Path of the Extra

The last two didn't appear to be causing any trouble.

Cadet Kai was chatting with a group of his friends—the same ones who had confronted Yelena and Lumine on the first day—while Cadet Vergil sat alone on the ground, eyes closed.

No one dared to approach him.

Celestina was nearby, engaging with other classmates and seemingly becoming more popular by the second.

"Lumine? Are you listening?" Yelena asked again, tapping his shoulder.

Startled, Lumine snapped his head towards her.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, sorry. I was just a little nervous about the Void Dungeon."

Yelena nodded, offering him a reassuring smile.

"If it's just the first four floors, I doubt anything will really be a challenge. Besides, we have Azriel and Celestina in our class."

Lumine nodded, trying to smile back.

"Y-yeah, you're right. Nothing will go wrong."

But despite his words, his mind kept drifting back to the system notification that had appeared the moment he stepped into the hotel.

When he checked the [Quest] tab, he found it.

The problem was... the quest wasn't anything like he had expected.

Lumine had assumed it would involve killing Void creatures or defeating the floor boss, but no. The quest was surprisingly straightforward, yet unsettling.

All it said was that he had to prevent any cadets from dying in the Void Dungeon.

If he accomplished that, he would be awarded 5,000 SP—System Points, which could be used to purchase a lot from the [Shop].

It was a ridiculous amount of points, which meant the quest was likely just as difficult.

The vagueness of the quest only added to his anxiety.

It was the first time he had received such an ambiguous task.

All he knew was that he had to save the cadets from dying.

But from what?

Lumine found it impossible to concentrate any longer.

Yelena didn't bother Lumine anymore as they stood together in silence for the next 20 minutes until...

"Yo, Lumine, Yelena! How have you two been?"

Both of them snapped their heads around to see Azriel approaching with Jasmine by his side.

"Ah, Azriel! I've been good, thanks," Lumine replied.

"Mm, me too. Thanks for asking," Yelena added.

Azriel wasn't alone, and next to him stood Jasmine. Lumine didn't dare to look directly at her, though.

For some reason, he could feel both Yelena and Azriel's sharp gazes whenever he glanced at her on the bus earlier.

His instincts screamed at him that making eye contact with her wouldn't end well, so he didn't take any chances.

Luckily—or perhaps not—Jasmine didn't seem to share that hesitation.

"It's nice to meet you, Cadet Lumine, Cadet Yelena. My name is Jasmine Crimson. Thanks for being friends with my little brother."

"A-ah, yes..." Lumine stammered.

"We should be the ones thanking him," Yelena added, a bit flustered by Jasmine's smile and politeness.

Azriel, however, furrowed his brows. "How did you know I was friends with them?"

Jasmine looked at him, confused.

"Why else would you greet them?"

"Because I'm a nice person?"

Jasmine stared blankly at him.

Azriel clicked his tongue.

"Fine, don't look at me like I'm some sort of monster."

Yelena and Lumine could only exchange wry smiles at the siblings' interaction.

Clap—!

Suddenly, a loud sound reverberated through the area, drawing all the students' attention toward the Void Dungeon.

Standing in front of it was Instructor Ranni, flanked by three other instructors.

Seeing them, everyone stopped talking and straightened their backs, adopting serious expressions.

"Now that everyone is here, I hope that means you're all prepared to enter the gates of hell," Instructor Ranni said with a smile.

Not many seemed to share her enthusiasm.

"Instructor Benson, Instructor Alicia, and Instructor Kevin will be responsible for supervising your three classes during the Void Dungeon, while Cadet Jasmine over there will be guiding you."

The cadets nodded, and Instructor Ranni looked pleased.

"Alright, I wish you all the best of luck."

Without warning, she suddenly disappeared before everyone's eyes, leaving many students surprised.

"All cadets, follow my lead. This will be the only time we instructors will talk to you. After that, remove us from your minds."

Instructor Benson warned.

The cadets looked at him wide-eyed as he suddenly stepped onto the black hole... yet he didn't fall. His feet were firmly planted on it.

The other two instructors followed, standing beside him.

Then, black light shot out from the hole, enveloping the instructors until they disappeared.

"What the hell...?"

"I swear I thought we'd have to jump down."

"Good..."

The students looked amazed and relieved.

"Alright then, let's do what the instructors said," Jasmine said, taking the first step onto the black hole.

Like a signal, all the other cadets—though some hesitated—started following her lead.

And then... they were all consumed into the Void Dungeon.

*****

It was strange.

If Azriel had to describe it, it felt like drowning—like being submerged in the deepest ocean, where the only sound that reached him was the echo of his own thoughts.

He was alone.

Utterly alone, with no one to talk to, no one to see.

The world around him had faded into an abyss of silence and darkness.

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't see.

He couldn't speak.

He couldn't even move.

Yet...

It felt strangely peaceful.

As if staying in this suspended state, adrift between life and death, wouldn't bother him at all.

'Is this how death feels?'

He wondered, his mind drifting like a leaf on a still pond.

But then, suddenly, a force tugged at him, pulling him upward with a startling velocity.

It was like being shot out of the depths of the ocean, propelled by some unseen force—like a torpedo racing toward the surface.

In the next breathless moment, he found himself blinking, disoriented but standing above the same ominous black hole.

Only now, he wasn't on the surface anymore.

"Welcome inside the Void Dungeon, little brother."

Jasmine stood there, her excitement radiating through a bright smile.

Her eyes sparkled with a strange thrill that Azriel couldn't quite understand.

Around them, other students were scattered across the ground, some disoriented, others sick or paralyzed by fear.

The expressions of shock and terror were painted across their faces. Yet, amidst the chaos, a few, like Lumine, stood steady, their composure not as unshaken.

The instructors, nodded in approval at those who had managed to remain standing.

Their eyes missed nothing.

But Azriel didn't care about their judgment.

His focus was elsewhere.

His gaze swept across the vast expanse of the dungeon.

It was...

"Beautiful..."