The SSS Ranked Villain's Return-Chapter 73: Discussing the Second Floor of Dreamspire

"The basis is the same—a 30-minute floor in which you have to do a certain task." Magnus tapped a couple of times on the blackboard before turning toward the students.

"However, this one is going to be quite difficult. There is a possibility a few of you might even die here, which I will attempt to mitigate starting tomorrow," he added.

Since the first one is a killing floor, the second must be something pretty laid-back—maybe a senses-testing floor? he mused as Magnus began his drawings.

This time, he drew a large circle, and inside it, multiple miniature circles—even some swords and blades.

Neraxis raised his brow. Or maybe not...?

But before he could ponder anything else, Magnus began drawing walls and spirals until eventually, what emerged was a massive maze, far larger than Neraxis had anticipated.

"The Maze of Precision," Magnus announced. "It is the theme of the second floor, and each time, the maze is different. The goal, however, is always the same—find the exit."

"That seems easy..." a student mumbled, catching Magnus’s attention.

"Easy? Really?" Magnus chuckled before continuing, "What I drew is just a vague sketch. The maze is far larger than this. There are obstacles too—traps—and even monsters from the previous floor."

A few groans resounded across the classroom, and Neraxis, too, was a bit surprised.

It shouldn’t be too hard because of my new eyes and stats... but still... He glanced toward the side, where a few students seemed to be slightly panicking.

If they fail, we’re fucked.

"Now, I get some of your worries, but that’s exactly why we will be doing some training—much more intense than the first floor since it’s the easiest," Magnus commented, and immediately, Neraxis had an idea of what they would do.

There were many virtual facilities inside the academy now, so it was incredibly likely they would simply create an outline of the maze and make them go through it until eventually, the scores were satisfactory.

And soon, his suspicions were confirmed.

"We will be going into the virtual reality machines to help you simulate the same experience you would feel inside the tower. Registration won’t take long since all that’s needed is a bit of your blood."

At his words, Neraxis raised a brow in confusion. Isn’t that how you finish a contract with something?

[Back in my world, we used blood to lock possessions so no one else aside from the person who gave the blood could use it,] Evangeline stated, earning a nod from him.

You think they would be using the same technology here? he questioned.

But he merely received a sigh in response. [I don’t know, if I’m being honest. It’s the most effective way since the encoding uses both technological data as well as the DNA of the user. No one can hack into it—not even the people who made the machines.]

Oh... I see what you mean. He whistled inwardly. It wasn’t such a bad thing, then.

And if the others were not questioning it either, then it was likely correct.

"I won’t spoil more since it’s best to learn practically," Magnus remarked and suddenly grabbed all the documents he had placed on the lectern previously.

That was when he began walking toward the door, only taking a small glance behind him toward the students and saying, "Follow me."

Now? Even Neraxis was surprised, but nonetheless, proceeded to go along, chatting about random stuff with Kael.

The two had grown quite close—perhaps even friends now—yet in his eyes, Kael was still the biggest mystery of the entire class.

Neraxis had attempted to search his family up, but he could not find anything, which was definitely not the case for him, who was still all over the news from the Rift Break incident.

Nonetheless, they made it to one of the facilities near the personal training rooms and soon went inside.

Surprisingly, there were 20 virtual reality pods—five in each row—and Magnus instructed them to pick one each.

Both Neraxis and Kael picked the front pods, and surprisingly, both Celina and Aurelia picked the two behind them.

The pods were pretty peculiar at a glance, with intricate engravings swirling around until connecting with one another.

Yet some were even glowing—the byproduct of him being able to use mana and sense the surrounding mana as well.

But alas, another instructor came in—a woman in a lab coat. She walked through each of the pods with the students stationed beside them, pricking their fingers and drawing blood.

Right after, she made them place their fingers on the virtual reality machine, which looked like a white button.

That was surprisingly the spot where Neraxis felt the most mana as well.

After a couple of minutes, it was finally his turn. As she used a needle to draw blood, he immediately placed his hand on the virtual reality machine and began feeling some sort of connection forming with it.

And not even a few moments later, he felt a tiny portion of his mana being sucked inside the machine until eventually, it felt like an extension of his own body.

This is trippy... he thought with widened eyes but proceeded not to experiment too much. After all, breaking this virtual reality machine by accident would not be ideal.

"Everyone!" Magnus suddenly clapped, garnering the attention of every single student present as he pointed to the nearby white wall.

As he did so, a projection was cast, displaying a structure being built at an incredible speed.

And after just a few moments, it was finally done, displaying a maze that was circular in nature, but its sheer size was enough to make Neraxis uneasy.

If it’s a 1:1 scale, then... how are we supposed to find a way out in just 30 minutes?

Nonetheless, he did not voice his complaints—same with the other students—as they quietly listened along.

"Now, this is just a warm-up—basically a Level 1. Your task: reach the end of the maze in one hour. There will be no monsters or traps," Magnus stated before adding, "The mazes are combined, meaning you all will be in the same one. That is something that won’t happen in the maze inside Dreamspire, so don’t go relying on anyone but yourselves. Remember that."

Everyone nodded at his words, and finally, he announced, "Enter your virtual reality pods. The server should already be connected, but if it’s blank, do let me know."

Neraxis raised his brow and opened up the virtual reality pod before lying down inside it.

Surprisingly comfy, he mused, and closed the pod.

Immediately, a barrage of text appeared, which he could control with his mind.

Soon, he found the server he was supposed to be looking for. Discover hidden stories at novelbuddy

<Server: 441559 (Private Academy Testing)>

Neat. Neraxis whistled inwardly, and immediately, the ’Join’ button—which was grayed out—turned green.

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And as that happened, Magnus’s loud voice resounded.

"Everyone is free to enter now. Good luck."

Neraxis pressed the join button, and immediately, it felt like his entire body was being sucked in toward the holographic monitor before him.

At the same time, however, he found himself seemingly materializing elsewhere, and soon after, he could see the thick stone walls on either side, with moss streaming down.

Surprisingly, he could smell the surroundings as well—the air reeked of mold and blood.

Above him, Neraxis could see a massive pair of numbers, which were seemingly counting down.

[59:54]

[59:53]

The clock... He took a deep breath before turning to the side, immediately seeing a dead end.

However, as he was lost in his thoughts, a voice rang out behind him.

"Neraxis?"