The Extra Who Shouldn’t Exist

Alex sat back on the sofa, twirling a grape between his fingers. The room was silent except for the faint ticking of a clock on the wall.

"So…" his voice echoed faintly, calm but commanding, "come out. I know you're still there. No need to hide."

The air shimmered, and out of thin air Alyssa materialized, her black eyes narrowing as she stepped into the open.

"Well, well," she said with icy sarcasm, "looks like someone turned traitor."

Alex smirked, leaning lazily against the armrest. "Damn right I did. The deal was too good to throw away." His tone was deliberately mocking. Then he tilted his head at her, grin widening. "But I've gotta hand it to you—you've become a really good actor too."

Alyssa crossed her arms, unimpressed. "That's because I've been forced to take care of two brats who only know how to act and whine all day."

He popped the grape into his mouth with a smug expression. "See how lucky you are? You should be proud."

Then Chuckling he said. " And Don't accuse me like that. She was the one who came here thinking she could use me. I just made her believe she could."

Alyssa's mouth twitched, fighting the urge to smack him again.

"Are you really going to join their guild?" she asked finally, her tone sharp.

Alex waved a hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter what I want. That old hag Alina doesn't actually want me. She came here for two things to get information out of me and to see if she could use me against you."

His amethyst eyes gleamed mischievously. "Looks like you two have some history, huh?"

Alyssa's gaze softened, nostalgia flickering in her eyes. "Once upon a tim—"

Alex cut her off, groaning loudly. "Short version, please. I don't have the patience for one of your hour-long sob stories."

A vein popped on Alyssa's forehead, her aura flaring for an instant before she forced it down. She sighed. "Fine."

She began, her voice quieter now. "Alina, me, and another friend—Aisha. Back in our academy days, we were inseparable. After graduation, I started my own business and guild, and I was successful. Aisha and Alina started their own guild too—the Black Phoenix. That's the guild on top 2 now."

She paused, her jaw tightening. "Here's the bottom line: both Aisha and Alina fell in love with Marcus Reed, the Guild Master of Radiant Blades—the number one guild. Marcus ended up marrying Aisha. And one day, an unranked rift appeared. The Black Phoenix claimed it, and Aisha went in to clear it. She never came out."

Alex raised a brow, chewing another grape. "And let me guess… only Alina knew it was unranked?"

Alyssa's teeth ground together. "Exactly. She never told Aisha about it. Marcus was devastated—he truly loved her. From that day on, he hated Alina with every fiber of his being."

Alyssa's expression hardened further as she continued. "At first, I doubted Alina would ever go that far. But my suspicions became reality after I was struck with abyssal corruption and fell ill. While I was down, she slowly but surely took over my businesses. She knew all the information about how I don things and she used that to its fullest against me. Piece by piece, she stripped me of everything I built."

Her fists clenched at her sides. "That bitch took most of it."

Alex whistled softly. "Wow. She really screwed you over, huh?"

Her mouth twitched at his bluntness, but she exhaled slowly. "I can't argue with that. I trusted the wrong person."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "But why did you sign the contract? I don't understand. Do you really think you can outsmart her?"

Alex smirked, leaning forward, his voice low and dangerous. "The thing about smart and cunning people is that they think everything is in their hands. People like me? We just let them believe that."

For a moment, Alyssa stared at him, then a small, reluctant smile tugged at her lips. "Even after all this time, it's still impossible to know what's going on inside that twisted head of yours."

Her tone sharpened again. "So what are you going to do?"

Alex popped another grape into his mouth, chewing slowly before answering. "I don't have to do much. Her son will do everything for me."

Alyssa shook her head, muttering, "All right. Keep it to yourself, brat."

Alex only grinned.

Then Alyssa's tone softened slightly. "At least tell me this—what did you discover inside the Paraflux Dungeon?"

Alex's expression turned serious, the playful glint in his eyes dimming. "Well, I suppose I can tell you that much."

Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees. "Inside that dungeon… I discovered a deadly way gain power poissbly even reach godhood. Or even—a way to become the chosen one of a god."

Alyssa's mouth fell open, her composure cracking. "You're joking… right?"

Alex smirked darkly. "I wish I was. But sadly, I'm not."

He continued, his voice steady and cold. "There's a place inside called the Tower of Ascension. Nobody knows how many floors it has. The higher you go, the greater the rewards. But the Gods themselves watch over it. They can choose an avatar—if they find someone worthy."

He leaned back, his gaze distant. "Each floor gives unimaginable rewards. But the difficulty rises too. And the higher you climb… the greater the possibility of dying."

Alyssa sat in silence for a long moment, her coffee forgotten. Her black eyes widened slightly as she tried to process everything Alex had just said.

