The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

Now that they don't have stocked meat and food—

A new routine had been added to the trio's daily life.

In the morning, as soon as they woke up.

The three of them would eat breakfast.

And after resting for just a little bit—

"Let's go."

-Yeah.

-Meep!

Raye, Zephyrus, and Pyro would leave their camp to explore and hunt monsters.

They didn't hunt too many, since they couldn't process all the corpses fast enough for meat.

The dead bodies of monsters would attract others, and their location would be revealed.

So every day—

The three of them hunted only a few monsters, just enough for the day.

They'd simply repeat the same tomorrow.

And aside from that—

Their other routines and their goal remained the same as ever.

Not a single thing had changed.

They still trained all day with little rest—only pausing to eat, meditate, and sleep.

They were still aiming to become far stronger than they already were.

It was almost surprising that none of them had gone insane yet, considering how things were going.

And although none of them spoke about it—

"..."

-...

-...

Raye, Zephyrus, and Pyro missed the others.

Raye especially miss Jerusha.

But even so—

Their life continued like this.

The three of them trained, hunted, trained again, then hunted again.

Again.

And again.

And again...

That's just how things went.

...

...

...

And just like that—

Another month passed.

...

...

...

Then another.

And during their third month in this dungeon—

Raye began taking drugs (Enhancement Pills and Herbs).

He had bought a bunch of them beforehand.

Now, Raye took anywhere from one to five pills daily.

He pretty much looked like an addict at this point.

Though in truth, Raye wasn't actually addicted to using the pills...

He didn't like their taste, nor the process of absorbing them.

The only reason he kept using them—

"URRRGH...?!!"

Was because of their effects.

It was the only thing left that could still make him stronger.

Because officially—

"..."

'My body is done.'

Raye had reached the limit of what his body could achieve through training alone.

...

*****

...

More time passed.

And now—

It had been exactly five months now since Raye, Zephyrus, and Pyro entered the Forest Rift Dungeon.

And today—

"Fuuuu..."

-Haaaa...

-meeeep...

They stood together in silence, gazing into the thick misty woods that had become their base.

Five whole months of relentless training.

Five months of surviving, adapting, and growing stronger in isolation.

They had bled, bruised, and broken themselves over and over again.

But now, finally—

They decided it was enough.

The grind had served its purpose. Their bodies were sharper, faster, harder. Their instincts were honed to a terrifying degree.

Their teamwork had reached a level where words were rarely needed.

Each of them knew what the other would do. Each step, each breath, synchronized.

It was time to stop holding back.

Time to take the next step.

Finally—

'It was time to hunt down the mini-bosses.'

Raye declared in his head.

No more hiding in the shadows of the dungeon, no more playing it safe.

The trio had spent months building themselves up for this moment—

And now, they would begin tearing their way through the dungeon's hierarchy.

Each mini-boss was a powerful monster that ruled a territory within the forest.

Strong, smart, dangerous.

But Raye, Zephyrus, and Pyro weren't the same people who first entered this place.

They were hardened now.

Prepared.

And hungry.

"Let's eat first before leaving."

Raye muttered, cracking his neck, eyes dark and cold.

-I agree.

Zephyrus replied, blades humming faintly with energy.

-Meep!

Pyro chirped, his small form already sparking with flame.

They didn't need a detailed plan anymore.

They were the plan.

And starting today—

The dungeon would remember who walked its depths.

One mini-boss at a time.

The hunt had officially begun.

*****

After eating—

Tap- tap- tap—

Fwoosh~

Raye, Zephyrus, and Pyro began their search for mini-bosses.

The only problem?

None of them really knew where to find one.

So they just kept moving everywhere.

Wandering.

There were no signs, no markers, no patterns to follow—just endless trees, twisted paths, and monsters lurking in the shadows.

They took their tent with them, packed and ready.

They weren't planning to go back to their original camp every night.

Not when their search might lead them far, deep into unfamiliar territory.

This wasn't just a hunt.

It was a journey.

And maybe even a bit of a gamble.

Just then—

PSH! PSH! PSH!

"..."

Raye pulled his trigger three times—smooth, calm, without hesitation.

Each shot echoed like a snap of thunder through the dense woods.

And right after—

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Three monsters collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

A single hole pierced the center of each of their eyes.

Clean, perfect shots.

They were called Needle Fangs—skittish, fast-moving pack monsters with thin limbs, pink body, and sharp mouths designed to pierce armor.

Usually hard to catch, harder to kill.

But now—

They lay dead.

And what's more surprising—

Each of them was over a hundred meters away from where Raye had fired!

More than a hundred meters...!

In a forest filled with thick trees, winding roots, and obstacles everywhere.

And yet—

Each bullet had found its mark like it had eyes of its own!

Raye's accuracy had reached an abnormally high stage after training it for a whole five months!

-...

Zephyrus was silent.

A frown crept onto his face as he sensed the moment those monsters died—one after another.

So fast.

So far.

So precise.

Meanwhile—

-Meep!

Pyro chirped, confused but excited.

He didn't fully understand what had just happened—

But he supported Raye anyway.

He always did.

Moving on, after that—

They kept moving, deeper into the dungeon.

The further they walked, the more dangerous the air felt.

Something out there was watching.

Waiting.

The hunt for the mini-bosses was on.

And something told them—

They were getting close.

Though...

...

...

...

They searched for a week and found no mini boss at all.

"Where the fuck are they?"

Raye asked, brows furrowing as he roasts a monster meat.

-On our first day, we say one... And now that we're searching for them, we can't even see a trace of them.

Zephyrus stated, confused.

The monsters just kept getting stronger as they went deeper the dungeon.

-Meep!

Pyro just chirped, telling Raye to cheer up.