Is It Wrong for an Extra to Steal the Protagonist's Harem?-Chapter 86

The next morning. The 11th floor of the Spire.

After spending the night in the heavily warded luxury suites to prep our mana cores, we were gathered in the Spire’s grand lounge, waiting for our turns. The evaluation took place on the 12th floor, and only three students were allowed up at a time.

"Wow... The Spire’s facilities really are incredible," a noble student muttered, looking out the massive floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a panoramic view of the entire Academy. "They say this building is fifty years ahead of its time."

I leaned back on a plush leather sofa, utterly bored.

If someone from my previous world saw this "advanced" waiting room, they wouldn’t think it was a futuristic tower. It was just a nice hotel lobby with floating magical lamps.

Emma was sitting right beside me, our thighs pressed tightly together. She had both of her hands wrapped securely around my right arm, her head resting on my shoulder. She looked like a perfect, loving fiancée to anyone else in the room, but I could feel the possessive tension in her grip every time another female student walked past us.

Ding.

The heavy brass doors of the magical elevator slid open.

Martin stumbled out, scratching his head frantically. His face was pale, and he looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"Damn it... that’s ridiculous," Martin muttered, walking toward the lounge area.

Alicia Raven, who was pacing nervously nearby, stopped him. "How was it, Martin?"

"I can’t do this," Martin shook his head, looking completely defeated. "It’s impossible."

"Why? How hard is the test?" Alicia pressed, her crimson eyes wide.

"I was waiting for the examiner’s go-signal, and then it was just... over," Martin groaned, running a hand down his face. "I couldn’t even cast a single barrier. I was dead before I blinked."

The students who overheard the conversation swallowed hard, their anxiety skyrocketing.

Alicia bit her lip. She turned her head slightly, looking toward Ren. "Ren... what do you think? It sounds brutal."

"I have to do it even if it’s hard," Ren replied, his eyes burning with protagonist determination. "I came here prepared to fail."

"As expected of you, Ren," Alicia smiled softly, her cheeks tinting slightly pink. But as she said it, her crimson eyes briefly darted toward the sofa where I was sitting. She saw Emma clinging to my arm, and her soft smile instantly twisted into a fierce, jealous scowl before she looked away. "It’s my turn now. I’ll be back."

Alicia stepped into the elevator with two other students.

I pulled out my Academy tablet and checked the digital roster.

’Next Group: Alex Edelhart, Ren Montclair, Emily Frost.’

The top-tier group. I didn’t care about the tension in the room. I wasn’t going to hand the Representative spot over to Ren or Emily. I was just genuinely curious to see how the Spire simulated Ivan Baker’s ’Flash’ ability.

As I turned off the tablet, a faint, crisp scent of jasmine tickled my nose.

"You."

I looked up. Emily was standing in front of the sofa, looking down at me with her usual cold, emotionless expression.

Emma instantly went rigid against my side. Her fingers dug painfully into my bicep, her golden eyes locking onto the blue-haired girl with pure, unfiltered hostility.

"I admire you," Emily stated bluntly.

I raised an eyebrow. The compliment was incredibly jarring coming from the Ice Princess. "Excuse me?"

Emily didn’t blink. "What you said in the courtyard earlier. I admire your confidence. Even though you were nothing more than a defective weakling a month ago, you’ve changed."

Next to me, Emma let out a low, menacing hiss, her golden eyes locking onto Emily with the intensity of a predator about to strike. I casually squeezed Emma’s thigh, keeping her anchored to the sofa.

"I have been keeping an eye on you since the freshman expedition," Emily continued, her voice clinical but laced with a strange intensity. "Everyone else thinks you just got lucky. They think you’re coasting on a fluke. But no one else sees how dense your mana has become. You must have worked incredibly hard in secret, haven’t you?"

I stared at the Ice Princess.

’Is she seriously trying to compliment me right now?’ I thought, fighting the urge to smirk. ’Has the untouchable genius actually fallen for my charms? Sigh... what should I do with this overwhelming handsomeness?’

I didn’t give her the satisfaction of validating her theory. I just leaned back and let her talk.

"But I won’t lose to you," Emily declared, her icy blue eyes hardening with competitive fire. "I learned more from those archives than you did. I studied twice as hard. This time, I will be the one taking first place. I will be the Representative."

"Is that all?" I asked lazily, closing my eyes. "If you’re done declaring war, you can leave. My fiancée is getting anxious."

I turned my head away, fully intending to dismiss her.

"You."

Emily didn’t leave. Instead, she stepped closer and actually poked my bicep with the tip of her index finger.

