Extra's Descent

Brandon had been carefully meticulous in each aspect of his long–term plan.

He had forged connections within VN entertainment without them knowing he would soon be the reason for the agency's downfall.

Furthermore, he had kept Lianna close enough for her to think he had interest in her.

But at the same time, diverting that interest into the business aspect of the relationship.

After all, if he were to make it obvious that his eyes were set only on her, then there was a chance Lianna would be suspicious.

"You know, if you're wrong, then you're committing a serious crime."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Zed, who was standing right next to Brandon, voiced out his thoughts.

"We're all on the same boat."

Brandon responded with his arms crossed. In front of them were Matthew and Nathan, who were trying to process the data transferred in their system.

Matthew was currently erasing all traces of their carbon footprint on Lianna's interconnected desktop.

Nathan, on the other hand, focused on the streams of data.

The files transferred were scattered across different clusters in the system, each piece heavily encrypted.

"These files aren't whole."

Nathan muttered, eyes transfixed on the monitor.

"It's as if they were deliberately scattered across different locations to make reconstruction harder. I'll need to run a heuristic alignment protocol to find the sequences."

Matthew nodded, focused on his own task.

"I've got the digital trail scrubbed. There shouldn't be any trace left in the original system."

Nathan ran a set of algorithms to identify relational links between the scattered fragments.

"This'll take a while. I'm using pattern recognition to locate connections within the segments, then reconstructing any corrupted data."

Brandon watched Nathan work, his arms still crossed.

"How long until it's pieced together?"

"Hard to say. These segments are buried in multiple layers of encryption, each with separate keys. I'll need to run the decryption simultaneously."

This was the first big–job Brandon had given Nathan.

He had left his training to Zed. At first, Nathan was reluctant to even work with Brandon, however, fear overtook him.

Once he settled in, he realized the opportunity Brandon had given him.

And so, already used to cybercrime, Nathan never questioned Brandon's orders.

At that moment, Nathan stopped typing for a second and turned around, meeting Brandon's gaze.

"Boss, this might take a week. The encryption layers are intense. Whoever set this up didn't want anyone peeking inside."

Brandon nodded firmly.

"Take your time."

Nathan let out a slow breath and returned his focus to the screen.

Brandon glanced at Zed, then back at Nathan.

"Keep me updated on every significant find."

Realizing he wouldn't be of any help, Brandon left shortly after.

It was around 2:00 AM, and he still had lectures for tomorrow.

***

"What do you think about all this, Zed?"

Matthew asked, leaning back in his seat. He was taking turns with Nathan in encrypting the files.

"Not sure what to say. I've never seen Brandon so desperate like this."

It almost seemed like an obsession.

He knew Brandon would get his hands dirty when needed, and Zed wasn't any different.

However, this time, it was rather questionable.

Brandon was acting merely on speculation, yet he had poured in all the resources, as if he were sure about Lianna's identity.

Over the course of two months, Brandon had expanded his network in the business scene, all while attending lectures, and never neglecting training.

He knew Brandon was crazy, but this took the cake.

He had taken obsession to a whole new level.

Breaking up with Amelia, manipulating celebrities and idols, never passing up a single networking event.

He had done everything to rise in the business world quickly.

Each connection he formed, every CEO he charmed, it was all for one purpose.

Brandon had strategically approached Lianna, even leaned into her allure, not falling for it but feeding it.

He'd created a bond with her that seemed genuine enough for her to lower her guard.

The relationship wasn't just professional.

It was almost…. personal.

And all of it was a mask, hiding his obsession to find the perpetrator behind Evelyn's death.

Zed continued.

"He's convinced Lianna's connected to it, somehow. He's not letting up until he has proof."

In fact, Brandon was so sure of it, that he had tasked them for the aftermath already.

Brandon was already preparing for the day he would apprehend her.

"So much work…."

Matthew sighed.

"Imagine if his conjectures were wrong, would he give up?"

Zed shook his head.

"No, I don't see that happening at all. At best, he'll take a break."

At best.

Zed was sure Brandon would find a new lead if his conjectures were actually proven wrong.

Indeed, it was an unhealthy obsession.

***

*Puff*

Brandon leaned on the balcony railings, taking drag on the cigarette. His ink-black hair, which had grown quite long, flowed freely by the cold breeze.

He was inside a new unit he had recently bought after amassing more money over the course of two months.

Behind him was his living room. There were documents scattered all over the room.

Business contracts, profiles of celebrities, scribbled notes from his thesis research, and pages filled with diagrams on magic theory were in disarray.

His life had become a complex web.

One part business strategy, one part academic pursuit, and, underneath it all, a relentless investigation.

