The Extra Who Inherited Ragnarok

Noah couldn’t move.

The fragment lay in the dirt between his fingers.

The vision was gone, but its presence remained.

Three moons.

Three guardians.

Three symbols.

His breathing became uneven.

Laura crouched beside him.

"Noah. Look at me."

He slowly raised his eyes.

Laura placed a hand against his shoulder.

"What did you see?"

Noah hesitated.

"I don’t know."

"Try."

He looked toward the sky.

"I saw the three moons."

Damien’s expression changed.

"The moons?"

Noah nodded.

"There was a dragon beneath one. A serpent beneath another. And a bear beneath the third."

Luna looked at the metal fragment.

"Those symbols."

Damien picked it up carefully.

He studied the engraving.

"These aren’t random."

Noah looked at him.

"You recognize them?"

"Not exactly."

Damien turned the fragment over.

"There are records of ancient guardian symbols, but they’re incomplete."

Laura’s eyes narrowed.

"Guardian symbols?"

Damien nodded.

"Stories, mostly. Nothing reliable."

Noah stared at the fragment.

"Then why did I see them?"

Nobody answered.

The tournament announcement suddenly echoed through the forest.

"Twenty minutes remaining."

Damien looked at their marker.

"We should move."

Laura nodded.

"We can investigate later."

Noah stood.

He looked at the fragment one last time.

Then placed it in his pocket.

"Yeah."

They continued through the forest.

But Noah couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed.

Elsewhere, the Hunt had become chaotic.

Contestants were desperate for points.

Groups hunted high-value targets.

Some formed temporary alliances.

Others betrayed their teammates the moment they saw an opportunity.

The forest became filled with explosions and shouting.

Reinham continued fighting.

Jordan was climbing the rankings.

And several unknown contestants from lower-ranked academies had begun making names for themselves.

One of them was Soren Vale, a quiet fighter from Veynholm Academy.

He had defeated three opponents without saying a word.

Another was Mira Solenne from Elementro, who specialized in creating floating blades of condensed energy.

The tournament was no longer about the famous prospects alone.

Everyone wanted their moment.

Noah’s group reached Zone Five.

A ruined stone bridge crossed a narrow river.

Damien checked their marker.

"Three contestants nearby."

Laura drew her weapon.

"Again?"

Noah smiled.

"Apparently we’re popular."

A voice came from across the bridge.

"Blackwood!"

A young man stepped forward.

He wore the colors of Volstra Academy.

Two others followed.

The young man pointed toward Noah.

"We want your points."

Noah sighed.

"Everyone keeps saying that."

The Volstra contestant grinned.

"Then give them to us."

He attacked.

Noah stepped forward.

Their fists collided.

BOOM!

The Volstra fighter staggered.

Noah followed with a sweeping kick.

The opponent blocked.

Laura moved in.

Her blade flashed.

The other two contestants immediately joined.

Luna disappeared into the trees.

Damien raised a barrier.

The fight became chaotic.

Noah ducked beneath an attack.

Laura blocked another.

Luna appeared behind one of the fighters.

CRACK!

He dropped.

Damien’s barrier shattered.

Noah turned.

A blade was heading straight toward Damien.

Noah moved without thinking.

Fire exploded from his body.

BOOM!

The attacker flew backward.

Noah stood between him and Damien.

His flames flickered.

Orange.

Then...

For a fraction of a second...

Maroon.

Noah’s expression tightened.

Not again.

A whisper echoed inside his head.

"Protect them."

Noah froze.

That wasn’t the same voice.

The whisper disappeared.

His flames returned to normal.

Laura had noticed.

But she didn’t say anything.

Not here.

Not now.

The remaining contestants surrendered.

Their markers transferred their points.

Damien checked the result.

"We’re fifth."

Noah smiled.

"Not bad."

Laura looked toward the forest.

"We should keep moving."

Noah nodded.

But before they could leave...

A distant explosion shook the trees.

BOOOOOOM!

Then another.

BOOM!

Damien looked toward the source.

"That’s not normal."

Luna pointed.

"Zone Three."

Noah’s expression changed.

That’s where the forbidden ruins were.

Across the forest...

Joseph stood in front of another contestant.

A student from Elementro.

The student was injured.

"Why are you doing this?"

Joseph said nothing.

The black-orange glow returned around his hand.

The Elementro student raised his weapon.

"You’ll be disqualified!"

Joseph stepped forward.

"I know."

His opponent attacked.

Joseph disappeared.

A heartbeat later...

The student crashed into the ground.

Joseph stood over him.

He didn’t finish the attack.

Instead, he looked toward the forbidden ruins.

His expression was cold.

"The objective isn’t you."

He turned away.

The student stared after him.

"Then... who?"

Joseph didn’t answer.

Noah’s group reached the edge of Zone Three.

The restricted ruins were visible beyond the trees.

Ancient towers rose from the earth.

Their surfaces were covered in carvings.

Dragon.

Serpent.

Bear.

And above the largest structure...

Three enormous circular symbols.

Like three moons.

Noah’s heart began pounding.

Laura grabbed his arm.

"Don’t."

Noah looked at her.

"I wasn’t going to."

She didn’t believe him.

Neither did he.

Then a deep sound came from beneath the ruins.

BOOOOOOM.

The ground cracked.

A thin line of crimson light emerged from beneath the ancient structure.

Noah’s eyes widened.

His Ragnarok reacted violently.

[Resonance increasing.]

Noah staggered.

Laura caught him.

"What is happening?"

Noah gritted his teeth.

"I don’t know."

Another notification appeared.

