The EX-Class Extra o Chapter 82 : Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Growth (1)

“Yu-seong! Are you all ready to go?”

After the morning classes ended, Kim Su-hyeok and I explained our situation to the instructor in charge, Im Seong-cheol, and set off to clear a gate. I smiled and replied to the boy, who sounded worried until the very end.

“Of course. How about you?”

“I am all set too! The instructor even lent

a Spatial Storage Pouch.”

Kim Su-hyeok spoke proudly as he showed

the pouch hanging from his waist. Since he was the top cadet in the academy, I guess they even lent him things like a Spatial Storage Pouch. Seeing him receive such special treatnt made

feel proud of him.

‘But... it does not look that great.’

Despite my pride, I stared intently at Kim Su-hyeok’s pouch. From a purely practical standpoint, the pouch he brought did not seem very efficient. Of course, since it was a borrowed item, they probably did not give him anything high-end, but it felt significantly lower in quality compared to my Spatial Storage Bracelet. Still, I thought it might just look that way.

Since it would take so ti to reach the gate, I decided to ask more about the pouch to strike up so conversation.

“What is the capacity?”

“He said it can hold up to fifty kilograms! Thanks to that, I was able to pack plenty of food.”

“Oh... is that so?”

“Yeah. I am really grateful to the instructor for lending

a pouch with this much capacity. Hehe.”

Hmm, was that supposed to be good? Judging by the fact that he did not seem to be acting or being pretentious, he appeared to be genuinely happy. But...

‘I think my bracelet is much better.’

It was not that I wanted to feel superior by comparing our items. It was a truly innocent question. To begin with, I only knew that items with spatial storage functions existed; I did not know what constituted good performance. The novel only ntioned that such items existed, so my knowledge in this area was practically nonexistent.

‘Yu-hyeon, that guy. I see now that he gave

sothing incredible.’

The reason I felt this way was simple. The capacity of my bracelet was 150 kilograms. Thanks to that, I could carry all sorts of things. Furthermore, its form as a bracelet made it much more convenient to carry. As I had felt once before... Yu-hyeon was a remarkably useful guy.

‘He is a cultist, but it is definitely right to maintain a good relationship with him.’

Between the elixir and this bracelet, he was a guy who helped

in many ways. To be honest, I felt a bit reluctant about our relationship at first, but that was a story from the past. Considering the material benefits and the power he possessed, it was only right to maintain our alliance. He was not without his flaws, of course, but his strengths were at a level where I could overlook his weaknesses.

‘And I can usually cover for those flaws anyway.’

His biggest flaw was that he did not treat non-players like human beings. That part was manageable. I could probably suppress that behavior easily just by using Ha Eun-ha’s na.

‘But what has he been up to lately?’

Thinking about Yu-hyeon reminded

that I had not heard from that cultist recently. Our last contact was probably around the midterm exams.

‘It is not like he is dead or anything.’

I had already planted the information that there would be a traitor within his Reverse Heaven Sect. He was not the type to let his guard down and get killed.

‘I should try to get in touch with him myself later.’

If he was this unreachable, it was only right for , as his ally, to check in at least once. I decided to contact him once I had so breathing room. Of course, I was too busy to do it right now. As I was preoccupied with managing my connections, I heard Kim Su-hyeok’s refreshing voice beside .

“Yu-seong, I think we are almost there.”

“Hmm? Really?”

“Yeah. Judging by the crowd, this must be the place.”

He was right. I thought I had only been distracted for a mont, but I must have been lost in thought for quite a while. I really needed to fix this habit of falling into deep thought later. I walked alongside Kim Su-hyeok, maintaining a steady pace. As we moved, Kim Su-hyeok asked for confirmation.

“Yu-seong, the gate we are going to is C-Rank, right?”

“Yeah, that is right. It is on the easier side even for a C-Rank, so you do not have to worry.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Plus, it is a dungeon-type gate that has been cleared many tis, so you can take it easy.”

