Is It Wrong for an Extra to Steal the Protagonist's Harem?-Chapter 43: Training

"Oh! The announcement for tomorrow’s lecture is up on the community board! It’s earlier than I expected."

"Where? Let’s look at it."

The two girls gathered around the magical projection board near the entrance.

[Notice: Practical Magic Combat II]

Objective: Combat is inevitable in the process of competition. The aim is to train students to showcase their best combat skills in practical situations under stress.

Format: 1 vs 1 Mock Battle.

Grading: The results of the mock battle will be reflected in the semester grades.Special Note: As preparation for the upcoming Expedition, Scroll Usage is EXCEPTIONALLY ALLOWED.

Constraint: Personal Scrolls are prohibited to ensure fairness. Three Random Scrolls will be provided to each student from the Academy’s supply box at the start of the match.

Observer: Professor Leonard (Combat Magic) & Professor Cassandra.

Hailey shook her head, reading the fine print.

"The seniors were right... Professor Cassandra really enjoys watching us suffer. Random scrolls? That means it’s all luck! What if I get a ’Clean’ scroll against a ’Fireball’?"

As Hailey muttered to herself complaining about the unfairness, her gaze suddenly turned towards the window.

Her expression brightened noticeably, and she raised her hand excitedly.

"Oh! Ren is here! Ren!"

Through the glass, Ren—the Protagonist—was walking by with his usual aloof demeanor.

"I need to go say hi! Maybe he needs a partner for the Expedition!"

Hailey didn’t even wait for a response. She hurriedly rushed out of the store, the bell chiming as she abandoned Ariana.

Ariana stood alone in the aisle.

She looked at the notice board again.

’Personal scrolls are prohibited...’

She narrowed her eyes.

’Three random scrolls provided...’

She envisioned Professor Cassandra’s smug face. She envisioned Alex’s mocking laughter. The way he had silenced her. The way the entire plaza had laughed at her, a Flamehart.

A dark, twisting knot of humiliation tightened in her chest.

"I can’t lose again," she whispered. "Not to him. Not to trash."

She made a decision.

"Excuse me."

Ariana called out.

The Fairy Shopkeeper promptly appeared, hovering by her shoulder as if she had been waiting for this exact moment.

"Yes~ Did you call me, rich girl?"

"Please wrap up that scroll."

A slender index finger pointed at the black, leather-bound scroll. The ’Scroll of Neuro-Rot.’

The Fairy tilted her head, her wings buzzing.

"Hmm~ Oh, that extremely lethal pest control scroll?"

"Yes."

"Uh... Does a freshman have any use for that? That’s overkill for a Goblin, sweetie. And if you get caught using that on a student..."

"I’m not using it on a student," Ariana lied, her face perfectly composed. "We have an upcoming Expedition. We might run into... dangerous beasts. I need insurance."

The Fairy stared at her. She knew a lie when she heard one. But she also knew the weight of the gold pouch hanging from Ariana’s belt.

"Well," the Fairy grinned, showing rows of sharp, tiny teeth. "Customer safety is their own responsibility. That will be 200 Gold. No refunds if you melt someone’s brain."

"Wrap it," Ariana ordered, placing a heavy bag of coins on the counter. "And make it look inconspicuous. Like a standard Academy scroll."

"Ooh, sneaky. I like it."

As the Fairy busied herself with the transaction, Ariana stared at the crimson seal on the scroll.

’Random scrolls are provided,’ she thought, a cold smile touching her lips. ’But in the chaos of battle... who would notice if I swapped one out?’

Alex Edelhart wanted to play without rules? Fine.

She would show him what happens when you play with fire.

*****

After spending a highly satisfying "lunch break" with Maya on the rooftop, I descended back into the academic grind.

By the time the afternoon lectures ended, the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. I skipped dinner in the cafeteria (the meat was still awful, anyway) and headed straight for the Arcane Praxis Center.

The Freshman Expedition was tomorrow. I needed every advantage I could get.

Currently, my stats were unbalanced.

[Current Stats:] [STR: 7] [AGI: 8] [STA: 31] [MP: 13] [INT: 34] [CHARM: 31] [Lust Points: 125]

With this body, I could cast beginner magic about ten times before collapsing. I could attempt an intermediate spell maybe twice. Advanced magic? Out of the question.

It was like having the blueprints for a nuclear missile but only enough gunpowder to fire a musket. I had the formulas in my mind, but not the battery to power them.

"However," I muttered, pushing open the heavy glass doors of the Praxis Center, "I can work with this."

The facility was a state-of-the-art training ground that the Merchen Academy took immense pride in. Unlike the dusty basement of my dorm, this place was built on a localized ley line.

The air inside hummed with ambient energy. The walls were lined with white mana-absorbing tiles.

