The Return Of The Exiled Villain

"A gladiator exam?"

"Wait, like, we're supposed to fight?"

"Against who? Monsters?"

The students were skeptical of Otto's words; after all, this had never happened since the academy had been founded.

Otto's smile widened slightly as his gaze swept over the crowd.

"Exactly as it sounds. You will fight against each other. The one who remains standing in the arena until the end… will receive the highest score."

A heavy silence followed.

"One victor?" Selina muttered.

"He's serious?"

"Of course he is," Selene replied lazily.

Otto continued in the same casual and almost expressionless tone.

"You may form teams if you wish. Cooperation, strategy, and adaptability will be considered when grading. However…"

He paused, letting his words sink in.

"If your team becomes the last one standing, you will still have to determine a single victor among yourselves. Whether you choose to fight or decide peacefully is up to you."

A faint murmur of unease rippled through the crowd.

"So basically," Selene whispered under her breath, "you can team up… but in the end, only one walks away with the full marks."

"Seems so," Gray replied, his gaze focused on Otto.

Up on the platform, Otto clapped his hands once, and several glowing screens appeared, listing every student's name, class, and mana ranking.

"This battle will test more than strength," Otto said. "It will test your control, decision-making, and survival instincts. Killing is not permitted, but severe injuries are expected."

The corners of his mouth curled upward, just slightly.

"You have five minutes to prepare. After that…" His eyes glinted dangerously as his gaze once again slowly swept over the crowd. "…the exam begins."

The floating platform descended slowly, the sound of humming mana fading into silence.

But on the ground, tension began to rise like smoke.

Almost immediately, students began to form groups, some small and tight, others massive and chaotic.

In one corner, more than fifteen students from different classes gathered into a single alliance, murmuring plans and strategies in hushed tones.

It seemed that teaming up across classes was allowed, and because of that, Gray soon found himself surrounded by a few very familiar faces.

Selina, Selene, Lira, Lyra, and Ronan.

Gray looked at the group for a moment, lips twitching faintly.

There were also others nearby who recognized him but chose to stay away, Mira and Claire, for example, who had once fought alongside him and Selina during the practical dungeon exam.

They met his gaze briefly before joining another team.

[Isn't it better for you to do the exam alone?]

Jasmine's teasing voice echoed in his mind.

'It is,' Gray replied calmly, crossing his arms.

'But I don't think Lyra's gonna let me.'

[...Simp.]

'Tsk, a virgin like you wouldn't understand.'

[W-who's a virgin?! I've existed longer than your entire bloodline! Of course I've had my experie—]

'Sure, sure.' Gray muttered inwardly with a smirk.

Ronan broke the silence first, clapping his hands together.

"Heh! Looks like we've got quite the team, huh?" He grinned widely, eyes darting around the group.

"We've got beauty, brains, brawn—oh?!" His grin widened somehow.

"And who's that hottie?!"

Gray blinked and turned just in time to see Cassandra walking past them.

Her long gray hair shimmered faintly under the arena's mana lights.

She looked completely unfazed by the chaos around her, and her presence alone was enough to draw attention.

But as she looked around, for a brief second, their eyes met.

Gray froze instantly.

"Gray?"

Lyra called out to him in a curious tone.

But the sight of him frozen in place, staring at Cassandra with a dazed look, made her expression change quickly.

Her cheeks puffed in irritation, and she stomped closer.

"Hey!"

Before he could react, she reached out and twisted his waist lightly.

"Haah!?" Gray jolted, spinning around like someone who'd just woken from a nightmare.

"Ah, you bastard!" Lyra huffed, punching his shoulder, though not too hard.

"What was that for?!"

But when she looked at his eyes again, her irritation faded into confusion.

His usual hypnotic gray rings, the ones she always found so beautiful... had somehow disappeared from his eyes.

"...Gray?" she whispered softly.

He blinked lightly as if trying to remember something before brushing her hand away gently.

"Sorry about that."

Then, without another word, he reached for his rapier and stared at it for a moment.

Lyra frowned, taking a small step back, uncertainty clouding her eyes.

Selene noticed, tilting her head, but didn't comment.

Selina and Lira both continued stretching, warming up their bodies silently, while Ronan, oblivious as ever, was stretching his arms and mumbling something about "punching the first idiot who attacks him."

'...Properties.'

A glowing panel materialized before him:

[———✵ Status Panel ✵———]

Name: Gray Vireux D'Aurélion [1]

Titles: Exiled Noble

Race: Human

Class: N/A (To be chosen...)

Rank: Early Master Realm (Perfected)

Unique Skill: [✧Swap✧]

Active Skills: Shadowless Sword Art [GrandMaster Stage (9%)], Dimensional Storage, Nine Illusionary Dream Steps [0% (9th Step)]

Passive Skills: High Mana Recovery, Parallel Mana Processing, Heightened Senses

——+——+——+——

'So… the Nullification Talent stayed with him, huh?' he thought, narrowing his eyes slightly.

