A Psychopath Reborn as a Third-rate Villain

Romeo finished off the last monster with a compressed burst of mana.

The creature was thrown backward, crashed against the stone wall, and collapsed to the ground. Romeo lowered his hand and took a slow breath. The dungeon had already begun to wear him down. Every corridor seemed to contain another group of monsters, and no matter how many they killed, more appeared from the darkness ahead. The constant fighting left little room for rest, and the air itself seemed to press against his lungs with every step.

He looked around cautiously.

Something felt different.

There was a faint disturbance in the mana nearby, subtle enough that he might have missed it under normal circumstances. Romeo immediately turned toward one of the side corridors.

”Who’s there?”

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then a familiar figure stepped out from behind the corner.

White hair.

Violet eyes.

A sword held loosely in one hand.

Andras.

Romeo’s expression tightened. ”You...”

Andras stopped several meters away. ”Looks like we finally found each other.”

Romeo kept his eyes on him. ”How long have you been there?”

”Long enough.”

Andras’s calm answer made Romeo slightly uncomfortable. He hadn’t sensed Andras approaching. That meant Andras had either deliberately concealed his presence or had become better at moving without being detected. Neither possibility was pleasant.

”So you were watching me fight?”

”Yes.”

”And you didn’t help.”

”You were handling them.”

Romeo glanced at the corpses around him. He couldn’t exactly argue with that. After a brief silence, he lowered his sword.

”We should stick together.”

Andras raised an eyebrow. ”Why?”

”Because we don’t know where the exit is.” Romeo gestured toward the corridor ahead. ”This place is larger than I expected, and there could be stronger monsters deeper inside. Fighting separately would only waste our strength.”

Andras considered his words before giving a slight nod. ”Fine.”

They began walking together.

Neither of them trusted the other.

Neither needed to say it.

---

Romeo kept a careful distance as they moved deeper into the dungeon.

His thoughts returned to the failed assassination attempt. It had failed. That had been his biggest setback. Yet perhaps this situation had given him another opportunity. No instructors were here, no classmates, and no witnesses to what happened between them. If something happened to Andras inside this place, there would be countless possible explanations.

Romeo glanced at Andras. He was walking several steps ahead, apparently unconcerned by their surroundings. Romeo’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before returning to the path.

There was no point acting now. Andras was stronger than him, and Romeo had already learned that during their battle at the academy. Fighting him immediately would be reckless. But the dungeon was constantly forcing them to expend their strength. If they kept it up, even Andras would eventually tire.

Romeo could wait.

For now, staying beside Andras was more useful than fighting him. And if the right opportunity appeared later, Romeo would be ready. Perhaps this strange dungeon had given him exactly what he needed.

---

They continued deeper into the dungeon.

At first, the creatures they encountered were weak enough that Andras could eliminate them with a single strike. Then they began changing. The monsters grew larger. Their bodies became denser, their movements faster, and their attacks more coordinated. The deeper they went, the more deliberate the creatures seemed in their approach, as though something was gradually adjusting their strength.

One creature nearly caught Romeo off guard when it emerged from a crack in the wall. He barely managed to raise his sword in time. The impact forced him backward several steps. Andras immediately moved past him and drove his blade through the creature’s chest. The monster let out a distorted growl before collapsing.

Romeo stared at the corpse. ”They’re getting stronger.”

Andras wiped the blood from his sword. ”Yes.”

He looked farther down the corridor. There was no end in sight. The blue crystals embedded in the walls were becoming brighter, yet the dungeon itself seemed to grow darker the deeper they went. The air had also changed. It was colder now, and the faint metallic smell from earlier had become stronger. Occasionally, they could hear something moving far beyond the corridors they could see. Neither of them could identify the sound.

Andras continued walking. The dungeon seemed almost determined to prevent them from reaching its center. Every time they cleared one area, another group of monsters appeared. There was no natural explanation.

Andras eventually stopped beside several corpses. Something about them had been bothering him. He crouched beside one of the creatures and activated the system.

[Name: Grayclaw]

[Rank: Class E]

[Talent: Stonehide (E-Rank)]

Andras’s eyes narrowed. He inspected another corpse.

