The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 184

Complicated feelings.

That would be the best way to describe Yennekar Palerover, who sat in the VIP waiting room in the Elte Store.

[L-Lady Yennekar. I-I’m… sure everything will be fine.]

Back in the VIP waiting room, the ceiling was high, and the interior was gorgeous.

Since Silvenia Academy was filled with various people of noble status, the Elte Company—which was doing business there—had to prepare one such grand room, just in case.

The VIP waiting room was expensive and high-class, unlike the general atmosphere of the store, which was full of the scent of a commoner.

Yennekar, who was a commoner herself, wasn’t used to such an atmosphere. However, she didn’t care all that much, as she wasn’t going to be staying for that long.

She quietly sat on the sofa embroidered with golden thread as she took a sip of the tea an employee had brought her.

Since the space was so grand, she tried to act like a proper lady. But for Yennekar, who was in charge of the farm back home, a place like that didn’t suit her at all.

She placed the teacup on the dish as she looked up blankly at the large window.

Outside the window, which was as tall as the ceiling, a bright full moon was floating up in the sky.

Sitting alone on the sofa, staring blankly at the moon, Yennekar let out another heavy sigh.

All sorts of spirits were gathered around her. Some were manifested, some were not… Regardless, it was easy for them to talk with Yennekar, as she had a high spiritual resonance.

[I’m worried that firefox-like girl is going to do something again… But she’s still someone who can distinguish between public and private life, right? In such a dire situation, there’s no way she would be thinking of flirting with Young Master Ed, right? Her life is at stake.]

[Th-That’s right…! Her life as a merchant might come to an end tonight, so how could she think of doing something useless like that?!]

The wind spirit Charis—in the form of a small sparrow—and Lennon—in the form of a bluish snake—were trying to cheer Yennekar up.

Despite several spirits trying to make her feel at ease, Yennekar only sat there drinking her tea, not saying a word.

In reality, even though the spirits were trying to cheer up Yennekar, they were all aware that someone as sly and tricky as Lortel Kehelland shouldn’t be neglected in a situation like that.

Looking at the situation, Ed had taken the initiative to save Lortel, who was captured. The two of them escaped together, hand-in-hand, under the moonlight—all while Yennekar was stuck sitting alone in the VIP waiting room, waiting to act as a roadblock.

Unhappy with the situation, Yennekar muttered quietly with the teacup to her lips and her cheeks puffed up.

What she was most upset about was that she had agreed to help.

The two goals were to confirm Taylee McLaure’s growth and help Lortel escape.

The fact that Yennekar’s help was needed to complete those goals… She knew that fact herself.

It would have been fine if she complained or fought against the idea some more, but seeing Ed with such a serious expression, lost in his thoughts, trying to overcome another ordeal… before she knew it, the situation ended up like that.

In the first place, it was impossible for Yennekar Palerover to use advanced techniques like emotional conflict or push-and-pull.

Upon seeing someone else look concerned, she would also feel depressed… and when she saw someone else look happy, she would also feel good. She was a pure girl down to her bones.

And when that person happened to be Ed Rothstaylor, all she could do was nod her head to anything he said.

Takan, who was lying on his stomach in a fluid state, snorted and sighed as he watched her.

When in the world would Yennekar Palerover take the initiative against Ed Rothstaylor?

Feeling frustrated… he let out a sigh.

“It’s good…”

Meanwhile, she drank the delicious tea.

Yennekar put the teacup back down as she grumbled, looking up at the moon.

Bang!

At that moment, someone came in through the door.

The moment Taylee broke into the store, the entire place fell into turmoil. The employees who were taking care of the VIP room had all run out to see the situation.

Yennekar thought she would be alone until Taylee arrived.

However, the one who sprinted through the door was… Secretary Lienna.

The former secretary to Lortel Kehelland, who was now an executive member under Dune Grex.

She always seemed to lack confidence, as she spoke in a quiet and trembling voice, always fidgeting around.

Yennekar Palerover had seen her come to the camp before, and several other times behind Lortel holding papers.

“Ah…?!”

Dune’s order to check the status of facilities on the upper floors and to take the necessary actions to prevent additional damage to the other buildings.

After receiving that, Secretary Lienna ran in through the back door of the store, quickly running up and checking the facilities… She eventually ran into Yennekar, who was sitting alone in the VIP waiting room.

It was a fairly large room, but it was filled to the brim with spirits.

A room filled with spirits as the moonlight shone, and a girl who sat on the sofa, holding onto a teacup.

Turning her head away from the window, she saw Secretary Lienna. Lienna took a step back as she trembled.

“Eeeek…”

Buried in the darkness, the entire space was filled with the shining eyes of the spirits.

Among them, she could see the high-ranking fire spirit Takan, who was slowly changing from its fluid form into its manifested form.

