The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 284

To reach Right Mountain, you had to cross the sea. Acken Island had once been a single large island, but it had since been split into two large islands and several smaller rocky ones.

Of course, there was no such thing as a dock to sail to. The only choice was to use spatial-type magic or flight magic, both of which consumed a lot of magic power.

Even if she had enough magic power, the sky around Acken Island was covered with Yennekar Palerover’s spirits. Crossing the sky or the sea without protection was no different than suicide.

Still, there was no choice. Lucy had her own reasons for doing it.

“The part you will need to fly over isn’t all that long. Meanwhile, Elvira and I will be assisting you. However, once you cross over to the northern island, you are completely on your own.”

Clevius stood by the exit as he spoke to Lucy.

“I’ll gather some of the other survivors who are willing to escort you on the way to the north coast. Until then, try and save as much magic power as you can.”

Clevius no longer stuttered, nor did he always look afraid. The responsibility that fell on his shoulders had turned him into a warrior.

In front of the exit to the underground waterways, there were a few fighters chosen among the survivors, as well as Clevius, Elvira, and Lortel.

“I can’t come with you,” Lortel said calmly.

That was because she needed to remain at the hideout and lead the remaining group of survivors. The Soul Library was the last refuge for the survivors left on the island. Once that place was discovered by the spirits, there would be no life left on the island.

“I’ll have to say farewell to you now, whether you succeed or not. It was nice meeting you, Lucy.”

In the end, Lortel never asked about the Ed Lucy knew. Lortel was always a cold-blooded foxlike merchant who never lost her rationality. Her calm and collected mind was one of her strengths.

However, in the end, people needed to complain and let out the grief, stress, and despair that weighed them down. When a human’s mind grew too accustomed to hardships, they had a tendency to forget how to relax.

“Lortel, you…”

“I’ll survive.”

It didn’t matter what the reason was. Whether it was for revenge or simply to live a peaceful life.

“I guess you don’t know. Ed had left a will behind in prison before he died. As if to say goodbye to the people around him. He said a lot of things, but ultimately, he said to survive.”

She was sure that he left a will for Yennekar as well. Maybe it was something similar. However, from what Lortel had said before, the Lucy of her world died before Ed.

He couldn’t have left a will for Lucy.

“I agree with Ed. We need to do whatever it takes to survive. Of course, things aren’t great now, but… I’m sure that if we do our best, we can survive for at least another three years or so. We have enough supplies.”

When things didn’t get better, people’s mindset tended to deteriorate. Nevertheless, Lortel never let go of her desire to survive.

“I just wanted to tell you that. That I’m doing my best to survive.”

After saying that, Lortel closed her mouth. Lucy silently stood there for a moment before turning around.

Outside the underground waterways, the spirits were running wild. Once they crossed the North Forest and reached the coast, she would have to use flying magic to reach Right Mountain.

Once she arrived at the top of the mountain, she would have to get past Yennekar. Then, using the altar to utilize the remains of Tyrcalaques, she would be able to call out for Ed, who was searching for her.

It seemed like an impossible plan, but Lucy didn’t hesitate.

Seeing Lucy and the rest of the group quietly headed outside, the survivors who stayed behind in the underground waterways prayed quietly.

They prayed that the disaster would finally be coming to an end.

* * *

“The North Forest is where the spirits are most active. It’s best not to go anywhere near there, but at this point, it’ll be more dangerous for us to turn around and go somewhere else.”

The North Forest was so vast that trying to double back or take another path would have taken far too long. They decided the shortest route was still the best option, even if it was dangerous.

“You need to save your magic power until we reach the north coast, no matter what.”

None of the survivors that came along, including Elvira, looked great. They’d been living in such an extreme situation for years, so there was no way they could showcase their full strength.

Also, the enemies they would face were spirits with an infinite amount of magic power being supplied to them by Yennekar, who was holding onto Velbrok’s heart.

In a long fight, they would definitely face defeat.

They all held their breath as they slipped out of the waterway and made their way through the North Forest. They had to do everything they could not to provoke the spirits.

The shortest route to make it across the North Forest.

When she went to school, Lucy had gone there often, so she was familiar with it. However, the environment, which used to be filled with greenery, was strangely different. It seemed that the passage of time had changed the forest quite a bit.

Clevius ran in the front as he looked around. Lucy, Elvira, and the other members continued to follow along behind him.

Each and every one of the members were looking around with caution. Lucy wasn’t as nervous as everyone else, who had broken out into cold sweats, staying on alert as if their lives were on the line.

