The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

-Kieee?!

-Ke?!

-Kiek?!

The other gnolls were shocked to see one of their own lifeless on the floor!

In their eyes, Raye had just been at the door, far from them...

But he had suddenly disappeared from their sight!

And the next time they saw him, he had already killed one of them!

-KIEEEK!!!

The gnolls immediately spread out across the room, wary of Raye.

They planned to attack him from behind when he went after one of them!

And noticing this plan of them...

"Idiots."

Raye mumbled that to himself.

Fwip—

He then took his stance again.

And moments later...

Swoosh—

His legs and feet became covered by spinning gusts of wind!

And with a single word...

"[Flash]"

BAM!

Raye kicked off the ground!

The gusts of wind blasted downward, drastically increasing his speed!

Fwish—

Raye disappeared from the gnolls’ sight again!

And in less than a second...

SLASH—!

He reappeared in front of one of them, cutting it in half with his flaming sword!

"You guys aren’t fast enough to pull that trick against me."

Raye said with a smirk on his face.

Thud—

And then the gnoll he attacked fell to the ground, dead.

Raye had just entered the room, yet he had already killed two gnolls!

-KIEEEE!!!

-KEEEK!!

The remaining gnolls panicked.

They thought Raye could teleport.

Realizing their ambush wouldn’t work, they grew desperate.

-KIEEEEK!!!

-KIEEEEE!!!

All the gnolls rushed at Raye at once—two from behind and two from the front.

And calmly...

"..."

Raye waited for them, holding the hilt of his sword firmly.

And when they got close...

SWOOOSH—

Raye slashed horizontally, spinning his body in a full circle!

CLANG—!

He parried all of their weapons!

-Kek?!

-Kieeek!!

-Kie?!

The gnolls’ arms were flung upward, leaving them defenseless.

And not missing a beat...

"[Bang] [Bang]—"

Raye fired two point-blank shots, hitting two gnolls in the head with his left hand!

Then...

Swish—

He immediately twisted his body to the left to face the remaining two.

And with all his might...

SWOOSH—

He slashed his sword downward diagonally!

SLASH—!

Raye killed the last two gnolls in one go!

Thud—

And he cleared the room in about a minute!

"That was fast."

Raye muttered, deactivating [Blaze].

He’s just casually looking at the dead gnolls on the ground.

Even though the gnolls are the same rank of kobolds, they’re much stronger and more savage than them!

Though, for Raye...

"I told you I wouldn’t take too long." Your journey continues with empire

The two of them are just the same.

Killing kobolds and gnolls are just a chore for him now!

*****

After killing the gnolls...

Raye went and immediately collected their armor and weapons.

"Let’s see, this one looks nice."

And then, he started swapping his equipment for better ones!

"Yep, this is better."

Raye said after equipping himself with new light steel armor.

And not just that...

"..."

He got himself a steel sword that wasn’t rusty!

More than satisfied, Raye smiled.

And while smiling...

"This will be my grinding place to get equipment."

He declared that.

-...

Zephyrus looked at him oddly, pitying the gnolls just a little.

Anyway, at that moment...

-Meep!

Pyro woke up and hopped out of the spatial bag.

"Good morning, Pyro."

-Hello, little one.

Raye and Zephyrus greeted Pyro after seeing him.

And happily...

-Meep meep!

Pyro greeted them back.

*****

After clearing the second room on the left...

Raye returned to the hallway.

Pyro sat on his shoulder while Zephyrus perched atop his head.

Outside the hallway....

Raye’s attention was caught by the door in the middle.

"That’s your room, right?"

He asked Zephyrus.

And proudly...

-Yes!

Zephyrus answered.

"..."

Raye stared at the door for a moment.

Then after a while, he started frowning...

’My years of gaming experience are telling me another mini-boss is waiting for me in there.’

He thought.

So with that in mind...

"It wouldn’t hurt to see what kind of monster it is."

Tap- tap- tap—

Raye walked toward the door.

"..."

And standing before it...

"Fuuu..."

Raye took a deep breath.

Then...

Creak—

He opened the door.

And inside...

-Grrrr...

He saw a six-foot-tall Cannibal Tiger!

Bam—

Raye immediately shut the door close.

"..."

And there, he stood silently in his place.

-...

Even Pyro was just as quiet.

-That bitch was on my bed!

Zephyrus exclaimed.

But the other two just ignored him.

Moving on...

The Cannibal Tiger was a monster Raye recognized from the game.

Reddish fur, sturdy skin, sharp fangs, and razor-like claws. Its physical strength rivaled a gorilla’s, and its speed matched that of a cheetah!

And lastly, it was a D- rank monster!

"Fuck me..."

Raye grumbled, realizing he needed to face that thing to leave the place.

-Meep...

Pyro was disheartened by the idea too.

"I might be in this shit hole for more than a month."

Raye grumbled.

*****

After checking the middle room...

Raye headed to the second room on the right.

"I probably wouldn’t be surprised by whatever’s in this room."

He casually muttered.

-Meep. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Pyro agreed with his words.

-Hmm?

Zephyrus, however, just remained silent on Raye’s head.

He can feel something familiar inside the room but couldn’t put his finger on it.

-’There’s something familiar in there.’

Zephyrus thought.

And just then...

Creak—

Raye opened the door.

And contrary to his earlier claim...

"..."

He was surprised of what was inside the room!

"..."

Inside, there was only one monster.

And that monster...

-...

Was a ghoul clad in armor, wielding a sword!

And based on the pressure it exuded...

It was stronger than the Cannibal Tiger!

"What the fuck?"

Raye unconsciously cursed under his breath.

-Meep...

Pyro was wondering why they are so unlucky.

And well, Zephyrus...

-’What is that...?’

He’s looking at the ghoul carefully.

The feeling of familiarity that he got earlier, it’s aimed toward the ghoul!

"Looks like I’ll be down here for a long time."

Raye grumbled to himself.

He’s thinking of the possibility that he’ll be stuck here for more than a year!

After all...

’I just can’t see myself defeating that monster any time now!’