The VIP waiting room was rather large, but it was still too small for Takan’s entire body.

It couldn’t even fully manifest itself, as it had to crouch on its stomach to avoid breaking through the ceiling.

There was also a horde of spirits ready to attack whoever was in front of them the moment their master gave the command.

The girl who sat quietly between all of that drank her tea quietly.

* * *

Clang!

“If you don’t want to tell me where Ed Rothstaylor is, get out of my way!”

Taylee’s sword attack was faster than expected. Ziggs clenched his teeth as he continued to get pushed back when he blocked Taylee’s greatsword.

The ability to grow even stronger as he fought.

Ziggs had fought Taylee in combat practice when they were first years, so he was already familiar with that.

Ziggs admired Taylee’s growth, which exponentially grew the more he was cornered. He applauded him upon seeing the way he never lost his will, despite the many hardships he faced.

If the world were a stage, he would most likely be the protagonist.

He was a man who kept moving forward despite the constant trials and adversity in his path.

Ziggs was also someone who had been through brutal hardships himself. That was why he could appreciate Taylee’s mental strength all that much more.

Clang!

However, Taylee has been through more hardships than Ziggs could have imagined. Ones that tore apart his body and ate away at his sanity.

Since Ziggs agreed to help Ed in his plans, empathizing with Taylee at that moment would be a mistake.

If a man decided on their path, they had to proceed down it without doubt.

So, no matter how determined Taylee McLaure was, Ziggs couldn’t lend him a hand or look after him.

Ziggs clenched his teeth as he twisted the direction of his spear, aiming toward Taylee’s side.

Slice!!

After being struck by Ziggs’ spear, Taylee flew into the wall, falling onto the floor as dust filled the area.

Before the dust could fully disappear, Taylee leapt out of it.

Ziggs quickly grabbed the gauntlet that was on the floor.

Clang!!

The sound of the metal colliding filled the hallway. Ziggs twisted the spear he held in one hand as he aimed towards Taylee’s side once more. However, there was no way the same move would work twice.

Snap!

By the time he realized it, Ziggs’ spear had been split in two.

It was impossible. Taylee’s greatsword was busy clashing with Ziggs’ gauntlet, as they were in a battle of strength.

However, as the two of them struggled, Taylee somehow managed to slash Ziggs’ spear ‘at the same time’.

A sword attack that was outside the realm of common sense.

To attack or block? At the crossroads of those two choices, he found an absurd option that allowed for both.

A Swordmaster’s Skill…

One of the magic power swordsmanships, Illusion Slash.

To be able to cut two targets at once, or to slash something with impossible timing…

A skill that completely ignored the principles of physics.

There was a famous anecdote about the way the first swordmaster, Luden McLaure, had surpassed the realm of humanity and cut down two monsters simultaneously.

It was impossible to fight against.

At least in a one-on-one match, where it was a battle between each other’s skills… it was impossible to even think about dealing with an opponent who completely ignored the laws of physics.

Paaak!

The best thing he could do was keep his distance.

Ziggs took a big leap backwards, picked up the rapier off the floor, and took a defensive stance.

Unsurprisingly, as soon as he took his stance, the next sword attack flew right at Ziggs.

Taylee’s sword attack felt beyond reason.

He ground his teeth as he attacked Ziggs.

Picking up the rapier was a mistake. He couldn’t fight Taylee McLaure with a sword.

As if to prove that fact, the rapier Ziggs held was cut into two in an instant.

He avoided the attack, but the impact remained. Ziggs clenched his teeth as he rolled across the floor several times due to the impact of the attack.

“K-Keuk…”

During all of it, he grew even more.

The swordsman who always becomes stronger when necessary. By that point, it had become a natural fact.

“Impressive, Taylee.”

Ziggs flexed the hand wearing the gauntlet as he raised a mace in the other one.

“The speed you adapt at is unbelievable.”

“Please get out of my way, Ziggs. I have nothing more to say to you.”

“No, you should stop here.”

Ziggs closed his eyes and slowly opened them.

He knew how impressive Taylee was for becoming stronger with each ordeal. However, there was also a limit to it.

The Elte Store’s building, which Ziggs was guarding.

Going any further, Taylee would only run into even more overwhelming and tremendous ordeals.

There was a degree to such things. The ones who were behind him are so unbelievably strong, they couldn’t even be compared to Ziggs.

If he struggled to climb up any higher, he would only be hurting himself… And he would only end up losing more.

That was why Ziggs was set on stopping Taylee in his tracks.

Taylee’s growth was incredible, but he still couldn’t fully break through Ziggs. He was stuck against him on the second floor.

It would be better for Taylee if things ended like that.

Whoooooosh!

He started to cast advanced magic. The mana weapons Ziggs only used when he got serious… one by one, they started to float in the air.

Ziggs could use all sorts of weapons, and the same was true for weapons that used magic power.