It seemed that they had grown to greatly fear the spirits that roamed the island…

It didn’t take long to quickly prove why their caution was justified.

Fwoosh!

Kyaak!

Dozens of spirits in bizarre forms filled the sky. They were keeping guard of the forest to see if anyone dared enter. The moment one spotted them, it screamed in anger.

The group breathed heavily as they trembled upon seeing the spirits quickly fly towards them.

“Get ready for battle!” Elvira commanded them as the fighters took out their equipment.

A fire spirit, in the form of a giant mole, spewed flames at them. A few spirits in the form of bluish pterosaurs landed on the ground, snatching some of the fighters with their large claws before flying into the sky.

One of the fighters was kidnapped in the air, screaming in pain. However, the other one didn’t show any signs of panic or despair. He had the expression of a man who had already lost his colleagues several times before. Lucy quickly tried to gather magic power, but Elvira held her wrist tightly.

“I told you. You have to save your magic power.”

A colleague had just been abducted by a flying spirit. It was obvious they would be scratched and bleed to death, or they would fall to their death.

Nevertheless, Elvira kept Lucy from intervening as she clenched her teeth.

For the current group of survivors, Lucy was their only hope to help change their disastrous situation. She had to save her strength, as the group’s ultimate goal was to escort Lucy as far as they could to Right Mountain.

Booom!

There was a sound similar to an explosion up ahead. However, it wasn’t an explosion. Surprisingly, it was the sound of a sword.

Clevius, drunk on blood, swung his sword and created an impact that was no different than an explosion. His single strike had enough power to leave a massive hole in the ground.

Clevius breathed heavily as he sat down on the forest floor. Blood fell from the shoulder he had stabbed himself in.

Lucy had previously faced off against Clevius when he was completely under the influence of Blood Swordsmanship. Of course, he was nowhere near as powerful as her, but… His explosive power was still to be acknowledged.

At the moment, Clevius was using his Blood Swordsmanship much more skillfully than before. He wasn’t overly drunk on blood, destroying everything around him and killing everyone in his way. Nevertheless, it was still hard for him to overcome his emotions.

Clevius struggled to hold onto his reason as he pulled the sword out of his shoulder. Blood splattered across the ground. He looked up at the sky, which was full of spirits.

Clevis had risked his life training his Blood Swordsmanship to its limits. Because of that, he was capable of facing off against them one by one.

However, there was only so much he could do against such a large group. The biggest drawback of Blood Swordsmanship was that the sacrifice of one’s own blood was needed to use it. In a long battle of attrition, it would eventually lead to self-destruction.

And in a battle of attrition, it was impossible to win against Yennekar Palerover.

“Clevius can only last for five more minutes.”

Elvira had a better understanding of Clevius’s power than anyone else. At that point, she could already tell the state of Clevius’s Blood Swordsmanship.

“Lucy, we can’t stay here. While Clevius is buying time, we need to run.”

Lucy looked at Elvira for a moment, seeing the bitter look of despair on her face. However, Lucy wasn’t the type to break out in a cold sweat like everyone else was. Still, Lucy could at least understand the seriousness of the situation.

Booom!

A sword attack that used Blood Magic power shot through the sky.

Dozens of spirits were struck, falling where they were. However, it didn’t take long for new spirits to appear and fill the skies once more.

Elvira grabbed Lucy’s wrist as they ran further into the North Forest. The path wasn’t cleared, as the entire forest was full of overgrown greenery. Some of the other party members followed along.

Eventually, Elvira decided that she and Lucy needed to move separately from the party. After all, their job was to gather the attention of the spirits so that Lucy could head freely to the Northern Island.

Lucy ran with Elvira for some time across the forest. While Lucy ran, the view of the North Forest was much different than she remembered. The outer path of the forest had been burned, and it was difficult to even call that a part of the forest anymore.

The Guardian Tree of Merilda in the central lake was also barely standing.

And, running further north…a similar scenery could finally be seen.

A cabin, campfire, and wooden storage. Right in front of her was…the wooden shelter. The first woodworking project Ed had worked on when he started to survive in the camp.

It was once Lucy’s favorite place to take a nap. She couldn’t believe it was still there. How could such a shabby camp stay the same after all that time, even with the chaos that took place?

While Lucy was getting distracted by the camp, Elvira said, “The camp… You can’t go anywhere near it.”

Elvira pulled Lucy’s hand, looking together at the distant view of the camp.

