Home / The Return Of The Exiled Villain / Chapter 156: The End Of The Semester (IX)

Continue on Novkyn

The Return Of The Exiled Villain

Chapter 156: The End Of The Semester (IX) · Oct 13, 2026

Prev Chapter Novel Info Next Chapter

Chapter List (460)

Page number / 10

151 Chapter 151: The End Of The Semester (IV) 2026-10-13
152 Chapter 152: The End Of The Semester (V) 2026-10-13
153 Chapter 153: The End Of The Semester (VI) 2026-10-13
154 Chapter 154: The End Of The Semester (VII) 2026-10-13
155 Chapter 155: The End Of The Semester (VIII) 2026-10-13
156 Chapter 156: The End Of The Semester (IX) 2026-10-13
157 Chapter 157: The End Of The Semester (X) 2026-10-13
158 Chapter 158: The End Of The Semester (XI) 2026-10-13
159 Chapter 159: The End Of The Semester (XII) 2026-10-13
160 Chapter 160: The End Of The Semester (XIII) 2026-10-13
161 Chapter 161: The End Of The Semester (XIV) 2026-10-13
162 Chapter 162: The End Of The Semester (XV) 2026-10-13
163 Chapter 163: The End Of The Semester (XVI) 2026-10-13
164 Chapter 164: The End Of The Semester (XVII) 2026-10-13
165 Chapter 165: The End Of The Semester (XVIII) 2026-10-13
166 Chapter 166: Seven Stars Ball (I) 2026-10-13
167 Chapter 167: Seven Stars Ball (II) 2026-10-13
168 Chapter 168: Seven Stars Ball (III) 2026-10-13
169 Chapter 169: Seven Stars Ball (IV) 2026-10-13
170 Chapter 170: Seven Stars Ball (V) 2026-10-13
171 Chapter 171: Seven Stars Ball (VI) 2026-10-13
172 Chapter 172: Seven Stars Ball (VII) 2026-10-13
173 Chapter 173: Seven Stars Ball (VIII) 2026-10-13
174 Chapter 174: Demon Converging Gourd 2026-10-13
175 Chapter 175: A Little Annoyance 2026-10-13
176 Chapter 176: A Date With Lyra (I) 2026-10-13
177 Chapter 177: A Date With Lyra (II) 2026-10-13
178 Chapter 178: A Date With Lyra (III) 2026-10-13
179 Chapter 179: A Date With Lyra (IV) 2026-10-13
180 Chapter 180: A Date With Lyra (V) 2026-10-13
181 Chapter 181: Before The Inter-Academy Exchange 2026-10-13
182 Chapter 182: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (I) 2026-10-13
183 Chapter 183: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (II) 2026-10-13
184 Chapter 184: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (III) 2026-10-13
185 Chapter 185: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (IV) 2026-10-13
186 Chapter 186: [Flashbacks] (I) 2026-10-13
187 Chapter 187: [Flashbacks] (II) 2026-10-13
188 Chapter 188: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (V) 2026-10-13
189 Chapter 189: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (VI) 2026-10-13
190 Chapter 190: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (VII) 2026-10-13
191 Chapter 191: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (VIII) 2026-10-13
192 Chapter 192: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (IX) 2026-10-13
193 Chapter 193: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (X) 2026-10-13
194 Chapter 194: One Last Date...? 2026-10-13
195 Chapter 195: Perhaps... A Last Goodbye? 2026-10-13
196 Chapter 196: Dante Vs Gray 2026-10-13
197 Chapter 197: The Purpose Of Living 2026-10-13
198 Chapter 198: A Flag That Was Finally Raised... 2026-10-13
199 Chapter 199: The Academy Of Sword & Magic 2026-10-13
200 Chapter 200: Meeting The Student Council 2026-10-13

”Phew... It’s finally ready,” Gray smiled lightly.

Claire immediately dimmed her flame, the orange glow fading from her fingertips. She exhaled in relief, only now realizing how mouth-watering the smell had become.

”Guys, the food is ready!” she called happily, grabbing three skewers with both hands. She passed two to Selina and Selene before plopping down beside them.

There was more than enough food, as Gray had prepared at least forty sticks, so each of them could easily devour five or more without worry.

”Mmmh! This is amazing!” Selene’s tail of hair practically bounced as she took another bite, her eyes sparkling in delight.

”No joke, this is really good,” Selina added, speaking with her mouth half-full.

