Infinite Cube: Extra's Life in Another World

(Kai's POV)

I am uncertain if time flows differently in Meltonia, as the author never went into detail about it, but the next day passed in a blur, and before I knew it, the day of the expedition had arrived.

I had already sent Ivy off to the beast glands, as I needed her to become an expert before the Professor Deerheart incident.

"I hope she stays okay." Kai immediately brushed off the depressing feeling of not having Ivy around. "At least I would look forward to her cooking."

Waking up early that Saturday morning, unsure how long the trip would last. I couldn't rely on Matt's assurance that it would be a three-hour journey, and there was still the off chance that something unexpected might occur.

"I can practically smell the danger in the air."

I sighed as I left the house shirtless. Waking up early was never my favorite activity, and I rubbed my eyes as I inhaled the crisp morning breeze.

[Refreshing, isn't it?]

"I guess so."

My face darkened at the thought of venturing far south into demon territory.

Unlike elves and dragons, demons were merciless, living only for bloodshed and the embrace of Chaos, with no will of their own.

The Chapter covering the eventual downfall of the demonic humans and their demonic contractors suddenly flashed in my mind, bringing a soft smile to my lips.

From what I knew about the beast glands, it would take Ivy about a week to reach there, and considering her talents, she would advance to the Expert rank a week before the Deerheart incident.

But I already knew placing my hopes on her return wasn't wise, as the incident could happen at any time. I would honestly prefer it to occur a week from now, before the meeting with the parliament.

Picking up my wooden training sword and spear, I made my way to the training ground.

The training ground was a mess, mainly due to the duel I had with Ivy after she brought back the Shinto siblings.

My mind flashed back to the brutal and chaotic fight.

"She is really strong for an apprentice."

The air was crisp, and my body felt light. Before I knew it, I had completed my daily training, and the system chimed in my head, revealing the rewards.

Dismissing it, my vision briefly glitched as Joshua's figure appeared before me.

This was a feature Alpha had recently learned, allowing her to project any enemy I had fought so I could practice against them, though they couldn't still harm me so it wasn't that exhilarating.

I instantly maxed out the projected Joshua's stats and began the duel.

The sun was rising, but I didn't care.

"Got to practice, never know what will happen," I muttered as I lunged at Joshua.

------

Kai had tried to contact his two teammates, but for some reason, there was no response. He also tried reaching out to other people he was close to, but still, nothing.

Sighing, Kai locked his door and headed for the front gate.

He folded up the sleeve of his white baggy shirt, unbuttoning it until the third button.

His wrists were adorned with three bracelets, and a silver chain hung from his neck, with a single earring dangling from his left ear.

Pulling a black face mask from his straight black trousers, which his shirt was loosely tucked into despite the presence of a belt, he donned the mask and left the house.

Today, he didn't need to carry a bag, as he could use the storage ring Ivy had gotten him.

He didn't have to wear the school's uncomfortable shoes either, opting instead for his own neat black shoes.

"I made the right choice ordering all this when I got the money," Kai muttered as he landed on the road in front of the ruined skyscraper.

As he approached the front gate, Kai noticed other students also wearing outing clothes and heading in the same direction.

'Don't tell me today is a free outing day.'

[Must definitely is.]

Ignoring the female students who made him feel uncomfortable, Kai dialed Matthew's number again.

'Just pick up the damn call.'

The phone clicked as a voice came through on the other side.

"Hello, Kai," Matthew greeted, his usual friendly tone evident.

"Where are you?" Kai asked nonchalantly.

The phone went silent, and a figure waved at Kai behind a sky-blue bus.

'I thought we were using the portal gate.'

[Maybe he knows your teammates aren't with you.]

Kai highly doubted such a scenario. The most Matthew might do, instead of wasting time, was call any useful person he had ever talked to and add them to the team.

[It wouldn't be bad if he did all the work.]

'What if he calls the wrong person?'

[... Hahahaha.]

'Why are you suddenly laughing?'

[Sorry... it's just funny for a loner like you to care about someone calling the 'wrong person.']

'I have friends too.'

[Name ten friends you have.]

As soon as Kai opened his mouth to speak, he quickly shut it. Just as Alpha had said, Matthew had already called everyone he had talked to.

Elia, Ikenna, Lilith, and Junpei rested their backs against the bus as Matthew drew closer to the approaching Kai.

"What took you so long?" Matthew asked, his leather jacket fluttering slightly with the wind.

Kai pulled out his phone and looked at the time. It wasn't that he couldn't ask Alpha to show him the time, but that would defeat the whole purpose.

"It isn't even eight yet," Kai replied.

"Yes, that would have been fine if we were using the gate, but..."

'This bastard, I knew things wouldn't go as he said.'

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"You know what?" Kai asked, tilting his head.

"What?" Matthew responded.

"I'm leaving." Kai turned his back and began walking toward his house.

Matthew immediately stepped in front of him. "What?" Kai asked, incredulous.

