I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

[3rd POV]

The following day, the Dragon Clan and the Lion Clan agreed to merge, changing their name to the Griffon Clan. They appointed Brian as the leader and Geralt as his vice leader.

The sole purpose of forming this new clan was simple:

Hunt down Raul de Garcia.

Brian and Geralt agreed to begin hunting him the following day, while spending today searching for crystals around the waterfall area together. They needed enough points to ensure that the members who had been eliminated could still qualify for the second stage of the exam.

At present, half of the clan’s members had gone out to collect crystals, while the rest remained at the former Lion Clan’s basecamp to discuss how they would hunt Raul.

”It is certain that Perverted Noble knows the geography of this island better than we do,” Valeria said, recalling how easily Raul had managed to trap half of their clan. ”We need to stay together and avoid falling for his schemes.”

Hearing Valeria’s explanation, the students present began to contemplate her words.

”That cowardly Noble! He always fights dirty like a snake!” Brian cursed, clearly irritated.

”Hmph! It’s only natural for a weakling to resort to dishonorable methods to win,” Geralt sneered. ”If I find him, I’ll burn his body to ashes!”

Seeing the attitudes of the two clan leaders, Valeria stared at them as though they were idiots.

I bet the moment these two see that Perverted Noble, they’ll chase after him and fall into another one of his traps, Valeria thought.

”Haah... You two, I already told you not to let yourselves be provoked by him,” Valeria said helplessly. ”Seeing you act like this makes me afraid our new clan will fall into another one of that Perverted Noble’s traps.”

Hearing Valeria’s jab, Brian and Geralt merely turned their faces away in embarrassment.

”Don’t worry, Valeria. With everyone here, I’m sure we can defeat him together!” Ariel declared with her usual innocent words, sounding like a character who firmly believed in the Power of Friendship.

Valeria felt slightly jealous of Ariel, who always managed to look at every situation so positively.

”Everyone, listen to me.”

Valeria stood up, drawing the attention of everyone present.

”First of all, even though our current focus is hunting down that Perverted Noble, don’t forget about the Eagle Clan and the several other alliances formed by smaller teams,” Valeria said, reminding her comrades. ”We don’t know who that man might cooperate with once we begin hunting him. I want to make sure no one stabs us in the back while we’re after him.”

Hearing Valeria’s words, several students nodded in agreement.

”Then, should we send someone to negotiate a ceasefire with the Eagle Clan?” one of the students asked.

”We have to if we don’t want what happened before to happen again,” Valeria replied.

During their previous confrontation, while both clans had been focused on each other, Raul had struck them from behind by interfering with Brian and Geralt’s duel. This had caused every member of both clans to become enraged and chase Raul into the cave he had prepared to trap them.

The clan members’ expressions darkened as they recalled what had happened.

”All right. We’ll do as Valeria suggested,” Brian said, supporting the green-haired woman’s plan.

Valeria nodded at Brian as a gesture of gratitude for supporting her plan.

”All right, second.” Valeria raised two fingers. ”How should we search for him? If we split up, we can find him more quickly. However, that man will easily take us down one by one if he gets the opportunity,” Valeria explained.

The members began thinking again. However, they failed to reach any conclusion.

”I think we should search for him by splitting into groups of five,” Valeria suggested. The members’ expressions seemed to question why she had proposed such a strategy. ”We only have a few days left to find him. I suggest we sweep through the areas we haven’t conquered yet and establish a perimeter to narrow down that man movements.”

Hearing Valeria’s suggestion, one of the students raised his hand to object.

”I don’t think we have enough members to create the perimeter you’re suggesting, Valeria,” the student said.

Hearing this, Valeria merely sighed, as though she had run out of options.

”I suppose we’ll have to negotiate something more than a simple ceasefire with the Eagle Clan.”

”You mean form an alliance with the Eagle Clan to hunt Raul as well!?” Brian exclaimed, slightly surprised.

All three of the strongest clan alliances on the island would unite just to hunt down a single person. Brian thought it was already going a little too far, considering Raul hadn’t been particularly strong when he fought him.

”Hey, isn’t that already our primary objective? Why not go all the way?” Valeria replied.

