The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

After greeting everyone…

"Let’s go inside."

Raye said that and entered the cabin with the others.

And after sitting down…

"What happened to you?"

Old Man Rey asked him.

And with that...

"Well…"

Raye began recounting what had happened to him outside the academy.

He thought they deserved to know. After all, they had tried so hard to help him.

*****

After Raye finished telling his story…

"…"

"…"

"…"

Everyone in the cabin went completely silent.

They didn’t know what to say.

They couldn’t believe what they had just heard.

In the span of one month…

A lot of tragedies had happened to Raye!

On the first day, he had to kill bandits in self-defense.

And they realized how much he had suffered mentally because of it.

Raye also made new friends during his travels…

And then he saw them die right before his eyes!

Not even a week after meeting them!

That wasn’t all…

He and his friends had been abandoned by the merchant group, left to die as bait for an orc while they escaped!

On that same day, Raye had fallen and ended up stuck in a dungeon!

He survived in that place for a month with almost nothing on him!

Raye survived by eating monster meat and drinking warm spring water the entire time!

During his time in the dungeon, Raye met a master—Ivan.

He learned swordsmanship from Ivan, and the two grew close.

But in the end, on the day Raye was about to leave the dungeon…

He was forced to kill Ivan with his own two hands!

Your next chapter is on empire

And finally, after escaping the dungeon…

Raye faced the orc that had caused his ordeal!

All of this happened in just one month!

When you think about it, it’s incredible that Raye was still alive at this point!

Just recalling what he had gone through brought frowns to everyone’s faces.

’No wonder he’s changed.’

Jerusha, Lena, Devin, and Lycus thought in unison.

Now they understood why Raye had grown stronger.

Amidst the silence in the room…

"You had it rough, huh."

Old Man Rey said softly.

"I’m sorry for not being able to help you."

He added.

"No—"

Raye was about to protest, but the Old Man cut him off.

"I’m glad you survived and came back here."

He said.

"..."

Raye fell silent.

Then, while sitting, he slightly bowed his head.

And with a small smile on his face…

"Yeah, I’m glad to be back."

Raye declared that.

"Hmm, welcome back."

Old Man Rey replied.

And after that…

"…"

Pat- pat—

He lightly hugged Raye, gently tapping his back to comfort him.

Feeling the warmth of the embrace…

"…"

Raye calmed down.

And for the first time in a long while…

"Thanks."

Raye let his guard down and allowed himself to relax.

They stayed like that for a moment…

"Anyway…"

Then Old Man Rey suddenly spoke, breaking the hug.

And looking at everyone...

"I’ll cook something. Everyone stay for lunch."

He said that with a smile on his face.

*****

-Meep meep!

Pyro chirped happily, jumping into Jerusha’s hands.

"Pyro, I’ve missed you!"

Jerusha exclaimed, seeing him.

"He looks rounder. What’s he been eating?"

Old Man Rey mumbled, glancing at Pyro.

’Cute.’

Then Lena thought to herself, feeling a bit jealous of Jerusha for holding Pyro.

Meanwhile, as the four of them interacted…

"I appreciate you guys trying to help me."

Raye said as he saw Devin, Kyle, and Lycus off at the door.

"I’m just repaying a favor."

Lycus replied.

"Same here."

And Kyle followed with a warm smile.

"I’m your friend, it’s obvious I’d help."

Devin said proudly.

Hearing their words brought a smile on Raye’s face.

"Anyway, see you guys around."

Raye said.

And after that...

"See you around."

"Come visit the shop later, you’ll be surprised!"

"See you tomorrow in class!"

Lycus, Kyle, and Devin left the cabin.

And after seeing them leave…

Tap- tap- tap—

Raye walked back to where the others were.

-And here I thought you were friendless.

Zephyrus suddenly appeared and commented.

"Not gonna lie, I thought the same."

Raye replied with a smile.

Tap-

And then he regrouped with the others. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Ohh, who’s that?"

Jerusha asked, noticing Zephyrus sitting on top of Raye’s head.

She could feel a strong spirit energy emanating from him.

"…"

Lena also felt the same energy from the white chick, observing it curiously.

"Another one like this guy?"

Then Old Man Rey asked, referring to Pyro resting in his hands.

Hearing their questions...

Zephyrus puffed out his chest proudly.

-My name is Zephyrus!

Then he declared that!

-And I’m a great Wind Spirit!

He added, attempting to be intimidating!

"…"

"…"

"…"

Everyone went silent after hearing him.

And after a few seconds…

"How cute!"

Jerusha exclaimed that!

