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6.99% Extra's Descent / Chapter 28: Preparation [4]

Chapter 28: Preparation [4]

Swoosh- Slash-!

Swiftly dashing through the halls of the System's Dungeon, Raven quickly made work of the goblin archers.

After a week, he had finally broken through to the 2nd floor.

The dungeon's layout had significantly changed compared to the 1st floor.

If the 1st floor were narrow corridors, the 2nd floor had spacious hallways.

Not only that, but the difficulty had exponentially increased too.

It took him a total of 3 weeks to adjust and completely clear the 1st floor.

Now on the 2nd floor, there were trolls and goblins.

Swoosh- Crack!

As he dodged the troll's club, an arrow pierced through the air. But with his speed, he was able to dodge the arrow as well.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

It was hard to penetrate through their defense, as the trolls and goblins had cooperated.

The troll would act as the main tank and damage dealer, while the goblins would provide support, shooting arrows his way.

Despite reaching level 6, and pouring his stats into the strength aptitude, a single strike wasn't enough to kill a troll.

"Their skin is way too thick."

To make things easier, Raven targeted the goblins at the back.

Swoosh- Splurt-!

With two daggers, one in each hand, Raven striked down one of the defenseless goblins.

Smash!

As soon as he did, the troll made his way to him and swung down its club.

"Haa… Haa…"

Panting heavily, Raven decided to retreat. It was too much for him at the moment, but he had already done enough.

Making his way towards an empty corridor, Raven slumped down on a wall.

He then muttered to himself,

"System."

—---------------------------

[Name: Raven Blackheart]

[Level: 6]

[EXP: 1,400/6000]

[Class: Assassin]

 ∟As the one who left it all behind, you have become one with chaos.

[Passive]

∟ Assassin's Rush

 ∟ Every step you take, your speed stats increase by 1 point, maximum 10.

[Skill Tab]

[Stats]

[Stat Points Available: 0]

∟ STR: E+ [●●○○○]

∟ MP: F [●○○○○]

∟ DEF: F+ [●○○○○]

∟ AGI: E+ [○○○○○]

∟ INT: F [●○○○○]

∟ CHARM: F [●○○○○]

[System Shop]

[System Dungeon]

[System Coins: 0]

[Quests Available: 0]

—---------------------------

—---------------------------

[Skill Tab]

∟ [Eye of Time]

∟ See the move an individual is about to take in the next second.

[Adrenaline Surge]

∟Temporarily enhances the user's speed, agility, and reflexes.

[Shadow Step]

∟ Grants the ability to teleport short distances. Can only teleport to nearby shadows.

[Vital Strike] 

∟Identifies and exploits the weak points of enemies, delivering precise and lethal blows to critical areas of their anatomy.

[Contract Expertise]

∟ Enhances the user's ability to gather intel, identify targets, and enhance deduction skills.

Envenomed Mind

∎ Timer: 5 Minutes.

∎ Cooldown: 5 Hours

∟ Temporarily enhances the user's mental faculties, boosting their intelligence.

—---------------------------

Maneuvering through his system, Raven opted for the exit button.

Vooom!

Instantly, Raven materialized, falling from the ceiling, and landing on his bed.

Laying on his bed, he covered his eyes with his arm.

Then he realized…

"Ah, I have to meet up with Claire today."

Removing his arm, he reached out for the phone on the desk, placed on the side of the bed.

[2:00 PM]

"What time were we supposed to meet again…?"

It was then he noticed he had several notifications.

No, not several…

There was one… Two… Five… Ten…

Ten notifications, and all from the same person.

It was none other than–Claire Victoria, his partner for the upcoming Combat Class session.

From: Claire Victoria

1 HOUR AGO

[Hey, I'm here, where are you?]

57 MINUTES AGO

[Bastard, I told you we'd be meeting up at 1:00 pm.]

54 MINUTES AGO

[Where the fuck are you?!]

And it just went on and on…

There were several text messages from Special Force as well. But Claire was more important at the moment.

"Fuck…"

The image of an angry Claire etched on his mind.

Suddenly, he felt chills all over his body, just imagining it.

He abruptly got up, changed into cleaner clothes, and instantly left his dormitory room.

.

.

.

"So? Care to explain why you were so late?"

"..."

Claire furrowed her brows, while Raven couldn't respond. 

Cold sweat started beading, dripping. But it was mostly because he was running to the coffee shop.

At least... That's what he thought.

Of course, he couldn't tell her that he was risking his life inside a dungeon.

"Haa… Whatever. I understand that we're all busy. Anyway, what do you know about Brandon?"

