Strongest Extra In The Academy

Kaidren's thumb lazily slid upward on the screen, the dull light of the blue phone casting shadows over his face. The digital feed of Zbook was abuzz with rapid posts, viral media, and buzzing headlines. Yet amidst the clutter, something caught his eye. His finger paused. A bold headline shimmered slightly against the clean UI design:

"NEW RISING HERO: Tier 2 Logan Pierce Officially Classified as a Dual Esper"

Kaidren raised a brow, intrigued despite himself. Below the headline, a high-resolution photo accompanied the article. The young man in the image looked as if he had walked straight out of a glossy fashion magazine: long, crimson hair tied back with a black ribbon, eyes dark as obsidian, and a sharp tuxedo hugging his frame like it had been tailored by spirits. His expression was calm, confident, almost too perfect.

Over a hundred thousand hearts and likes flooded the reaction bar, with thousands of comments praising his talent and elegance. Kaidren silently scoffed.

"Huh. Pretty boy."

Still, he didn't brush it off.

Tier 2, Dual Esper… That was rare enough to earn a mental bookmark.

Logan Pierce. A name that never once echoed through his memories of Espers of the World.

But this wasn't the game anymore. He had to let go of that frame of reference. What once was a finished storyline now sprawled forward, unscripted and unpredictable.

Kaidren leaned deeper into the couch, fingers steepled below his chin as his mind ran through scenarios. If Logan had never appeared in the game, then it meant one of two things: either Logan was a new figure born from this world's divergence… or he had been hidden within the game's data all along, beneath the veil of unimportant NPCs.

"Doesn't matter," Kaidren muttered softly. "Either way, he's worth watching."

After all, even a pebble, given the right timing, could topple empires.

His thumb moved again, scrolling downward, past endless debates in the comments and retweets from gossip accounts. He wasn't looking for admiration or fanfare. He was after something different. Something strange.

And then he saw it.

A chilling poster image nearly made his finger stop mid-swipe. It depicted a blurry, translucent bird-like head—disembodied, floating in some unknown void. Its form seemed to ripple like vapor, like a dream half-remembered. Pale text in bold white lined the image like a government file folder:

"NEW MONSTER DISCOVERED: Oneiroi. Reaching Caution Level. (MI-6). Joining the Aethonix Category."

Kaidren's eyes narrowed.

Oneiroi?

That… didn't ring any bells. Not from the early chapters of the game. Not from mid-campaign boss arcs. Not even the obscure endgame zones filled with anomaly creatures.

This was new.

And that alone was enough to spike a rare glint of intrigue in his otherwise muted gaze.

He read the words again, whispering them under his breath like a spell.

"Caution Level… MI-6… Aethonix Category…"

His voice was steady, but his mind stirred. MI—Menace Index. He remembered that system. Vaguely. The higher the number, the more devastating the threat. A Level 6 designation wasn't a joke. It meant danger. Something capable of destabilizing small cities… or worse.

But Aethonix Category?

That, he didn't remember at all.

A faint buzz of tension crawled across his skin. He hated not knowing.

Luckily, just above the post, his eyes caught a faded gray link:

"Read more…"

Without hesitation, Kaidren tapped it.

The screen brightened as a detailed news article expanded onto the page.

Breaking News: New Beast Discovered and Classified as Oneiroi

The Monstra Research and Containment Agency (MRCA), under Psi Guardians International (PGI), has confirmed the existence of a new spectral entity officially named Oneiroi.

The discovery was made during a scouting mission led by Tier 4 Esper Heroes Jaxon Lee and Caleb Jankins, who encountered the entity in the outskirts of the quarantined region of Icaros Ridge.

Kaidren's eyes locked onto every line, absorbing it like a sponge. The names meant little to him. Jaxon and Caleb… Tier 4s. Good enough strength for an esper. But what truly mattered was the creature.

Oneiroi Characteristics

A translucent, floating bird-like head described as "dreamlike" and "unsettling," the Oneiroi emits an ethereal aura that distorts perception and causes mild hallucinations in those within proximity.

Director Emily Chen of Cryptid Research and Abigail Martin, Lead Analyst in the Anomalous Life Forms Department, both agree the Oneiroi defies previously documented natural laws.

"This entity doesn't just exist," Martin stated. "It exists outside our understanding of existence."

Kaidren's brow creased.

That statement was worth underlining in his thoughts.

A beast that operates outside known logic?

The deeper he read, the clearer it became—this creature was no joke.

Origin of Name: Oneiroi

The naming was inspired by one researcher's offhand comment: "It looked like something from a dream." The Greek mythological reference was embraced for its poetic accuracy—Oneiroi were the personifications of dreams.

This wasn't a coincidence. Whoever named it saw the symbolism.

Menace Index: MI-6

The current classification marks it as a significant threat. Although it has yet to show direct hostility, its potential for mind manipulation or psychic interference warranted an MI-6 rating.

Research is ongoing, and classification may shift depending on future encounters.

Kaidren exhaled slowly. His thoughts drifted toward the hypothetical.

What if this beast wasn't just rare? What if it was a herald?

In game design, the introduction of strange creatures often foreshadowed deeper plots or system anomalies. Could this be the beginning of an unscripted arc? Or perhaps… the birth of something that had never been coded?

But he quickly reminded himself: this world wasn't bound by programming. These things were alive. Breathing. Thinking. Dangerous.

He scrolled further.

MRCA Structure Overview

Director of Cryptid Research: Emily Chen – Oversees all studies related to spectral and cryptid entities.

