The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

"DEVIN! DEVIN! DEVIN!—"

"CONGRATS!!!"

"I KNEW YOU WOULD WIN!"

"UGH...! HEALER SIR, MY EARDRUMS POPPED AGAIN!!!"

The audience roared upon the announcement of Devin’s victory.

The match lasted for barely three minutes, but the exchanges were so tense that everyone went silent throughout the fight!

They only let out a sound when they cheered for Devin!

’Man, this is nice.’

Devin thought to himself.

And with that—

Tap- tap- tap—

He started walking down the arena.

Though, before he could even leave—

"Where are you going?"

Charles asked him that.

"Huh?"

Devin stopped in his tracks and looked back at his professor, confused.

Then—

"You will be awarded here and now by the headmaster." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Charles casually declared that!

"?!"

Devin’s eyes widened as he heard that.

Then, before he could even respond—

"Good work out there."

He heard a voice in front of him!

And when he looked at the source of it—

"Ah..."

Devin saw Brian Blackwood, the Headmaster, standing dignified just a few inches away from him!

"Let’s go to the middle, shall we?"

Brian asked Devin, a big smile on his face.

’Hah! See this, you suckers from the other academies? We’re still the strongest!’

This was what was in the Headmaster’s mind at the moment, by the way.

Anyway...

"Oh, okay."

Devin responded to Brian and complied.

Tap- tap- tap—

The two of them walked to the middle of the arena.

"..."

Charles bowed his head to Brian as a greeting, then, after grabbing Rickrey by the neck—

Bam-

He jumped down with him from the arena!

Tap-

Brian, with Devin on his right side, then faced the crowd.

"..."

The students went silent as his overwhelming presence covered the whole area.

"Ahem..."

Brian let out a fake cough, his voice echoed and were heard by everyone.

Then, with a deep breath—

"As all of you know, this tournament is not only a test of strength but also a test of perseverance, skill, and resolve!"

His voice boomed, carrying a weight that made the students straighten their backs!

"And today, Devin Dustin has proven himself in all of these aspects!"

Brian declared.

"WHOOOOOOAHHH!!!"

"DEVIIIIN!!"

"CONGRATULATIONS!!!"

The students cheered again, but with a simple raise of Brian’s hand—

Fwip-

"Oof..."

"Uup...!"

"..."

They went silent.

’See this people from the other academies? Our students are the best!’

Brian nodded his head in satisfaction.

Then, opening his mouth again—

"In recognition of his efforts, I am awarding him a third-tier scholarship. And, as of this moment, he will join the ranks of the S-Class!"

Brian announced that with a smile!

"!!!"

Gasps of shock filled the stadium.

And before anyone could react further—

Brian turned to Devin.

"You’ve earned this. Make the most of it."

He said!

Fwip-

Brian extended his hand.

Devin looked at it, then—

Clasp—

He shook it.

"WAAHHHH!!!"

The crowd erupted once more!

And at that moment—

’My first step.’

Devin Dustin had made his first move in reviving his household!

*****

"Wow, Devin’s our classmate now."

Lycus mumbled after hearing Brian’s announcement.

"Yeah..."

Raye replied.

’In the game, the S-Class only have ten students until the end of the story.’

He thought.

"Guess he’s an anomaly now like me, huh."

Then he whispered that to himself, wearing a smile.

Anyway...

"Well, he’s as strong or even stronger than our classmates, so I already expected this to happen sooner or later."

Lena said that.

"That’s true, you three aren’t far from each other in terms of strength too."

Jerusha commented.

"Aren’t you guys glad? You three are together now in S-class!"

Sofia added.

"Ugh, you four are classmates... I’m jealous."

And then she followed that.

"Me too, if only I was a grade lower..."

Jerusha mumbled.

She was slightly glancing at Raye when he said that.

Then, together with Sofia—

"Haaaaa..."

They let out a sad sigh.

...

*****

"Guys, I’m back!"

Devin exclaimed with a smile as he arrived where his friends were.

"Good job out there."

Raye greeted him.

"Yeah, congrats, Devin."

Lena said, smiling.

"You were amazing in that fight."

Lycus commented.

"You totally dominated him. That was insane!"

Sofia chimed in.

"As expected of someone joining S-Class."

Then, Jerusha said with a smirk.

"Haha, thanks, everyone."

Devin scratched the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed by all the praise.

"I really appreciate your support."

He said.

And while blushing—

"I’m glad I met you all."

He declared that!

"Hehe..."

Jerusha giggled happily.

Sofia grinned.

Raye, Lycus, and Lena just smiled.

They were happy to hear such words from Devin.

Anyway, embarrassed...

Fwip—

Devin plopped down onto his seat, beside Raye.

