The Extra is a Hero?-Chapter 243: GRAVITY AND GRIND

Chapter 238: Gravity and Grind

​The sign above the blast-steel door read: Sector 4 – Variable Gravity Chamber. Beneath it, a warning placard listed the safety protocols in Dwarven runes and Common.

​Danger: Prolonged exposure to 3.0x standard gravity may cause internal hemorrhaging in unawakened individuals.

​I cracked my neck, feeling the familiar weight of my gear. "Fun," I muttered.

​Inside, the room was a vast, circular arena made of hexagonal plates. The air shimmered—a visual distortion caused by the mana-fuelled gravitons pressing down on the space.

​Arthur stood in the center, looking like a statue of a young war god. He wasn’t even sweating yet.

​"Line up," Arthur commanded. His voice didn’t echo; the heavy air seemed to swallow the sound.

​The Arcadia team stumbled into formation. The difference in constitution was immediately obvious. Leon and Varkas (our beast-kin tank) looked uncomfortable but stable. Jax and Gareth, the heavy warriors, were breathing hard, their massive muscle mass working against them. The mages—Eric, Elara, and the others—looked like they were about to faint.

​"The tournament will not be fought on flat ground under a pleasant sun," Arthur announced, pacing the line. "The Dwarf Kingdom prides itself on hostility. If you cannot cast a spell while your lungs are being crushed, you are useless."

​He tapped a rune on his wristband. The room hummed.

​[Gravity Intensity: 1.5x -> 2.0x]

​A collective grunt escaped the team. My knees buckled slightly before my mana reinforcement kicked in to compensate. It felt like I was carrying a grown man on my shoulders.

​"Today’s objective is simple," Arthur said. "Defense. I will be the aggressor. You will hold the line for ten minutes. If the formation breaks, we restart at 2.5x gravity."

​"Are you insane?" Eric William wheezed, clutching his staff. "2.5? That’s for C-Rank Knights!"

​"Then become C-Rank Knights," Arthur retorted, his spear materializing in his hand. "Begin."

​It was a massacre.

​Arthur Pendragon was a monster. Even among the gifted, he was an anomaly. His movements were fluid, unaffected by the crushing weight. He tore through our front line like a gale force wind.

​"Jax! Shield up!" Leon shouted, parrying Arthur’s spear with a grunt of exertion.

​Jax tried to raise his tower shield, but the gravity made his arm lag by a fraction of a second. Arthur’s spear shaft cracked against Jax’s helmet, sending the big man sprawling.

​"Too slow!" Arthur barked. He spun, sweeping Eric’s legs out from under him before the noble could finish his chant.

​Thud.

​"Reset!" Arthur yelled.

​We reset. The gravity hummed louder.

​[Gravity Intensity: 2.2x]

​By the fifth attempt, the team was fracturing. The physical strain was turning into emotional venom.

​"Move your fat ass, Jax!" Eric screamed, wiping blood from his lip. "I can’t cover you if you’re moving like a sloth!"

​"It’s the gravity!" Jax roared back, his face red. "I weigh two hundred pounds more than you, you twig! Try lifting this shield!"

​"Enough excuses!" Arthur didn’t let up. He charged again.

​I stood in the backline, designated as ’Logistical Support.’ My job was to reload crossbows, toss mana potions, and stay out of the way. But from my vantage point, the problem was obvious.

​[Skill Activated: Tactical Analysis]

​The issue wasn’t Jax’s speed. It was Eric’s timing.

​Eric was a D-Rank Mage with C-Rank ambitions. He was used to casting his Wind Bullet at a specific rhythm. But under high gravity, the projectile drop was sharper, and the warriors’ movements were slower. Eric was firing where Jax should have been, not where he was.

​Arthur was tearing us apart because our cohesion was nonexistent.

​As Arthur prepared for another charge—his aura flaring gold—I saw the break point. He was going to feint left at Leon, then cut right to decapitate our backline (me and Eric). 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

​Eric was preparing a Wind Wall, but he was aiming too high. The gravity would pull the compressed air down, leaving his head exposed.

​I couldn’t yell instructions. Eric wouldn’t listen to a commoner, and Arthur would punish the "cheat." I had to force the correction.

​I reached into my pouch and pulled out a small, weighted marble. A Kinetic Dampener.

​Arthur lunged. The feint worked; Leon bit on the left attack. Arthur pivoted, blurring toward Eric.

​"Shield!" Eric shrieked, unleashing his spell.

​As predicted, the Wind Wall formed too low and too slow. Arthur’s spear tip was already past the effective range.

​Flick.

​I tossed the marble. It didn’t hit Arthur; it hit the back of Eric’s knee.

​"Gah!" Eric’s leg buckled.

​He collapsed six inches downward just as Arthur’s spear slashed the air where his throat had been a microsecond before.

​To the naked eye, it looked like a desperate dodge.

​"Jax, stomp!" I whispered, my voice cutting through the noise.

​Jax, reacting to the sudden movement of Eric falling, instinctually slammed his shield down to cover the mage. The shockwave rippled through the floor plates.

​Arthur, mid-swing, hit the tremors. His balance wavered for a nanosecond.

​"Now, Leon!" I hissed.

​Leon didn’t hesitate. He saw the opening. He surged forward, ignoring the burning in his muscles, and slammed his shoulder into Arthur’s chest.

​CRASH.

​Arthur skidded back three meters, his boots carving grooves into the metal floor.

​The room went silent. The timer hit zero.

​[Drill Complete.]

​The gravity whined down to standard 1.0x.

​Everyone collapsed. Chests heaved. Sweat pooled on the floor.

​Arthur straightened his jacket, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder. He looked at Leon, then at Jax, and finally, his eyes lingered on Eric, who was trembling on the floor.

​"Better," Arthur said, though his tone was icy. "But messy. Eric, your dodge was... unorthodox, but effective. You finally realized that standing still is a death sentence."

​Eric looked confused, rubbing his knee. "I... yes. Calculated risk."

​"And Jax," Arthur nodded at the large tank. "Good cover. You reacted to your teammate’s desperation."

​Arthur turned to walk away, signaling the end of the session. As he passed me, he paused. He didn’t look at me, but he spoke low enough that only I could hear.

​"Next time, Wilson, try not to bruise the nobility. It makes the paperwork tedious."

​He walked out.

​I froze. He saw the marble.

​Of course he did. He was Arthur Pendragon.

​I looked over at Eric, who was currently berating Jax again, though with slightly less venom this time.

​"You almost stepped on me, you oaf!"

​"I saved your life, you ungrateful prick!"

​I sighed, cracking a mana potion and downing it in one gulp. The team was dysfunctional, broken, and toxic. But for one second, they had functioned as a unit.

​It was going to be a long tournament.

​[Current Party Status]

​Arthur Pendragon: Rank A- (Restricted)

​Leon: Rank C+ (Potential S)

​Eric William: Rank D+

​Jax: Rank D

​Michael (Official): Rank E

​Michael (Actual): Rank B (Variable)

​I wiped the sweat from my brow. I needed to upgrade my gear. If Arthur was going to push us to 2.5x gravity again, my standard-issue boots were going to disintegrate.

​"Hey, Wilson!" Leon called out, offering a hand to pull me up. "Good work on the reloads. I barely noticed you were there."

​"That’s the point, Leon," I said, taking his hand. "That’s the point."

​(To be Continued)