The Extra's Rise

By the time I had rested enough, the fifth day of Island Survival had begun.

The morning air was thick with humidity, the scent of damp earth clinging to my skin as I moved through the dense jungle. I wasn't looking for shelter. I wasn't looking for food.

I was looking for something to kill.

Five-star beasts, preferably. Something that would push me further, force me to refine my techniques even more.

But instead of a beast, I found something far, far worse.

Or rather—she found me.

"Oh, hi Arthur~"

I stopped mid-step.

Cecilia sat perched atop a boulder, one leg crossed over the other, her crimson eyes gleaming with obvious amusement. She waved lazily, her tone sweet and insincere, the kind that made your instincts scream at you to run.

Something about the air around her felt different—thicker, charged with something that hadn't been there before.

Then it hit me.

"You broke through."

She smiled. Stretched her arms over her head like she'd just woken from a nap, rather than completely shattered a limit most people struggled with for years.

"All thanks to you," she said breezily. "I finally reached high Silver-rank."

She hopped off the boulder, dusting off her sleeves, then tilted her head slightly.

"Anyway," she continued, voice still light and playful, "would you be a cutie and hand over your points?"

I didn't even bother dignifying that with a response.

"No."

She sighed dramatically. "Oh, well, I don't really care about them either."

Then she smiled. And something in the air shifted.

"But let's have some fun~"

And then she was gone.

Not literally. But to the untrained eye, it would have seemed that way.

One second, she was standing there, teasing as always—the next, she was right in front of me.

Too fast.

Too fast.

Her hand shot toward my chest, the glow of condensed mana swirling at her fingertips.

'Move!'

My body barely reacted in time, instincts screaming as I raised my sword, deflecting her strike by a hair's breadth.

The impact rattled through my bones.

Cecilia stepped back, blinking once, then grinned.

"Wow."

She actually sounded impressed.

"I thought that'd be enough to beat you," she mused, tapping a finger against her lips.

I licked my lips, every muscle coiled and ready to move.

And then, above her head—

A crimson crown appeared.

My stomach twisted.

Cecilia's Gift.

Witchcraft.

A Gift that was a birthright, a curse, and a weapon all at once. The reason she was considered an anomaly, something outside the norm.

A Gift that dragged hell to Earth.

She was only Rank 6, which might have made some people think she wasn't as strong as Rachel or Ren.

But that was a lie.

Because rank didn't matter.

Not when she had this.

At full power, Cecilia wasn't any weaker than Rachel.

And right now—she was looking at me like a cat that had just cornered an interesting little mouse.

Gifts were unfair.

They were supernatural abilities in a world already ruled by mana, breaking the very rules that defined strength and power.

They didn't follow logic. They didn't follow balance.

And now, one such unfair ability was about to be put on full display.

Cecilia raised her hands, the movement fluid, almost graceful, like a conductor about to summon an orchestra.

And then—magic happened.

Three four-circle spells formed at once, hovering in front of her like summoned stars.

They didn't just exist separately.

They merged.

Spell weaving.

I had read about it. Seen it in action. But seeing it and experiencing it were two entirely different things.

The spells fused, their mana signatures twisting together in a way that should have been impossible to control, and yet—Cecilia controlled it like it was nothing more than a simple sleight of hand.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

"Fuck."

I reacted instantly, summoning a Flame Lance and launching it forward.

The fiery spear collided with her woven spell, detonating in a flash of mana, but it wasn't enough.

The merged spell warped, shifting, contorting its form instead of breaking apart.

That was the unfairness of Witchcraft.

I could feel it—the distortion in her mana, the way it bent in ways it shouldn't.

I moved.

My sword ignited with aura, and I dodged the bulk of the warped magic, feeling the heat of it graze my skin, even through my mana reinforcement. What little of the spell that remained, I cut through, the backlash shattering against my blade as I forced my way past it.

Cecilia smirked, tucking a lock of golden-red hair behind her ear, watching me with something between amusement and genuine interest.

"Impressive," she murmured.

I barely registered the compliment.

I was already thinking three steps ahead.

God Flash.

That was my only way to win this.

Cecilia had a higher rank, a Gift, and a natural mastery of magic that made her a nightmare to fight. The only advantage I had was speed—and if I was going to win, I had to use it perfectly.

I exhaled, my grip tightening around my sword.

I needed an opening.

A clean, precise moment to land God Flash properly.

Anything less than perfect wouldn't work on her.

Cecilia snapped her fingers. The moment she moved, I did too.

I threw myself into a tight, controlled spin, narrowly avoiding three condensed spheres of fire magic that seared through the air where my head had just been. I lunged forward, closing the distance, but she simply glided back, her feet barely touching the ground.

Then she countered instantly—a burst of mana distortion warping the air, twisting reality just enough to throw off my movement.

I stumbled, barely catching myself as her palm shot toward my ribs, glowing with the telltale crimson shimmer of compressed energy.

I had a fraction of a second to act.

I let my balance tip deliberately, letting the force of my own momentum pull me just out of range, spinning around her extended arm.

This was it.

My sword ignited with lightning, the blade humming with compressed energy.

I lunged forward.

She saw it.

But she wasn't fast enough.

God Flash.

The moment stretched thin.

And then—

She stopped it.

Her hand raised at the last possible moment, a translucent mana barrier forming in a fraction of a second, catching my sword inches from her exposed back.

It should have been impossible to react to.

It should have been a clean hit.

And yet—

Cecilia smiled.

"Very impressive," she murmured.

Then, before I could adjust, her free hand shot toward me, a spiraling burst of wind mana launching at point-blank range.

I moved before I could think, channeling another God Flash, using the sheer force of the technique to propel myself backward, just in time to avoid being caught in the spell's blast.

I hit the ground in a skid, feet digging into the dirt.

I had to go.

I had to run.

I turned, mana crackling around me, gathering one last burst of speed.

And then I was gone.

Trees blurred past me as I moved, faster than I ever had before, pushing my body to the limit as I tore through the dense jungle.

Behind me, I could hear her laughter, light and playful.

Then—a pulse of mana.

She was chasing me.

I grit my teeth.

Of course she was.