Path of the Extra

Childhood friends.

What Anastasia had just said kept repeating in Lumine’s mind like an endless loop as he stood there, probably wearing some ridiculous, stunned expression. Anastasia wore her trademark dark grin, making no effort to hide the cold contradiction in her jewel-like eyes.

Master Ranni was the first to recover. She asked in a tentative tone,

“Are… are you perhaps a child of the Great Clans?”

But almost immediately, Ranni shook her head.

“No. Apologies—that was inappropriate of me to ask.”

Whether Anastasia was or wasn’t shouldn’t have mattered. It did, in a way, but Ranni still believed it wasn’t her place to ask something like that outright.

And yet—what else could make sense?

A normal noble from the Lesser Clans would never boldly declare something so dangerous.

Unless…

Unless Anastasia wasn’t a normal noble at all.

Unless she was royal. A princess, like Celestina and Jasmine.

Lumine remembered that day during their Void-hunting class, when they’d ended up on the same team.

…He remembered catching up to them—Anastasia and Princess Celestina—locked in a heated confrontation.

Yes. No one would be stupid enough to taunt and anger the heiress of the Frost Clan.

No one, except another heiress.

If it hadn’t been for Azriel that day, Anastasia and Celestina would have fought.

Azriel…

That thought pulled Lumine in a different direction.

While Yelena started pressing Anastasia with questions—trying to probe who she really was—Anastasia kept dodging, calling her “Yeli” just to irritate her further.

Lumine, instead, looked at Vergil.

The boy was calm.

Too calm.

Lumine’s eyes narrowed at that faint, unreadable smile. It felt like with each passing day, Vergil became someone Lumine recognized less and less from the first time they met.

That gaze—one Lumine couldn’t read anymore.

That calmness, like he knew everything already.

’Bullshit. If he isn’t a seer, then what is he?’

Vergil knew things he had no business knowing. And when something was revealed that should have shocked him, it never did. Not even a flicker.

He knew about Anastasia too, it seemed.

’Maybe she’s a bastard of one of the Great Clans. Or some other special case. I can’t tell—and it doesn’t look like she’s going to tell us.’

Yelena still couldn’t get anything out of her.

’But Vergil knows, huh.’

He knew who Anastasia really was.

Lumine closed his eyes.

’I don’t have time for this.’

He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, forced his racing heart to calm, and opened his eyes again.

Then Lumine spoke in the calmest voice he could manage.

“If we go by Anastasia’s words, then we’re in serious trouble. We need to save Saintess Liliane, stop Prince Lioren from sending us to our deaths, and—if he’s willing to go that far—I doubt he intends to use the wish to ’end’ the scenario.”

If ending the scenario had been the goal, it would have happened by now. No—this was desire. The desire to have their wishes fulfilled. And that did not include leaving this foreign world, where mana cores were easier to cultivate and the chance to grow stronger was far greater.

For once, it didn’t feel like the system was trying to screw him over the way it had with the Plague quest. This time, the quest felt… necessary.

A good reason.

To become a defining presence among these behemoths of people.

To protect himself—and others.

He couldn’t keep living the way he always had.

Lumine realized that now.

If he wanted to achieve his dream, then taking initiative—leading—was the only way forward.

“There is no we here, Cadet Lumine.”

Ranni’s voice came from his side—sharp, serious. Lumine’s head snapped toward her, startled.

“You are not getting anywhere close to this unless you want to be caught in the crossfire of the Great Clans and die.”

Her concern was justified. The moment Lumine defied Lioren, Caleus, Celestina, Jasmine—or any of the other royals, even the nobles—it wouldn’t matter whether he survived the scenario.

Their clans would kill him afterward.

“I suggest you all take shelter here, alongside the others who are waiting for the scenario to end. This place is under my protection.” Ranni’s gaze hardened. “I will rescue the Saintess, then confront Prince Lioren and Prince Caleus myself and find out what is truly going on.”

If it hadn’t been for that ominous vote appointing Lioren as leader, maybe some of this could have been avoided.

But who could they blame?

Lioren had taken initiative. He had kept things relatively stable—peaceful, even. Like Nol and Vergil, he had been vital to many people’s survival up to this point.

As had others.

Anastasia suddenly snickered, making Ranni frown.

“And do what exactly when you confront him?” Anastasia drawled. “You’re not beating him, Master Ranni. You know what they say about Prince Lioren Dusk—that he’s the strongest Master to have ever lived. As long as the odds are in his favor, he could defeat Grade 3 grandmasters, and possibly even Grade 2 grandmasters. So what do you think your confrontation leads to, besides certain death?”

