Struggling as a Villain

Inside a dimly lit place, which was vast enough that accommodating a thousand people wouldn't be a problem, could be seen several individuals currently standing in a perfect formation.

There was an elevated stage, at the far end of the hall toward which the others faced.

Their faces remained hidden under a loosely hanging shroud, while these individuals waited for their leader to begin the meeting.

Finally, a man with similar attire but without anything obstructing his face climbed the stag and walked to stand in the middle. His grey ageing eyes stared at the crowd while his long white hair fell over his shoulders. The man outwardly looked like a human, but no one present inside the hall knew the real identity of the person.

"I am delighted that you all made some time for this auspicious gathering. I humbly pay my respect and hope that we can find a solution of our growing problems."

The man spoke—his voice was neither too loud nor too quiet. Just enough for everyone present here to hear what he just uttered.

The man continued, "A very precious companion and dear friend of mine lost his life recently, and that hampered the progression we were making towards our ultimate goal."

"Our goal...I think none of you have forgotten, right?" The man asked; his voice laced with a sharpness that made various flinch.

Drawing his finger in the air, the man drew a symbol in front of him, for everyone to see.

It was a strange symbol that seemed like two scythes were drawn in a cross, within a circle and blood seemed to be sliding down the blades.

"Our lord! The master of death! The one who created the Dark Star and introduced us to the concept of...freedom!" The leader suddenly sounded ecstatic, like he was declaring his life achievements.

Excitement grew in the hall. Their goal, the only mission they had, and that was to bring the God of Death on Clion and have him claim what he deserved.

"But Master," Someone from the crowd spoke, in a hesitant voice, "The plans which Philip made were all either burnt or confiscated by the authorities. And he was the only one who knew about the ritual."

Philip, the ex-Prime Minister of Eldoria, had a very prominent position in the cult since he was the one who came up with the ritual to reach Death.

The grey-haired leader remained silent, as he walked on the stage with his hands held behind his back and contemplated.

Suddenly, he halted, and in a severe voice, he announced, "Then we have to snatch it back."

A lot of people gasped hearing that and one of them reflexively asked, "That would mean we have to wage a war against Eldoria!"

"We are not prepared, master. The armies of Eldoria are exceptionally vast and filled with great warriors."

"Not to talk about, they have 'her' by their side." One of them exclaimed.

Instantly, a wave of killing intent washed over the hall and immediately, everyone quieted down.

Once he knew that every eye was back on him, the leader began,

"I know the enemy forces are vast, and they have some exceptionally strong warriors. However, it's not like we can just stop moving toward our ambition and forget Phil's sacrifice!" His strong voice was like a wake-up call that helped many to realise their mistake and look more determined.

Not so long after, the one who spoke earlier again asked, "But sire, although we have the determination, with the numbers we have, we cannot rival Eldoria."

The grey-haired man grinned at that before stating, "Then we will get some help."

Taking a brief pause, he announced,

"Through the summoning ritual, we will have our own champion!"

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The third examination was over, and now, only twenty-six students remain.

Richard was still in a daze while he thought about Amelia.

...she sacrificed her chance to be in the hunter's course for him. He couldn't remember when he met such a selfless soul before.

He was overwhelmed.

"Hello, I am Hailey and I will be conducting your fourth test." This time, it was a short black-haired woman in her early twenties. There was a scar on her face that went down the left side of her chin, and by her aura, one could tell that the woman had experienced quite a few battles.

She glanced at Richard for a moment and couldn't help but feel puzzled at his current state.

Regardless, she continued, "Since the numbers have reduced quite a lot, the administration decided to reduce the stages of examination as well."

Those words brought a sudden wave of elation among the students. They were told by Olivia that there would be seven examinations before the students could enrol as students of Hunter's course.

"Now, there would be only five rounds; as such, you all have to cross two more stages, including this one." She added, "Those first three stages tested your raw physical abilities without ether. Now, the last two will determine how skilled you are with magic."

Some of the students clenched their fists in aggression and excitement. This was finally the time for them to show what they mainly trained for.

Richard also felt that this might not be as hard as the previous three since ether was like breathing for an ether user; as such, finishing tests with their greatest weapon would be a lot easier.

The raven-haired then turned around and raised her hand from down to up—along with her movement, two thin trails also erupted from the ground and appeared before the others

The handrail...or more like a balance beam, was about four inches broad and had nothing given to balance oneself. One has to have a strong core and body balance to cross this twenty-foot-long trail without falling.

But naturally, "There is more," Hailey added as she waved her hand and two long steel rods attached to straps, dropped on the ground, as she continued,

"There are training bars that you will be carrying as you walk on the beams. And along with that, several darts, arrows and maybe pebbles as well, would be thrown at you to make you surrender. And that's your challenge."

"But Instructor...how are we going to lift that?" The frail-looking girl who was embracing Ethan back in the umbrella dome asked the lady.

The girl asked while pointing at those heavy bars that created small cracks on the floor upon collision.

Hailey shrugged, "It's up to you how you do it. Just remember, this test will be focusing on your knowledge of the Four Fundamentals."

Just as Richard thought. They have to utilize all four fundamental skills to get through this.

He took his time to calculate how he would be doing this, expecting Hailey to follow the norm and start from the other end, when suddenly his name was called.

"Student Richard and Ethan, please step forward."

Richard raised his brows before glancing at the lady—only to find her grinning.

'Damn...she is really odd...' Not only does Richard have heard about Hailey from his mother but knows about her from his previous world.

The tomboy who loves to seek thrill from trivial stuff. And right now, her source of excitement is to see how Richard fails.

Well, he surely was not going to fail here and throw all the efforts of Lilia and his mother to waste.

He cracked his neck and rolled his sleeve.

Ethan looked nervous, unlike Richard. He gulped as he looked at the weighted bar he had to lift.

However, thankfully, now he can use his magic to strengthen himself or this would not have ended well.

Both of them crouched down to bind the straps around their shoulders and back and tied them firmly.

Just as they were about to lift the bars, Richard and Ethan glanced at each other.

While slowly nodding Richard asked, "Let's do this?"

Ethan gave a firm nod before responding, "Let's do this!"

Richard instantly used enhancement, to strengthen his body. A rush of ether ran across his body, reinforcing his muscles and fortifying his bones.

With a jerk, he situated the bar over his shoulder and remained squatted. Once he ensured that the weighted bar wasn't falling he finally got up—evaluating the weight to be over two hundred kilograms.

He looked towards his left and found Ethan also got up, albeit with a little struggle.

Turning towards the beam, Richard heaved a sigh, and initiated detection.

Finally, he stepped on the beam and started walking on it. It was not as thin as it seemed from far away; however, if he had tried walking over it with this weight over his shoulder, he might not have been able to even stand on the beam properly.

Just as he took two steps, he sensed something flying in his direction from behind. Richard didn't panic and conjured a small barrier around his shoulder.

*CLANG*

The dart fell on the ground upon clashing against his barrier.

Hailey was surprised to see that the boy detected the dart so precisely and was also able to conjure the third spell, that is, the barrier.

And on the other side....after getting hit by the dart, Ethan lost his balance, and in a panic,

"urgh..."

He fell off just after taking three steps.

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.