I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Ariel POV]

Raul was asleep, sitting with his back against a large boulder. It seemed to be nighttime already. It was difficult to tell the time in a place like this, where we were completely enclosed underground.

I looked at his sleeping face. When he was quiet and stopped acting strangely, he looked almost like an innocent and kind man.

I suppose he must have been exhausted after being relentlessly hunted by three Clans for three days straight.

I don't understand why he is doing all of this. Wouldn't it have been better to simply go through the exam without making enemies of everyone else competing here?

Lately, there have been so many things about Raul that I simply cannot understand. The Raul I know seems different from the person he has become.

When he was injured and closed his eyes earlier, for some reason, I felt as though he were carrying an incredibly heavy burden.

And for some reason, my body moved on its own. I reached out and touched his cheek, healing his wound.

Considering everything he had done recently, I shouldn't have helped him.

And yet, when I saw the expression on his face at that moment, I suddenly felt the urge to help him.

I don't know why.

I don't understand it either.

Not long afterward, he suddenly started crying after asking me about Brian.

That was strange.

The Raul I knew had never shown any weakness in front of me. He had always wanted me to see him as a true man.

I approached Raul, who was still sleeping.

For some reason, ever since I had started interacting with him recently, Raul felt like a complete stranger to me.

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, his eyes opened.

Why was he so sensitive to the slightest movement around him? Was this normal even for a Knight?

"N-Nothing," I answered before quickly returning to where I had been sitting.

"How long was I asleep?" Raul asked me.

"I don't know. I think it was quite a while."

Hearing my answer, Raul stood up and walked over to the roasted rabbit he had cooked earlier.

"Hmm... So you ate it after all," Raul remarked as he looked at the roasted rabbit.

I turned my face away at his words.

Earlier, I had refused to eat the food Raul cooked and had even been reluctant to drink the water stored inside the coconut shells.

"Well... I'll go scout the area for a while," Raul said before walking out of the cave.

Was he going to fight again this time?

Even with his hand in that condition?

Why was he pushing himself this hard?

---

[Raul POV]

I was currently near a narrow opening that allowed me to overlook the area below.

From here, I could see several students either sleeping or standing guard.

This mine had three levels.

The first was **Level One**, located at the lowest part of the mine. This was where the miners used to work and extract materials. The area was built like a labyrinth, making it difficult to find the way out if you weren't familiar with the place.

Above it was **Level Two**, where the miners temporarily stored the materials they had extracted. It also served as a resting area for the workers.

Finally, there was **Level Three**, located not far from Level Two. This was where I was hiding with Ariel. The area wasn't particularly large and was mainly used as a storage room for mining equipment and as a workplace for the supervisors.

At the moment, I was on Level Three, observing a group that appeared to be led by Valeria.

Judging from their route, they must have entered through the southern tunnel.

That meant Geralt's group should be somewhere near the northern mining area.

I had to hurry there and take them out before they crossed the bridge connecting this area to the northern mining area.

It would be much more difficult for me if their group managed to join the others before the final battle.

When I reached the area, however, I found no sign that Geralt's group had crossed the bridge yet.

I suppose they decided to rest for the night.

I then searched for a place to hide and settled down to rest while waiting for their group to arrive.

---

[Geralt POV]

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After we had rested for quite some time, I ordered the others to start moving again.

We had entered the mine through the northern tunnel earlier, but we hadn't encountered a single trap from that bastard noble.

After that, we decided to sleep and recover our strength so we'd be better prepared to face him.

We took turns standing guard.

Judging from the faint sunlight filtering into the mine, it seemed that morning had already arrived.

It was incredibly difficult to keep track of time in a place like this.

"Move! We're going to keep going until we meet up with the others on the other side!" I ordered the members under my command.

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

We began making our way through the mine.

It was incredibly dark, with only a small amount of sunlight managing to penetrate inside.

Unfortunately, only two people in our group possessed Nature Mana capable of producing light, and they couldn't keep the spell active indefinitely.

After exploring the area for a while, I spotted a wooden bridge connecting this section of the mine to another area.

However, I needed to be careful.

There was always a possibility that bastard noble had prepared a trap for us.

"Two of you! Check that bridge!" I ordered.

Two men from my group approached the bridge.

They inspected the planks, the handrails, and even the area beneath it.

But apparently, they found nothing wrong.

"Geralt! The bridge seems perfectly safe to cross!" one of them reported.

Once we were certain it was safe, the remaining thirteen members of my group began crossing the bridge, with me leading from the front.

However, just as I was about to reach the other side, the bridge suddenly shook.

**—BANG!**

I turned around after hearing something land on the bridge.

A black-haired man was standing in the middle of the bridge, surrounded by the members under my command.

"Where did he come from?!"

"He jumped down from above!"

Yes...

That bastard noble—Raul de Garcia—had suddenly appeared right in front of us.

"Attack him!" I ordered.

The others immediately rushed toward the bastard noble.

However, with the limited space on the bridge, our numerical advantage was practically useless.

I wanted to fire a spell at him, but there was a high risk of friendly fire.

Still, if we wanted to defeat an enemy like this, sacrifices had to be made.

I began concentrating mana into my right hand.

The others were already struggling against him despite our numerical advantage.

