I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[Brian PoV]

Damn it! These monsters never seem to end!

I was still stuck here, unable to break free as monsters relentlessly blocked my path day and night, keeping me from finding Ariel.

"Enough already—die, all of you bastards!"

I unleashed Flying Sword magic at the monsters. It was one of the techniques I'd recently learned from Master Pendragon—a spell that launched a streak of light capable of striking enemies from a distance.

—Rrooaarrr!

I heard the roar of a massive monster. Turning around, I saw a Minotaur standing three meters tall.

"Tch, this one's back again."

I'd already killed this monster three times, yet it kept coming back for more. Honestly, the Minotaur had proven to be one of the toughest monsters I'd faced throughout this third-stage exam.

It charged—the Minotaur let out a roar and came barreling toward me.

Settling into a stance, I prepared to unleash the newest techniques Master had taught me.

—Roaarrr!

The Minotaur swung a punch at me.

"Spinning Strike!"

Spinning my body to generate more power, I swung my sword against the Minotaur's fist.

"Ughhh...!"

I was thrown backward—my strength still wasn't enough to trade blows head-on with a level-8 Minotaur. I probably still needed more practice to fully master my new techniques.

The Minotaur charged again and launched a kick.

I dodged using Accel magic; its kick struck a tree behind me instead, knocking it clean over.

I kept my distance from it—there was no more time to waste here. I had to find Ariel before it was too late!

Raising my sword above my head with both hands, I began gathering mana and channeling it into the blade.

"I am the protector of this motherland..."

I began chanting one of my Profound Codex incantations. This monster's end would come with this strike.

"Destroyer of evil... defender of truth..."

The Minotaur charged toward me again, its mouth opening wide to bare its massive fangs in an attempt to intimidate me. But I wasn't afraid. The more courage I summoned, the more powerful the spell I could unleash.

"Roar, Incursio!"

Swinging my sword in a vertical arc, I released the wave of magic I'd been gathering.

—Roaaarr!

My wave of magic slammed into the Minotaur, sending its body flying backward. It kept getting pushed further and further until an explosion erupted as it collided with a massive tree.

Smoke billowed across the area. Before long, the Minotaur's body lay charred like burnt coal, its tongue lolling out, a massive wound gaping across its chest.

"That attack was incredible!"

That was only the first tier of this spell—I couldn't even imagine what kind of damage it would deal once I developed it to the third tier.

For some reason, with the strength I now possessed, I felt like I could defeat any opponent that stood before me. If I remembered correctly, the academy tournament was coming up in a few months. I'd show everyone at the academy what I was capable of, and humiliate that rotten noble when the time finally came.

After defeating the monster, I continued making my way through the forest.

Ever since this third-stage exam began, I'd only run into one other participant. Where had everyone else gone? I supposed this place wasn't nearly as vast as the desert where the second stage had taken place.

—Tap... tap... tap...

As I made my way through the forest again, I heard the sound of footsteps off to the side.

A girl with platinum hair appeared, walking unsteadily, clearly weakened.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Ariel!"

I rushed toward her just as she began to collapse, about to faint.

"Brian..."

Ariel registered my presence just as I managed to catch her body.

"Ariel! What happened? Where's your academy uniform?" I asked her.

But she didn't answer—her consciousness slipped away first, and she fell asleep in my arms. I held her close.

Better to find somewhere safe first and wait until Ariel wakes up.

***

[Ariel PoV]

Ughh... where am I?

The last thing I remembered was the masked man telling me to run, holding off the three assassins to save me.

"Ariel... you're awake?"

Hearing a voice, I turned my head. Brian was sitting nearby.

"Brian...? What happened? Why am I suddenly here with you?" I asked, still deeply confused.

"I saved you about two hours ago," Brian said, smiling. "Didn't I tell you? I'd definitely find you in this forest."

Eh? Wasn't it the masked man who saved me?

"I found you nearly passed out not far from here," Brian explained.

"Is that so? Thank you, Brian..."

Hearing my gratitude, the blond-haired man smiled with satisfaction.

Speaking of which, I still hadn't thanked the masked man at all. He'd saved both me and Brian twice by now.

Who was he, really? How had he gotten in here? At the time, I hadn't had a chance to ask him anything.

Come to think of it—how was he doing right now?

"Brian, how long was I asleep?" I asked him.

He pulled out his pocket watch and checked it. "About two hours, I think. It's ten o'clock now. The exam ends in two more hours."

"Brian, before this, I ran into three assassins in the forest who were after you," I told him.

"Huh? So they're the ones who did this to you, Ariel?" Brian asked. "Unforgivable!"