Hundreds of weapons floated in the air, as if waiting for orders.

“Let’s end it here, Taylee. Nothing good will come from trying to climb any further past me.”

“That’s not for you to judge, Ziggs.”

What happened next, happened in an instant.

The world went dark.

Right after Taylee attacked with his sword, Ziggs was completely puzzled, unable to figure out the situation at that moment.

However, he realized what was happening upon seeing Taylee swing his sword.

The one who could cut everything, the Primordial Swordsman, Luden McLaure.

Among the Swordmaster’s Skills he had pursued to achieve his goal… that was the one that could be considered the most extreme.

Swordmaster’s Skill – Space Slicing.

All of the mana weapons that Ziggs had manifested had been cut.

It wasn’t that Ziggs’ weapons were cut.

Rather, he had cut space itself, returning all in existence into nothing.

Taylee’s red eyes glared at Ziggs. Gripping the handle of his greatsword with two hands, he ran straight towards Ziggs Eiffelstein.

Ziggs opened his eyes as he gathered magic power again. The basic wind magic, Wind Blade, was about the strike Taylee—but even that disappeared into nothingness.

It wasn’t because of a simple slash or elemental swordsmanship. He had simply turned the space itself into nothingness, making everything disappear.

It couldn’t be blocked.

It couldn’t be stopped.

He needed to avoid it. Aside from that, there was no other way to deal with it.

However, Taylee’s speed had already surpassed his limits.

His body was a wreck. His muscles screamed out and there was no sign of his bleeding stopping. With the injuries he had across his body, it would be dangerous if Taylee used his Swordmaster’s Skills any longer.

He wasn’t even certain he would be able to defeat Ziggs with that last attack. Even if he could defeat Ziggs, who knew just how many more people were blocking the road ahead of him!

At that point, if he pushed his body past the limit any further, wouldn’t it be suicide?

And yet, Taylee didn’t stop.

With his eyes full of determination, he lowered his posture and struck Ziggs.

* * *

“Eeek!”

Ayla, who was walking down a dark path in the North Forest, suddenly looked behind her.

She didn’t know why… but an ominous feeling swooped over her back.

“……”

At that point, the only choice she had was to go to Ed Rothstaylor’s camp.

However, Ayla couldn’t help but fear that it was too harsh.

When Ed Rothstaylor first called on Ayla, he was simply asking if he could provoke Taylee into a fight, wanting to properly gauge his skills.

However, Lortel Kehelland had become involved, and she had no idea things would grow to such an extent.

At most, Ayla imagined that they were just going to have Taylee fight in a duel.

But this situation… is so much more different from what I expected…

With things going to such an extent, the best thing to do was to talk to Ed Rothstaylor.

Wasn’t the scale of everything way too big? She wanted to ask him if she could go back to Taylee, so he could stop fighting.

However, an ominous feeling continued to seep into Ayla’s mind.

Ayla knew that Ed intended to rescue Lortel, and in the process, it just so happened to work for them to kidnap her as well. In doing so, they could gauge Taylee’s skills even more accurately by making the situation even more dire.

Ayla also owed Ed a favor. Not only did she owe him her life, but there was also the time when she misunderstood him and acted harshly.

However, even if she needed to pay off her debt, it still didn’t seem right. It was way past being cruel.

After wandering through the grass for a while, Ayla finally saw the camp that Ed Rothstaylor was waiting in.

It could also be considered the final destination for Taylee, who was currently fighting. His final stage.

Ed’s camp in the North Forest.

Yennekar and Ed’s cabins were next to each other. Lortel Kehelland’s villa was on the other side.

A campfire in the center with various pieces of survival equipment around it.

Magic engineering supplies and crafting tools were scattered all over the ground. A wooden crafting table, wooden shelters, nets, and hunting tools were all over the place.

It all summarized Ed Rothstaylor’s life as he struggled to survive in the wild.

Seeing Ed Rothstaylor sitting in front of the campfire, Ayla realized that an even more sinister energy was starting to grow.

“Ed.”

In a quiet voice, Ayla called out Ed’s name.

Ed slowly lifted his head as his sharp eyes were revealed through his bangs.

Behind every incident, there was always someone working behind the scenes.

They were the ones you couldn’t look into hastily. The ones whose true intentions were impossible to determine.

When you thought you had finally seen the full picture, they continued to dig an even deeper trap… And the moment their true colors were revealed was always the scariest.

“You’re here?”

“I have something to ask you.”

As Ayla took her chance to ask, Ed Rothstaylor responded first—as if he had been waiting for her to ask that.

“You can’t go back yet. Not until the situation ends.”

* * *

Collapsed on the floor, he looked up above his head.

When Ziggs finally came back to his senses, figuring out the situation…

“Keuk!”

