The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 202: The Second Floor And Overwhelming Strength

Neraxis paced around the shadows, trying to find the best position.

Surprisingly, the sun seemed to be covering more area with each passing second, and if he had stayed where he was earlier, then he would've been killed by now.

So there's a time limit after all... Neraxis thought with a sigh as he approached one of the bronze statues, halting right before the shadow ended.

In the very next moment, he brought his sword to a perfect horizontal position and performed an {Advanced Horizontal Slash}.

The only advanced part about it was that it could cut through shields, armor, and, of course, mana.

Not perfect, but good enough.

Neraxis utilized his footwork as much as he could. After a whole year of being Eclipse, he had truly become an assassin.

His steps made no noise, and his breath was practically inaudible.

As for his swordsmanship? It was no longer some simple stuff. Instead, it was made purely for killing—each blow aimed at the vitals would cause catastrophic damage.

But of course, he couldn't demonstrate that against this statue, so Neraxis merely finished the swing.

The statue's head fell clean off its shoulders, the core breaking in the process.

[1x (S+ Ranked Construct) Bronze Ember Sentinel Slain! Reward: Stigmata 15.82% → 18.82%]

It wasn't exactly difficult, or so he thought.

However, as he killed the second statue, he realized the remaining statues' cores were beginning to glow more brightly.

The more I kill, the stronger the remaining ones get... Interesting. Neraxis pondered as he focused on two gathered together.

Like a starfall, he willed {Stellar Dominion: Cosmic Cascade} to fall on the pair, and unlike the previous times he used this skill, he could now use it at 100% power.

Instead of an aurora, a single rainbow star fell from the sky, merely passing through the statues.

However, as it did, the areas it touched were completely disintegrated, with rainbow flames burning what was left of the statues' bodies.

[2x (S+ Ranked Construct) Bronze Ember Sentinel Slain! Reward: Stigmata 18.82% → 24.82%]

Damn, that felt good. Neraxis thought in satisfaction as his gaze traveled to the remaining statues.

There was one sure-fire way to deal with this situation.

However, since they were all so far apart, he waited, going around and killing some of them in the process.

{Expert Stab} was another one of the skills that had been upgraded, and it had gone up in rank multiple times.

By now, Neraxis was able to stab in one direction, and it would appear in another several kilometers away.

And that was what he did, swiftly stabbing three times and perfectly piercing the statues' heads.

[3x (S+ Ranked Construct) Bronze Ember Sentinel Slain! Reward: Stigmata 24.82% → 33.82%]

Seven were dead and with eleven remaining, he could see their colors begin to change.

If they were bronze earlier, now they were a faint red.

And of course, the pace at which they moved significantly increased.

However, to Neraxis, it didn't matter much as he had the perfect counter.

As the statues approached, he decided to finally use it.

{Domain}.

The moment his thoughts fell, the entire area turned a pitch black color, with whatever was touched by his mana turning into white tendrils.

Neraxis took a cold deep breath, taking in the smell of burnt rubber along with it.

However, he could feel everything within this domain of his, which stretched out around twenty-five meters around him.

But that was not all, as the moment Neraxis focused on a particular spot in the domain, he would be teleported there, and his next attack's power would be boosted by a large amount.

It took a large amount of mana to use, and then it constantly drained it, so at most, he could keep the domain up for a minute.

But a few seconds were all he needed.

Neraxis glanced around, spotting each and every single statue present.

Then, he pulled his sword back, and in the next moment, he thrust forward.

{Expert Stab}, combined with {Atomic Stab}, tore the air apart, nearly even shattering his own domain.

But it didn't. After the stab was performed, it merely hung in the air.

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Neraxis duplicated that stab multiple times inside the domain.

After a few more seconds, he was done, and with a simple flick of his finger, Neraxis sent the duplicated attack toward the statues.

Before they could react, large holes appeared in their upper bodies, destroying their cores in the process.

[10x (S+ Ranked Construct) Bronze Ember Sentinel Slain! Reward: Stigmata 33.82% → 63.82%]

"Phew, fuck," Neraxis exclaimed with a groan as a trickle of blood traveled down his mouth.

It was a taxing strategy, but it was definitely less taxing than performing the combined stabs ten times in a row.

But of course, his luck wasn't that great, as one was still somehow alive.

However, unlike the rest, it suddenly grew in size to about twice what it was just a moment ago.

Color-wise, it changed to a clear golden, and Neraxis could feel an obvious threat from it.

Suddenly, it raised its sword and slashed down, sending a golden crescent toward Neraxis, who, upon noticing, reacted with a {Sword Dash}.

He appeared under the statue and cut at its foot.

But almost like it was rock solid, the attack bounced off with a clang, sending a shockwave up Neraxis's arm.

The statue sent another attack, this time a slash for the staggered Neraxis.

However, that was only a feint, as in the next moment, he blasted off the ground, landing on the statue's arm.

As he ran up, he dodged the onslaught of attacks from its other arm until he finally reached its head.

It tried to head-slam him; however, Neraxis jumped off, prompting it to send a full-power downward slash toward him.

But just before it hit, Neraxis teleported within his domain, appearing right above the statue.

With a clear view of its head, he took a deep breath, pulled his sword back, almost charging it up.

Then, with an extremely fast thrust, a silver thread-like line shot out, traveling straight to the statue and passing through it.

It almost seemed like his attack didn't penetrate it; however, the golden light soon began dimming, and with that, the statue's body slowly collapsed.

As it did, Neraxis teleported once more, reappearing on the ground and dusting himself off.

[1x (SS- Ranked Construct) Golden Ember Sentinel Slain! Reward: Stigmata 66.82% → 76.82%]

Immediately, the sun disappeared, replaced with darkness and a few system messages.

[Solaris Tower - 2nd Floor Elite Mode: Ember Sentinel's Watch - Complete]

[Climber: Neraxis Valen]

[Current Progress: 2/10 Floors]

[Solaris Tower - 3rd Floor Elite Mode: Mirage Sands - Available]

[Do you wish to enter?]

[Yes/No]

He didn't accept instantly, as he took this time to recoup a little.

That was pretty difficult for a second floor. But getting an SSS-ranked main skill is more than worth it, he pondered.

After all, he didn't even know it was possible to have more than one main skill.

If he could have one of that caliber, then all the better.

Nonetheless, he rested up and pressed "Yes."

Immediately, Neraxis reappeared in some sort of desert, with the scorching sun right above him.

And of course...

[Solaris Tower - 3rd Floor Elite Mode: Mirage Sands]

[Objective: A vast desert filled with mirages that distort reality. The correct path forward is hidden among illusions.]

[Status: Started!]