Extra's Descent

92  Home [1]

—9:00 PM.

After returning home from the 'date' with Rachel, the two bid their farewells and entered their respective rooms.

"Khh…!"

Finally having some time for himself, Brandon had started exploring his new special affinity.

Curse threads…

They were difficult to use.

And,

"Kuhh!"

They hurt.

A lot.

Recalling the way David manipulated the threads, Brandon found himself perplexed.

David was able to use numerous threads. While currently, Brandon was only capable of one.

Special affinities truly lived up to its name. It was a lot more difficult to master than the normal affinities.

"Akh!"

Drip. Drip…!

His index finger—where the thread materialized from had started bleeding.

For him, it felt as if a needle was piercing through his finger.

The thread he could create was only about four centimeters long.

That's how much his current capabilities allowed him.

Yet Brandon persisted.

"Ukhh!"

Just one thread.

If he could successfully manipulate one thread, then it was a good stopping point for the night.

Focusing the mana on his finger, the thread started extending.

But not for long, as the thread loosened and limply descended on the floor.

Drip. Drip.

And his finger started bleeding again.

"Fuck…"

Then again, Brandon didn't stop.

Cutting the threads, it dematerialized.

Gritting his teeth, another thread extended from his finger.

One centimeter.

Two centimeters.

Three centimeters.

Fou—

"Aghk…!"

It limply loosened once again.

It became apparent to him that special affinities had different properties. It was evident on the screen, a feature in his system.

—---------------------------

[Special Affinities]

∟[Curse]

∟ Cursed Threads

∟ Cursed Flames: 1%

∟ Mark of Despair: Locked

∟ Abyssal Chains: Locked

∟ Soul Drain: Locked

∟ Binding Vow: Locked

—---------------------------

He didn't know how to progress, nor how to increase the percentage of mastering the curse flames.

He hit a roadblock.

Not like he was in any room to be thinking about the next phase.

Drip. Drip.

His fingers continued to bleed.

.

.

Time passed.

And throughout the entire time, he tasted failure.

Again. And again.

And again.

"Akh!"

Four centimeters.

The single thread cut off from there.

Time and time again, Brandon continuously extended a single thread from his finger.

Drip. Drip.

And his progress regressed once again.

Yet again, four centimeters was his record.

"....This is going nowhere."

If Skill Weaver had some way to make things easier, then he would've chosen that method.

But...

Recently, he had realized that taking the shortcut did him more harm than good. This was especially so with the drawbacks of each skill.

Which is why he had decided that it was much better to thoroughly learn the elements given to him.

Each detail.

The different ways mana flowed.

All to avoid any more incidents.

Looking down, blood had already stained the floor.

His chest trembled and his eyes narrowed.

A sense of vertigo washed over him.

"Ah."

His mana core.

It was rapidly draining whenever he used the threads.

But it was most probably because of his poor application of mana when using the curse affinity.

"..."

Fear started to take hold of him.

If he were to suffer another case of mana poisoning, then finding another mage with the curse affinity to heal him would be quite troublesome.

With such thoughts, Brandon decided to stop from there.

At the moment, it wasn't worth it.

That was the goal.

As long as he did it everyday with some proper precautions, then surely mastering the threads would happen sooner or later.

"Haaa…."

Just like that, Brandon decided to rest, slumping down on the ground.

"Ah, right."

Belle was going to come home soon.

Extending his arm, his hand started to emit a blue glow and water started pouring down on the blood stains.

Splash!

Grabbing a towel, just as he was about to wipe it, the dangling of keys echoed behind the door.

Creaaak….

And the door creaked open.

"I'm ho—Uh?"

Just as Belle was about to finish her words, the sight of Brandon rapidly wiping the floor startled her.

With a bright smile, Brandon thoroughly wiped the floor without looking away from Belle.

"Welcome home, Sis."

"What are you doing?"

"This? Ah… Just spilled some water."

No biggie.

Keenly looking at Brandon, Belle decided to let go of the matter. She seemed exhausted.

