REINCARNATED IN "THE NOVEL´S EXTRA"

Hazuki, who had closed her eyes in fear due to Theo's sudden movement, began to open them again, only to be surprised by the sight of a clear, blue sky.

'Huh? Where's the mountain?'

It was hard to forget that scene. After all, what she had seen before was just snow and some white trees climbing up an imposing mountain.

"We'll arrive in a few seconds."

Interrupting her reverie, Theo spoke while looking down.

Following his gaze, Hazuki realized that her arms were tightly gripping Theo's neck.

"T-Theo! This... we're flying..."

"Yes, I'm sorry for not warning you. I thought it would be easier to go up this way."

He chose not to explain beforehand to avoid having to detail what he intended to do.

"Look! We're almost there."

At Theo's words, she kept her eyes open, this time doing her best to contain her fear.

"Wow!"

A tone of genuine surprise escaped her lips as she beheld the view before her.

Beyond the white that dominated the landscape, a silvery gray of jagged stones surrounded the mountain's peak. In the midst of it all, an emerald green painted the scene, creating a breathtaking sight for those who observed it from that angle.

"There they are..."

In the middle of that scenery, ten gray wolves slept peacefully.

[Grey Wolf Pack of the Standstill - Mid-low class monster (Pack of the Grey Wolves of Paralysis)

Special characteristics: The grey wolves possess high mobility and an ability capable of paralyzing the individual bitten or scratched by their claws. In their fangs and claws, there is a neurotoxin that, upon entering the human bloodstream, can cause paralysis or failures in nerve impulses.

Mission: Completely eliminate the pack / Defeat the alpha of the pack.

Points to consider: The pack acts as a single brain. Their defenses against magical attacks are weak. Teamwork is essential...]

Floating twenty meters above the grey wolves, Theo and Hazuki read the available information about the mission.

"The biggest problem here is that big guy over there."

Lying on a rock in the center of the green space, a wolf three times larger than the others rested peacefully.

"Actually, no... It's easy to handle."

Theo stretched out his free hand and, pointing his index finger at the ground, launched a crimson red glow toward the wolf that slept peacefully.

Flame.

Grega was the lowest-level fire magic Theo could use, but don't be mistaken, even though it was basic, in the hands of someone with a vast reserve of magical power, it could become strong enough to wipe an entire city off the map.

And, considering who Theo was, he had more than enough power for that. But of course, he wouldn't use that level of force against some wolves.

"Boomm!"

An explosion engulfed the entire clearing, completely covering it with reddish flames.

"Awooo!!"

"Awooo!!"

"Awooo!!"

Howls of pain echoed from all sides, coming from wolves that didn't understand what was happening.

'I hope I didn't kill them all. Even holding back, some farther from the leader still died. What a pity...'

In Theo's arms, Hazuki could only look down, stunned. Moments before, that place was so beautiful it could be considered a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Now, thick black smoke dominated the landscape.

"Whoosh!"

After gently descending and placing Hazuki on the ground, Theo swung his arm, creating a small vortex of wind strong enough to disperse the smoke.

As the air cleared, they could observe the damage more clearly. In the place where there was once a rock with the wolf lying on it, a huge crater had formed.

"So you noticed at the last minute and jumped away. You live up to your title as leader..."

About twenty meters from the attack, a ball of gray fur struggled to get up.

Yes, the alpha wolf of the pack had apparently managed to dodge the attack in the last seconds, but, since it was an area attack, it didn't come out completely unscathed.

"Err! Theo!..."

Hazuki noticed that some wolves, which weren't hit by the explosion, were about to attack them from behind.

"Two behind, two to the right, and one to the left. Hazuki-san, take care of the ones coming from the right. You can handle them, right?"

As a cadet ranked 249th in the Cube rankings, Hazuki knew her limits well. Knowing this, she understood that she couldn't do much, especially against a monster that was almost her natural enemy due to its high mobility.

"Of course, leave it to me!"

"Ssh!"

The sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath cut through the air, and the two wolves planning to attack from behind cautiously retreated upon seeing the gleam of the sword.

"Calm down! For you two, I'll do this favor. No, for you four."

To show he was serious, Theo created a common sword in front of him.