"We need to call the instructors about this, Brian," I suggested.

"But Ariel, we're almost at the center of the forest. If we turn back now, we won't get the crystal, and this whole day's effort will have been for nothing!" Brian objected, disagreeing with my suggestion.

"But Brian, if they find you, we'll be in danger," I countered, trying to convince him otherwise.

"Don't worry, Ariel," Brian said casually. "I've grown a lot stronger this time! I actually believe I could take on an instructor now!" His face beamed with pride as he said it.

It was true that Brian did seem stronger than before. Still, I wasn't convinced he'd truly reached an instructor's level.

"If you're feeling better, let's hurry to the center of the forest—it's not far from here, Ariel."

Seeing how set Brian was on this, I had no choice but to go along with his wishes.

We continued on toward the center of the forest. According to what people said, monsters rarely wandered into that area for some reason, making it the perfect spot for participants to rest after obtaining the crystals they'd worked so hard to find.

After about half an hour of walking, we began to see trees with leaves that shimmered like jewels. It seemed we'd finally reached the area at the forest's center.

"..."

Our footsteps came to a sudden stop when we spotted a black-haired man sitting slumped against one of the trees. His academy uniform looked scorched, as if it had been burned by something.

I rushed toward him, but Brian's hand stopped me.

"What's wrong, Brian? He looks badly hurt! As a Priestess, it's my duty to heal others!" I said to him.

"But Ariel, that man did terrible things to you! He made you cry and kidnapped you during the first exam! He doesn't deserve to be healed by those sacred hands of yours!" Brian said, clearly irritated. "Besides, if he's hurt like that, it's probably because he couldn't handle the monsters in this forest! That's on him for ending up in this state."

Brian's words didn't change my mind in the slightest. I pulled my hand free from his grip and stepped toward Raul's body.

"Tch, you're too soft, Ariel," Brian muttered.

Ignoring Brian's words, I knelt down in front of Raul and checked his condition.

There was a wound on the right side of his head, part of his left side looked burned, his hand was blistered with peeling skin, and his breathing had grown weak.

His condition was terrible... what kind of monster had he fought to end up like this?

But I quickly realized that thought was wrong. That was because I found a stab wound on Raul's left shoulder. It was clear now—the wounds he'd sustained hadn't come from fighting a monster, but from fighting another person.

Focusing mana into my hand, I began chanting a healing spell. With this many wounds, it would take time for him to fully recover, even with healing.

Light began to glow around my palm as I started healing him, touching each wound in turn. First his head, then I moved to heal the stab wound on his left shoulder.

Healing wounds this severe would drain a significant amount of the mana I currently had left.

After healing the lighter wounds, I opened his uniform and began unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time.

There was a burn on the left side of his chest, so I began healing that area first.

Sweat began beading on my forehead as fatigue set in. After a few minutes of healing his chest, Raul was finally able to breathe normally again.

His eyelids began to open, revealing eyes as black as the night sky, now gazing up at me.

"Liana..." he murmured.

Huh? Who was Liana? I figured he must be hallucinating from the wounds he'd sustained. He probably hadn't fully regained consciousness yet.

Still, I had no idea Raul was acquainted with a woman named Liana.

***

[3rd PoV]

Elsewhere, Foxy had finally managed to slip past the barrier after evading the instructors chasing her. She made her way back to the cave where the group had gathered before.

But upon arriving, she found none of her companions there. She then picked up an artifact shaped like a sphere. At its center were four holes, but only one of them was glowing.

"All three of them are dead..." Foxy muttered. "How is that possible? I drew away three instructors' attention myself, and four instructors were supposed to be tied up making sure the barrier kept functioning."

Four instructors had been patrolling the forest at the time the four Ouroboros assassins breached the barrier. Three had chased after Foxy, while the whereabouts of the fourth had remained unknown to them.

"Is it possible all three of them were killed by just one instructor?" Foxy muttered, unable to believe it. "That would mean this mission was a complete failure."

Foxy had no choice but to return to Ouroboros's headquarters this time. There was no way she could go back into that forest alone.

"This is such a headache. How am I supposed to explain this to the Boss?"

.

.

.

The next day, the third-stage exam came to an end. Of the forty participants who had entered the forest, only twenty-eight managed to make it out alive.

After this, the participants would return to the academy, having spent nearly a full month enduring a survival exam split into three stages.

Upon their return, the second-year students would be granted a ten-day break before resuming their studies at the academy.

Two months later, they would face their graduation exam, followed by the academy tournament once every student had completed it.

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