Extra's Descent

At the same time.

Rumble… Rumble…

The ground shook intensely.

Thud!

Raven's knees gave out and he slumped on the ground. A stabbing pain pierced his skull like sharp daggers.

"Ukh…!"

Scrunching his head, he peered his eyes open and looked around.

Unlike him, his classmates didn't seem to be experiencing the same pain as him.

"What's happening?!"

"An earthquake?!"

They screamed and panicked.

It was indeed an earthquake.

However, it was too intense from the norm.

Rumble… Rumble…

Debris started falling off the ceiling. The walls began to crack.

Shortly after, Evelyn's instructions rang in the air.

"Everyone! Remain calm and stick to me!"

At her words, the students' seemed to have composed themselves as they quickly ran towards her.

Vooooom—!

Waving her hand in the air, mana gathered in her palms, and a golden barrier materialized.

Rumble… Rumble…

The ceilings cracked, as cement started raining down. However, it bounced off the barrier present.

But for Raven, he couldn't move.

Small rocks fell on his face and he closed his eyes.

The pain emitting from his head was way worse than the falling rocks.

Gazing ahead, it seemed like no one noticed him as they all crouched down around Evelyn's barrier.

With a hoarse voice, he called out.

"Someone… help…!"

Thankfully, someone had managed to hear him.

"Miss Evelyn! Something's wrong with Raven."

Immediately, Evelyn turned her head and looked at Raven.

Raven looked at her back as his face scrunched. The sharp pain wouldn't subside.

With an anxious expression, Evelyn's barrier began to expand, gradually reaching Raven.

Rumble… Rumble…

"...!"

It was at that moment, when the ceiling collapsed. Debris of all shapes and sizes fell down.

The barrier was only a few inches away.

"Raven!"

"Shit."

Resigning to his fate, Raven abruptly closed his eyes.

Crash!

"...."

For some reason, he was still alive.

As he peered his eyes open, thankfully, the barrier had managed to reach him just in time.

Rumble… Rumble…

The shaking intensified. Since the doorway was narrow, it would be too hard to escape with everyone present, while keeping the barrier up.

Raven understood that, despite his attention fixed on the pain in his head.

And as if his mind was read, Evelyn stepped outside the barrier.

"Miss Evelyn, what are you doing?"

A student worriedly called out to her. However, she spoke in a calm manner.

"I'll destroy the wall."

She extended her hand forward. Mana coalesced in her surroundings and her palms glowed a bright golden glow.

Her focus was fixed on both the barrier, and the magic she was currently condensing.

Boom—!

A blinding light protruded from her palms. The wall exploded, and a large gaping hole was left in the wake of her attack.

"Go, now!"

At her instructions, students began flocking towards her, and immediately escaped the academy's arena grounds.

But there was one student who didn't move. Fixing her gaze on him, a worried expression marred Evelyn's features.

"Raven? What's wrong?!"

"I can't—Akh!"

Raven was quite perplexed at how he was the only one suffering.

That meant that there was something clearly wrong with him.

Did it have something to do with the earthquake?

"Haaa…."

He couldn't tell.

However, just as he was about to reach out to Evelyn, the familiar system interface materialized in his peripheral view.

[Error! Mana Fluctuation! Error!]

"...."

[Due to the abundance of mana in the vicinity, your body is now capable of fully integrating with the Sovereign's Will.]

"What the—Ukh!"

[Would you like to proceed?]

[Yes] [Yes]

"...."

Was there any other choice?

In the first place, it seemed like refusing was out of the option.

But with the chaos surrounding him, now wasn't the time to be messing with the system.

And so he closed it, leaving it for him to decide later.

Who knows what kind of aftereffects it would give him?

Right.

It wasn't the time for that.

Raising his head, Evelyn appeared before him.

"What's wrong?"

"My… head—Akh!"

He clenched his face. Despite several minutes passing, the pain had never subsided.

In fact, it felt like it was hurting even more.

"....!"

He felt his body lifting up. His arm was raised and wrapped around Evelyn's shoulder.

"I don't know what's happening to you. But unfortunately, we don't have the luxury to get you checked."

"You'll just have to grit your teeth through it until things settle down."

As they made their way outside, what greeted their sight was several students gazing up with horror etched on their expressions.

Following their direction, Raven and Evelyn gazed up at…

"The sky."

"What in the…"

The shock had managed to divert Raven's attention from the pain.

His eyes widened in horror as he scanned the large crack forming in the sky.

Rumble… Rumble…

The shaking continued to intensify. The crack expanded and the rift tore open.

