I Have 10,000 SSS Rank Villains In My System Space

Razeal returned to Levy's shop again. As he had already slipped into his black robe and mask after leaving the academy. The moment he left campus, a sense of eagerness bubbled in his chest. He didn't waste any time. No detours. No unnecessary thoughts. All that mattered was getting back to training.

This time, however, he didn't sneak in through the back window. There was no need. The theatrics of his first visit were purely symbolic a gesture to give the mysterious "boss" an impactful entrance. That moment had already passed.

So, without hesitation, Razeal pushed open the front door and stepped inside.

Just as he entered, he caught sight of Levy behind the counter, deep in conversation with a customer.

"Sir Joy," the customer said, voice respectful, "these arrows... truly remarkable. I've never seen anything like them. Would you be willing to share the blueprint or the process behind their creation? I'd offer you 40% royalty on every sale I make from my own materials. You wouldn't have to lift a finger just the technique alone would be enough. And, if necessary, I'm willing to sign a lifelong contract guaranteeing you my strength and protection."

The man speaking was tall at least 6'2 with a massive greatsword strapped to his back. His red coat and disciplined appearance made him stand out, not just in size but in demeanor. Neatly groomed hair and beard, a polished aura of authority.

Levy, ever the professional, replied with his usual polite smile. "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't have the right to reveal that information. I'm simply the salesperson. The one who designed these arrows is the actual distributor, and as I'm sure a seasoned adventurer like yourself would understand, such knowledge isn't something easily disclosed."

He paused, reaching under the counter and producing a distinct spaceal pouch. A subtle emblem glinted on its surface.

The customer's eyes narrowed slightly. He recognized the symbol instantly Arkanveil Academy.

A flicker of understanding crossed his face. "Imperial Academy?" he muttered to himself, realizing the significance. Whoever had crafted these arrows was either a current student or a former elite of Arkanveil. And the fact that such a person had handed over one of the academy's special pouches to a simple shopkeeper... that meant Levy was trusted. Deeply. This wasn't just a random business relationship this was someone investing in building a big business, maybe even a brand.

"You've tested the arrows," Levy said, smoothly shifting the conversation back. "So what price do you have in mind?"

"You originally asked for five third-rank elemental cores and five monster cores," the red-coated man replied. "Though I have to admit I wasn't sure why you included monster cores. I assume it's some kind of enhancement? Still, collecting two thousand third-rank monster cores would've been nearly impossible in one day."

He reached into his cloak and placed a thick pouch on the counter.

"So instead, I've brought you five fourth-rank monster cores. Easier to secure in quality than to hunt thousands for quantity. I figured that was the smarter route. Will it do?"

Standing near the entrance, Razeal paused. His eyes narrowed slightly beneath the mask.

Wait a minute... Didn't I ask for just two elemental cores and monster cores?

Razeal didn't recall ever increasing the request to five. But then again he wasn't about to complain. If Levy could get more value for the same deal, it was just more resources for him.

Profit was profit.

Levy glanced down at the special pouch, unsure of what to do. The boss had clearly instructed him to prioritize quantity but this was quality. As he hesitated, his eyes landed on a familiar figure standing silently by the door.

Razeal stepped farther into the shop, letting the door click shut behind him.

"Oh! Boss, you're back," Levy said, surprised. He hadn't even noticed Razeal arrive.

"Take it," Razeal said simply. "And meet me in the room after you're done."

Without offering any further explanation, he turned and began walking toward the stairs.

"Alright, boss," Levy replied with a nod, reaching for the pouch to inspect the contents.

Jonithon, the man in the red coat, narrowed his eyes at the exchange. "Boss?" he repeated quietly to himself. He turned to look at the hooded figure in the black robe. The ghost mask obscured everything but the man's eyes, and even those revealed nothing.

Odd. Jonithon couldn't sense a single trace of mana or aura from him. Not even a heartbeat. That shouldn't have been possible. As a sensitive, high-ranked adventurer, he could usually detect even the most subtle of fluctuations. But here nothing. Absolute silence.

This guy… he's using a concealment technique beyond anything I've ever heard of. It's not just hiding his mana… it's muting his entire presence.

What kind of technique is that?

If he's the one supplying these arrows or even the one who created them it would make sense why he's hiding his identity.

As the masked man passed by, Jonithon extended a polite hand. "Hello, I'm Jonithon. Professional adventurer.."

But the man didn't even glance at him.

Razeal walked right past as if he didn't exist.

Jonithon froze mid-sentence, his hand still extended. Slowly, he lowered it back to his side. His face showed no expression, but his eyes remained fixed on the man climbing the stairs.

