The Extra is a Genius!?-Chapter 591: The Final Location

The mountains no longer felt unfamiliar. When Noel had first arrived, the range had seemed endless and hostile, a maze of cliffs, broken ridges, and unstable mana currents that twisted through the stone like invisible storms.

Now he moved through it with quiet certainty. The slopes, the hunting paths carved by beasts over years of survival, the valleys where mana storms gathered when the weather turned—he knew them all.

He knew which cliffs housed winged predators large enough to hunt armored travelers, which caverns belonged to creatures that only moved at night, which ravines were safe to cross and which ones hid things that should never be disturbed.

The creature in front of him was another example of how far his understanding of the range had grown. It was enormous even by mountain standards, its body resembling a fusion of bear and reptile, thick mineralized plates covering its back like natural armor.

One claw still twitched weakly against the rock as Noel stepped forward and drove Revenant Fang downward in a clean motion, the blade piercing through the monster’s skull and pinning it to the ground. The creature stopped moving. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The mountain returned to silence. Noel left the sword embedded for a second before speaking. "Status."

A translucent window appeared before him.

[Current Core Progress: 95.00% — Mana Core: Archmage]

He studied the number without expression. Progress had slowed. When he had first reached Archmage, powerful monsters had pushed his core forward by a full percent each time, the system rewarding every difficult kill clearly. Now the same creatures barely moved the number. Some barely counted at all. The closer he came to the limit of Archmage, the more demanding the system became.

Noctis’s words surfaced in his memory. Elarin. A man who had reached that level and lost his mind after seeing something he should not have seen. Noel stared toward the distant peaks. What happens when I reach Mana Core? Would his mind change? Would power twist his thoughts the same way it had twisted Elarin’s? His thoughts drifted briefly to Charlotte, Elyra, Elena, and the children who would soon be born. If something inside him changed, would they be safe?

The doubt lingered before another memory surfaced. Roberto. The pressure Noel had felt on the Northern Isles. The difference in power between them. He exhaled slowly. Stopping was not something he could afford.

He pulled Revenant Fang from the creature’s skull, blood sliding along the blade before dripping onto the rock. Noir remained inside his shadow. The mountains held their quiet for a breath longer. Then something shifted in the air around him.

The change came without warning. Noir erupted from his shadow, the ground beneath Noel’s feet twisting and expanding as her form surged outward. Black fur unfolded into existence and grew rapidly as the small wolf stretched into her true combat form, her body reaching past eight meters in length within seconds, purple streaks glowing faintly along the edges of her fur. Her ears were forward and her muscles were tense.

Noir never reacted like this without reason. Noel’s hand moved instinctively toward the hilt of Maledicta at his waist. ’What is it, Noir?’

Her answer came immediately. ’Concentrate. Something is here.’ A breath passed before she added another thought, sharper this time. ’Something that shouldn’t be here.’

That alone was enough. Noir detected everything long before he did. Scents carried through stone, subtle vibrations, distant mana signatures—her senses reached farther than most mages could perceive. Yet this presence had appeared without warning. Noel did not move from where he stood, his grip tightening slightly on Maledicta’s hilt as his eyes scanned the surrounding cliffs.

"Looks like life has been treating you well lately, Noel." The voice was calm and unhurried, entirely out of place on a mountain ridge soaked in monster blood.

Noel turned his head toward the sound. Roberto sat on a nearby cliff edge as if he had been there the entire time, legs dangling freely over the empty air and swinging gently while he watched the mountains below like someone enjoying the scenery. He did not look hostile, which made it worse. Noel didn’t relax. How did Noir not smell him?

Roberto noticed the tension immediately and smiled faintly. "Don’t worry," he said lightly. "I’m not here to start the fight early." He tilted his head slightly, studying Noel. "I just came to give you the last details of our agreement. There’s still some time before the day arrives." His gaze drifted briefly toward the surrounding mountains. "Although... I did notice something interesting." His eyes returned to Noel. "Our deal was supposed to be a one-on-one fight. But you’ve been busy."

Kings. Allies. Armies. Roberto’s smile widened slightly. "So I took the same liberty. I’m not alone either."

Silence stretched between them. Noel’s eyes narrowed slightly. "What does that mean?"

Roberto didn’t answer. He simply kept smiling.

Roberto let the silence stretch for several seconds, clearly enjoying Noel’s reaction. The wind moved across the cliffs between them, carrying the faint scent of blood from the monster Noel had just killed, but Roberto didn’t seem bothered by it. Eventually he pushed himself upright and stepped away from the cliff face, walking along the narrow edge of rock as if the drop beneath him didn’t exist. Thousands of meters of empty air waited below, but he moved across the ledge with the ease of someone strolling through a garden path.

"I didn’t come here to argue about preparations," he said after a moment. "You can bring your kings, your armies, your loyal friends. I’ll bring mine." His eyes returned to Noel. "But that’s not the real reason I came. I came to tell you where the fight will happen."

Noel’s gaze remained fixed on him, measuring every movement, every shift in posture. "Where?"

Roberto smiled faintly. "At your home." The wind brushed across the mountains again, stirring the long fur along Noir’s massive form. Noel didn’t react outwardly, but his eyes sharpened as Roberto continued. "Thorne Estate. The territory of your family, your land, your people." A brief pause followed, his tone carrying just enough of an edge to make clear he meant none of it. "The place you care so deeply about." He tilted his head slightly. "So it felt appropriate."

"That’s why you came here?" Roberto spread his hands slightly, as if the answer should have been obvious. "Of course. I’m a man of my word, Noel. Even after everything, I still have some sense of honor."

Noel’s expression hardened slightly. "Don’t talk to me about honor."

Roberto laughed softly under his breath, the sound quiet but genuine. "Fair enough." He stepped backward toward the cliff edge. "We’ll see each other on the day we agreed." His body began to dissolve before Noel could respond, small particles of light separating from his form and drifting into the air like glowing dust carried by the wind. His final words reached Noel as the last fragments faded. "Don’t disappoint me."

Then he was gone. Noir remained standing in her massive form, staring at the empty space where Roberto had been only moments before, and Noel stayed where he was without moving. The final battlefield already had a name, and it was much closer than he had expected.