"According to the brochure, training here increases mana flow efficiency by 300%," I recalled. "Let’s see if the marketing matches the reality."

I could technically increase my total MP by spending Lust Points, but the exchange rate was currently a brutal 100:1. Spending 100 points for a single stat increase was inefficient right now. I needed to train the old-fashioned way.

I booked a private isolation room. Because it was the evening before the Expedition, most students were either resting, socializing, or cramming theory. I had the wing mostly to myself.

I walked into the center of the circular room. A single, smooth obsidian pillar stood in the middle—the interface terminal.

I placed my hand on the cold stone.

Hummmm.

My mana resonated with the pillar. A holographic screen popped up in front of me.

[User Recognized: Alex Edelhart (1st Year)] [Please select a training subject.] [Please select a difficulty level.]

Without any hesitation, I tapped the screen.

Subject: Mana Purification & Circuit Stress Test. Difficulty: High.

To increase my total output and safely harness ambient mana, I had to raise the purity of my own internal reserves. My defective Internal Circuit was like a clogged pipe; I needed to blast it clean.

"Warning," an automated voice chimed. "High difficulty purification can cause severe physical strain. Do you wish to proceed?"

"Yes."

[Initiating Sequence.]

VWOOM.

The bright white room instantly plunged into pitch blackness.

The silence lasted for three seconds. Then, the pressure hit.

"Ugh!"

It felt like I had stepped into a wind tunnel, but instead of air, it was pure, unrefined atmospheric mana crashing into me. It rushed in like a torrential river, battering against my skin and trying to scatter the 13 points of MP I had carefully gathered in my core.

"...Is it like this?" I grunted, planting my feet to avoid being physically pushed back.

The method wasn’t difficult to understand. The room attacked you with chaotic mana. Your job was to defend your core, filter the chaotic energy, and absorb it to refine your own. Every wave I survived would compress my mana, making it denser and purer.

I closed my eyes. I didn’t try to fight the current with brute force.

Instead, I used my Calculation Power: 28.

’Visualize the flow. Map the turbulence.’

In my mind’s eye, the chaotic mana became a complex fluid dynamics equation. I created a defensive flow around my body, a thin shield of my own mana to deflect the worst of the torrents.

I was polishing my mana against the chaotic currents, like sharpening a sword on a grinding stone.

Sparks.

My Internal Circuit flared with pain.

’Still inadequate,’ I clicked my tongue.

Every time my mana shield flickered due to a particularly violent surge, my pride took a hit.

’Just a mere training simulation is pushing me back?’ I thought, annoyed. ’But still... it’s incredibly efficient.’

Although the pain in my chest was sharp, I could sense the refinement happening. The "mud" in my mana veins was being washed away. In comparison to sitting in my room meditating, this was like taking a high-pressure shower.

"Let’s turn it up," I decided.

Instead of just defending, I decided to counter-attack.

To reach the pinnacle of a mage, one must embody a purity of mana capable of encompassing any situation—a clarity that never wavers, no matter the environment. I needed my mana to be like a drop of ink that colors the entire ocean, not a drop of water lost in it.

I gradually infused my own mana into the attacking currents.

"Nnngh...!"

A sharp, searing pain shot through my arms. It felt like sticking a metal fork into an electrical socket. My defective circuit screamed in protest as I tried to reverse the flow.

But I endured it.

It was a pain I was getting used to. Furthermore, the pain was evidence that I was actually stretching my limits.

I pushed harder. I imagined my mana as a virus, latching onto the chaotic room mana and overriding its programming.

’Right here.’

When I felt I had permeated enough of the current, I pulled the trigger.

[System Warning: Extreme Strain Detected in Internal Circuit.]

I ignored the prompt. I generated a massive rotational flow, attempting to engulf the room’s currents in one go.

"Break!"

The physical toll was immediate. I refined my breathing, squeezing my muscles to stabilize my core.

I gritted my teeth. My blood vessels felt like they were inflating. My skin turned a flushed, angry red. The ambient temperature in the room skyrocketed due to the friction of colliding energies.

A faint, metallic scent—the smell of ozone and copper—hit the tip of my nose.

Every part of my body, except my superhuman Stamina, was screaming for surrender. My Strength of 7 couldn’t handle the recoil.

But my mind, armed with a 21st-century stubbornness and the fear of dying as an "extra," refused to yield.

’Just a little further.’

Every second of pain was burning away the impurities.

Cr-crack.

I heard a faint sound inside my chest. Not a bone breaking, but something... unspooling. A knot in my tangled Internal Circuit finally giving way under the immense pressure.

[System Notification: Host’s Willpower recognized.] [Internal Circuit (Defective) has undergone a minor physical correction.] [Mana Output Efficiency increased by 5%.] [Permanent Stat Increase: MP +1]