"Wait up, Kai! I know I said it would be a three-hour journey, but look, now you'll have extra time to spend with your friends and me. Doesn't that sound fun?"

Kai turned back to look at Lilith's pitiful face, Elia's and Ikenna's nonchalant expressions, and Junpei, who was absorbed in the magazine he was reading. He turned back to Matthew. "It feels like you forced all of them out of their sleep."

Matthew quickly turned away. "My mom says sleep isn't good for growing children."

"I'm sure she said the total opposite."

"All students planning to leave the school should come forward," announced a voice, that of an elderly woman with gray hair and black eyes.

Matthew stepped forward, but after exchanging a few words with the woman, he returned.

"So what did she say?" Ikenna asked, crumbs of potato chips falling on his white shirt and vest.

"Hmm... We have to find our own bus?" Matthew replied.

The group went silent before Elia broke the silence. "Are you for real, Young Master Lin Feng?"

"Young master, what?" Kai asked, confused.

"Yes, you. From today, that is your name. Do you know how hard it was for me to wake up on a Saturday morning and then ask my roommate to wake me up in exchange for your number?" she said.

Her short race car jacket pulled slightly up, revealing her high-neck tank top that showed her waist. Paired with cargo pants and black canvas shoes, she looked stunning.

Kai nodded in response to the argument, and the others soon joined in.

"Okay, you guys win... but." He paused, pointing at the gate. "The gate is just right there."

Kai sighed and added, "I agree with Matthew for once. We've already left our houses, so what's the harm in going out?"

Junpei adjusted his glasses and pulled in a deep breath. He wore a simple nude sweater with joggers. "I totally agree. I've already planned for the trip."

Everyone simultaneously turned to him.

With a smile, Matthew clapped his hands. "So now that that's out of the way, can we leave?"

Lilith took the initiative and moved forward, the cutest of them all.

She wore an ash-colored shoulder sweatshirt with a nude short skirt. "What are you guys waiting for?"

The entire group slowly moved toward the gate and handed in their IDs. The only thought in Kai's mind was how they were going for a combat mission but no one actually wore any protective armor.

'I'm sure we can take from the Silver Duchy, hopefully,' Kai thought as he stepped out the gate.

The group had already made their plans moving forward. They would go to the main state portal in their region and teleport directly to the northern state portal, though according to Matthew, it was in the middle of nowhere.

That meant they had to take another bus ride to the Silver Duchy, which would last at least thirty minutes.

Kai wasn't exactly upset with the plan since he needed a high-ranking core. The quasi-eight-tier Drifter cores couldn't do anything in weaning, and now that his knowledge of practical and theoretical magic had exponentially increased, he was confident in his chances of mastering the flame ability.

'Why did you say we need a monster corpse again?'

[I told you, didn't I? Instead of wasting our time trying to weave an ability you have no affinity for, it would be better to weave a monster from a Drifter corpse and then borrow the flame ability you give it, slowly increasing your affinity... But you would still need to pass the dungeon first.]

Kai stared at the stack of cards placed on one of the chairs.

Matthew had managed to secure the last two rolls of seats on the bus. Since the seats could be moved, the six of them sat in a circle, with the seventh chair reclined into a sleeping position, snacks, and cards for other games scattered around.

It was obviously Ikenna's idea to bring the snacks, and Junpei brought the game. Since the journey would take about two to four hours, they needed something to pass the time.

Kai's mind drifted away from Junpei's explanation of the game rules.

'Dungeons, huh?' his initial discussion with Matthew before boarding the bus resurfaced.

'What does he mean the dungeons might be a little dangerous?'

Dungeons, just as in every other novelkiss Kai had read, were portals that led to places infested with monsters.

But in ICUWSA, the twist was that these places the dungeons sent people to were areas next to the dome.

The reason they existed wasn't because of a phenomenon caused by the cube, but because of the joint efforts of the four races except the demons, who wanted the destruction of all things.

In the early years after the domes were created, monsters constantly attacked, forcing humanity to station many of their mages to protect the outer barrier from being breached.

However, this reduced the amount of resources they received annually, so the government had to find a new way to circumvent the problem.

By channeling a large amount of funds into engineering, they created a way to send these monsters into the dungeons, a small pocket world that each monster could rule.

The only reason this worked was because most high-ranking Drifters had their territories in the outside world, so only weaker ones entered the dungeons... Mostly.

Junpei's voice made Kai stutter a little. "Kai, are you okay?"

Kai nodded gently in response.

"Okay then, as a high-value man that I am, I'll teach all you peasants how to play the game."

Matthew immediately interrupted him, raising his hands in the air. "Why did you call us peasants?" he asked jokingly.

Junpei nodded in approval. "I'm happy you asked. This is what I call getting into the role."

"But what's the game about?" Lilith asked.

"The name is..." Junpei took a dramatic pause. "Go-stop."

As his words dropped, both Kai and Elia muttered in unison, "Godori."