"Pfft…"

Old Man Rey tried his best to hold in his laughter!

"…"

And Lena simply smiled as she looked at Zephyrus!

’He’s funny.’

She thought!

No one took Zephyrus seriously.

And seeing that…

"Hah…"

Raye chuckled a little.

-…

Zephyrus frowned deeply, visibly annoyed.

-Meep!

And Pyro consoled him, assuring him he was cool.

*****

After a while, when it was getting dark…

"We’re heading out too."

Jerusha and Lena announced.

"Take care."

Raye said to them.

"Come again anytime."

Then Old Man Rey added.

Before leaving…

"Next week, there will be a class re-evaluation."

Lena informed Raye.

’The filler arc starts next week, huh.’

Raye thought.

"The academy will continue after that."

Lena added.

"Thanks for letting me know."

And then Raye replied, grateful.

"I’ll see you tomorrow, let’s catch up on your training!"

Jerusha butted in enthusiastically.

She was referring to their private spirit magic class.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Raye responded to her.

And after another exchange of goodbyes...

Tap- tap- tap—

Jerusha and Lena left the cabin.

Though, before they got far…

"Ah!"

Jerusha turned back to look at Raye again.

And while smiling...

"I’m glad you’re back."

She said that.

Fwoosh—

Then she flew away using her wind spirit magic.

"…"

Lena watched Jerusha fly off, then glanced at Raye.

And with a serious expression on her face...

"You two dating?"

She asked.

"No."

Raye answered immediately, straight-faced.

"Hmm…"

But Lena didn’t seem convinced.

"Whatever."

She said.

Fwish—

Then she flew away as well.

"…"

’I really want to fly.’

Raye thought, watching the two girls soar freely in the sky.

"Hah! What a situation you’re in, huh."

Old Man Rey then remarked beside him with a laugh.

And frowning...

"It’s not like that."

Raye said that.

"Sure, whatever."

The Old Man replied, still smiling teasingly.

"Ugh…"

And Raye groaned, knowing he’d be hearing about this for a while.

*****

Back inside the cabin…

"I’m going to sleep now. You should rest too."

Old Man Rey said that.

And with a nod...

"Okay, goodnight."

Raye replied.

"Rest well. Goodnight."

The Old Man followed.

Creak—

Thud-

And then he entered his room.

"…"

Raye looked at his own room’s door.

Then slowly…

Creak—

He opened it.

And seeing the inside...

"It’s clean."

Raye murmured.

Everything was spotless—his bed and the little furniture in the room.

It was evident someone had taken proper care of it all this time.

It was likely Old Man Rey.

And knowing that…

"…"

Raye smiled silently.

Tap-

After stepping inside, he let out a tired sigh.

"Haaaa…"

Then Raye laid down on his bed.

"This is the most comfortable bed ever."

He mumbled.

-Meep…

And Pyro agreed!

-Hmm, this is strangely comfy for something this small.

Even Zephyrus agreed!

"Mhmm…"

Raye closed his eyes.

And then he thought of today...

’Today was nice.’

His reunion with Old Man Rey and the others brought a smile to his face.

And with that thought…

’I’m finally home.’

Raye said that to himself.

’The rabbit stew earlier was great too.’

He added, smiling.

And after a while…

"…"

Raye fell asleep.

-...

-...

Pyro and Zephyrus too.

*****

The next morning…

"Wow."

Raye woke up early, feeling fully refreshed.

-…

-…

Pyro and Zephyrus were still sleeping, so he left the room quietly.

Outside the cabin, Raye grabbed a piece of bread.

And after eating it...

"Time to chop."

He began chopping logs immediately!

In the middle of his work…

"You brat! You should be resting!"

Old Man Rey came out of the cabin, yelling at him.

"Haha, don’t worry, I’m all good!"

Raye replied with a grin.

"Tch."

The Old Man clicked his tongue but didn’t stop him.

Instead...

"I’ll cook breakfast, let’s eat later."

And with that…

As if he hadn’t disappeared for a month, Raye returned to his normal routine!

’I don’t want to dwell on the past.’

Raye thought as he continued chopping logs.

Though, as he was doing that...

"Hmm..."

Raye started to wonder about his next step.

Especially...

’The class re-evaluation.’

Lena said it was next week.

It’s just a filler in the game.

But it was still a significant event that would make the main characters shine.

In this event, it will show that the main characters got stronger too, not just Leon—the protagonist.

So, Raye had been wondering...

"Maybe I should show them that I got stronger too."

He plans to go all out in the class re-evaluation!