"Slaas"

Grabbing the sword by the hilt, he swung it vertically.

"That's enough."

There was no need to use magical swords to fight some puppies; a common sword was sufficient.

"Hazuki-san. Now!"

"Yes!"

The world slowed down, and both disappeared, leaving only a trail of dust behind.

TRAINING AREA [NO. 04 FROZEN MOUNTAIN] TEAM 10

***

In another training area, completely different from where Theo and Hazuki were, a group of four people crouched in the middle of a thicket, discussing the next step.

"I'm ready."

Yoo Yeonha declared as she lowered her body into the vegetation. Jin Hoseung and Areum held their sword and spear, respectively.

"When we run toward it, the baby octopuses will come out of the hump. When that happens, you two should retreat and stand by until they're all eliminated. The warriors need to conserve their magical power as much as possible. The black octopuses have high regenerative power, so we need to remove the hump in a single strike..."

Yoo Yeonha's explanation continued. However, unlike the original version, where she left Hajin out, this time, due to the words of a certain white-haired man, she chose to include him in a task.

'Ah! I hope I don't regret listening to that idiot.'

This would be the first time in years that she would trust someone, if we disregard her family or closest friends.

Turning her gaze to the side, she found a cadet of ordinary appearance yawning, oblivious to the world around him.

"Mr. Kim Hajin, do you think you can help me deal with the baby octopuses?"

The mention of his name by Yeonha herself surprised Hajin, as he believed she was purposely excluding him from the test.

"Eh... Hmm! Yes, I can handle them. I wouldn't say all, but most."

Yeonha didn't bother to ask more. Turning back to observe the Humpback Black Octopus, she opened her lips and began to speak.

"Understood... So the plan is as follows..."

***

Back at the Frozen Mountain, two figures moved rapidly from side to side, dodging and attacking.

"Why are you so fast?! You stupid dog!"

Even though she was considered one of the five fastest cadets among the first years at Cube, Hazuki was having immense difficulty dealing with that gray wolf, which dodged all her attacks with impressive agility.

"Do you need help, Hazuki-san?"

From afar, Theo, surrounded by four fallen gray wolves, watched Hazuki in trouble.

"Hah! I'd appreciate it, Theo, if you could stop him for a few seconds. I just need to land a hit on this quick bastard's head."

"Alright!"

The gray wolf Hazuki was chasing abruptly stopped its run, its brown eyes widening as it realized that, suddenly, a wall of stone had risen around it, blocking its escape on three sides.

"Hehehe! Got you, stinky dog!"

Without wasting time, Hazuki sheathed her katana again and dashed toward the wolf with all the speed she had.

The wolf, with no options to escape, planted its paws on the ground, bared its teeth, and prepared to attack the enemy advancing toward it.

"Roooaaarrg!"

When Hazuki was just a few meters away, the wolf leaped, opening its mouth wide, ready to bite the cadet's neck.

Hazuki raised her gaze, took a deep breath, and waited for the exact moment to strike. As soon as the wolf's mouth was inches from reaching her neck, the monster's eyes caught a small gleam coming from her sword's sheath.

"Release magical power!"

Even if the wolf had noticed the gleam, there was no time to react. In the next instant, Hazuki released her magical energy through the sword, delivering a precise horizontal slash.

The strike split the wolf in two, ending the battle definitively and quickly.

"Good job, Hazuki, but next time don't do something so dangerous... If you had missed that strike, your neck would have become puree in its mouth."

Hearing footsteps approaching, Hazuki sheathed her sword, and a small, beautiful smile formed on her lips.

"Hey! That's scary! Having your neck bitten can't be good."

She joked, wrapping her red scarf even tighter.

"Of course, that depends on who's biting."

Murmuring to himself, Theo approached and looked at the wolf split in two.

The truth was, this guy Hazuki killed didn't have the ability to kill another cadete, just like any monster in the other areas, even the leaders. Cube might be tough in training its cadets, but it wouldn't be so crazy as to risk their lives like that, which is why this girl played along with Theo's joke and teased back.

"So? Is it over?"

Not seeing any mission completion notification on her Smartwatch, Hazuki looked around and asked after seeing no more signs of wolves.

