1000x Random Returns: Investing in My Crippled Demon Wives!

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Silas Dracul Aethernis vs. His Entire Incompetent Group?!

As Adrian and the rest of Group 7 approached the staircase descending to floor 17, the crunch of red sand under Adrian’s boots drew every eye as figures came into view.

A few of the figures appeared to be coming closer towards the group, who all raised their guards at these unknown people.

’Other groups or maybe humanoid beasts?’ Adrian thought.

Luckily it was not any monsters this time, just a bunch of Nine Star Zenith Academy students and a lot of them to boot, 30 of them to be precise.

Three other academy groups occupied the red sand ahead of them, uniforms scuffed, some sitting down in their makeshift camps, busy recovering from injuries using the potions they had, others deep in conversation and a few clearly having only just arrived too.

The moment Group 7 stepped into view, heads turned.

’Other groups,’ Adrian thought.

’And competitors too boy, every single one of them, maybe you’ll finally get some action, and I’ll get some good entertainment.’ Old man Gus said immediately.

’Come now, get to it, if you take them out now, you’ll have less to worry about.’

’No, we’re not fighting them unnecessarily, it’s not like they’ll be catching up to us, and we’ll be wasting time.’

’Hmm, fair point, but why do you have to be so boring, where’s the action, the fun?’ Gus sighed.

A short, broad shouldered dwarf with long braided brown hair and a hammer strapped to his back caught sight of them.

”Yo, another group reached this far too,” one of the dwarfs group members, a male elf said waving at them as the dwarf looked at them approaching.

”Oh, took you guys long enough.”

”We weren’t aware we were keeping you waiting.” Nyla said raising an eyebrow.

”You’re not, just checking who’s still alive, or in this case still in the competition.” The dwarf said laughing.

Nearer to the archway and stairs, a group of Night Elves, Shadow Demons and a few other races, all of who were, in some way good at concealment, moved with the quiet of a stealth focused team, their leader a Peak A Rank fallen angel with two folded pairs of dark wings behind him stared at them with crossed arms before descending down.

”They’re decent, though some are good at concealment.” Mira said as she studied them with open interest.

”You sound impressed,” Nyla said.

”A little, but how did the academy even choose teams, it’s can’t actually be random like they said, surely not, right?”

”Well, looking at their stealth only team, I would say it makes more sense that it was random, I mean the academy has no reason to lie, if it wasn’t they would have told us.”

”But we were quite lucky to have all been in the same group. ” Thalen said smiling.

”Okay, let’s get some rest, take your potions, eat, and in thirty minutes we move.” Adrian said, as he put a timer on his bracelet.

”We can move now, there’s no point wasting time, and giving the rank one and two groups a bigger advantage.” Selene said.

”Come now, Selene, with Adrian, thirty minutes wouldn’t make a difference.” Neris joked slapping Adrian on the back.

’Haha, I like this girl, she’s got it in her and she’s more exciting than you, too bad I’m stuck with you, boy.’ Gus joked as Adrian smiled at his nonsense as even if offered a chance, the old man wouldn’t leave, and stay with him like a inseparable child.

A third group, a mix of dwarves, oni, and asura, some humans, etc sat near a giant and armored leader, deep in conversation about something, most likely their plans going forward.

”They all fought the Blood Wyrm too.” Darius tilted his head, listening.

”Everyone who reached Fifteen fought it, so obviously yes” Garruk said sighing.

”I mean they’re discussing its second phase.”

Some time later, as the group ate some of their rations a fourth group came into view, a merfolk, an elf, and various kinds of beastmen and Demons and two humans, all of who stood calm and orderly near the staircase, and looked to be heading down as they hadn’t taken any serious damage, or they had rested somewhere else before coming here.

Neris caught the eye of the merfolk student from the new group, who calmly placed his hand on his chest and made a small bow towards her, as she gave a small nod passed to them, nothing more.

Then Adrian noticed a fifth group approaching and that one didn’t look tired at all.

They were made up of ten students, equipment immaculate, formation disciplined, three Peak A Ranks among them, the rest a steady wall of High B to A, most of who were beastmen or werewolves.

At their center stood a tall werewolf with ash gray hair, sharp amber eyes, and a confidence that he didn’t need to perform for anyone.

One of the Peak A students murmured something to him as the leader werewolf’s mouth curved into a slow, easy grin.

”Well,” he said, voice carrying easily across the place.

”Look who finally showed up.” He said raising his hands to the red sky.

”Ragnar.” Adrian said as he kept his expression pleasant.

”Adrian, my good friend, my pal.” Ragnar grinned.

A nod passed between them, neither hostile nor particularly relaxed, either.

Ragnar’s gaze then swept the rest of Group 7, Garruk, Selene, Nyla, Orion and his absurd mane then settled back on Adrian.

”So you made it to Sixteen.”

”Did you expect me not to?” Adrian asked.

”Not bad, that Wyrm is the major reason more than half of the groups are already out.”

”It was a good fight, but it wasn’t hard.” Adrian said smiling.

”Nah man, if you didn’t make it, then there’s no way these scrubs could have.” Ragnar folded his arms laughing, as he gestured to the other groups resting here, who decided to ignore him.

”So, feel like comparing notes?” Ragnar asked smiling widely with his canines in view and his tail swinging out of control.

Adrian’s smile didn’t waver. ”Depends, are you offering information, or fishing for how much we know, but if it’s a fight you want, then no thanks.”

”Seriously?” Ragnar asked as Adrian nodded.

”Bummer, we haven’t tested each other since the entrance examinations, oh well.” Ragnar laughed, easy and unbothered.

