The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

As soon as he stepped into Xapham Hall—

Raye didn't waste any time.

He moved with purpose, heading straight for Bryan's office.

Standing before the door, he knocked once and spoke.

"Headmaster, it's Raye."

A brief silence followed before a calm, familiar voice responded from inside.

"Come in."

Bryan's tone was casual, as if he had been expecting him.

And without further ado—

Creak—

The wooden door groaned as Raye pushed it open.

Tap—

His shoes made a light sound against the floor as he stepped inside the room.

Looking at Raye—

"..."

Bryan gestured toward the chair opposite him.

"Sit."

He instructed.

"..."

Tap- tap—

Puff-

Raye silently complied, moving forward and taking his seat without a word.

And the moment he settled in—

Thud!

Bryan placed a bag on the table in front of him.

The sound was heavy.

"Hm?"

Raye's eyes immediately widened as he looked at the bag, already having an idea of what was inside.

And before he could even open his mouth—

"That's 500 gold coins."

Bryan declared that without hesitation.

"..."

Raye was speechless.

Five hundred gold coins.

That amount wasn't something he could just brush off.

And unconsciously—

"Heh..."

A small smile tugged at his lips.

"..."

Bryan noticed and smirked as well.

Then, with a casual motion—

Fwoosh—!!

A box appeared out of thin air!

THUD!

It landed heavily on the table near Raye.

"...?"

Raye blinked in confusion.

He glanced at Bryan, searching for an explanation.

Bryan, still smirking slyly, leaned back and—

"Take a look inside."

He spoke casually.

"...?"

Raye had no idea what was going on, but—

Fwip—

He followed Bryan's words and lifted the lid.

'I wonder what's inside.'

The thought crossed his mind as he peered inside.

And the moment he did—

"Wha—"

Raye's eyes widened.

Inside the box, neatly arranged, were ten enhancement pills—each one brewing with mana!

Fwish—

His gaze snapped toward Bryan.

And with a casual shrug—

"That came from me personally. Doesn't do much for me, but I'm sure it'll help you. Consider it an extra reward."

Bryan stated nonchalantly.

"..."

Raye was at a loss for words.

But almost immediately—

"Thank you."

He bowed his head.

"Meh, it's nothing big."

Bryan waved it off.

(For him, it really wasn't. The man had money.)

Then, as if remembering something—

"Now, take a look at the other contents of the box."

He added.

"Huh?"

Raye blinked, confused.

'There's more?'

His gaze returned to the box.

And sure enough—

There was another item inside.

A book.

Its brown cover looked unassuming, almost too plain compared to the pills.

He hadn't noticed it earlier, completely distracted by the enhancement pills.

'What's this?'

Curiosity sparked in his mind.

Then, after a moment—

"..."

He glanced at Bryan again.

And—

"Heh..."

Bryan was grinning.

No, smirking like an idiot!

He was waiting.

Waiting for Raye's reaction.

'Bruh, what the hell is this?'

Raye thought, exasperated.

Then, without further ado—

Fwip—

He picked up the book.

Fwish—

He flipped it open.

And—

"..."

Raye began reading.

At first, it seemed like nothing special.

'Oh, it's just a grimoire.'

That was his initial thought.

But as he kept reading—

"Huh...?"

His eyes narrowed.

Something was off.

This wasn't just any grimoire.

The deeper he read, the more he realized—

'What the fuck...?'

The book in his hands—

It contained Bryan's personal technique.

His telekinesis.

And noticing how stunned he was—

"Heh... Surprised?"

Bryan spoke boastfully, his voice full of pride.

"..."

Raye looked at him, his mind racing.

He opened his mouth several times, but—

No words came out.

Seeing his reaction, Bryan chuckled.

"I understand how you feel. Receiving something like that must be shocking."

He spoke arrogantly, brimming with confidence.

(And he wasn't wrong.)

Then, with a smug grin—

"Though, that's not my complete technique."

He added that.

Raye's eyes flickered.

"It's better than most of the telekinesis magic in the world—those weak imitations of my power... But it's not as great as my complete technique."

Bryan explained, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather.

"..."

Raye remained silent.

He had already figured that was the case.

But still—

'This is a big deal! Even in the game, there was no way to learn Bryan's telekinesis!'

He declared that in his head, excitement surging through him.

Anyway, snapping out of his stupor—

"Ugh... You're acting really proud, huh..."

Raye finally spoke, closing the grimoire and eyeing Bryan with a smirk.

"Hah! Of course. This is my technique we're talking about."

Bryan leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

Raye shook his head, still feeling the weight of what he had just received.

"Well… I won't say no to free power up."

He said.

Bryan laughed.

"Smart choice."

A brief silence passed before Raye took the bag of gold and the grimoire, standing up.

He looked at Bryan, his expression calmer now.

"Thanks. For everything."

Raye muttered, genuinely.

Bryan waved him off.

"Just don't waste it."

He casually mumbled.

Raye nodded.

And with that—

Tap- tap- tap—

Creak—

Thud-

He turned around, walked to the door, and left the room.

"..."

Bryan stared at the closed door in silence.

Then, scratching his cheek—

"Hmm... I probably gave him too much."

He muttered to himself.

But almost immediately—

He shook his head.

"Meh."

He just shrugged it off.

'For some reason... I'm quite fond of that brat. So whatever.'

