The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

"I’m back."

Raye said, calmly walking over to Jerusha and the others.

And as soon as he got there...

"What the heck?! You’re a lot stronger than before!"

Devin exclaimed that.

"Haha, well... I didn’t just laze around in the dungeon, you know."

Raye responded, smirking.

And then...

"No, we know that. It’s just that you’re stronger than we had expected, and by a lot."

Lycus suddenly followed.

"Huh?"

Raye looked at him.

"Is that so?"

He asked.

"Mhm."

Devin and Lycus just nodded their heads in unison as a response.

’it’s probably because of the two enhancement pills that I took.’

Raye thought to himself.

But then, shrugging his shoulders...

"Meh, who cares?"

He just said that and casually sat beside Jerusha.

’We care! Tell us!’

Lycus and Devin exclaimed internally, dying in curiosity!

Though...

"..."

They didn’t actually say anything.

"Congrats on your win."

Sofia said to Raye, smiling sweetly.

"Thanks."

Raye simply replied, smiling back.

And then, looking to his right...

"Congratulations! You were so cool out there!"

Jerusha greeted him, her smile stretching ear to ear like she was the one who had won.

"I was cool?"

Raye asked her, raising a brow.

"Yup!"

And Jerusha answered immediately.

"Haha..."

Raye smiled, hearing her quick answer.

"Thanks."

He said.

And after that...

The two continued talking.

"I didn’t worry that your opponent could use weapon aura because I know you have the Blaze."

Jerusha declared, feeling proud.

"You remembered, huh."

Raye responded, smiling. He thought Jerusha was cute.

Fwip—

-...

Zephyrus then quietly landed on top of Raye’s head, not wanting to interrupt the conversation between the two.

He knew what was going on, and so...

-’Youth, huh.’

He just stayed silent and watched the ongoing match.

On the other hand...

"..."

The other three—Sofia, Devin, and Lycus—remained silent.

Though...

Their ears perked up, and they kept glancing at the two secretly!

*****

Meanwhile, back at the test...

Allen was immediately brought to one of the resting areas.

And there...

"There’s no serious damage, just a few cracked ribs. He’ll wake up later."

He was healed.

Allen had a huge cut on his chest, it’s not deep so it’s not bleeding a lot. His uniform was destroyed, though.

He also had small cuts all over his body, like he’d been sliced by knives.

But just like the cut on his chest, they weren’t deep, so he didn’t bleed.

Raye’s [Tear] isn’t that strong yet. He’s not proficient enough in using it.

He had really just used it to blow Allen out of the arena.

Though Allen’s small wounds would sting a lot once he woke up.

Anyway, on the other arena...

"[Lightning Strike!]"

FZZZZT—!

Lena and Leon were still fighting!

And Lena had just unleashed a fast, lightning spell!

"Gurgh...!"

FWOOSH—

Leon slashed horizontally and parried it...

Bzzt—

"Urgh!"

But the lingering lightning still coursed through his body and shocked him!

’If only I could use aura...’

Leon thought, his body feeling numb!

He was paralyzed!

And as he was like that...

"[Skies alight, thunder’s call, strike with might—]" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Lena started chanting!

"[Thunder Storm!]"

She exclaimed!

FWOOSH—

And then a huge magic circle appeared above the arena!

’What the hell...?!’

Leon frowned at the sight of it.

He had now recovered from his paralysis.

Though...

FWOOOZZH—

That was when lightning strikes started raining down from the magic circle above, aiming directly at him!

"Shit!"

Leon cursed.

Bam-

And then he started darting around the arena to avoid being hit by lightning!

ZZZZZZ—CRACK!

Explosion occurred whenever the lightning hit the floor.

And seeing that...

’If one of them struck me, I’m done for!’

Leon became nervous.

FWOOOZZ—

SWIIZZ—

FZZZH—

And that was when three lightning bolts came from above, crashing down at him!

"GRRGH...!"

Bam-

Leon leaped back, avoiding one of them!

Boom-!

It struck the floor and destroyed it!

FZZZ—

But another bolt was coming at Leon!

He was still in the air...

"GRAAAHH!!!"

SWOOSH—

So he has no choice but to just swing his sword to block it!

CRACK!

The lightning collided with his wooden sword and dissipated!

BZZZT—

But fragments of it shot directly through Leon’s body!

"URGH!!"

Leon groaned, he felt his body freeze up!

And looking ahead...

FWOOZZH—

He saw the last lightning closing in!

’FUCKING MOVE!!!’

Leon exclaimed internally, forcing his body to move!

He circulated mana throughout his body, and because of it...

"HAAAAA!!!"

Fwish-

He broke free from his paralysis faster and managed to turn to the side!

BOOM-!

Making him successfully dodge the last lightning!

