Extra's Magic

Looking at the two Weapon Style Books in my hands, I bit my lip, trying to deduce which one would be more useful to me in the future.

The Void Blade Sword Style had been chosen by one of the background characters, but its power was barely above average. Its only noteworthy feature was that its second movement could blind an opponent for half a second.

On the other hand, I had never seen the Silent Shadow Style before. This was either because it was not chosen, which was unlikely since it was one of the dozen two-star books that first-years would gladly choose, or its owner had dropped out of school.

"This is tough..."

I could either choose an above-average style that would somewhat boost my strength or pick a mysterious one, which could either give me something useless or something I could work with.

I looked at both books and, with a sigh, put the Void Blade Manual back on the shelf. I felt that I had a better chance of becoming stronger with the mysterious style rather than the one I already knew.

In reality, I was just flipping a coin, and all I could do was hope for the best.

Under the watchful eyes of the personnel overseeing my visit, I channeled some mana into the manual, and the book disintegrated into particles, with the information within it being imprinted onto my brain.

"Ugh..."

I felt my head ache from the sudden influx of information that was forcefully imprinted into it. If the amount of information about the two-star style was already painful to learn, I couldn't imagine how agonizing it would be to absorb a seven-star one.

"Please return to your class."

As soon as my headache dissipated, the personnel asked me to leave the storage and return to the classroom.

Walking back to the classroom, I saw Robbin nod slightly before calling out another name.

"Austin Trylir!"

I took a seat and glanced out the window, trying to organize my thoughts and examine the strange sword style I had just received.

***

One by one, students went to pick up their weapon styles.

While some already had more powerful styles and didn't require another one, others were very happy to receive a two-star manual that cost hundreds of thousands of Arcons.

Finally, after everyone had visited the storage room, Robbin clapped his hands and said.

"Okay... Now that you all have something useful, we can start to train! Follow me!"

He led us out of the classroom and towards one of the open arenas, which was filled with various dummies and other equipment that would be useful in practicing with a weapon.

We were each assigned a small area where we could train with our newly acquired styles, while Robbin took a seat in the shadow of a tree, overseeing our practice.

I let out a sigh and unsheathed my katana, observing that the other students were already swinging their weapons frantically, trying out their new knowledge for the first time.

Swish...

I allowed my blade to travel through the air in a peculiar way, slightly altering its slash at the last second and creating an illusion of my blade changing its trajectory. It felt as though the katana's blade had momentarily disappeared from its hilt, only to reappear right before the dummy's neck.

Even I was momentarily confused by its strange properties and repeated the movement once more, trying to grasp what was happening.

As I swung my sword, I could feel that every movement consumed some of my mana, and quickly started spreading my senses onto the katana's blade.

To my surprise, I noticed that my mana was being drawn through my hand into the weapon and changing into a shadow element, momentarily enveloping the blade and creating an illusion that it had disappeared.

'Cool...'

I muttered to myself, feeling satisfied with my choice of Sword Style.

"I'm sorry, can we talk for a second?"

Suddenly, a sweet yet cold voice interrupted my thoughts, making me flinch in surprise. I slowly turned around to find Rose's azure-blue eyes gazing into mine, as if she was trying to peer into my soul.

I knew this encounter was inevitable, but I didn't expect her to approach me so directly with so many people around.

"Okay..."

I said, resigned to the fact that I wasn't getting off the hook and complying with her request.

As I scanned her, I noticed that she held her hands behind her back, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was hiding a weapon.

"I'm going straight to the point... How did you know it was me in the Cloak?!"

Rose's voice was tense, and I could feel the invisible pressure she radiated making my back grow cold. She wasn't one of the protagonists for nothing!

"I saw you put it on and who wouldn't know Rose Eril, the proud member of the elven royal family!"

I replied, choosing the easiest way to answer her question. Since the time I accidentally blurted out her name, I had already prepared a story to cover it up.

I more or less guessed where she could've equipped the cloak and was confident that I could escape from this situation unharmed. However, it still irked me that my goal to remain a simple, background character who could easily blend into the crowd was slowly being crushed.

I could already feel the gazes of many males directed at me with hostility. Rose's beauty was something that all the males lusted after, and I knew that talking to her would bring me problems.

"..."

Rose stared at me in silence, but I kept my face unchanged, not showing any emotions. It was crucial that I make Rose believe my lie so I could continue to stay in the shadows, get stronger, and avoid any unnecessary attention.

"I'll believe you..."

Finally, she said with a sigh, waving her hand.

I almost wanted to let out a breath of relief, but her next words almost made me choke.

"What's your name?"