”But I could do the other two, how about it?”

”At least he’s an honest bastard,” Orion muttered.

Nyla’s eyes narrowed slightly, scanning Group 1’s stance as Mira drifted quietly into the shadows beneath them, Garruk’s grip tightened on his shield resting near him and Selene’s hand found her spear.

Around the stairs, the other groups had gone quiet, watching them with interest.

’Of course they’re watching,’ Adrian thought.

’Everyone here is fighting for the top spots that actually matter.’

’That and they’re interested in what you and this wolf can do, as both of you are in the top ten strongest students in your year currently.’

’I wonder what they would think if they knew that during the entrance exams, you were holding back?’ Gus laughed.

’But play nice, boy. ’Gus murmured, sounding entirely too entertained.

’Or don’t, I do enjoy a good seeing a good beating before lunch.’ He laughed loudly, rattling Adrians head.

Adrian looked at Ragnar as ragnar looked back, still grinning widely and for a moment, neither of them said anything at all.

Then Adrian exhaled, almost amused despite himself.

”All right, Fenrir,” he said. ”Let’s hear it.”

”So what do you have to say?”

Meanwhile one floor below and on the red and rocky floors of Floor 17, another group was in a scramble with less majestic, and more ugly and smaller looking wyvern like monsters.

”Keep the shields up, you worthless wastes!”

Silas Dracul Athernis slammed his foot into the rock, sending a ripple of mana washing over the front line as blood rained down around his group, three humans, a half demon, an elf, a two vampires and a werewolf, and a lizard beastman, ten in total including him.

Above them, the sky was a bruised shade of red, torn apart by the leathery wings of three Crimson Wingdrakes.

”You! Drag your tail and form the vanguard or I’ll throw you to those ugly lizards myself!” Silas roared, his voice cutting through the screeching of the beasts as lizard beastmen scowled at his coarse language.

”You fucker, you’re the ugly one.” The lizard beastmen screamed at him, before realizing.

At the same time, a giant half demon student with curling goat horns flinched amd hastily raised a tower shield blocking one of the beasts attacks.

Silas didn’t command, he shouted at them, standing over six and a half feet tall with the broad, muscular build, he moved with the aggressive presence of an arrogant young master with a superiority complex as he belittled them.

Whoosh!

One of the Wingdrakes dived, its crimson scaled claws raking across their hastily put up barrier as sparks of mana exploded into the air.

”Do your job and hold it, you bastard!” Silas barked, stepping into the back, and putting on his gauntlets on, as he shoved the half demon forward into the impact.

”You’re an A Rank cultivator, stop flinching like a whipped dog every second!”

”They’re circling for a flank, Young Master Silas!” The male elf archer called out from the rear.

”I have eyes you dimwit!” Silas snapped, his amber eyes burning with intense, hot tempered fury at the useless group he was assigned to.

He hated these weaklings and he hated their whining and inability to think for themselves even more, but most of all, he hated the academy bracelet, recording every move for the academy instructors watching from wherever the hell they were.

If this were a normal dungeon run without any supervision, he would have already snapped that fucking lizards neck for daring to call him ugly, and drained him of all his blood.

But the instructors were watching and he had to keep his instincts on a leash even if that leash was fraying by the second by their incompetance.

The middle Wingdrake let out a guttural roar, opening its maw to gather a ball of compressed blood.

”Front line, brace! Rear line, cast!” The elf called out nervously, raising his bow while eyeing Silas, as sweat down his neck.

”Shut your mouth and let me handle the overgrown lizard!” Silas bellowed, further angering the lizard beastman.

He didn’t wait for the arrow to fire and lunged forward, his heavy boots crushing the red rock beneath him as his fists ignited with a violent, blood red fire, the signature Athernis Crimson Art.

With a brutal and unrefined punch that relied entirely on raw physical strength, Silas swung upward into the diving beast’s throat.

His fist went right through the Wingdrake’s less scaled throat, splitting its jaw open before it could release the Blood blast.

Blood sprayed across Silas’s chest and face, and he didn’t even wipe it away. He grabbed the dying beast by its lower jaw with his gauntleted hand and hurled its dying corpse straight into another lizard.

Knocking it out of the air during to the impact .

Silas stood breathing heavily, the muscles in his back tight as he glared up at the remaining Wingdrake hovering out of reach.

”Well?” Silas spun around, his blood splattered gaze locking onto the remaining nine members of his group. ”Are you standing around to admire me, or are you going to kill the other two?”

The students shuffled back half a step, thoroughly cowed and also impressed.

”Archer! Drag them down!” Silas ordered, stomping toward the edge of the rock he was on.

”If that humans group is already ahead of us, I swear to the Ancestors I’ll break every bone in your legs before we reach the end!”

”Lord Silas,” a short human student, dressed in expensive armor stepped forward carefully, keeping his hands visible.

”Group One and Group Seven are currently holding at the entrance of Floor Seventeen, they haven’t descend just yet, from what I saw.”

Silas turned slowly, his nostrils flaring like an enraged bull.

”They’re still there?” Silas sneered, a ugly, arrogant smirk spreading across his face.

”Valemont and that gray wolf are standing around talking?”

”Stupid human, but what can I expect from such a lowly race?” He said as the human before him clenched his fist.

”Clear these fucking lizards,” Silas growled, his voice loud and dangerous.

”We’re moving down, forget that idiot, our target is the princess’s group.”

’Hehe, just you wait my beautiful princess, I’m coming.’ He thought as a creepy smile formed on his face.