Chronicles of Forgotten Extra

After the chaotic dinner with Nyx, Alden finally arrived at his destination.

A mountain range stretched in front of him.

Grapevine Mountain Range.

Many jagged peaks could be seen above, covered in drifting white fog.

Somewhere among them, where not many people had reached till now, was what he sought.

A dungeon.

It wasn't the recurring kind, like the one he had previously completed. This dungeon didn't have fixed layouts and predictable patterns like it.

No.

Today's challenge was a Flux Dungeon.

It was a rare and ever-adapting type of dungeon that adapted itself based on the intruder's capabilities.

Nobody truly understood how they worked—not even the most brilliant dungeon theorists.

These dungeons didn't operate on rules. They reacted and shifted their shape in real time.

Even Alden was confused; how could they even exist?

One moment, a field of mutated wolves.

The next, a collapsing canyon flooded with poison.

A living system.

Perfect.

But the one Alden was after wasn't just any type of Flux Dungeon.

It was a special one.

It had something else which no dungeon had.

Most importantly, it was a hidden dungeon.

It remained undiscovered—not just because it was well hidden but because no one who entered that dungeon ever lived to tell the tale.

It was dangerous and brutally selective.

It didn't just adapt itself—it forced you to adapt as well.

The dungeon balanced all intruders to the level of the weakest.

It reminded him—too much—of the one Gretta had thrown him into.

This dungeon followed a similar style.

But this wasn't an artificial creation. It was a dungeon with its own laws.

He climbed through the difficult mountain range for hours. With his superhuman strength and stamina, it wasn't really much difficult.

Alden sighed in his heart as he looked at the white crow flying above without a care.

Tsk… this damned bird. At least pretend to help.

Kyun circled lazily in the sky above.

Except for occasional screeching at clouds and chasing some birds away like they owed her rent.

She wasn't helping—just sightseeing.

It was Alden who located the entrance.

He'd spread his [Spirit Domain], stretching his senses through all around him.

He took note of every small crack or something similar he could find.

His [Monarch of Mana] helped him with mana sensing. He tried to sense even the minute disturbance of mana within the air.

Every resistance gave him another hint.

Then his [Eyes of Supreme] helped him peer through any illusions whatsoever.

After walking for a few more hours, Alden's steps came to a halt.

In front of him was a suspicious mountain wall. He focused his [Eyes of Supreme].

Something shifted.

The wall glowed slightly as the illusion was lifted.

He saw a crack covered in illusion.

Crude, but effective.

To the untrained eye, it was just a rock wall.

But to him?

A narrow gap waited there.

He passed through it with a single step.

The scene changed immediately as if he had passed through a portal.

A small cave greeted him.

And in its centre, a calm pond stood silently—

It looked perfectly still and depthless.

No flickering runes. No ominous pressure.

No fanfare.

Just a body of water that swallowed light like a void.

To most, it would look like nothing more than a pool formed naturally over time.

Maybe a decorative water body, if you were particularly poetic.

But Alden knew better.

No one else had ever survived it. At least, no one besides the two people in the novel.

Unlike other dungeons, this one stole from the dead.

It extracted some of the skills of intruders who perished inside.

It didn't just kill you.

It robbed you.

And yet, Alden wasn't afraid.

Not because of arrogance—but because he knew the method to beat it.

This is it.

A smirk appeared on his face.

This wasn't a dungeon someone could just stumble into. Not unless they had immense luck or plot armour.

So how had he found it?

Simple.

He'd remembered it.

From the novel.

He recalled the memory about the dungeon.

One of the female leads of the novel – an annoying one at that – had found this dungeon first.

Seles.

She had stumbled into this cave by mistake while she and Lucien were injured by a villain.

Not just an ordinary villain mob but a proper demon prince of the pride clan.

Just when their fate was sealed and Lucien was on the verge of dying, she stumbled into this place.

A flux dungeon.

She entered the dungeon with Lucien.

Obviously the demon prince followed as well.

But unfortunately for him, the dungeon made realms of all intruders and monsters equal.

The demon prince, stripped of his overwhelming power, didn't stand a chance.

The demon prince lost. His skills and techniques were extracted by the dungeon.

And Seles and Lucien found free loot.

Seles had received one of her future signature skills which was extracted from the demon prince.

Although he couldn't get that skill, as the demon prince wasn't supposed to be in the dungeon at this point in time.

But the dungeon was still a treasure trove.

It handed her numerous monster cores. Every monster in this dungeon, no matter the rank, had cores in their body.

Many lower-rank skills from previous intruders were also present in the dungeon.

Although most of them were useless according to Seles. He could still sell them for contribution points from the Luminous Accord or money.

Seles had found another one of her signature skills in this dungeon too.

A charm-enhancing skill that permanently buffed her looks.

Her face got even more prettier after recieving that skill.

Alden had no interest in that part.

I am already too damn handsome.

Still, Alden couldn't stop his giggles when he thought about stealing her chance.

That bitch deserves it.

But this wasn't the only reason for him to come to this dungeon.

His main focus was to refine his usage of skills and techniques.

He still had a week before the academy started again. He wanted to take advantage of this period as much as possible. He didn't know what kind of chaos awaited him after this.

The skills and cores he'll get from them will just be collateral.

He stepped closer to the pond.

The cold air brushed against his skin like a warning.

Behind him, Kyun fluttered once and gave a tired sound.

Her wings dipped low, then folded inward.

Finally bored of bird-watching, she floated toward him—then disappeared into his shadow without a word.

A soft pulse of mana echoed in his chest.

[Shadow of Spirit Guardian] activated.

Alden's shadow had gained a special effect due to his bond with Kyun.

It was due to the title he had received after he bonded with her.

[Guardian of Spirit]

It had turned his bond with her into something rare.

Unlike normal contracts or bonds, where spirits were guardians, she wasn't the protector—he was the protector.

The title also gave him the ability to access Void Veil, though using it was suicidal.

He'd tried it once. Barely lasted ten seconds before it felt like someone had torn open his soul with a ladle.

He didn't intend to use it again unless he had to.

Not yet.

The shadow, though—that was useful.

It became a haven for Kyun. Somewhere she could retreat, rest, and most importantly—stop embarrassing him in public.

But obviously she didn't listen to him.

He had tried to convince her to enter his shadow when he was leaving the dorms, but she didn't do it.

The result was a chaotic dinner with Nyx.

She only ever obeyed when she was tired.

Classic Kyun.

He could feel her now. Faint, but still near.

She was sleepy.

He let out a quiet breath.

It's better this way.

I could focus solely on the dungeon now.

He never intended to let Kyun fight.

What kind of guardian lets a newborn fight right?

He had only brought her here because he couldn't afford to leave her alone at the academy.

Although nobody could see her, if she decided to hide, it was still dangerous.

And it could make things complicated for him if someone did discover her existence.

He dismissed his wandering thoughts, taking a deep breath.

Let's see what I have in store in this dungeon.

The entry point that nobody knew about.

The place where the novel's chosen heroine stumbled into plot-boosting fortune.

But Alden?

He didn't stumble.

He walked in knowing full well the odds.

He stood at the pond's edge, gaze focused on the calm surface.

No wind.

No sound.

Just silence and the faint pressure of a world holding its breath.

He raised a foot, letting it float over the water—

And stepped in.

No splash.

No ripple.

Just absence.

Reality cracked.

Light vanished.

His vision blurred—then dissolved completely.

The dungeon had accepted him.

And began to read him.

He didn't resist.

Let it see.

Let it adapt.

Let it evolve.

Because that was the point, wasn't it?

He came here to refine himself—

So let it begin.