Extra’s Rise: I Stole All The Women In The Hero’s Party

The water was colder than Zayn expected. He gritted his teeth as the icy liquid soaked through his boots, numbing his legs with every sluggish step forward.

His once-pristine clothes clung to his body, heavy and soaked through.

"Gods, this is miserable," he grumbled, kicking at the water with a wet splash. "Who decided wading through a lake was a necessary dungeon feature?!"

Kara, the earth mage, trudged beside him, muttering curses under her breath. "Why couldn't this place have a stone bridge or something? I could've reinforced it. But nooo, some ancient dungeon designer decided 'make them suffer' was a great idea."

At the front of the group, Tobias floated effortlessly above the water, standing on a glowing, golden magic circle.

The shimmering platform compressed the air beneath him, keeping him dry and unbothered.

Zayn scowled. "Oh, sure. Hovering over the water like you're some divine being. Must be nice."

Tobias pushed up his glasses, smirking. "Well, I am the Hero of Knowledge. Wouldn't make sense for me to suffer needlessly."

Zayn rolled his eyes and sloshed forward. "I hate you so much right now."

But the real injustice? The busty nun, Elisse, who walked beside them without a single drop of water clinging to her white robes.

Not a single strand of her golden hair was damp. She practically glowed in the dim dungeon light.

Zayn stopped dead in his tracks. "Okay, I know I'm not the only one seeing this."

Kara groaned. "Yeah, it's divine magic. Don't ask."

Zayn turned to Amara, raising an eyebrow. "How? Why?"

Amara offered a saintly smile, hands clasped in front of her. "My garments are blessed by the Goddess. They cannot be dirtied, nor can they be affected by water or impure forces."

Zayn's eye twitched. "Unfair. Completely unfair."

"Maybe if you prayed more, the gods would show you some favor," Tobias quipped, smirking as he adjusted his floating platform slightly.

Zayn shot him a deadpan look. "Oh, yeah, because I'm sure the gods are dying to bless a man like me. 'Oh mighty divine ones, please bestow upon me dry socks. I will be eternally grateful.'"

Tobias chuckled. "Well, socks aside, we're almost through. Try not to drown before we reach the other side."

With much grumbling, they finally made it out of the lake, stepping onto solid, albeit slightly damp, stone ground.

Everyone immediately checked their equipment, wringing out whatever fabric they could.

Zayn squeezed his sleeves, watching as water dripped from the edges. "I'm gonna need a whole damn bonfire to dry off after this."

"Quit whining," Kara muttered, shaking her boots dry. "We survived."

Zayn turned his head and finally got a good look at what lay ahead of them. His stomach tightened.

A massive gate stood tall before them, its surface etched with glowing runes, pulsing in a rhythmic pattern. It looked ancient, like it had been standing for centuries, untouched by time.

The sheer size of it made him uneasy — anything requiring this much grandeur to keep it locked up was bound to be trouble.

Tobias sighed and adjusted his glasses again. That was a bad sign.

Zayn had already learned that if Tobias adjusted his glasses twice within five minutes, something very annoying was about to happen.

"This," Tobias said, gesturing to the ominous gate, "is the entrance to the boss room."

Zayn let out a long, exaggerated sigh. "Oh good, because that wasn't painfully obvious already."

Tobias ignored him. "Once we step inside, there's no turning back until the boss is defeated. No retreat, no breaks. We either win… or we die."

Silence settled over the group.

Zayn exhaled slowly, gripping the hilt of his sword. He wasn't thrilled about it, but what choice did they have? "Well, great. Guess we don't have much of a choice then."

"That's the spirit," Tobias said with a smirk. "Now, let's go over strategy."

Everyone instinctively leaned in. This was Tobias's thing — analyzing and planning.

He was, after all, the Hero of Knowledge.

"Based on the dungeon's structure, I'd wager this boss is elemental-based. Most likely a golem or some kind of spirit entity, judging from the energy signatures I'm sensing."

Kara huffed. "Fantastic. I'll handle any stone-based creatures, but if it's a spirit, Amara will need to support us with divine magic."

Amara nodded. "Understood. I'll be prepared."

Tobias turned to Zayn. "You, swordsman — "

Zayn sighed dramatically. "Oh wow, I have a name? Amazing."

Tobias ignored him. "Your role is to be the frontline fighter alongside Bran."

Zayn glanced at the muscular ax-wielding warrior in their party. Bran simply grunted, cracking his knuckles.

"Yeah, yeah. Hit the thing until it stops moving. Got it."

Tobias shot him a flat look. "Try not to get yourself killed."

"No promises."

Tobias sighed, muttering something about "reckless idiots" before turning back to the gate. "Alright. We're as ready as we'll ever be. Weapons drawn. Everyone stay on guard."

As they approached the gate, Zayn took a deep breath. This was it — their first real boss fight.

His heart pounded in his chest, not just from fear, but from excitement.

He had come into this world as an extra, someone meant to die in the background while the heroes took all the glory. But not this time.

With a grin, he stepped forward as Tobias activated the gate.

The runes pulsed brightly, the stone doors slowly creaking open with an eerie groan.

Darkness loomed beyond. And then —

A low, guttural growl echoed from within.

Zayn smirked.

'Here we go.'