The Unlimited Ascension: Reborn as an Extra

The day of the graduation finally came. Students drifted from the dormitories toward the grand hall, excitedly preparing for the graduation ceremony. Mostly, third-year students were working around the area, as they were given the task of managing the ceremony under the guidance of the student council committee. The juniors were also joining the grand hall, cheering wildly for the seniors who were going to graduate from the academy after a constant struggle of four long years.

There were various students graduating from different departments. For the first two years, students could choose whatever courses they liked. After those two years, any student could choose two particular courses as a pair which they mainly preferred. For example, some people might choose a pair like magic-summoning as a track, while others preferred magic-combat. Different people have different choices. There was a total of ten different departments, so there were various options available.

But as the years passed, many students were expelled from the academy as they didn’t fit into the competition. Only a few dozen of students were actually able to remain standing until the end of the fourth year.

...

The grand hall was already filled with people. Only the first few rows were relatively empty, as the students who were now about to graduate had yet to arrive.

I looked around and decided to choose a secluded seat in the first row where I would get relatively less attention. Not that it would actually make me genuinely hidden. As much as I wanted to hide myself, my name alone was enough to attract an unprecedented amount of attention.

Why wouldn’t it? After all, I am the son of Sylvia Veridius, one of the most prominent figures in the Human Empire.

She is someone who has already climbed up to the 7th stage of the ’Ascension Realm’ for several decades. And the ’Veridius Family’ was considered one of the most prestigious families around, famous for birthing absolute monsters from generation to generation.

Of course, I don’t consider myself among them. My elder sister had already taken that place, perfectly fit for the position of the heir of the family. On the other hand, I am just an average boy who just wants to live a normal, carefree life.

There is no particular grand goal existing in my life. My path is simple: I want to live a chill, carefree life.

People might consider that a characteristic of laziness. Well, I don’t mind what others think. In my life, what really matters is what I think and consider for myself. People don’t get to point fingers at me, and they don’t get to comment on my life, especially when they themselves have their own heavy problems to deal with. Nobody’s life is truly carefree. Everyone has problems of their own which they have to pass through—just like how I face daily assassins like it is my normal day job.

Whatever. Just as I was in deep thought, reflecting on the different problems in life, the older students—or more appropriately, my classmates—entered the area. The juniors cheered loudly in the back like my classmates were some kind of famous celebrities as they walked toward the first row, waving their hands.

’Sigh... Thank God I came far earlier than them. I don’t want this kind of attention. It makes me feel embarrassed. Whatever...’

I looked straight toward the empty stage, actively ignoring the cheers while wearing my headphones to stop this excess of voices. There was no music playing inside them; I was not planning on listening to anything on today’s occasion. It was just a clever means to avoid excess talks while pretending to listen to a beat. It was a smart method, which also might make others consider me a cold, distant guy.

They think that I am just an arrogant fool of the Veridius family who was born with poor talent, but because of having big pride, I refuse to talk to others. Yeah, it is the most probable line of thinking from another person’s perspective, but I don’t care.

Why would I? There is no need for me to care about what they might think about me. Yeah, I am lazy. Yeah, I may have less talent comparatively from my other family members and my ancestors. Yeah, I don’t have any grand ambition. I am just a person who is living a life because I have to. I also train because there aren’t any other things I have to do. I am just living in chill.

Just as I was thinking about my relaxing life, students walked around, taking seats nearby me. A tall guy with black hair walked down the aisle while waving his hand, aiming his charm especially at the junior girls. He seriously looked more like a dramatic actor than a student. He was giving such a fake smile which made me want to punch him, but I held back and ignored him.

"Yo, Azrael! How is it going? Are you still going to behave like a scumbag today? Come on man, show some activeness."

I ignored him without a word, letting him babble whatever he wanted about me. Behind him, a girl with brown hair appeared as she tapped his shoulder. She was relatively calmer and much simpler than him. She carried herself in silent grace, keeping her behavior to herself while giving a polite, warm smile. She waved her hand at me, which I just replied to with a small, lazy nod.

’Who would even consider that such a guy—who behaves like he is trying to flirt with all the other girls around—would get such a sweet girl as his girlfriend... Ahem! What am I even thinking...’

I kept my thoughts to myself. As more students arrived, I just gave them a polite nod without actually engaging myself in any kind of conversation.

Just as I was peacefully sitting, leaning my chin on my knuckles, a girl entered inside the grand hall. This time, the cheers weren’t just loud; it was like a war had just been announced. Everyone stood up like it wasn’t a graduation ceremony, but instead some kind of grand stadium show.