“Then what do you suggest?” Ranni asked sharply, her restraint barely holding back a scowl.

Anastasia’s eyes turned glacial.

“Frankly, I thought you’d be the most pacifist Master here. I’m surprised, Master Ranni. But you won’t achieve anything if you plan to resolve this with a fight. All you’ll do is create chaos. The only thing you can do is make Lioren back down—and he won’t do that because of your words unless you have something to offer him. Something he wants more than the wish.”

“But there’s a better chance if another child of the Great Clans talks to him,” Lumine cut in, seizing the opening.

Anastasia nodded, pleased.

“The only ones who could are Princess Celestina and Princess Jasmine. The Dusk twins and Veronica won’t dare betray Prince Caleus and Prince Lioren.”

Yelena said and pinched her chin, thinking. Then she looked at Anastasia, confused.

“You’ve thought about all of this… but you wouldn’t have done anything if we hadn’t brought it up. What were you planning to do if this conversation never happened? Just follow Prince Lioren’s plan and die?”

“Gods, no.” Anastasia scoffed. “I would’ve pretended, then dipped at the right second and waited for the scenario to end—safe and peaceful—watching from the sidelines.”

She said it casually, almost lazily.

But Lumine swore she was lying about the last part.

For the briefest moment, a murderous glint flickered in her eyes—gone so quickly most people wouldn’t have caught it.

Lumine did.

’She definitely has beef with the heirs.’

And not a small one.

Thinking about it, she still wore the ring that suppressed her mana core by one level. Now that she was an Advanced…

That meant she was actually an Expert.

Lumine shuddered. The animosity between Anastasia and the royals could turn disastrous, fast, if she ever got the chance.

“If we go by your suggestion,” Ranni said, “then who is the better option—Princess Celestina or Princess Jasmine?”

Since they’d come this far, she might as well follow Anastasia’s logic. The girl was arrogant and abrasive, but there was no denying she had a frighteningly sharp mind.

Ranni was curious what she would say.

But who would Anastasia choose?

Jasmine had the higher mana core level compared to Celestina—at least for now. In terms of knights, both had only one of their clan’s knights present. The major difference was that Sir Felix was a Master, while Sir Henrik was a Grade 1 Expert—very close to breaking through, but not there yet.

To compensate, the Frost Clan had eight soldiers from the Frost Army in this scenario, while the Crimson Clan had only five from the Crimson Army.

Nine representatives from Lesser Clans under Frost rule.

Only four under Crimson.

Yet what surprised Ranni—along with Lumine, Yelena, and even Vergil—was Anastasia’s answer.

“Neither.”

“…Huh?”

“You don’t want either of them.”

“Then who?” Yelena asked. “You said we needed someone from the Great Clans, didn’t we?”

Even Vergil looked curious.

Anastasia gave them a wicked smile. Then she turned away, walked over to a pillar, and dropped herself down beside it. She leaned back in a relaxed posture and closed her eyes as if this conversation bored her.

“I never said it had to be an heir, did I?”

She didn’t open her eyes. She simply sighed.

“Celestina and Jasmine won’t be able to stop Lioren. If anything, they’ll just start a war between their clans and the Dusk Clan. They aren’t naïve—they probably already suspect Lioren might betray them, and they likely have their own measures and plans in place. Having them confront him would turn it political.”

Her tone sharpened slightly.

“We need it to get personal.”

She paused, then added, almost thoughtfully, “Though honestly, Jasmine is a good option if we want it personal… just not ideal to use yet. If there’s anyone I want to use, it’s someone else.”

“Yet?” Yelena pressed. “And why Princess Jasmine, but not Princess Celestina?”

Anastasia ignored her.

“I despise everyone from the Great Clans,” she said suddenly—then chuckled. “Well, everyone except one. He’s the only one I can truly respect. Instead of sucking up to them, he lived the way he wanted. Abandoning the Great Clans the way they abandoned him.”

Anastasia opened her eyes. The smile had vanished. Only the icy coldness remained.

“Do any of you know about ’chaotic mana’?”

At the question, neither Lumine, Yelena, nor Vergil answered.

Seeing their blank looks, Ranni’s expression tightened with disappointment. She coughed once to draw their attention, then slipped into a teacher’s tone.