I said that, but I could not help feeling a pang of guilt. The gate itself was C-Rank, but the place where the hidden piece was located was not. If I had to judge the difficulty, it would be at least B-Rank.

‘Ahem, but it is not a lie, is it?’

The actual rank was technically C, so it was not a lie. If there were pluses and minuses for gates below A-Rank, this would definitely be a C-Minus. It was almost closer to a D-Rank gate. However, considering my plan, it was true that I was deceiving Kim Su-hyeok. But it was an unavoidable choice for the sake of the future.

‘The reward there will actually be a huge help to Kim Su-hyeok.’

On the other hand, it was also true that I was worried. I was not certain if we could clear it without issues at this point. One might ask why I lacked confidence while bringing the protagonist along, but my reaction was natural. Because...

‘Originally, this was a reward he was supposed to get much later.’

This ant that even I could not be sure if our current strength would be enough. So might say that I should have waited until I was certain.

‘But that would be a problem.’

If I followed the flow of the novel exactly, the ending would be the sa. From my position of needing to twist the predetermined ending, that was unacceptable.

‘That is why I made this decision so quickly.’

Of course, I did not choose this just because I felt we had to get it early. I executed this plan because I judged that obtaining the reward now would be best for what was to co.

‘I guarantee it will be a huge help during the final exams.’

It might be obvious, but villains will attack during these final exams. The problem is what cos next. The cadets will be the only ones exposed to the villain attack.

‘I do not know what thod they used, but in the original work, it was impossible for the instructors to intervene at all.’

That was the biggest reason I decided on this journey. In a situation where instructors cannot intervene and the cadets have to fend off the attack themselves, today’s rewards and experiences will surely be a great help.

‘Yes, the rewards are one thing, but especially the experience.’

Experience. The very experience I had taken away from Kim Su-hyeok was desperately needed.

‘Normally, a major incident would have occurred during the midterm exams, and he would have developed his real combat senses there...’

The reality was that I had taken that away. Of course, the ti Cha Yu-na took him to a gate could be considered experience in its own right. But that was nowhere near enough.

‘Because there was a safety net nad Cha Yu-na.’

In short, he had not yet experienced true life-or-death combat. Superior abilities and equipnt are important, but they are useless if one cannot handle them properly in real combat. He would certainly need that for the upcoming final exams.

‘...Phew, to be honest, my wish is for him to just grow up safely.’

But that was an impossible story in this wretched world. Kim Su-hyeok could not be a greenhouse flower; he had to be like a weed that could grow anywhere. Only then could he establish the justice he spoke of and protect the people precious to him.

‘Right. So we cannot simply walk the safe path.’

Hardships and trials are always difficult, but overcoming them makes one stronger. And if he continues to do so, he will surely be able to change the predetermined ending of this world. It was then, as I was hardening my resolve once again, that Kim Su-hyeok called out to .

“Yu-seong, is that the gate you were talking about?”

Unaware of my complicated thoughts, Kim Su-hyeok stopped

with an innocent voice. Following that voice, I looked ahead and saw the destination for today waiting for us.

“Yes. This is the place.”

“Good. Then let us do one last check before we head in.”

“All right. It is always better to be certain.”

I said that, but having checked several tis already, there was nothing left to do. It seed the sa was true for Kim Su-hyeok. He gave an embarrassed laugh.

“Haha, we prepared so hard that there is nothing left to check. Shall we head in?”

“Let us.”

With that, no more words were needed. Kim Su-hyeok imdiately threw himself toward the gate, and I followed right behind him. I did not know what the result would be... but I hoped that, whatever it was, a good outco awaited us.

***

“Yu-seong! Take the left!”

“Okay.”

BOOM!

Loud explosions echoed inside the gate. Kim Su-hyeok and my gate clear was proceeding smoothly without any major issues. Since there were only two of us, we could not use various tactics, but Kim Su-hyeok’s pure martial power was enough to clear it without a hitch.

