled a bit out of his expectations¡ªand, unsurprisingly, it had¡ªeverything seemed over now.


    At least, that was what he thought until he felt a presence behind him moving fast. It was Celina.


    Neraxis quickly turned around, and the moment he did, he saw her arm outstretched, with a pair of sharp daggers aiming right for his head.


    Fast. He thought, attempting to sidestep, but a sudden pain assaulted his abdomen. Looking down, he saw blood dripping from a wound he hadn¡¯t even noticed.


    Before he could process it further, he was suddenly lifted into the air, then slammed down to the ground like a bullet.


    It happened so fast that all he could feel was pain.


    Fucking high-agility skill... he cursed in his mind as a painful groan escaped his lips.


    Celina seemed far more powerful than him. Had her stats already reached F-rank? It would be rare for a student to rank up so quickly, considering most had only awakened a year ago at most¡ªsome even just a few months ago, much like him.


    Well, that was the case last time. Now, he had awakened only minutes before the academy even started. It was definitely a handicap.


    Still, due to the simplicity of his main skill, it wasn¡¯t too bad¡ªperhaps.


    Though being matched up against her while most of my skills are on cooldown sure is a bust...


    In the past, his Hell Scythe skill had several sub-skills that could perform feats similar to his current abilities¡ªalbeit at a much higher rank.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Those sub-skills also had passive functions, like imbuing his attacks with the chance to set someone on fire. People had thought it was overpowered, and honestly, so did he.


    Now, Neraxis prayed that when he fully awakened his main skill, Eve of Ruin, it would surpass Hell Scythe.


    When one awakened their main skill, they could typically use the concept of the skill itself. His previous skill, Hell Scythe, had literally summoned a scythe from hell, imbued with the power to burn, corrode, and even damage the soul. It was an excellent skill.


    But that was a concern for the future. For now, he had to focus on surviving the present.


    While the stab wasn¡¯t fatal, blood loss could kill him¡ªunless William decided to step in and help, which, given his personality, was extremely unlikely.


    Sure would be nice, but... shit. Another groan escaped his lips as the pain in his abdomen grew worse, like his adrenaline had finally run out.


    Even so, he had to stand. It was just a slightly faster student, one who had merely awakened an agility-based skill. How could he give up then and there?


    Gritting his teeth, Neraxis began to lift himself, enduring the agony of the hole in his abdomen. Finally, he was face-to-face with Celina, who looked amused.


    ¡°You¡¯re a bit sturdy,¡± she said teasingly, twirling her daggers in a playful manner.


    It didn¡¯t seem playful to the one who¡¯d just been stabbed, though. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Neraxis asked, tearing off a piece of his clothing and stuffing it into the wound to stop the bleeding.


    Of course, he¡¯d need to take further measures later. Even though he had superhuman abilities, he could still fall ill.


    ¡°No particular reason. I just noticed you had your back turned. You know you shouldn¡¯t do that, right?¡± Celina let out a small chuckle, sending a chill down his spine. She came across as a psychopath at first glance.


    A pretty psychopath, though, Neraxis mused inwardly. Alice had been similar but had turned out to be a backstabbing bitch. Maybe his taste in women was what got him killed in the first place?


    But despite that, Alice was someone he trusted with his heart. It was still shocking how she betrayed him¡ªno indication¡ªonly mockery filled her gaze as she looked down at him while he was dying.


    That was why he had already decided he¡¯d kill all those so-called heroes at the first opportunity. Even if some were different due to irregularities, their crimes remained the same.


    For now, he decided to humor the girl in front of him¡ªit beat being stabbed again. ¡°Oh yeah? Do you usually go around stabbing people in the back?¡±


    ¡°Not really. I just thought your back looked attackable, that¡¯s all.¡±


    The second woman to stab me in the back. Not a great track record. At least this one doesn¡¯t seem fake¡ªthat¡¯s her actual personality.


    Neraxis observed her as she let out small, self-amused laughs. It was hard to tell if she was crazy or just really fond of her own joke¡ªor maybe both.


    He left her to her giggling and turned his attention to Jay, who was slowly getting up. It wasn¡¯t in his best interest to have another nuisance attacking him, so he went over and kicked Jay in the face, knocking him out again.


    Neraxis made sure to protect his back this time, just in case Celina decided to attack on a whim.


    He heard another laugh behind him¡ªso close it startled him.


    ¡°Why are you so jumpy? It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll attack you again,¡± Celina teased, tapping him on the shoulder before walking over to Jay and kicking him in the abdomen.


    What the? Neraxis raised a brow at her behavior.


    ¡°Haa... I¡¯ve disliked him from the start. It¡¯s nice seeing him on the ground.¡± She sighed and kicked him again.


    And again.


    Finally, Celina stopped and began walking back to her previous spot, the only elevated area within the barrier. It looked comfortable enough to sit on.


    Neraxis watched as she made herself comfortable. Then, to his surprise, she patted the spot beside her and gestured for him to come over.


    Uhh... Sure? He wasn¡¯t expecting that, but he did want to sit down somewhere. Even though he¡¯d stopped the bleeding, he had already lost a decent amount of blood.


    Quietly, Neraxis walked over and sat beside her. To his surprise, she didn¡¯t say anything further, simply fiddling with her daggers.


    He didn¡¯t interrupt her; she seemed to be having fun¡ªeven if it looked incredibly dull to him.


    What a strange girl...

 Chapter 7: The End of The Entrance Exam

    "Celina, Neraxis, you two pass." A voice resounded behind him¡ªit was William.


    He was unsure when he had arrived; his consciousness felt like it was fading. Still, he couldn¡¯t pass out yet.


    There was also the issue of being stabbed again. Every time he nearly dozed off, Celina struck both of her daggers together, startling him awake.


    Though I¡¯m glad it¡¯s finally over... probably. Neraxis exhaled a tired sigh and stood up.


    William wore an amused expression; he had seen the entire fight and the interaction between the two.


    "Surprising that you two didn¡¯t go for each other¡¯s throats," he remarked, turning his gaze toward the two still lying on the ground, unconscious, covered in their own blood.


    Celina merely smiled and continued playing with her daggers. Meanwhile, Neraxis stretched, not feeling well.


    The only thing he wanted to do right now was go back home and sleep, hopefully waking up in the future too. But that might be a long shot.


    Nonetheless, William picked up Jay and Damien before tossing them out of the barrier, leaving only the two-to-be students and the headmaster inside.


    "Neraxis, your skill seems a bit different from what was confirmed. What happened?" William suddenly asked, startling him.


    It was rare for a main skill to change unexpectedly. It wouldn¡¯t have been as suspicious if his skill had any resemblance to the previous one, but they were completely different.


    William noticed his unease. Taking a deep breath, he stated, "Listen, I¡¯m going to be the only thing standing between you and the freaks over at the government. They¡¯ll try to exploit you because of such an irregularity. I don¡¯t need to tell you how they¡¯d do that, do I?"


    A shiver ran down Neraxis¡¯s spine. He knew exactly what exploiting meant¡ªafter all, one of the heroes from his previous party had been ¡®exploited.¡¯


    There were a total of 10 heroes, but one died¡ªgruesomely. His brain was dislodged and inspected for information. It was primitive and evil, but no one dared speak out.


    After all, those who opposed the government faced dire consequences. One could even assume they had ties to the monsters.


    "I didn¡¯t mean to scare you. I¡¯m just warning you," William continued. "The rotten part of the government has been culled. Only a small fraction remains. But still, no one knows who¡¯s left."


    William began casting a spell¡ªa green mana, but with a certain warmth to it. It enveloped Neraxis, and suddenly, his wound from earlier began to close. The piece of clothing he had stuffed in there had shot out as well.


    What the... He inspected his body. There wasn¡¯t even a scratch.


    ...He didn¡¯t have healing abilities back then... And why exactly are they better than the Saint''s from the heroes'' party?


    His confusion went unanswered as William shot him one more glance before turning his attention to Celina, who had been paying barely any attention to their conversation.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Celina, why didn¡¯t you use your stealth more effectively? You could¡¯ve dealt a fatal blow."


    "Just ''cause. What¡¯s it to you?" She shrugged and answered teasingly, sporting a hint of arrogance.


    Talking like that to him? Well, that¡¯s not a good idea...


    However, William¡¯s next words surprised Neraxis: "You still have a spoiled personality. How have you not grown out of it yet?"


    "Shut up, gramps! You¡¯re embarrassing me!" Celina shot back and suddenly lunged at him, trying to shut his mouth.


    Meanwhile, Neraxis stood stunned.


    Gramps? This guy has children? I¡¯m definitely dreaming... there¡¯s no way.


    "Celina... I told you to behave while in the academy. Zari would murder me if she found out her daughter was turning into a delinquent on her first day..." William said, shedding a fake tear.


    It was all so unusual¡ªthe world, this situation.


    William had always been a cold-blooded man with no relatives or connections¡ªhis only asset was his magic. But it seemed that wasn¡¯t the case anymore.


    Congratulations, my old friend. At least you¡¯re happy in this life, Neraxis thought inwardly as he watched the grandpa and granddaughter duo bicker.


    It went on for several minutes. By now, his pain had completely subsided, and it was time to move on to something else.


    "Excuse me? Are the tests finished?" Neraxis asked, interrupting the gap in their conversation.


    "Hmm? For today, yes. Those two buffoons were pretty good. I honestly expected at least one of them to remain, but alas, you came out on top¡ªalong with Celina, of course." William said, flashing an unusually warm smile, one that Neraxis wasn¡¯t used to seeing.


    However, his next words were anything but warm. "Go home. The opening ceremony for the first years is Friday¡ªexactly three days from now. If you¡¯re late like you were today, I¡¯ll use a spell to permanently bind you to the academy. Agreed?"


    Haha... yeah. Fuck you too, Neraxis thought inwardly, but nonetheless, he gave a fake smile and nodded.


    Immediately, the barrier was dispelled, and they noticed there were no people around them¡ªnot even Jay and Damien, who had been thrown out of the barrier earlier.


    It seemed they were the last to finish their little exam, though Neraxis assumed it had been much harder than for the others.


    Neraxis took one last glance at Celina and saw a smile appear on her face for just a moment before she followed William out.


    Hmm... He left the training grounds and entered the auditorium. A few students were gathered, but none had happy expressions on their faces.


    Most sat with massive frowns, probably because they had failed the exam. The auditorium was a place where they could stay after failing, possibly watch how others passed their exams to prepare for the future.


    That is, if they had the confidence to try again.


    Neraxis absentmindedly guided himself through the hallways. He practically had the academy¡¯s structure memorized.


    Finally, he left and found himself once again outside, surrounded by a lot more people than in the auditorium. Many were gathered with their friends.


    He recognized some of them¡ªespecially the party that had been the first to pass the exam. They were surrounded by people, looking like they would be the popular kids for the first few weeks.


    However, as he walked among the crowd near the academy¡¯s front, he spotted a familiar face¡ªone he hadn¡¯t expected to see.


    It was his younger sister, Elara, and she seemed to be chatting with a few other girls around her age.


    Although they were all incoming students, Elara wouldn¡¯t start at the academy until next year. She was 15 after all.


    Neraxis snuck up to her and pinched her cheek while she wasn¡¯t looking.


    What happened next completely defied his expectations.


    Elara quickly turned around and side-kicked him in the abdomen, making him nearly throw up what he had eaten an hour prior.


    Why is she so strong!? He did his best to steady himself.


    But when he looked up, he met her purple eyes and a massive frown.


    "Did I or did I not tell you to stop sneaking up on me?" Elara said with a pout, smacking him on the head once more¡ªthis time with much less force.


    "Sorry..." Neraxis instinctively apologized, looking around at the people staring at them with strange expressions.


    Elara ignored the onlookers and announced, "Anyways, let¡¯s go. Mother is coming over soon, and you need to help me tidy up the house." With that, she began walking toward the academy gate, not waiting for him.


    However, Neraxis¡¯s mind was in turmoil because of what had happened in the past.


    That woman is coming over willingly?

 Chapter 8: Difference

    They had not talked much on the way back, mostly because Neraxis was busy admiring the sights around him.


    Considering he was no longer under the pressure of arriving at the academy on time, he was able to take a good look at his surroundings.


    The city had changed a fair bit, its previously technologically advanced look gone, now sporting something that seemed like a convenient mix between simplicity and technology.


    As for the architecture, it leaned toward a more open, minimalistic design. Most buildings and houses had their own gardens, despite the fact that he was practically in the middle of a city that was dominated by skyscrapers.


    It felt as though it would be easy to break into. However, a little blue holographic lock was in front of everyone¡¯s gates, acting as some sort of deterrent against robbers.


    Neraxis was unsure what it did¡ªpossibly some sort of artificial mana barrier¡ªbut if people were bold enough to make such open housing, it must have been pretty damn effective.


    However, despite all the little changes, the most eye-catching one was the thin purple tower in the very middle of the city. It still gave off the magical, uneasy feeling he had felt earlier, though it seemed to have lessened a tad.


    The buildings near the tower looked similar to it in a way¡ªtheir architecture mimicked a spiraling tower reaching into the sky, and there were quite a few of them around.


    As for where he lived, it was pretty similar to how he had left it. It almost seemed like his house was completely unaffected. But, just like the rest, it had that little holographic lock he saw on everyone¡¯s gate entrance.


    He wanted to know more about it, but it felt strange to ask Elara.


    The two entered their house, and just as Neraxis was about to go research his curiosity and procrastinate on meeting his mother, she grabbed him by the collar.


    ¡°Grab a broom. Your task is to sweep your own room.¡± Elara lazily pointed to a nearby closet¡ªthe one where they kept all the cleaning necessities.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± He sighed inwardly.


    Seems like it will have to wait.


    Neraxis proceeded to the closet and picked out a random broom. He did not remember having that many; however, the amount in the closet was much more than necessary for two people living together.


    Nonetheless, he ignored his rising suspicion and headed to his room, which was on the second floor, at the very end of the hallway.


    The moment he stepped through his door, his expression soured.


    He had never really been the kind of guy who cleaned his room often¡ªespecially when the stress of the academy''s opening ceremony was supposed to be happening today.


    Therefore, the only thing he could see in the horizon that was his room were piles of clothes strewn all around and all sorts of energy drink cans¡ªones that had missed the trash bin, which was surprisingly empty.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Elara must have cleaned it¡­ fuck, I feel bad for her having to clean up after me. He grimaced inwardly and began sorting through the clothing. He remembered that the night before the opening ceremony was supposed to happen, he had looked around for the perfect outfit.


    Unfortunately, due to his anxiousness, he forgot to put on the most important piece of clothing of them all: the academy uniform.


    It was a blessing that William was not how he remembered. Otherwise, he might have created an academy uniform out of ice and made him wear it.


    A shiver went down Neraxis¡¯s spine at the thought of that possibility.


    After nearly half an hour, he finally managed to sort through everything and even throw out most of the trash.


    But just as he was about to celebrate his little achievement, he heard a knock on the front door. Immediately, he grew uneasy.


    In the next moment, Elara called out to him. ¡°Neraxis! Get your ass down here; she¡¯s here!¡±


    Fuck... He grumbled to himself but nonetheless hid the broom under his bed and went downstairs. It was about time he saw this mother of his.


    The door was open, and he could immediately hear chattering¡ªfriendly chattering.


    Neraxis hesitantly turned the corner that would allow him to see the front door. Upon doing so, he saw a woman who did not look to be in her 40s at all. Instead, it seemed like she had not even hit her 30s.


    Her features were the same as his: pure white hair and captivating purple eyes. Yet, there was one more thing that caught him off guard¡ªa warm smile on her face.


    But as he stepped into view, she immediately turned her gaze onto him, the smile on her face not waning in the slightest. ¡°Oh! Nera! Come here. I bought something for you.¡±


    The excitement in her voice was clear as she began shuffling around in her purse until, finally, she pulled out a tiny envelope. Then, she walked up to him and forced it into his hands.


    ¡°Congratulations on being accepted!¡± she stated and proceeded to hug him tightly.


    All the while, Neraxis stood frozen, ever since first seeing her. The mother he remembered never smiled. Neither did she give anyone gifts, for that matter¡ªonly money from time to time. Added to the fact that she used to hate Elara, it put him in quite the peculiar situation.


    ¡°Thank you¡­?¡± He tried to sound as polite as possible, but he couldn¡¯t hide the trace of uncertainty in his tone.


    His mother tilted her head to the side before once again going through her purse.


    She pulled out something he was not expecting to see. It was a bag of all sorts of snacks¡ªones he used to eat daily during his time at the academy. The reason he stopped eating them was because the company that made those bags ran into some financial difficulties, which led them to go bankrupt.


    But that had not yet happened.


    Neraxis accepted the bag of snacks without question, holding it up like some sort of trophy in one hand while holding the envelope in the other.


    Her cheery smile once again returned as she stretched out her hand and placed it on his head, ruffling his hair a little.


    ¡°I almost forgot I bought that,¡± she said with a chuckle and returned her gaze toward Elara. ¡°Let¡¯s go prepare lunch, shall we? It is a day worth celebrating, after all.¡±


    However, just as she began walking to the kitchen with Elara by her side, she suddenly turned back around to face him.


    ¡°You¡­ Did you get a girlfriend?¡±


    Neraxis was momentarily stunned. Seeing the teasing expression on her face did not make it better, either.


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s only my first day.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Pity. It seems I won¡¯t be meeting my grandkids until I¡¯m old and ugly,¡± she remarked in a sarcastic tone before turning her attention back to Elara.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go prepare the dishes. Roskaris should be back in an hour or two as well; the tower held him up a little.¡± With those words, they finally disappeared from Neraxis¡¯s vision.


    Father as well? What is this world playing at¡­ His hands shook at all of these encounters that had happened within the span of a couple of hours. It almost made him feel like he was in heaven.


    But heaven was a luxury for a man like him. He had killed many humans before. Even if those kills were not intended, they were a necessity.


    It was more realistic to think that he was in hell, being shown the vision of how his life could have been had he gone to heaven, just to rip it all away at the last moment.


    However, as those obscene thoughts returned, he noticed the system window right in the corner of his vision, heavily minimized.


    With a raised brow, he maximized it again, and upon seeing what kind of system message it was, his eyes once again widened.


