An Extra’s POV

"There is no need to feel shame."

The Head Warrior, Brutus, approached the fallen Billy and stretched forth his hand.

"You did well for your first battle. You possess powerful Skills and the potential to surpass me." For the first time ever, something was tugging at the corners of Brutus' face.

It was… a smile!

Brutus was smiling, and it was a very warm grin.

"That is why you need training. So, what do you say… Grand Knight? Do you wish to grow strong and defeat me one day?"

The hand of the Head Warrior remained outstretched as Billy looked at it with widened eyes.

Following Brutus' words were a round of applause. It started with Lucielle, followed by Adonis, and before long… everyone was clapping.

'For me? They're clapping for me?'

Billy's face shifted slightly as his widened eyes bulged even further as he noticed a particular girl clapping as she smiled.

'Alicia is also clapping? She's even smiling at me!'

It made him feel immensely happy. The experience just now had humbled him, but this… this had now raised his spirits.

From a trembling form to a smile, Billy returned his gaze to the Head Knight and nodded.

"I wish to grow strong!"

Billy reached out for Brutus' hand, and the Head Warrior pulled him up with relative ease.

Both warriors stared at each other with a measure of respect and honor attributed respectively.

It was like a new bond had been forged—one between a mentor and his protege.

"Good. I look forward to your training."

*******

'I see now…'

Rey smiled as he observed all that happened from beginning to end.

'Our Skills are only as effective as our mastery over them, and our Levels. It's just as Lucielle said.'

A Level 1 A-Tier Skill user would never be able to defeat a Level 10 B-Tier Skill user.

'I think this much is fair. Also, there seems to be some kind of power cap. It's likely that the B-Tier Skill will stagnate at some point, while the A-Tier one will keep improving.'

Also, Rey theorized that a Level 1 A-Tier was no doubt going to defeat a B-Tier of the same level.

end, it's just

their real training was about to begin,

need to become

to be controlled by his classmates, the people of this world… as well as the

and despises the weak… just

an Extra among all his seemingly overpowered classmates, Rey

I have to

***********

[A Week Later]

"Huff… huff…."

the lips of the students who were jogging

field, the Beta students were being made to run round it for a hundred times in

as five laps, and even that

it

"Huff… huff… haaa… haaa…"

despite only passing the fifty lap threshold. Others

wanted

and were barely hanging on, there was one student whose expression felt

It was Rey.

sucks. What am

was why he was pretending to be tired, like most people in the Beta group, but in

sweat, and even his steamy breath was him trying hard

exhausted him

and more complex training, yet I'm stuck

concluded on the first day, the

had all the

and Billy were the students in the group. There were a total of nine of them—a small number compared to the twenty-nine

course, I didn't make the cut. In everyone's

he could argue that they thought he was less

improve on our foundations, while the Alpha group has

curriculum of the

exercise and Basic Skill

pained Rey to the depths of his soul,

to remain

the A-Tier students talking about training, and apparently they

students learning Magic because that meant they would spend more

in his eyes, but that wasn't his priority at this

Skills!' His eyes widened as he intentionally slowed

to outrun everyone

Skills if we practice hard enough and have enough mastery in

what vexed him most about

stress very quickly. The first few days were hell,

Stats of the rest of his classmates, but he

be learning

to exercise patience. Right now, he couldn't