Extra's Re-awakening: System Errors Made Me Too OP-Chapter 35: A Surprise Appearance

"Where are we..."

They found themselves in a forest, something they could have only describe as a tropical jungle. Back on earth, this environment could have been mistaken for the Amazon rain forest.

It looked nothing like a dungeon, infact, it wasn’t, at least not the normal dungeons that spawned in the city.

"What is this place?"

"Ssh!!" Elene hushed him up, holding her up finger against his mouth. Her Soul-Technique increased her perceptive prowess, allowing her to see and sense things that were far away.

As he calmed down, she removed her hand from his mouth, gazing forward in a particular direction.

"I sense an ominous energy emanating from beyond that region, let’s move carefully." She whispered, trying not to draw out whatever it was that she sensed.

With a firm nod, they moved cautiously in the direction where she had sensed the energy. The aura was dreadful, pressing down on her chest as if it sought to choke the breath out of her. Each attempt to shake off the feeling only made it surge back with an even greater force.

After a while of walking, they froze, and their eyes met with the entrance of a massive cave.

"A cave?" This was Xander’s first official dungeon raid, the first thing phase was nothing more than an exam, given it was indirectly cleared by the vice captains to prevent any casualties.

"Yeah... And judging by the energy I’m feeling from this, I’d say it’s an A-rank dungeon at best. Whatever’s in there is strong." Elene replied.

"It’s alright, I’m an A-rank Soul-Hunter. Whatever it is the dungeon throws at us I can handle it." He said calmly with confidence.

"Being an A-rank Soul-Hunter doesn’t necessarily mean you can clear an A-rank dungeon, it just means you can match up to an A-rank Soul-Hunter with a developed Soul-Core. Even S-rank Soul-Hunters have slight difficulties clearing an A-rank dungeon on their own." She warned him, he was powerful, that she determined from the second phase.

But she feared he became a bit too overconfident, and given ridiculously unpredictable dungeons are, it could cost him his life.

"It doesn’t matter." He said with a deep voice, almost as though he was enraged. He stared at his palm, and the words of the goddess resurfaced.

Earth born humans have a higher concentration of Soul-Energy than the people of this world, and being the leader he was supposedly one of the strongest awakened this year.

If he couldn’t prove it, what use would he be to the goddess?

Elene thought his confidence was amusing, yet frightening at the same time. As they moved forward, a gentle breeze swept past them from behind.

"What was that?" Xander quickly felt that something was off, and the two of them turned around at once.

"Who’s there!?" He shouted, demanding to know who was following them.

A faint chuckle echoed from behind, and they spun around quickly. Standing before them was none other than Madarame Livinus.

"Y—You’re... The vice captain of the 11th Soul-Squad..." Elene gulped, Takashi didn’t know him as well as Kazuki or Elene, infact, he still tried to adjust to the concept of Soul-Hunters. "W—what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, after the association declared a stage II lockdown, I went to check on Rai Voltia, then I was given orders by the head commander to survey the gate and return immediately. Usually, I would have taken both of you down into custody and returned you back but my instincts got the better of me. I’ll let this slide if you return now."

"I’m sorry, but we can’t do that." Xander said almost immediately, he didn’t come here just to rescue Rai, he came here to clear the dungeon and prove who’s superior.

Elene gasped and stared at Xander, he didn’t know the implications of rejecting an order from a captain of the Soul-Squads. But she did, her whole future, her whole status was riding on her success as a Soul-Hunter.

However, being bound by laws and protocols, which restricted her abilities, it was tiring, and if she didn’t fight it now, when would she?

"He’s right." She took a deep breath, then stared at Livinus with a straight face. "Rai’s in there, and we’re not leaving till we get him back."

For a moment, Livinus’s face was stone cold, almost as if their defiance stirred something within him.

Then a smile curled up his lips, and he walked past them with a step. "Who would have thought that you’d actually put yourself in danger just to save your friend?"

"He’s not my friend, he’s just an acquaintance." Xander replied immediately.

"I see, whatever the case, it seems I have no choice but to go with you."

They all walked into the cave with caution. It was dark, and the ominous energy became stronger.

Xander slowly raised his hand, and a faint spark came to life in his palm. In an instant, a flicker of blue flame hovered above his palm, and casted its glow across the dark cave and pushed back the shadows.

"Blue flames... Even till now I still cannot believe it." Elene whispered.

"Believe what?" To Xander, the blue flames seemed ordinary, just a special ability exclusive to only him. Just like the Perfect Hypnosis was exclusive to only Silver.

"Those flames... Those blue flames which burns with the user’s will, it is an S-ranked Soul-Technique." Livinus said as they ventured into the cave.

"What? An S-rank Soul-Technique?"

"That’s right. Much like the ranks of a Soul-Hunter, Soul-Techniques also has it’s hierarchy. What makes a difference in Soul-Hunter’s of the same core is how they can use it. A C-rank Soul-Hunter cannot use an A-rank Soul-Technique more than once because channeling it only takes every ounce of Soul-Energy they have. This is why hierarchy was established, to balance the energies of several Soul-Hunters."

"What about my flames?" Xander asked.

"The flames of a Soul-Hunter is said to transcend once it turns blue. The blue flames were once rumored to burn even the souls of a Soul-Hunter. That is why it is considered as the Knight Soul-Core rather than the Elementalist Soul-Core."

"Really.." It was surprising to hear, but now, it only confirmed the goddess’s words back then.

"Hm?" Xander noticed something on the walls of the cave, and he raised his hands to it. "What is this?" He called the attention of both of them to the wall.