    [Unread System Logs: 1]


    [Would you like to view them? Y/N]

 Chapter 9: System Logs

    [Unread System Logs: 1]


    [Would you like to view them? Y/N]


    Neraxis stared at it for a moment before clicking the "Yes" button, and immediately, a wall of text assaulted his sight.


    [System Log 1: Anomaly]


    [Subject 1 is showing signs of awakening, but he''s not nearly there yet... How do I boost his progress?]


    [Hmm? A skill like that? It won''t work; he''s incompatible.]


    [How? Oh... I see. That is indeed a good idea. Hell Scythe has some similarities to it.]


    [Sure, I''ll log it. Aka, save the last 10 minutes. It''s valuable information.]


    [Why? Don''t like the nickname? Well, deal with it.]


    [Anyway, what do you suggest we do with him? He is not following the script in the slightest... Do you think he doesn''t know about it?]


    [I know, right? He should have been informed previously, no? After all, Hell Scythe would be a skill that suits his needs in a way.]


    [It''s enough. He will get the other skill once he completes his task. Don''t you want to descend faster, huh, Aka?]


    [Fine, fine. I''ll finish the log.]


    [Subject 1, Neraxis. Showing signs of disobedience, still in the early phases though. Is asking for an overpowered main skill. Seems to lack intelligence. Memories are unlocked, and he has been debriefed on his task.]


    [Huh? What do you mean that''s not the full log?]


    [Fine... Subject showed signs of self-awareness. A class 1 anomaly. Eliminate once the task is finished.]


    [System Log 1: Finished]


    Subject? He stared at the messages with widened eyes. It seemed like a conversation between two people; however, he could only perceive the messages of one person.


    He did find out that the other individual''s name was Aka, though he felt like that was some sort of pet name.


    The two mentioned some kind of descent and that he was a subject¡ªperhaps some kind of test subject that was supposed to have no will and follow their orders.


    Or at least he thought they referred to him; not many people were named Neraxis in the world. His parents had quite the naming sense.


    It also raised a question about the skills he supposedly asked for and how he was given Hell Scythe instead. It really was a mystery that, instead of answering some of his questions, raised many more.


    Neraxis felt conflicted; however, there was not much he could do in this situation. After all, he was still weak¡ªthe bottom of the barrel. A mere G rank, one that would not even be able to kill a single monster.


    Most monsters started off at F rank. Only humans had the G rank since they were inherently weaker.


    So now I have to watch out for otherworldly bullshit while also dealing with new problems... This is just fantastic. He thought as a tinge of anger stirred within his heart. He proceeded to walk up the stairs and back into his room. It would take a bit before the food was finally finished.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    However, as he lay down on his bed, he couldn''t stop thinking about the system logs.


    If they were indeed system logs, then that meant that whoever was on the other side talked directly with the system.


    Aka is short for system? Doesn''t add up. He rolled on his bed, finding it hard to get comfortable.


    While rolling, he noticed a laptop on the nearby desk. It was one he had for a while; its specs were a bit outdated.


    Nonetheless, Neraxis shot up from the bed and immediately turned the laptop on.


    He flashed a bright smile as he noticed it was still working, and it was connected to the internet as well.


    The first thing he typed in was ''Purple tower,'' and upon doing so, a bunch of images popped up on the screen, displaying the same tower he had seen outside.


    However, the strange part was that it was located in different cities across the globe. It seemed like it was not limited to only one location.


    Neraxis scrolled through all the information and realized every single city that had at least one million residents had a tower sprout from the ground, with the first one appearing in the year 2300.


    He scrolled through all the necessary information with a frown on his face. It was like a rift-type structure but in segments. It had floors, and nobody knew how many, and each floor held some type of trial...


    There were some articles that housed tutorials on how to complete some of the trials, but it only lasted until floor 10. Apparently, your performance was evaluated, and from floor 11 upwards, the difficulty varied from person to person.


    None had the same trial. There were similarities but never the same.


    As he scrolled, he noticed that, while abundant, the information focused on trials and strategies as though heavily monitored by a third party.


    Neraxis rolled his eyes at the sight and searched up one more thing¡ªone that had been gnawing at him ever since he saw William.


    ''Who is the strongest awakened?''


    As he pressed enter, a list of people appeared¡ªa top 100 list, to be exact. It detailed the names and ranks of the people on there. However, their ranks were something beyond his wildest expectations.


    Not a single person in the top 100 was below S rank. It seemed practically impossible. After all, even after many years had passed back then, there was not a single sighting of anyone being above A rank.


    However, there was one person who was S ranked, and that was him, though he did not go flaunting it around. It would have put a bounty on his head.


    But now, there were at least 100 people who were S ranked, and to top it all off, the top five were SS ranked, which seemed even more unreal.


    Scarlet Rose, Nightshade... Birdwatcher? Logan Pierce, and lastly... Blank? Neraxis gazed at the entire top five. It seemed like Scarlet Rose was deemed the strongest, while the person calling themself Blank was supposedly the weakest of them all.


    Or that''s what the website said, at least. You could never truly trust the media.


    Just as he was about to look for more information, he was interrupted by a shout.


    "Neraxis! Food is ready!"


    Right... He deleted the history and closed the laptop before heading back downstairs and into the kitchen.


    He had nearly forgotten about the situation at hand and the fact that his mother''s personality had changed completely.


    But as he stepped into the kitchen, he noticed his father, Roskaris, who was also sitting at the table and conversing happily with both his mother and sister.


    His looks were also similar to theirs in the sense that he was like eye candy to women. However, his eyes were green while only his hair was white like the rest of the family''s.


    For some reason, he appeared a tad bit buffer than Neraxis remembered.


    As he noticed Neraxis coming through the door, he waved at him with a smirk. "Sup, big guy. What place did you get?"


    "...It wasn''t a placement exam," Neraxis answered while trying to maintain a composed expression. He sat down by the table. It seemed like they were having some spicy barbecued pork ribs.


    It was difficult to stop himself from drooling at the sight, but nonetheless, with the many experiences he had in life, he persevered.


    "Sylvia, you hear this? Not a placement exam? What kind of bullshit academy did we send him to?" Roskaris said as a loud laugh escaped his mouth, making it seem like the air around them was vibrating.


    His laugh suddenly stopped as his mother, Sylvia, sent a kind-looking smile at Roskaris, though it seemed like it was hiding a deeper meaning. "Honey... Calm your mana. Also, it''s the best academy in the entire country."


    Roskaris immediately quieted down and put one of the pork ribs into his mouth, not speaking any further.


    But as Neraxis locked eyes with his father, he saw him wink and give a thumbs-up.


    Pft... I wish they were like this back then too. He smiled and picked up a rib. He owed it to himself to at least enjoy this little moment of peace.


    After all, tomorrow, he would be doing some training.

 Chapter 10: Start of The Training

    Neraxis was lying in bed after spending the entire remainder of his day researching many things on the internet, but just like the rest of the websites he had visited previously, they too were gated.


    He could only sigh in regret. He had hoped that in the new world, the government would not try to snuff out people and recruit them for more resources.


    Normally, it would be fine; for some, it was even an opportunity. However, they did not hesitate to cross lines, meaning that the moment you began working with them, you became disposable.


    And just like before, he did not want to become anyone''s puppet¡ªneither the government''s nor whoever those system logs belonged to.


    But it was finally time he got out of bed. The little bonding he had done the day prior was pretty uneventful; they talked about simple things, how everyone was doing, or what they planned on doing.


    Neraxis also managed to find out that, unlike his parents in the past, these ones actually lived with them instead of being abroad. It was a pleasant change, one he hoped to get accustomed to quickly.


    After all, it had only been a day. The concept of a loving family still felt pretty foreign to him.


    Nonetheless, he headed downstairs. His parents were working today, and Elara was out with her friends, so he was not on guard as usual.


    Apparently, his mother was an accountant, while his father was a guard at the Purple Tower, which, after further digging, he managed to find out actually had a name.


    Dreamspire... It¡¯s not that bad, if I¡¯m being honest. He inwardly applauded their naming sense and went to the kitchen, grabbing himself some leftovers from the day before.


    After that, he went straight to his backyard. It was as massive as it used to be in the past, and this time, it was actually well-maintained.


    The yard had a few little gadgets like training dummies and even dumbbells. His father likely brought them back as souvenirs.


    Despite that, Neraxis was planning to make use of them. He already had a training plan thought up.


    Mana Capacity increased not just the amount of mana he could wield, but also the strength and speed of his spells¡ªa hidden effect that was not as hidden anymore.


    But alas, it would still be a while until he could start using mana. From what he remembered, you could only begin feeling it once you broke into the E-rank. If you didn¡¯t learn how to use mana, you would forever be stuck at the E+ rank.


    Neraxis scratched his head, as, surprisingly, he had an issue with it in the past. He was not very talented in mana. He only managed to get better at it once he got much stronger.


    The one thing he learned was that the skills he used also took a small portion of his mana. While it was not very noticeable, if done enough, it could increase his Mana Capacity stat.


    As for Intelligence, it was general perception and, well, smarts. It was his highest-ranked stat in the past, so it would likely return to how it should be soon¡ªor so he hoped.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Since he had it very high, he was even able to predict his opponents'' moves; it was that overpowered.


    There were also secondary skills, however, he was unsure of how they worked; it seemed like they simply increased on their own.


    But for now, he had to build up his remaining stats. Neraxis glanced at the dummies and thought, Status.


    Immediately, the blue status window appeared before him, displaying all of his abilities. It was the starting point, the foundation on which he would improve.


    Status


    +-----+


    Name: Neraxis Valen


    Age: 16


    --Stats:


    Rank: G


    Strength: G-


    Agility: G- -> G


    Stamina: G- -> G


    Intelligence: F-


    Mana Capacity: G+


    --Secondary Stats:


    Luck: G


    Charm: D-


    --Skills:


    [Eve of Ruin {G}]


    +-----+


    Neraxis stared at his status screen with satisfaction. It seemed like two of his stats managed to increase from the events that happened yesterday.


    But he would not get ahead of himself. He merely raised the lowest possible stat to a slightly better yet still low stat. It was still pitiful, and he could barely feel the difference. The difference would only begin showing once he reached F rank.


    That was why he would be going all out during his training¡ªor trying to, at the very least.


    Neraxis walked up to a nearby dummy. It was made out of wood, but it looked sturdy enough to not break in a single hit, at least.


    He spotted a nearby stick, one that was shaped like a sword, and decided to pick it up. Swinging it around, he noticed that it had perfect balance, as if it were tailor-made for him.


    Nonetheless, he shrugged his speculations aside and lightly swung it down at the target dummy.


    However, what happened next startled him and nearly made him drop the makeshift wooden sword.


    The seemingly effortless downward slash completely severed the target dummy''s wooden arm. It was a clean cut.


    The fuck? Neraxis thought with a raised brow as he took a look at the wooden sword in his grasp. It seemed like any ordinary wooden sword¡ªnothing to take note of.


    Therefore, with a skeptical look, he decided to try it again, this time paying full attention to what happened.


    He slashed vertically, attempting to sever the target dummy in half, and to his surprise, he cut through it like butter.


    Yet at the same time, the sword did not change in the slightest. It still looked ordinary, but its effects were anything but ordinary.


    Neraxis stared at the tip of the blade for a moment before a stupid idea crossed his mind, and with a sigh, he attempted to cut into his palm.


    But despite his expectations, it did not cut. It was not even sharp¡ªjust a dull wooden sword.


    What is going on? He tapped the sword a couple of times with his finger, and just like a moment ago, nothing happened.


    I must have hallucinated it... probably. Neraxis tried convincing himself and, for the last time, decided to try slashing once again, this time on another target dummy. For all he knew, that one could have been defective.


    But as he did that again and again, the dummies decreased in number while his confusion grew greater.


    That was until Neraxis decided to give up and put the sword down. If he continued using it, he would not get any training in since he was practically not using any strength to cut through those target dummies.


    It was like some sort of artifact. He had a few back in the past. However, none were extremely groundbreaking; some could heal bruises, while others could summon a cup of coffee once per day.


    However, this sword was beyond him, and it even felt easy to use, as if he had practiced swordsmanship before. But of course, his main weapon was a scythe, so that was impossible.


    You can stay here for a moment... I need to train. Neraxis thought to himself, but then facepalmed. He was unsure of why he was addressing the sword as if it were some kind of dog.


    Nonetheless, he placed it by the side and began his training. There were roughly 20 dummies left, with him having destroyed 9 of them. It would be a bit of a hassle to explain that to his parents.


    However, the moment he reached out his fist and struck the dummy, he was electrocuted and pushed back a little.


    He tilted his head and tried again, but just like before, the moment he hit the dummy, it sent a wave of electricity that made him back off.


    It did not hold a lot of voltage; however, it still stung a little.


    Neraxis snickered and glanced at the wooden sword he had placed near a bush.


    Just what are you made of?

 Chapter 11: The Fragment of Calamity

    This sucks. Neraxis exclaimed as he plopped onto the ground.


    The training, while fruitful, felt as though he was training to be a masochist. The electricity was beginning to get painful, possibly due to the limits of his current state.


    Furthermore, even after all the abuse his muscles went through, he still did not manage to rank up his strength, it was still the same as earlier.


    The only thing that changed was his growing hate for these types of dummies.


    Who in their right mind would make these anyway? He snickered and stretched out his arms on the ground, however, as he did so, he felt something touching the tips of his fingers.


    As Neraxis looked down, a small frown formed on his face. It was the wooden sword.


    "Can you just fuck off for a moment?" He muttered as he picked it up and threw it to the side.


    However, it once again flew into his hand, just like it had done multiple times before. But this time, it seemed adamant, not wanting to be let go.


    Neraxis let out an exhausted sigh and proceeded to stand back up, the sword in hand. "You really do act like a dog."


    He felt a small vibration traveling up his arm before settling down, as if the sword responded to him.


    Nonetheless, since he could not get rid of the sword, he would try training with it instead.


    The only problem was, it cut through practically anything, or so it seemed for now.


    But if his theory was correct and the sword was actually sentient, then it might just work.


    "Can you become... less sharp? I don''t want you cutting through those." He said and pointed towards the remaining target dummies.


    Another vibration went up his arm and Neraxis nodded in satisfaction, each time he gave an order or communicated with the sword in a way, it reacted in kind.


    Walking up to a nearby target dummy, he swung it down, and to his surprise, the sword did not cut through, it only hit the dummy and bounced back.


    It also seemed like the amount of electricity that he had been tolerating earlier decreased, as if the sword dispersed the majority of it.


    He kept swinging the sword again and again, finding it quite fun, while at the same time, effectively training his muscles.


    I should have done this sooner. Neraxis smirked to himself and slashed once more, however, a sudden flash of blue interrupted him, it was the system window.


    He glanced at it in an annoyed fashion, but upon seeing what the message displayed, his eyes widened.


    [New Skill Acquired!]


    [Swordsmanship {G}]


    [Slightly increases accuracy and critical hit chance when attacking with a sword.]


    A Passive skill? He double checked to make sure, and he was indeed correct.


    A skill that did not mention duration or cooldowns, meant that it was passively enabled all the time.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    There was a similar skill like that in the past, however, it took him quite a long time to get Scythe Fighting, and even then, leveling it up past E rank proved to be incredibly difficult.


    Yet here he was, getting the swordsmanship skill within roughly 30 or 40 swings of the sword, yet he had never practiced swordsmanship before.


    Neraxis smiled in satisfaction and glanced at the wooden sword in his grasp before exclaiming, "Well, aren''t you a little miracle?"


    The sword trembled in response and he decided to resume his training, after all, if it was so easy to get the swordsmanship skill, what would be his limits?


    However, he noticed something strange as he was swinging the sword at the target dummies, ever since he called it a miracle, it had not stopped shaking.


    His arm felt a bit weak from the vibrations, but nonetheless, he ignored it and continued swinging, feeling as though his arm would fall off from the fatigue.


    But the effects were visible, his swings were getting faster, while his strikes were getting stronger. His stamina was increasing at a steady pace though.


    It really was unexpected how a single sword could make such a difference, his hours of training were basically achieved in just 15 minutes.


    God... Why didn''t I pick this sword up soone¡ªhuh? Neraxis''s thoughts were interrupted by his sword suddenly flying out of his hand and floating right before him.


    He tilted his head in confusion. "Uh, hey?"


    However, the wooden sword no longer reacted, merely floating before him, eliciting a slightly weary reaction from him.


    But nothing seemed to happen for the longest time, therefore he decided to take a few steps back, and much to his surprise, the sword followed along.


    Neraxis furrowed his brows and stretched out his hand before commanding, "Come, I need to finish my little exercise."


    Nothing happened, so he decided to reach out for it, and the moment he did, it slashed down right at his palm, drawing blood for the first time since he first saw the wooden sword.


    However, what happened after that was even more strange, as the blood began dripping down onto the grass below him, it suddenly halted in mid air and instead began traveling towards the sword, seemingly being absorbed into it.


    Just as it seemed like it would continue absorbing the blood from his palm, he gripped the wound with his other hand, stopping a hefty amount of blood from going towards the sword.


    Neraxis was beginning to feel a little wobbly, it did not seem like it had taken a lot, yet, even standing upright was proving troublesome for him.


    His vision was scattering and he even began seeing double, but just as it seemed like he would finally pass out, all clarity returned.


    Even the wound that was open just moments ago was completely gone, instead, only a small smear of blood was left.


    What just happened? Neraxis thought as sweat began dripping down his forehead, landing on the ground with a seemingly loud splash.


    His senses were enhanced, as if his body had been cleansed and strengthened. He even felt slightly faster and stronger too, it was barely noticeable, but to him who just a moment ago was completely tired, it was a huge difference.


    Just as he regained all his senses, he looked upwards, directly at the previously wooden sword, which now emitted a sinister red aura. The sword now had a completely crimson blade and a pure black hilt.


    The more he looked at it, the more he felt like it was calling out to him¡ªit wanted him to hold it.


    Neraxis could not hold back his curiosity as he stretched out his hand, attempting to grasp the hilt, but like previously, it flew away from him.


    "Are you serious?" He asked with a twitching brow, his patience did have limits.


