I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Raul POV]

The following day, we had finally reached the outskirts of the urban area.

We had actually arrived here the previous afternoon, but decided to spend the night in an abandoned shack not far from the city's outskirts.

Our remaining food and water supplies had dwindled to just two loaves of bread and four small pouches of drinking water. Because of that, we would have to hunt down other participants and take their supplies if we wanted enough provisions to make it to the finish line.

"I think quite a few participants have already entered this area."

The green-haired woman nodded and followed behind me.

We began entering the city through a heavily damaged gate. This city was called Edessa, and its inhabitants had abandoned it roughly twenty years ago.

Back then, Edessa had been a fairly prosperous city because it lay along one of the major trade routes connecting the Aragon Empire and the Kuwalid Kingdom.

However, after the territory became part of the Empire, the people living here chose to migrate back to their homeland rather than remain as minorities within the Aragon Empire, which was notorious for its mistreatment of other races.

Now, this place had become a dead city infested with desert monsters.

There were many different varieties of monsters inhabiting this place. The most common were desert goblins, which were Level 1 monsters, along with several types of insects such as Big Fleas and Desert Centipedes, both of which were Level 0 monsters.

For the time being, monsters below Level 4 were not much of a threat to the participants of the second-stage examination.

However, I had also scattered several Level 4 and above monsters throughout this area.

There was even a trap I had created inside Edessa's City Hall.

It was a monster-summoning artifact disguised as a treasure chest, originally designed to punish greedy players who were careless in the game.

I just hoped none of the participants discovered it.

Otherwise, things would become even more complicated during this second-stage examination.

After walking for several minutes, I suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, Raul?" Valeria asked, sounding confused as she noticed me suddenly come to a halt.

"Take a look over there."

I pointed toward a set of footprints in the dirt.

"They're still fresh. I'd say they were left somewhere between ten and twenty minutes ago."

Valeria placed a hand beneath her chin as she examined them.

"Don't those look like Hobgoblin footprints?"

"You're right. We'd better be more careful from here on."

Although goblins were only Level 1 monsters, their numbers could turn them into a nightmare for anyone foolish enough to underestimate them.

We continued onward, but at a much slower pace than before. I didn't want to be ambushed by one of the monsters inhabiting this city.

I only wanted to fight them if we had no other choice.

Any battle we started here could attract the attention of stronger monsters nearby. If we were forced to fight, we needed to finish the battle as quickly as possible.

*Kikiki...*

Valeria and I stopped once again.

This time, we had spotted a large group of goblins feasting in the middle of the road. They were devouring the food supplies that had been carried by other examination participants.

We immediately hid inside one of the surrounding buildings and observed them from a distance.

"There are so many of them..." Valeria muttered.

There were approximately fifty ordinary goblins and five Hobgoblins gathered there.

It seemed that this area belonged to this particular group of monsters.

"What should we do, Raul?" Valeria asked.

Honestly, the more logical choice would have been to quietly sneak around them without engaging in combat.

However, we had no idea what other monsters occupied the areas beyond them.

If we encountered a Level 5 or higher monster after passing through this goblin territory, the goblins might notice the battle and be drawn toward us. That would make dealing with the stronger monster far more difficult.

So, what should I choose?

Should we eliminate the monsters here before continuing onward?

Or should we sneak past them and gamble that we wouldn't be discovered by some powerful monster lurking in this area?

"Valeria, go to the top floor of this building."

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"What are you planning?" Valeria asked, clearly curious about what I had in mind.

"We'll wipe them out in less than a minute."

Her eyes widened at my suggestion.

"But how are we supposed to defeat that many monsters in such a short time? What if there are other goblins that aren't gathered over there?"

Valeria had a good point.

It would be difficult to kill all of them if the goblins were scattered throughout the area.

With one of Valeria's AoE spells, the goblins gathered in one place could probably be annihilated with only one or two attacks.

But that would be a different story if their positions were spread out.

"I'll attack them first and draw their attention," I explained my plan. "Once all the goblins surround me, use Enhanced Fireball to wipe out the ordinary goblins surrounding me."

Most students at the academy had already mastered basic elemental magic.

As for Valeria, she had even mastered Enhanced version of elemental magic. These were essentially elemental spells enhanced through additional incantations, allowing them to inflict considerably more damage and larger scale than their ordinary counterparts.

"All right. I understand," Valeria replied.

She then entered the building beside us and positioned herself at a strategic location from which she could fire her magic at the gathering of goblins.

Meanwhile, I quietly slipped through the narrow alleyways between the buildings, approaching the five Hobgoblins gathered in the middle of the street.

There were also more than a dozen ordinary goblins surrounding the five Hobgoblins I had chosen as my targets.

*Hmm...*

Those ordinary goblins would make it difficult for me to reach the five Hobgoblins.

How could I get close to them without having to kill all the goblins surrounding them?

As I surveyed the area, I noticed a rope hanging from the top of a twenty-meter-tall building not far from where I stood.

I made my way toward the building, entered it, and climbed up to the rooftop so I could perform a maneuver.

Once I reached the roof, I grabbed the rope that was tied to a nearby post.

I then walked toward the edge of the building and looked down at the five Hobgoblins, who were still sitting in the middle of the street, chatting among themselves.

After pulling the rope toward me, I wrapped both hands tightly around its end.

