The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

(Raye's POV)

"We're here!"

I exclaimed with excitement, my eyes scanning the surroundings.

Everything around me was vivid—almost too vivid.

'It hurts my eyes…'

Still, I couldn't help but feel a surge of relief.

I finally found it.

The rift dungeon.

In the game, this was the dungeon that Leon stumbled across while being chased by city guards, under Lucian's orders.

Leon was seen as a threat—

He was rallying people, convincing them to rise up against Lucian—against the Alvah Family.

And then, by what seemed like pure coincidence, Leon ended up in this forest. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Though, it wasn't just any forest.

As he ran, desperately fleeing—

'He felt a sudden wave of intense mana… then everything went white.'

And when his vision returned—

He was here. Inside this dungeon.

It was where Leon trained, and where he got significantly stronger.

Because—

Time here flows twelve times slower.

"A year of training here will be just a month outside."

I clenched my fists, whispering to myself.

Though to everyone else, it'll look like I've only been gone a month—

'For me, an entire year will pass.'

Me, Pyro, and Zephyrus...

We'd be isolated here.

Far from the outside world.

Focused solely on getting stronger.

I already explained everything of this to them before.

No secrets.

No surprises.

And now—

-...

-...

Zephyrus and Pyro were quiet.

Probably mentally preparing themselves for the long haul ahead.

'I'll let them be for now.'

I thought.

But just as the silence settled—

BOOOOM!!

-GRAAAAAHHHHH!!!

A monstrous roar tore through the air.

-...?!

-Meep?!

Zephyrus and Pyro were surprised.

"?!"

My eyes snapped open, head turning instinctively toward the sound—Behind me.

And there—

-GRAAAHHHHHH!!!

I saw it.

A towering, three-headed Petalvex Hydra.

Its massive form loomed over us—

Each head blooming from a massive, carnivorous flower.

The petals shimmered with unnatural colors.

Each of its head released a different magical effect, sleep, paralysis, frenzy, hallucination, and many others.

And the worst part?

The more heads it has, the stronger it gets.

Cutting one off only causes two more to grow back—

Unless it's scorched with fire.

Fortunately—

"I'm great at handling fire."

I whispered, pouring mana into [Celestria]—

FWISH—

The ring shifted, transforming into a beautiful white gun.

"[Blaze]"

I muttered.

SWAAAAHHHHH—

A violent flame roared to life, dancing along the length of my gun.

Fwip—

I raised the gun, gripping it with both hands and aiming straight at the Hydra.

-GRAAAHHHHHH!!!

The beast shrieked and charged, its flowered heads flailing wildly, reacting to the fire in my hand.

I stayed calm.

I held my ground.

"..."

I aimed straight at its huge body—right into the carnivorous flower.

And then—

Click—

I pulled the trigger.

SWOOOSH—

A thin, concentrated beam of fire shot out of its muzzle.

PSH!

It pierced the center of the Hydra's body with surgical precision.

And as soon as it did—

B O O O M—!!!

The impact ignited the monster completely.

SWAAAAHHHHH—

The flames erupted, devouring its entire body.

-KIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE—!!

The Hydra shrieked in pain.

BOOM!

BAM!

BOOM!

It flailed and smashed around, desperately trying to put the fire out.

It crashed into trees and rocks, but—

'My fire's not that weak.'

I declared silently, watching the chaos.

And then, soon—

THUD!

Its colossal body collapsed.

Dead.

Still burning.

SWAAAAHHH—

The intense fire clung to its corpse, refusing to die out.

And seeing that—

I turned to Pyro and Zephyrus.

"Let's get out of here. The noises it made and the smoke will attract more monsters here."

I said.

I looked straight into their eyes.

'They've already made up their minds.'

I muttered in my head seeing their resolved look.

-Got it.

-Meep!

Zephyrus and Pyro responded without hesitation.

And with that—

"Let's go."

T A P—

We vanished into the dungeon's depths.

Our year of isolation and training had begun.

*****

Tap— tap— tap—

"..."

The three of us moved deeper into the forest dungeon, our footsteps light but deliberate.

Thick vines curled along the ground, and vibrant blue moss glowed faintly beneath our feet.

As we walked—

'Let's see…'

My eyes flicked to the bluish system window floating in front of me.

=====

Achievement: Discovered an unexplored dungeon!

-----

Reward: +5 points to all stats!

=====

"Nice."

I muttered under my breath, a slight smile tugging at my lips.

That stat boost—

It might not look like much, but it's the equivalent of using five high-grade enhancement pills.

After reaching an overall rank of [B-], raising my stats had become noticeably harder.

So yeah—

This was definitely a good thing.

-I'm sensing four monsters heading toward us. At terrifying speed.

Zephyrus then spoke suddenly, his voice calm as always.

He was perched on my right shoulder, his small form steady despite our movement.

He had been spreading his wind magic out like a radar, scanning every living thing around us.

"Which direction are they coming from?"

I asked, glancing at him.

And without pause—

-East.

Fwish—

I instantly turned toward the direction he indicated.

"Pyro."

I called.

-Meep!

Pyro chirped, already knowing what I was about to ask.

Fwip—

I gripped the white gun, [Celestria], in my left hand and inhaled.

Then, opening my mouth—

"[Fuse]"

I muttered that.

-Meep!

Pyro let out a cheerful sound—

Whoosh~!

Then his small, fiery body disassembled into dozens of glowing orbs!

Each one radiates warmth and light!

Swish—

The orbs circled around me in graceful patterns.

And then—

WHIP!

They surged into the gun!

Fwish~

And it started transforming again!

SWAAAHH—

The gun was engulfed in calm, flickering flames.

The sleek white design morphed into dark red metal, with glowing ember lines etched across the surface.

Small flares of fire flickered along its frame, the barrel now resembling a roaring flame.

And even though I'd seen this a few times while traveling—when Pyro and I practiced this—

"..."

I was still speechless.

It still looked insanely cool.

But then, as I was admiring my weapon—

BAAAM!!

-GRAAAAHHHH!!!

-GRRRRR!!!

A monstrous rumble echoed out—

Four Glimmerfang Basilisks charged through the thick brush, heading straight for us.

They were large, lizard-like beasts, their bodies covered in crystalline scales that shimmered like diamonds.

Their eyes glowed unnaturally—

One glance, and you risked temporary blindness or hallucinations.

Fwip—

I raised my gun calmly as a response after seeing them, my breathing steady.

'I need to kill them before they get close.'

I thought.

And with that—

Click—

I pulled the trigger.

PSH!

-KIEK?!!

A thin, high-speed beam of fire shot from the muzzle, piercing straight through the first basilisk.

THUD-

It dropped immediately, its body collapsing with a dull sound.

Then following that—

PSH! PSH! PSH!

I fired three more times in rapid succession!

There was no delay, no chanting, no cooldown!

Just fast, clean, precision firepower!

-KIEEEEEEEKK?!!!

Each shot found its mark!

And just like that—

THUD!

All four Glimmerfang Basilisks were down.

Their bodies lay still.

Burned, silent.

I lowered my gun slightly.

"Hmm, that was easy."

I whispered to myself, my voice quiet in the now-still air.

When I fuse Pyro with [Celestria], the weapon's normal attacks become like laser shots—

Fast. Precise. Deadly.

Sure, the firepower isn't as explosive as when I use [Blaze]

But the speed and consistency?

Still terrifying.

And if I load stronger fire spells as bullets—

They get enhanced even further.

"Hmm, I should try stronger spells next time."

I mumbled.