"Wait a minute… are you saying a place like that actually exists inside the Paraflux Dungeon? A place that gives power… just for clearing trials?"

Alex leaned back with a smug smile. "Exactly. And not just power—you can even request rewards directly from a god."

Alyssa was speechless, her fingers tightening against her armrest. "Did you… did you actually survive one of those trials?"

Alex chuckled. "Of course I did." His grin widened. "The first trial was brutal. Hundreds of thousands of people from different worlds. The task? Kill each other until only the top hundred remained."

Alyssa sucked in a sharp breath, her face paling. "And… you survived that?"

Alex's smirk turned sharper, pride flashing in his amethyst eyes. "Not only did I survive—I took first place."

Her jaw nearly dropped. She struggled to comprehend what she was hearing.

Alex continued, his tone calm but firm. "I think that tower has thresholds. The trial adjusts depending on your rank. Most of the ones I faced were Grandmaster rank. But their strength was nothing like the Grandmasters here in Etheron. They were far stronger, from higher planes. If a Transcendent enters, they face Transcendents."

He remembered the wolf-like warrior he had spoken to inside. `'That guy said something about middle planes and higher planes…am the towers Manifestimg there.'`

Alyssa's voice trembled. "And you… beat them all?"

Alex gave a slow nod. "Indeed I did. I killed more than a hundred thousand people."

Alyssa rubbed her forehead, exhaling shakily. "Why the hell did I even ask… Nothing about you is ever normal. Surviving a massacre of thousands of Grandmasters… honestly…"

She looked at him seriously. "Are you planning to enter that place again?"

Alex leaned back, gaze thoughtful. "Not anytime soon. Not until I know I'm ready."

Alyssa frowned. "And what do you mean by that?"

His lips curled into a sly grin. "No need to concern yourself with that, Master. But…"

He tilted his head. "I do have a request."

Alyssa's mouth twitched. `'He only calls me master when he wants something…'`

Sighing, she asked, "What do you want?"

Alex's expression turned deadly serious. "Training. I want you to train me like never before. No matter how hard, no matter how brutal. If I'm to reach where I want, I need strength more than ever."

For the first time in their talk, Alyssa's lips curled into a genuine smile. "All right, brat. That's at least a reasonable request." She cracked her knuckles, her aura flaring slightly. "But don't cry when you regret it."

Alex gulped, raising his hands defensively. "Just to be clear, I said training, not near-death experiences."

Alyssa grinned mischievously. "We'll start now."

Alex groaned. "Did you even hear what I just said?"

"Let's go," she said firmly, walking toward the training hall.

The two entered the mansion's massive training hall. It was vast, more like an underground coliseum fused with cutting-edge technology. The walls shimmered with reinforced mana-steel, glowing with barrier runes. Floating drones whirred silently, ready to simulate various battlefields. Gravity regulators, elemental emitters, and illusion projectors lined the chamber, making it capable of mimicking anything from a volcano to the deep sea.

Alex looked around, whistling. "No matter how many times I see it I can't get enough. Almost feels like a gamer's dream dungeon."

Alyssa smirked, stepping onto the main platform. "Ready?"

Alex summoned his blade from his storage ring, gripping it firmly. His stance lowered, focused and sharp. He gave a single nod.

"Then let's start," Alyssa said.

In the blink of an eye, she vanished.

A devastating kick slammed into Alex's stomach, sending him flying. His body twisted midair, pain exploding through his gut, but he gritted his teeth and adjusted, landing on the ground.

But before he could breathe, Alyssa was already in front of him. Her fist came down like a hammer, jaw-shattering and brutal.

CRACK.

Blood sprayed as Alex was slammed into the ground, coughing violently. His jaw throbbed, bones already knitting themselves back together slowly but surely.

He glared up at her. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

Alyssa smiled sweetly, standing over him. "That's for calling me old in front of that bitch. And besides—you asked for gruesome training."

Her eyes sharpened. "Stop holding back. Use everything in your arsenal."

Alex rubbed his jaw, mouth twitching. `'She's insane… but she's right. I need this kind of training.'`

Slowly, he stood, wiping the blood from his lips. His eyes glowed faintly as he raised his sword. "All right. Let's do it your way."

The energy around him shifted violently. His aura surged, white runes etching themselves across the blade in his hands.

The atmosphere thickened. Space itself seemed to distort as his body radiated a strange, otherworldly rhythm.

Alyssa's calm demeanor faltered. Her muscles tensed, and her instincts screamed as her hair stood on end. "So you're bringing that out already, huh…"

Alex muttered under his breath, his voice carrying a strange resonance.

"Astral Void Rend…"

The white aura flared around him, flowing like liquid light. The runes on his blade pulsed in time with his heartbeat.

"Sixth Form—Temporal Echo."

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A/N:

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