The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World

Ruvian did not waste another second. He drew [The Endseeker] in a fluid arc and swung it toward the wall of stone.

Boom!

The blade, reinforced by mana, carved through Arlok’s earth shelter with a single strike, splitting the thick rock apart and opening a path outside.

He immediately rushed through the opening.

The others quickly followed behind.

The moment Ruvian stepped outside, his expression stiffened.

It should have been night. The forest should have been buried beneath absolute darkness. Instead, the world was strangely bright.

A pale, colorless phantasmal light drifted through the forest from no visible source, illuminating countless layers of dense white mist that blanketed the landscape.

Ruvian quietly swept his gaze over the immeasurable expanse of mist before closing his eyes for a brief moment.

His expression darkened with grim resignation.

”Looks like we’re too late.”

The heavy words immediately tightened everyone’s chest.

Yerin looked around anxiously before turning to him. ”What’s going on, Ruvian... and why is everything covered in this mist?”

Ruvian slowly turned toward them.

”This mist is the work of a Voidspawn,” he answered. ”We are inside another realm. One of its abilities.”

Shima frowned in bewilderment.

”...Another realm?”

Ruvian gave a small nod.

Among all the Malice Voidspawns that lived on this island, there was one that the academy staff had never managed to capture or kill. It wasn’t the strongest creature on the island. In fact, what made it so troublesome was that it could always slip away before anyone could catch it.

The creature possessed the uncanny ability to warp between reality and an isolated pocket realm. By the time anyone realized what had happened, it was already too late.

And now...

They had fallen into that very same trap.

Ruvian calmly sighed before turning toward the others.

”Hand me your weapons. All of them. Right now.”

”...What?”

Arlok blinked before scratching the back of his head.

”Hold on... what’re you talking about? Why would we hand over our weapons? If something attacks us, what are we supposed to fight with?”

Shima also frowned.

”Sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense. If we’re truly trapped inside another realm created by a voidspawn, shouldn’t we keep our weapons instead of giving them away?”

Yerin looked from Ruvian to the others, uncertainty creeping onto her face.

”There isn’t enough time to explain,” Ruvian answered, his voice remaining firm despite the pressure weighing on him. ”Just trust me this once.” (+200PP)

The unmistakable urgency within his voice caused everyone to hesitate.

Then, Yerin was the first to act. Without questioning him further, she unsheathed her sword and placed it into Ruvian’s hand.

”Here.”

She trusted him completely.

Ruvian stored it inside his dimensional storage.

Then, Arlok shrugged carefreely.

”Alright, if you say so.”

Without a second thought, he casually tossed his massive poleaxe toward him. Ruvian caught it with one hand, but the sheer weight forced him to stagger half a step before he managed to steady himself.

’Don’t throw it, damn it...’

He grumbled inwardly, suppressing the urge to glare at Arlok.

Then, he stored it inside his dimensional storage.

Yerin looked at Shima expectantly, her eyes briefly dropping to the falchion resting at the girl’s side before returning to her face.

She extended an open hand at her.

”Shima?”

Shima silently lowered her gaze to her falchion. For a brief moment, her eyes looked strangely empty. Then, her hand slowly reached for the hilt.

In that same instant, Ruvian caught it.

The tiniest spark of lightning danced across her fingertips.

He frowned.

’Not good.’

Without thinking, his body moved before his mind could, and seized Yerin by the shoulder before violently yanking her backward. (+200PP)

”Careful!” he warned.

At that exact same moment, Shima unsheathed her falchion in a blinding flash. Crackling lightning erupted along its edge as she swung with killing intent toward where Yerin had been standing only a moment earlier.

Crackle!

The electrified blade cleaved through empty air.

Yerin escaped by nothing more than a hair’s breadth, the razor-thin arc of lightning grazing past her face as the violent current burst into the surrounding mist, scattering dazzling sparks in every direction.

”Hey, shorty! What the fuck was that?!”

Arlok roared, fury erupting across his face as he instinctively stepped in front of Yerin.

Without answering, Shima sprang several meters backward in a single bound before landing lightly upon the mist-covered ground.

She lowered her center of gravity and raised her falchion into a battle stance, arcs of lightning continuing to coil around its blade.

Yerin remained frozen where she stood, her widened eyes trembling with utter disbelief.

”...S-shima?”

Ruvian, however, remained unnervingly calm.

”That’s why...” he said quietly, his gaze never leaving Shima. ”...I wanted to confiscate everyone’s weapons,” he joked.

Then, the faint whistle of wind cut through the silence, followed by the unmistakable creak of a bowstring being drawn taut.

The three of them instinctively turned toward the source.

There, standing amidst the endless mist with his face obscured by the dense veil, was Horren.

His longbow was fully drawn, a luminous arrow forged entirely from mana resting against the string, its gleaming tip aimed directly at them.

”Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, buddy, not you too!”

Arlok shouted, instinctively raising both hands.

Horren did not answer.

His eyes were filled with unconcealed hatred as they remained locked on them, as though he were looking at sworn enemies instead of his own teammates.

”What’s happening?” Yerin asked.

Ruvian’s expression remained solemn.

”It’s this damn mist,” he said.

”This is its real trait. It slowly clouds your mind until you can no longer distinguish reality from your own thoughts. And after some time, it begins twisting what you see, making you believe you’re looking at someone you hate — or perhaps someone you desperately want to kill.”

His eyes narrowed upon Horren.

”Anyway, it’s a treacherous form of mental manipulation.” he smiled. ”This damn creature doesn’t hunt its prey by itself. It simply turns us against one another and watches us from somewhere far away.”

Yerin’s face was still pale with shock.

”B-But... why only them?” she asked, unable to tear her eyes away from Horren. ”If the mist affects the mind... then why haven’t you, Arlok, or I been affected as well?”

”Because our mental strength is higher than theirs,” Ruvian answered. ”If you inspect your Runeheart, you’ll understand. The mist doesn’t affect everyone at the same rate.”

The weaker your mental resistance, the faster it erodes your mind.

He let out a quiet sigh.

”So we’re not immune to it either. We’re simply lasting longer than them.” His gaze drifted toward the endless white mist surrounding them. ”Given enough time... we’ll end up just like them.”

’Though... with my S-Rank Mental Strength, this thing won’t be affecting me anytime soon.’

Ruvian thought inwardly.

Unfortunately, that solved only one problem. The much bigger one was standing right in front of him. If all four of his teammates succumbed to the mist, there was simply no way he could survive against them.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

Suddenly, violent arcs of lightning exploded around Shima’s body, the air itself trembling beneath the berserk discharge of mana. The mist around her distorted as countless purplish bolts lashed wildly in every direction.

Swoosh!

At the same time, violent streams of wind spiraled around Horren’s longbow, converging toward the mana arrow resting upon the string.

Yerin’s face paled.

”R-Ruvian! Is there a way to break both of them free? Can we undo the mind control?!”

Ruvian stepped forward.

”Of course there is a way,” he cracked both his knuckles. ”We simply need to do one thing: knock them unconscious before the mist affects us too.”

Hearing that, Arlok broke into a savage grin.

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[Chapter 241: The Treacherous Mist (1)]

Plot Points= 24,270