The Extra's Rise-Chapter 135: First Mission (5)

I exhaled heavily, each breath dragging against the weight in my chest. My body ached, my mind buzzed, and the faint, rhythmic hum of the newly formed White Star in my core reverberated like a quiet drumbeat.

That had been too close.

’That was dangerous,’ I thought, shaking my head. The irony didn’t escape me. I had just formed my White Star—a monumental achievement by any measure—and it had to happen in the middle of a fight against a White-ranker.

Not exactly ideal timing, unless you had a particular fondness for gambling with your life.

Still, I couldn’t deny the results. By pushing myself to the absolute limit, by taking on Arkell headfirst without relying on Seraphina’s intervention, I had forced a breakthrough. That level of desperation, that razor’s edge between survival and obliteration, had stripped away the fog in my understanding of light mana. In its place, clarity. An epiphany.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

And now, I had both the Black Star and the White Star.

"Honestly," Seraphina said, breaking the silence as her blade sheathed with a sharp click. Her voice, usually edged with frost, carried something unfamiliar. Curiosity, maybe. Or disbelief. "What are you? Some kind of anomaly?"

"Anomaly?" I asked, glancing at her as I rubbed the bloodied knuckles of my sword hand. "That’s a little harsh."

Her lips quirked into something that might have been a smile. Or perhaps it was just the dim light playing tricks on her features. "Arthur," she said, tilting her head slightly, "no human has ever had both a Black Star and a White Star. You’re the first. That’s not harsh. That’s reality."

I blinked, the weight of her words sinking in. She was right, of course. As far as I knew—and now, as far as she knew—there hadn’t been a single documented case in all of recorded history. The two Stars were polar opposites, the very embodiment of two mana elements that actively sought to annihilate each other. To possess both was unthinkable.

"Well," I said, brushing the dust off my coat with a shrug, "it’s not as overpowered as it sounds. I can’t exactly use them together."

Seraphina raised a sharp brow, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied me. "Why not?"

I waved a hand as if the answer were obvious, though explaining it still made me sound ridiculous. "Dark mana and light mana are opposites, sure. But when they’re in their compressed forms like this—formed into Stars—they’re so opposing that even thinking about combining them would be breaking about seven different mana laws. It’s a miracle they’re not constantly trying to blow me up."

"If you could use them together," Seraphina said, her voice calm but laced with a note of warning, "you wouldn’t be breaking mana laws. You’d be rewriting them."

I laughed, though it came out hoarse and strained. "Well, I’m not that ambitious. Yet."

Seraphina sighed, and for a moment, the usual cold, composed demeanor of Mount Hua’s princess slipped. She held out a hand, and I took it, letting her pull me to my feet. My legs wobbled slightly, and I realized just how much Arkell’s light blade had taken out of me. Blood soaked through the edges of my jacket where his strikes had landed shallow but precise cuts.

"Anomaly or not," Seraphina said as she steadied me with a firm grip, "you’re still human. And right now, you’re in no condition to fight."

"True," I admitted, glancing around the cavernous room. The air still shimmered faintly with residual mana, light and dark clashing and settling into uneasy stillness. Arkell’s lifeless body lay in the center, his once-pristine blade dim and inert beside him. "But we need to get out of here. Carefully. I don’t want to run into anyone else."

"Careful doesn’t suit you," she said with a smirk.

"First time for everything." I grinned, though my expression faltered as I felt the faint hum of both Stars in my core. The Black Star, pulsing quietly like a shadow waiting in the wings, and the White Star, a steady, glowing warmth.

Two impossible constructs. Two sides of a coin that should never exist together.

Seraphina studied me for a moment longer, then sighed. "Alright," she said, nodding toward the corridor we’d come through. "Let’s move. We’ll discuss your insanity later."

"Looking forward to it," I muttered, sheathing my blade and following her lead.

We moved swiftly but carefully, avoiding attention as we navigated the labyrinthine corridors of the gate. The overhead lights flickered occasionally, casting strange, shifting shadows across the walls. My mind was already racing, trying to piece together our next steps.

"Do you think he told anyone we were coming?" Seraphina asked, her voice low.

"Doubt it," I replied. "Arkell was arrogant. He thought he could handle us alone, and he wasn’t the type to admit weakness to his men. Still, we can’t assume we’re safe. Let’s get out as fast as we can."

We reached the main corridor leading to the gate’s exit. Two guards were stationed there, their weapons slung casually over their shoulders. They didn’t look particularly alert—likely assuming that no one would be foolish enough to infiltrate Gate Nine.

"Let me handle this," I whispered to Seraphina.

She raised an eyebrow but stepped back, letting me take the lead.

I adjusted my posture, straightened my jacket to cover the bloodstains as best as I could, and approached the guards with purpose. Confidence was key in situations like this.

"Oi, you there!" one of the guards barked as I approached. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and armed with a rifle that hummed faintly with mana. "What’s your business here?"

"Delivery," I said smoothly, gesturing to the crate I’d grabbed from the loading bay. "Special order from Arkell himself. He’s handling something in the upper levels and asked me to take care of this."

The guard frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Arkell didn’t mention anything about a delivery."

I rolled my eyes, letting just the right amount of irritation creep into my voice. "Of course he didn’t. Do you think he tells you lot everything? Look, he’s in a mood tonight, and if you want to be the one to explain to him why his crate didn’t get where it was supposed to, be my guest."

The guard hesitated, glancing at his partner, who shrugged. "Fine," he said gruffly, stepping aside. "Get on with it."

I nodded curtly and walked past them, keeping my pace steady and my expression neutral. Seraphina followed a few steps behind, her movements graceful and quiet.

Once we were out of sight of the guards, she leaned closer and murmured, "I can’t believe that worked."

"People believe what they expect to see," I whispered back. "Arkell’s arrogance rubbed off on his men. They think they’re untouchable here."

We reached the final exit—a massive steel gate leading out into the night. Beyond it, the sprawling outskirts of Marasva awaited, glittering faintly under the cold, artificial glow of streetlights. I glanced back at Seraphina, who gave me a quick nod.

"Let’s go," I said.

The gate opened with a low groan, and we stepped out into the city. The chill of the night air hit me immediately, a stark contrast to the stifling atmosphere of Gate Nine. For a moment, I allowed myself to breathe, to take in the fact that we’d done it.

Arkell was dead. The mission was complete.