Hearing their words, Leon pretended that he wasn’t curious... then casually walked over and took a skewer.

He took one bite, paused, and frowned.

”...It’s indeed good,” he didn’t want to admit, but still nodded lightly.

As for Lyra and Adrian... they were probably on their own world, but Gray didn’t give much thought.

He simply picked up the chunk of meat he’d saved and lifted it using a hardened string as a makeshift skewer, biting into it quietly.

’...No sauce, no wine, no herbs. Tragic.’ He clicked his tongue.

’I should’ve shoved at least one bottle of red wine into my dimensional storage. I need to expect these kinds of situations...’

Even while complaining, his cooking was quite solid.

A veteran knight had taught him wilderness survival, including how to roast everything from rabbits to wyverns. Compared to that, deer meat was embarrassingly easy.

However, unlike wyverns whose meat has a strong taste, it was quite lucky that Leon had found a creature similar to a deer.

’...Alright.’ Gray looked at the others, and seeing all of them distracted, he walked away from them.

Earlier, while following the smoke trail, he’d spotted something buried under a thick mound of snow: a strange purple door wedged into a tree, completely hidden... and therefore highly suspicious.

But he didn’t say anything, as it could be a hidden rewards room. And because of how greedy he was, he wanted everything to himself.

And this exact moment was the perfect opportunity for him to slip away. So he traced his steps back until he reached the large, crooked pine he remembered.

”...It should be around here.”

He approached a big tree and started digging in the snow with his hands. It was fucking freezing, but he didn’t exactly have a shovel...

”Ah, wait!”

He hardened his strings, weaving them into the shape of a shovel.

”Much better.”

Clunch!

He shoveled the snow aside rapidly, far faster than he could’ve done alone. And after a few minutes... There it was.

His grin widened.

”A hidden door in a tree, huh...?”

He glanced over both shoulders, making sure no one had followed him.

Then he raised both hands and wove a tight wall of invisible strings behind himself, blocking the view and muffling sound.

Only then did he grab the purple door’s handle and pull it open.

Thump.

After entering it, he clenched his fist, tightening the string-wall so it pressed the piled snow back into place, nearly restoring the original untouched look.

”No one should spot it now...” he muttered with a small, greedy smile.

He started looking around, and then his eyes widened in pure shock.

From the outside, the trunk had barely been wide enough for one person to squeeze through.

But inside... inside, it was a chamber large enough to fit an entire skyscraper.

The wooden walls stretched upward like pillars of some forgotten cathedral, roots winding along them like petrified serpents.

Luminescent white moss pulsed faintly with a heartbeat-like glow, casting soft ripples of light through the vast interior.

The air had a strange thickness, like he was walking through a place that didn’t fully belong to the world outside.

”...Spatial distortion,” he muttered to himself. ”Either an interior expansion... or a pocket space.”

He didn’t like either option.

”...Ah, fuck...”

He cursed as he looked upwards, just to see an enormous wooden stairway... and by the looks of it, he needed to climb it.

Instantly, he grabbed the hilt of his rapier and unsheathed it.

”Here we go...”

He approached the first step, boots scraping softly over the warped wood. The air shifted immediately, a faint ripple like breath brushing against his cheek.

Crackle... snap... fwsssh!

A brightening green light burst open around him.

Six figures materialized from the twisted walls as if the tree itself spat them out.

Their bodies were shaped as misshapen people, made entirely of bark and roots braided together.

Their hollow sockets burned with green flames, and jagged, branch-like claws extended from their arms.

Fwssshhhhh!

Before Gray could say anything, they lunged at him with blood in their eyes.

”...Treelings...? But what are those green flames?”

He jumped back slighly, before waving his left hand. Instantly, threads exploded from his fingertips in a wide arc, scattering like a fan of silver lines.

Fwip!

The moment the creatures’ claws touched the threads, they were sliced in half cleanly, even though the strings looked thin enough to snap.

The first creature’s torso fell backward while its legs collapsed forward, green flame sputtering as its body broke apart.

Another tried to grab him from the side; Gray swung his rapier sideways, catching the creature’s head with the flat side, only to let threads wrap around the blade like a second edge.

He twisted the blade of the rapier.

Crunch... rip!

The creature’s head dropped to the floor and rolled away.

Fwoop!

Two more came from above, leaping down from the roots overhead.

”Phew!” Gray ducked low and flicked several strings upward.