[Name: Grayclaw]

[Rank: Class E]

[Talent: Stonehide (E-Rank)]

His gaze shifted toward a third. The result was identical.

[Name: Grayclaw]

[Rank: Class E]

[Talent: Stonehide (E-Rank)]

Andras stared at the three status windows. The same name. The same rank. The same talent. All three creatures were identical. That was unusual. Even creatures of the same species should have some differences. Andras had never encountered living beings that were so perfectly uniform.

He looked down at the nearest corpse. There was something fundamentally wrong with these creatures.

Andras decided to test his suspicion.

”Devour.”

The system responded immediately.

[Attempting to devour target talent.]

A few seconds passed. Then another message appeared.

[Devouring failed.]

[Target does not possess a valid living soul.]

Andras remained silent.

That explained it. These creatures possessed bodies. They possessed mana. They even possessed talents. But they weren’t truly alive. Their identical characteristics suddenly made more sense. They weren’t natural creatures. They were creations—constructs produced by the dungeon. That also explained why they appeared in such numbers. As long as the dungeon remained active, it could continue producing them without end.

Andras stood. ”So that’s why.”

There was no point trying to devour their talents. They were useless to the system.

A scraping sound suddenly came from the darkness ahead. Andras’s attention shifted immediately. Several more Grayclaws emerged. But these were different. Their bodies were larger than the previous ones, and faint blue lines of mana pulsed beneath their stone-like skin.

Romeo tightened his grip on his sword. ”Those look stronger.”

Andras raised his blade. ”Then let’s find out.”

The Grayclaws charged.

This battle lasted longer. Romeo released compressed mana repeatedly, blasting through the creatures’ defenses, while Andras moved between them with precise sword strikes. One monster swung its claws toward Andras’s head. He ducked beneath the attack and cut across its leg. The creature stumbled. Romeo’s compressed mana struck its chest a moment later, sending it crashing into the wall. Another creature rushed toward Romeo. Andras intercepted it, driving his sword through its throat. The final monster roared and charged both of them. Romeo compressed his mana. Andras stepped aside. The resulting blast struck the creature directly. It collapsed.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Romeo breathed heavily. Andras looked ahead.

The dungeon was becoming more dangerous. And yet the deeper they went, the stranger everything became. The monsters were growing stronger. The mana in the air was becoming denser. But the corridors remained almost perfectly uniform. It was as though the entire dungeon had been constructed around a single purpose.

Whatever that purpose was, they were getting closer to it.

They continued forward.

---

After what felt like hours, the number of monsters suddenly decreased.

That was more unsettling than facing another wave.

The corridor became unnaturally quiet. Romeo slowed down. ”Where did all the monsters go?”

Andras didn’t answer. He looked ahead.

The corridor opened into a vast chamber. At the far end stood an enormous stone door. It was several times taller than either of them and covered in ancient carvings. Strange symbols formed a circular pattern across its surface, surrounding a large mark in the center. The carvings looked older than anything Andras had seen in the academy’s libraries, worn by time yet still sharp enough to carry a faint sense of pressure.

The air in the chamber was different from anything they had encountered before. Even breathing felt heavier.

Romeo stared at the door. ”That doesn’t look like an ordinary room.”

”No.”

”Do you think there’s a boss behind it?”

Andras studied the carvings. ”Probably.”

Romeo glanced at him. ”Should we open it?”

Andras remained silent for a moment. They had already come this far. Turning around without discovering what lay beyond the door would accomplish nothing. At the same time, every instinct told him that whatever was behind it would be far more dangerous than the monsters they had encountered so far.

”There’s only one way to find out.”

Andras stepped toward the door. Romeo followed. The strange pressure grew stronger with every step. Neither of them spoke.

Andras stopped directly in front of the enormous stone door. He raised his hand. His fingers touched the cold surface.

The moment he did, the entire chamber trembled.

A deep rumbling sound echoed through the dungeon. Romeo’s eyes widened. The ancient symbols across the door suddenly began glowing.

Then, with a deafening groan, the massive stone door slowly opened.

Darkness waited on the other side.

And something enormous moved within it.