Extra's Descent

Bang!

The door slammed open as Evelyn bursted inside the room where the examination was being monitored.

Alerted eyes fell on her. But Evelyn's gaze landed on Bellion and Alan Ross who were currently under a heated debate.

"I never should've trusted the guilds for this."

"Field Marshal, like what I've been saying this whole time, I don't know how it happened."

"Don't know how it happened, don't know how it happened."

Bellion repeated as if he snapped.

His face darkened and he pressed his finger on Alan Ross' chest, glaring at him.

"If anything happens to the cadets, that's on you. That's on all you fucking rankers."

But Evelyn could see the look of tension in Bellion's face. What's going on? Evelyn was confused.

But clearly, there was a problem.

"So, have you confirmed anything?"

Bellion sighed, shook his head, and massaged his temple.

Alan Ross, who was checking the vitals monitor, responded.

"The vital rates are…. normal."

"Then…? Are you suggesting an Imperial Army officer was lying!?"

Bellion exclaimed, a vein popping on his forehead.

"No, no. Wait, I'm trying to eject them…. But…. there's something wrong with the system."

Alan Ross was clearly bothered by it.

"Wait, wait."

His head flicked towards the large gaping gateway.

Then, he rushed towards it.

"What's going on?"

Evelyn finally involved herself. She got the gist of what was happening, but still confused of what was actually wrong.

"Field Marshal Cessna, you're back."

"I am, what happened, Field Marshal Van?"

Bellion began to explain everything as concisely as he could. But Evelyn finally understood what happened.

Before she could open her mouth, Alan Ross' panicked voice rang out.

"Field Marshals."

"What?"

Bellion and Evelyn inquired in unison. Looking at the gateway, Alan Ross' voice shook.

"The portal's configurations…. It's all wrong….. The cadets with mana cores above four's coordinates are somewhere else. There's no problems with the others but—"

"Where is it?"

Bellion cut off his words, panic spread across his features. Evelyn was about the same, but all she could do was swallow deeply.

"Inside the tower."

***

Composed of rankers, a rescue squad was immediately sent out.

Alan Ross and a few of the Iron Fist guild were under scrutiny despite their claims of a third party tampering the portal.

In other words, they were being investigated.

It was ridiculous. The responsibility ultimately lay with Yi Jihyeon and her guild, Blood Crescent Moon.

After all, they had proposed the exam, believing that some cadets might aspire to become rankers in the future rather than pursuing military service.

In any case, it was all so frustrating.

So much so that Yi Jihyeon's mana lashed out in anger.

There were a lot of things that didn't make sense such as; 'How could the portal even be configured inside the tower?'

That was the exact reason why Alan Ross was being investigated as of the moment.

If the exam really was tampered with, then there was no question about it.

"Milis."

Yi Jihyeon whispered.

Even if Alan Ross was lying, they needed to be cautious. Just in case it really was true and that there actually were cadets from class–A inside the tower.

"Commence the operation!"

Yi Jihyeon led her guild, Blood Crescent Moon, into the tower. Their expressions were grim as tension was thick in the air.

"Stay focused,"

Yi Jihyeon ordered.

"We have to find those cadets before it's too late."

The tower's lower floors had already been cleared, making their progress swift.

Still, the uncertainty of where the cadets might be weighed on them. The tampered portal and Alan Ross's shaky claims didn't sit well with her.

They cleared every nook and cranny of floors one to four, but there were no signs of the cadets as of the moment.

"Still nothing, Guild–Leader."

"Haaa…. This might just be a waste of time."

Even if the portals were configured inside the tower, there was no way the cadets were taken to the higher floors.

But for some reason….

"...."

Yi Jihyeon had a bad feeling. She couldn't shake it off. Her instincts told her it….

….Might be possible.

But still, it wouldn't hurt to search all the floors. Monsters loomed in every corner, but they were quickly dealt with.

Blood Crescent Moon was that powerful.

Soon after, they had finally ascended to the 16th floor.

It was then when they paused.

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A sinister aura coming not so far away lingered. Yi Jihyeon felt her chest tighten at that moment, and a sudden chill ran down her spine.

There was something wrong.

Something so wrong.

Something unexplainable that Yi Jihyeon's fight or flight was triggering.

But as an adult responsible for leading the continent's youth—the continent's future, Yi Jihyeon had no thoughts about abandoning her mission.

Step—

Footsteps echoed from somewhere.

"Guild–Leader…."

A deep voice whispered from her side. A person who had been by her side for so long, ever since her time in Incandescent Flames. It was her Vice–Leader, Leon Viesse.

"Yeah."

Yi Jihyeon's head nodded.

"Men!"

She raised her voice and ordered all her guild members present to stay vigilant.

"We've been set up."

"Indeed."

"That bastard Alan Ross…."

Leon cursed under his breath.

There was an enemy.

Their figures became visible a few distances away.

"There's two of them. What do you suggest we do, Guild–Leader?"

"Like what we've always done."

Crush them.

***

"Field Marshals, please believe me. I've done nothing, nor did I have any intentions of harming the cadets!"

Alan Ross exclaimed.

The rest of his guild members have been put to shackles, thrown in a cell. Alan Ross on the other hand, his arms had been cuffed with mana–shackles.

"We'll see once Yi Jihyeon returns."

Bellion spat out. There were no formalities unlike before. He was frustrated by the guilds.

They had called a bunch of professionals who were well versed with simulations. He couldn't trust anyone unless they were hand–picked by him.

Bellion stepped out of the interrogation room and returned to the monitoring room.

He approached the experts.

"So? Has anything been confirmed?"

"The portals have been fixed, Field Marshal. For the cadets on the other hand, we can't bypass the firewall that was set up. We can't eject them, and so, we can't confirm if they are actually in the simulation, or inside the real tower."

"Tsk."

Bellion clicked his tongue.

He had a bad feeling.

His gaze lingered on the monitor.

[Time Remaining: 4:56]

Five hours left until the examinations finished. He was told they would be ejected once the timer reaches zero, but he doubted that was the case anymore.

Most of the cadets faced no issues in ascending the floor levels. Currently, almost all of them were tackling the fifth floor.

His hopes were all on the blonde woman with blue eyes, gripping on the sword in her hand.

She was the fastest cadet to have ever progressed so far. By estimation, in an hour or so, she would most probably be the first cadet to pass the exam and be ejected from the simulation.

Either that, or she would find herself tackling a sixth floor if she was inside the actual tower herself.

After all, she belonged to class–A. All of the students there had a fourth–tier mana core.

Enough had to be said.

It was none other than Amelia Constantine.

Bellion was proud of her.

She was well on her way in breaking through the S–ranks.

"Nineteen years–old. Not bad."

It wasn't the fastest, but it was faster than most.

Then, the channel switched.

Two men.

Pale–white hair, ice blue eyes. The other man, jet–black hair and ocean–blue eyes.

"Oh?"

Bellion's brows rose.

From what he had last seen, the two were tackling the second floor. A floor that was described to create internal strife between whoever was inside the floor.

He had heard it was the reason why several rankers had to exit the tower due to becoming a liability.

It reduced their numbers, and they had to tackle the 32nd floor with the amount of numbers they had left.

And that floor was the last floor they had cleared.

The last subjugation before most of Incandescent Flames guild members were slaughtered.

Thinking back on the news, it wasn't a pleasant memory at all.

But still, the mystery never left his mind.

Why were Brandon and Raven thrusted into the same tower ID?

Or maybe….

"....They could be in the tower itself."