The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

"Ugh..."

Allen groaned as he slowly stood up.

"WHOOOAAAAHH!!! RAYE IS AWESOME!!!"

"SOMEONE FROM THE B CLASS JUST BODIED SOMEONE FROM S CLASS!!!"

"STOP SHOUTING IN MY EAR, DUMBASS!!!"

He heard the students cheering for his opponent...

"..."

But he paid no attention to them.

Instead, he looked up.

And there...

"..."

He saw Raye just staring at him!

’This asshole...’

Allen grumbled in his head, pissed off.

But he couldn’t say a word.

After all...

’He’s faster than me.’

Raye had just completely demolished him!

He was able to react earlier and block the attack, but that was just a fluke!

’If I lose sight of him again, I’m done for.’

Allen thought, getting into a fighting stance once more.

And this time, he was more cautious of Raye...

"..."

Seeing Allen so focused...

’He’s getting serious now, huh.’

Raye said that in his head, preparing for what was about to come.

"Fuuuu..."

Allen took a deep breath, not taking his eyes off Raye.

And with his newfound concentration...

SWOOSH—

He covered his hands and feet with mana!

And after that...

BAM—!

He dashed toward Raye again!

Fwish—

Allen appeared in front of Raye in a matter of seconds!

And seeing Allen standing in front of him...

’He’s really fast.’

Raye thought that.

TWACK—!

Then he parried Allen’s wooden sword with his own by swinging vertically upward!

"Urgh...?!"

Allen’s arms were flung away!

But with his hands still tightly clenching the handle of his weapon...

"HAAAA!!!"

SWOOSH—

He forcibly swung his sword down, aiming at Raye’s head!

Swish—

But Raye just stepped back and completely dodged it!

BOOM!!!

Allen hit nothing but air and the floor!

And then, as a response...

SWOOSH—

Raye swung his sword down too, aiming for his opponent’s head!

But with Allen focused now...

"..."

He saw the attack coming!

Bam—

Swish—

He jumped back and avoided the attack with ease!

"..."

Allen’s eyes stayed glued on Raye, making sure not to miss any of his movements!

And just then...

Fwip—

"?!"

He saw Raye aim his left hand at him again, forming a finger gun!

’It’s that long range skill!’

Allen exclaimed internally.

And immediately...

SWAAA—

"[Bang]"

Fwish—

That was the moment Raye took his shot!

But then...

Swish—

Psh!

Allen swung his aura-coated weapon horizontally and just parried it!

"Huh?"

Raye was slightly surprised by this.

But the students...

"Is that sword aura?!"

"I can’t believe it, a freshman is using a complete weapon aura!"

They were in disbelief!

’So he can use aura now, huh.’

Raye thought, looking at Allen glaring at him.

"What a pain."

And then he whispered that under his breath.

*****

Sword Aura, it’s a manifestation of a swordsman’s energy, willpower, and mastery channeled through their blade.

It enhances the sword’s power, extends its range, and can imbue it with unique effects like cutting through magical barriers or unleashing energy attacks!

It’s far better than just covering your weapon with mana!

And people say, when you reach the top mastery over it...

You’ll be able to cut anything!

’Though Allen’s aura is only in the early stage, so I’m fine.’

Raye thought, looking at Allen’s wooden sword.

But still, aura could cut through mana...

That meant Raye’s spell would easily be nullified, considering his magic proficiency wasn’t even that high.

And knowing that fact...

"So it’ll be close combat, huh."

Raye mumbled that to himself!

Though...

Raye couldn’t use aura.

That meant his wooden sword would immediately break upon making contact with an aura-coated weapon!

And just imbuing it with mana wouldn’t cut it!

Allen was aware of this.

And so, with a small smile on his face...

’What are you gonna do now?’

He asked that in his head, watching Raye stand in silence.

"..."

"..."

The students watched the match expectantly, waiting for Raye’s next move.

"..."

Lycus, Sofia, and Devin glanced at Raye, their expressions tinged with worry.

On the other hand, Jerusha...

"..."

She calmly observed the arena.

And going back to Raye...

"Hmm."

He calmly examined his wooden sword, checking its durability.

And after a while...

"A minute, huh."

Raye suddenly said that.

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Allen became confused.

He didn’t know what Raye was talking about.

But then...

"[Blaze]"

Raye muttered!

And following that...

SWAAAAA—

A raging fire, as if intent on burning everything in its path, engulfed his wooden sword!

"..."

And seeing it...

"What the fuck is that?"

Allen asked that with a frown on his face!

*****

Blaze, a special skill Raye created with Pyro.

It’s literally inspired by weapon aura!

So Raye thought that with this, he could clash with Allen’s sword aura!

’Is that aura too? But it feels a bit different...’

Allen’s mind raced as he looked at the fire covering Raye’s weapon.

And it wasn’t just him...

"Huh? What’s that?"

"Aura...?"

