The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

The next day...

"All ready, huh."

I woke up early and immediately started preparing for my upcoming battle.

I checked my armor, weapons, and even my body’s condition.

And all of them were great.

So, moving on...

"Are you guys ready?"

I asked Pyro and Zephyrus.

-Meep!

Pyro replied proudly. He had complete trust in me to defeat the Cannibal Tiger.

-Let’s go retrieve my room from that beast!

Zephyrus was the same.

The two of them think that I’ll win against the Cannibal Tiger.

It was pressuring, but it made me happy to see them confident in me.

Anyway, I just nodded my head at them.

And after that...

Creak—

Thud—

The three of us left the room.

*****

We didn’t head toward the Cannibal Tiger immediately.

We stopped by where Ivan was first.

Though he didn’t say much, he just wished me luck...

-Be careful.

And said that.

I thought it was pretty cold of him, but I just let it go and left him alone.

And now...

"..."

I’m standing in front of the middle door on the 2nd floor—the room where the Cannibal Tiger is.

And after calming my beating heart...

Creak—

I opened the door.

"Pyro, Zephyr."

I called out their names.

And after doing so...

-Meep!

-Got it.

They got off me and landed inside the room, near the door.

They weren’t in a condition to fight yet, so they would stay far away from me while I fight the Cannibal Tiger.

Anyway, tightly holding the hilt of my sword in my right hand...

Tap—

I stepped inside the room.

And immediately after doing so...

-Grrrr...?

The Cannibal Tiger’s attention turned toward me.

"Hello."

I greeted it with a serious expression on my face.

*****

The Cannibal Tiger didn’t attack Raye immediately.

It was observing him, trying to gauge his strength.

And knowing that...

’That’s smart.’

Raye thought, complimenting the monster’s intelligence.

Though, he didn’t give it a chance to do whatever it wanted.

Raye raised his left hand and pointed at the Cannibal Tiger...

-???

And while it was looking at him curiously...

"[Bang]—"

He shot it!

Psh—

And the Cannibal Tiger was hit on the forehead!

-Garg?!

The Cannibal Tiger was a little hurt, but not injured.

Though...

-GRAAAAH!!!

It became annoyed at Raye!

Bam—

The angered Cannibal Tiger charged at Raye!

And just moments later...

-GRAAAAAAH!!!

Its mouth was right in front of his face, wide open!

It was trying to bite off his head!

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’Wow, I would’ve died immediately from this before, huh.’

Raye thought, looking at the sharp teeth of the monster.

Swish—

And then he spun his body to the left, dodging the attack!

And using the force of his rotation...

"[Blaze]"

SWOOSH—

Raye slashed horizontally with his flaming sword!

-GRAAAA?!!

And it wounded the Cannibal Tiger on its neck!

The wound was small and shallow...

’But ten days ago, I wouldn’t even have been able to do something like this.’

Raye thought, smiling.

But while he was like that...

-GRRROWL!!!

The Cannibal Tiger jumped at him again, now with its front right claw raised in the air!

SWAAASH—!

It swung its claw down heavily!

And as a response...

SWIISH—

Raye swung vertically upward with both hands gripping the hilt of his sword!

TANG—!

The monster’s claw and Raye’s blade collided, producing a loud sound like clashing metal!

"Ugh..."

Raye groaned as he felt the force of the Cannibal Tiger’s attack reverberate through his arms.

But...

-GRRR?!

He successfully deflected the Cannibal Tiger’s attack!

Its right claw was flung upward, leaving its body defenseless!

And not missing that opportunity...

"GRAAAAH!!!"

Raye followed up and attack!

SWOOSH—

He swung his flaming sword back down with all his might!

SLASH—!

And cut open a big wound on the monster’s stomach!

-GREAAAAAAHHHH!!!

The Cannibal Tiger let out an ear deafening cry.

BAM!

And then it jumped back, putting distance between itself and Raye!

’You’re not escaping.’

Raye thought.

"[Flash]"

Bam!

And then he propelled himself toward the Cannibal Tiger!

-Grrrah?!

The Cannibal Tiger was surprised to see Raye appear in front of it.

It hadn’t expected him to keep up with its speed!

And because of that...

-GRAAAA!!!

It couldn’t defend itself from Raye’s attack!

PHUCK—!

Raye stabbed his flaming sword straight into the Cannibal Tiger’s heart!

And just to make sure...

"[Lit on]"

SWAAAAAA—

Raye burned the insides of the monster!

’I won.’

He thought.

The Cannibal Tiger is sure to die soon.

But out of desperation...

-GRRAAAh!!

It swiped its left claw horizontally, trying to kill Raye along with it!

"Huh?"

Raye was surprised by the sudden counterattack.

But swiftly...

Bam—

He let go of his sword and jumped backward!

Swish—

Narrowly dodging the monster’s attack!

And while he was mid-air...

Clap—

Raye clapped his hands in front of him.

"[Lit up]"

And then he mumbled that!

SWAAAAA—

A raging fire engulfed his hands!

Fwip—

Raye pulled back his right hand, and the flames shaped themselves into a bow and arrow!

And while aiming at the Cannibal Tiger’s head...

"[Shoot]"

Fwiiish—

Raye fired off the fire arrow!

BOOM!

And it exploded upon contact with its target!

Swoosh—

A weak shockwave was produced by the explosion.

Tap—

Raye landed safely on the ground.

And when things had calmed down...

-...

Raye saw the Cannibal Tiger’s body on the floor, burnt and dead.

*****

"That was easy."

Raye mumbled to himself while retrieving his sword from the Cannibal Tiger’s body.

He hadn’t expected to win this easily either.

-Meep...

Even Pyro was shocked, seeing how Raye had completely dominated the fight!

-Umm, huh, I didn’t expect it to be that fast either...

Zephyrus was the same, looking at the Cannibal Tiger’s body to make sure it was really dead.

And then, smiling...

"..."

Raye looked at his hands.

’They are gonna be surprised when I come back.’

He thought.

Raye was thinking about Old Man Rey, Jerusha, Devin, Kyle, and Lena back at the academy.

’I’ll probably catch the attention of the main characters, but who cares at this point?’

He added, shrugging his shoulders.

"Anyway, it’s still too early to call it a day."

Raye said to himself.

And then, after that...

"The mini-boss on the first floor will respawn today. Might as well kill it to get pig meat."

Raye declared that casually.