They tightened instantly, slicing through their limbs and leaving the bodies to crash onto the steps in broken pieces.

The fifth swung an arm made of thick, knotted wood at him.

Gray stepped into the attack instead of dodging, pressing one palm to its chest.

His threads burst outward from his hand, drilling directly into its torso. The creature’s body shook violently, the green flame inside flaring and then snuffing out with a quiet pop.

The last one tried to retreat, but Gray was already expecting this.

Wrap!

Gray yanked his threads, snagging its wooden neck like a noose.

With a sharp pull, he dragged the creature toward himself and thrust his rapier straight through its flaming core.

Fwshhh!

The green light sputtered out, and the bodies fell around him, turning into piles of black ash.

”...Early-advanced realm,” he muttered lighly.

”Annoying, not dangerous... if it’s these kinds of monsters until the end of the stairway, it shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

He stepped onto the next set of stairs and began climbing.

The higher he went, the hotter the air seemed to grow.

The light dimmed even more, giving the impression that the stairway was swallowing him whole.

By the time he reached the next landing, that same pulse in the air returned.

”...Again?”

The wooden floor cracked.

Fwsshh!

Six more tree-like creatures stepped forward, but they weren’t alone this time.

Behind them, three new beasts rose from the wooden ground like living shadows: wolf-shaped monsters, their fur made of writhing vines soaked in glowing green liquid.

Their eyes burned brighter than the tree-creatures, and their teeth were long, sharp, dripping with the same green flame.

”Intermediate... advanced realm?”

Seeing that there were more monsters than before, Gray didn’t wait for them to make the first move.

Snap!

The moment the wolves lowered their bodies to pounce, he snapped his fingers, causing strings to shoot outward in a wide burst.

Fwip, fwip!

The tree-creatures rushed at him first, trying to block the attack, but his threads cut through their arms and legs like wet paper.

Bark and roots scattered across the landing as two of them dropped instantly, their cores sliced apart before they even understood what happened.

”Growwl!!”

A wolf leaped over the falling bodies.

”Shit!” Gray twisted to the side, its claws scraping across the wooden floor where he had been standing a second earlier.

He swung his rapier upward, threads wrapping around the blade as he struck. The wolf tried to dodge, but his strings adjusted mid-swing, curving with the motion.

Splurt!

The blade split its jaw and cut straight through its burning core.

The wolf fell apart into green embers.

Another tree-creature tried to grab him from behind.

Gray didn’t even turn as threads burst from his back in a sharp wave, slicing through the creature’s chest.

Fwsh!

It collapsed without a sound.

The remaining wolf came fast, its green flame pulsing violently as it aimed for his throat.

Gray pushed forward instead of retreating, stepping into its path. He thrust his rapier straight ahead, but the wolf twisted in midair, its claws grazing his coat.

”Tsk,” He clicked his tongue, flipped the sword in his hand, and used his other palm to fire a fan of threads upward.

The wolf was still in the air, which was perfect for him, so he manipulated the threads so they would close around it like a cage.

He clenched his fist.

Crack—!

The threads tightened and tore through the beast’s core.

Thud!

The wolf’s body hit the ground in broken pieces.

Only one tree-creature remained. Gray dashed forward and cut its core cleanly with a single horizontal slice.

Splat!

”Phew...”

He stood in the middle of the landing, breathing a little heavier than before, looking down at the destroyed wolves.

Their burning cores flickered weakly, like dying lanterns.

But then, something clicked in his mind.

Slowly... painfully... a realization settled in.

”Don’t tell me...” he muttered.

His eyes widened as he looked at the next stairs above him.

”...don’t tell me it increases a minor realm each set of stairs?!”

A cold sense of dread crawled up his spine.

Prev Chapter Novel Info Next Chapter

Also worth opening

Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God Lucky Old Cat

Reborn As Super Heiress Mushuang

Supreme Star Card Master Cloud Camellia

Journey To Become A True God Darkforces

Shadow Slave Guiltythree

Chaotic Sword God Xin Xing Xiao Yao

Gravity Mage with Level-Up System Aravind_S

My Vampire System JKSManga

Martial God Asura Kindhearted Bee

Shadow Slave Guiltythree

Inheriting A Divine Cultivation Clan At The Start, All My Juniors Are Empresses Monkey Bread

Versatile Mage Chaos

Supreme Emptiness Heavenly Overlord

Ancient Godly Monarch Jing Wu Hen

Affinity: Chaos Springs_Halo