"Fire Rain!"

Seven fireballs shot toward them.

Raul, who was fighting the others, noticed my spell and immediately turned around.

He grabbed one of my men and used him as a shield against my attack.

"Captain! Why are you using an area-of-effect spell while we're still here?!" one of them complained.

I ignored him.

The man suddenly leaped toward me using the Axio spell.

He raised his leg to head level, preparing to strike me.

—BAM!**

I blocked his Axe Kick.

The man immediately spun his body and kicked me directly in the head.

Ugh...

My brain felt like it was rattling inside my skull.

The force of his kick sent me flying and rolling across the ground.

"Stop staring! Attack him!" I ordered the members who were standing there in shock after seeing me get kicked.

The remaining eight members surrounded Raul again.

Now that the battle was no longer taking place on the bridge, we could finally take advantage of our superior numbers.

The bastard noble began evading the attacks coming at him from every direction.

Yet he continued to dodge and counterattack with frightening efficiency.

"Corner him! Don't give him any room to run or dodge!"

I'll use that spell again...

My men began leaping toward him one after another in an attempt to restrain him.

Two of them finally managed to grab his legs.

His movements were completely restricted.

Good!

My spell would hit him this time!

But just when I thought my plan was about to succeed, the black-haired man muttered something.

"Sartaxio..."

His body suddenly launched into the air.

He performed an incredibly high jump, taking the two men who had grabbed his legs with him.

They were thrown nearly seven meters into the air before crashing back onto the ground.

Both of them were unconscious, having landed headfirst.

His jumping spell was stronger than before...

Was that a second-level Axio spell, like Accel with Acceleration?

How could he use a spell that was supposedly only available to those who had officially become Imperial Knights?

The remaining six members of my group attacked him again.

That's when I noticed it.

His left hand was hanging completely limp.

He hadn't used his left hand to attack or defend himself even once.

What exactly was he planning?

I didn't care.

My only goal was to make him pay for interfering with my duel against Brian.

"Flame Panthera!"

Both of my hands became engulfed in flames.

This was the first time I had used this spell, even though I hadn't mastered it yet.

Raul kicked one of my men in the head before turning toward me.

He noticed the spell.

And then...

He smiled.

I rushed toward him at full speed.

—BAM!**

I punched him, but the man managed to block my fist with his hand.

The force of my attack sent his body flying backward until he crashed into the cave wall.

"Feel the power of my new spell!"

Flame Panthera increased my speed through the propulsion of flames. Its destructive power also increased slightly because **Speed = Equal Power**.

The man stood back up.

His expression showed neither anger nor happiness.

What was this man thinking?

This time, he rushed toward me.

I activated Flame Panthera again and charged toward him as well.

He appeared to be preparing a right-handed punch.

But after fighting him yesterday, I already knew his attack patterns.

—BAM!

I raised my right hand and blocked the swift left kick he launched at me.

Yes...

This man always used feints to deceive his opponents.

He smiled again when he saw that I had read his attack.

I countered with a left jab toward his face, but he easily avoided it.

—BAM!

He launched another powerful kick.

I blocked it with my hand, but the impact still pushed me backward.

"Flame Pant—"

—BAM!

Damn it!

He wouldn't even let me activate my spell.

He kept attacking me with his kicks.

The man rushed toward me again.

"Hey! Let me activate—"

—BAM!

Ugh...

My arm shook violently as I blocked his kick.

Why were his kicks so damn powerful?

I looked at the strange stance he was using.

What kind of martial art was this?

But I had no time to think.

The man attacked me again.

I focused on the movement of his legs.

This attack seemed much stronger than the previous ones.

**—BAM!**

Ugh...

My head shook violently.

The man suddenly threw a right punch that slammed into my temple.

—BAM!

I blocked his right kick aimed at my head.

I tried to counter with a left punch, but my fist struck nothing but air.

—BAM!

Guhhh...

My solar plexus!

He had ducked beneath my attack before driving a fast punch into my stomach.

—BAM!

He kicked me again, sending my body rolling across the ground.

Damn...

Why could he always counter my spells and attacks?

I tried to stand back up.

—BAM!

My head shook again.

He had kicked me once more.

My vision began to blur.

I was about to lose consciousness...

Damn it...

Why...?

—BAM!

Ugh...

Why was I so weak...?

I wanted to win.

I wanted to defeat this man...

Tap... Tap... Tap...

I heard footsteps.

The man slowly walked toward me.

His black eyes and emotionless expression made him look like a lion that had grown bored of its prey.

Damn...

I wanted to win...

No matter what.

His leg rose into the air.

He was about to crush my head.

I closed my eyes, preparing to be eliminated from the exam.

Damn it!

"Wind Blow..."

I suddenly felt a powerful gust of wind rushing toward me.

Slowly opening my eyes, I turned my head to the side.

There, I saw Valeria and the members under her command.

"Follow that pervert slowly, but make sure you keep your distance!" Valeria ordered her group.

It seemed that the man had retreated after reinforcements arrived.

"Are you all right, Geralt?" Valeria asked as she walked toward me.

Hearing her words, I could only remain silent, clenching my fists and biting my lip.

I lost...

Damn it...

This was unbelievably frustrating...

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