    However, before he could get any sort of response, he could see the ground below him turning darker, especially the area right under the crimson sword.


    A small fire was forming, but despite Neraxis''s expectations, it held no heat, seemingly being just for show.


    But upon seeing that it was actively beginning to burn the grass around him, caused a wave of panic to appear as he dashed at the sword once again, trying to grab it.


    To his surprise, he was able to grasp the sword for a moment, however, it immediately exploded in gray particles, as if it was turning to ash.


    He stared on with a raised brow as he noticed the fire stopped spreading just before it reached his porch, and with a sigh sat down onto the ground.


    However, as he did so, he suddenly lost balance and fell right on his back, unable to move his body in the slightest.


    But before he could even process what was happening, a sharp pain assaulted his head, making him twitch on the ground without restraint.


    Fuuuuck, you damn sword! Neraxis exclaimed inside his mind, the pain was like nothing he ever felt before. It was as though several dozen sharp needles were penetrating his brain and swirling inside of it.


    Nonetheless, he endured through the pain without losing consciousness, he was no child.


    As it finally ended and his eyes regained their perfect vision, he saw a massive red system window, and upon reading what it said, he was left speechless.


    [The Fragment of Calamity wishes to form a bond with you.]


    [Do you accept? Y/Y]

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 Chapter 13: A Little Mishap

    A couple of hours passed as Neraxis was hard at work, dismantling the tree and throwing its pieces behind the target dummies.


    He managed to make a little shed that housed all the trash that was currently present in the backyard, of course, with the help of Evangeline.


    She was rather persistent in him calling her that. She also got mad when he referred to her as a sword.


    It was a miracle she managed to calm down. It took a solid 20 minutes until she ran out of energy and decided to drink some of his blood. The amount was not too great either, something that would restore itself within hours.


    But during that time, he was able to talk to her a little bit¡ªin a sense, get to know her.


    At the same time, he wanted to find out what happened to his system and why it had turned red, to which she simply responded with:


    [Oh, I like the color red. Blue is no good.]


    Like all the things Evangeline had said to date, they never failed to make him speechless.


    However, she was not that bad¡ªjust a bit energetic.


    [Don''t place that there. Look, give me.]


    As Evangeline said that, she stabbed a log through the very middle and flew it upwards before dropping it onto the rest of the logs.


    But to no one''s surprise, due to the sudden shift in weight, the whole structure collapsed, followed by the whole shed, rendering his efforts of making it in the first place worthless.


    On second thought, she is a bit clumsy too... Neraxis let out a sigh and walked over to the shed, beginning to fix it all over again.


    And in just a few minutes of tinkering, it was finished. The yard looked great as per usual, and now they even had a little shed to store wood.


    Evangeline had swept the dust up earlier, so except for a few bruises, everything else was the same. He decided to tell his parents that the dummies were defective. No way would they believe someone like him could destroy them.


    Of course, if they didn''t ask, he wouldn''t bring it up. It was a terrible excuse, and he knew it.


    However, now that everything was finished and he got his daily workout in, it was time to check out his status screen, which, like before, was completely red.


    +-----+


    Status, made pretty by Evangeline.


    Name: Neraxis Valen


    Stigmata: [Fragment of Calamity {???}]


    Age: 16


    --Stats:


    Rank: G -> G+


    Strength: G- -> G+


    Agility: G -> G+


    Stamina: G -> G+


    Intelligence: F- -> F


    Mana capacity: G+ -> F-


    --Secondary Stats:


    Luck: G -> G-


    Charm: D- -> E+


    --Skills:


    [Eve of Ruin {G}] *


    [Swordsmanship {G}]


    +-----+


    His stats had increased drastically, and his main skill had become highlighted with a star. However, the most eye-catching part was the very top of the status and the fact that another option appeared¡ªthe stigmata.


    Since he was still viewing the status screen, the tattoo-like sword on his wrist began glowing a clear red color. It did not take a genius to realize that it was the so-called stigmata.


    However, Neraxis was still unsure of what it did. It seemed like a skill, but at the same time, not quite it.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Therefore, he decided to speak up. Evangeline had her moment of fun; now it was time for answers.


    "I think it''s time we have a little chat, don''t you think? Tell me what a stigmata is and the other things you promised. Oh, and also, remove that... thing from the top of my status," he said, as the ''made pretty by Evangeline'' text was throwing him off.


    [Awh... do you really hate it? Fine. I will get rid of that,] she said, and immediately, the text returned to normal.


    Immediately after that, the sword floated down onto Neraxis''s lap and calmed down. After a moment of silence, Evangeline once again spoke up, her usual playfulness gone.


    [The stigmata is me. I am a part of you now, and I can lend you my powers. For now, I take the form of a sword as most of my strength has dissipated. However, over time, it will return.] She paused for a moment before continuing,


    [As you get stronger, so do I. But besides that... I don''t really know how I ended up here. The last couple of days are blank. All I can remember is falling from the sky and eventually landing in your yard.]


    "...When exactly did you fall into my yard?" Neraxis questioned as an ominous feeling began welling up inside his chest.


    [Hmm? Yesterday, I believe. That was the first time I sensed your mana while you were inside your room. However, you soon left. I even thought I had imagined it until you finally came back and picked me up.]


    Did she arrive at the same time I came back? There''s no way. He thought with furrowed brows. Was it possible that the two of them were somehow connected?


    However, before he could ask any more questions, the sword suddenly floated out of his lap, did a few circles in the sky, and finally disappeared into thin air.


    With that, she left a few words: [If you need something, just call out my name in your mind. You don''t have to always talk out loud; helps with maintaining secrecy, you know?]


    The moment she finished her sentence, he could see the red energy flowing straight into the stigmata on his wrist, and once again, the silence resumed.


    "You are an odd one..." Neraxis exclaimed and got up. It was time to head back into his home to rest for a moment before he would go back to train again.


    His goal was reaching F- in at least one physical stat. It required much more effort than jumping through G rank, as he did that pretty effortlessly.


    Just as he turned around and prepared to head back inside his house, he noticed Elara standing by the side, sending him a glare before stating, "You look like crap. You do know we own a shower, right?"


    Her sarcastic remark was shrugged off as Neraxis went past her and into the house. He was unsure of when she had come back, but it must''ve not been long ago since he would be getting bombarded by questions relating to the strange sword by now.


    But since it was all normal, he went up to take a quick shower and have a change of clothes before heading back downstairs to eat some food.


    However, as he was enjoying his little break, Elara stormed back into the room with an expression filled with horror, as though she had seen a ghost.


    Neraxis immediately got on guard and glanced at the stigmata. Evangeline, you can use mana, right? Are there any intruders around?


    [Yes, and no. I don''t think she''s scared per se, more like... startled by what she had seen? Perhaps?] she replied innocently.


    Hmm... that doesn''t sound good.


    "You... You..." Elara finally began speaking up, her voice in a stutter, seemingly failing to find the right words to say.


    He put on a small yet warm smile as he tilted his head and spoke, "What''s wrong, sis?"


    However, in the moment where he blinked, she walked up to him and smacked him over the head before grabbing his shoulders with both her hands and letting out a patient sigh.


    "Neraxis."


    "Yes?"


    "You were ''training'' with those target dummies, correct?" Elara asked, her expression unreadable.


    Neraxis flinched at those words and began rambling, "Oh... those. Yeah, I did, but they seemed to have some sort of defect. Collapsing in a single hit was a bit disappointing."


    However, his words went on deaf ears as Elara continued, "So you were training with them? Do you know how much they are worth?"


    "...A lot?" he answered hesitatingly.


    "One of them is worth a normal household''s monthly salary, and you ''accidentally'' broke how many again?"


    "13..." Neraxis answered with a sigh. He really messed up this time. He thought they were just pieces of junk his family threw out.


    Elara listened and finally let go of his shoulders before sending a straight kick directly at his stomach, to which he merely sidestepped.


    She was strong, but her fighting style was not refined. Dodging her was child''s play if he really tried.


    "Look, Elara, I will earn enough money to replace them. Just give me a few wee¡ª" His words were interrupted as she interjected.


    "No, it''s fine. We are rich," she remarked before adding with an angry pout, "You destroyed the only ones I customized for myself! Don''t you have your own!?"


    As her words dawned upon him, Neraxis immediately understood what she meant.


    The electricity-infused puppets were the only ones he trained with and, for the most part, the only ones he attacked. Perhaps he was unlucky, but he didn''t notice the uncustomized bunch, which apparently belonged to him.


    Elara walked up to him and side-kicked him in the abdomen. This time, however, he did not dodge. Instead, he accepted his fate.


    "Guhh," Neraxis exclaimed as all the air seemingly left his lungs, and he crouched down onto the ground. The kick was much more powerful than he expected.


    "I will be taking your target dummies for myself since you destroyed mine. You can use the ones in your academy or whatever," she added and began walking back to the yard, leaving him all alone lying on the ground.


    This little interaction really made him think;


    Aren''t I supposed to be the big brother here?

 Chapter 14: Trouble On The Road

    [That''s not how you do it. Swing it sideways, not down.] Evangeline complained as she watched over his training.


    The past two days had been a bit of a disappointment; his stats hadn¡¯t risen in the slightest. The only thing that had changed was his understanding of the sword.


    Even then, it wasn¡¯t enough to increase the rank of his skill. It couldn¡¯t always be that easy.


    Yeah? I am swinging the sword sideways though. Neraxis shot back and slashed once more. He was currently practicing in the yard without the target dummies; Elara had taken it upon herself to lock them all away.


    It wasn¡¯t that big of a deal; all he lost was a bit of a power-up. In exchange, he was able to better his swordsmanship.


    Evangeline taught him an attack, one that worked effectively against opponents at any range. It was a sideways slash, one that reached the opponent in an instant.


    The only problem was, it had to be perfect. If it wasn¡¯t, then it turned out like any ordinary slash.


    He was unsure of how it worked. She merely told him there was a simple principle behind it, one that he would comprehend once he mastered the said slash.


    However, even after two days, there was still no progress. He hadn¡¯t managed to perform the attack even once.


    But just as he was about to continue practicing, a voice interrupted him.


    "Neraxis! 30 minutes!" His mother shouted from inside the house. Today was the day the academy officially started.


    It was also the day he would find out which class he would be going to. There were five in total: A, B, C, D, and lastly, S. D was the lowest, while S was the highest.


    Getting into S class was nothing but a pipe dream to him, well, at least in the past. He was only able to enter class B after continuously improving himself.


    But now, he could not predict the outcome. He might be sent straight into B or even C again. Who knows?


    Neraxis let go of his sword, and it dissipated back into the stigmata on his wrist as he began walking back to his house.


    He kept it brief. As he went inside and dressed up, saying his goodbyes, he went straight to the academy.


    It would be a good way to burn some time. By walking, he should arrive there exactly on time.


    [Hmm... I didn¡¯t pay that much attention before, but that tower, when did it get there?] Evangeline suddenly asked, curiosity clear in her tone.


    Like half a century ago, apparently. He answered as he walked through a couple of nearby alleyways. They were much cleaner than he remembered.


    [Half a century? Really...?] She mumbled to herself before quieting down.


    Neraxis merely listened to her. She had been giving off strange red flags ever since he first met her, so it was no surprise she saw something out of the ordinary.


    After all, he was the same when he first arrived in this strange, yet similar world.


    He passed by a couple of convenience stores and a massive mall, one that looked to be stretching on for several kilometers.


    However, the most interesting part of it all was the fact that the streets were completely empty. The stores were too.


    It wasn¡¯t that early either, 9:40 AM. For a city this big, he would assume there would be masses crowding the streets and stores.


    But alas, the academy might be too important for them. After all, it was like a yearly ceremony, one that garnered quite a lot of attention even back in his time.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Not as much as this though. They are probably waiting for the ceremony in their homes. Neraxis tried convincing himself as he continued walking on.


    He sped up his pace while walking toward the academy. For some reason, an ominous feeling arose in his heart.


    After what was practically a jog, he finally arrived at a place where people stood¡ªor well, a large mass was gathering.


    The problem was, they were blocking his path toward the academy.


    However, he would not let that little mishap make him late as he approached the people and began making his way through, pushing everyone aside.


    His strength wasn¡¯t great, but most of the civilians present were unawakened, meaning they were all normal humans without powers and the system.


    Neraxis kept pushing on, that was until he noticed something was off. Most, if not all, of the people around him had expressions of urgency, and at the same time, fear.


    Just as he was about to stop one of them to ask what was going on, he felt the ground rumble, before an explosion resounded in the distance.


    Immediately, he sped up his pace, trying to get through the people. He could not understand what was going on, but it was definitely not anything good.


    [A rift outbreak it seems like. That¡¯s at least what I¡¯m getting from here. Ohhh wait, no, never mind...] Evangeline began muttering random nonsense that he simply ignored, all besides the rift outbreak part.


    Is it a high-ranked rift? He asked, the foreboding feeling from earlier only growing stronger.


    [By your world¡¯s standards? Not that high. F-ranked, probably E-ranked at most.] She added, a bit of concern mixed in her tone.


    As soon as he heard those words, he halted, before turning in the direction of the rift outbreak.


    Only? He chuckled and slowly started making his way toward it.


    Evangeline noticed his actions and appeared in her sword form right in front of him, trying to block his path as she spoke, [Hey! What do you think you are doing? It¡¯s dangerous!]


    Trust me on this one, as long as I have you by my side, I won¡¯t be dying. Neraxis shrugged off her worry and continued running through the masses, until finally, he reached the first pair of monsters¡ªtwo in total.


    They looked like hyenas, but just a tad bit bigger. The Scrapfang, a species of monsters that at maximum, could reach E-rank. The ones in front of him, however, were at most F-rank.


    That meant that this would be like a field day for him¡ªsomeone who, in the past, slayed countless S-ranked monsters.


    Naturally, he had the combat experience necessary to back up his talk, and with a trusty sword to cleave his way through, it would not be that difficult.


    [You... What are you talking about!?] Evangeline shouted directly into his ear while waving her sword-self around, trying to make him go back.


    But he had already set his mind on it. The benefits that fighting monsters provided were something he could not pass up on, especially when the opportunity was right in front of him.


    Typically, killing a monster does not do anything on the surface, but they give off a tiny amount of mana, which in turn raises his mana capacity stat, while at the same time, slightly enhancing his other stats.


    However, that was only the case for monsters of a similar rank to a person. If it was too low-ranked, the mana would disperse instead of going into him.


    The monsters before him were perfect.


    It also seemed like they noticed him as one of the hyena-looking monsters began dashing at him, its speed similar to the one Celina showcased, just a tad bit slower.


    But unlike last time, he was prepared and significantly stronger than before.


    Neraxis evaded the incoming Scrapfang monster, before grabbing his sword out of the air and slashing through its throat, effectively severing its head.


    As he did that, he noticed the other monster running toward him, seemingly enraged upon seeing its kind die.


    Which was precisely the case, and the strategy which Neraxis would employ.


    He waited patiently until the Scrapfang got close to him, before simply stretching out his sword in front of him, severing it through the head using its own momentum.


    Neraxis sighed and slashed the air quickly, flicking the green blood onto the ground, before looking onwards, toward another approaching pack of monsters.


    [Uhh... how did you do that?] Evangeline''s puzzled voice resounded in his mind.


    However, he had no time to explain as he said, Doesn¡¯t matter, what¡¯s the time right now?


    [9:47 AM. That thing you are going to starts at 10, I believe.]


    Neraxis grumbled. It was a tight timeframe. However, the academy was not that far away. If he ran at full speed after killing all these monsters, he could make it easily.


    [Hmm... I don¡¯t think you will, but best of luck!] She remarked teasingly, to which he responded with a shrug.


    Watch, I¡¯ll arrive early... Neraxis stated and got into a defensive sword stance, holding his sword horizontally with his feet far apart. It was something that he had seen online.


    However, Evangeline was quick to interrupt with a soft laugh, [Pfft... Bring your feet closer to each other, try keeping them within shoulder width, else you would not be making it to the academy, or anywhere for that matter. You¡¯d die.]


    Neraxis blankly fixed his stance according to her instructions and stared at the now incoming horde of Scrapfangs, numbering around 15 in total.


    Nonetheless, he was confident. His past experiences and training were not for nothing.


    He grasped the sword tightly and let out a deep breath, readying himself for the battle.


    I won''t die.

 Chapter 15: A Little Stronger

    Neraxis stood his ground, waiting patiently for the horde of Scrapfang to arrive. Each was a different color, and he could not tell their strength.


    However, he did know one thing: that being, he was a little stronger than them.


    The flat terrain and lack of cover were a bit troublesome, but it worked in his favor. He kicked the nearby corpse of the Scrapfang he had killed towards the incoming horde while, at the same time, preparing to attack.


    The corpse slid across the ground until finally impacting one of the seemingly mindless monsters, causing it to fall over and create a small crack in their straightforward formation.


    However, to Neraxis, that was enough. A single one fell, splitting the group¡ªseven up front, while the rest trailed slowly behind.


    Seems doable, he thought to himself while glancing at another Scrapfang corpse under him. If push came to shove, he would use it to give himself an even bigger advantage.


    But for now, it was enough.


    Neraxis began moving forward toward the incoming seven monsters while keeping low to the ground, giving himself the most room to dodge.


    There were two closest to him that had spread out from the rest of the group, and using the limited time window he had, Neraxis quickly sped up before cleanly cleaving the heads of the two Scrapfangs off.


    However, he had no room to breathe as the rest came swarming in. He pushed the two corpses aside just enough to create a scenario as though he was fighting in a tight alleyway.


    It worked wonders since these monsters were stupid. Instead of going around the two corpses, they went straight through the narrow gap he had prepared.


    This, in turn, gave Neraxis more leeway, which he took hold of instantly.


    A Scrapfang approached, and just before it bit him, he swung himself to the side while cutting off its legs, making it helplessly slide forward while he focused on the rest of them.


    God... this fucking sword is sharp. He couldn''t help but express wonder as he watched the Scrapfang slightly push their fellow corpses to the side, giving them more leeway to attack.


    Two approached, and just like the rest, their heads were cleaved clean off. As all of this was happening, he could clearly feel himself growing stronger and faster.


