The Extra is a Hero?-Chapter 245: THE CALM BEFORE THE
Chapter 240: The Calm Before the Roar
The night before the Grand Continental Tournament, the Ironhold didn’t get quiet. It just got deeper. The high-pitched hiss of steam vents settled into a low, rhythmic thrum, like the heartbeat of a sleeping titan.
Inside the Arcadia team’s strategy room, the air was so thick with tension you could carve it with a dagger.
The twelve of us sat around a circular table made of black basalt. There were no snacks, no jokes, and for once, Aiden Stromfang wasn’t snoring.
Arthur Pendragon stood at the head of the table. He wasn’t wearing his armor tonight. He was in his formal dress uniform—black with gold aiguillettes—but he looked more dangerous than he did with a sword.
"Tomorrow," Arthur began, his voice low and controlled, "the world watches."
He pressed a button on the crystal console. A holographic map of the arena appeared.
"The brackets are set. The rules are confirmed. But rules in the Dwarf Kingdom are... suggestions." Arthur’s eyes swept over us. "You have felt the gravity. You have tasted the smog. This environment is designed to weed out the weak. But we are not here to survive."
He leaned forward, placing his hands on the table.
"We are Arcadia. We are the shield of humanity. The Imperial Institute thinks we are upstarts. The Sanctum thinks we are brute savages. Solaris thinks we are lucky."
Arthur paused, his gaze locking with Leon’s.
"Prove them wrong. Not with words. With violence. Controlled, precise, overwhelming violence."
It wasn’t a speech about friendship. It was a command to conquer.
"Dismissed. Get your gear in order. Sleep if you can."
The team dispersed slowly.
Leon and Varkas stayed behind to discuss vanguard tactics with Arthur. Eric William walked out swiftly, looking pale, likely heading to vomit from the nerves.
I slipped out quietly, heading not to my room, but to the equipment maintenance bay.
I had work to do.
The maintenance bay was empty save for the hum of the mana-chargers. I found a secluded workbench in the corner and engaged the privacy wards.
[Skill Activated: Void Vault]
A ripple in space opened, and I began to pull out my arsenal.
The Breaker’s Hammer (Rank B) – Polished and ready.
Gravity-Step Boots (Modified) – Mana circuits fully charged.
Flash-Bang Pellets (x12)
Nether-Disruptor Grenades (x3) – Crafted from the stolen essence.
But my focus wasn’t on weapons. It was on a small, unassuming crystal shard I held in my hand.
It was a fragment of a Revive Crystal.
In the tournament, every participant wore a "Life-Link" pendant connected to the massive Revive Crystals stationed around the arena. If a student took fatal damage, the crystal would instantly teleport them out and heal them, preventing death. It was the only reason students could unleash A-Rank spells without turning the event into a massacre.
But in the novel, this was the fail point. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
I pulled out a loupe and activated [Quantum Analysis Mind].
[Target: Revive Crystal Fragment (Standard Issue)]
[Status: Active]
[Mana Frequency: 44.2 Hz]
[Vulnerability Detected: If the frequency is jammed with Nether interference, the teleportation fails. The damage becomes real.]
"Just as I thought," I whispered.
The Demon Cult wasn’t going to blow up the stadium. They were going to jam the safety frequency. When the "Invasion" started in Phase 4, the students would fight thinking they had a safety net. They wouldn’t realize they were mortal until the first head rolled.
I couldn’t fix the main crystals—they were guarded by the Royal Guard. But I could modify our pendants.
I pulled out a set of twelve micro-runes I had etched earlier.
Modification: Frequency Hopper.
Effect: If the primary channel is jammed, the Life-Link switches to a backup localized mana pool.
It wasn’t perfect. It wouldn’t teleport us out, but it would trigger an emergency barrier if we took lethal damage. A one-time shield.
I spent the next hour carefully disassembling the Arcadia team’s pendants, inserting the micro-runes, and sealing them back up.
"What are you doing?"
I froze.
I turned slowly. Maria Frostheart was standing in the doorway. She was wearing her casual training gear—a white tunic and loose pants. Her ice-blue eyes were curious, not suspicious.
"Just... polishing the settings," I lied smoothly, snapping the last pendant shut. "The mana density here disrupts the signal. Calibrating it for the team."
Maria walked over. She picked up her pendant—a snowflake-shaped silver charm.
"You’re always fixing things, Michael," she said softly. "You fixed the formation in the dungeon. You fixed Eric’s positioning in training. Now you’re fixing our jewelry."
"Someone has to," I shrugged. "Arthur is too busy being a king, and Leon is too busy being a hero. That leaves the janitorial work to me."
Maria didn’t laugh. She looked at me with a strange intensity.
"You’re not a janitor, Michael. You’re..." She hesitated, searching for the word. "You’re the safety net."
I felt a pang of guilt. If you knew what was coming, Maria, you wouldn’t say that.
"How are you holding up?" I asked, changing the subject. "Nervous about tomorrow?"
Maria sighed, leaning against the workbench. "Selena is terrified. She’s trying to hide it, but her hands are shaking. We’re up against the Sanctum in our block. Mages vs Mages."
"You’ll be fine," I said. "The Sanctum relies on complex formulas. You rely on instinct. In a chaotic environment, instinct wins."
Maria smiled. It was a small, genuine smile that reached her eyes. "Thanks. I should go check on her. She’s probably trying to memorize a grimoire right now."
She turned to leave, then paused.
"Michael?"
"Yeah?"
"Don’t die out there. Please."
"I don’t plan on it."
She left.
I watched her go, the smile fading from my face.
In the original novel, Maria Frostheart was one of the first victims of the Phase 4 curse. The Succubus General targeted her specifically to break Leon’s spirit.
I gripped the workbench.
"Not this time," I hissed. "Script change."
I packed up my tools. The night was over.
----
Phase 1 was finished. The setup was done.
Phase 2 was about to begin
(To be Continued)
