The Unrecorded Extra



Two days before the practical exam, I had notified my team; Ember, Enzo, Hulio, and Niah this morning, telling them to gather.

I was the first to come to the meeting point. While waiting for them, I kept myself busy with my Nova Watch, searching for any additional resource information–any information which might come to use later.

After half an hour, the team finally arrived, wearing expressions of curiosity and confusion. Ah, but of course, our two top ranks had their usual expression of boredom, and the other was a flat, poker face.

"Uhh, Zio, is there any reason why you gathered us?"

It was Hulio the one who asked, which was usually the one who never asked questions in the group. His face displayed a mix of wonder and annoyance.

"Yeah… I was hesitant to come here since the practical exam is just two days away. I should be practicing instead of being here but…" Niah said, her eyes staring at me reluctantly. "Since you're the team leader, I suppose I can spare some time."

Team leader. That's right, I was the leader of Lupus-8. 

It was in the second lesson of the Combat Training Class that I was appointed as the team leader. It should have been Ember or Enzo since those two were the strongest of the team, but the instructor believed their quiet natures were not suited for leadership.

So, the responsibility fell on me, the third strongest according to the rankings.

Observing each of the team member's expressions, a smile finally formed on my face.

"Don't worry. I'm not calling you all here just to waste your time but rather to inform you," I assured them, pausing briefly to check my Nova Watch. "You see, the practical exam will be conducted as a group exam this time."

"What?!" They–Hulio and Niah–almost shouted at the same time, eyes widened.

Ember looked at her Nova Watch, while Enzo just yawning, lazily glancing at his Nova Watch but decided not to bother to check it.

I put on an apologetic smile before saying, "I just received the message from the instructor about that."

It was half a lie, half a truth. I already knew about the practical exam format even before the instructor informed all the team leaders of each group.

"So, the reason you gathered us…"

I grinned at Niah's unfinished words. "I want to improve our team's teamwork."

I could see a mix of reactions on their faces—confusion, surprise, and even a hint of excitement, even our unenergetic members had a smile.

They were all skilled individuals—yes, it also included Hulio and Niah even though they were almost dead last in the rankings. Though not as skilled as Ember and Zio obviously, they had the potential to be in the top 300 students.

'The only problem is our teamwork,' I silently lamented, glancing toward Ember, who raised an eyebrow in response. 'Especially her…'

…

"Niah! Cut it out with the buffs on Ember. Hulio is our tank, remember?"

"But-"

Niah, our trusty support with buffing abilities, seemed to be making some errors in her support role. She kept giving buffs exclusively to Ember. I mean, it wasn't entirely wrong since Ember was the strongest among us.

However, the issue was that Niah's buffs leaned toward defense. Instead of buffing Ember, who was already agile and capable of creating a mana barrier, it would be more effective to grant buffs to Hulio, who served as our team's tank, or Enzo who was the main long-range damage dealer, or even herself who was vulnerable to attack.

"You should focus on your own battle, rat!"

"?!!"

Interrupting me from giving orders to my teammate was Seo Yeong-Ha. I barely missed her fist that produced hot steams.

My team was currently having a scrimmage training with Lux's and Seo Yeong-Ha's team—Draco-30.

Ember was fighting against Lux, they were on par. Though, Lux slightly overpowered her because their buffer seemed to have offensives buffs.

Hulio fought against their vanguard, he was overwhelmed because he didn't get the support he was supposed to have.

Meanwhile, Enzo won his duel against their caster as they didn't have a marksman. Though, after winning he ceased his attack and had went quiet since then, not helping his teammate.

And there was me, a supposed striker of the team. Rather than doing my job to take down the opponent's support, I was holding my ground, protecting Niah from Seo Yeong-Ha, the opposite team's striker.

Seo Yeong-Ha's fist emanated hot steam, ready to strike me with her Formless Fist Technique. 

As she prepared to launch her fist, I interrupted her with my feet, suppressing her fist before she could launch it.

"Tch!" She clicked her tongue and pushed her fist anyway.

As she pushed her fist forward despite my attempt to suppress it, I quickly reacted by jumping backward to create some distance between us. My nimble movement helped me to maneuver myself in mid-air, evading her follow-up attack.

It was a fortune that she didn't try her chance to press the attack.

As I landed after the jump, I assessed the situation, keeping a watchful eye on Seo Yeong-Ha. My eyes were ticklish while I did so, and a system panel appeared in my vision.

[Name: Seo Yeong-Ha (♀)

Age: 17

Race: Human

[Stats]

Strength: E+

Agility: E

Intelligence: E

Stamina: D-

Magic: E-

Charisma: C

Luck: C+

[Hidden Stats]

Perception: D

Mental: A+

Potential: S

Health: D-]

The gap in our stats was actually not that far. But our experiences were.

I only had like four months of experience, while she had almost ten years. With that, her foundation, fundamental, and fighting senses were far above me. Not to mention that she had a lot of martial techniques, while I had none.

This was going to be a hard fight, I was sure of that. Those eyes of hers that seemed to be obsessed to crush me would be the evidence of that.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and tried to talk to her.

"You sure enjoy beating me up, don't you?"

Seo Yeong-Ha cocked her head to the side, and a wide grin appeared at the same time. "Hehe, of course. After all, I still don't get my revenge."

"Revenge? Are you still angry because I stole your prey back at the Hunting Practice?"

"Yes, you rat! I will never forgive you until I can beat you up with my hands!" She yelled, her eyebrows knitting to each other.

"Is that so?" I sighed, then I opened my arms wide. "Then come, beat me until you're satisfied."

"Heh! I'll gladly accept it!" She said, rolling her sleeves up over the elbows.

I stood still as she approached me with a devilish smile, which somehow added to her charm. As she walked closer, not knowing what was about to happen to her, I mirrored her smile.

'Heh. What a fool.'

I dropped my daggers but she didn't react to it.

Finally, she stopped in front of me, her gaze fixed on me.

The mischievous glint in her dark green eyes seemed to intensify, contrasting beautifully with her fair complexion. Her shoulder-length chestnut hair framed her face delicately, adding an air of elegance to her fierce demeanor.

"Stay there, rat," she said.

"Sure."

Without warning, Seo Yeong-Ha lunged forward, her fist aiming for my chest. Her movements were swift.

But I dodged her attack effortlessly, stepping aside just in time.

"Wha—"

Frustration was surfacing on her face, and it grew stronger especially when I tackled her, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Guh!" She groaned.