Ziggs was pinned on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. Taylee was looking straight down at Ziggs from above.

His arms trembled from the recoil of the Swordmaster’s Skill, blood dripping from his wounds.

Still, Taylee McLaure stood upright, with strength in his legs.

In a situation that was past the point of extreme, where they were trading final blows with each other… Taylee had slashed the floor, not Ziggs.

All to move Ziggs, who was blocking his way, aside.

Ziggs quickly regained his composure and stood up, but Taylee didn’t care as he headed upstairs.

“Taylee! Stop! If you go any further, there won’t be anything good for you!”

Loyalty to Ed. Ziggs Eiffelstein, who knew how to keep loyalty, couldn’t divulge all of Ed’s plans or his intentions.

However, at the very least he didn’t want to create a situation where Taylee would get even more hurt. The best choice would have been to defeat Taylee.

Despite being stuck in the middle of them, he did all he could. That was how Ziggs always lived his life.

However, Taylee didn’t care.

“What lies ahead… I know what it is! Stop! You need to stop and listen, Taylee!”

Taylee didn’t know what lay in wait behind Ziggs.

However, Taylee at least knew what was at the ‘end’ of the road.

Ayla Triss, who had been kidnapped.

That fact alone… pushed Taylee forward. No matter what Ziggs Eiffelstein shouted, he wouldn’t listen.

And like that, the swordsman Taylee McLaure left Ziggs Eiffelstein behind as he headed upstairs.

Looking at Taylee, who had left, Ziggs frowned. It was already out of his hands, yet he continued to yell Taylee’s name.

* * *

Eventually, Taylee McLaure reached the third floor of the Elte Store’s building.

Searching for Ed Rothstaylor, he crossed the hallway with a body that was covered in injuries.

Breathing heavily, he grabbed ahold of his hazy mind… as he wandered around, looking for Ayla.

The hallway stretched all the way down.

It was full of rooms, used by the store’s various departments to manage documents. There were also various waiting rooms used to receive guests, but… it didn’t seem like there was anyone there.

Slam!

Eventually, a huge and luxurious door opened across the hallway.

“Eeeeeeeeeek!”

Crash.

Secretary Lienna, who opened the door while running out, fell onto the floor. Although she fell quite violently, she got up as if it never happened, running down the hallway with tears in her eyes.

“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Closing her eyes tightly, she bumped into Taylee’s shoulder as she ran down the hallway.

Taylee frowned, watching her run away.

Taylee moved towards the direction she ran from with his exhausted body. And there… It was a scene that Taylee could have never even imagined.

When Taylee opened his eyes to look at what Secretary Lienna had seen—

An enormous VIP waiting room. There, a girl with pink hair sat alone. drinking tea on a sofa.

Taylee McLaure knew her well. For Taylee… the girl was an object of insurmountable fear.

Back at Nail Hall, when Glasskan was running rampant. Back at Ophelis Hall, when she stood tall while protecting Ed, who was in an awful condition. And back in Glast’s underground laboratory, where she controlled high-ranking spirits.

Yennekar Palerover’s usual ditzy, immature, and girly appearance. Taylee McLaure hadn’t even seen that once before.

To him, Yennekar Palerover was like a human weapon that could use various high-ranking spirits as if they were a part of her body. She was the embodiment of fear.

As she sat with her back to the moonlight, next to her lay a wand that looked exactly like the one used by Ed Rothstaylor.

There were also various magic engineering supplies that Ed supplied her with.

Shock-Enhanced Wave Ball, Reinforced Claw Fingers, Magic Power Phase Shifter, and even… Dell Heim’s Hourglass.

Even if it were a fair duel, one where they would fight on an even playing field, there was still no chance for Taylee to win. She was even using various magic engineering equipment that Ed had crafted for her… The situation had become all that much more dire.

Yennekar Palerover held a teacup as she looked at Taylee McLaure with sullen eyes. The spirit corps that revealed themselves afterwards were at a level that he couldn’t ignore.

Before worrying about making it to Ed Rothstaylor…

Could he even defeat his closest partner and colleague, the famous Yennekar Palerover?

Ordeals were always difficult to overcome, but there were some that could never be beaten.

That seemed to be what Ziggs was trying to tell Taylee as he stopped him.

“You came.”

In the darkness under the moonlit night, the girl who had been sitting on the sofa slowly stood up.

An ordeal that couldn’t be defeated stood up.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

It didn’t seem like she would be going easy on him. That object of fear didn’t show any sign of caring for Taylee.

Magic power began to flow from the elementalist’s body.

Taylee struggled to grip his sword, unable to stop his legs from trembling.

Elementalist Yennekar Palerover.

The girl who was guarding the VIP waiting room on the third floor.

An opponent he had to break through to reach Ed Rothstaylor.

However, a feasible way to break through that enormous ordeal… couldn’t be seen.