"Ah."

"Ah?"

He just realized why they were meeting up in the first place. To exchange information about Brandon and Amy.

"I don't know anything about him..."

"..."

When he thought about it, he realized he knew nothing about Brandon's abilities, besides the fact that he was a Lightning Attributed mage.

But at least, it was the same for Brandon–who also didn't know anything about him.

...Is what he thought.

"Okay, understandable, barely anyone knows anything about him."

At least she didn't blame him.

"I know…"

"We'll work with what we got then."

At that, Claire started talking about everything she knew about Amy.

From her Water Affinity, to her fighting style.

Raven took in every detail. He was now starting to understand why Amy was ranked 4th.

She specialized in Water Magic, but her control was second to none among the first years.

And to his surprise, Amy could somehow manipulate the weather as well–to a certain degree.

A total prodigy.

Suddenly, he felt like their chances of winning had significantly dropped.

After Claire debriefed, they decided on who would fight who.

Claire would fight Brandon, and Raven would fight Amy.

The reason for this–was because water was a complete counter to lightning.

Since water was a conduit, then the lightning would scatter around it.

Just because Claire was a Lightning Attributed Mage, didn't mean she was immune to it.

If Amy traps her in a bubble of water, then Claire wouldn't be able to use her lightning.

She would electrocute herself.

A basic law of nature.

It was a good matchup, per say. Both Claire and Brandon were Lightning Attributed Mages, it would definitely be an interesting fight.

But Raven didn't like the plan, though he didn't speak his thoughts out loud.

'I wanted to fight him…'

For some reason, he'd always seen Brandon as a rival.

It was as if they were polar opposites somehow.

He wanted to know who was stronger between them.

But in the end, the plan was set in place. He didn't want to disagree with Claire, who had brainstormed and came up with the plan way before he arrived.

Though he didn't say it, his expressions told a different story, as Claire seemingly noticed.

"You want to fight him, don't you?"

"...No?"

"Your face says otherwise."

"It's fine. We have a better chance at winning with your plan."

"Sure, but we still don't know the details of the next Combat Class session. Who knows? It might be a one on one fight, and Miss Evelyn would be the one to decide who fights who."

She had a point.

Professor Evelyn had never stated the details of the next session.

It could be a tournament type, or a simple contest of strength.

Who knows?

Disrupting their discussion, the coffee arrived–via shiftporter.

Claire immediately grabbed it, sipping on the coffee.

"You're not gonna order?"

"...I don't like coffee."

"Suit yourself."

Claire just shrugged.

Raven never understood the appeal of coffee. But his friends seemed to enjoy it a lot, especially Rachel.

"It's too bitter…"

"A sweet tooth, huh? How cute."

"..."


Chapter 29: Virtual Simulation [1]

The time for Combat Session had finally arrived.

Looking at his phone, it was June 17, 2148.

Two weeks had passed since Brandon's arrival in this world.

Looking around, students had already gathered. From what he knew, there were a total of 100 people in his Combat Class section.

Meaning, a total of 50 pairs.

Also...

'There are new faces...'

It seemed like there were new classmates in their class. Most likely because some had already been expelled.

Glancing at his side, Amy stood tense and silent.

The two had not exchanged any words since arriving in the room.

In front of them was Evelyn Cessna, their Professor, standing on the podium.

She seemed to be checking a bunch of documents, before redirecting her gaze to the students in front of her.

"I hope you all have practiced enough. Here are the details for today's session."

She then reached out towards a white device on the table in front of her, clicking the button.

Wooosh—

As soon as she did, a blue holographic frame materialized. On it were what seemed to be the details for whatever was planned for today.

[Combat Session]

[Type: Battle Royale]

[Location: Virtual Simulation Room]

[Objective: The primary objective of the battle royale is to be the last pair standing.]

[Environment: The virtual simulation will feature diverse and dynamic environments, including forests, mountains, ruins, beaches, and tundra.]

[Safe Zone and Convergence: Throughout the match, a safe zone will periodically shrink. Students caught outside the safe zone will immediately be disqualified.]

[Rules:]

Due to it being virtual, killing is allowed.

All sorts of modes for fighting are allowed. But duelists are advised to bring their signature weapon before entering the pods.

Teaming is allowed. But remember, there shall only be one pair left standing.

Torturing is not allowed. We know some of you students here are sadists. Hence, if caught, you will be immediately disqualified.

[Grading System:]

1st–2nd : A

3rd–6th: B

7th–12th: C

13th–22nd: D

23rd–50th: F

While the students continued to read the details of the task, Evelyn sternly stated,

"I know the placements are ridiculous. But don't worry, an F does not mean an expulsion. You'll only be graded 0."