The temperature in the room plummeted to absolute zero. Emma half-stood from the sofa, her hands glowing with lethal, condensed mana. "Touch him again, you frozen bitch, and I will shatter your arms."

"Down, Emma," I ordered smoothly, pulling the yandere back onto the cushions. I sighed heavily, looking back at Emily. "Do you have a death wish, Emily? Or do you just enjoy hanging upside down in the air?"

"What’s with that tone?" Emily frowned, a rare flicker of genuine annoyance breaking her stoic mask. "I saw you talking with that delinquent, Maya, just fine. Why are you giving me the cold shoulder when I’m acknowledging your strength?"

I let out a dark, mocking chuckle. I stood up, adjusting my silver tie, and looked down at her.

"Because Maya actually knows how to be entertaining," I smirked. "Work on your charm, Emily. Though you are a beauty, but it’s more like being cute and less sexy."

Emily’s eyes widened slightly, a faint pink dusting her pale cheeks as her brain tried to process the blatant, arrogant teasing. "Charm...?" she muttered to herself, as if I had just handed her a complex magical equation.

Before she could dissect my words any further, a sudden, loud commotion erupted near the elevator banks.

"Sophie?" "Wait, what? Is that the Vanguard Guild’s Sophie?" "Why is a Guild Vice-Master here at the Academy?"

The name repeated like a chorus through the lounge. My eyes naturally drifted toward the entrance.

Stepping out of the elevator was a tall, athletic woman in her mid-twenties. She wore a tailored black coat over high-end combat gear. Even from across the room, I could feel the sheer, oppressive weight of her aura. Mana naturally showed its color when it reached the Master tiers, and a faint, vivid purple haze clung to her skin.

Sophie, Vice-Guildmaster of the Vanguard Stars—one of the top three Imperial Guilds.

She scanned the room of elite freshmen and immediately locked eyes with Ren Montclair. She grinned, walking over and greeting him warmly.

"Ren! Look at you, you’ve grown so much since the village!" Sophie laughed, clapping the protagonist on the shoulder.

"Sister Sophie?" Ren smiled brightly, completely surprised. "What brings you to the Spire?"

"I came to watch the evaluations, kid," Sophie replied, her sharp eyes scanning the rest of the students. "I heard you were preparing hard for the tournament. The faculty invited a few Guild scouts to observe. I wanted to see if there were any fresh talents worth snatching up before the other guilds get their claws into them."

The classic scouting event. The game was following its natural progression, funneling powerful allies toward the protagonist.

Ren pointed at a sleek, metallic device strapped to Sophie’s wrist. "Did you get a new artifact?"

"Oh, this?" Sophie chuckled, tapping the glass face of the device. "It’s not a normal watch. It’s an advanced Aether-Reader. It actively scans and reads the raw magic power and core density of anyone in the room. I had to pull a lot of strings to get it, but it makes scouting a breeze."

Sophie turned her wrist, aiming the face of the watch around the room. She swept it over Alicia, nodding approvingly. She swept it over Emily, raising an eyebrow at the high reading.

Then, she casually swept it toward the sofa where I was standing.

Suddenly, our eyes met.

Sophie froze. She narrowed her eyes, tilted her head, and looked down at her watch. She tapped the glass hard. Then she looked back at me, her jaw dropping slightly.

Before Sophie could march over and demand an explanation, the brass doors of the testing floor opened.

Ariana Flamehart stumbled out, followed by two other nobles. Ariana looked completely devastated, her usual fiery arrogance completely extinguished.

"I’m screwed!" Ariana groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I couldn’t even cast a single fireball!"

The examiner’s magically amplified voice echoed through the lounge.

"Next Group: Alex Edelhart, Emily von Frits, Ren Montclair. Proceed to the 12th floor."

It was finally my turn.

I gently peeled Emma off my arm. "Wait here, my angel. I’ll be right back."

"Crush them, Sir Alex," she whispered fiercely, her eyes shining with devotion.

I walked toward the stairwell leading up to the testing arena. Ren and Emily fell into step beside me.

"Alex," Ren smiled kindly, his protagonist aura practically glowing. "You were awesome in the courtyard earlier. I really liked what you said about overwhelming them. Let’s both do our best up there."

"Please tell the Guild Leader about me, Ren," Emily added quietly, slipping back into her calculating persona.

I ignored both of them and kept walking.

As I passed Ren’s group, I glanced back over my shoulder for a fraction of a second. Sophie was still standing exactly where she was, staring at my back. Her face was pale, entirely stripped of its earlier playful confidence, replaced by utter, profound bewilderment.