    And he hadn''t even used his skills yet. He was saving them for an emergency.


    Nonetheless, enough time had passed for the eight others to arrive, and with now ten in total, his chances of winning lessened greatly.


    However, he was prepared for this. He ran back to the Scrapfang whose legs he had cut off, using it as cover¡ªlive cover.


    They seemed hesitant to kill their own, and although the one below him was barely alive, it was still part of their pack.


    But still, that did not change the fact that a few came at him at full speed, to which he responded by dashing backward, making enough distance between himself and the incoming Scrapfang.


    Three in total, and they seemed the exact same as the first two he had killed¡ªoverly emotional and blindly charging in.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Neraxis put on a small smile as he watched them approach before positioning himself in a way that would pierce all three of their heads at once.


    However, much to his surprise, two were impaled while one Scrapfang managed to make its way through. Before he could fully dodge, his abdomen was grazed, drawing blood.


    He dashed in and slashed downward, splitting the monster in half before stepping back and placing a hand over his wound.


    Not deep... Neraxis exhaled a relieved breath. It did not go deep enough to cause any major injuries. It did not even reach any of his organs.


    But still, it made his blood start pumping. It had been a while since he had suffered any kind of injury, especially one from such a low-ranked monster.


    In a way, it felt humiliating.


    Nonetheless, he had to suck it up and face the incoming horde of seven Scrapfangs all at once, all the while making sure not to die.


    It was these types of battles that made him feel alive. Perhaps that was also why he didn''t run away in his last battle.


    Neraxis drew his sword once again and stood facing the incoming monsters. This time, however, he had something he wanted to try.


    That being the sideways slash Evangeline had been talking about.


    So far, he had not managed to successfully perform it even once, but he knew the fundamentals. Plus, the situation called for a miracle.


    [Eh, don''t bother. You are still ways away from learning it,] Evangeline commented, to which he simply ignored her and focused.


    Stretching the sword to his left and holding it perfectly horizontal, he waited for the seven monsters to enter his range.


    The moment they did, he put all he had into the sideways swing, and before he even knew what happened, he saw four of the monsters instantly fall.


    What the...? Neraxis looked on, his eyes widening. However, the monsters didn''t let up as they ran up to him and attempted to bite his head off.


    The earlier attack had separated them enough for him to deal with them individually, and that¡¯s exactly what he did.


    Exchange after exchange, the heads of the Scrapfang fell until finally, there was only one left.


    It seemed afraid, its eyes darting around, looking at its fallen brethren. However, in the small moment it stopped paying attention to him, Neraxis threw the sword forward, piercing the Scrapfang''s head clean through.


    The sword continued flying until it stopped in mid-air before slowly floating back into his grasp.


    Finally... That was a bit exhausting. Neraxis let out a sigh and sat down on one of the nearby monster corpses, one that was the cleanest.


    But just as he thought everything was over, a voice blasted into his ears.


    [Idiot! Do I look like some kind of throwing knife!? Don''t ever throw me again!] Evangeline shouted in an annoyed tone while smacking him over the head with the hilt of the sword.


    Sorry... He quickly apologized and looked forward.


    It seemed like backup had finally arrived. In the distance, he could see a few Awakened thinning down the ever-growing number of Scrapfangs.


    That meant it was his time to leave.


    However, just as he turned around and was prepared to head toward the academy, a certain monster caught his eye.


    It was standing just a few meters away from him, and it looked similar to the Scrapfangs he had killed just mere moments ago.


    The only difference was its size¡ªit was at least four times bigger than them.


    That was to say, it was likely many times stronger than them too.


    ...E rank? Neraxis asked with a sour expression. The monster hadn''t moved yet since he himself was still, but he never knew when it could strike.


    [Not quite. It looks like it¡¯s F+ ranked. Honestly, I¡¯d suggest you make a run for it. While I¡¯ve seen you do unbelievable things, like killing multiple F- ranked monsters as a G+ rank, this one is way out of your league.,] Evangeline warned with concern.


    However, Neraxis was not exactly in a situation where he could just run away. The Awakened were far in front, while the backline was practically empty aside from him and some stupid civilians who were against evacuating.


    Lost in thought, Neraxis met eyes with the stronger Scrapfang. Moments later, it began growling and slowly moving toward him.


    Do you think I could kill it with that sideways slash I did earlier? Neraxis asked while entering his defensive sword stance.


    [You accidentally managed to perform it, so unless you do it once again and catch it off guard, then not very likely,] she answered patiently.


    Not a lot of options then, huh... He looked at the monster with a scowl.


    But it seemed like that had managed to irritate it as its pace quickened, and its eyes glistened with murderous intent.


    [Incoming.]


    Neraxis rolled his eyes at her teasing tone and waited for the Scrapfang to get within the range of his main skill.


    It was about time he went all out.

 Chapter 16: Mini-Boss Fight

    The moment the Scrapfang got within his range, Neraxis immediately used both of his skill effects on it.


    Two orbs appeared, one a faint black color from the Mark of Decay, while the other, pure silver from Aura of Vulnerability. The two were orbiting the monster as it approached him at an incredible speed.


    He had gotten stronger during the course of his previous fights, but not enough to offset the balance of a whole rank.


    Therefore, Neraxis, with his best effort, attempted to evade to the side, and for just a moment, he thought he had succeeded.


    Suddenly, a sharp pain spread throughout his entire left arm, and upon glancing at it, he could see it cut open, the bone sticking right out.


    But before he could even process his own injury, he embedded the sword into the ground and flung himself to the side, providing a bit of distance between him and the monster.


    It was playing with him; if it wasn¡¯t, then he would already be dead.


    He was unsure if he imagined it, but it almost seemed like the Scrapfang was mockingly grinning at him.


    Neraxis proceeded to steady his breaths as he reassessed his arm once again, before coming to the conclusion: This is no good...


    It could not be healed normally, not unless he visited a healer, one who could mend bones together.


    Obviously, there was no such thing in his current situation.


    But due to the injury, the fight became much more difficult than before.


    He prepared himself for the second bout, but this time, he was prepared to counter.


    The Scrapfang started out slow before fastening its pace, lunging at him from a couple of meters away.


    It was a clear opening; however, due to the sheer speed, all he was able to do was redirect its fangs with the blade of his sword, only managing to put a scratch on its fur that barely drew any blood.


    Neraxis clicked his tongue as the Scrapfang seemed unhinged by the attack before it once again dashed towards him.


    This time, however, it was much faster, almost as if it had seen the threat he could potentially pose.


    Which, for certain, did not work in his favor.


    The arm was being a hindrance, and due to the stinging pain of his weak body, it was difficult to aim properly.


    Nonetheless, he waited for the Scrapfang to get closer, and as it did, he started slightly moving backward, trying to match its flow with his pitiful speed.


    As he did so, the Scrapfang seemed to momentarily slow down, as if confused by his attempt, almost equalizing their speed.


    Smarter than the rest, but still a stupid beast. Neraxis snickered to himself as he suddenly stopped and used the Scrapfang''s surprise, as well as momentum, to land an attack.


    However, despite the surprise factor, it did not hit any vitals, but he did manage to pierce through its left hind leg.


    The monster whimpered for a moment before looking up at him, its eyes turning red from fury, while at the same time, the injury he had just inflicted began healing itself.


    He was not going to let this chance go; the beast was angered and also slowed down momentarily.


    Without further doubt, Neraxis dashed in and slid between the monster''s legs, not missing the chance to inflict a wound or two.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    There was a small gap in which he nearly got bit, but due to his preparation, he managed to redirect its teeth elsewhere, even managing to chip a few.


    He had the sword''s sharpness to thank for that.


    [You mean me? Of course, you should be thankful. Any ordinary sword would have already been broken.] Evangeline took her chance to gloat, to which he merely chuckled.


    The Scrapfang was being slowly whittled down, its regeneration just barely keeping up with it.


    But Neraxis knew, all abilities come with limits; the monster could not do this forever.


    That did not mean he could underestimate it, however. While it was drastically slowed down, one bite from it and he would be killed on the spot.


    A couple more times... he thought, exhaling a shallow breath; his stamina was still not the best.


    However, as he kept going for cheap shots again and again, the monster suddenly did a turn and reappeared behind Neraxis before slashing down.


    The attack managed to claw at his back, but he ignored the pain because, in this moment, he had a clear shot at the Scrapfang.


    Taking this chance, Neraxis jumped into the air before slashing horizontally right at the monster''s spine, trying to cut it in half.


    He was expecting the same horizontal slash from earlier, but that was not the case. Instead, the attack still managed to connect cleanly with the Scrapfang''s already injured body.


    The problem was, it did not hit the spine; it just narrowly missed.


    Nonetheless, it was enough for the monster to get startled, and instead of slashing at him or biting him, it kicked him away.


    Distance was what he needed at the moment, as his Mark of Decay had long reached 5 stacks, and over the course of the many exchanges, he managed to inflict quite a few attacks.


    If he coupled that with the last attack he had done just now, it was finally time.


    Neraxis put a small smile on his face as he watched the monster struggle in the distance, before its red eyes landed on him.


    But that was not what he was looking for. Instead, it was the previously faint black orb which had now begun glowing, seemingly calling out to him, just like it did the last time he used the skill effect.


    He did not waste time and used it, focusing his attention on it, and suddenly, the black orb vanished, meaning his attack went through successfully.


    Turning his gaze towards the Scrapfang, he noticed its previously red eyes turning a different shade until finally, they were practically gray.


    But what troubled him was the fact that it continued running at him despite being dead.


    However, just as he thought something was wrong and was about to dodge out of the way, the Scrapfang suddenly exploded, its blood splattering outward like a fountain.


    Neraxis was not spared from being drenched from head to toe, but finally, he was able to let out a breath of relief, as well as fatigue.


    Thinking it was all over, he was about to relax for a moment and catch his breath, until finally going to the academy.


    Before he could do that, however, a few red windows appeared in front of his face, ones that he had never seen previously.


    [12x (F-Ranked Monster) Scrapfang Slain! Reward: Stigmata 0% -> 6%]


    [5x (F-Ranked Monster) Scrapfang Slain! Reward: Stigmata 6% -> 11%]


    [1x (F+ Ranked Mini-Boss) Scrapfang Sentry Slain! Reward: Stigmata 11% -> 21%]


    Evangeline...? Neraxis questioned while re-reading the pop-ups; he had not even seen them in the past.


    There was a moment of silence before the sword suddenly lit up and traveled back into his arm as she spoke patiently,


    [You get stronger, I get stronger, remember? Once the bar reaches 100%, I''ll unlock a new ability for you, and then the bar once again resets to 0, but this time, it will be harder to reach 100%.]


    Why is that? Some sort of inner balancing you like to do? he teased, to which he was met with a smack on his head from seemingly nowhere.


    [No, idiot. All the monsters you kill get converted into energy, which I use to unlock the seals of my former self. Through that, I can share my abilities with you. Understand now?]


    Neraxis processed the information and nodded before saying, Seems pretty straightforward. The seals get harder to unlock each time, so I would need to kill stronger monsters, right?


    [Yup. You will only be able to convert the energy of monsters no less than 1 rank below you, and as for those higher than you, there is no limit.]


    He nodded once again before standing up and inspecting himself. There were wounds riddling his entire body, the most prominent being his left arm which by now had broken in several more places.


    Then there was his back, which was still dripping blood. It was a miracle he had not begun feeling weak from the blood loss.


    But as he finally relaxed, realization hit him as he turned to the sword tattoo on his arm and spoke, Evangeline?


    [Yes?]


    What''s the time right now?


    Evangeline paused for a moment before replying, [9:56 AM¡ªah no wait, 9:57 AM now.]


    As he heard those words, the previous bliss of relaxation he felt disappeared, followed by a wave of panic.


    He did not have much time, and he was fatigued, but nonetheless, Neraxis began running straight to the academy.


    At the same time, he was leaving behind a trail of blood, which without his knowledge, was vanishing and going straight into his tattoo.


    [Hehe...]


    What?


    [...It''s nothing. 9:58, by the way. You should hurry up.]


    Fuck... Neraxis exclaimed and sped up his pace. At this rate, he might actually be late.


    The repercussions were something he would rather... not experience.

 Chapter 17: Infirmary Visit

    What''s the time!? Neraxis asked in a hurry as he jumped over the fence of an alleyway, the academy right in front of him.


    [9:59. You have around 30 seconds left.]


    He let out an exasperated breath. The fatigue from earlier had accumulated quite a lot, and the academy was a tad bit farther than he initially thought.


    But finally, he was here. All he had to do was get to the auditorium.


    However, he noticed the gates were closed, and unlike last time, there was no guard present.


    Neraxis had no time to worry about that as he ran up to the gate and summoned his sword, slashing the metal clean through and opening a path.


    He was a bit too exhausted to jump over. In the end, it was the same result anyway.


    [Won''t you have to pay for that?]


    Who knows? He chuckled and arrived in front of the academy''s entrance before quickly heading in.


    Navigating the halls, he finally made it to the auditorium. All he had to do was go inside.


    Taking a deep breath, he reached for the door, but suddenly, he felt someone touch his shoulder, and upon turning around, his eyes widened.


    "Celina? What are you doing here?" he asked, stupefied.


    She looked him up and down before a small frown formed on her face as she spoke. "¡­Are you planning to go in there like that?"


    As he was about to reply, Evangeline''s voice suddenly rang out. [10:00 AM. It started.]


    Shit¡­ He gulped while glancing back at Celina, who was standing across from him, dressed in the neat, pure black academy uniform.


    She noticed his stare, and with a sigh, said, "Instead of ogling me, why don''t you answer my question?" Before he could answer, she added, "I dislike people who ignore me. Are you ignoring me?"


    Her tone was growing more and more suffocating. It felt as though he was right in front of the Scrapfang Mini-Boss again.


    "No, sorry¡­ I was in a bit of a situation a moment ago. Didn''t really have much time to change," Neraxis replied as kindly as he could. She seemed like a nice girl¡ªaside from the time she stabbed him in the back¡ªliterally.


    "Gosh, you really are careless, come with me for now," Celina said as she turned around, walking away from the noisy auditorium.


    Neraxis followed suit, taking another good look at himself. He really looked terrible.


    The two of them headed toward a flight of stairs and went up to the topmost floor¡ªthe fifth.


    From what he could recall, that was where the headmaster''s office was, and since she was his granddaughter, that was most likely where they were heading.


    However, as the two walked and passed the headmaster''s office, he grew a bit concerned and couldn¡¯t help but voice out, "Celina¡­ where exactly are we going?"This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    She turned back around and glanced at him before pointing at his left arm, which had a shattered bone sticking out of it.


    "We need to fix that arm of yours, so we are going toward the healer," she answered and continued walking forward.


    [She''s a nice girl,] Evangeline remarked with a soft laugh.


    Apparently. Neraxis shrugged, but a small smile couldn¡¯t help but form on his face as he once again followed after her.


    There were a couple of infirmaries in the academy. The one on the topmost floor was made for immediate emergencies.


    That meant if he wasn¡¯t with Celina, he would have had to bear the pain of the mediocre healers on the lower floors.


    They quickly arrived in front of the infirmary, and Celina stepped forward, opening it without even knocking and walking inside.


    Neraxis peeked through the open door and saw a man wearing a white lab coat, seemingly sleeping on a chair.


    All of a sudden, Celina arrived before him and pulled out a pair of daggers, slashing them at the legs of the chair.


    The man fell down with a groan but immediately shot up with an annoyed expression. However, upon seeing who was standing in front of him, he calmed down and flashed a warm smile.


    "Young miss, to what do I owe this visit?" he asked, to which Celina pointed behind her, straight at Neraxis, who was covered from head to toe in red.


    "Sal, fix him," she ordered and walked out of the room, flashing a small, unreadable glance at Neraxis before heading down to the other end of the hallway.


    The healer, Sal, stared straight at him, his eyes widening more and more by the moment as he spoke, "Student, don¡¯t move."


    As his words fell, he began walking over to him before stretching out his palm and lightly touching Neraxis¡¯s forehead.


    Calusses? he wondered with an amused look. All of a sudden, he began levitating off the ground, feeling completely weightless.


    Sal carefully grabbed him and brought him over to a nearby infirmary bed, placing him down gently.


    However, as he did so, Neraxis slightly flinched. He was placed on his back, after all.


    Sal immediately noticed the change and, with a sour expression, lifted him up again, this time suspending him in midair.


    "I¡¯m honestly quite surprised. How are you still awake after acquiring such injuries? Most would either be passed out or even dead already," Sal remarked, spinning him so his back was visible.


    "Scrapfang?" he asked, to which Neraxis merely nodded.


    What a blabbermouth. Just heal me already¡­ He sighed inwardly and waited for Sal to finish inspecting his body.


    After a few minutes of being rotated around constantly, Sal finally spoke up. "Unless Willi¡ªthe headmaster¡ªcomes here personally, healing you would take quite some time. However, I still have to perform treatment on you."


    "All the bones in your left arm are fractured. Your back isn¡¯t looking any better either. Some nerve endings are severed, some of which would make any normal awakened paralyzed¡­ You really are made of something else, aren¡¯t you?" he said in an amused tone, rotating Neraxis to a sitting position.


    Neraxis shrugged before trying to move. However, he found it difficult to do so, as if his body was not listening to him anymore.


    "And there goes all the adrenaline. Relax, I will get started on your treatment in a moment," Sal whistled and walked to a corner of the room where a lone desk stood. It seemed a little out of place.


    However, in just a few moments, he came back with a towel, one that could absorb any and all liquids up to a certain point¡ªone of the many innovations the world had gone through.


    "What¡¯s that for? I¡¯m pretty sure I bled enough already," Neraxis sarcastically remarked. However, Sal¡¯s response made a frown appear on his face.


    "So you speak," he chuckled before explaining, "Your wounds are infected. Once I start healing you, all those impurities will head right out of the wounds, which in turn might hurt¡­ a lot."


    "And how long is this so-called treatment going to take?" Neraxis questioned.


    "Around 10 minutes. I would put you on an anesthetic drug, but that would not really lessen your pain. Sorry."


    This is not going to be fun¡­ He thought and took one more glance around the room.


