The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

I don’t know how long I was out, but when I regained consciousness...

-Meep! Meeep!

I heard Pyro’s frantic calls for me.

"Ugh..."

I groaned as I sat up and opened my eyes.

Sharp pain coursed through my entire body, with my back feeling the worst of it.

But still, seeing that I was somehow still alive...

-MEEEP!

Pyro leaped onto me without hesitation.

-Meep meep!

He rubbed his tiny head against my chest, it was obvious that he had been so worried.

"Haha, I’m fine."

I said softly, patting his head to reassure him.

Though, as my hand stroked Pyro’s head...

I remembered what happened before I lost consciousness.

"..."

I fell silent.

"..."

I don’t know what to say.

Reggie and Timmy...

The two of them—they were gone...

"Fuck."

I muttered weakly.

Reggie... I’d grown close to him during our travels, especially after that bandit incident on the first day.

He felt like an older cousin to me.

And remembering his lifeless body on the ground without the lower part...

"..."

My fists clenched tightly in anger.

’I couldn’t save him...’

Bam!

I slammed my fist into the ground in frustration.

Tears welled up on my eyes, blurring the corners of my vision.

And it wasn’t just Reggie too...

’Even Timmy...’

"That idiot..."

Timmy had been the glue between me and Reggie, the one who brought us together with his goofy personality.

And now, because of him...

’I’m still alive right now.’

A wave of guilt washed over me, heavier than the pain in my body.

Timmy’s sacrifice played over and over in my mind, each replay twisting the knife of regret deeper.

’If only I was strong enough!’

I bit my lower lip in annoyance at myself.

A small frown formed on my face as grief and anger collided in my head.

And just then, I remembered the cause of it all...

"That fucking orc..."

I muttered.

It appeared out of nowhere and massacred our group.

My brows knitting together, my hands trembling as I clenched them so hard my knuckles turned white.

The grief in my chest was quickly overshadowed by rage.

And, consumed by the thirst for revenge...

"I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"

I shouted that with everything I had, the sound of my anger echoing into the hole that I was in.

*****

Orcs…

They are tall, burly creatures with rough, grey skin and scarred bodies from countless battles.

Their brutish features—tusked teeth, sharp jaws, and pointed ears—give them a fearsome and intimidating presence.

They’re incredibly strong, kinda stupid, but clever enough to outsmart other monsters when it matters.

In the game, they are considered mid-stage monsters, roughly classified as C+ rank monsters!

In short…

Even Leon wouldn’t stand a chance against one of them with his current strength!

This is why Raye was so surprised to see one before.

And this is the very creature he wants to take revenge on!

Anyway, Raye had calmed down to a certain degree now…

"..."

And currently, he’s just sitting on the ground, trying to rest.

-Meep...

Pyro chirped softly and perched on his right shoulder.

Looking at Pyro...

"Sorry you had to witness that."

Raye said that apologetically.

He was referring to his outburst earlier after waking up.

-Meep!

Pyro chirped back, saying it was fine.

And hearing that, a small smile formed on Raye’s face.

"I’m really glad that I have you with me."

He said this while gently patting Pyro’s head.

-Meep!

After resting for a while, Raye decided to move on.

"Where am I anyway?"

Standing up, he looked up at the hole he had fallen into. It was pitch dark, and he quickly realized there was no way he could climb out.

The hole was too deep, and the walls were too smooth and crumbled easily to even attempt climbing.

And even if by some miracle he managed to climb back to the surface, how would he face the orc waiting above?

’Timmy saved my life, I’m not gonna waste it.’

Raye thought resolutely.

He still plans to take revenge on the orc later on, though...

Anyway, Raye decided to search for another way out.

And since it was completely dark around him…

"[Light]"

He cast that spell to illuminate his surroundings.

And immediately, the spell revealed something...

"There’s a path."

Raye mumbled.

He saw a narrow, winding path leading into what appeared to be an underground cave.

And with no other choice left...

"Let’s go, Pyro."

-Meep!

Raye began walking into the cave with Pyro on his shoulder.

*****

(Raye’s POV)

Tap- tap- tap—

The sound of my footsteps echoed as I walked along the path I had entered earlier.

"..."

