Extra's Descent

"So?"

The two traversed the labyrinth from then. Not once had Brandon lifted a finger to assist Raven.

Instead, he continued messing with him.

"Why did you suddenly ask me to train you?"

Brandon asked, his eyes peering around for any danger.

"I actually have a personal trainer. But I just felt like asking you too. Had to take my chances, you know?"

"No, I get it."

Brandon shook his head and smiled.

"It was the same with Evelyn as well."

Of course, it was Evelyn who proposed to be her protégé. But Brandon had no real reason to deny her. It was as if Evelyn just felt like choosing him too.

"About her, why do you call her Evelyn without the honorifics? I mean, I know you're pretty close with her, sure."

"Hmm…."

Brandon mulled the question over, rubbing his chin.

"Just because?"

"...?"

Raven tilted his head curiously.

Brandon was actually quite unsure. It just felt right to call her without any honorifics.

But things began to make sense once he received Jin's memories.

Because he was Raven Blackheart, and Evelyn was one of the children Jin had saved more than decade ago.

So for Brandon, Evelyn was like a little sister to him.

But age–wise, probably from Evelyn's point of view, he was the little brother.

In any case, Brandon saw her as family. Another older sister–or maybe a little sister didn't sound too bad.

It was kind of conflicting.

"...."

Maybe even weird.

Looking around, Raven asked.

"Anyway, when are you going to do something?"

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't done anything. I feel like I'm only dragging you around."

"Oh, that. Don't worry. I wasn't standing idle."

He actually wasn't.

"Huh?"

"Why do you think you've only been fighting 1–2 monsters at a time?"

"...."

Raven halted in his steps, speechless by Brandon's statement, as Brandon nonchalantly walked ahead, completely ignoring him.

Brandon could hear Raven mutter from behind, "So you're at that level…."

Brandon paused and turned around, looking at Raven.

"You must be forgetting you weren't using magic, you know?"

"Ah."

Raven scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

"Right."

He ran up towards Brandon.

Brandon's sudden ascension must've plagued Raven's mind. For that reason, it was highly probable he was growing restless.

And Brandon had an idea why.

'Because he had lost the system dungeon.'

Raven was at a loss on how to properly progress, especially within the confines of A–rank.

A–rank was mostly a deciding factor if a person would actually ascend further.

If they were left stuck in it after a long time, it meant that A–rank was their limit.

It was probably, for that reason, why Raven was troubled.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine."

"Yes?"

"You're going to be strong. Trust me."

"....Okay, thanks."

It seemed to have reassured Raven, who had a smile on his face.

But his joy soon died down as Brandon left off with a comment.

"Not as strong as me though."

"...."

***

"Haaa…."

Amelia had just finished studying two topics for finals, and a week worth of paperwork.

She slumped down and leaned her face on the desk.

It was now 4:00 PM, but there were still cadets staying behind at the library. Just like her, they were also studying.

Amelia packed up her things and was just about to leave, when she turned her head to the side and noticed a familiar face.

"Ah."

It was Rachel and Amy, who were studying together. Their faces were gradually contorting to a frown as their pens hung in the air, unable to write something down.

"So they were here the whole time."

It wouldn't hurt to give her greetings, and for that reason, Amelia approached them.

Since Rachel was sitting across Amy, her peripheral vision aligned Amelia's direction. Her head raised slightly, and her brows raised upon noticing her.

"Hello, Amelia. Are you here to study too?"

"Hey~ I had actually just finished, and hello, Amy."

"Ah, hello, Amelia."

Scanning, Amelia could tell the two girls were stuck on the same question for probably a while now.

"Do you girls need any help?"

"It's okay. You must be busy, we can handle it."

Rachel spoke with a calm smile on her face.

"Well I was actually just about to go home. But it wouldn't hurt to review with you two. If none of you mind, I can help out."

"Oh, uhm. Then…."

Rachel's gaze lingered on Amy, who sat across from her.

"...."

Amy abruptly nodded her head twice, and Amelia chuckled.

'How cute.'

"Then we'll be in your hands."

Rachel presented her questionnaire sheet for Amelia to see, and Amy stood up, sitting right beside Rachel.

"Let me see."

Their studying session started under Amelia's tutelage from there.

"How do you do this?"

"It's like this."

"What about…."

"This."

"That."

"Ah, let me check my notes."

***

Claire's approach towards the final examinations were rather different compared to Amy and Rachel.

For her, just a passing mark was enough for theoreticals. Not to say Claire was stupid, she was rather confident in her capabilities.

Just that, she wasn't aiming for a perfect score compared to the other two.

What she wanted this time around was to get a perfect grade for practicals.

For Claire, practicals were way more important compared to theoreticals.

For that reason, she had isolated herself in training once again.

Imperial Academy had several facilities for this. For Claire, she had isolated herself in the Assimilation chamber.

The Assimilation Chamber at the Imperial Academy was designed for cadets to enhance their magical abilities.

This sealed zone allowed the elemental affinity of each cadet to linger in the air, creating an ideal environment for training.

For Claire, with her lightning affinity, it was perfect.

Since she knew she would sweat a lot, Claire adorned herself in sportswear.

She wore a black sports–bra that appropriately hugged her bust. Sleek white leggings that wrapped around tightly on her legs.

The chamber buzzed with static, and she could manipulate the electrical energy surrounding her.

It enabled her to control the output of her power and practice using it at different levels of intensity.

But despite the appealing training, it was the most unpopular training facility.

"Ukh…!"

Reasons being, it dealt intense pain and pressure on the cadets.

Just because they could manipulate the specific affinity, didn't mean they were immune to it.

Tzz—!

Claire's training was intense and focused.

Lightning crackled through the air, every bolt she summoned tested her control.

The pressure in the chamber was crushing, and every misstep brought sharp pain, but she pushed through as she gritted her teeth.

She had been engrossed in this kind of masochistic training for a while.

Her body was starting to shape itself. Her abs were defining, and her overall physical features were glowing.

"Haaa…."

That was enough. She stopped the artifact and stepped outside the facility.

"Huu…."

Drenched with sweat, Claire started wiping herself with a towel and drank water from her flask soon after.

"Ah."

She looked at the clock.

[5:03 PM.]

She had isolated herself in intense training for about four hours or so.

***

Brandon and Raven made it all the way to the labyrinth's bottom floors. They had met several rankers on their way, who wished them goodluck.

Raven was improving without using his mana. His reaction time was sharper now, and his reflexes were faster.

But it had to be said, wounds spread across his form.

Still, Brandon had helped him out from time to time, pulling him out of harm's way.

As they continued in their ventures….

Boom—!

An explosion rang out from somewhere, and the two rushed towards the source.

As soon as they arrived at the narrow entrance, a familiar sight registered in their peripheral vision.

One that left them baffled.

What was he doing here?

The first one to call out for him was Raven, who's mouth parted open to say,

"Rein?"

It was Reinhard.