He declared in his head, a small smile resting on his face.

*****

Fwoosh—

Raye stored the bag of gold and the box Bryan had given him into his spatial storage ring.

And immediately after—

"Time to suffer, I guess..."

Tap— Tap— Tap—

With a small frown on his face, he started making his way to Ramiel's office.

...

...

Upon arriving at his destination—

"It's Raye."

He knocked firmly, making his presence known.

"..."

Silence.

There was no response from inside.

'Is he not here?'

Raye wondered, furrowing his brows.

But then—

BAM!

The door slammed open without warning!

"Ugh...?!"

Raye instinctively jumped back, but not fast enough—his nose still got clipped by the edge of the door.

And from inside—

"Finally. I thought you backed out."

Ramiel stepped out with a wide grin, looking at Raye with amused eyes.

"Ouch... What's the big deal?"

Raye grumbled, rubbing his nose as he shot Ramiel an irritated look.

"You got hit?"

Ramiel asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah, obviously."

Raye retorted.

And with a casual shrug—

"That's because you're slow."

Ramiel stated matter-of-factly.

"?!"

Raye's eyes widened.

He opened his mouth to argue—because that was ridiculous! He was probably the fastest student in Zion Academy!

But before he could even get a word out—

"Yes, you can move fast, but that's all. Your reaction time is shit. You sense things and attacks just above average. Your field vision is narrow. And you can only move in a straight line."

Ramiel listed off his flaws with brutal honesty.

"Gugh..."

Raye fell silent.

Because...

'He's right...'

He bitterly admitted in his head.

Then—

"That's what we need to fix first before I even consider teaching you my technique."

Ramiel followed up, crossing his arms.

And with that, he turned on his heel—

"Let's go."

Tap— Tap— Tap—

Without waiting for a response, he started walking away.

"..."

Raye silently watched his back.

Then—

Tap—

Without another word, he followed after him.

The two of them were headed toward one of the academy's indoor training grounds.

And just like that—

Raye's hellish training began.

...

...

-----

Ramiel didn't hold back. Not even a little.

The training was purely physical—no magic, no fancy techniques. Just grueling, relentless drills meant to break Raye down and rebuild him stronger.

Dodging exercises that pushed his reflexes to their limits. Sprinting and agility drills that forced him to move unpredictably. Strength training that left his body screaming in pain. Reaction training where he had to evade attacks with zero warning.

Like, he literally attacked Raye while they were having a one minute break!

And through all of it—

Not once did Ramiel teach Raye his technique.

When Raye finally caught his breath and asked—

"When do I start learning your technique?"

Ramiel simply smirked and said—

"Fix your foundation first, brat."

And that was that.

Raye suffered through hours of brutal training until his body could barely move.

And by the end of it—

Thud!

He collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.

And yet...

He clenched his fists.

Because deep down—

He knew all of this was necessary.

*****

Finally, after a couple of hours—

"Ugh..."

Raye separated from Ramiel, groaning with a deep frown on his face.

He was annoyed. He was exhausted.

And his entire body was screaming at him to take a break.

But instead of doing that—

"..."

He found himself standing in front of the Magic Engineering Lab.

"I can just rest while I'm working on something."

He muttered under his breath.

(Bruh, rest...)

And with that—

Tok- tok—

He knocked on the double doors.

"..."

Silence.

Raye waited.

And after a few moments—

Creak—

The door slowly opened from the inside.

"Huh?"

An older man, his dark hair streaked with gray, peered out.

His sharp eyes briefly scanned Raye before a look of recognition crossed his face.

"Ah! The headmaster told me about you. I was expecting you."

He greeted him with a welcoming smile.

"Ah, hello."

Raye greeted back, keeping his tone polite.

"Come in, come in. I'm the only one here at the moment."

The man stepped aside, motioning for him to enter.

And without hesitation—

Tap—

Raye walked inside.

He was limping a bit though.

The man definitely noticed but chose not to say anything.

"Now, I know your restrictions and whatnots."

"I'm currently working on my own project, so I'll be keeping an eye on you, but I won't bother you."

The man said casually.

"Okay."

Raye simply replied, appreciating the lack of unnecessary chatter.

Then—

"Ah, but if you ever need help, just come to me. I'll assist you however I can."

The man added with a reassuring smile.

"..."

Raye looked at him for a moment.

Then, slightly bowing his head—

"Thank you."

He expressed his gratitude.

"No problem! Well then, see you around!"

The man waved before heading back to his own workstation, leaving Raye completely alone.

And now—

"..."

Raye let out a deep breath.

"I can finally work on it."

His lips curled into a small smile.

And with that—

Fwish—

He summoned [Celestria] from his spatial ring in the form of an elegant white sword.

His white blade gleamed under the lab's bright lights, its mystical details pulsing faintly.

Raye knew that, in terms of raw strength and skill, he was close to reaching his peak.

He was reaching his limit...

So in order to still grow stronger—

He needed more.

And as his body can't get any more stronger—

"Time to get some upgrades."

Raye decided to focus on his equipment!

His gaze locked onto [Celestria] as he slowly ran his fingers across its surface.

His mind raced with possibilities, but there was one main goal he had in mind.

With a resolute expression—

"Now... how can I connect this to my spirit power?"

Raye asked that to himself!