“It is a sanctuary protected by one of the stronger spirits. There have already been a few survivors who lost their lives after accidentally trespassing there.”

Lucy was silent.

“But this is good for us. As long as we avoid that, we only have to worry about the other, weaker spirits outside.”

As they continued to make their way through the first, Elvira clenched her teeth and she spoke.

“Listen, Lucy. Many people have lost their lives.”

What was lost was lost. It was a saying that Lucy had kept close to her heart. But even accepting that fact wasn’t enough to make the pain go away.

“All those who joined the group of survivors have lost precious friends, family, and even lovers. They all lost someone close to them. In that regard, I’m rather lucky.”

“…Lucky?”

“Yes. Because I haven’t lost Clevius.”

Was it because Clevius himself was not there? Elvira spoke about her feelings rather openly.

“I’m grateful for that fact alone. However, Clevius has risked his life this time. He has this useless and strange sense of duty when it comes to saving the other survivors.”

Looking up at the sky over the North Forest, you could see him sending sword attacks flying at the countless spirits overhead. The amount he had bled out already must have been severe.

“You know what I’m trying to say, right?”

Lucy didn’t speak.

“If I lose Clevius here, I’ll be no different than Lortel. I…I don’t want to be lost in such grief and pain.”

That was something that Lortel herself could never do. However, Elvira had the chance to tell Lucy how important that moment meant to her. Lucy… She understood just how much Clevius meant to Elvira.

“I don’t want to lose Clevius. That’s why… Please do your best… You’re the only one I can lean on.”

“I can’t be absolutely sure that everything will work out.”

“I know. But like we said, you’re the only person we place our hopes on.”

Elvira stopped running in the woods as she watched Lucy. Lucy also stopped for a moment, turning back and staring blankly at her. As if they were exhausted from running for so long, only their heavy breathing could be heard.

“We’re almost at the exit. Once we reach the cliff, you will have to head to Right Mountain on your own. I’ll assist you while you fly over, but I’ll only be able to stop the spirits for a short while.”

“Will you all be able to head back to the Soul Library once it’s done?”

“…We’ll try.”

Elvira rolled up her sleeves as she forced a smile on her face. She looked quite confident given the fact that she was forcing herself.

“I can still…stop at least a few spirits.”

After she said that, the two of them ran out of the forest.

“I can still stop at least a few spirits.”

What Elvira said wasn’t just a bluff. After all, even when she attended Silvenia Academy, she was considered quite talented. Thanks to years of living in such an extreme situation, her combat capabilities had grown quite a bit. It wasn’t as much as Clevius, who used Blood Swordsmanship, but Elvira had enough power to at least gather the attention of dozens of spirits.

However, the world was full of abnormalities and exceptions.

Woong!

Hearing that noise for the first time, it was hard to clearly judge what it was. But Lucy, who had heard it again and again, could immediately tell.

Yennekar Palerover had become the final enemy. Everyone in the school had become aware of that fact. That was because everyone had witnessed her covering the entire school with the power of an ultimate spirit.

Was it because Elvira and Clevius were caught exploring Trix Hall?

Or maybe she had noticed Lucy’s existence?

Something you’d never normally see… As soon as they left the North Forest, a massive spirit could be seen beyond the cliff.

Woong!

It could be mistaken as the sound of a boat or a massive ship. However, it was the cry of a spirit. It had already gone Berserk, but it was undoubtedly the cry of an ultimate-rank spirit.

The Ultimate Water Spirit, Friede. It was like the commander of an army that led thousands of troops.

Fwoosh.

Crash!

As its huge body came out of the sea, huge waves struck the cliff. However, the appearance of that giant whale was different from what Lucy knew. There were lots of large, strange magic patterns engraved all over it. Its eyes had an eerie red sheen to them as well.

An ominous dark red magic power filled the area as thousands of flying spirits, flying in from Right Mountain, filled the area.

Lucy quickly used her magic power to block the massive wave from crashing into them. The cliffside had been completely destroyed by the wave, but thankfully, she was somehow able to cast defensive magic to save them.

Even its appearance was enough to cause a massive disaster. That was how powerful an ultimate-rank spirit was.

* * *

“Lucy!” While the waves crashed on the coastline, Elvira shouted, “You have to move before it’s fully manifested! If the ultimate-rank spirit gains control of the army, we won’t be able to do anything!”

They didn’t know why Friede had suddenly arrived. Yennekar wouldn’t have wanted to damage the island more than necessary, as it was a sanctuary for Ed. When she summoned Theorpis, it was enough to completely cover the mountain with volcanic ash.