And at that moment—

Tap—

Brian, the Headmaster, took a step forward, still standing atop the arena.

"..."

The entire stadium fell silent again, all eyes fixed on him.

"Now, before we conclude this tournament..."

Brian’s deep voice echoed through the place again.

"I would like to remind you all of something important."

His gaze swept over the students.

"As you know, our academy does not exist in isolation. We stand alongside three other great institutions, each filled with students who, like you, strive to be the best!"

He announced.

A friendly competition between the four academies...

It was an unspoken battlefield where pride, strength, and prestige were at stake.

"Every now and then, we test our mettle against them."

Brian continued, his tone calm yet commanding.

"And this year will be no different!"

The students listened intently.

Some clenched their fists in anticipation.

Others swallowed nervously.

"Make no mistake, this is not just about winning."

Brian said. He didn’t mean it—it was all about winning for him.

He was just saying all these flowery words to annoy the other academies!

Then, with a mischievous smirk on his face—

"This is about proving that our academy—your academy—is still the greatest!"

He boldly announced that!

"..."

And the spirits of the students of Zion ignited in silence!

Brian used this opportunity to annoy the competing academies while also encouraging his students!

It was hitting two birds with one stone!

’Ahh, this feels good.’

Brian thought with a sly smile.

Everyone thought he was done with his speech.

But then, opening his mouth again...

"Ah, one more thing."

Brian remembered something.

And casually—

"The second part of the competition between the elite classes will also be a tournament like this one, just with different rules."

He dropped that news!

"Wha?!"

"Huh?!"

Everyone was surprised, of course.

They had expected the next part to be another round of monster hunting!

"I know what you guys were expecting, but because someone went the extra mile and eliminated half the competitors... We, along with the other three academies, decided to speed things up with this."

Brian explained, glancing at Raye with a smile mid-speech.

And upon hearing his words...

Fwish—

"..."

Everyone’s eyes turned to Raye!

’Ugh, this would’ve happened even without me! Leon and the others still would’ve eliminated half of them!’

Raye exclaimed in his head.

Anyway, continuing...

"It’ll start the day after tomorrow, and the rules will be announced on the same day."

Brian said that.

Then—

"That’s all, you’re all dismissed."

He followed up and simply started walking away!

"..."

Leaving the students speechless!

Though—

"WAAHHH!!!"

"ANOTHER TOURNAMENT LIKE THIS!!!"

They later started celebrating in excitement!

"After watching Devin win, I’m getting fired up for this."

Lycus said as a smile threatened to appear on his face.

"This will be an interesting one..."

Lena muttered, her eyes gleaming. She was excited to fight too.

"Good luck, you guys!"

Sofia shouted in a cheerful voice.

"We’ll be there cheering for you!"

Jerusha was excited for Raye and the others too.

Meanwhile—

"..."

Raye just kept silent.

But cracking his neck—

’Hmm, time to make a name for myself, huh.’

He declared that in his head!

Just then...

"Aren’t you excited, Raye?"

Devin asked.

"Huh?"

Raye looked at him.

Then, thinking about it...

"Well, it does excite me a bit."

He mumbled.

Moving on...

Tap— Tap— Tap—

The students began filing out of the venue, still buzzing with excitement about the upcoming event.

And as Raye and the others saw that—

They exchanged glances.

"...We should probably leave and prepare."

Lena spoke.

"Yeah."

"I agree."

The others replied.

And with that...

They decided to leave too.

...

As they were walking—

"Maybe it’ll be a team battle?"

Lena suggested that.

"They wouldn’t just repeat a one-on-one tournament, right?"

"I don’t think they’d make it that simple."

Jerusha and Sofia added.

"There’s gotta be a twist."

Lycus mumbled.

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

Devin nodded.

Then, stretching his arms—

"Well, whatever it is, we’ll just deal with it when the time comes."

Raye casually said that.

"Ehh, true."

"We wouldn’t even know if we guessed right."

The others responded with a shrug.

"Anyway, we should probably train tomorrow."

Lycus suggested, looking at Raye and Devin.

The two looked back at him.

"Hmm... I’m down."

Devin replied.

"Same here."

Raye simply followed.

They continued walking down the path, the cool breeze brushing against their faces.

Then—

Fwip—

Raye suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Hm?"

The others looked at him, confused.

"Something wrong?"

Jerusha asked.

"I just remembered..."

Raye muttered.

"...?"

The others waited for him to continue.

Then, after a short pause...

"Kyle said we should go to the shop after this to celebrate. He was confident Devin would win, so yeah... He prepared something."

He said that!

And happily—

"Alright!"

"Free food!"

"What are we waiting for? Let’s go!"

They all headed to Kyle’s shop.