Every document held a piece of his plan.

*Puff*

Taking another drag, he stared out at the view.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it.

Most probably, it was text coming from Lianna, or maybe Yizhuo.

"Right."

Next week, apsea was scheduled to perform to mark the start of their world tour.

Brandon was given a free VIP pass to watch the performance set in Britannia Dome.

Over the span of the two months, there had been no Archbishop attacks.

It was a shame since he had prepared for it already.

Brandon turned around, his gaze landing on the document of his research.

"Right, the summit is in two months."

There were two months left for the summit, which would be held in the Anemoi continent.

There was a high chance an Archbishop was there, knowing how discreet their operations were.

"Should I sleep?"

He pondered.

"Nah."

Then shook his head.

Regardless of his meticulous planning, he knew he would struggle against an Archbishop if he was all alone.

"Or maybe not?"

He wasn't sure.

But he wasn't neglecting training at all.

However, it would take a while to advance to S rank. At the moment, he was still S– rank.

If he were to continue training like this, then it was possible he would advance right before the Summit.

And so, Brandon changed into sports clothes and went inside the condo's personal training room.

"Hoo….."

Brandon closed his eyes, feeling the mana course within him.

——————————

∟ [Permafrost]

∟ [Eternal Glaciate] — Complete Mastery

∟ [Glacial Bloom] — Complete Mastery

∟ [Winter's Aegis] — 21%

∟ [Aurora's Embrace] — Locked

∟ [Veil of Eternal Frost] — Locked

——————————

Brandon stepped forward and activated [Glacial Bloom].

Cr… Crack!

At that moment, a layer of ice crystals materialized, hovering right behind him.

Slowly, the crystals weaved itself together as Brandon poured in his mana.

There was no need for any complex circuits, or applying theories to reconfigure the skill's circuit.

The system was doing all of that for him already.

Crack…!

In a graceful yet fearsome bloom, an icy camellia formed behind Brandon.

He focused on the petals, and willed them to respond.

One by one, they began to separate from the bloom, each petal as sharp as a blade, hovering in the air.

He faced the empty training room, where the simulation devices awaited.

He selected a basic wave of monsters for the first round.

A group of orcs.

The system calibrated quickly, and in seconds, several goblins with weapons materialized before him.

Brandon raised his hand, directing a few petals forward with a flick of his wrist.

Feeeeeeew—

They sliced through the air and whistled the advancing orcs.

The first one fell immediately, an ice petal lodged in its throat, the second in its arm.

Without delay, he guided the remaining petals, swirling them that left a trail of frost over the simulation room floor.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

One by one, the goblins dropped.

Brandon barely had time to breathe before a second wave materialized.

Orcs this time. They darted forward with their short blades glinting as they scrambled toward him.

Brandon narrowed his focus.

Feeeeeew—

As the goblins closed in, he flung the petals outwards. The sharp blades sliced through the pack with ease.

As soon as he cleared the wave, he glanced over the simulation controls and increased the difficulty.

This time, a pack of lizardmen materialize before him.

SHIIING—!

Brandishing his sword forward as the camellia's beautiful petals hovered behind him, Brandon dashed forward.

The lizardmen hissed as they closed in, brandishing crude spears and shields.

Brandon charged, his sword gleaming with frost as he swung it in a clean arc.

The first lizardman barely had a chance to react before a petal shot forward, slicing clean through its defenses.

When another lizardman approached, he drove the sword down, unleashing a concentrated wave of frost that expanded from the point of impact.

Swoosh—!

With a flick of his wrist, he directed the petals to orbit around the blade, forming a frosted edge that amplified each strike.

The petals sharpened and elongated sliced outward whenever he struck.

He parried a lizardman's spear, then twisted his grip, releasing a burst of icy shards that exploded from the blade.

Brandon meticulously weaved through the lizardman, multitasking the petals and his sword until he cut through the last one.

"Haaa…. H-haaa….."

The moment the last of the lizardmen dematerialized, Brandon breathed heavily, sweat trickling down his face.

Controlling the petals along with his sword required a lot of mental power.

Three petals he could control autonomously. But the more petals, the more he lost control over them.

[Complete Mastery] only meant the system had successfully processed the skill's circuits.

But it still required effort to utilize the skill.

"Not enough."

Brandon continued training until the sunrise.

Riririiing—

His phone, which he set down on the bench somewhere, suddenly rang.

It was his alarm, indicating that he needed to prepare for his lectures soon.

Brandon returned to his room and showered, changed into new clothes, and went to the academy to attend the first lecture of the day soon after.

It was currently May 3.

It was Amelia's birthday.

His ex-girlfriend.