    As he did so, he spotted a familiar face in the doorframe. It was Celina. She was peeking out with only her single crimson red eye visible.


    However, upon realizing that he noticed her, she quickly hid.


    A smile appeared on his face as he returned his gaze toward Sal, who finally finished preparing everything. A row of towels was right below Neraxis.


    "Kid¡­ if you endure without screaming, I¡¯ll buy you a drink once you graduate," Sal said out of nowhere with a chuckle before adding, his tone serious, "I will start in 10 seconds. And trust me, I was not exaggerating about the pain."


    Neraxis nodded and began counting down inwardly. However, as the count reached seven seconds, a searing pain shot through his body, growing more intense by the moment.


    "I lied."

 Chapter 18: Special Class

    "Ah, you are awake. Have a drink," Sal''s voice rang out amidst the seemingly endless silence.


    Neraxis did not remember what happened. One moment he was counting upwards, and the next, he was being offered a cup of water.


    Or he hoped it was water anyway. The vibes Sal was giving off made him think that he might have offered him alcohol instead.


    Nonetheless, he proceeded to down it all in one gulp and took a look around.


    His head slightly hurt, though not as much as when he first got here. But that did not matter, as all of his injuries were practically healed, his clean, scarless skin back once more.


    [Oho, you should have seen that girl earlier. She... never mind,] Evangeline spoke teasingly.


    She what? Neraxis asked, to which she responded,


    [It''s nothing. It would ruin the fun if I told you.]


    He rolled his eyes at her antics and tried standing up. It was a bit difficult, but after a couple of seconds, his body adjusted itself.


    Sal noticed this and brought over another cup of water, handing it to him.


    "The headmaster finished up the healing on you. It seemed like your injuries were a bit more severe than I had anticipated. Did you fight the boss monster or something?" he asked questioningly.


    Shit.


    Neraxis stared at him for a moment before replying, "I did not fight the boss. Anyways, am I done here?"


    "Almost. I need to talk to the headmaster, so you should wait here for a couple of minutes. Get used to walking and all that," Sal said as he took his leave, closing the door behind him.


    He nodded and lied back down, however, there was one thing that he managed to put together, and that was the fact that William had come to heal him personally.


    That also meant the entrance speech was likely already over. He had slept through all of it.


    Just how long was I unconscious for...


    [It''s been a couple of hours,] Evangeline said before appearing before him in her sword form and speaking once again. [You''ve done something stupid, and now I can scold you. That''s fine, right?]


    A shiver ran down Neraxis''s spine as he heard those words, but before he could protest, she interrupted him, her voice containing clear anger.


    [Why did you do that? Risk your life for what? A small increase in power?]


    I knew I wouldn''t have died. I alread-


    She suddenly interrupted his next words, causing his eyes to momentarily widen. [Already what? You already fought those monsters before?]


    [I can see bits and pieces of your memories every single time you think of them. Do you think your past experiences would have gone unnoticed? Especially when the two of us are connected at a soul level?]


    He felt guilty as he spoke. I never tried to hide it from you. I just never had the chance to explain. What if you thought I was crazy?The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    [Neraxis, I''ve seen people be revived before, some even having abilities that defied reality entirely. I would never think you are crazy,] Evangeline said, her voice calming down.


    [I won''t press you now, but I hope you can tell me everything once the time is right. In exchange, I will share some of my experiences with you as well. How does that sound?]


    It sounds good, Evangeline. Neraxis replied as the sword began floating toward him, landing on his lap.


    [Promise me you won''t do something stupid unless you are well prepared.]


    I promise.


    [Good,] she replied, her voice sounding satisfied.


    The two remained in silence for a few moments. That was until she went back into his tattoo, and suddenly, the door swung open.


    In view were William, Sal, and, of course, Celina, the furthest one in the back.


    William walked up and took a seat across from him before crossing his legs and looking at Neraxis as if he were some sort of bug.


    But he paid it no mind. William was the type of person who had a naturally condescending look.


    However, as the silence grew loud, he spoke. "You are an idiot."


    "...What?" Neraxis replied with a tilt of his head.


    "I said you are an idiot. Did you think your little stunt would go unnoticed?" William said with a small frown as, all of a sudden, he pulled out a remote and pressed it. Immediately, a TV descended from the ceiling, landing in view for all of them to see.


    He did not waste any time and pressed the remote once again. This time, it was turned on, and it displayed a certain video, one that made Neraxis flinch.


    It was a long-distance shot of him fighting the weaker Scrapfang, edited in a way where it would only showcase each kill.


    That was until the mini-boss, Scrapfang Sentry, appeared. It showcased the close-up fight in perfect detail, down to how he got all of his injuries, all the way to where he finally killed the thing.


    However, as the video played on, it showed how the sword was moving around by itself before eventually going into the tattoo on his wrist.


    [Hm... Well, that''s to be expected,] Evangeline commented, but Neraxis merely kept looking at the screen.


    It would have been all right for the most part, all up to where the sword went into his wrist. People would think it was an artifact.


    Yet there was one more bunch who would think worse, perhaps even experiment on him.


    That being the rotten part of the government.


    He scowled inwardly as the TV was finally turned off, and William spoke up once again.


    "I assume you understand the problem here?"


    "I do..." Neraxis nodded.


    "Now I do hope you understand that your actions have caused me a great headache. I even had to lie to the press, as well as the government themselves," William suddenly said, causing Neraxis to grow slightly confused.


    He added, "Neraxis, the story is this: you performed extremely well in the practical exam, to the point where it warranted a reward, that being a custom-made sword."


    He''s covering for me? His eyes narrowed in realization.


    "Now I have a question for you, and I hope, for both our sakes, the answer is a no. Did you have the sword before the practical exam?"


    "I didn''t," Neraxis replied, letting out a small breath of relief.


    But before he could revel in the fact that he was safe, William decided to up the stakes.


    "Perfect. Now, as someone who did extremely well and was even personally given a gift by the headmaster, I assume you can guess your role now?"


    He thought for a moment before replying with a sour look, "You want me to be a figurehead?"


    "Are you unsatisfied? If your skills are as you showed off in the video, then the task shouldn''t be very difficult for you. At most, only a few first years are stronger than you in the Special Class," William replied matter-of-factly before standing up.


    However, his words struck a chord in Neraxis''s body. "Special Class?"


    "Precisely. There will be 19 other people there with you¡ªthe best of the best, including Celina, of course," William said while walking up to Celina and ruffling her hair, earning a fierce glare from her.


    Wait... Special Class... As in the S class? The one that is above A? Neraxis''s mind was running in overdrive as he couldn''t help but ask, wanting to confirm his thoughts.


    "Wi-Headmaster... Am I being admitted into the Special Class?"


    "Did you expect something else? Your performance and potential in the entrance exam were enough to land you in at least A class. Your stunt, however, proved you were worthy of S class," William said before making his way to the door, Celina grumpily following after him.


    "I expect great things from you, Neraxis. Make sure thoughts about you are not wrong." With those words, he left. Celina managed to sneak a wave in as she followed.


    But Neraxis ignored it, he was stunned, his past dreams of getting into S class were achieved just like that?


    It seemed unreal¡ªit was unreal.


    However, Sal''s voice broke through his stupor, casual and tinged with amusement.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Neraxis, I didn¡¯t hand you alcohol, did I? You¡¯re sitting there with your mouth hanging open like some kind of fish¡­¡±


    [Pfft...]


    Shut up.

 Chapter 19: The Reason

    "Gramps, why did you do that?"


    "Celi... you knew I didn''t have a choice..." William replied, seemingly exhausted.


    However, she was not satisfied with the answer, so she shot back in an irritated tone, "You are the 24th most powerful Awakened in the world, yet you couldn''t tell off a few pansies?"


    "Celi, I know you are angry, but I give you my word, I won''t be using that boy. In fact, I am impressed by his talents. What better way was there to keep him here other than promising protection?"


    The moment she heard that, her brows furrowed, and she tugged at her waist, pulling out a pair of daggers¡ªones she had gotten from her father.


    However, as she thought of him, hate stirred within her, making the daggers emit a faint crimson glow that subsided just as quickly.


    But it did not go unnoticed by William as he let out a deep sigh. "Celina." As his words fell, her hands began shaking, until finally, she dropped the daggers onto the ground.


    You... Celina thought in her mind, misplacing her hatred onto her grandfather, but upon seeing his pained expression, she began calming down.


    "His... stunt, it was a tough pill to swallow. Because of it, we lost a few cities... I almost lost Zeri and you too."


    "But..." She tried speaking but couldn''t get the words out.


    "Celina, his betrayal came as a surprise to us all. Even I, who had practically trained the boy, did not expect him to join up with the monsters."


    "But... Mom was injured..." Celina let out a voice that was barely a whisper.


    On that fateful day, like any other, the three of them were eating at a restaurant. However, everything suddenly changed when her father got up from his seat and unveiled his jacket.


    His body had been turned into miniature rifts, ones that could let out monsters of similar size, but due to the sheer number of them being present on him, it was enough to cause great mayhem.


    Celina, along with her mother, ran away¡ªor so they hoped¡ªbut one of the insect-type monsters bit her mother, causing her to become paralyzed.


    She managed to kill it and hide long enough for backup to arrive, including her grandpa, William. But even with his abilities, he was unable to cure the paralysis, simply because her mother was a normal human¡ªan Unawakened.


    To this day, she could not understand what her father''s intentions were or why, a couple of weeks prior, on her birthday, he had given her a pair of daggers.


    For a moment, she thought he was dead¡ªhoped, in fact¡ªbut just a few months later, he reappeared on the news, terrorizing another city along with his group of monsters.


    Unsurprisingly, she came to hate him. All she wanted to do was meet him face-to-face and kill him for what he had done to both the people and her mother.


    "Celina?" William''s soft voice rang out, startling her out of her thoughts.


    "I''m fine." She quickly replied and sheathed the daggers back on her waist, her aloof expression masking her inner feelings.


    The two continued walking until finally, they reached William''s office and went inside.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    It was separated into a few parts: the office space, and Celina''s favorite part, the training room.


    Without sparing him another glance, she ran straight towards it.


    The style was pretty old school, with wooden floor tiles that seemed like they would break at any of her movements, as well as the mana-enhanced dummies, which she had begun cutting through as of late.


    However, there was also a nearby holographic console, adding a bit of technology to this seemingly ancient training room.


    Celina went up to it and began pressing buttons until finally, the tiles began moving around. Each individual tile was moving in an opposite direction, making anyone standing on top of it disoriented.


    But she was used to it. If she didn''t constantly train with unfavorable circumstances, how would she improve?


    As she was about to get into it, William approached, a tray filled to the brim with food in his hands.


    "Celi, please eat," he said with a sigh and created a table from the Ice element before placing each dish down on it.


    She hesitantly stared, trying to steer clear of it. However, before she knew it, her feet started moving toward the table before picking up a piece of steak and stuffing it into her mouth.


    "Orange juice?" William suddenly inquired, to which she responded with a shake of the head.


    "Just get me water. I will be training for a bit longer today."


    He raised a brow and conjured a cup made out of ice before filling it up with the Water element and passing it over to her.


    Celina accepted it and began gulping it down. However, William''s sudden words made her spit all the water out.


    "Why are you so fond of that boy?"


    "W-What?" she stuttered, her demeanor a stark contrast to how she usually acted.


    "You know what I mean... Ever since the practical exam, you''ve been awfully attached to him," he stated.


    Stupid... she thought. The only thing she had been doing so far was acting nice. In no way was she attached to him.


    But even if I was... No, I''m not. Celina fought with herself inwardly, her cheeks growing redder by the second.


    This did not go unnoticed by William, who had been watching the entire spectacle of her changing colors unfold with amusement.


    "Why didn''t you go talk to him?" he asked, to which she immediately replied,


    "Obviously because I have to train. I already wasted a lot of time roaming around."


    Just as William was about to say his snarky remark, she interrupted him. "On that note! What are you planning on doing with him? He''s strong, sure, but his skill looks weak. The Special Class is only for those who have incredible skills."


    "Didn''t I already explain? I was impressed by his talents, so I¡ª"


    Celina cut him off, "So you say. But what is the actual reason... grandpa?"


    Up until that moment, he was relatively unbothered, but upon hearing the word ''grandpa,'' he froze.


    "What''s wrong, grandpa?" she asked persistently in a teasing tone. However, her thoughts were completely different.


    Spill your secrets already, old man.


    He seemed to budge every single time she called him "grandpa," therefore, she continued doing so until finally, he broke.


    "Fine!" He slammed his hands down onto the Ice table before standing up and looking at Celina.


    "His skill is not what he had displayed back in the first entrance exam. Originally, it was Hell Scythe, a skill that is relatively weak from all the data I''ve gathered. It would have at most landed him in C class," William said before raising a single finger in the air dramatically.


    "However! There are no similarities between the skill he used back then and now, and from what I can tell, it has the capabilities to weaken and slow down your opponent. And then the most important: the ability to seemingly kill anything in an instant."


    Kill anything in an instant...? Celina stared at William with doubt clearly present in her eyes.


    "Look." He suddenly said and brought over a computer, replaying the footage of Neraxis fighting the monsters, specifically, the mini-boss.


    He skipped to the very end of the fight, to the part where the monster collapsed and exploded without him even touching it.


    "See? It was alive, and then it suddenly just died. Do you know how rare of a skill that is? It''s unheard of!" William shouted in excitement.


    Oh god... he''s going to start his skill ranting again... Celina inwardly facepalmed. She had nearly forgotten how annoying he could be when skills were involved.


    Though... does a skill like that really exist? She thought, frowning in disbelief.


    "So that begs the question: What kind of skill does he have, and how did it change in the first place?" He continued ranting about minor statistics, replaying the fight over and over again.


    By this point, she began to completely ignore him and focus on the food as well as her own thoughts.


    But despite Celina trying her hardest to shove them to the back of her mind, they kept resurfacing, causing a small blush to appear on her face.


    I am just being nice to him... that''s all.

 Chapter 20: Little Detour

    [Neraxis''s POV]


    "You''re grounded," his mother''s voice resounded from behind him just as he began walking up the stairs to his room.


    "Okay?" Neraxis answered nonchalantly before freezing in place and turning around, meeting her fierce glare.


    "Are you talking back to me?"


    "I''m no¡ª" His words were interrupted by his mother suddenly running up the stairs and winding back her arm as though she was about to hit him.


    But just as he closed his eyes in resignation, he felt his cheek being caressed.


    "Neraxis, look at me."


    As soon as he heard her voice, one filled with sorrow, he opened his eyes, meeting his mother''s.


    They were still a bit red from crying.


    "Do you even know how worried we were!?" she suddenly burst out, tears forming in her eyes as she continued, "Why did you not run? We saw the live feed. There was no one around to save; you ran in as if trying to die!


    "If you hadn''t come back, I... I..."


    Neraxis listened to his mother''s worried remarks, trying to muster up a few words to console her. However, he was unable to.


    It just felt like shutting up would be the right thing to do instead.


    [It naturally feels shitty. Put yourself in her shoes.]


    I know... But... fuck. He sighed inwardly. All he could do was stand there and watch as her eyes filled with tears.


    All because he couldn''t refute her. She was right, and he was wrong¡ªplain wrong.


    His previous mentality only worked because he had nothing to lose¡ªaside from a one-sided love that, in the very end, betrayed him.


    But that had to change¡ªhe had to change.


    After a few minutes of constant reminders of his wrongdoings, his mother calmed down and, after giving him a single glance, walked back downstairs.


    She hates me now, doesn''t she?


    [Of course not, stupid. You just have to do better next time, just as I told you.] Evangeline comforted him as he began heading back to his room with a glum look plastered all over his face.


    There were a few things he had to sort out, and in the meantime, think of an apology to give his mother.


    Neraxis quickly changed before heading downstairs and grabbing some food. His mother was by the table silently using the laptop, not even paying him a glance.


    However, he had a purpose for coming here, and that was to ask his mother for permission.


    Even at 16, he was grounded like a child, so it couldn''t be helped¡ªrapport needed to be built back up somehow.


    "I am going to go outside for a bit... I will be back by midnight?" Neraxis said, not even sure himself.


    If all went well, he should be back sooner, but in the off chance it didn¡¯t, then...


    "Do whatever you want," she replied, still not even taking a glance at him.


    ...Is that a yes? Or a no?


    [It''s a "do whatever you want until you apologize." Just make sure to come back before midnight. If you don''t, then you can imagine the consequences.]


    I can. Neraxis nodded at his mother and proceeded to walk outside, heading in the opposite direction from the academy.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    There was a certain building on the outskirts of the city, near the docks, where a few interesting operations were being held, and if the timeline aligned as it should, then there would be quite a few boons there.


    He did promise to not take unnecessary risks, but what awaited him was too good to pass up.


    Infiltration was not his forte, however, it would be wrong to say that he was bad at it.


    After all, he was once able to clear out an entire building without being caught.


    [So are you going to rob them? Or are you planning on killing them?] Evangeline asked as he turned a few corners.


    Both preferably, but depending on the circumstances, I might just rob them and leave. He explained and suddenly stopped before turning to the nearest corner and hiding.


    I am not even close. Why are they here? He looked on with confusion. It was a group of people; however, there were a few recognizable faces¡ªthe ones that had appeared on the news in the past.


    Rall and Skall... The twins who, in the future, become a bit of a problem. He thought inwardly with a scowl.


    They were especially memorable because he personally killed them.


    Never did find out which organization they were a part of, though...


    Neraxis decided to follow after them, holding quite a fair distance. The twins were merely E-ranked Awakened at this current point in time; they would not be able to sense him.


    Or so he hoped anyway; the others were unrecognizable.


    Seven people in total, and he could likely kill all of them if given the right opportunity.


    [You should hold back for now.]


    Obviously.


    After roughly 20 minutes of following them, they arrived in front of the docks where a bunch of cargo ships were floating about. They were the same docks he had seen in the news.


    This particular day had a few high-value items being transferred, hence why even the twins were here, even if they were relatively weak.


    Evangeline, is it possible for you to hide my presence? He asked just to be safe; his body held a bit of mana, enough to be detected by anyone above rank D.


    [I can, but the moment you attack someone, the concealment will go away.] She said, to which he simply nodded in approval.