I didn't want to lose my grip and fall before reaching the Hobgoblins.

I jumped toward the adjacent building to gain the momentum I needed for the swing.

Then, after positioning myself, I sprinted toward the edge and leaped from the rooftop.

My body swung rapidly toward the five Hobgoblins, passing over the heads of the ordinary goblins below. They looked up in shock as they suddenly saw a human flying above them.

I released the rope and landed directly in front of the five Hobgoblins, performing a forward roll to preserve my momentum.

*Grooahh!*

The Hobgoblins immediately stood up after seeing me launch myself toward them.

One of them, directly in front of me, reached for the club at his side.

But my hand was faster.

My sword severed his head before he could even grasp his weapon.

*Groaahh!*

One of the remaining Hobgoblins charged forward, swinging his club toward my head.

I quickly ducked beneath the attack and slashed at his leg, forcing his body down onto one knee.

*Slash!*

His head flew into the air as my sword effortlessly sliced through his exposed neck.

Two more Hobgoblins charged toward me, followed closely by the last one behind them.

The first two swung their clubs at me simultaneously.

In response, I used the Charging technique, launching myself forward and slipping past their attacks.

"..."

The Hobgoblin behind them was startled when he realized I had already appeared directly in front of him.

He attempted to swing his club at me, but my sword was faster.

It sliced through his arm, severing it completely.

*Arrghhhh!*

The Hobgoblin collapsed in agony, clutching the stump where his arm had been.

But I didn't stop there.

I spun 270 degrees and swung my sword at one of the Hobgoblins I had just passed.

My blade cleaved straight through his body, splitting him in two.

Seeing four of his companions fall in an instant, the last Hobgoblin began trembling in fear.

I casually walked toward him and decapitated him without hesitation.

*Krikikiki...*

By the time I looked around, dozens of ordinary goblins had already surrounded me while I was eliminating the five Hobgoblins.

But I didn't panic.

Instead, I looked toward the building where Valeria was supposed to be waiting.

Three enormous fireballs suddenly emerged from the building and shot toward me at tremendous speed.

I immediately dropped flat onto the ground to avoid being thrown off my feet by the shockwaves from Valeria's spell.

*Bomb! Bomb! Bomb!*

The three fireballs crashed into the goblins surrounding me from every direction.

Heat washed over my body as Valeria's magic exploded.

The goblins' screams of death echoed loudly through the streets.

After the explosions finally subsided, I rose to my feet and looked around.

Dozens of goblin corpses lay scattered across the ground, their bodies charred black by Valeria's flames.

Smoke escaped from their mouths, while the smell of roasted flesh filled my nose.

I immediately hurried toward the building where Valeria was waiting.

"That was a good spell, Valeria," I said, praising her execution.

Hearing my compliment, Valeria turned her face away.

Her cheeks had turned bright red.

"I-it's nothing. It actually took me some time to cast such a powerful spell," Valeria replied softly.

For a mage like Valeria, even preparing the Enhanced spell she had just used required a considerable amount of time.

I estimated that it had taken her roughly fifteen seconds to prepare it.

That was already quite fast, considering that even officially certified mages who had just graduated needed around twenty seconds to prepare a spell of that level.

"Let's hurry and leave this place," I told her. "That explosion will definitely attract the attention of other monsters."

The green-haired woman nodded in response.

We continued our journey toward the center of the city, hoping to reach it by nightfall.

I hoped that our rapid attack had eliminated all the monsters in this area.

"Raul, you smell like goblin blood," Valeria complained, looking uncomfortable as she noticed the blood covering my body.

"Well, what can I do about it? Just endure it until we reach the oasis after leaving the city."

"Huh? There's an oasis in this desert?" Valeria asked in surprise.

"That's right. We can replenish our water supplies and clean ourselves there."

Hearing that, Valeria visibly relaxed.

I guess women really can't stand going even a single day without being able to bathe.

Liana—my ex-girlfriend from my previous life—was the same.

She always complained whenever we went on long trips because she couldn't clean herself comfortably.

Thinking about those memories caused the corners of my lips to lift slightly.

However, my pleasant nostalgia didn't last long.

I suddenly sensed something approaching us at incredible speed.

I turned around and saw a humanoid monster rushing toward Valeria, its fist aimed directly at her.

*Bam!*

The monster was sent flying.

I had kicked it away before it could strike the green-haired girl.

"Valeria, keep an eye on your surroundings. I don't think this monster is alone."

Hearing my words, the green-haired girl became more vigilant than before.

The monster I had kicked began getting back onto its feet.

It didn't appear to have suffered any injuries from my attack.

Its body resembled that of a cricket, with two pairs of arms of different lengths and powerful jumping ability.

This monster was a Moonblanc Cricket.

A Level 5 humanoid cricket monster.

With its incredible speed and agility, it was a particularly troublesome opponent for student mages.

"Raul! I see another one of those monsters on top of the building at ten o'clock!" Valeria shouted, pointing toward it.

I looked over and saw another humanoid monster of the same species standing atop a building.

If I were alone, I could probably defeat both of these monsters by luring them into a confined space where they couldn't take advantage of their superior speed.

However, fighting two of them while simultaneously protecting Valeria would be considerably more difficult.

Well... I suppose this will be good training for her.

She needed to learn how to deal with fast-moving enemies like these monsters.

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