My thoughts then wandered back to the moment when I thought I was going to die at the hands of the orc.

Back then, my life flashed before my eyes.

But instead of them being happy memories...

’They were filled with my regrets.’

Regrets of not doing my best. Regrets of not even trying. Regrets of hiding from the world. And so many more...

I remembered how annoyed I was at myself in that moment.

But now that I’ve survived...

I’ve decided.

"I’m gonna live my life without regretting anything."

I declared firmly, my voice filled with determination.

There’s no certainty that I would live for tomorrow, so I need to stop hesitating.

’This will be my payback to Timmy, who saved my life.’

I thought of that, and the resolve in my heart grew stronger.

Just then...

-Meep!

Pyro chirped, breaking my train of thoughts. It looked like he’d spotted something.

"Hmm?"

I turned in the direction Pyro was staring at, squinting in the dim light.

"Ah!"

And then, I finally saw it—the end of the path I’d been following all this time!

And not even a minute after that...

Tap- tap- tap—

"I’m out."

I reached the end of the tunnel!

"..."

But what greeted me there left me speechless.

"What... the fuck?"

I muttered in disbelief.

Right in front of me stood something completely unexpected.

An old, three-story mansion loomed in the underground cavern. It looked ancient, its structure worn by time, but it still stood strong.

And the most bizarre part?

It was buried here with me underground!

Then, as I was stood there, trying to process what I was seeing...

-Grrrr...

-Graaw!

-Graaaaa—

"?!"

Low growls echoed through the cavern, sending a chill down my spine!

Then immediately looking around...

A pack of monstrous wolves emerged from the shadows, their glowing eyes locked onto me as they slowly surrounded me!

And feeling their bloodlust...

"Shit."

All I can do was curse my luck.

-Meep...

Even Pyro was wondering why all of these were happening to us.

Anyway...

-GRAAAAAHHH!!!

Three monster wolves rushed at me immediately after that!

I have my left hand occupied with the spell [Light], so I can only use my right hand.

Immediately pointing my index finger on the nearest wolf running at me...

"[Bang]"

Fwish-

I shot it off!

It was hit on the head...

Thud-

And it immediately fell on the ground, dead.

After that...

"[Wind blade]"

Swoosh—

I launched a sharp wind toward the two remaining wolves running at me!

-Guk!

-Gahk!

And they were wounded by it, slowing them down drastically!

I didn’t miss that chance...

"[Bang]- [Bang]-"

And I immediately shot at them!

Thud-

They too got hit in their heads, killing them off immediately!

I thought the other wolves would hesitate to come at me after that.

But instead...

-GRAAAAAHH!!!

-GRAAAAAAA!!!

-AWWOOOOHH!!!

They came at me harder, using all of their numbers to attack me!

And seeing that...

"Fucking hell! Who wrote my goddamn life?!"

I could only exclaim in annoyance.

"[Gust]!"

I hurriedly used that magic and made the force of the wind strong.

And in doing so...

-GRAHHHH?!

I was able to sent the monster wolves around me away, giving me time to breathe!

And not wasting that opportunity...

"[Bang] [Bang] [Bang]—!"

I started shooting them off, killing them one by one!

*****

After a few minutes of shooting spells and running away from the monster wolves...

"[Bang]!"

Thud-

I successfully killed all of them.

Which is a total of 18 monster wolves, by the way!

"Haaaa... Haaa.... Haaaaa..."

I was exhausted.

Physically, and especially mentally!

I was also out of mana...

I’m still covered in injuries from the fall earlier, and now this fight with the monster wolves just added more in my body!

I feel like passing out now.

I was so done, I need somewhere to rest at...

’And obviously, not here outside.’

I thought.

And then, looking at the old mansion not far away from me...

"Fuck it."

Tap- tap- tap—

I decided to enter it.

-Meep...

Pyro was hesitating too, but he knows we’re really out of choice.

Anyway, I arrived at the doors of the mansion.

Creak—

I immediately opened them up.

Tap-

And upon stepping inside of it...

Swoosh-

=====

Achievement: Discover a dungeon that was not in the game!

-----

Reward: +5 points to all stats!

=====

The system window flashed in front of me.

And after reading through its content...

"Huh?"

All I could do was let out a stupid noise.