‘He really is amazing.’

Looking at Kim Su-hyeok, who was focused on the battle, that thought crossed my mind. Even though I had babbled about him lacking experience and needing to develop real combat senses, Kim Su-hyeok was still Kim Su-hyeok. This was a clear example of what unparalleled talent looked like.

‘If we add actual experience to that...’

What would it be like if he grew enough to walk the tightrope in a life-or-death struggle? He would likely show off the unbelievable skills I had read about in the novel. It was a mont that had not yet arrived, but I felt as if I could already see it before my eyes.

‘I should work hard too.’

I would not say sothing as irresponsible as leaving everything to Kim Su-hyeok. Since I had pulled him onto a path that did not exist in the original story, shouldn't I take the corresponding responsibility? Thinking so, I swung my sword, staying in sync with Kim Su-hyeok until the very end.

***

Grrrrrrr...

A few hours later, with teamwork that rivaled active professionals, we succeeded in taking down the gate boss.

“Phew, just like you said, Yu-seong, nothing happened.”

Only after confirming the death of the gate boss did Kim Su-hyeok speak with a relaxed smile. I accepted his words with a slightly awkward grin.

“Yeah. It is a C-Rank gate that is close to a D-Rank, after all. Plus, it is a place that has been cleared many tis.”

“That is true. Well, we got so decent training in. Shall we head out?”

Kim Su-hyeok’s face was bright with a radiant smile. He must have relaxed quite a bit at the thought of returning soon.

‘But what can I do? I feel bad.’

Unfortunately, our gate clear was just beginning. I had no choice but to throw a wrench in his plans in return for that smile. But please do not hate

too much, as this is all for your sake.

‘Let's see, it was right around here... found it.’

After apologizing to Kim Su-hyeok in my head, I hurriedly searched for the stone monunt connected to the hidden piece before he could leave.

SCREECH!

The mont I found it, I quickly pushed the monunt back. Suddenly, a roar erupted and the ground began to tremble.

RUMBLE!

Only then did Kim Su-hyeok realize sothing was wrong, and he turned to

with a flustered voice.

“Yu-seong, what is this all of a sudden...?”

But there was no ti to answer him. The ground where I had pushed the monunt was already collapsing, and I was sinking. Actually, I could have easily avoided it, but I did not because this was my destination. I simply let my body surrender to gravity and fell with a calm mind.

“Yu-Yu-seong!!!”

Surprised, Kim Su-hyeok began running toward . As I pondered how to react, I recalled sothing I had always wanted to try and quickly spoke up.

“Su-Su-hyeok! It is too late for , so just save yourself...!”

I was playing the role of the tragic supporting character sacrificing himself for the protagonist. I considered adding a few more lines, but I had to shut my mouth at Kim Su-hyeok’s imdiate shout.

“How can you ask

to give up on a friend? I will never do that!!”

With a firm yet trembling voice, Kim Su-hyeok threw himself down into the collapsing ground after . Although it was a bit hard to see from the distance, his expression seed quite distorted.

‘I should not play these kinds of pranks from now on.’

To be honest, I expected him to jump down after . That was why I decided to fall first. However, I did not expect such an intense reaction.

‘How could I have predicted that?’

Even though we had beco close, we had not known each other for that long, had we? Seeing that reaction made

feel grateful on one hand, but on the other, I worried that he might be too emotional. Still, the primary emotion I felt was guilt. Having deceived him and then putting on this malicious performance, I had no words.

‘Still...’

I felt sorry, but since I had started this, I had to see it through to the end, right?

“Su-hyeok, please! Save yourself while you still can!!”

So, regardless of my guilt, I shouted at Kim Su-hyeok, putting my heart and soul into the performance until the very end.

I perford so well that I even wondered if my true talent might actually be acting. Of course, the fear of the karma that would eventually return crossed my mind, but unfortunately, it was only for a brief mont.