The Extra is a Genius!?
Chapter 208: Varn’s Hollow

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Varn’s Hollow

The last class had ended, but Noel wasn’t heading back to his room.

Instead, he walked alone through one of the side exits of the academy, the heat of the day finally fading into a golden breeze. The towers of Valon stretched behind him, glowing orange in the dusk light.

The road ahead was quiet.

"I haven’t been there in months," he murmured, mostly to himself.

He looked down at the small shadow moving beside him.

"Noir."

The shadow pulsed once — then out of it leapt a small, sleek creature: Noir, in her default compact form. She walked calmly beside Noel, her ears twitching and nose sniffing the wind.

"It was the first place I hunted monsters," Noel continued, his voice quieter now. "Honestly... it helped. A lot. I just want to see how far we’ve come."

Noir didn’t speak, of course. But her tail flicked once, as if in agreement.

Varn’s Hollow wasn’t too far, but it sat outside the fortified perimeter of Valon. Past the cobbled roads, beyond the quiet farmlands and sparse watchtowers, the terrain became rough — a rocky forested region where low-tier monsters still roamed.

Noel ran once he cleared the last guard post.

With his Adept-level mana core, his speed was near inhuman. Trees blurred past as he sprinted with Revenant Fang strapped across his back and his pouch of supplies bouncing lightly at his hip.

[Current Core Progress: 55.35% – Mana Core: Adept]

The numbers echoed in the back of his mind.

The sky had already darkened when he reached the edge of the hollow. The air grew cooler here, denser with the scent of bark, earth, and decay. A thick canopy of branches blocked most of the moonlight, and the jagged rocks jutting from the soil gave the place an almost predatory feel.

But Noel smiled faintly.

’Just like I remembered...’

Varn’s Hollow.

Where it all began.

He reached into the pouch at his belt and pulled out Revenant Fang, feeling its familiar weight settle into his hand. It pulsed faintly — not alive, but sharp with anticipation.

At his side, Noir growled softly and began to expand, her form stretching upward until she reached 2.5 meters of lean muscle and glinting fur. Her claws shimmered faintly with mana. His fangs dripped from sheer instinct.

"Well then," Noel said, glancing up at his companion. "Shall we?"

Noir lowered her body, eyes scanning the treeline.

The hunt was about to begin.

The first growl came from between the rocks.

Noel didn’t even flinch.

A Spined Howler leapt into view — all twisted muscle, bone spines, and glowing mana veins pulsing across its chest. It moved on all fours like a broken thing, its maw opening beneath a helmet of raw horn.

Noel tilted his head.

"Voltage Needle."

A crackling bolt of lightning burst from his fingertips and pierced through the Howler’s skull before it could finish its lunge. The beast dropped mid-leap, twitching once before going still.

[You have slain Spined Howler (Common – Novice). You received 0.02%.]

Noel rolled his eyes.

’Tch. What garbage rewards.’

Another set of claws scuttled from the underbrush — a Vein Crawle crawling across a nearby boulder, its body twitching with rot and exposed nerves.

It didn’t get far.

A shadow streaked past Noel.

Noir, now fully transformed, stood at nearly 2.5 meters, her sleek black fur rippling with mana. The purple glow along her spine and legs pulsed with energy as she slammed the beast into the ground with a single paw, crushing its ribcage like paper.

She didn’t growl. She didn’t roar.

She simply moved to the next target.

From the side of the clearing, the twisted form of a Marrow Beast cluster stumbled into view — multiple creatures fused together, their limbs bound by corrupted tendons and rot. A pitiful excuse for a threat.

Noel didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

"Flare Trap."

A soft glyph lit beneath the cluster’s lead foot.

It stepped.

FWOOOM. A vertical column of fire incinerated the entire front section of the fusion, and before the rest could even scream, Noir was already tearing through the flank.

Claws ripped. Jaws snapped.

Within seconds, four bodies lay dismantled, most of them in pieces so small they were unrecognizable.

Noel stepped through the blood-misted air, his blade humming softly.

"Ignition Surge."

Revenant Fang burst into flame as he cleaved the last twitching torso from shoulder to hip. No resistance. Just wet sound and silence.

[You have slain Marrow Beast (Common – Novice). You received 0.02%.]

[You have slain Marrow Beast (Common – Novice). You received 0.02%.]

[You have slain Marrow Beast (Common – Novice). You received 0.02%.]

A flicker of movement above.

Glass Maw. Transparent skull. Long arms. Creeping across the rocks to flank.

Noel pointed without turning.

"Glacialis."

The ice projectile ripped through its jaw and out the top of its head. The creature froze mid-movement, then cracked and fell apart as it hit the rocks below.

[You have slain Glass Maw (Common – Novice). You received 0.02%.]

Noir rejoined him quietly, her black fur glistening with streaks of dark blood. Her purple accents pulsed softly under the moonlight. Her belly looked slightly rounder — she’d devoured more than her fair share.

Noel sheathed Revenant Fang with a flick, wiping his hand on his coat.

Not a scratch on him.

’I didn’t even use real spells.’

He opened his status briefly.

[Current Core Progress: 56.55% – Mana Core: Adept]

He sighed.

’One percent for all that? Pathetic.’

Still... it felt good.

Not the progress — the power.

The night air was cooler now. The forest behind them was silent, stripped of threats. Even the insects seemed to keep their distance.

Noel walked at a calm pace along the dirt path back toward Valon, the sky above dotted with stars, the horizon faintly glowing with the city’s light.

Beside him padded Noir, once again in her smaller form, but clearly... heavier.

He glanced down at her and smirked.

"Hey, don’t think I didn’t notice," he said, nudging her side with his boot. "Did your stomach get bigger, or are you just full of monster meat?"

Noir didn’t react at first — then let out a soft, satisfied huff, her tail swaying slowly as she walked.

Noel chuckled.

"You’re lucky you’re cute, you know that?"

She bumped against his leg gently, eyes closed, clearly enjoying the stroll — or the digestion.

The trees thinned as they neared the outer wall of Valon. Distant lights from the academy flickered atop the hills beyond.

Noel glanced up at them, then exhaled deeply.

"Hard to believe it’s only been a year," he muttered.