The arrogance? I'm a peak 4th-ranked adventurer. He should be able to sense my aura…

Then something clicked. He turned quickly, eyes narrowing.

No footsteps.

Even the man's robe, flowing through the air, made no sound. Not even a whisper.

That's not possible. Something moving like that should at least rustle. Just who the hell is he…?

Jonithon watched until the mysterious masked man disappeared at the top of the stairs.

He turned back to Levy, who had already finished counting the cores and was now silently watching him.

They locked eyes. Neither said a word.

Jonithon wasn't embarrassed. Just thoughtful.

Breaking the silence, Levy spoke. "Elemental cores are exactly two thousand. As for the monster cores you've provided five 4th-ranked ones. It be only four needed."

"Consider the fifth a bonus," Jonithon replied. "A gesture of good faith, since I couldn't provide two thousand 3rd-rank cores like you initially requested. Or… take it as a token of friendship."

Levy gave a calm smile and reached under the counter. He pulled out a prepared bundle of arrows.

"Here.. three hundred ninety-eight arrows. Third-rank. Two were already used during testing."

Jonithon nodded and took the bundle, placing it into a specialized pouch attached to his belt. Then he extended his hand once more this time toward Levy.

Levy didn't hesitate. He shook it without issue.

A brief, silent handshake between two professionals. Business was done.

***

Five minutes later...

Razeal stood in his room, the door shut behind him, holding five 4th-ranked elemental cores in his hands C-rank, by system classification. Well levy had just handed them over. In return, Razeal had used the 2,000 3rd-ranked elemental cores to fuse with basic 1st-ranked arrows new via the system's Automatic Blacksmith function, creating D-rank arrows. Those arrows went straight back to Levy for sale.

Levy looked mildly dissatisfied, So Razeal promised him a decent illusion skill as a reward next time he did a good job.

Not that it mattered now.

Razeal didn't waste any more thought on it. He stared at the five dark black cores in his palm, ready to absorb them all at once without hesitation.

But then, a memory flashed in his mind: Professor Thalia's lecture. Her words echoed. Something about mana overload, explosions, mana regeneration, absorption limits...

"System," Razeal asked cautiously, "absorbing all these high-rank cores at once I'm not gonna explode, right? She mentioned something about mana regeneration issues and all."

[No need to worry, host,] the system answered promptly. [Your talent and body constitution are far beyond standard parameters. You possess the highest-ranking talent in the entire dark faction. Absorbing dark mana won't harm you. Your resistance and internal control far exceed what these cores can produce. It honestly doesn't matter for you. Absolute dark genius is broken talent beyond you can comprehend now. You will understand this in further farr future.]

[However, I must remind you: this world lacks ambient dark mana. You cannot regenerate mana naturally here like others can. Your only sources are monster cores or time spent in the system space, which contains ambient dark mana.]

Razeal had been half-expecting the system to tell him to go visit the villains inside the system space for Consultation, but this was better.

Still, the revelation stung. No natural regeneration? That could be a serious problem in a drawn-out battle. If he ran dry mid-fight, there'd be no refilling unless he had monster cores ready.

"Better start stockpiling," Razeal muttered to himself.

Then

Without hesitation, he closed his eyes and activated the absorption process.

Immediately, a familiar cool sensation wrapped around him. It felt like fog rolling over his skin cold, smooth, and unrelenting. The dark mana surged into him with chilling calm escaping from these small tennis ball sized cores in his hands as they started fadding there dark colour.

Within seconds, all five cores turned into clear, empty husks completely drained.

[You have absorbed five C-grade monster cores (Fourth Rank).]

[Dark mana successfully absorbed: 100%.]

[New Affinity Unlocked: Blood Affinity (Light Medium).]

[Increased Light Medium blood affinity after absorption.]

[Increased Light Medium blood affinity after absorption.]

[Host Mana (MP) Stat Updated.]

[From Mana: D- ➔ C (408,236/ One Million)]

Razeal shook off the euphoric haze that always came after absorbing dark mana. His mind snapped to the notifications.

What grabbed his attention the most was the mana stat update. He could feel the difference. His mana pool had expanded massively like a well turning into a lake. The raw size of it felt unreal. His reserves had multiplied hundreds of times. Like just transformating into an ocean

But something felt off.

"Wait a second... System, didn't I only need 10,000 mana points to rank up from D to C?"

He tried to piece it together.

A normal D-rank core gives 1,000 MP. As 1,000 point is supposed to be all mana pool of everyone mana pool size . which is universal .

