A Psychopath Reborn as a Third-rate Villain

The training hall fell into complete silence.

A strange distortion hung in the air where Andras and Romeo had been standing only moments earlier. The space twisted unnaturally, forming a dark, swirling opening surrounded by unstable mana. It resembled a hole torn into reality itself, yet nothing beyond it could be clearly seen.

Seraphina stared at it in disbelief.

"Andras..."

Her voice was barely audible.

A moment ago, he had been standing directly in front of Romeo. Now both of them were gone.

"What is that?" one of the students asked nervously.

No one answered.

Even Professor Valeria looked unsettled. She had fought countless battles and witnessed many unusual abilities throughout her career, but she had never seen anything like this.

Seraphina suddenly stepped forward.

"I’m going in."

She moved toward the strange opening. Valeria reacted immediately, catching her by the arm before she could get any closer.

"Seraphina, stop!"

"Let me go." Seraphina tried to pull free. "Andras is inside."

Her voice carried an unusual urgency. Valeria tightened her grip.

"We don’t know what’s inside that thing."

"I don’t care." Seraphina’s eyes remained fixed on the portal. "Andras is in there."

Her normally composed expression had disappeared. Concern was clearly visible in her eyes.

Valeria shook her head. "This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this. I don’t even know whether that thing is a portal, a spell, or some kind of spatial phenomenon. It could be dangerous."

"I know."

"Then you understand why I’m stopping you." Valeria’s voice grew firmer. "I don’t want you to go in there. I don’t want anyone to go in there. Whatever is on the other side could endanger your life."

Seraphina clenched her hands. "It doesn’t matter how dangerous it is. I’m going."

Before Valeria could respond, another voice came from behind them.

"Seraphina."

Aurelia stepped forward. Her expression was calm, but her eyes remained fixed on the strange opening.

"Don’t go."

Seraphina looked at her. "And why shouldn’t I?"

"Because you don’t know what’s waiting for you." Aurelia paused. "Andras is strong. If anyone can survive whatever is on the other side, it’s him. If you go in there without knowing anything about it, you might only make things worse. You could become trapped as well."

Seraphina looked at the portal again. Her fingers slowly loosened. She hated the idea of standing here while Andras was somewhere she couldn’t reach. But Aurelia was right. She didn’t know what was on the other side.

After several seconds, Seraphina finally stepped back.

Valeria released her arm. "Good." She looked toward the other instructors. "Nobody goes near it."

The students nodded.

The strange portal remained suspended in the center of the training hall, slowly rotating without making a sound. Valeria stared at it for several seconds, then turned toward the exit.

"I’m going to speak with the headmistress."

---

The news spread through Ambrose Academy before Valeria even reached the administrative building.

But the academy was not the only place where something strange had happened.

Across the world, similar phenomena began appearing.

In the middle of a busy city street, space suddenly twisted. People stopped walking as a dark opening formed above the ground.

"What the hell is that?"

"Run!"

"Is that magic?"

Nobody knew.

Outside another city, merchants watched in horror as a massive portal appeared beyond the walls. Guards immediately drew their weapons.

"Stay back!"

"Don’t approach it!"

Far away, deep within an elven forest, the same phenomenon appeared between ancient trees. The elves immediately surrounded it. Even their most skilled mages were unable to determine what had caused it.

One portal appeared.

Then another.

And another.

They emerged across the world without warning. No explanation accompanied them. No one knew where they led. No one knew why they had appeared.

And most importantly, no one knew what was waiting on the other side.

---

Andras opened his eyes.

For several seconds he did not move. His vision was blurry. He slowly raised himself from the ground and looked around.

Darkness.

Not complete darkness. A faint blue glow came from several strange crystals embedded in the walls. Stone corridors stretched in every direction, forming a long passage that disappeared into the distance. The air was cold and carried a faint metallic smell.

Andras stood. His eyes moved slowly across the surroundings. A narrow path stretched ahead, surrounded by rocky walls and strange crystals. There were no signs of civilization anywhere.

He remained silent for several seconds. Then a thought occurred to him.