“Chaotic mana is what we call the type of mana Void Creatures possess. On the surface, it might seem that humans and Void Creatures have the same mana—but that isn’t true. There isn’t much research on the subject, but what we do know is this: Void Creatures have chaotic mana, while humans have orderly mana.”

She continued calmly.

“The only difference we fully understand is what happens when chaotic mana is poured into an object designed to absorb mana. The object is destroyed. That is one of the main reasons it has taken us so long to create mana artifacts capable of suppressing Void Creatures. Their mana destroys the artifacts every time.”

Anastasia nodded.

“Correct,” she said, sounding pleased.

“The boy I respect was born with a special condition called chaotic mana.”

Ranni immediately frowned, crossing her arms.

“That is impossible. No human can be born with that type of mana. Only Void Creatures can.”

“And yet it happened.” Anastasia shrugged, her smile returning—colder than before.

“The young prince’s condition was discovered during his talent assessment. He destroyed countless mana orbs, making it impossible to measure his talent. Later, the clan realized why: he had chaotic mana, like a Void Creature. He couldn’t use mana weapons like a normal human, nor mana armor, nor mana artifacts. It was believed he couldn’t even properly utilize his mana at all.”

Anastasia laughed aloud, and a bad feeling crawled up Lumine’s spine.

Vergil’s gaze was cold and serious, locked entirely on her. For the first time, the enigmatic ’not-seer’ looked genuinely caught off guard.

“It’s hilarious, really! A human with the same mana as Void Creatures? In the eyes of the Great Clans, he was no better than one. And since Void Creatures naturally have far lower potential than humans, of course he must have no talent either! Kekekeke!”

She began to cackle.

“The Four Great Clans could never allow the world to know there was a human equivalent to a Void Creature in their midst. So all four great kings and queens did the next best thing. Once rumors started to spread, they placed a gag order on everyone who knew the truth.”

Her grin sharpened.

“And I’m not sure, but I believe one or two of them might have started spreading their own rumors as well—just to be safe. Making it twist further… and further… and further.”

Her voice became almost delighted, almost feverish.

“The rumors spread and warped endlessly. His image turned darker and darker, until all anyone knew were lies—no one aware of why the rumors existed, no one aware of who he really was…”

Her teeth glinted under the night’s light. Her grin was manic.

Her eyes were worse.

“…Azriel,” Lumine said breathlessly.

Anastasia’s grin widened to its fullest.

“So you do know who I’m talking about.”

“You’re speaking about Azriel…” Lumine’s voice came out faint.

“I am,” Anastasia confirmed.

Vergil’s eyes were wide. Lumine glanced at him on instinct.

’He didn’t know either…’

“W-wait…” Yelena forced out. “So all those rumors about ’the unworthy prince’… they were deliberately created by the great kings and queens to hide the truth?”

“Yeah.” Anastasia shrugged. “Over time people forget. And when you flood the world with enough poison, no one knows what’s true anymore. Even those—aside from his family—who once learned he had chaotic mana would’ve forgotten by now, convinced themselves he truly was ’the unworthy prince.’”

She brushed a lock of hair aside and yawned.

“Azriel never really bothered to prove them wrong. And some rumors had a bit of truth in them—his attitude didn’t help—so it was easy for everyone to believe he really was unworthy.”

’…So Azriel wasn’t even considered human among the Great Clans…’

The thought hit Lumine like a weight. A dull ache tightened in his chest.

It wasn’t a lie when he said he looked up to Azriel. Yes, he was suspicious of the prince—but Azriel had still helped him. Both he and Yelena owed him a great deal. To Lumine, Azriel was a good person—until proven otherwise.

And yet…

He never would have guessed Azriel had lived a life like that. A life built on discrimination for something he had no control over—something he was simply born with.

“I still don’t see why you want to use him against Prince Lioren,” Ranni said. She looked shaken as well. Even with the time she’d spent with Azriel in the Forest of Eternity, she had never noticed.

“What does Azriel have to do with stopping Lioren?”

“Simple,” Anastasia said.

“I don’t know whether Azriel hates the Great Clans—especially his own. Clearly he still adores his sister, considering he threatened to rip my head off the last time I badmouthed her.”

Lumine remembered that. Even now, it sent chills down his spine.

“Honestly, I don’t know what goes on in his head,” Anastasia continued. “What I do know is this: Lioren and Azriel—the strongest prince of the Great Clans… and the weakest prince of the Great Clans…”

Her eyes gleamed.

“…are childhood friends.”