'That means talents are bound to the soul, not the body. Unique skills, though… they must connect directly to physical vessels.'

He exhaled slowly, adjusting his grip on the sword.

Fwip!

A small shockwave of air rippled as he swung lightly, testing the weight.

The rapier hummed faintly, vibrating in his hand.

'Interesting… mastering the Nine Illusionary Dream Steps must've accelerated the neural link between my mind and body.'

He raised his hand slightly, watching faint mana veins flicker across his fingers.

'My reaction speed's sharper. The connection… cleaner.'

His lips curled up faintly, although from others' perspective, it was probably an almost emotionless smile, considering the coldness in his eyes.

'And my sword art leveled up too. Guess that "imaginary training" Alina told me about actually worked. I didn't think mental repetition could evolve a combat art… but if it does, that's going to be very useful.'

He spun the rapier once before sliding it fully into the waistband of his trousers, his black eyes glinting dangerously under the arena lights.

'...Alright, it seems that the other Gray made decent progress, although much below my expectations, it's at least... acceptable.'

He stretched his arms lightly.

'And the only reason it's even acceptable is because he focused on speed. That much, at least, fits perfectly with my sword art.'

A faint frown formed on his face as he opened the glowing status window again, scanning it carefully.

'But strangely… the Combat Intuition skill stayed with him?'

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the status window.

And as he had thought, it truly wasn't there.

'…So comprehension might be linked to the soul too, not the body.'

He thought about it for a moment, and I guess it made sense since he was much smarter than the other Gray.

'Noted.'

The shimmering clock floating above the arena ticked closer to zero, the last few seconds of Otto's countdown glowing faintly.

Gray's eyes sharpened, his gaze growing colder as mana began to ripple faintly from his body.

Five minutes had been enough for him to observe everything the "other Gray" had done.

And honestly, it disgusted him.

For someone who carried his memories, who had access to every detail of his past training, his habits, and his discipline… that version had wasted time flirting around.

If he had at least got something out of it...

Sure, she's a Vessel of Five Main Gods and may be helpful in the near future. However, instead of manipulating her into an obedient tool, no...

Instead, he turned into some kind of simp. He had thoughts about killing her, but he didn't even have enough courage to do it.

'Pathetic.'

'Whatever. I've got fifteen days in this body before the swap happens again. I'll make sure those fifteen days are used properly. I'll rebuild what he wasted, and then some more.'

'But first…'

Swish!

In an instant, blinding light swallowed the students whole.

The sound of thousands of boots hitting solid ground echoed across the arena as they materialized within it.

The massive circular battlefield stretched endlessly, lined by magical barriers that hummed with blue light.

High above them, in the stands, dozens of professors and other figures watched silently. Among them sat the Headmistress, Gloria herself, with a small smile on her lips.

Gray didn't look at her, as his focus was entirely forward.

'I need to finish this damn midterm as quickly as possible.'

From above, Otto's voice boomed like thunder, amplified by mana.

"Alright, students… time's up."

A thick silence filled the arena as mana started rippling across the arena as the students started preparing themselves for a direct attack.

Otto raised his hand.

"From this moment on—"

He paused, a grin creeping across his face.

"—your midterm exam begins."

BOOOOOOOOM!

The ground exploded into chaos the instant his hand dropped.

"YOU'RE FIRST, GRAY!"

Three weapons, one spear, one dagger, one flaming arrow, shot toward him in perfect sync.

Gray's pupils narrowed lightly as he exhaled, his body twisting lightly before he jumped, flipping backward through the air.

The weapons grazed past him, cutting through his afterimage.

"GOT YOU, BASTARD!" another voice roared from above.

A bulky student descended from midair, veins bulging as he brought down a massive battleaxe glowing with crimson mana.

"Fuu..."

A cold breath escaped Gray's lips as he unsheathed his rapier in the air and simply swung it at the battle axe that was coming in his direction.

Fwip!

"WHA—!"

The axe split cleanly in two, the upper half spinning away uselessly.

The attacker's eyes widened in disbelief, and before he could say anything, Gray spun his body in the air and swung his leg directly at his head.

BAAAM!

The student's body was flung across the arena like a rag doll, crashing into another group before rolling to a stop.

Gray landed lightly, one knee bending, rapier still humming softly as his gaze swept over the crowd.

Fwoosh!

He didn't waste time as mana surged from under his feet as he kicked off the ground, appearing right in front of another student before they even realized he'd moved.

His sword flashed once, cutting the strap of their armor cleanly before tapping their neck.

"Out."

The student froze, instinctively surrendering as their protective charm shattered and teleported them out of the arena.

Gray turned slowly, his expression blank.

"Next."

The crowd around him hesitated, but not for long.

"SURROUND HIM!"

One student screamed and charged, followed by ten more.

"Hah..."

Gray smiled coldly before swinging his rapier once, bending his legs, and then rushing towards the group of people.