The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

I don’t know how long I was out...

"..."

But I immediately opened my eyes after regaining consciousness.

And then, I saw Pyro resting on top of my chest.

He was looking kind of pale...

’He’s overworked.’

I thought, a guilty expression on my face.

I tried to slowly and silently get up...

"Urgh...?!"

But my body ached so badly that I couldn’t keep quiet.

Just slightly moving was already a struggle.

-Meep...?

Hearing my groan, Pyro opened his eyes and looked at me.

And after seeing me awake...

-Meep!

He excitedly jumped around.

I smiled, seeing him so energetic.

"Ugh..."

I sat up to get comfortable...

Just then, I noticed that I was still tightly holding onto my weapons.

"Ah..."

Their blades were broken.

Small parts of them had even turned to dust...

’Is this the side effect of that skill?’

I wondered, pertaining to the skill I used to kill the Giant Boar.

Anyway, moving on...

Fwip—

I threw the weapons away.

Clank—

And their blades split in half upon hitting the ground.

I then looked at Pyro, who was eagerly watching me from my side.

And with a smile on my face...

"Hello there, buddy."

I picked him up with my left hand.

"Thanks to you, I get to live another day."

I said, patting him with my right hand.

And proudly...

-Meep!

Pyro replied.

I was still feeling exhausted.

And so, I decided to lean against the nearest wall and rest.

Pyro did the same, curling up on my lap.

And while we were like that...

I also started meditating.

My mana pool was completely empty, so I figured I might as well.

*****

After a couple of hours...

"Ugh, much better..."

I stood up.

I had regained some of my strength, and the aching in my body had eased a little bit.

I recovered a bit of my mana as well...

Swooo—

So I started pouring mana into Pyro.

And immediately after doing so...

-Meep!

His complexion got a lot better.

I smiled at that sight.

And then, looking around, something caught my eyes...

"Ah..."

It was the Giant Boar’s dead body that was laying on the ground.

The sight of it annoyed me...

"Huh?"

But the smell of it didn’t.

"..."

It smelled like roasted pork meat!

"..."

My mouth started to water.

Grrrr—

And my stomach growled.

After such a life-threatening fight, I was hungry as fuck!

"I need to eat."

I immediately headed toward the Giant Boar’s body.

But before I could reach it...

Tonk—

"Hm?"

My foot hit a small tin jar that is tightly sealed shut.

Curiously...

"What’s this?"

I crouched down and picked it up.

And at the bottom of the jar...

"?!"

I saw a rune engraving!

I didn’t know what it said, but I recognized it from my Rune and Ancient Symbols class!

Anyway...

Pop—

I immediately opened the jar.

And inside...

"...?"

I saw small white crystals.

I squinted and sniffed them; they smelled like nothing.

I dipped my index finger into the jar and touched it.

And when I tasted it...

"?!"

My eyes widened in surprise.

It was salt!

"What the hell?!"

I exclaimed with a bright smile on my face.

I looked around and spotted four more identical tin jars lying on the floor...

"Hup!"

So I immediately stood up and gathered them all!

...

After collecting the jars...

I immediately opened three of them.

And all of them contained spices—pepper, powdered chili, and soy sauce!

"Finally, I can add flavor to the meat."

I mumbled, a wide smile was on my face.

I started salivating just by the thought of eating seasoned meat.

Anyway, moving on...

"..."

I turned to the last tin jar beside me.

I had saved it for last because it had a different rune engraved on its bottom.

"I wonder what’s inside..."

I muttered.

-Meep.

Pyro looked curious too.

So without further ado...

Pop—

I popped its lid open.

And immediately after doing so...

SWOOSH—!

A strong gust wind burst out of the jar!

"Urgh...?!"

I shielded my eyes with my left arm.

-MEEEEEeeeep...!

And Pyro was blown away!

"Pyro!"

I yelled.

I was about to throw the jar away in panic, but out of the blue...

Fwip—

The wind just suddenly died down.

"Huh?"

It was unnatural.

Thud—

Pyro fell on the ground, shocked too.

The strong wind just disappeared like it didn’t happen in the first place!

"..."

I looked at the jar in my hand.

And when I peeked inside...

"..."

There was nothing, it was empty.

"What the fuck?"

I cursed in confusion.

-Meep...?

Pyro jumped back beside me, equally puzzled.

And then, as we were like that...

-I’m finally free!

We heard a loud but small voice above us.

My head immediately snapped toward the source of the sound, and Pyro followed suit.

And there...

-FREEDOM!