    It was an auction-type event, and preferably, he would rather go in and out. There were bound to be some strong people present.


    However, chances were, they would just turn a blind eye to him. After all, he''s weak.


    That reminds me... Status.


    +-----+


    Status.


    Name: Neraxis Valen


    Stigmata: [Fragment of Calamity {21%} (Seals Unlocked: 0)]


    Age: 16


    --Stats:


    Rank: G+ -> F-


    Strength: G+


    Agility: G+ -> F-


    Stamina: G+ -> F-


    Intelligence: F


    Mana capacity: F-


    --Secondary Stats:


    Luck: G-


    Charm: E+


    --Skills:


    [Eve of Ruin {G}] *


    [Swordsmanship {G}]


    +-----+


    Oh? I guess I did get a bit stronger after all. Though... my progress is going to become much slower now. He couldn''t help but lament inwardly; the stronger you got, the slower your progress became.


    That was the case, unless you were some sort of lunatic who got stronger simply by training nonstop.


    [There are no easy paths, there are only shorter ones. So long as you take the long and arduous path, success will await you at the end.] Evangeline suddenly said, momentarily startling him.


    What''s with the poetry?


    [...Never mind.]


    Neraxis rolled his eyes at her behavior before watching the twins and the rest head inside the building right beside the docks.


    It looked abandoned, therefore drawing away most of the suspicion from the people.


    Most did not even use vehicles to arrive, so it was much harder to track, aside from public cameras, of course.


    But if the people behind this were as meticulous as he thought, then they likely disabled every camera in a couple-block radius.


    As he was lost in his thoughts, preparing for his next course of action, Evangeline spoke. [They do sound pretty meticulous, making it so that no one can track them down. I like it. They remind me of myself back then...]


    I see. I promise we will talk once I get everything sorted.


    [Pinky promise?]


    Sure. He chuckled and noticed another group coming in. Each group was arriving in 10-minute intervals.


    Meaning, he had to sneak in through a little gap that arrived if someone happened to be late.


    While he did trust Evangeline with presence concealment, breaking some kind of code would not do him any good.


    [I think you should have practiced the horizontal slash a bit more before coming...] Evangeline''s worried voice rang out.


    I have the gist of it now. While walking back home, I had a bit of time to replay it inside my mind. He assured her and once again began counting down.


    A group went in, then another, and another, until finally, he couldn''t see anyone in the distance.


    Neraxis waited until the last 5 seconds just to be safe and finally made a run toward the building.


    As the seconds ticked down, he thought he would be late. However, the seemingly dark passage suddenly lit up, as if a door had just opened.


    Taking this chance, he went straight in. Immediately, the door closed behind him.


    He took a glance around and found himself in a damp, narrow hallway with a red carpet and all sorts of paintings strewn across the walls.


    What stood out the most, however, was a singular red arrow and a sign saying,


    "Auction #591."


    Neraxis smiled upon seeing this and slowly began following the arrow toward the auction. It was time to either get a massive boon or fail miserably.


    However, as he approached closer and closer, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. It felt as though someone was observing him.


    [Be careful.]

 Chapter 21: Start of The Auction

    [What is it you are looking for anyway? What is so important that you would risk your life again?] Evangeline asked with slight amusement.


    He still had a bit of time to kill; after all, the hallway was unusually long, so he answered, A skill book.


    [Okay? Elaborate?]


    Noticing her impatience, he sighed. It dropped from the boss of a B-ranked rift. It¡¯s the Regeneration skill, a C-ranked one at that.


    [You are risking your life for a mere C-rank skill? Are you serious?] She replied, disbelief clear in her tone.


    Regeneration is very uncommon. At most, people manage to get their hands on an F-ranked one. That skill never appeared at such a high rank, and I can assure you, it was a pain in the ass to fight against. A shiver went down his spine as he explained.


    Noticing this, she teased, [Oh? Please tell me, I¡¯m curious now.]


    Neraxis hesitated for a moment. After all, he did say he would explain everything later. But since it wasn¡¯t such a long topic, he could compromise.


    Imagine slashing someone in half, only for them to regenerate within seconds. You chop their head off, they don¡¯t die. You stab them through the heart, they don¡¯t die. It was such a pain.


    [Hahaha... Try fighting against someone who hurls a meteor at you every time she sneezes.]


    He raised his brow. Are you trying to make this into a competition?


    [No... Well, maybe. But besides that, I can feel some people ahead. My concealment will make it so that people pay less attention to you¡ªas though you were blending into the crowd, literally.]


    I see, thank you.


    As their banter finally subsided, he arrived at what seemed to be a more open space, the hallway ending.


    Walking closer, he noticed it was a theater, one that was seemingly abandoned, only illuminated by the dim lights of the stage.


    However, there were a bunch of people seated all around, but there were just as many open spots.


    The groups that had gone in earlier had at most 8 people, some came with only 3.


    In total, he could count around 124 people present¡ªincluding himself.


    Their strength was a mystery. But from the pressure they were giving off with their mere presence, Neraxis could tell they were strong.


    Aside from a few passing glances that never lingered on him, he went fairly unnoticed.


    Before he left, he had put on a sweater with a hood that covered his hair, just in case.


    There didn¡¯t seem to be any seating arrangements, so Neraxis found a seat where the least amount of people were and made himself comfortable.


    It didn¡¯t seem like it would start yet, so he had a bit of time to analyze the surroundings, even prepare an escape plan.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    So far, he wanted to wait for the person to buy it. It was some rich old guy, and this particular skill had kicked off his life of terrorism.


    But since things had changed, the whole scenario was unpredictable. The only assurance he had was that if he acquired the skill, he would be nearly immortal, only killable if his entire body got incinerated in an instant.


    That¡¯s how the previous fight turned out anyway. He snickered inwardly and took note of a few key places.


    Despite this auction house being inside of an abandoned theater and possibly secured by some important organization, the exit points seemed pretty straightforward.


    If he wanted to, he could simply dash toward his left and jump through the window through which the sun was shining brightly.


    It was still midday. He had been sent out of the academy shortly after Celina and William left. Classes would officially start on Monday, so he still had a few days left to kill.


    After scoping out all the areas he could think of, Neraxis lied down in his seat¡ªit was one of those seats with leg extensions.


    It takes a bit for the skill to be consumed and appear in the system... I need to get it in that time. He thought with resolution and proceeded to wait for the auction to start.


    A couple more groups seemed to come through, each finding their own seat. After all, the theater was massive.


    Just as he thought it was taking too long, the dim lights suddenly shut off, replaced by the noise of someone stepping forward and climbing onto the stage.


    The lights suddenly turned back on, and Neraxis could see a man wearing a rabbit mask and a tuxedo standing in the very middle of the stage, microphone in hand.


    "Ah. Testing, testing. Can everyone hear me? Great." The man remarked in an overly hyper voice before continuing.


    "I am glad all of you were able to make it. Sorry for such short notice, there was a little trouble procuring a certain item. But now that everything is in order, I announce the start of the 581st auction."


    I''m sure that item is the Regeneration skill. Neraxis scoffed inwardly while cozying up further.


    However, as he leaned further back, he noticed a figure right next to him who was looking directly at the stage, not paying attention to him.


    When did she get here? He became fully alert and sat up straight, getting a good look at her in the meantime.


    She had long, flowing golden hair that contrasted beautifully with the lights of the stage below, emphasizing her features even further.


    But what stood out the most were her eyes¡ªpale silver, adding to the allure she already exuded.


    As he was momentarily lost in thought, watching her, she turned to face him, flashing a soft smile before turning her gaze back to the stage ahead.


    The way she carried herself, with smooth, graceful movements, was captivating. His heart raced¡ªhe could tell that the woman before him was dangerous even before he got a good look at her.


    After all, who could sneak up on someone without even alerting them? Him, especially, as he was concealed by none other than Evangeline.


    [Out of everyone present, she is the strongest. Seems like your little plan won¡¯t go as you planned, huh?] Evangeline remarked. However, her tone was much more serious than before.


    It¡¯s too early to tell what her intentions are. For now, I¡¯ll just remain quiet. Neraxis decided and stared straight at the stage as the announcer in a rabbit''s mask began bringing up some black boxes from the side.


    He tapped on the microphone a few times before speaking. "Not sure which item is which, but I saved the best for last. Bids happen as per usual; see anything you like, raise your hand."


    As he said those words, he opened the first box before raising its contents into the sky.


    "A ring of... something... Give me a moment." The announcer fluttered the ring for a moment before pulling out a magnifying glass and staring right at the ring.


    "Ring of Momentum! D rank. Grants the wearer a burst of speed when in motion. Every 5 seconds, your speed increases by 5%, up to a total of 15%." He said and took his eye away from the magnifying glass before inquiring,


    "Starting price is 50,000 Crowns. Any takers?"


    As soon as his words fell, a few arms were raised¡ªnot a bunch¡ªenough to start a bidding war.


    "50,000."


    "55,000."


    The numbers kept increasing until, eventually, an alluring voice resounded from beside him. It was the woman who had snuck up on him.


    "200,000, deliver it here, now." She said, seemingly uninterested; however, a small smirk was clearly visible.


    "Just a moment, miss." The announcer said, looking overjoyed, before packing up the ring back into the box and throwing it in her direction.


    It flew over to her slowly, as the chair before her folded, opening up a neat little table that fit the incoming black box inside perfectly.


    Neraxis peeked at her growing smirk before looking back at the stage. The auction had resumed.


    "Now then, the next item is..."

 Chapter 22: An Items Worth

    "50,000."


    "Uh... miss, are you sure? The starting bid is 2,000 Crowns...?" the announcer asked, his eyes wide.


    So far, there had been a grand total of 14 items showcased¡ªthis being the 15th. Each one had been sold to the woman sitting right by Neraxis''s side.


    She was practically collecting those black boxes at this point, and yet she didn''t even pay a second glance to them, just putting them into the chair compartment before moving on to the next item.


    "Of course, send it my way as per usual," she said with a small giggle as the announcer packed the item and threw it her way once again.


    "Err... We have 4 items left and a final special item, stay tuned," the announcer got back into character before picking up a nearby black box¡ªone that seemed much bigger than the ones previously.


    He quickly opened it up and revealed a black tree branch that seemed completely ordinary at a glance. However, as the announcer spoke, Neraxis couldn''t help but freeze in his seat.


    "The Branch of Life, A-Rank. Any and all ailments as well as injuries can be healed in an instant if you mash the branch down into powder and consume it. It is a one-time-use item," he said before clearing his throat.


    "Bidding starts at 3 Million Crowns."


    The moment he announced it, the previously quiet auction turned lively, with everyone raising their hands in unison and seemingly screaming out numbers.


    "3.5 Million!"


    "4 Million!"


    However, just like before, the woman by his side did not miss this chance, as she announced in a fairly low tone¡ªas if muttering,


    "50 Million, send it my way."


    She sat as though she had already won, but despite everyone''s expectations, another voice resounded.


    "60 Million."


    The woman''s smile cracked for a moment as she gazed at the person who outbid her¡ªthey, too, had a mask hiding their identity.


    "150 Million."


    "160 Million."


    Each time the person outbid her, her previous smug smile began slowly disappearing, instead being replaced with a cold, murderous look, one that did not escape Neraxis''s eyes.


    Evangeline, I think I might have my work cut out for me, he thought with a small smile, letting out a sigh.


    [I don''t know... Chances are, one of them is going to buy the skill you are looking for. Are you confident in taking it away from either of them?]


    With the way she is taking care of her possessions, do you think she would notice if a single black box is gone?


    [If that box contains something important, then yes. She has been buying trash so far, clearly.] Evangeline added with a tinge of concern.


    I''ll cross that hurdle when I get there, I guess. Now I just have to wait till they finish bidding on that branch, Neraxis decided before once again paying attention to their battle.


    By now, the woman was gripping the armrest with enough strength to make it creak, surprisingly controlling it enough so as not to break it.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "1 Billion," she stated, and for some reason, a smirk began appearing on her face, which she covered with a single hand.


    Like last time, it did not go unnoticed by him; he was way too close, after all.


    The man in the mask who had been bidding against her looked visibly agitated, even from a distance.


    But perhaps because of pride or something else entirely, he didn''t back down. "2 Billion, fuck off already."


    "Hmm? But I can spend more money, you know? 2.1 Billion," she replied teasingly, and immediately, the man countered,


    "3 Billion, if you don''t stop, I wi¡ª"


    His words were cut off as all of a sudden, a fierce pressure descended, spanning across the entire auction, making it difficult to even breathe for most.


    Even Neraxis was having a hard time; he was likely one of the weakest people present, and the pressure was not even directed at him either.


    However, as the pressure began increasing more and more, the woman finally spoke.


    "You will do what exactly? Hm?" She began increasing the pressure further, as if concentrating it all onto the spot where the masked man was.


    That was until his mask shattered, revealing an individual with seemingly no features, only a mouth.


    "Disgusting clone as usual, Valthor. How is the recovery coming along?" she said, her tone containing deep malice, as if she would kill the faceless man at any moment.


    "Hmm... A failure once again. Why do you keep meddling with us?" the faceless man spoke, his voice completely different from the previous one.


    It sounded as though someone was scratching metal with each word he said. However, Neraxis''s heart began beating for a different reason entirely.


    Fuck... Valthor''s one of the leaders of Eternal Night, that organization is bad news... really bad news, he thought with a massive frown while slowly sinking back into his chair. He would prefer not being noticed.


    But seeing how the woman managed to spot him, chances were, so did Valthor.


    [Yeah, well... That''s what happens when you go in half-blind.] Evangeline added with a pouting voice as the two began speaking once again.


    "Meddle? I was merely trying to get my hands on an item, that''s all. It just so happened that our wants aligned."


    "Amara, you are making me regret not killing you back then," Valthor said, his voice beginning to slowly distort, as if there were multiple layers to it.


    "We made a bet and I won. If anything, you should learn to pick your battles more wisely," she taunted as their pressure collided with one another, making the people around them pass out.


    The same would have applied to Neraxis as well, but it seemed like something¡ªor someone¡ªwas cutting the pressure in two.


    Thank you, he expressed, seeing the seats around him being blasted aside while he was comfortably sitting in the middle, being protected by none other than Evangeline.


    [Yeah, yeah. Whenever you come across monsters, make sure to kill them. I want my seals to be released quickly.] She said nonchalantly, making him raise a brow.


    Quickly? Why?


    [It''s a secret. Don''t worry though, it won''t harm you in any way.]


    Her cryptic tone did not help him understand any better, but nonetheless, he let it go for now. It seemed like the situation was reaching its climax.


    "I see... Amara, the bet is over. The next time we meet, I will kill you on the spot," Valthor spoke, rage filling up his tone, seemingly blending in with the pressure he was emitting.


    Neraxis could hear the people choking further, some even plopping down out of their chairs or running out of the auction house.


    The woman¡ªAmara¡ªscoffed before replying, "I don''t care. With that damaged body of yours, you would be dead in an instant, insect."


    As her words landed, Valthor''s mouth curved into a smile as a dagger shot out of his skull and headed straight toward her.


    However, just before it landed, she pulled out an ethereal-looking white sword from seemingly out of nowhere and cut downwards.


    The slash was silent, almost as though nothing was happening.


    But when Valthor''s body split in two and fell to each side, it was more than a simple reminder of her skill.


    It looked like she had done that so effortlessly, the remaining individuals thought so as well before most of them began heading out.


    Amara let go of her sword and it disappeared into seemingly nowhere before she walked back to her seat next to him and sat down.


    It managed to stay intact, just like his own seat. However, everything around them was strewn around the entire auction, some seats even managed to land on the stage somehow.


    "Uhh... there are not enough people left, so I will have to stop the auction," the announcer said with bated breath as he too sat on the ground, seemingly paralyzed from the pressure the two emitted just mere moments ago.


    "No, you won''t," Amara stated before continuing, "I came here to get my hands on all the items, and I plan to leave only when I have them all. You wouldn''t want me to have a talk with your superiors, would you?"


    "No, miss..." he replied with resignation as he stood up and gathered the black boxes which had all been scattered around the arena.


    "Since the previous highest bidder... left. You win the Branch of Life with a bid of 2 Billion Crowns... is that alright, miss?"


    "Yes, bring it over already," she said impatiently, signaling for him to move the auction along.


    At the same time, Neraxis sat with a frown on his face, looking at the situation unfold.


    [Is this what you were expecting?]


    Not at all...

 Chapter 23: The Red Skill Book

    "The last item is th¡ª"


    "5 million, just get to the good part already," Amara interrupted him and took the item along with the black box for herself.


    The auctioneer looked down in disbelief and reluctance before sighing and heading to a room in the back. "Yes... Give me a moment."


    Neraxis sat back and simply enjoyed the show. In total, there were only the two of them present. The rest had left when the fight broke out, while the others had backed away once she started bidding 5 million crowns for the simplest items.


    A G-Ranked hair comb which heats up your hair... and she bid 5 million on it. She really is crazy. He observed and waited for the auctioneer to come back.


    However, this moment of silence was pretty uncomfortable. She was staring toward the stage while at the same time fiddling around with the hair comb she had bought.


    Out of all the items she bought, it seemed that one was her favorite.


    Just as he thought this silence would last, she spoke¡ªstartling him.


    "So, who are you anyway? I have never seen you before," she said as she leaned backward, meeting his eyes.


    "An F-ranked awakened who managed to withstand my pressure and go unnoticed by most people present. I wonder¡ªare you a spy sent by Valthor?"


    Upon hearing those words and her accusatory tone, he widened his eyes in surprise, immediately answering her, "Of course not. I am just passing by."


    [That doesn''t sound very convincing. You do know she isn''t a child, right?] Evangeline remarked with a soft laugh, causing his brows to twitch.


    As the tension grew fierce, she suddenly smiled before sitting straight, taking her eyes away from him. "You can drop the act with me. I won''t do anything to you."


    "However... I do want to know¡ªwhy are you here?"


    Neraxis stared at her side for a moment before sitting straight as well, matching her posture. He was a head taller than her, it seemed.


    "I''m here for the same reason as you are," he said before turning his gaze toward the stage. "Am I wrong?"


    "I suppose not," she chuckled before lying down in her seat once again. This time, however, Neraxis could feel the air around her shift.