Elvira thought Yennekar wouldn’t have made that mistake twice…

“Go now! I’ll make it hard for them to detect your magic power!” Elvira shouted.

It seemed that she was planning to draw Friede’s attention by using all of the reagents and magic engineering devices she had.

But wasn’t that no different than suicide?

Lucy looked at Elvira for a moment, but Elvira clenched her teeth and shouted, “Don’t worry. That blond-haired aristocrat you risked your life to save before—I agree with what he said when he died.”

Lucy watched her.

“I will survive.”

Many people had already died in her world. In the end, the only ones who remained alive were those who were determined and had the will to survive.

Elvira was no different.

There wasn’t any time. Even though Yennekar had Velbrok’s heart, it still wasn’t easy for her to fully summon Friede. That was why Lucy needed to quickly get to the other island—before the manifestation was complete.

Lucy clenched her teeth as she nodded, covering her body with flying magic. However, she only had enough magic power to cast an intermediate spell a few times. She couldn’t use advanced magic to fly for too long.

Lucy gathered as much magic power as she could and then took flight as close to the sea as she could. Her collar and hat fluttered in the wind.

She pressed onto her hat tightly so that it wouldn’t fly away. As she headed to the northern island, she could feel a large amount of magic power radiating from the cliff where she had just left Elvira. She didn’t know what type of magic Elvira used, but it had gathered the attention of all of the nearby spirits.

Several low-ranking spirits spotted Lucy, who was flying by quickly, but she was able to defeat them without difficulty. Casting elemental magic at the spirits who spotted her, she eventually reached the coast of the other island.

Thud!

Unable to control her strength properly, she crashed onto the sandy beach. Lucy lifted herself up without a change in expression, brushing the sand off of her.

She then looked up at Right Mountain. All kinds of berserk spirits wandered around the mountain, guarding it. The sight alone was terrifying enough to make one tremble, but Lucy only let out a sigh, not nervous in the slightest.

She gathered her magic power, wrapping it around herself. She then began to run up Right Mountain.

* * *

Woong!

Normally, the view was a beauty in itself. If you climbed up Right Mountain, you could get an view of the entirety of Acken Island.

Crash!

Booom!

She quickly ran up the mountain, defeating every spirit she saw one by one. Looking out as far as she could see, everywhere was a gruesome sight. The traces of the Blade Demon that had been wreaking havoc in the forest could no longer be seen.

It wasn’t difficult to imagine what happened to Clevius… Collapsed in the middle of the forest, covered in blood as countless spirits flocked him…

And the magic power that emanated from the coastline was no longer there. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what happened to the alchemist who stood alone on that cliff to face Friede.

Back at the entrance of the underground waterways, a group of spirits was attacking the survivors. Lortel was leading those who survived further into the research facility that was left behind by Professor Glast…

None of it was hard to imagine.

It was a cruel world.

She wished she never knew the existence of that world. Nevertheless, it was the world that she ended up in.

A world without Ed Rothstaylor.

He was someone that was always there for Lucy. Whether she was on his lap, playing with him, or he was patting her head and complimenting her… She started to realize how much it meant.

She missed him. She couldn’t help but have that thought. If she ever saw him again, she wouldn’t hesitate to jump back into his arms. She saw a world where he didn’t exist.

How fortunate was she to still have him in her life?

The sheer emptiness that would come if he weren’t there… Even if it was embarrassing, she wanted to tell him just how much he meant to her.

She wanted to thank him for surviving.

His life was full of hardship and ordeals that might have made him want to give up. Nevertheless, he survived. By clenching his teeth, he survived and became the meaning behind Lucy’s life.

However, for Ed, surviving was as natural as breathing. It was something he couldn’t help but do.

But just how much hope, happiness, and relief he gave to the young Lucy Mayreel… Ed himself had no idea.

That was why Lucy wanted to tell him. As she ran up the mountain, covered with scratches, she continued to have that thought.

If she ever saw Ed again, she was definitely going to tell him.

‘Thank you for surviving. I missed you.’

Crash! Boom!

Lucy breathed heavily as she defeated the spirits in her path, making her way to the top of Right Mountain.

Lucy had finally managed to reach the top of the mountain somehow. It was the same as she had seen during the first year class assignment exam. Heading further up, she eventually saw the massive tombstone—also known as the Substitute Altar.

The massive Substitute Altar.

There, the undertaker of Ed’s death stood, praying while looking towards the empty night sky.