The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

"URGH..."

Swoosh~

Raye gritted his teeth, enduring the searing pain coursing through his body. He sat still, forcing himself to meditate through the storm of raging mana.

-...

-...

Zephyrus and Pyro, seeing his condition, halted their own training.

Instead, they focused on guarding him.

And so, time passed—

Seconds turned to minutes.

Minutes turned to hours.

One hour became two. Three. Four—

...

...

...

Until finally—

FWASH!

A final surge of energy rippled outward as Raye's body stabilized.

Five whole hours.

That's how long it took for him to fully absorb the pills' essences!

And the moment he did—

"Ugh... eyes... hea...vy..."

Thud—

He collapsed, passing out instantly.

-...

-...

Zephyrus and Pyro stared at his limp body.

-Bruh... This is basically a routine for him now.

-Meep...

The two sighed, unfazed.

They were used to Raye passing out now.

And then—

-Whatever. Let's just start.

-Meep!

They immediately got to work.

Cleaning.

A large, foul-smelling pool of blood had formed beneath Raye's body, staining the bed and furniture as well. His sweat was everywhere too.

It was the usual aftermath whenever Raye consumed multiple high-grade enhancement pills or strong herbs.

And as always—

Cleaning up after him had become Zephyrus and Pyro's job.

They don't find it hard nor disgusting so they never once complained about it.

After after tidying up the place—

-Let's start again.

-Meep!

The two returned to their training.

*****

The Next Day—

"Ugh..."

Raye's eyes fluttered open.

He was lying on the bed—placed there carefully by Zephyrus using wind magic yesterday after he passed out.

'I passed out again, huh.'

He thought to himself before slowly sitting up on the bed.

"Hm?"

He turned his head and saw Zephyrus and Pyro sleeping beside him.

A small smile formed on his lips.

"Thanks."

He muttered, reaching out and patting them gently.

Then, after stretching his sore body—

"I should get breakfast for us."

He stood up and headed out, making his way to the inn's restaurant to order food.

...

...

...

After sharing breakfast with Zephyrus and Pyro—

"Time to go."

Raye wasted no time and immediately set out with the two.

A single day of rest was enough for him to recover his stamina and strength.

'Lucian already knows that I'm here… and I know too that he sent some spies. I can feel their gazes.'

Raye thought, keeping a poker face.

Lucian miscalculated Raye's abilities right now and sent spies that are weaker than him in skills.

Anyway, it wasn't surprising that he was showing interest in Raye.

Lucian had his reasons.

But Raye wasn't interested in playing along. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

So for now—

"..."

He decided to act ignorant.

To avoid escalating things any further.

And with that—

Tap- tap- tap—

He strode toward his destination, keeping a steady pace.

-We're being followed.

-Meep.

Zephyrus and Pyro whispered to him.

And Raye, without even glancing back—

"Ignore them. They're just perverts."

He muttered that.

And with that, he picked up his pace.

*****

After A While Later—

'Hmm? Looks like I lost them.'

Raye thought, no longer feeling any eyes on him.

-They're gone, huh.

Even Zephyrus seemed to notice that.

Regardless—

"We're here."

Raye declared that.

And hearing his words—

-...?

-???

Zephyrus and Pyro tilted their heads, confused.

Because before them—

Was nothing but a dense forest.

A lush, overgrown woodland on the eastern side of Dravenhold City.

Except for its size of being slightly bigger that the Misty Forest, it's nothing special.

-'Even the mana surrounding it is weak...'

Zephyrus thought to himself.

-Are you sure there's a dungeon here?

Then he asked Raye that, skepticism in his tone.

-Meep...

Even Pyro seemed a bit doubtful about the idea.

But Raye, his confidence unwavering—

"Of course. Just follow me."

He responded without hesitation.

And that's right—they were here for a dungeon.

And unexplored one!

Raye had been planning this raid for five months now.

Back then, he knew it was too risky, it was basically impossible for him.

But now—

'I can do it.'

His eyes burned with certainty.

Raye had grown stronger.

His gear had improved.

His skills had expanded.

And so—

'Time to test everything in a real fight.'

This dungeon would be his proving ground.

Though, of course he was planning to take something too in the dungeon that he was looking for.

He's not just here to get experience.

*****

Setting foot inside the forest—

Tap- tap- tap—

Fwoosh~

The trio pushed forward, deeper and deeper.

They were searching.

Minutes turned into an hour.

An hour turned into two.

Then three.

And still—

Nothing.

-...

Zephyrus and Pyro were getting impatient.

Slowly, a thought crept into Zephyrus' mind—

-'How would he even know there's a dungeon here… if supposedly no one has ever entered it?'

He asked himself.

It just made no sense for him.

Tap—

"..."

Yet Raye kept walking.

His every step was firm. Confident. Certain.

Zephyrus hesitated, then he finally opened his beak—

He was about to tell Raye that they should head back.

But before he could even try to—

SWOOOSH—!!!

-Huh?!

-Meep?!

A sudden distortion rippled through the air!

The world around them shifted. Twisted. Warped!

And the next thing they knew—

"We're here. Get ready!"

Raye's voice rang out.

And then—

SWAAAAAAAHHHH—!!!

Their vision was flooded with pure white!

They couldn't see.

They couldn't move.

They couldn't even breathe.

-...

-...

Zephyrus and Pyro were confused, they don't know what to do.

Until—

-...?

-Meeep...?

Their sight returned not long after.

Their bodies loosened.

And as they opened their eyes...

-...

-...

They became speechless.

After all—

They were no longer in the forest from before.

Well, they were still in the forest, but it's completely different from where they were before.

How do they know?

Well...

First of all, the trunks of the trees are blue-green and their leaves look like cottons that are colored purple!

Second, the grass below them is the color red, as if it was stained with blood!

Then finally, third—The sky is bright pink with no clouds!

It looks like they were trapped in a drawing of a three year old child!

-This hurts my eye...

-Meep...

Zephyrus and Pyro grumbled with a frown on their faces.

On the other hand—

"We're here!"

Raye was celebrating, happy.