[Unknown ancient energy detected.]

Then...

A final message.

[Ragnarok recognizes this energy.]

Noah’s blood ran cold.

He stared at the ruins.

"Ragnarok... recognizes it?"

Laura’s expression changed.

For the first time, even she looked genuinely frightened.

Because whatever was sleeping beneath Hildgard...

Ragnarok already knew it.

Noah stared at the message floating before his eyes.

[Ragnarok recognizes this energy.]

The words remained for only a few seconds.

Then disappeared.

Noah’s breathing slowed.

Laura was still holding his arm.

"What did it say?"

Noah looked at her.

"Ragnarok recognized whatever is beneath those ruins."

Laura’s expression became serious.

She glanced toward the ancient structure.

"Then we leave."

Damien looked surprised.

"Already?"

"Yes."

Laura didn’t hesitate.

"We aren’t supposed to be here."

Noah looked back at the ruins.

He wanted answers.

But something inside him was telling him to stay away.

For once, he listened.

"She’s right."

The group turned away.

Then the ground trembled again.

BOOM.

A crack opened beneath the ancient structure.

A faint crimson light leaked through.

Noah stopped.

Laura grabbed his sleeve.

"Don’t."

"I know."

He forced himself to keep walking.

They had barely reached the boundary of Zone Three when another announcement echoed through the forest.

"The Hunt has ended."

A massive bell rang.

BOOOONG!

The markers around every contestant’s wrist began glowing.

"All contestants must return to the designated extraction points."

Across the forest, students began emerging from the trees.

Some were exhausted.

Some were injured.

Some were celebrating.

Others were furious.

The Hunt had ended.

But nobody knew what had happened beneath the ruins.

Not yet.

At the extraction point, the rankings appeared.

1. ASGARD

2. ELEMENTRO

3. MILGARD

4. VALHALLA

5. VOLSTRA

Reinham’s expression darkened.

"Again."

Flora looked at him.

"We’re still second."

"I know."

He clenched his fist.

"We’re taking first."

Jordan overheard him.

He laughed.

"You’ve been saying that since yesterday."

Reinham turned.

"Because it’s going to happen."

Jordan smiled.

"Then try."

The two stared at each other.

Neither backed down.

John stepped between them.

"Save it for the battlefield."

Jordan laughed.

"Fine."

Reinham walked away.

But the rivalry between Asgard and Elementro had become impossible to ignore.

Noah returned to the Valhalla section.

Eric immediately approached.

"There you are!"

Noah smiled.

"Miss me?"

"No."

Eric paused.

"Actually, yes."

Noah laughed.

Eric looked at his injuries.

"You’re bleeding again."

"It’s nothing."

"That’s becoming your favorite sentence."

Damien joined them.

"The Hunt was successful."

Eric looked at the scoreboard.

"Fourth?"

Damien nodded.

Eric sighed.

"We need better teamwork."

Luna quietly added:

"We did well."

Everyone looked at her.

She shrugged.

"We survived."

Noah smiled.

"That’s true."

Laura stood nearby.

She looked toward the forest.

Her expression was distant.

Noah noticed.

"Something wrong?"

Laura shook her head.

"No."

He didn’t believe her.

But he didn’t push.

Later that evening, the academy representatives gathered inside the central hall.

The fifteen academy headmasters sat above the main floor.

The Hildgard representative stood in the center.

"We have completed the first three major events."

A projection displayed the rankings.

"As the tournament continues, the difficulty will increase."

Several students murmured.

The representative continued.

"The next events will determine which academies receive priority placement for the final rounds."

The room became quieter.

Then he smiled.

"And tomorrow..."

The projection changed.

EVENT SIX

DUAL COMBAT

"Pairs will be formed from different academies."

The crowd erupted.

Noah looked toward Laura.

Laura smiled.

"Looks like we’re fighting together."

Noah nodded.

"Probably."

Damien frowned.

"Probably?"

Noah shrugged.

"We don’t know the pairings."

Eric grinned.

"This could be interesting."

Across the hall...

Alcris watched Noah.

He wasn’t listening to the announcement.

His eyes were focused entirely on him.

His perception activated.

For a brief moment, the world changed.

He could see the flow of energy within Noah.

Orange.

Hot.

Dense.

Then beneath it...

Something darker.

Alcris’s eyes widened slightly.

The deeper energy wasn’t simply circulating.

It seemed to have its own rhythm.

Almost like another presence was sleeping inside Noah.

Alcris whispered:

"...What are you?"

A smile slowly formed.

He wanted to know.

No.

He needed to know.

At the opposite side of the hall, Daniela suddenly turned.

She looked directly toward Alcris.

Her perception had caught something unusual.

For a moment...

Their eyes met.

Neither spoke.

Alcris smiled.

Daniela’s expression remained unreadable.

Then she looked away.

She didn’t know what her brother was thinking.

She didn’t know what he had been doing.

And she certainly didn’t know what he was beginning to investigate.

But something about his energy felt different.

That night, Noah stood outside beneath the three moons.

The city was peaceful.

Almost too peaceful.

He looked at the sky.

Then at his hand.

A tiny flame appeared.

Orange.

Normal.

He whispered:

"Why did you recognize it?"

No answer.

The flame disappeared.

Then, somewhere far beneath the city...

A faint sound echoed through the earth.

Three pulses.

One.

Two.

Three.

Noah looked toward the ground.

His eyes narrowed.

And far below...

Three ancient symbols slowly illuminated.

Dragon.

Serpent.

Bear.

The tournament continued above them.

But something much older had already begun moving beneath Hildgard.