But before he could even feel relief...

"[Heaven’s Wrath]"

He heard Lena’s voice!

She just finished chanting!

"?!"

Leon immediately looked up at the magic circle.

And there...

FWOOZZHHH—!!!

He saw a massive pillar of lightning, covering about half the arena, coming down toward him!

(The arenas in the academy are 30 meters x 30 meters big.)

"Wha...?!"

"What’s that?!"

"Hey hey hey... Wouldn’t that kill Leon?!"

The students screamed, fear evident in their voices.

Even Raye...

’Uwahhh... Isn’t that a bit overkill?’

He thought, frowning.

Not just him—Lycus and the others couldn’t help but feel sorry for Leon too!

Meanwhile...

"..."

Leon was speechless, staring at the incoming lightning.

FWWOOOZZH—

The giant pillar of lightning bolt was just meters away from him now.

’I can’t dodge it.’

He thought.

Ever since his match with Lena had started, Leon had been running around, dodging every one of her spells.

He hadn’t managed to attack her.

He couldn’t even get near her!

"Shit..."

Leon mumbled. He’s exhausted now.

The difference between him and Lena is just that big.

Leon knew that he was gonna lose...

He’s gonna lose...

And so...

"GRAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Leon just decided to follow his guts!

’If I’m gonna lose anyway, I might as well try everything!’

He thought, tightly grinding his teeth together!

BAM!

He planted his feet onto the ground!

And looking up at the incoming giant lightning bolt...

"HAAAAAAH!!!"

SWOOOSH—!

Leon swung his sword upward with all his might, both hands gripping the hilt tightly!

’I’m going to pour everything I have left into this attack!’

Leon declared in his head!

And then...

BOOOOOOOM—!!!

The giant pillar of lightning crashed down on him!

FWOOOSH—!

A powerful gust of wind erupted from the impact of Lena’s magic hitting the ground!

"KYAAAA!!!"

"URGH...?!"

The students shielded their eyes from the flying debris and dust!

Thud-

"Ugh!"

Some of them even fell on their butts as the ground shook violently!

Bzzt—

"Ouch! What the fuck?"

Those closest to the arena were hit by wild lightning fragments scattering from the impact!

It was utter chaos!

"Ugh, she’s really strong."

Raye muttered, blocking the debris with his arm.

But he wasn’t worried.

’Leon is fine, I’m sure.’

He thought.

Raye can confidently declare this because of three reasons...

First, Lena could control her power—she wasn’t a murderer.

Second, every student at Zion Academy received a special artifact ring upon enrollment.

It’s not just for checking one’s stats, it also has a special function that when a life threatening attack hits you... A mana barrier would activate and protect you!

It’ll lessen the damage you took from the attack by 50%!

Thus is why the Zion Academy could do extreme duels like this!

And lastly...

’If Leon’s life were truly in danger, the professors or headmaster would’ve intervened by now.’

Raye thought calmly.

And after a few moments...

Swish-

"..."

The situation calmed down.

Raye, and everyone else immediately looked up at the arena...

"..."

The arena began to clear.

Everyone eagerly watched as the dust clouds faded.

And when it finally disappeared...

"..."

They saw Lena standing casually on her side of the arena.

"What about Leon?!"

Their gazes shifted to the opposite side.

And there...

"..."

They saw Leon, still standing on both feet!

"!!!"

Gasps filled the air as everyone widened their eyes.

They were speechless.

Leon was barely conscious, his legs trembling.

The top part of his uniform had been completely destroyed, leaving him topless and exposing his well-toned body.

His muscles, a testament to his rigorous training, drew admiration from the onlookers.

But when they saw his hands...

"Huh?"

They were surprised.

After all...

"Wait..."

"...Is that aura?"

Leon’s wooden sword was glowing brightly with golden light—he had manifested sword aura and blocked Lena’s spell with it!

’Haha, I did it...’

Leon proudly thought to himself.

Thud-

But then he collapsed face-first onto the ground!

’Ugh, I can’t move anymore.’

Leon has no strength left in his body!

And looking at him...

"I’ll finish this now."

Lena declared that!

Fwip-

She raised her right hand and aimed it at Leon.

But before she could even start chanting...

"Times up!"

Sariel exclaimed that!

The five-minute time limit had passed!

The match was a draw!

And realizing that...

"WAAAHHHH!!!"

"WOAAAAHHHH!!!"

"LEON SURVIVED AGAINST LENA!!!"

The students erupted into cheers, adrenaline surging through their veins once more!

"THE LAST TWO BATTLES WERE INSANE!!!"

They couldn’t stop shouting.

Leon heard their shouts.

"Haha... lucky."

He weakly mumbled with a smile on his face.

And then...

"..."

He passed out.