Every student in the training ground was just as confused as him!

’Is that really...?’

Even Sariel couldn’t tell what he was looking at!

"..."

Jerusha was smiling at everyone’s reaction.

She was the only one besides Raye who knew what skill he was using.

And because of that fact...

"Heh."

She felt a little proud!

Anyway, time was ticking.

Blaze consumes a lot of Raye’s mana and destroys the weapon over time.

And so...

BAM—!

Raye immediately dashed toward Allen!

"?!"

Allen’s eyes widened as he saw Raye close the distance.

And after getting near him...

SWOOSH—!

Raye swung horizontally!

FWOOSH—

Allen swung his sword too in response!

TWACK—!

Their weapons collided!

FOOSH—

And sparks flew everywhere as if metals had clashed!

*****

THUNK—

CLAK!

WHACK!

Raye and Allen continued clashing, exchanging attack after attack!

They dodged, deflected, blocked, and countered...

TWACK—!

But neither could land a proper hit on their opponent!

Though...

"Urgh?!"

Allen couldn’t believe Raye was fighting him toe-to-toe!

And what’s more...

The Blaze was actually on par with his sword aura!

’What’s with this monster? He’s so unfair!’

Allen exclaimed in his head.

"HAAAAAA!!!"

Swoosh—!

And then he launched another attack!

TWOCK—!

FOOOSH—

Raye swung his sword too, and their wooden weapons collided once more!

"Ugh...!"

Raye groaned, his arms trembling in pain.

’Main characters are really no joke, huh.’

He thought.

FWISH—

Then, he thrust his sword forward, aiming at Allen’s chest!

"Gurgh...!"

Fwip—

Allen desperately turned his body to the side...

Fwoosh—

And he avoided the attack!

Then, from that position...

Swoosh—

He launched a diagonal upward strike as a counter!

Fwish—

Raye ducked down, dodging it!

Allen’s arms were still raised in the air, gripping his sword.

And so, looking down and seeing Raye’s back of the head... 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

SWISH—

Allen swiftly changed the trajectory of his sword, bringing it down heavily!

"?!"

Raye sensed an attack coming from behind him!

Bam—

He dashed backward.

Boom!

And Allen’s attack barely missed him!

’That’s crazy.’

Raye thought.

Tap—

Then, landing on the ground...

"[Flash]"

He muttered!

Fwish—

And his figure disappeared!

"Fuck!"

Allen exclaimed, his eyes wide.

And just as he expected...

Swish—

Raye appeared in front of him!

"YOU FUCKER!!!"

Allen shouted at the top of his lungs!

SWOOOOSH—

And he swung horizontally with all his might!

FWOOSH—

Raye swung too!

And in doing so...

TWOOCK—!!!

Their weapons clashed again!

Though this time...

Crack—

Something cracked from Raye’s weapon!

And hearing that...

"HAAAAAHHH!!!"

Allen put more force into his arms!

Snap—

And Raye’s weapon split into two!

Allen’s eyes lit up, seeing that.

’I won.’

He thought excitedly.

But just then...

Pat—

"Huh?"

He felt a touch on his chest.

It was Raye.

And then, opening his mouth...

"[Tear]"

Raye said that!

The next thing Allen knew...

FWOOSH—

He was flying through the air!

Swish— swish— swish—

And he felt his whole body being cut!

"GRAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Allen screamed in pain!

And then...

BOOM!!!

He slammed into the wall of a nearby facility!

"ARGH...!!"

And the impact caused Allen to pass out, shutting him up!

Thud—

His body fell flat onto the ground.

Then looking down at him from the arena...

"I’m not a pure swordsman. I won’t be helpless just because I lost my sword."

Raye said that, wiping dirt off his face!

"..."

"..."

The place fell silent.

"Huh?"

"..."

Even Leon and Lena paused their fight for a moment.

"..."

"..."

Sofia, Lycus, and Devin were at a loss for words.

And Jerusha...

"...!"

She was too excited but didn’t know what to do!

"Ah!"

Then finally, snapping out of his stupor...

"Raye Alvah wins!"

Sariel announced!

And with that...

"RAAAAHHHHH!!!"

"WHOOAAAAHHHH!!!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd!

The students were ecstatic, adrenaline coursing through their veins!

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED AT THE LAST PART?!!"

"I DON’T KNOW, AND I SAID STOP SHOUTING IN MY EAR!!!"

They couldn’t stop shouting!

"YEAAAAAHHHH!!!"

And Jerusha was among them, jumping up and down happily!

"..."

Raye saw her.

"Heh."

He smiled, seeing how happy she was for him.

And with that...

Tap- tap- tap—

He started walking toward the edge of the arena.

"THAT WAS AWESOME, RAYE!!!"

"YOU’RE SO COOL!!!"

The cheers continued as he descended the stairs.

And Raye, well...

"..."

He wasn’t exactly hating this situation.