”But Valeria, the Eagle Clan won’t cooperate with us for free,” Geralt said, touching his chin thoughtfully. ”They’ll definitely demand payment in the form of crystals for this cooperation.”

Valeria nodded in agreement.

”You’re right, Geralt. We’ll offer them crystals worth 150 points in exchange for cooperating with us to corner Raul starting tomorrow.”

Hearing this, the members looked rather hesitant.

One hundred and fifty points was a substantial amount.

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An ordinary team could only gather around ten points per day, while a large clan like theirs could obtain crystals worth roughly one hundred points a day. One hundred and fifty points was essentially equivalent to throwing away a day and a half of their efforts just to corner a single person.

”All right, those who agree with this plan, raise your hands,” Brian said, deciding to put the matter to a vote since neither he nor Geralt could make the decision themselves.

The result was ten out of twelve team leaders agreeing to Valeria’s proposal.

”Then it’s decided!” Brian declared as he rose to his feet. ”The Griffon Clan will cooperate with the Eagle Clan to hunt down Raul de Garcia!”

”Ohhhh!”

”Punish that rotten Noble!”

”Humiliate him! Strip him naked until he has nothing left of his dignity!”

The clan members seemed eager to punish the man who had toyed with them the previous day.

---

[Raul POV]

”Haachoo!”

Ugh... Why did I suddenly sneeze this loudly? Is someone talking about me?

”What’s wrong, Captain? You look strange,” Piers said as he roasted several fish for us to eat.

”Ah, it’s nothing. I just have a bad feeling.”

”Really?” Piers muttered before looking toward Scarlett, who was still asleep. ”Captain, she still hasn’t woken up. Should we call an Instructor?” Piers asked.

Scarlett had suffered from a phenomenon known as Mana Exhaustion, which occurred when someone forced themselves to cast spells after their mana had already been depleted. They would lose consciousness for an entire day and be unable to use mana for several days, depending on the treatment they received.

”Don’t worry, Piers. She’ll regain consciousness soon.”

Yesterday afternoon, Scarlett had attacked me because of what I did by interfering with her brother’s duel against Brian. I suppose her reaction was only natural as an older sister.

Scarlett was the type of person who deeply cherished her family. However, she was quite different from the rest of the Jimena family.

In the world of Path of Destiny, there was a power known as a Codex. This power was granted to a person at birth.

A great Noble family would usually inherit its Codex from its predecessors. There is an 80 percent chance that they inherited a Codex similar to its predecessor. That was why every great Noble family possessed a distinctive Codex that became a symbol of their lineage.

For example, the Jimena family’s Codex shared the same theme among all of its descendants: Hatred, anger, and vengeance.

However, there was a twenty-percent chance that one of their descendants would fail to inherit the Codex of their predecessors.

Scarlett belonged to that category.

The Codex she possessed did not share the themes of hatred, anger, or vengeance that were commonly inherited by descendants of great Noble families.

Scarlett’s Codex was called Death Calm, and it possessed a unique ability: the calmer the mind of its wielder, the stronger their power became in battle.

Conversely, if the wielder’s mind became chaotic and unsettled, the effects of their magic would weaken.

That was why Scarlett’s spells had failed to affect me earlier. I only realized it after seeing that the flames burning the surrounding trees had failed to scorch them.

Scarlett had never discovered the true nature of her own power. She believed that the Codex she possessed was the same as Geralt’s and the rest of her family’s.

”Captain, what are we going to do now?” Piers asked.

”Huh? What do you mean, what are we going to do?”

”Why do you look so relaxed, Captain?” Piers asked loudly, clearly shocked by how calm I was. ”I heard yesterday that the Dragon Clan and the Lion Clan joined forces to hunt you down, Captain!” Piers exclaimed, looking worried.

”You don’t need to worry, Piers. We’ll be fine.”

”Captain, how can you be this calm when we’re in such a dangerous situation!?”

Hearing his words, I merely smiled. I had always wanted to use a line from a character in my favorite Netflix show.

”I’m not the one in danger because they’re hunting me.”

I gave him a confident smile.

”They’re the ones in danger for following the tail of the snake.”

.

.

.

I was walking toward the Eagle Clan’s basecamp after ordering Piers to take Scarlett and move our basecamp to the northern beach.