    Much like when the fight against Valthor started¡ªshe had set him up as a rival, or something similar.


    He didn''t doubt that she knew of his identity prior but just wanted to play around with him nonetheless.


    But Neraxis was different. He was a variable that had not been here previously¡ªjust like the woman before him. It was the first time he had heard of someone like her.


    An ethereal sword summoned from seemingly nowhere¡ªhe had never heard of someone like that ever existing.


    Two variables that seemed to completely change the outcome of the entire auction.


    I just hope my little gamble works... he thought inwardly. His plan was pretty simple.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    It seemed like the way this auction bidding system worked was that you still got the item, but due to some kind of trust system, you were allowed to pay afterward.


    Since he had no money to his name¡ªnone he could remember¡ªhe would just come up with random numbers until eventually, Amara forfeited and backed away.


    He just hoped that she wouldn''t cut him in half like she did with Valthor''s clone.


    After a few minutes of sitting in complete silence, the auctioneer came back, holding a golden box in his hands, an excited expression plastered all over his face.


    "I had hoped to make a bit more from this, but your earlier bids more than made up for it. My commission is going to be huge." He gave a thumbs-up and proceeded to dramatically open the box.


    A glowing red book began levitating out of the box. Its appearance was pretty plain, aside from the fact that the skill it contained was anything but simple.


    Is it supposed to be red? Neraxis looked on as an ominous feeling began rising in his heart.


    "This is a skill book¡ªone that dropped from a decently high-ranked rift. The executives were practically screaming when they saw it," the auctioneer stated, trying to build some excitement, even when there were only two other people present.


    However, it did not have the desired effect, as the bad feeling in his heart grew even more.


    And his suspicions were promptly confirmed.


    "Astral Blade, C-Rank. It''s a skill that doesn''t have a very long description, but it came out of an S-Ranked rift¡ªso naturally, it can''t be bad." He chuckled, but upon meeting the glare from Amara, seemingly asking him to explain, he continued.


    "Err... It says, imbue the wielder or weapon with the Astral Blade''s essence."


    Both Neraxis and Amara waited for the extra details, but as seconds passed, none came.


    Noticing their confusion, he spoke, "I understand your concern. Frankly, we were cautious about such a skill as well. Who knows what kind of effects it could give you? After all, it is possible to get negative effects from positive-looking skills."


    "And the starting bid?" Amara said with clear annoyance in her voice. She viewed the skill book as something less than the hair comb she was still fiddling around with.


    It was the same for Neraxis. His disappointment was immeasurable. He was expecting to come in and get an extremely strong skill, yet here was an unknown skill that barely served a purpose.


    The fact that its description was encrypted didn''t help him either.


    Guess that''s that¡ªa waste of fucking time... he sighed inwardly. At least he didn''t have to try fighting against Amara for it.


    But just as he was prepared to throw in the towel, Evangeline''s urgent voice resounded.


    [You have to win that no matter what.]


    Hm? Is it good?


    [It''s better than good. It''s incredible. The mana that book is letting off is similar to one of the strongest people I knew. It can''t be a coincidence.]


    And if you are wrong? he raised an eyebrow, his excitement that had previously died now reigniting.


    [I''m not wrong. If anything, that skill might be even better than what I think. One thing is for certain¡ªI would put this above the regeneration skill you were so desperately drooling for earlier.] Evangeline added in a serious tone.


    He considered her words for a moment before nodding. If she was that confident, then there was no way the skill could be bad.


    "Starting bid is only 100 million crowns. If we knew more about the skill, we would certainly ask for more," the auctioneer announced, causing Neraxis to furrow his brows in response.


    Even though he knew he wasn''t spending his actual money, that amount was still a lot¡ªeven in the past.


    "100 million," Amara stated confidently from her chair, but before she could revel in her triumph, Neraxis made his bid.


    "1 billion."


    His calm voice came as a shock to the auctioneer, who, for a moment, was startled, looking straight at his direction but seemingly unable to find him.


    However, that was not the case for Amara. With a soft smile, she upped the bid.


    "2 billion."


    But not even a second later, he upped it even higher.


    "20 billion. Give up already." Neraxis taunted, believing that if he didn''t, she would suspect him even more.


    "Hmm... no." She replied mischievously before matching his price increments.


    "40 billion."


    She is either rich... or my perception of money is distorted, Neraxis thought with a headache.


    "100 billion."


    But like before, she countered, "200 billion."


    Fuck... this better not come to bite me back in the ass.


    "1 trillion. Do you seriously want to keep going? This is only a C-Ranked skill, you know?"


    "Why not? 2 trillion," Amara said nonchalantly before leaning her head back and whispering, "We are indeed both here for the same reason."


    As her words landed, the gears in Neraxis''s mind finally fell into place as he stared back at her with widened eyes.


    "You..."

 Chapter 24: Extend An Invite

    [What do you mean?] Evangeline asked with confusion, watching their exchange.


    What would you say I''m doing right now? he quickly said, raising a question of his own.


    [Trying to scam the auctioneer?]


    Precisely, Neraxis said before turning his gaze onto Amara, whose smirk was now visible even to the auctioneer himself as she spoke teasingly,


    "40 trillion. I have more, dear¡ªyou should stop."


    He couldn''t help but let out a sigh. This act was starting to become a bit too obvious.


    At first, she got away with it due to her reputation, but now, the auctioneer was starting to become suspicious.


    Eventually, he began closing the black box quietly, trying not to attract their attention.


    However, before he could do so, Amara stretched out her arm¡ªand before Neraxis could even tell what had happened¡ªthe auctioneer''s head flew up into the sky, the black box following with it.


    "You could have just given up," he said with a frown, for a moment forgetting that they were not exactly on the same side.


    Amara opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly red lights began flashing all around the auction. The windows were being closed and barricaded with some reinforced material.


    Immediately, an alarm resounded, and some form of gas began closing in on them. However, before it could reach them, Neraxis headed straight for the stage, attempting to grab the black box.


    Alas, he was the weakest one in the room, as Amara simply used mana to whisk it toward herself, holding it in her hand before flashing a massive smile.


    "It seems like I come out on top in this exchange...?" she began, but she stopped mid-sentence, watching in amusement as a red sword floated right above the black box.


    "Is this y¡ª" Just before her words landed, the red sword penetrated the black box before disappearing into thin air, the mana particles flying back into Neraxis''s sword tattoo.


    Did you get it? he asked with slight hope.


    [It will take a little bit to digest, but yes, I got it,] Evangeline replied in an exhausted tone before continuing, [You should try to get out now. I won''t be able to protect you for long if that gas closes in¡ªor, well, if that woman attacks.]


    Got it, Neraxis nodded and began moving toward a nearby wall. However, the sound of something falling to the ground startled him.


    It was the black box that had previously contained the red skill book¡ªbut now, it was completely empty.


    To his horror, Amara was looking at him like he was some sort of ant. I definitely should have handled this better.


    Suddenly, he found himself unable to move, completely frozen under the pressure she was emitting¡ªit was similar to what he had felt when she was going up against Valthor.


    But this time, it was far stronger.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    His lungs felt as though they were collapsing on themselves, and he could see each and every blood vessel slowly pop in his body, dyeing his skin red.


    However, before it could get out of hand, Neraxis saw all of that excess blood flowing toward the tattoo on his wrist, before once again flowing outwards.


    This time, back to where it was supposed to be.


    It was an excruciating process and it hurt like hell, but at the very least, he wasn''t going to die anytime soon.


    "Do you want to know something funny?" Amara spoke as she began walking toward him, her tone growing colder.


    "That skill was the reason I came to this bullshit auction in the first place, and I planned on getting my hands on it at any cost."


    She finally stopped, standing an arm''s length from his face.


    "I don''t know what you did, but I will give you two choices."


    Neraxis listened attentively. The pain was becoming even more severe than before¡ªhe was even beginning to feel dizzy.


    Just before she could speak again, a red sword shot out from his tattoo, aiming straight for her eyes.


    But to no one''s surprise, Amara simply smacked it away with her arm¡ªit sounded as though a bomb had gone off during that collision.


    However, Evangeline was flung backward and straight into a wall, embedding the sword deep within it.


    It created a few cracks in the wall before dispersing and coming back to Neraxis''s tattoo.


    Evangeline? he called out, but did not receive an answer. The connection felt extremely faint, as though she was dying.


    As his worries increased, his vision momentarily darkened, and immediately, the connection was fully restored¡ªjust like it had been mere moments ago.


    [Sorry I took your blood without permission; that crack was the most I was able to do in my current form. If an opportunity arises, make your way there,] Evangeline explained with a serious tone, to which Neraxis merely nodded, placing his eyes back on the amused Amara.


    "Well, that was fun. Sort of. Nice artifact." She giggled, but in the very next moment, her expression turned cold, just like it had been before.


    Taking a deep breath, she spoke, "Two choices. The first: Die right now. Sound nice?"


    Neraxis swung his head side to side, saying no, before she continued,


    "Now, option two: work with me."


    His eyes widened upon hearing those words as he began moving his mouth, mustering every last bit of his stamina to get them across. He needed answers. "What do you mean?"


    "It''s simple. I have a little group I formed not too long ago, and we''re currently lacking members. I was going to use that skill book to become even stronger, but I can''t do that anymore now, can I?" Amara said sarcastically with a tinge of annoyance.


    A hostage situation then... It doesn''t help that I don''t know anything about her either. He thought inwardly before asking another question.


    "What guarantee is there that I will be left alive even after I join?"


    However, her answer was definitely not what he expected. "That''s the beauty of it¡ªyou don''t have a guarantee."


    Amara''s smile widened. "If anything, your life will be in even more danger once you join my group."


    [You don''t really have much of a choice¡ªeither join her or die. It''s funny...] Evangeline snickered while Neraxis was preoccupied with his thoughts.


    This is not in my favor at all... Who even is she? How did she even know about this place? And how was she so confident in scamming the auctioneer the entire time... How did no one call her out...?


    His mind was a swirl of questions, but it was quickly interrupted as an ethereal sword materialized from seemingly nowhere.


    Amara grabbed a hold of the hilt and aimed the sword directly at his face, mere centimeters away from slicing him in half.


    Even as the sword did not touch him, he could feel the heat¡ªthe sheer sharpness of the blade.


    Her power was no joke, and he was a fool for even thinking of being able to escape in the first place.


    Ever since he arrived, everyone was already in the palm of her hand.


    Amara gazed down at him, her smile slowly fading away as she spoke, "Make your decision. You have five seconds." The air grew chilly at her words, as if they held her raw emotions.


    Neraxis frowned in reluctance, but not even after a second of thought, he decided, "I accept. I''ll join. Just tell me about the group..."


    The moment his words were spoken, the previous pressure he felt¡ªas well as the ethereal sword¡ªboth vanished.


    Instead, a massive grin appeared on Amara''s face, one that accentuated her already stunning beauty with the flashing red lights.


    But before his confusion could grow further, he saw her raise her arm and place it over his head, the grin from before widening even more.


    Immediately, she brought her arm down over his head, knocking him out. The last thing he heard was a giggle, followed by Amara''s mischievous voice,


    "Get some sleep. I''ll explain in just a moment."

 Chapter 25: The Obscura

    Neraxis groggily opened his eyes. Just a moment ago, his head had felt as though it was being crushed by a boulder, but now, he felt strangely at ease.


    Before him was a strange black bed frame¡ªone that was definitely not his¡ªas well as white walls embroidered with all kinds of golden designs.


    It reminded him of some romance comic he had accidentally read back in the academy; the designs and general architecture seemed the same, at least.


    But before he could take another look around, he felt a stinging pain in his right arm and, upon looking down, saw a red line spanning from his palm all the way to his shoulder.


    The line went straight through his tattoo, but it still seemed perfectly intact¡ªthe bond was as strong as ever.


    Evangeline? Neraxis called out nonetheless, and she immediately responded:


    [You are an idiot, you know that?]


    I know... He lied back down; there was no point reminiscing about his choices.


    However, she did not back down in her nagging. [All of that could have been avoided had you considered unknown variables.]


    I can only say I''m sorry. I tried doing it the safe way. I really did.


    [You''re hopeless...] Evangeline let out a sigh before continuing, [Make me a different promise.]


    He tilted his head. Like what?


    [Promise me you''ll get strong enough to survive through these types of situations. How does that sound?]


    Neraxis widened his eyes. He had been expecting something along the lines of being more careful next time, or perhaps not even going near dangerous areas.


    But this particular promise worked around his faults and even gave him motivation to continue. All he had to do in return was use his accumulated experience to survive.


    It was doable.


    I promise, Evangeline. This one I will keep. Neraxis smiled at his sword tattoo as silence once again descended.


    However, now he had to sort through his current predicament. After all, this was neither his room nor his bed.


    There was also the red line that looked very concerning.


    Neraxis tried tapping on it, and besides a small ripple that was sent along his entire arm, nothing seemed to happen.


    When did this happen? He decided to raise the question to Evangeline, who, after a moment, replied in a soft yet low voice:


    [Shortly after Amara took you away, the skill began assimilating within your body. I am not sure when it will be done, but I''d bet 3 hours is a good estimate? Probably?]


    He took in that information before a glum expression appeared on his face. Right, how long has it been since the auction?Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    [4 hours, give or take a few minutes. Unless...]


    His head was starting to hurt at the prospect that he might actually be late. Disappointing his mother twice in two days would not be ideal.


    A shiver went down his spine as he thought that; Evangeline''s suspense was not helping either.


    [Heh... I''m just kidding.] She suddenly burst out laughing, earning a glare from Neraxis.


    However, she quickly continued, [You''ve been out for 30 minutes. You were transported pretty fast, I''d say. She used that strange sword of hers to take you to this place.]


    I... Don''t do that again, please... He let out a sigh before continuing, Do you know where this place is?


    [Nope.]


    Ah... I see.


    Just as he found himself growing more and more comfortable, he suddenly heard footsteps on the other side of the door, and they were approaching fast.


    Neraxis summoned his sword and went into the corner of the room, preparing to strike if necessary.


    However, as the doors opened, what greeted his sight was something he did not expect to see.


    "Greetings, Veiled One, I have brought you your dinner," a soft feminine voice spoke out.


    It was a being that had two horns on its head and the body of a little girl. The key characteristic was the miniature scales on her arms¡ªones that seemingly belonged to a lizard.


    Neraxis was unsure of how to react. His instinct was telling him to kill the monster before him, but his gut said otherwise.


    [Ohh... Yeah, don''t touch her, she''s a sweetie. I can assure you she''s not here to harm you.] Evangeline''s warm voice rang out, stopping his earlier train of thought.


    Taking a weary step forward, he got rid of the sword. "Hey there... What''s your name?"


    She glanced at him for a moment before placing the tray of food on a nearby table and performing a deep bow before speaking. "You may address me as Delta, Veiled One."


    "It''s nice to meet you, Delta¡ªbut what do you mean, Veiled One?" Neraxis replied politely while asking a question of his own.


    "You have joined The Obscura, therefore you have become a Veiled One. The miss will explain everything to you at a later date. For now, please eat. I will come back shortly." Delta bowed once more before exiting and closing the door behind her.


    Obscura, huh. Never heard of it. He proceeded to put that to the back of his mind before approaching the plate of food. In just a few moments, he completely inhaled everything there was.


    Shortly after, Neraxis decided to take a closer look around the room. It was spacious, as though it was made for a king. But at the same time, it felt like a prison.


    There was light; however, no windows were in sight. It was as though the light of the sun was shining down at him straight through the ceiling.


    He found it odd but decided to ignore it. Taking another glance around, he spotted a desk with an unusual-looking lantern on top of it.


    His curiosity got the better of him, so he walked up to it and stared directly into it.


    There was a small flicker of light that kept getting more pronounced each time he blinked.


    Eventually, he decided to reach out his hand and touch it. However, the moment he did so, the lantern shattered, and the small flickers of light that had been there previously now turned into a raging fire that circled all around him.


    One that was a deep red color¡ªresembling blood.


    However, the strangest part was that no matter how close to the fire he got, it was not burning him¡ªhe didn''t even feel warm.


    Evangeline, what is this? Neraxis wondered as he put his hand through the fire, and it fully enveloped it but did not burn him in the slightest.


    [Looks like fire made of mana from whatever this place is. Looks like it doesn''t have a property.]


    Property? You mean an affinity? He raised his brow and continued playing around with the fire until a set of footsteps resounded in the distance.


    [It''s similar. You can have the affinity of fire, but if your fire doesn''t have the heat or burning property, then that''s what comes out.] Evangeline explained as she summoned herself and began putting out the flames.


    Oh... That sounds interesting. He nodded before taking the shards of the broken lantern and stuffing them into a nearby trash bin before walking back to his bed.


    After a few short moments, his door was opened, and Delta greeted him like earlier and spoke: "Veiled One, the miss is calling for you."


    "Amara, right?" He asked, just to be sure.


    However, Delta''s reply was cold. "Don''t refer to the First Veil as Amara. She does not use that name here."


    Before he could apologize, Delta suddenly twisted her body, and the plate of food that had been right next to his bed turned into dust.


    The only thing he could see was a flash of green light. That''s all.


    "Come, Veiled One. We are going to meet the First Veil."

 Chapter 26: First Impressions

    Neraxis followed after Delta. The two were walking through some sort of hallway.


    It had the same white walls and golden engravings as his room, but on a much larger scale.


    There were also little tables scattered around with all sorts of jewelry on them¡ªmostly gold.


    Nonetheless, it did not take away from the fact that he was starting to grow nervous.


    Just what did I sign up for? he grumbled inwardly. The hallways looked appealing to the eye, but they felt suffocating due to the lack of windows.


    It felt like he was trapped¡ªwhich, knowing his luck, was most likely the case.


    The two finally arrived at a crossing, where one side seemed to expand slightly outwards.


    Neraxis gave up on trying to perceive the distance. It felt like one huge illusion, as when he looked backward, the room he had been staying in previously was still in view¡ªjust a couple of meters away.


    [Spatial stuff. Wouldn''t know too much about it,] Evangeline remarked, and he merely nodded in response.


    However, the moment he turned his eyes back to the crossing, it disappeared¡ªreplaced by a massive room with a lone white throne.