Their eyes shot open immediately.

"N—No way..."

"What is it?"

On the walls were depiction of a large animal, it wasn’t just an animal, it was a depiction of an elephant with large and long horns. But to Xander, this specie of elephant was a specie that was long extinct back on earth.

Perished in the ice age that claimed so many lives.

And besides the elephant, was the depiction of an orb.

"...The Soul Stone."

"The Soul Stone? I thought it was just a myth?" Elene said as her attention was fully on the walls of the cave.

"The Soul Stone? What’s that?" Xander faced the two Soul-Hunters, and their faces said it all.

She sighed softly, and faced Xander who had no clue as to what this stone was.

"The Soul Stone is an ancient artifact once used by the previous Head Captain of Squad Zero in his battle against the Soul-Beasts during the first Advent. It is a magical orb that granted him an extraordinarily large amount of Soul-Energy which explained how he was able to singlehandedly wipe out the Soul-Beasts that broke through the black gate. However, as time went by, the head captain realized that such power was not to be possessed by the likes of humanity. The amount of power it possessed was inhumane, the head captain realized that the Soul-Beasts were after this orb for obvious reasons so he destroyed it."

"Wait, Squad Zero?"

"Seriously? Out of every thing I said that was what confused you?" Elene gave him a disappointed look, this was supposed to be common knowledge.

"As you know, there are a total of fourteen Soul-Squads, but the numbering doesn’t starts from 1, it starts from zero. Squad Zero is made up of 15 members, 14 of them are the captains of the Soul-Squad, myself included. And the leader of that Soul-Squad, is the head captain that overseers all the operations. He is also known as the Soul-King." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"I see."

"Let’s go." They ventured forward deeper into the cave, and eventually, they arrived at a large door with several inscriptions on it.

"A door? In the middle of a cave?" Elene muttered to herself. Something was off, she knew an Orange gate was the most unpredictable gate to exist, the last time it appeared, it produced the strongest Soul-Beast mankind had ever seen.

But now? They came this far without encountering a single Soul-Beast?

"There’s no use thinking about it, let’s just clear this dungeon and get out of here." Xander approached the large doors, and by accident, his right leg tripped on a well hidden wire which caused a series of sounds similar to that of clicks in a mechanical contraption.

"Wait!" Livinus shouted, and dragged Xander back by his shoulder, and immediately, a large spear flew past him with an incomprehensible speed. And he barely avoided death.

The entire cave began shaking, vibrating, as if a silent bomb had gone of near it’s core. The rocks above the cave cracked, and it collapsed like massive boulders one by one.

"A booby trap? You’ve got to be kidding me." Elene scoffed, she knew Xander’s true intentions the moment she saw the rage in his eyes. She knew he didn’t come here just to save Rai, and now, he’s desires landed them in a huge trouble.

They all rushed towards the door, and pushed it with all their might, but it didn’t budge. The walls closed in, and the boulders fell faster.

"So what are we going to do now?" Xander asked, though he believed in his prowess, he knew his abilities weren’t strong enough to get them through this. Elene’s powers weren’t enough either, since the Soul-Energy she held was more focused on sensory than actual combat.

Given the situation they were in, it felt like they had hit a roadblock in their rescue mission. Still, despite the obstacles before them, Livinus managed to wear a bright smile on his face.

"You know what they say ." As he spoke, steam escaped his hands and face. Veins popped out from his forehead and his muscles contracted slightly as his eyes glowed blue.

Livinus clenched his fist, then spread his palm toward the heavy door blocking their way.

"Whenever a door closes, a window opens. Temporal Soul-Technique: Sonic Palm!"

A sharp burst of vibrating force exploded from his hand. The pressure rippled through the air, striking the door with a thunderous crash. Cracks spread across its surface as dust rained down from the trembling cave ceiling. The falling rocks and boulders were pushed back by the shockwave, buying them a chance to escape.

The door shattered to pieces, overwhelmed by the force exerted on it, and the three Soul-Hunters rushed into the room just before the falling debris of rocks and boulders could crush them.

"Thanks... Vice captain Livinus." Elene coughed as she spoke, expressing her gratitude towards him for saving her life.

"What kind of Soul-Technique was that?" Xander asked, he has never seen anything like it, he hadn’t seen much but still, it was a completely different kind of unique.

Each Soul-Core activated was unique to a Soul-Hunter’s genetic code. For Elene it was the Zen Soul-Core, psychic abilities.

For Silver, it was the ability to control the five senses.

And for Livinus, he had the ability to manipulate trans-dimensional energy, allowing him to shoot vibrational bursts from his hands.

"That’s my ability, Temporal manipulation." Livinus said, rising up to his feet. He tapped the side of his clothes faintly, getting rid of all the particles of dust that settled on it.

"We’re just lucky to be alive." He added.

As the dust slowly settled, the inside of the room became more visible. It had tall stone pillars lined the room, their surfaces carved with faded symbols that seemed to tell forgotten stories. Shafts of light slipped in through cracks high above, speaking of how ancient it was.

From afar, a faint glow spread across the room. It shimmered against a podium standing alone in the center.

"What’s that?" It was a bit blinding given how dark the room was, so they squinted their eyes for a closer look. And there, resting on the podium.

A massive and clear reflective orb. The light gleamed off its sharp surface, scattering colors that danced across the walls and at their eyes.

"N-No way..." Elene muttered under her breath as her eyes wavered.

The myth, the legend of the Soul-King’s accomplishment before his death, it rested before their eyes.

"Is that... The Soul Stone?"