She took a brief pause, walking around, assessing each student—who wore looks of tension in their faces, then continued,

"The only basis for expulsion will be disqualification. So please try to not get yourself disqualified."

She then continued on about how the Virtual Simulation will take place.

In the room they were in, there were a hundred–white circular pods, each in the shape of a full grown adult.

Once the pod was entered, each student will put on a white helmet called 'Augma Nerve'.

After wearing, it was advised to keep their minds clear and ease their tension.

As soon as they were ready, all they had to do was mutter the words, "Activate Link", and the Virtual Simulation pod would start.

It was also advised to have a full belly and hydrated, as the entire session would last for five hours.

But it was already debriefed in their Astrea Academy app, the moment they woke up in the morning.

After it was all settled, each student entered the pod.

Brandon entered a pod that was next to the one Amy entered.

Settling inside, Brandon donned the Augma Nerve, covering his entire head.

Gradually, his mouth parted open to mutter,

"Activate Link."

Voooosh–

***

"Who do you think is going to win?"

Evelyn then pondered at Vanessa's question.

Glancing at the pods around her, one-by-one, each pod started to glow a bright white.

She didn't know how to respond to Vanessa, who was sitting right beside her.

Evelyn was seated as well, turned the chair around, and glanced at the wide screen in front of her.

The screen displayed the entire environment inside the Virtual Simulation.

On it, the students were spawned with their pair, separated from other pairs.

Though, the viewing room was in the same place as the Virtual Simulation area, it was situated at the top, separating the two sections.

Changing the channels to see each students' face, none of them were familiar to her.

She was a newly appointed Professor after all. She didn't know any of the kids in her class.

She then turned to Vanessa, who was shoving her fork with pastry in her mouth, and asked,

"What about you? Any guesses?"

"All the Professors who were tasked with the first years think it's Raven Blackheart."

"..."

Who…?

"Haha, give me the remote, I'll show you what he looks like."

Switch– Switch– Switch—

Until the channel stopped to pause at a boy with jet black hair, and ocean blue eyes.

On both of his hands were daggers, he seemed to already be prepared.

Unlike the students, the Professors harbored no discrimination towards Duelists.

Not just the Professors, but most adults in the working society.

When she first heard of the hierarchy in the Academy, Evelyn thought it was stupid.

She then turned towards Vanessa again. She seemed to have finished her pastry.

But…

She took another one from her bag, opened it, and nibbled.

'What a weirdo.'

But Evelyn smiled, they went way back during their academy days after all.

They were best friends.

But to her initial statement, Evelyn was puzzled.

If that's what the other Professors think, then what did Vanessa think?

Thus, she decided to ask,

"Do you also think it's Raven Blackheart?"

"Nope."

Vanessa stated with no hesitation, as if she was already sure who was going to win.

"Then who?"

"I'm still unsure about him, but I believe his potential is way more than Raven's."

Who was she talking about?

Switch- Switch– Switch—

Until the channel paused once again.

What met Evelyn's line of sight was another boy, with long pale-white hair, and ice-blue eyes.

When Evelyn caught sight of him, her eyes shot wide open.

From her side, Vanessa let out a laugh.

"Hahaha~ Do you see it too?"

"Yes…"

"He thinks he's hiding it well, but most of the Professors had suspected it already."

A possible Deviant.

Unlike the students, Professors who had an expertise in mana could distinguish an individuals' mana signature.

It was possible to hide it, of course. But it seemed like the boy didn't know how.

If a Mage with one affinity had their mana signature in the same color as their elements, then a Deviants' color was pure white.

But of course, not everyone could actually distinguish it. It was only the ones' who had meticulously studied mana to the brim.

"Interesting… What's his name?"

"Brandon Locke."

"Ah, what rank is he?"

"1,890th."

"..."

Was she joking?

She had to be.

How could a possible Deviant ranked so low?

"Hahaha~ Unfortunately, I'm not joking. I was pretty disappointed too. But still, he has potential."

"How did he place so low?"

"He was mostly held back by his test score."

"Ah."

So he was an idiot.

Power means nothing when your brain can't even comprehend with it.

Then what was so special about him, that even someone like Vanessa could be confident in him winning?

She was then snapped out of her thoughts, as Vanessa called out to her, pointing at the screen.

"Look, it's starting."

Before Evelyn looked at the screen, her attention lingered elsewhere.

"Your face."

"Oh... Thanks."

There were traces of whipped cream all over her mouth.


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