The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

Tap—

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Raye as soon as he entered the room.

"..."

The room fell uncomfortably silent.

’Uwahhh, am I that famous?’

Raye thought, keeping a straight face.

He began subtly looking around.

There were only 10 students in the [S Class], but the room was absurdly spacious.

The seats were arranged in two vertical rows—five chairs on the right and five on the left.

And as Raye quietly observed his surroundings...

"Hm?"

He noticed Allen glaring at him from the back-left seat of the class.

"..."

Raye just ignored him.

Then his eyes landed on Leon, sitting in his usual spot—the protagonist’s canonical seat—at the back-right, beside the window. Leon seemed uninterested, gazing outside.

’It’s a canon event, huh.’

Raye mused.

"Oh."

And then he spotted Lena and Lycus seated in the second row!

Lena on the right, Lycus on the left.

There was an empty seat behind Lycus.

And seeing that...

"..."

Raye smiled.

Tap- tap- tap—

Raye walked over and sat in the empty chair behind Lycus.

"..."

The other five students, who had no connection to Raye, continued to stare at him with curiosity.

’This is uncomfortable.’

Raye thought, but he paid them no attention to them.

Instead...

"How did your date with Sofia go yesterday?"

He asked Lycus that.

"Wha...?!"

Lycus nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise.

The question was super sudden, it caught him off guard!

"Oh?"

Lena’s ears perked up in curiosity—she was sitting just right beside Lycus, after all.

And just like that, Raye and Lena cornered Lycus into spilling the details of his day with Sofia.

...

*****

A few minutes later...

Creak—

The classroom door opened.

Tap—

Then entered a tall man in a military-style uniform!

"..."

Everyone’s attention shifted to him.

He had a clean-cut hairstyle, onyx-black eyes, and visible scars scattered across his exposed skin. A massive cigar hung from his mouth.

’He’s got such a strong presence.’

Raye thought, recognizing the man immediately.

It was Ramiel Hale, the head professor of [S Class]!

In the game...

Ramiel was a support character who helped the protagonist and other main characters grow stronger—just like Sariel!

The only difference was that Sariel focused on magic, academics, and strategic advice, while Ramiel’s approach was brute force and relentless physical training!

Anyway...

Tap—

Ramiel stopped in front of the class.

His sheer presence was intimidating. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"..."

The room remained silent.

"Hmm."

Ramiel then glanced at Lycus and Raye.

"Two got replaced, huh."

He remarked with a smirk.

Then, without further pleasantries, he opened his mouth again...

"My name is Ramiel Hale. That’s all you need to know."

He introduced himself with zero enthusiasm.

And following that...

"Everyone, stand up and follow me to the training grounds!"

He instructed with a mana-enhanced voice!

"Ugh..."

Raye and Lycus cringed, wincing from the deafening command!

And as they were like that...

Tap- tap- tap—

Creak—

THUD—!

Ramiel exited the room without another word!

"Bruhhh..."

"Again?"

"Seriously, that guy...!"

The other students began grumbling, clearly expecting this.

For them, it was routine.

They all stood up and started heading out one by one!

"..."

Raye and Lycus exchanged glances, sighing internally.

And then, at the end, they followed the rest of the class.

Lena walked with them, ensuring they wouldn’t be left behind.

’I hate this already.’

Raye thought on the way.

...

*****

Inside one of Xapham Hall’s indoor training grounds...

"The headmaster told me to take it easy on the first day."

Ramiel said that, his lips curling into a villainous smile.

"But I don’t do things like that!"

He exclaimed.

"Ugh..."

The students groaned collectively.

"..."

Raye, Lena, Lycus, Allen, and Leon frowned but remained silent.

And Ramiel... He just ignored their reactions and continued!

"Today’s training will be simple."

He declared.

And then after a pause...

"I want all of you to run one—no, two hundred laps around this area. Easy, right?"

Ramiel added that!

And without giving them any time to process his words...

"No using mana, of course."

He followed!

"..."

The students were too stunned to respond.

The indoor training grounds were enormous—80 meters by 70 meters.

Two hundred laps in it would mean running roughly 60 kilometers!

And without using mana, on top of that!

"Okay, stand up and start!"

Ramiel commanded with unrelenting authority.

"..."

No one moved at first, still hoping this was just some kind of twisted joke...

But Ramiel’s next words shattered that hope.

"If I catch anyone slacking off, I’ll add another hundred laps—not for them, but for everyone!"

"Ugh..."

The groans grew louder, but no one dared to argue.

"And if I catch you using mana, the same punishment applies. So don’t even try it!"

Ramiel then continued, clearly having fun being the head professor.

...

*****

"Ugh..."

Raye groaned, collapsing onto his bed without even bothering to change out of his uniform.

Outside, Old Man Rey, Zephyrus, and Pyro were busy preparing lunch.

Anyway, staring at the ceiling...

"He’s such a jerk."

Raye muttered that, referring to Ramiel.

Ramiel had always been like that in the game, but watching from behind a screen hadn’t prepared Raye for how grueling the training would be in real life.

’Though, I really need his training.’

Raye admitted to himself.

He couldn’t afford to slack off now—not with the harder scenarios looming just around the corner.

And so, with a determined look in his eyes...

’I need to endure this.’

He resolved.

Raye had made up his mind...

He would focus entirely on growing stronger for now.

"Brat, let’s eat!"

"Oh."

Old Man Rey then called for Raye.

"Wait a minute!"

Raye exclaimed back.

"Ugh..."

He then forced his aching body to stand up!

Raye changed to his casual clothes.

And after that...

"What’s for dinner?"

"Rabbit Stew."

He ate with the old man and the others.

...

*****

The next day...

Raye returned to the academy.

He endured Ramiel’s absurd training once again!

And after that, he attended his other classes...

Then spent hours studying in the library!

And believe it or not...

Raye trained by himself when he got back to the cabin, too!

(Sheesh, you need to rest...)

But as Raye had said the previous night, he had no time to laze around.

He needed to do everything he could to grow stronger.

He understood the gravity of what was about to come.

And so, this became Raye’s routine:

He trained under Ramiel at the academy, improving his physical stats.

He studied with Lena in the library, sharpening his intelligence.

He trained alone back at the cabin...

And he practiced spirit magic under Jerusha’s guidance!

He also trains his proficiency with the skills he made together with Pyro and Zephyrus!

All this while keeping up with his chores at the cabin, attending his other classes, and assisting the Old Man!

(Talk about being busy...)

And just like that...

...

...

...

...

...

Five months had passed.