Extra’s Rise: I Stole All The Women In The Hero’s Party

The moment they stepped inside, the heavy stone gates slammed shut behind them with a deep, echoing thud.

Zayn tensed, glancing over his shoulder. "Well, that's not ominous at all."

Tobias barely spared the sealed entrance a glance as he pushed up his glasses. "No turning back now. We either kill the boss or die trying."

Zayn groaned. "You really need to work on your motivational speeches."

But his joking came to an abrupt halt when his eyes landed on the creature standing at the edge of the enormous chamber.

A black wolf, massive enough to dwarf a warhorse, stood poised like a harbinger of death.

Its pitch-black fur shimmered like liquid shadow, and its glowing crimson eyes burned with an intensity that sent a chill down Zayn's spine.

Its long claws clicked against the stone floor as it shifted, watching them with predatory focus.

And then, with a guttural snarl, it roared.

The entire dungeon shook.

Zayn instinctively braced himself as the ground trembled beneath his boots. From the surrounding darkness, monsters surged forward.

Goblins, twisted humanoid creatures with jagged weapons, and the same grotesque creatures they'd fought earlier came pouring out like a nightmare unleashed.

"Shit."

"Bran! Zayn! Hold the front!" Tobias barked.

Zayn barely had time to process before Bran, the ax-wielding powerhouse of their party, shot forward like a damn missile.

The moment his foot touched the ground, a blue aura erupted around him, crackling with raw power.

Zayn's eyes widened.

It was a Skill.

Bran disappeared from his vision for a second, reappearing right in front of the first wave of monsters.

With a savage yell, he swung his axe down.

The moment it hit, the sheer force of the impact shattered the stone beneath their feet.

The goblin unfortunate enough to be in Bran's path was obliterated, its body reduced to little more than a stain on the dungeon floor.

Zayn blinked. "...So that's a skill, huh?"

He was abruptly yanked back to reality when one of the goblins lunged at him, a rusted dagger aimed at his throat.

"Whoa — !" Zayn twisted his body on instinct, narrowly avoiding the attack. With a quick step forward, he slashed out, cutting clean through the goblin's chest.

The monster let out a strangled gurgle before collapsing.

It wasn't pretty. No flashy skills. No magic-infused slashes. Just pure, crude swordsmanship.

And Zayn was painfully aware of it.

'I don't even know how to use skills yet!'

Everyone else had some kind of ability. Tobias had his knowledge-based magic. Kara, the earth mage, could manipulate the battlefield. Elisse, the nun, had divine blessings.

And Bran? The man had just one-shot a monster with an axe that could probably cleave through a boulder.

Meanwhile, Zayn was stuck just swinging a sword like an NPC.

'Unfair. Completely unfair.'

But there was no time for self-pity. Another monster rushed him — a grotesque creature with too many arms and a mouth that split open vertically.

Zayn gritted his teeth and dove forward, blade flashing.

The monster barely had time to react before his sword carved through its neck.

Blood splattered across the ground as the creature collapsed, twitching violently before going still.

"Next!" Zayn called out, trying to ignore the way his hands were starting to ache.

Bran, still glowing with that blue aura, barreled through the enemy ranks like a war machine, his axe leaving nothing but carnage in its wake.

Meanwhile, at the back of the room, Tobias and Kara had gone straight for the boss.

Zayn caught a glimpse of Kara raising her hands, her eyes glowing faintly as the ground beneath the black wolf rumbled.

"Earthen Bind!"

Stone erupted from the floor, thick pillars of earth latching onto the wolf's legs in an attempt to restrain it.

But the beast barely flinched.

With a snarl, it flexed its muscles, shattering the stone like it was made of paper.

Tobias was already chanting under his breath, his fingers tracing glowing symbols in the air.

"Keep it busy," he ordered, voice calm despite the chaos around them. "I need a few seconds to prepare."

The wolf snapped its head toward them — and then charged.

Zayn cursed. "Tobias! Move your ass!"

But Tobias stood his ground.

At the last second, he threw his hand forward, and a wave of searing golden light exploded from his palm, slamming into the wolf's face.

The beast howled, reeling back as the attack scorched its fur.

Kara took the opportunity to send jagged stone spikes shooting up from the ground, aiming for the creature's underbelly.

The wolf twisted its body mid-air, barely avoiding a lethal hit, but the spikes still grazed its side, leaving deep, bleeding wounds.

Zayn took a deep breath, his grip tightening on his sword.

This was his chance.

He surged forward, breaking away from the smaller monsters to make a dash for the boss.

Bran saw him move and grinned.

"Finally!" he called out. "Took you long enough!"

Zayn ignored him.

He locked eyes with the black wolf. Its crimson gaze burned with rage, its body still smoldering from Tobias's attack.

It was watching him now.

Waiting.

Zayn grinned.

'Alright then. Let's see what happens.'

With a burst of speed, he lunged.

The wolf snapped forward, jaws wide —

And Zayn did the only thing his instincts told him to do.

He dodged.

Twisting his body at the last second, he barely avoided the wolf's massive fangs, rolling beneath its head.

In the same motion, he slashed upward, his sword cutting deep into the creature's exposed side.

The wolf yowled in pain.

Blood splattered across the floor, dark and thick.

Zayn felt a rush of adrenaline.

'I hit it!'

But before he could celebrate, a huge paw came crashing down.

Zayn barely managed to throw himself backward, the impact sending cracks spider-webbing across the stone.

"Not bad!" Bran called out, hefting his axe. "Now let's actually finish this thing!"

Zayn exhaled, rolling his shoulders.

Maybe he wasn't the flashiest fighter. Maybe he didn't have a skill yet.

But he'd just wounded a boss monster.

And that was enough to make him grin.