    The ceiling seemed as though it was hundreds of meters away, yet there were a bunch of giant chandeliers scattered all around, giving it the same illusory feel as the door.


    "The First Veil will arrive shortly. In the meantime, get yourself acquainted with the others," Delta suddenly said before pointing toward an area right next to the throne.


    It was a single round table, and there sat three other people, all wearing white faceless masks that covered only half of their faces.


    There appeared to be two women and a single angry-looking man.


    He found it odd, but before he could question it further, he felt someone grab his hand and place something inside it.


    "Put this on for now. Your identity must remain secret, Veiled One," Delta stated and let go of his hand, leaving behind a familiar half-mask.


    "Thank you," Neraxis expressed before putting it up to his face. Immediately, he felt a gust of wind rush through his entire body before it went away.


    As he snapped out of his stupor, he noticed Delta was no longer there¡ªseemingly disappeared in the slight moment he was out of it.


    Hmm? Neraxis glanced at the three people, only to see them looking back at him and waving for him to approach.


    Since he had no other choice, he went ahead with wary steps.


    Shortly after he arrived, Neraxis decided to introduce himself. "Hel¡ª" but was immediately interrupted by a single finger on their mouths, signaling for him to be quiet.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Okay... Evangeline, I didn''t join a cult, did I? A shiver went down his spine as he silently sat down at the round table.


    [Don''t be silly. That girl wouldn''t be with a bunch of cultists,] she remarked with a pout, rendering him confused.


    You mentioned that before. What did you mean? Do you know her?


    [No, but I know her kind. They don''t mingle with people who have lost their minds. Doesn''t change the fact that there are some evil ones, though.]


    Neraxis raised an eyebrow as he asked, So? Is she evil?


    However, her response was anything but satisfactory. [She appears to be neutral, like a guardian of sorts.]


    Huh... So is she guarding this entire place? Neraxis thought while looking around.


    [That, or she''s guarding this little organization instead,] she added, causing his expression to grow even more glum.


    Before he could ask any more questions, a faint feminine laughter resounded from the other side of the table. It was one of the people who had been sitting there initially.


    "Pfft... hahaha... You should''ve seen the look on your face," the woman said, trying her best to hold back the laughter.


    But it was to no avail. Before Neraxis could even speak, the other two broke out in laughter as well, making him feel extremely awkward.


    "Really funny," he scoffed before continuing. "What is this place?"


    However, as his words fell, the table soon grew quiet, their laughs dying down.


    That was until his eyes locked with the woman''s, her crystal-like green eyes making him immediately go on guard.


    The two stared at each other for a few moments before she spoke. "This place is the Sanctum, but you can just refer to it as our base of operations."


    "The Obscura, right? Can you tell me about it?"


    "No," she flatly rejected him without even a second to spare.


    But he wasn''t discouraged. "...Then are you three the other Veiled Ones?"


    "We are," they all replied in unison.


    "I don''t suppose you can tell me what a Veiled One is?" Neraxis said with a soft smile. They could see half of it, so maybe their minds would be changed.


    This time, he did not even receive a response, as the table once again turned silent.


    [I expected you to be a social butterfly. Who knew you were so bad with people?] Evangeline teased with a chuckle.


    But he did not entertain her¡ªjust sat by and waited for the supposed First Veil to arrive instead.


    However, his plans were interrupted when one of the people at the round table stood up and walked over to him.


    "Why are you so weak?" a deep voice resounded, each word carrying a certain weight.


    Neraxis stood up and matched the man''s glare. "Why don''t you ask this leader of yours instead?"


    The man''s face scrunched up in disgust before he spoke. "Boy, I did not mean to insult you. However, what do you think you can do with your feeble strength? Wash the dishes? Clean?"


    Neraxis listened patiently as the man''s taunts grew more and more sophisticated until finally, he had enough.


    "Just like your m¡ª" The man''s words were cut off as a red sword materialized out of thin air and swung down at him.


    He looked at it as though it was some sort of toothpick, not even attempting to dodge.


    And that was his first mistake, as Neraxis grabbed hold of the sword and immediately finished the downward swing.


    A barely audible tear resounded as the man''s clothes were cut in two, the mask being the only thing left on his body.


    "Pfft..." The two women behind him tried their best to hold back their laughs, but tiny chuckles escaped.


    As for the man before him, his single widened brown eye stared directly at Neraxis. "You... Are you an idiot?"


    "Says the one who''s naked," Neraxis shot back and took a few steps backward before sitting down at the round table again.


    Inwardly, his heart was beating out of his chest, but if the man had really wanted to do something to him, he would have done it the moment the sword materialized.


    It did not take a genius to realize that he was way out of his league. The people before him were at the very least B or A Ranked Awakened¡ªpossibly even higher.


    As for Amara herself, he could only speculate.


    However, as he was lost in his thoughts, a pair of footsteps resounded¡ªones that seemed just as light as Delta''s but not quite the same.


    Soon, a familiar silhouette appeared in Neraxis''s vision. It was Amara, and she was wearing black dress-like armor that perfectly complimented her golden hair.


    She smiled upon noticing him. However, as she turned her gaze toward the man behind Neraxis, a deep frown appeared on her face.


    "Idiot... Put some clothes on."

 Chapter 27: An Unusual Group

    "Err... Sorry, Amara," the man said while scratching his head. In the very next moment, a black cloak appeared, covering him.


    "Come on, Marcus! You told Sarah you were going to teach the new guy some manners¡ªwhat happened?" the green-eyed woman teased.


    "Fuck off, Sophia. Who knew this kid was going to go for my clothes?" The man¡ªMarcus¡ªscoffed before sending a glare directed at Neraxis.


    However, a sudden pressure bore down on all of them, interrupting their banter¡ªit was Amara.


    "Raise your hand if you were informed of the newbie beforehand," she said, her tone containing disbelief and a tinge of embarrassment.


    All three people, with the exception of Neraxis, raised their hands, slightly tilting their heads.


    "Now tell me¡ªdid I or did I not tell you all that I want this to be professional?" Amara''s tone grew more astonished as she reflected on her members'' actions.


    "We didn''t do anything," Sophia said as she pointed at both herself and Sarah, who was right next to her.


    As for Marcus, he did not hide his liability. "He ripped my clothes off... how do you expect me to stay silent?"


    "Why did you provoke him in the first place!?" Amara exclaimed, her eyes snapping to Neraxis. "And you¡ªwhy did you tear his clothes off!?"


    "Sorry?" he replied without much thought as she redirected her anger toward the others, leaving him sitting by the round table quietly.


    This was a little... unexpected? Neraxis couldn''t help but chuckle inwardly at the development.


    They came off as such a serious group at a glance, but now they just seemed like an unorganized group of kids, with Amara scolding them like a mother.


    It put his mind a bit at ease. He was still in an unknown situation, but at least the people were not inhumane.


    After a few minutes of constant scolding and Marcus getting dressed, they all sat down around the round table.


    Neraxis watched as Amara sat along with them. He couldn''t help but ask, "What''s with the throne?"


    A white throne was not too far away¡ªhe half expected Amara to stride along and sit on it.


    "Ah, that... I am not worthy to sit on it yet," she replied without going into too many details before coughing to get everyone''s attention.


    "Now then, I would like to introduce our newest recruit, who you all decided to mess with on his first day," Amara said, shooting a glare at the perpetrators.


    "I apologize on their behalf, and welcome to the Obscura. I am sure we will get along nicely."


    He nodded, waiting for her to continue on with her introduction; however, all that hung in the air was silence.


    She simply stopped it there and began fiddling around with her hair.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Uh... it''s a pleasure to be here? Can you tell me about this organization I so willingly joined?" Neraxis asked with clear sarcasm.


    Amara swiftly replied, "This organization has not been operating for a long time... only recently have I set everything up again. However, all you need to know for now is that there are only the five of us in total."


    Five... in total? Neraxis''s eyes widened.


    "Hold on now... there are only five people in total? Are you serious?"


    "I''m serious," she nodded back at him with a blank look.


    He could feel the headache arising as he spoke. "Okay... so tell me this at the very least¡ªwhat is this organization''s goal?"


    As his words fell, the previously slightly playful atmosphere disappeared, followed by Amara''s serious voice.


    "You are too weak to know that. What I can tell you, however, is that the missions you will be going on will revolve around reconnaissance and manipulation." Her voice contained a certain chill, which did not keep him guessing for long.


    "That is only until you get strong enough to stop doing these menial tasks. But don''t worry¡ªI am going to be reasonable," she said as her voice began growing lower.


    "After all, I wouldn''t want to interrupt your studies."


    So she looked me up...


    Neraxis stared straight at her eyes with a frown. "So what, am I now your group''s lackey? Is that the reason you forced me to join?"


    "I call them menial tasks because I am strong, but do you think investigating rifts or replacing government agents is easy?"


    His breath halted the moment he heard those words. "The what now?"


    Amara continued, "There is a lot of filth in this world, and for everything to line up as it should, we need to correct it. Don''t worry about the rest¡ªI will contact you in due time."


    "Hold o¡ª" Neraxis began speaking but was once again interrupted.


    "Oh, and before I forget, those who refer to you as the Veiled One are on your side¡ªthat''s our moniker," she explained before standing up, summoning her sword, and slashing downwards.


    "Bye, for now." With those parting words, Neraxis''s vision shifted, turning dark once more.


    However, in the very next instant, his eyes shot open, and in front of him was a familiar house, with the eerily familiar lock.


    He was back, standing just a few meters away from the entrance.


    I just got teleported... Neraxis sighed and reached for his pocket. To his surprise, there was a little crumpled-up note¡ªone that had the symbol of a white half mask.


    But before he could admire it further, the note quickly crumpled itself further before turning into dust, leaving him speechless.


    ...I can''t tell if this group is a joke or not at this point. But I guess I don''t really have much of a choice anymore, I''ll just see where it leads me. He felt conflicted but nonetheless headed back inside.


    It seemed empty; no one was in the kitchen or any rooms in particular. Neraxis concluded that they were most likely at work, and his sister was probably with her friends again.


    Unlike him, she was a social butterfly.


    Since it was empty and he had just been through hell¡ªhowever briefly¡ªit was time to relax.


    First... I should probably get Mother a gift... an "I''m sorry" gift, Neraxis thought before going up to his room and checking through all of his cupboards until finally, he found a wallet.


    Inside was a stack of money as well as a credit card, which he picked up and headed outside, his destination¡ªthe mall.


    Just as he was about to head out, Evangeline''s voice rang out. [The mask¡ªyou still have it on.]


    Oh, right. He immediately reached out to take it off. However, before he could do that, he saw Evangeline manifest as a sword and tap on the mask, making it disappear.


    [I have a little storage space in that tattoo. If you find something important, store it there,] she stated in a soft tone before going back inside the sword tattoo.


    Thank you... Neraxis expressed and headed out, arriving at a nearby mall in just a couple of minutes.


    The gift he had in mind was some expensive cookies¡ªsome he even remembered trying himself in the past.


    There were a lot more people huddling around the streets than when he started going towards the academy. It really was an eventful yet exhausting day.


    Neraxis roamed through the many shops until finally, his eyes landed on a bakery.


    Just as he began approaching it, he noticed something in the far-off distance¡ªit was a shop like any other; however, it was incredibly small.


    He wanted to investigate; therefore, he started walking towards it, stopping just before he entered.


    Inside were a bunch of vials that had all sorts of colored liquids inside, as well as a massive sign up front.


    Emma''s Potions?

 Chapter 28: Stellar Dominion

    Neraxis stared at the sign with confusion but decided to go in nonetheless.


    There was a single girl sitting at the reception, seemingly playing around on her phone.


    He walked around the little shop, glancing at the names of the vials.


    Potion of Speed? Huh... Is this alchemy? Neraxis was at a loss for words. He had assumed that was the case, but seeing it straight up was something else entirely.


    [Hmm... Have you never seen a potion before?] Evangeline questioned.


    I''ve only seen health potions and mana potions; these did not exist back then... he answered before lifting the potion and revealing its price tag.


    ...I can only buy two of these? Seriously?


    He had a total of 10,000 crowns. It was a significant amount¡ªhe could probably buy hundreds of cookies for his mother if he wanted to.


    Before he did that, there was one thing Neraxis wanted to check out: the variety of these potions.


    Walking from shelf to shelf, he inspected each and every potion, its effects ranging from strength boosts to slight durability increases.


    Finally, he reached a section that had caught his interest: a Potion of Hair Growth.


    Neraxis obviously wasn''t bald, but if he could get his mother a potion that had a similar effect to a rejuvenating beauty cream, then perhaps she would forgive him a bit sooner.


    However, after several minutes of walking around, he still could not spot it. So, with resignation, he started heading toward the exit.


    However, as he neared the exit, Neraxis suddenly felt a tug on his jacket. Turning around, he saw the girl from earlier standing right beside him.


    "Sorry!" She immediately let go and stepped back a few meters before speaking again. "Was there something you were looking for?"


    "I was... a beauty potion. The ones that could make your skin clearer," Neraxis replied, inwardly feeling embarrassed¡ªit sounded a bit stupid.


    "Oh! I''m sorry, someone recently bought out the last batch, but if you are interested, I can give you something similar?" She tried bargaining before turning around and gesturing for him to follow.


    "Is this for your girlfriend?"


    "...My mother."


    "Oh... Well, that''s a nice gift," she said with a chuckle as they arrived by the counter.


    "Wait here a moment, I''ll bring it right out."


    "Go ahead." Neraxis nodded and turned his gaze toward the potions in the glass covering below him.


    They seemed of much higher quality than the others. These ones, however, were without nametags.


    But judging from the colors alone, he could assume what they were.


    Red for healing, blue for mana, cyan for speed, and so forth. There was quite a wide selection.


    Shortly, the girl came back out holding a rainbow vial, and with a proud smirk, she stated, "This is my finest work yet. It can cleanse the body of impurities, which in turn, will also give your mother clearer skin."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Getting closer, she said, "So? What do you say?"


    Neraxis looked interested, so he went straight to the point. "And the price?"


    "Hmm... 100,000, but since it''s still a new product, and you would be the first buyer, I''ll give you a discount. 50,000 crowns."


    Well shit. Neraxis nodded back at her with a smile. He did not have that much in cash currently; however, he did have a black debit card which he could try using.


    "I''ll buy it," he said and pulled the card out, holding it right in front of her.


    She seemed startled at the sight. "Uh? Pleasure doing business with you, sir."


    Neraxis put the card up to the scanner, and in the very next moment, it beeped, signifying that the transaction went through successfully.


    "Hey, do you have any more of these?" he asked. It might be a good idea to bring back one for Elara as well.


    But the girl merely shook her head to the side. "Sorry, it''s a bit troublesome procuring some of those ingredients... But! I can guarantee their quality!"


    "Sure." Neraxis replied with a smile as he took the bag with the potion inside. However, all of a sudden, his right arm began stinging, similarly to how it was when he first woke up in that strange place.


    [You should head back fast... like really fast.] Evangeline remarked with urgency, and immediately, he said his goodbyes before calmly walking out of the store and bolting straight toward his home.


    Why did it need to happen now... He grumbled, speeding up his pace, jumping over all sorts of fences until eventually, he was right in front of his house.


    Neraxis''s breathing became labored as the pain intensified. It was starting to get a little unbearable.


    He ran inside, quickly noticing that no one was home yet. Before heading to his own room, he went to his mother''s room and placed the potion on the desk nearby.


    There was a piece of paper, so he quickly scribbled the words, "Sorry," and left the note next to the bag.


    Immediately after he got back into his own room, he collapsed on the bed. His arm was practically spasming now.


    Evangeline appeared in her sword form and hovered slightly above him before saying, [This will hurt a lot, but trust me, not all skill transfers will be like this.]


    [When I transfer mine, you will feel a gentle breeze, so just hold on for now.] She tried reassuring him; however, his entire body was now shaking, and it was difficult to even catch a breath.


    However, as he thought this would be the extent of his suffering, he saw blood starting to stream down his face, coming from his eyes.


    But before it could go down further, it disappeared. Evangeline absorbed it into the sword.


    [Don''t worry about the blood, I will make sure you don''t bleed out.]


    Neraxis barely squeezed out a nod before trying his best to relax, bearing through the pain.


    This continued on for several minutes, though it felt like hours, until eventually, the pain began subsiding.


    He could see the red line that was on his right hand slowly fade away, disappearing into nothingness.


    However, a red system window suddenly appeared before his exhausted self.


    [Astral Bl-Recompiling...]


    Is it not working? Neraxis thought but saw Evangeline just gliding around, seemingly bored and not paying any attention to the red system window.


    I guess it''s fine...


    As his thoughts finished, the system window returned to normal, displaying a skill that was definitely not the one he had seen back in the auction.


    What the...


    [Stellar Dominion {S}]


    [Skill Description: Allows the wielder to channel the limitless power of the stars.]


    [Skill Effects (1/3): Cosmic Cascade (Active): Summons a torrent of starlight energy in a targeted area, dealing massive astral damage over time and inflicting the Astral Fire Debuff. Cooldown: 5 minutes.]


    [Skill Effects (2/3): Stellar Attunement (Passive): The skill enhances the user''s connection to the astral plane, increasing their mana regeneration, skill potency, and granting the ability to passively mark enemies. Marked enemies take additional astral damage from all sources.]


    [Skill Effects (3/3): Enter the astral plane. Duration: 1 Hour. Cooldown: 1 Week.]


    [Debuff - Astral Fire: Enemies afflicted by Astral Fire increase Astral damage on the target by 25% for 10 seconds.]


    [Note: Due to user''s insufficient power, the skill''s effects are severely reduced.]


    Evangeline...? Neraxis called out, not taking his eyes away from the skill.


    [Hm? Is it a good skill? I can''t see.] She replied with a playful tone, flying behind him.


    Good? It''s more than good... It''s literally overpowered. He was overjoyed, opening up his status again and again, making sure the skill remained there.


    An S-rank skill just landed on his plate¡ªthe first he had ever seen in his entire life.


    Even if its effects were greatly reduced, it was still an incredible asset¡ªone he planned on using to its full potential tomorrow.


    Since that was the day the academy finally started.