With Scarlett still unconscious, she would only become a burden. For now, the Griffon Clan would be focused solely on me. I would have much more freedom on my own once they began restricting my movements.

After walking for quite some time, I finally caught sight of the Eagle Clan’s basecamp.

I then walked into the basecamp.

Several members stared at me with their eyes wide open, as though they couldn’t believe I had casually walked straight into their headquarters.

If I did this at the Griffon Clan’s basecamp, I would definitely end up as their dinner.

”Stop right there,” said a woman wearing glasses. ”What are you doing at our basecamp, Raul de Garcia?”

”I want to meet your leader and negotiate with her,” I replied, explaining the reason for my visit.

Hearing this, the woman with glasses stared silently at me, seemingly considering something.

”All right. I’ll call the leader now,” she said. ”Wait here.”

The woman with glasses then headed toward the beach.

While waiting for her, I observed the condition of their basecamp.

Several people were eating while others were training. It seemed they were taking this exam very seriously.

Not long after, I saw Elena walking toward me. It was obvious that she had just finished training, judging by the slight sweat soaking her clothes.

”Oh, Raul,” Elena greeted me. ”It’s surprising to see you come here.”

”Well... There’s something I’d like to discuss with you, President,” I said frankly. ”However, could we find somewhere more comfortable to talk?”

”All right. Follow me.”

Elena then led me toward a wooded area not far from the basecamp. She leaned against a tree before looking directly into my eyes.

”So, what did you want to talk about, Raul?”

I then tossed the two crystals I had previously kept in my pouch toward her. Elena caught them with a confused expression.

”I want the Eagle Clan to help me fight the Griffon Clan,” I told her the reason for my visit.

Hearing this, Elena’s expression returned to normal. She then walked toward me.

Huh? What is she doing?

”You reap what you sow, Raul,” Elena said, mocking me with a metaphor. ”What you did to Brian and Geralt was pretty terrible, you know.”

Elena moved even closer until we were standing face-to-face. I stepped backward until my back touched the tree.

”Should I discipline you again?” Elena asked with a sadistic smile.

I shook my head in response to her question.

”P-president, what is your answer to my offer?” I asked, trying to return to the original topic.

Elena looked at the two red crystals in her hand.

”Hmm... Only one hundred points? You know that won’t be enough, right?”

I knew that. My team had only acquired around 150 points so far.

”I can only increase it to 150 points.”

”Want me to tell you something interesting?” Elena asked with a mysterious expression. ”The Griffon Clan just offered me the exact same amount to cooperate with them in hunting you, Raul.”

Well... It’s not as though I hadn’t predicted this.

However, things would certainly be more difficult now.

”If you can offer me more points than they did, I don’t mind helping you.”

”I already told you that 150 is the limit I have. Besides, the number of points we’re offering is the same. Why would you choose to help them over me, who is a Noble from your own faction?”

Hearing my complaint, Elena stepped even closer.

I couldn’t retreat any farther because the tree was already behind me.

”Because I enjoy bullying a bastard Noble like you, Raul,” Elena whispered into my ear.

Her words sent a shiver down my spine.

Elena wore a mischievous expression as she watched me struggle with her attitude.

”However, I’ll accept your offer if you’re willing to become my dueling partner later. How about it?” Elena asked, genuinely wanting me to become her sparring partner.

”I refuse,” I said without a second thought.

”Huh? Why?” Elena asked, looking confused by my answer. ”Don’t you need my help to deal with them?”

Hearing her words, I sighed.

”I don’t want to become your punching bag, President. The committee members would definitely protest if their leader kept getting beaten senseless by a woman, and they’d think I was weak because I lost to a woman,” I replied, giving her a completely fabricated excuse.

Hearing my answer, Elena looked slightly annoyed.

”That’s incredibly rude. Women shouldn’t be underestimated, you know. We’re just as capable as men!”

I bet if Elena lived in my original world, she’d become one of those extremely annoying feminist activists.

”I still refuse. I don’t think we’ll reach any agreement this time.”

”Well... Then try running from us,” Elena said as she returned the red crystals to my hand. ”Tomorrow, even if you run all the way to the ends of the world, I’ll still chase you, Raul,” Elena said with a confident smile.

For some reason, I felt like I had just created another Death Flag.