To reach C-rank, he needed ten times that ...means 10,000 MP.

So ten D-rank cores, and boom welcome to C-rank right?.

Then why the hell was the system asking for 100,000 MP just to enter C ranked? Not to say Needs Million MP for passing C to B-Rank?

Razeal frowned, feeling like he'd just been slapped with a cosmic tax bill.

"Is the system scamming me or what?" he asked aloud, half-joking but only half.

[Host, the Fourth Rank is a special threshold. To reach it, people typically need ten times the mana they'd expect to. Yes, you're right normally, C-rank should require 1,000 MP to enter. But in reality, breaking into this rank requires at least 10,000 MP. That's why it's called a qualitative leap. And because your body requires ten times the mana a normal person does an advantage, not a flaw you need a full 100,000 MP to advance to C rank.]

(The mana you required for every upgrade)

F: (0/100) — 10 MP from 1 F-rank core (Full amount of mana a normal universal person carry[Core*])

E: (0/1,000) — 100 MP from 1 E-rank core

D: (0/10,000) — 1,000 MP from 1 D-rank core

C: (0/1,000,000) — 100,000 MP from 1 C-rank core

B: (0/10,000,000)

[That's your simple progression chart.]

[But in normal terms, it's not cheating. You now possess the mana quantity and density of a Low B-rank. It's just your official rank label still says C.]

Razeal narrowed his eyes, digesting the explanation.

"So I've got 408,236 MP now… Damn."

"Wait, why is it 408,236? I absorbed five C-ranked cores, right? Shouldn't it be a perfect 500,000 MP?"

[Correct but that be if all of those C-ranked monster cores were at peak rank. But some were lower tier. So even if you absorbed 100% of the mana, you'd only get the much it was inside core.] the system explained.

"I see, I see. That makes sense." Razeal rubbed his chin.

But them

He blinked, almost stunned. "Wait, how much did I have before again?"

[You had 3,000 MP with D-rank mana, Host.]

"Goddamn… that's more than a hundred times increase."

His heart thudded.

Damm this almost felt easy as fuck.

He still had six days before the duel. With this rate, he could easily surpass a ten of million MP before then. Maybe even hit early B-rank or A- Rank. The thought sent a rush through his chest, but he kept it cool on the outside.

Cough. "This is kinda embarrassing," he muttered to himself. "Getting all excited over this. It's just hard work paying off."

Then his gaze shifted to the notifications blinking at the edge of his vision.

[New Affinity Unlocked: Blood Affinity (Light)]

Blood affinity? He frowned. That was… new.

"What does that even do?" he wondered aloud. A memory popped into his mind an old literature or novels he'd read as a kid in his past life. Vampires. Blood magic. Control over life force itself? Night creatures..

Ohh now he think about it he haven't heard anything about vampires in this world? Does this World doesn't know?..He blinked

"Is this like… vampire shit?" he asked the system.

[Go find out yourself, Host.]

"Tch. Sometimes I swear you're on your periods," Razeal muttered. No reply came from the system.

"Screw it, I'm too hyped. Let's figure out these affinities first."

He had three right now: Shadow Affinity, Necrotic Affinity, and now Blood Affinity. Technically, the strongest one he had right now was blood he'd just absorbed five C-rank monster cores with that property. His Shadow Affinity only came from one D-rank and one E-rank core. Necrotic came from a mix of E-rank scraps.

Still, that wasn't what was driving him now. What he needed to know, had to know, was what shadow affinity could really do.

It had been more than a day and a half since that curiosity had sunk its claws into him. And it hadn't let go.

he was desperate to know what Shadow Affinity could do. That curiosity is eating him from within.

"I can increase any affinity I want," he told himself. "I just need C-ranked monster cores with shadow affinity."

Blood could wait. Shadow came first. First come, first served that was Razeal's mindset now.

He turned to the system.

"Find me an SSS-ranked Villain Space that has the best and fastest growth potential for Shadow Affinity."

[Understood, Host.]

---

Phew, finally it's done.

Thanks for reading, everyone. And if anyone's wondering how long it takes me to write a single chapter… this one took over 3 hours. Maybe more in minutes. I don't man even know I'm just slow as fuck. And that's not even counting the time it takes to edit everything afterward.

It's not easy. Sigh. That's why I haven't been able to find much time lately not because i am lazy now. I used to be able to put in 7–8 hours no problem, but now things are just… messed up. Life's busy.

Still, I'm giving it everything I've got. Trying to complete this story atleast.

Thanks again for sticking with me.

2,577 words~

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