The Extra of The Lunerra

*(A/N: I wrote a bunch of chapters while I was gone even though I couldn’t publish them. I have like... 25 and a half chapters right now. So I’m prepared this time and scheduled everything.

I will not apologize or expect forgiveness. I don’t deserve any of it at this point... I know.

There will be an another chapter in a few hours, though. Just so you know.)*

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"Jack and Cassandra... are slowly starting to move."

I took a tiny sip of my coffee and couldn’t help raising my eyebrows slightly as I looked at the blonde girl with blood-red eyes right in front of me.

"Do you know what they are trying to do?"

Lucia shook her head from side to side. She looked thoughtful, probably trying to guess what we should do.

I put a small smile on my face.

"You don’t have to worry so much. Just giving me this information is enough, actually. Jack and Cassandra... they’re not the ones we need to worry about that much. Instead..."

I put my coffee down on my desk and put my hands together.

"How strong are you, right now? Your performance in the arena was really good, so I can guess a little, but I’m also curious."

Lucia was silent for a moment, her eyes focused on her own coffee on the table. Then, though, she sighed.

"I’m C- grade. It happened a few days after I left the dungeon. But... I don’t feel like I’m that far away from C grade."

"Oh?"

Was she this strong when she was in the game...? I don’t really remember...

The moment when Lucia really started to get stronger, at least in the game, was during the Elhair-Cevilian War. Celine and Julian were the same way.

Did that dungeon... have too much influence on her?

I can see the positive effects, but... could it also have had some negative effects?

"When you were in the dungeon..."

Lucia’s eyes suddenly focused on mine. It was so sudden that I couldn’t help but pause, but I continued anyway.

"Did you feel useless?"

Lucia stood still for a few seconds.

"Having to hide behind Adrian, feeling like a burden... unable to do anything but watch him while he struggles. Is that why you strive to get stronger now? To never feel like that again?"

Every second she couldn’t answer, I became more and more sure of myself. And... all I could do was sigh deeply.

"Don’t forget this feeling, Lucia."

"Huh?"

I put a big smile on my face again.

"Don’t lose sight of your goal, that’s what I’m saying. It is always the goal that takes you higher than where you are. The desire not to be a burden on others, the desire to stand by others... It is quite nice to try to get stronger with these goals. I will tell you one thing, though..."

I leaned back slightly, looking directly into her eyes. I kept my smile on my face, but continued seriously.

"Try not to be crushed by your goals. Because... there will always be someone stronger than you. You can and will be a burden to someone else at any moment... whether you want to be or not. But as these situations happen one after another, don’t let yourself fall further into the darkness, don’t spend all day training and lose yourself. That’s what I’m talking about."

Even now, she spends a very large part of her day in the training building. And... she’s doing it for a long time, which is not healthy.

That’s why I’m having this conversation.

Lucia stood still for a few seconds after my words. Then, she let out a deep sigh, just like I did.

"I get... what you mean. Does it look that bad from the outside...?"

I nodded without answering and Lucia could only smile slightly.

"I... found a new way to get stronger in that dungeon, so I might have gotten a little carried away... I’m sorry if I caused you guys any trouble or worry."

The smile on my face broke slightly, and I raised my eyebrows involuntarily.

"A new way to get stronger?"

Lucia’s expression took on a strange expression. As if... she herself didn’t quite know what she was talking about.

"I’m not very... sure, actually. When it was night in the dungeon, the mana in the atmosphere spontaneously went into an awakened state. And I had to be especially focused every night, channeling my mana, because it was drawn to me so quickly due to my high charm. After being there for so long... I thought I could try it on the unawakened mana too, and it worked."

She closed her eyes slowly, remained where she was for a short time. Then... the mana moving around the room suddenly slowed down, became almost static. But then it started moving again... and instead of the random flow it always had, this time, it had a place it was drawn to: Lucia’s body.

But Lucia didn’t just pull the mana in the room toward her. Whenever any amount of mana got too close to her body, she released them from their dormant state... and the mana that awakened next to her body quickly entered her body and joined her own flow.

The mana already in her body was periodically released into the room to make room for new mana.

It was a really effective method. So much so that... even with my own eyes, I could see and even feel her growing stronger little by little.

But that’s not what I was focused on. More than that... It was the fact that Lucia had learned how to use the charm statistic.