"Not yet, we still have to kill the big one over there."

Pointing to another spot, near a crevice between the rocks, a large, furry, gray body struggled to crawl out.

"He's trying to escape."

"Do you want to finish the job?"

"Nah! I used most of my magical power to kill this idiot here, so feel free."

She quickly declined, clearly not caring about killing the pack leader or not. If it were Yeonha or Nayun here, they would undoubtedly already be attacking the poor wolf.

And Theo, he felt happy to have a teammate like Hazuki by his side.

"Hazuki-san."

"Yes."

"I hope our relationship remains as good as it is now in the future."

Her eyes widened upon hearing his words, and with a slightly embarrassed face, she spoke.

"I want that too, Theo. It was really good working with you."

And in the place where the alpha wolf was crawling, trying to escape the devil who eliminated the entire pack under his command, a glowing crimson red light flew toward it without it noticing, ending any hope of escape.

"Beeeep!

MISSION COMPLETE!

CALCULATING TOTAL RESULTS FOR [TEAM 10]

TOTAL TIME WAS 06 MINUTES AND 34 SECONDS.

CURRENT RANKING...

...

BACK TO CLASS VERITAS

Back in the Veritas class. With all the cadets already in the room, louder-than-usual conversation noises echoed from all sides.

Some discussed how their tests went, narrating the elimination tasks and challenges they faced.

And with Theo, it was no different. Beside him, a girl with a leaf stuck in her hair enthusiastically and proudly recounted her experience.

"...So that's how it ended... And you? Is it true you did the mission alone? I heard some cowards gave up on the test."

Theo gave her a look of disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"How did you find that out, girl?"

Although he knew rumors would probably spread by the next day, he found it impressive that the information had already reached her. Not even an hour had passed since the end of the tests! It was something he would need to watch out for in the future, to avoid exposing himself too much.

"Ehehe! I have my contacts!"

She smiled from ear to ear, clearly boasting about being well-informed.

"Contacts, huh!"

However, her satisfied expression didn't last long. As soon as a female voice echoed behind them, her face darkened.

"Yeonha?!"

Theo quickly put the pieces together upon realizing where Nayun might have gotten the information.

"Ah, so it was you who told her."

Yeonha sat beside Nayun and shrugged, as if she had no blame at all.

"Walls have ears..."

"Yes, many."

Of course, those "ears" were Yoo Yeonha's information network. After all, she wasn't the vice-leader of one of the largest guilds and heir to a renowned family for nothing.

"So, Theo? How was your test?"

"It was smooth. Hazuki-san and I handled everything well."

"Hazuki?"

The two girls, Nayun and Yeonha, immediately became curious about who this mentioned teammate was.

"Yes, she was my team partner."

As he answered, Theo turned his face toward a green-haired girl, who noticed his gaze and waved back with a slight smile.

Nayun, beside him, followed his gaze and saw who Hazuki was.

"Uh! I see..."

Nayun replied without much interest, averting her gaze as if it were no big deal. Yeonha, however, raised an eyebrow upon noticing her reaction.

But her reaction soon disappeared, as she wasn't entirely sure what kind of relationship Nayun and Theo had.

"But what about you two?"

"I think I have a chance at third place..."

"Only third place?"

Nayun looked at Theo in disbelief.

"Did you forget that at Cube there's Suho and Jonghak? Those two aren't easy opponents."

How could he forget the hero and the hero's rival?

"Hah! Yes, I know... And you, Yeonha? Do you think you'll do well?"

Tilting her nose as high as she could, she began to speak, her voice carrying no sign of concern about her team's position.

"Does it matter? What counts is the individual evaluation. I don't care about my team's position."

A blatant lie was told. Those who knew her were aware that her competitive spirit in this test was at its peak. In the original, this girl was very envious of Nayun for being ahead of her in the overall ranking.

Theo held his mouth as much as possible to avoid saying those words to her.

"Silence! The instructor has come to announce the test results."

At the class president's words, the room fell quiet, all the cadets who were chatting with their friends and classmates immediately looked toward the instructor at the podium.

"Before announcing the results to everyone, I would like to congratulate two people in this class... Cadets Theo Sagan and Hazuki, congratulations..."

...