The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

City of Dravenhold.

The capital.

The center of Alvah Dukedom.

That was where Raye was headed.

In short—

He was going straight into Alvah territory—the domain of the very family that had disowned him the moment he was transmigrated into this world!

'I don't know any of them personally.'

Raye thought to himself as he sat comfortably inside the carriage, his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular.

He was, of course, referring to the Alvah Family.

There was no anger toward them.

No hatred.

Not even the slightest attachment.

To him, they were nothing more than strangers.

Not family.

Never were.

He doesn't even know them personally!

The only thing Raye knows about them—

'Is that Leon would definitely fight them.'

Why, you ask?

Because in the game—

'Leon had discovered the truth... That the Alvah Family had turned their backs on the poor commoners...'

That the slums—overflowing with suffering and despair—had been left to rot by those in power.

That the Alvahs, rather than lifting a hand to help, had been taking advantage of them instead.

'Leon had learned this after graduating from the Academy, right as he set off on his journey.'

A journey to save the people.

A journey to defeat the Demon King.

'So, obviously… after learning about the situation in Dravenhold, he stepped up—like the hero he was.'

Raye muttered in his head as he recalled the events from the game.

There wasn't much else to do, anyway.

Traveling like this—sitting idly in a carriage—was beyond boring, I can't blame him.

The only real way to pass the time was to meditate... but Raye had done that dozens of times now, just for today!

Training?

Practically impossible.

The only chances he got to do anything meaningful were when they stopped to set up camp for the night or rested in cities to restock supplies.

And by now—

Raye had been traveling for a week, his situation had been like this fir a week now!

So, looking around—

'Hmm… what should I do?'

Raye asked in his head.

-me... eeep…

-Hm.. nmnh…

He saw Zephyrus and Pyro curled up beside him, fast asleep.

Exhausted.

They had burned through all their mana while training earlier.

"..."

Raye smiled slightly, seeing them.

'They're getting stronger.'

That thought alone made him feel at ease, happy even.

And so—

Opening his mouth—

"I should probably just continue my training too."

Raye mumbled that to himself.

And with a simple flick of his fingers—

Snap!

Fwish—

Three bluish pills materialized in front of him!

They were from his spatial ring.

Fwip—

Raye grabbed them immediately.

These were the last pills given to him personally by the Headmaster, Bryan Blackwood.

Their effects?

It refines one's mana!

The pills makes the mana flow smoother, purifies it, and even enhances one's body!

That's right—

These weren't just any enhancement pills...

They were high-grade and top quality!

"Man… he's really generous. Must be nice to have that much money to spare."

Raye muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the three bluish pills resting in his palm.

Then, before he got started—

"Hey, Joseph!"

He suddenly called out, raising his voice.

And from the outside—

"Y-Yes, Boss?!"

The lone bandit, Joseph, immediately responded, startled.

"I'm going to be in deep meditation. Drive carefully, more smoothly, and whatever happens—Don't come in... Unless I tell you to."

Raye emphasized every word.

And then—

"Or else, I'll fucking punch you."

He added casually, like it was a natural consequence.

Anyway, hearing his words—

"G-Got it, Boss!!"

Joseph replied in an instant.

No complaints. No hesitation. No arguments.

He wasn't about to test his luck.

And so, with that all settled now—

"Fuuuuuu…"

Raye let out a deep sigh, steadying himself.

And once again—

His gaze dropped to the pills in his hand.

'Welp… time to take drugs again, I guess?'

He thought with a slight frown on his face.

Then, without hesitation—

GULP—!

He swallowed all three pills at once!

And immediately—

SWOOOSH—!!!

A violent surge of mana erupted inside his body, coursing through his veins like a storm, running rampant!

"URGH?!!"

Raye groaned, his body instantly heating up from the sheer intensity.

But after going through this process more times than he could even count with his hands…

Raye reacted instantly—

Swoosh~

"Huuuuu…"

A deep, steady exhale.

And with absolute control, Raye began guiding and redirecting the overwhelming mana flow, spreading it evenly throughout his body!

Whooosh—!!

The pain remained.

His skin still burned.

Sweats still poured down his face.

Bloods still trickled from his nose, mouth, and ears.

But Raye—

"..."

He endured it all.

Calmly.

Unwavering.

After all—

His pain tolerance had skyrocketed after taking a lot of pills in the last five months!

At this point, Raye was already used to the absorption part of the enhancement pills!

'Hmm... I should probably buy stronger pills next...'

Raye thought as he meditated.

(He lowkey sounds like an addict...)

*****

Raye's journey continued.

And the next time that they stopped by a city—

He went straight to the best alchemist he could find.

"Give me the strongest enhancement pills you have."

Then he demanded that.

That was all he said.

And in the end—

It cost him over a hundred gold coins.

A ridiculous amount of money… but Raye didn't even hesitate.

(Yep, he's an addict now.)

He had one goal.

To get even stronger on his way.

And so, once again_

Swooosh~

He resumed his drug training.

Raye is doing it inside the carriage.

Every two days, he took one pill.

His body burned. His mana raged. But he endured it all.

And whenever they made stops—

He trains his body physically.

No excuses. No rest. No breaks.

Raye didn't stop.

He kept moving.

Pyro and Zephyrus also put the same effort in their training after seeing him do his best.

And just like that—

Before they even realized it—

It had been two weeks since the three of them left the academy.

And finally—

T A P—!

Raye, Pyro, and Zephyrus reached their destination.

The City of Dravenhold.

In the middle of the Alvah Dukedom.

"C-Can I go now...?"

Oh, and Joseph was still with them...