It was…

"The end of the world!"

One of the students screamed out loud.

It truly did feel like the world was ending.

Students started panicking. Some crouched down as they hugged their knees.

Though human instincts would tell them to run at this moment, they at least still had some rationality.

They knew Evelyn was the strongest professor present. If they stuck with her, then their safety should be guaranteed.

However, as Evelyn looked around, she began to panic.

Someone was missing.

...Brandon wasn't here.

"Has anyone seen Brandon?"

Scrunching his face, Raven's eyes widened as well.

That's right.

He hadn't seen Brandon around either.

But he quickly recalled his conversation with him a few minutes ago.

"Miss Evelyn!"

She continued looking around, as she responded.

"What?"

"I think he's still in the changing room?"

"Huh?! His match ended for quite a while already. Why would he still be there?!"

"I don't know—Akh!"

He scrunched his hair.

"The last time I saw him, he was entering the changing room."

"Haaa… Got it."

She nodded.

Gazing ahead, she called out.

"Can anyone assist Raven?!"

At her call, a student immediately ran towards her. Black hair and golden eyes.

Acknowledging him, Raven voiced out his appreciation.

"Thank you, Cyrus."

Cyrus nodded and offered his assistance, wrapping Raven's arm around his shoulder.

Looking at Cyrus, Evelyn instructed.

"I'll go find Brandon. Can I assign you to lead the class?"

"Yes, Miss Evelyn."

"Alright. I'll be right back. Make sure no one leaves the premises until things settle down."

Rumble… Rumble…

At that, Evelyn stepped inside the academy arena grounds once more.

Truth be told, she didn't need to wrap a barrier around her. Condensing her body with mana was enough.

Debris fell over her, but would shatter in half as soon as it grazed her skin.

Rumble… Rumble…

But despite her composed demeanor, Evelyn panicked.

If something happened to Brandon, she didn't know what to do.

But that shouldn't be the case.

Brandon was strong.

She could even say that he had the potential to surpass her in the future.

In fact, his growth was scary.

But Raven was strong as well. And yet she had never seen him look so weak, just like how he was earlier.

Then…

Was the same thing happening to Brandon?

Was that why he hadn't come out of the changing room?

Clank—!

The door to the changing room abruptly opened.

However…

"...."

Brandon was nowhere to be seen.

What in the world.

***

Rumble… Rumble…

"What's happening to you, Raven?"

"I don't know…"

No matter how many seconds passed, the pain continued to grip his entire being.

He clenched his forehead as he continued gazing at the expanding rift.

The rift's cause was unknown to him. In fact, it seemed like even Evelyn had no idea of its sudden appearance.

But that was when Raven recalled something…

The Imperial Army's incursion.

By instinct, he was able to connect the dots of the crack in the sky, and the rift that the Imperial Army was about to tackle next month.

"...."

Then that could only mean that the rift was something that was out of their hands.

It was an Imperial Army level threat.

But…

What could they even do in front of the calamity before them?

Nothing.

He didn't have the power. He could only resign himself to his fate.

"No."

He shook his head.

There might be something…

Something he could do.

With such thoughts, he muttered inaudibly under his breath, just so Cyrus couldn't hear.

"System."

[Due to the abundance of mana in the vicinity, your body is now capable of fully integrating with the Sovereign's Will.]

[Would you like to proceed?]

[Yes] [Yes]

Sovereign's Will, and integration.

It must've been a power up.

"...Yes."

[Acknowledged.]

[Integrating with your Sy%*^em]

[Integrating with your Sovereign's Will]

If this worked out, then maybe the tides would be in their favor.

But seeing the next message...

His expressions cracked.

[ETA: 24 Hours]

Nevermind.

"Shit."

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

His heart began to quicken. The pain in his head intensified. And he could feel like his mana core was heating up.

His whole body started heating up.

"...."

His vision grew hazy and his world began to spin.

"Raven?"

"...."

He didn't respond.

No, he couldn't respond.

With his vision hazy, he gazed at the sky one more time.

"....!"

And that was when he noticed several figures emerging from the rift.

Their structures seemed to be human-like.

However, they came in all shapes and sizes.

And their skin…

It was different.

Green skin.

Pale skin.

Giants.

.

.

His eyes widened.

"Aren't those..."

They were the monsters he was facing in the system dungeon.

Goblins.

Orcs.

Ogres.

Lizardmen.

Werewolves.

Minotaurs.

And the last thing he could make out was humanoid figures with pointed ears and silver hair.

…The last thing he saw.

Before.

He.

…Blacked out.