"Woah…"

The charm statistic is not just a statistic about looks, it is much more than that...

In fact, it is perhaps the most functional, the most broken of all the statistics the System shows people...

Because charm is not just a statistical measure of how attractive other people are to someone. It literally means how much everything is attracted to that person.

And so the higher the charm statistic, the easier it is to become stronger. One is constantly attracting mana to oneself without even realizing it.

On top of that, charm is the only statistic that is not only passive, but can also become active as you master it. And Lucia... is starting to be able to do exactly that.

When in the game did she get to the point where she could do that? It must have been long after the Elhair-Cevilian War. Maybe during the first catastrophe?

Isn’t that... a bit too big a change...? Because this will almost multiply her growth rate several times over...

’Wait.’

Sith’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Then I looked at his back with a puzzled expression... because he was looking solemnly at Lucia, right in front of me.

’Did something happen?’

Sith didn’t answer. Instead, he moved closer and closer toward Lucia... almost right in front of her face. Then he turned to me, looked at me. He looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he looked at Lucia again.

’Ah... now I understand.’

My eyebrows furrowed, I involuntarily narrowed my eyes.

’What are you talking about? What happened?’

’Your girlfriend... When you first walked into her house after you woke up, I felt something strange from her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. And all the time you spent with her, I was trying to figure out what it was I was feeling. Now... I get it.’

Sue...?

’What did you find out? Is it serious? Stop beating around the bush and just say what you have to say.’

Sith sighed slightly, his face turned back to Lucia.

’This girl, Lucia... you told her father earlier that she was an Apostle, didn’t you?’

What does that have to do with anything...

’Yes...?’

Sith narrowed his eyes this time. He had... the most serious expression I had ever seen on his face.

’Apostle... Your girlfriend is an Apostle. I’m absolutely certain of it. Whatever happened in that dungeon, she became an Apostle of one of the Lords.’

It was at this moment that Lucia slowly opened her eyes and the mana in the room flowed smoothly again.

"Sorry, sometimes I forget how time flows when I get carried awa-"

She paused, her brow furrowing rapidly, a worried expression on her face.

"Aiden? Are you okay?"

I too paused with her words, my eyes widening slightly as I suddenly felt myself start to sweat.

"Huh? Uh..."

I stood up slowly, smiling slightly as I turned my eyes to her.

"I’m fine... I’m fine. I just had something on my mind, you reminded me of something important."

I paused before heading toward the door.

"Keep getting stronger, Lucia. The method you found... I think it’s very effective. Just... like I said, don’t lose yourself in the pursuit of your goal."

Lucia shook her head with a puzzled expression, as if she didn’t understand what had happened. And with that, I left the room.

’Sith... can you tell whose Apostle Sue is?’

He shook his head from side to side as he moved in front of my eyes.

’No.’

I strained my mind, thinking about the skills she had gained, the change in her stats, and then I paused.

Extremely high charm, a skill to control people, a veiling ability that affected her appearance...

’Attraction.’

The answer is attraction. Sue has become... the Apostle of Attraction.

My brow furrowed. I was lost in thought, oblivious to my surroundings.

Because... there was hardly any information about the Lord of Attraction in the game. She wasn’t among the Lords I’d seen exist, but she was among the known ones.

And... what I knew was not good.

The only thing I knew about the Lord of Attraction was that she was a traitor and she was punished for it. How was she punished? I don’t know. Where was she punished? I don’t know. What was her name? I don’t know.

Total nothingness.

And... Sue became an Apostle of this ’nothingness’.

Someone branded a traitor by the game, by the gods of this world.

’Sith, what do you know about the Lord of Attraction? Tell me everything.’

’Actually... I don’t know much.’

He waited a moment, searching his memory. After a short time, he continued.

’Attracta, that should be her name. She is chained somewhere as a punishment for disagreeing with the rest of the Lords about something. I don’t know anything else.’

’What are the chances of it being... a B grade dungeon?’

Sith narrowed his eyes. He understood what I was trying to say, his expression more serious than ever.

’High. There may have been restrictions placed on her chains so she couldn’t escape. If her power has dropped to B grade because of the restrictions, the dungeon will see her as a mere creature. Or even... a boss.’

"Tch."

After what I heard, I quickened my pace even more.

Finally, after a few minutes, I reached... Sue’s house.