The Extra's Supremacy-Chapter 34: Unexpected

The clouds drifted. The wind danced. Time moved on.

Alvin woke to the sound of commotion outside.

’What’s going on? Did monsters attack?’

He jumped to his feet and rushed toward the noise, only to find members of the group chatting, even laughing.

’Why are they so damn lively?’

He grabbed the arm of a nearby boy. "Did something good happen?"

The boy straightened up nervously. "N-No! It’s just... the injured members—someone said they’re all healed! Right now, Bob’s—uh—he’s asking for forgiveness for saying—"

"I get it," Alvin cut him off, already turning away.

’Tch. So much fuss over something so small. Great, now I won’t be able to fall asleep again.’

As he walked back, he caught the old Guide watching him from a distance. The man gave him a knowing smile and a small nod, as if he understood everything.

Alvin’s left eye twitched.

’He definitely misunderstood something...’

***

A few minutes later...

The group began their march northward.

Alvin’s gaze scanned the procession until it landed on Bob. The guy looked surprisingly serious, eyes downcast.

Alvin was about to approach until he noticed Lily walking beside him.

He smirked and shook his head, then picked up his pace to walk beside the Guide at the front.

"So... what’s the plan?" he asked.

The old Guide replied calmly, "Nothing. Just following my instincts."

Alvin nodded, then looked out toward the lone mountain in the distance.

’Still the same...’

’It hasn’t moved at all since the day I entered the ruin.’

He glanced over his shoulder. The ruined city was no longer in sight. They had walked a good distance, yet the mountain felt just as far as before.

’So damn annoying.’

Then the Guide spoke again, catching Alvin off guard.

"Thanks for saving those kids."

Alvin turned toward him, eyebrows raised.

"I thought you were just checking their wounds," the Guide continued. "But turns out... you healed them."

Alvin shook his head. "I didn’t heal them."

"I just removed the thing stopping them from healing themselves."

The old man nodded. "Still. You did something none of us could. That’s more than enough reason to say thanks."

Alvin shrugged. "Whatever."

His eyes turned forward once more.

’Hm?’

Alvin froze mid-step.

’What is this sensation...?’

Something stirred deep within him.

Dropping to one knee, Alvin placed his hand against the ground and closed his eyes, concentrating.

And in that moment, it was as if the world itself stopped.

A faint vibration rippled through the field beneath him—subtle, unnatural.

"Haa..." He exhaled slowly.

The old Guide noticed and stepped closer. "Is something wrong?"

Alvin nodded. "Yeah. There is."

He stood, slowly turning in a full circle. "Follow me. I’ll show you what’s wrong."

Without waiting for a reply, Alvin turned left and began walking.

The Guide exchanged a glance with Bob, then followed him. The rest of the group trailed behind like a line of confused ducklings.

After exactly sixty meters, Alvin stopped.

He raised his hand and pointed. "Look there."

The Guide followed his finger—and his breath caught in his throat. "Impossible..."

Gasps erupted behind them. Shock spread through the group like wildfire.

There, just a few meters ahead, was the entrance to the Lost City—the very one they believed was far behind them.

Disbelief turned into unease. Fear crept into their eyes.

They had been walking in circles.

Later, the group settled down to rest.

Bob, Lily, and the Guide huddled together, locked in a serious discussion.

Alvin sat apart, lost in thought.

’To think I was walking inside a shifting maze this whole time...’

That was the conclusion they’d come to.

The land itself was moving—subtly altering direction with every step they took. Like the ruin was alive. Like it was playing with them.

Alvin’s gaze drifted to the brown-and-gold ring on his right index finger.

’You were the one who triggered that sensation, weren’t you... Rhizome?’

’Maybe... I can use the earth element now because of you.’

’Is it because I’ve become your new bearer?’

He remembered: when he placed his hand on the land, the ring had appeared—manifesting out of thin air.

And now, Alvin could feel it. If he channeled mana into the ring, Rhizome would appear.

He didn’t activate it yet.

Not now.

But he smiled faintly to himself.

’Thanks to you... I finally cracked the puzzle.’

His expression hardened.

’Now the real question is.... how do we conquer this maze?’

"Are you okay?"

Alvin looked up. Lily stood in front of him, her expression soft but serious.

"If you’re scared," she continued, "don’t be. Bob’s not just some nobody."

She glanced toward the others.

"The outside world has probably already noticed something’s wrong. Bob’s father will definitely send people to rescue us."

She hesitated, then added, "And on top of that... the princess of the Vealcrest family is here in this ruin too."

"So, we can expect someone from Vealcrest to come looking as well."

Alvin nodded, her words matching what he’d already guessed.

But he asked anyway, "Did you guys find any way to solve this maze?"

Lily shook her head. "No. We brought six months’ worth of rations for everyone."

"All we can really do is wait and hope help arrives."

’They gave up pretty fast,’ Alvin thought.

Then Lily said something else.

"I heard from Bob that you’re a Mid-Stage Expert... and that you took down a Tier 3 monster by yourself."

"You’re stronger than me. You might even be strong enough to rival Bob—he’s been training since he was ten."

She looked him in the eye.

"I don’t know your story, but... will you help us?"

"Our party already lost nine members. I can’t... I can’t bear to lose anyone else."

Alvin’s eyes widened. "What? Bob didn’t tell me about that."

Lily nodded, her gaze shifting toward Bob.

"Of course he didn’t. Knowing him, he kept it from you because he thought you were already dealing with enough."

"I don’t know what he told yo—"

The ground rumbled.

Alvin and Lily both froze.

A deep tremor passed beneath their feet, followed by the sharp crack of stone splitting somewhere in the distance.

"An earthquake?" Lily asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

But Alvin’s eyes were already scanning the horizon.

’No... Something’s coming.’

The air thickened. The ever-still twilight began to darken further, as though a deeper veil of dusk was being pulled across the sky.

Then came the sound.

A low, guttural growl rolled through the ruins like thunder, shaking broken pillars and making dust spill from fractured walls.

From the far edge of the crumbling city, something emerged—towering, slow, and unnatural.

Its body looked wrong.

It was 30 to 36 feet tall, walking on three mismatched legs—one too thin, one too bent, and one dragging behind like dead weight. Its torso was fused with jagged ribs and bloated muscle, like a lunatic’s attempt to sculpt a beast from memory of nightmare.

Its face—or what might have once been one—was a nightmare. The upper skull was open, exposing a throbbing brain covered in black moss. Eyes blinked randomly across its surface—some wide with hunger, others crusted shut. Its jaw split unevenly down the middle, forming a crooked maw of shattered teeth that clicked and gnashed.

Dark mist bled from its wounds like ink in water, and each step it took left behind scorched earth and warped stone.

"Wh-what is that?!" Lily gasped.

Alvin whispered a single word.

"...Aberration."

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Aberration – Monster Description:

An Aberration is not a natural creature, nor a monster born from evolution. It is a being warped by the ruin itself, molded by failed rituals, corrupted mana, or shattered spatial laws. Aberrations are unstable, semi-intelligent horrors. No two Aberrations are the same.

But all share one trait: They are mistakes made flesh.