This looks like a dungeon.

Andras had read countless descriptions of places like this in novels back on Earth—mysterious underground environments filled with monsters, treasures, traps, and powerful creatures.

But something did not make sense.

There were no dungeons in "Rise of the Sword Hero".

Andras had read the original novel carefully enough to remember its major events, from hidden inheritances to dangerous forests. Yet dungeons appearing out of nowhere had never been part of the story.

Andras’s eyes narrowed.

Interesting.

If this really was a dungeon, then there should be monsters. And probably a stronger monster deeper inside. He was not frightened. If anything, curiosity began replacing his initial confusion. Something had appeared that should not exist. That alone made it worth investigating.

Andras adjusted his grip on his sword and started walking. His footsteps echoed through the passage.

He had not walked far when a low growl came from ahead.

Andras stopped.

Several pairs of eyes appeared in the darkness. A group of creatures emerged from the shadows. They had gray, almost stone-like skin stretched tightly over hunched, muscular frames. Long, curved claws scraped against the ground as they moved, and their mouths opened to reveal rows of uneven, needle-sharp teeth. Their heavy, guttural breathing filled the passage, carrying a faint stench of damp earth and old blood.

Andras looked at them calmly.

So they really do exist.

The creatures suddenly charged.

Andras stepped forward. The first monster swung its claws toward his chest. He tilted his body slightly, allowing the attack to pass beside him, and cut through its neck with a clean horizontal slash. Before the body even reached the ground, another monster attacked from his right. Andras rotated his wrist, caught the incoming claw with the flat of his blade, redirected the force, and stepped inside its reach. His elbow struck its chest hard enough to disrupt its balance. The monster staggered. His sword followed immediately, piercing directly through its throat before it could recover.

He pulled the blade free and turned.

Three more creatures were approaching.

Andras did not retreat. He activated Echo Step. His body blurred. The nearest monster swung at empty air. Andras appeared behind it and severed its head in a single motion. Another lunged. He ducked beneath its claws, drove his shoulder into its abdomen to disrupt its balance, and finished it with a sharp diagonal slash that cut cleanly through its torso. Blood sprayed across the stone floor.

The final creature hesitated, then turned to flee.

Andras raised his sword. Mana began vibrating around the blade as Echo Resonance intensified until the weapon hummed with compressed energy.

"Execution Line."

A sharp shockwave tore through the passage. The monster was cut down before it could escape.

Silence returned.

Andras lowered his sword and looked at the bodies scattered around him. They were weak. Very weak. He had expected something more challenging. Still, they confirmed one thing.

This place had monsters.

And if this really was a dungeon, there was a good chance that stronger creatures existed deeper inside.

Andras continued forward.

---

Several minutes later, he heard the sound of battle.

A spell exploded somewhere ahead. Andras stopped. He recognized the mana signature immediately. It belonged to Romeo.

He followed the sound without making much noise. As he rounded a corner, he saw a familiar figure.

Romeo.

Monsters surrounded the young mage. He raised one hand, mana gathering around his palm and rapidly compressing under the effect of his talent. A monster lunged toward him. Romeo released the compressed mana. The blast struck the creature directly in the chest and sent it crashing hard against the wall. Another attacked from the side. Romeo blocked the claws with his sword, twisted his wrist to redirect the force, and released another compressed burst at point-blank range, throwing the monster backward with a sharp impact.

Romeo was fighting well.

Andras remained hidden behind the corner, watching silently. Romeo was focused entirely on survival. He had no idea Andras was there.

Andras’s gaze remained fixed on him.

A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

It was not a friendly smile.

It was cold.

Dark.

The kind of smile that would have unsettled anyone who happened to see it.

Andras had just realized something.

A dungeon had appeared in a world where no dungeon was supposed to exist. And somehow, he and Romeo had been sent inside together. That was already interesting.

But Romeo’s presence made the situation considerably more convenient.

Andras watched him fight another monster. His smile widened slightly.

Perhaps this unexpected situation wasn’t a problem after all.

Perhaps...

It was an opportunity.

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