Chronicles of Forgotten Extra

The classroom buzzed with murmurs as Sorin's announcement sank in.

"A surprise combat test?" Aziel groaned, slumping in his chair. "Man, I was hoping for a chill day."

Alden ignored him, his mind already running through the possibilities.

Virtual reality existed in this world, and it was even more advanced than on Earth.

The immersion rate could be adjusted so high that a person wouldn't even notice the difference between reality and the simulation.

He exhaled slowly.

This was going to be interesting.

Sorin didn't waste time. "Everyone, follow me."

The students stood up from their seats, their reactions mixed.

Some looked excited, while others seemed nervous.

Lucien, however, was way too excited.

He was a gamer for no reason, after all. In his previous life, he had spent an ungodly amount of time playing virtual reality games.

Lucien and his group moved with absolute confidence as expected of the novel's main cast.

Amyra, as usual, was calm and unreadable.

Whereas Nyx was nowhere to be seen.

---

The Virtual Combat Room was massive—easily larger than a stadium.

Numerous sleek black high-tech pods lined up the walls in neat rows.

Their black exteriors were glowing faintly with golden-coloured magical runes on it.

Alden took it all in with mild awe. At first glance, there seemed to be thousands of these capsules.

But he was sure there were capsules more than that.

Right now, only Class A was present, making the hall feel eerily empty despite its massive size.

Sorin walked toward the central control station, where several academy staff members monitored the system.

As he activated the pods, the soft hum of machinery filled the air.

Students chatted with their friends, speculating about the test.

But Zephyr?

He remained silent, standing off to the side surrounded by his lackeys.

Alden noticed Lucien staring at Zephyr.

But Zephyr didn't even acknowledge his gaze as if Lucien was nothing more than thin air.

Alden had to respect how little he cared.

Just then, Alden felt an intense stare directed at him.

'Hmm who is it?'

The stare was obviously not due to goodwill but it was due to hostility.

His eyes traced toward the source of the stare. Only to find a burly, grey-haired student with muscles that looked ridiculous for his age.

The guy was glaring at him like Alden had killed his cat or something.

Alden narrowed his eyes.

Who the heck is this extra now?

And what's the deal with him?

The guy looked familiar, but Alden couldn't remember where he had seen that guy.

Do I know him?

Nope.

Well, it doesn't matter who he is anyway.

Alden dismissed the thought as he couldn't be bothered to care about some random mob.

'Probably just jealous of my handsome self.'

…He instantly regretted having that thought due to the pure cringe it sounded.

'Man, I need to do something about my narcissism.'

—

"Hey, bro, what do you think the test will be?" Aziel asked curiously snapping Alden out of his thoughts.

"I don't have any idea either." Alden shrugged.

How the hell am I even supposed to know that?

In the original novel, there was a virtual reality test too, but it had been a group battle against monsters to get points.

But now?

The teacher had changed.

The plot was a mess.

The test had also probably changed.

So he wasn't so sure anymore.

The plot had become unpredictable.

Not that Alden minded.

What's the thrill in following a set story? Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

Life is meant to be unpredictable.

And the previous plot was destined to be doomed anyway.

So he welcomed the new changes that were happening as long as they were not so bad.

A smirk appeared on his face.

His personality had long since changed.

He was not the same person whose only goal was to survive. He now loved the process of growing stronger…

At that moment, Sorin's voice cut through the chatter.

"Attention, students. The test will begin shortly."

Everyone fell silent.

"The test is simple: a PvP battle."

A murmur rippled through the students.

"Each of you will fight three opponents, one at a time." Sorin continued. "Your performance will be graded on combat ability, strategy, and adaptability."

Alden nodded to himself.

A dual system, huh?

No teams. No monster hunting. Just one-on-one combat.

"You'll only be matched against opponents of similar strength," Sorin continued in his explanation. "A novice-ranked student won't be facing an initiate-ranked student."

Then, his gaze sharpened.

"The immersion rate will be set to 70%."

Alden raised an eyebrow.

'Fck, that's too high.' He cursed as he knew what that meant—they would feel 70% of the pain of any attacks they took.

Sorin continued without caring for the shock students felt. "The match will end when one participant dies or forfeits."

This world was not peaceful, and this combat test was meant to give a reality check to all students.

---

Sorin gestured toward the capsules.

"Every pod has a serial number. Stand in front of the one corresponding to your rank."

Students moved toward their assigned pods.

Alden arrived at Pod #8 which corresponded to his rank.

It looked luxurious to say the least, with a soft cushioned interior and a sleek helmet attached to the top.

'As expected of the top academy.'

Aziel stood beside him, looking slightly nervous.

Alden's gaze drifted to the pods of the top-ranked students.

Amyra, Nyx, and Lucien.

Each of them stood in front of their capsules, waiting calmly.

Then, Sorin gave the signal.

Alden entered the pod without hesitation. As soon as he settled into the seat, the helmet lowered over his face automatically.

Then—

Darkness.

A flash of white light followed.

---

Alden opened his eyes to find himself in a plain white room.

A translucent blue screen hovered in front of him.

[Welcome to the Virtual Reality Simulation, Student.]

[Please wait while the mandatory scan is conducted.]

Alden watched as a mechanical scanner ran over his body.

This wasn't the system from the real world—it was just an AI imitation created with magic and science.

Nexus.

The Academy's AI system is responsible for ranking students and monitoring the entire simulation.

Alden could suppress his strength if he wanted to by lowering the amount of mana leaked by his body unconsciously.

Most people in lower ranks struggled to suppress the mana leaking from their bodies.

But Alden was different, as he was the Monarch of Mana; his control over mana surpassed those at his level with ease.

…Not that he needed to hide his strength.

Because being in the Beginner Initiate rank was normal for a top ten student.

A second later, a series of notifications appeared.

[Fingerprint scan… complete!]

[Student Name: Alden Draven—Confirmed]

[Student Rank: 8]

[Strength: Beginner Initiate Rank]

A new screen popped up.

[Please Select a Weapon.]

---

Alden glanced at the list of weapons. And without any hesitation whatsoever, he chose a katana.

---

[Weapon Selection Complete: Katana Chosen.]

[Matching up with another student for the first match…]

[Match found!]

---

Alden's eyes narrowed as a name appeared on the screen.

---

[Opponent: Bran Hayworth (Rank 11)]

---

He blinked.

"…Who?"

He didn't know who he was, nor did he care, as he just had to win.

A moment later, the white room vanished as his vision went dark once again.