Extra's Descent

After quickly disposing of the monkeys, Brandon trudged the forest once more.

He had tried conversing with them just like what he had done with the goblins.

However, when he thought he was getting through them, the monkeys suddenly attacked him once more.

That gave him the impression that the monkeys didn't want to be controlled by a human.

Brandon continued on his way.

After about thirty minutes of walking, realizing there were no commotions, he decided to rest by a secluded spot deep within the forest.

Putting his bag down, Brandon sat and leaned his back on the tree.

He was well aware of the true nature of this training camp.

The real thing would start once only a week was left.

In about a month or so, there would be cadets carrying several badges.

They were the ideal targets.

Why should he trouble himself by working hard when it was much better for others to do the work for him.

Additionally, it was much better to take it slow and conserve supplies. If he were to fight all the time, he would burn way too much calories, making him hungry.

Furthermore, in this kind of environment, it was much better to conserve and drink clean water.

"Done."

The entire vicinity was now under his control after discreetly latching threads everywhere.

If someone was near, the threads would tug, alerting him.

At that moment, Brandon checked his current stats.

——[Status]——

∟ STR: A+ —[0%]

∟ MP: S- —[9%]

∟ DEF: B+ —[0%]

∟ AGI: A —[45%]

∟ INT: S- —[12%]

∟ CHA: SS —[62%]

[AVG: A+]

————————

His stats were nearing the S- rank by now.

Some were already capped. While some stats such as his [MP] and [INT] refused to move.

"It should be safe now."

Safe….

Right.

From what he knew, taking the pills to break through the S ranks would bring him immense pain.

But pain.

He was used to pain.

There was no need to hesitate.

Now was the right time to take the pill.

At that moment, Brandon retrieved the pill he had bought from the blackmarket from his inventory.

"Here goes nothing."

Swallowing his saliva, he took the pill shortly after.

"Hmm…."

The first five minutes, he felt nothing.

But after ten minutes or so, a sudden heat rushed inside his body.

But it was still at a point where he could tolerate it.

However, after thirty minutes, things took a sudden turn.

"Haaa…."

He felt the back of his throat tighten and it was getting harder to breathe.

His vision grew hazy and the world started to spin.

As he looked at his arm, his veins bulged out and started throbbing spontaneously.

"Haaa… Kh—!"

Trying to breathe, Brandon couldn't help but bite his lip, trying to bear the sudden jolts of pain echoing in his body.

"Bad idea—Akh!"

***

Fighting rang out from everywhere for the past two hours. However, Raven paid no heed to them and continued traversing the forest.

There was no need to get so excited this early on. It was much better to conserve his strength and avoid any injuries before the training camp reached its final week.

However, things didn't work out as planned.

"Guys, it's Raven."

"Long time no see, man."

Cadets who seemed to have teamed up had spotted him.

Raven turned around to the source of the voices.

There were a total of four cadets who emerged from the same bushes.

Two male and two female cadets. It was a well–balanced group.

And Raven was quite familiar with them.

Who else but his old classmates from class B?

"Raven, want to team up with us?"

One of the male cadets spoke.

"Aren't you guys rivals?"

"Yes. But we decided to wait it out. Who knows? There might be other cadets who could gather twenty badges or more. We plan on distributing them equally if we were to find one."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"Mhm, so what do you say?"

He knew none of his classmates harbored any ill will against him. After all, Raven had always been nice towards all his classmates.

For that reason, his classmates respected him too.

But for this test, Raven wanted to do things on his own. If he were to group up with other cadets, he'll be forced to protect them.

He didn't want anything holding him back. Especially so, when he could finally go all out against a certain someone.

Brandon.

The sudden change in his abilities had caught Raven off guard.

For some reason, Brandon wasn't using any of his affinities—under the excuse of 'losing them.'

But that can't be true.

Losing affinities was unheard of in the first place.

Maybe Brandon was holding back.

But still, Raven had to admit how strong Brandon was now.

"I'll have to respectfully decline."

"Oh, I see."

A dejected look spread across the cadets' features.

"We'll go ahead then. Goodluck, Raven."

"Sure, you too."

At that, Raven walked ahead, passing by the four cadets.

Voosh—!

A fireball rang out from behind him. Raven swiftly turned around and extended his arm.

A dagger materialized in his hand, and instantly, the fireball dispersed.

Although the exchange seemed friendly, not once had Raven let his guard down. The same could be said for the four cadets.

They respected Raven enough to see him as competition, instead of a wall they could never hope to cross.

That's how it should be.

At that, the fighting rang out.

Raven swiftly dodged their attacks, while reflecting some of them.

"....!"

Raven appeared right in front of a male cadet, who's eyes widened in shock.

Raven's dagger cleaved forward and sent the male cadet flying several meters back, crashing into a nearby tree.

Boom—!

Raven tried to move his feet, only to find out his leg had been encapsulated in a layer of ice.

However, Raven used [Shadowstep], and appeared right behind a female cadet.

"Alliyah!"

A voice rang from somewhere, and the female cadet in front of him flinched.

Raven cleaved his dagger down and the female cadet named Alliyah was hurled away.

These might've been his old classmates. However, the gap between them and Raven was wide.

For that reason, Raven easily dealt with them, dodging each attack and reflecting them back.

The fighting lasted for about fifteen minutes or so. And enough had to be said.

Raven came out on top, unscathed.

"No hard feelings, guys."

On his hand were four badges which he put inside his pocket.

He might've felt bad for them. However, he knew his classmates were capable.

If they wanted to pass now, then each of them needed to accumulate a total of thirty badges each.

Either that, or to retrieve their badges from Raven.

"I'll be waiting if you guys want your badges back."

Just like that, Raven disappeared into the forest.

***

Amelia and Belle had been fighting for the past hour or so.

It's not as if they were an equal match.

Offensively, Amelia held the advantage. However, Belle's defense was not one to be trifled with.

For that reason, they were at a stalemate for the time being.

But if the fight prolonged even further, Belle was aware that Amelia would come out on top.

Amelia's offensive capabilities far exceeded hers. Furthermore, the gap in stamina was ridiculous.

"Haaa…. H-haaa…."

Belle's chest heaved up and down, taking heavy breaths while she held onto her shoulder.

As she scanned Amelia, she could tell she was not tired in the least bit.

Swoosh—!

A magic sword rippled through the air, heading towards Belle.

However, the wind around Belle served to slow the sword in its path, allowing Belle to deflect the sword away.

Clank—!

But Belle knew her trump card wouldn't last for long.

She was slowly running out of mana.