We saw a small white chick flying and chirping happily.

"..."

-...

Pyro and I fell silent.

Then...

-Oh?

The chick’s eyes landed on us.

-Are you the one who freed me?

It asked, flying toward me.

’How can it even fly with those tiny wings? Look at them flapping rapidly.’

I thought.

And when it landed in front of me...

"Yes, I was."

I answered its question.

-Tell me your name.

It demanded.

"Why not tell me yours first?"

And I retorted.

Hearing my words...

-Hmm...

The chick thought for a second, looking at me.

But after a while, with a smug smile on its face...

-Fine.

It answered.

Then, almost immediately...

-My name is Zephyrus!

The chick declared that loudly.

And then...

-I am a Great Wind Spirit!

It added that proudly.

*****

-You are lucky to have met me!

Zephyrus boastfully said.

"Yeah, I’m grateful."

And I replied sarcastically while eating roasted Giant Boar meat.

’This is heaven.’

I thought, savoring the taste.

The meat was so much better with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile...

-Meep!

Pyro was happily jumping around Zephyrus.

He was excited to meet someone who wasn’t an enemy—and a spirit at that.

-This little one sure is energetic, huh.

Zephyrus remarked. He’s a few centimeters smaller than Pyro.

I just couldn’t take his words seriously with his cute appearance.

Anyway...

"You say you’re a great spirit, but your mana barely surpasses Pyro’s."

I said that to Zephyrus.

And hearing my words...

-Ha?!

Zephyrus glared at me, clearly offended.

-I’m like this because I was sealed off in a place with no mana for so long!

He explained.

-I had to use my origin mana just to keep myself from disappearing!

And then he added.

’He was really offended, huh.’

Experience tales at empire

I thought.

"So, you’ll regain your strength and form after some time?"

I asked.

And while nodding his head...

-That’s right.

Zephyrus replied.

"Hmm..."

I pretty much got the gist of his situation now.

"By the way, your feet are looking kinda transparent."

I said, pointing at Zephyrus’ legs.

And when he looked down and saw it...

-AHHHHH!

Zephyrus started screaming in panic.

-I’m gonna die!

He shouted.

"..."

I had no idea what to do, so I just watched him silently while eating.

-Meep meep...

Pyro did the same, taking small bites of the roasted meat in my hand.

-AHHHHHHH!!!

And then, as if Zephyrus thought of something...

-Ah!

He stopped running and screaming.

-...

He then turned to me and stared intently.

"..."

A slight frown appeared on my face, sensing what was coming.

And then it happened...

-Make a contract with me!

Zephyrus suggested that.

*****

Zephyrus was clearly an old spirit, as his high intelligence and fluency in human language showed.

And if what he said about being a great spirit was true...

Then he belonged to the highest rank of spirits.

There was no reason for me to reject a contract with him.

The only problem was...

’I’m not sure if I can handle it.’

My mana pool was too small.

Even so...

-Let’s start!

"Ugh, don’t rush me."

I decided to give it a try. I had nothing to lose, anyway.

And if the contract succeeded...

’It’ll help me achieve my goal of getting out of this place.’

I thought as I sat in a lotus position.

-Haha, you won’t regret this!

Zephyrus flew and landed on top of my head.

-Meep!

Pyro kept watch. I felt bad since he’d been doing this a lot lately.

"Alright, I’ll start."

I said, closing my eyes.

And after that...

Swaaaaaa~

I started pouring mana into Zephyrus, who was perched on my head.

But unlike with Pyro before...

"...?!"

I felt a slight resistance.

’So this is what Jerusha was talking about.’

I thought.

The resistance isn’t that strong, so I continued what was I doing.

-That’s good! Keep going!

Zephyrus encouraged me.

"..."

I ignored him, focusing on the task.

Sweat formed on my forehead as my frown deepened.

This was far harder than contracting with Pyro.

My mana was being drained quickly.

If I lost focus for even a second, the mana would disperse, and the contract would fail.

Wrinkles creased my forehead as I fought to stay in control.

-Meep!

Pyro cheered me on.

-Keep going!

Zephyrus did too.

"Gurgh..."

I groaned.

’I can do this!’

And then I encouraged myself, keeping my mana steady.

...

...

...

And after about half an hour...

-Meep!

-It’s a success!

The contract was complete.

"Haha..."

A tired laugh escaped my mouth.

And then...

Thud—

I collapsed on the ground.

’Again...? I just woke up.’

I thought.

And once again...

"..."

I lost consciousness.