Lead Analyst of Anomalous Life Forms: Abigail Martin – Primary strategist for behavior analysis.

Tier 4 Field Agents: Jaxon Lee and Caleb Jankins – First contact observers.

Containment Teams – Active specialists currently deploying survey tech and nonlethal traps across the Icaros perimeter.

What's Next?

The MRCA will continue investigating the Oneiroi's origin and behavior. Future updates will be released pending containment efforts and theoretical classification reassessment.

The article ended there, with a clinical but ominous tone. Kaidren closed the article with a swipe, a slight frown tugging at the edge of his mouth.

"So even the researchers are unsure of what it is…"

His voice trailed off, spoken only to the empty air.

He leaned back, letting his body sink into the couch cushions as his mind whirled in quiet thought. His finger hovered over the screen again, ready to scroll—but now, the spark of curiosity had deepened into something else.

Wariness.

If the world was already producing creatures like this, what else lay in wait beneath the surface?

He didn't care that MRCA was under PGI. He didn't trust either organization. What mattered now was information—and Kaidren had every intention to stay ten steps ahead.

The phone screen refreshed again as Kaidren resumed his scroll, eyes sharp and guarded. His finger paused mid-motion as a new headline came into focus. A large image of an aged, brown parchment filled the center of the screen—its texture cracked and ancient, as though pulled from the ruins of a long-lost civilization. Strange symbols spiraled across the material, drawn in thick black ink like an abstract painting unraveling some forgotten tongue.

Below the image, bold white letters stretched across the frame:

NEW TYPE OF GLYPHSCROLL INVENTED: TELEPORTATION – AVAILABLE FOR LARGE USAGE IN DECEMBER

Kaidren blinked slowly. A teleportation scroll? He remembered that one well. Back in his Earth days, or more accurately, his days inside Espers of the World, it was a commonly used item—indispensable, even. His expression didn't shift, but internally, a soft acknowledgment passed through his thoughts. It wasn't surprising… yet it held weight.

"Useful," he muttered under his breath, his voice calm and measured. His eyes lingered on the scroll's patterns. "I'll need a stockpile of these when the time comes."

Teleportation meant fast travel. It meant options. And options, in this world, could be more powerful than raw strength.

He swiped down again.

New headlines flashed in succession, each pulsing with fresh reactions and shares. One, in particular, caught his eye—a different tone, sharper, heavier.

BREAKING NEWS: APEX RANK CLAN 'KAIROS CIRCLE' AND APEX RANK CLAN 'ECHOFLUX' AGREE TO KESSEN TO RESOLVE DISPUTE

The post exploded with tens of thousands of shares and speculations in the comment section. A joint press release photo showed two shadowed figures facing opposite directions, backlit by lightning—emblems of their respective clans glowing faintly against the mist.

Kaidren's eyes narrowed slightly. Apex-ranked clans disputes.

That was no small matter.

These were giants—monolithic factions second only to the Genesis Rank, which sat alone atop the esper hierarchy. Apex clans commanded entire cities. Their influence stretched far beyond battles; they could shape economies, dictate policies, and even bent local laws to their will.

Yet, what truly drew his interest wasn't the names.

It was the word.

Kessen.

The corner of his lip twitched—so subtly it might've gone unnoticed, even to himself.

Kessen... it's been a while.

A ritualized form of conflict resolution between esper clans. Formal and structured. Kaidren recalled its mechanics vividly. Each clan would send representatives—usually their strongest combatants—to fight under official conditions. The matches were intense showcases of strategy, strength, and skill, and above all, pride.

Victory meant everything.

But the Kessen wasn't just about the clans.

It was about the stakes.

Winners took all. Losers faded in shame.

And for outsiders watching from the shadows?

There was profit.

Kaidren stared at the headline, fingers still, mind already spinning. The betting systems around Kessen matches were legendary—especially in the Underground. Back on Earth, when he'd followed the game through fan forums and internal leaks, he'd once made ridiculous virtual money through analyzing match-ups and betting smart.

He almost smiled again.

Almost.

A chance to earn real capital, he thought. If the same betting system still exists here…

He leaned back slightly, letting his thoughts unspool.

The memories from Earth had gaps—fragmented shards of a life where he once controlled outcomes with meta knowledge. But here? Things had changed. This world wasn't as programmable. He no longer had perfect foresight. But that didn't mean he was powerless.

He just had to adapt.

The key is information.

If a Kessen match between two Apex clans was happening soon, the Underground would already be buzzing. Sellers would be moving, digging into each side's roster, analyzing esper abilities, posting odds. Statistics would flow like rivers. Forums, both legal and hidden, would be brimming with predictive data.

He could navigate that.

He would own that.

Kaidren's eyes glazed over momentarily, already calculating.

I'll need to place my bets before the public floods the system. If I act early, the payout margins could triple.

But then came the question—when?

There was no date yet. No location. No concrete time. Just the announcement and the storm it stirred.

He exhaled through his nose, a quiet sigh of deliberation.

"I'll wait," he murmured. "But not for long."

His gaze flicked to the small icon hovering at the corner of the post—Add to Watchlist. Without a word, he tapped it. The post shimmered, marked for auto-notifications. Whenever the clans announced the match details, he'd be the first to know.

Kaidren leaned forward again, scrolling once more. As he did, a quiet grin ghosted his lips—barely perceptible, but there.

He was still broke.

Still in a temporary apartment, an assigned job at Dimerian Store by the robbing system.

But that wouldn't last.

Not if he bet right.

Not if he turned knowledge into currency.

Not if he was willing to play a little bit dirty, just like this world already did.