The girl emerged inside, walking gracefully. Her every step of entrance made the cheers grow even louder; I almost felt like my eardrums were actually going to burst.

She was none other than our campus belle, Leviya Argenuit, the strongest student of the Asterion Academy and also the beautiful star of the entire school. Her academic record of maintaining the top position had never been broken by anyone since the start of her first year. But she was not famous just for that reason. She was famous for her behavior, her grace, and how she spoke with others. She is an extroverted person, a queen of the social circle, a picture-perfect girl whom almost all the students would dream of.

Of course, by all means, excluding me. And the reason for that is incredibly simple... It is because she is my lifelong enemy and rival!

Her eyes looked around at the cheering students, nodding politely, until her gaze finally stopped at me. For a moment, she just stared at me. Our eyes met for a few tense seconds. Invisible electric currents seemed to spark violently between us, before her lips curved into a smile which didn’t quite match the sharpness in her eyes.

"It’s nice to meet you again, Azrael..."

"Yeah, yeah. I know you must definitely feel nice..." I replied calmly. But alas, I couldn’t help but let the words release sarcastically.

"Of course, why wouldn’t I? When such a good guy is sitting on the end looking like someone had stolen his cat?..."

"I am just like this. Do you have any problem with that?..."

A boy with a large, muscular build stepped forward as he blocked my view of her. I looked up at his face with a blank expression, feeling extremely annoyed by the sudden intrusion.

"Don’t you dare comment to her with that language! You should respect her!..."

I pursed my lips, feeling like this guy had definitely come here after eating some shit.

’What is he even going to get by intruding in our bickering? Shitty asshole. It seems he was trying to impress her, but seriously, with that face? Sigh... The world is changing, Azrael. Even a gorilla has gained a spine.’

I just looked away, ignoring both the muscular guy and the girl, focusing on the graduation ceremony. After all, it was of primary importance to me. Whatever else remained came in later terms.

As my focus shifted, beside me the guy with the large build looked at Leviya with his shitty, hopeful smile. Leviya nodded kindly and sat on the seat a few chairs away.

As that guy was going for the empty seat right beside her, she opened her mouth and said, "This seat is booked. My other friends are joining, if it’s okay?..."

That guy looked shocked and embarrassed, but he nodded fast.

"Okay Miss, I will find some other place. Make yourself comfortable..."

As he walked away with his tail tucked, her friends also arrived and sat beside her, filling the seats on both sides of her.

As everyone had finally entered the grand hall, the principal entered the front stage. In reality, even if she had not come, the graduation ceremony would still have commenced. The only reason she entered was because this was the final year she was going to lead the academy. From the next year onward, her son was going to take over the responsibility.

As she stepped forward while looking around at the quieted students, her eyes were sharp even though her tone was warm and soft.

"Hello everyone. First of all, congratulations to every senior student who has passed through various struggles and finally been able to reach here. You were not just students, but also the pride of our academy. As of today, you are not going to remain as students, but you are going to be called full citizens of the Human Empire. You have your own responsibilities to handle. From here on out, you have your own journeys to walk on, and your path is going to decide where it might lead you..."

"So, for now, without taking your time with a long speech, I would like to call the very top student of the academy, who has always remained on the top and is famous for being the star of the academy, Leviya Argenuit. Please come onto the stage."

The girl with striking red hair and bright emerald eyes stood up and walked toward the stage with graceful steps. She climbed the few stairs, reached the stage, and walked toward the principal. The principal nodded proudly after seeing her.

"You are the pride of our academy..."

With a flick of her finger, the principal summoned a box covered with a gift wrapper. But even from a distance, every student still knew exactly what was inside that wrapper. It was the item that every top graduate would get: a legendary Frost Card. With this, she could get any weapon from the private collection of the academy. Since the academy had several legendary artifacts, getting one of them is impossible for most people, but for the student who had graduated with the top score, it was possible.

"Leviya Argenuit, I request you to guide your juniors with a speech."

Leviya nodded as she walked gracefully toward the mic. Her emerald eyes swept through the students as the cheers grew loud again. As her eyes finally landed on me, a small, mischievous smile curved on her lips. I felt a cold chill run down my spine—a sign which definitely pointed that something terribly wrong was going to happen.

As she looked away from me and back to the crowd, she opened her mouth.

"Hello everyone. As you know, I am Leviya Argenuit."