"Alright,"

She then walked towards the kitchen.

"I haven't eaten yet. I'll whip something up. You want some?"

"No need for that, I've brought take out. It's in the fridge."

"Take out? You ate outside?"

"Yeah."

Pinching her chin, Belle halted her steps and looked at Brandon–who had just finished wiping the floor.

"...With Rachel?"

"...Uh, yes?"

"I see…"

She closed her eyes.

Opening her eyes, Brandon could see it was slowly moistening.

"...I can't believe my baby Brother is growing up."

She started exaggerating.

"Back then, you used to be this small,"

She motioned with her hand down, inching it on her waist.

"Always following your Big Sister around."

Walking towards the fridge, she opened it.

As soon as her gaze landed on the plastic bag, her eyes widened.

Taking it out, she looked at Brandon with a shocked expression.

"...Shadow Garden? Isn't this that one expensive restaurant?"

"A friend paid the bill."

"Ah, so…"

Her eyes started darting around. But eventually landed to meet Brandon's gaze.

"...It was with your group of friends then?"

"Uh… Somewhat like that."

"Eh… And here I thought it was a date."

"..."

Brandon knew the conversation would lead to that topic. Which is why he had to redirect it in some way.

"Nope."

He denied.

Approaching the microwave, Belle turned to look at Brandon and asked,

"Want some?"

"I'm good."

"Suit yourself."

Putting the appropriate amount of food in the microwave, Belle turned it on.

Click—

Waiting for the food to reheat, Belle walked towards the dining table and sat.

Looking at Brandon, she pursed her lips.

18:46

At her words, Brandon sat down on the opposite seat.

Looking at Brandon, Belle smiled.

"You seem to be doing a lot better."

"Is that so…?"

Belle leaned a bit close and scanned his face. Her lips then parted open.

"Your complexions look pale. But at least you're speaking now."

"Ah, haha."

Rubbing the back of his head, he awkwardly laughed.

Brandon was feeling light-headed. But that was for a different reason.

Leaning back, Belle didn't pursue the matter. Whatever it was, she knew the topic of Everglade was sensitive for Brandon.

Ding—!

And before things took an awkward turn, the food had finally finished reheating.

Just like that, the food was ready, and Belle started eating in front of Brandon.

With food in her mouth, Belle decided to speak anyway.

Munch. Munch.

"So… I ackshually… Havda—"

"Chew your food properly."

He cut her off.

Munch. Munch.

Gulp~

Swallowing, Belle repeated her words.

"As I was saying. I actually have the whole week off from council duties."

"No lectures?"

"...And as the Council President, I can skip a week or two."

"Why would you do that?"

Before answering, Belle chugged a glass of water.

Slurp~

"Ahh… Since you're free for the week, I thought it would be a good chance to take a break as well."

Feeding herself, Belle continued to speak.

"With… Bosh of ush…. Being fshree…"

"Chew."

Brandon frowned.

The hell is wrong with Belle's table manners?

Or was she just comfortable at home?

That seemed to be the case.

Outside, Belle carried an air of regal wherever she went.

Students even started calling her 'The Madonna'.

But there were no signs of The Madonna here.

Burp.

Covering her mouth, Belle flushed red for a bit, embarrassed.

Composing herself, her lips parted open once again.

"With both of us being free for the week, it's a good opportunity to visit home."

"Home?"

"Yup, I kind of miss the mansion. Don't you?"

Mansion?

Ah.

So the Locke family really was that rich.

Then…

"...I guess so?"

"Right? I told the driver to pick us up tomorrow at 10:00 AM."

Driver?

'Why am I only knowing about this now?'

Finishing her meal, Belle continued.

"Be early, alright?"

An opportunity.

Brandon had always wanted to visit the Locke family's home.

Hopefully, to find out more about the original Brandon Locke.

Just that he didn't know where 'home' actually was.

Asking Belle would raise suspicions.

But since Belle brought it to the table, there was no hesitating.

With such thoughts, Brandon nodded.