The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World

There were a few reasons why Ruvian didn’t want to report the situational change inside this dungeon to the academy.

Firstly, it would deviate from the original story. Because who knew what might happen if he did? Even if the elective ended up being cancelled, the academy would simply send them to another dungeon instead.

That would only introduce more uncertainty, because Ruvian would no longer be able to rely on the meta-knowledge he had.

Secondly, he simply thought it would be a complete waste.

In this dungeon, Ruvian vaguely remembered that there was an entire chamber filled with Voidspawn egg clusters. Although they were still in an undeveloped stage, the world’s system still categorized them as something close to a Lesser Voidspawn.

Because of that, killing them still granted Mana Resonance.

In the original story, Zian had taken full advantage of this. By clearing that chamber, he farmed a large amount of Mana Resonance, which became crucial in pushing his Spellcore toward the next stage of breakthrough.

So for Ruvian, missing this opportunity to grow stronger was simply not an option.

"So, where are we heading first?" Silvena asked.

"We’re going deeper, beyond what the academy allowed us," Ruvian replied.

Hearing that, Rosalin grew a little tense.

Ruvian had already explained half of their plan to her earlier, during the carriage ride, and somewhat surprisingly, she hadn’t opposed it.

Which, in a way, helped Ruvian in more than one aspect. At the very least, it meant he didn’t need to spend much effort trying to convince her.

Even though it was convenient that she did not question him, Ruvian still felt a bit guilty for bringing her into this without telling her beforehand.

’Though, this is for her own good.’ he thought.

After settling his thoughts, he pushed aside the faint guilt and focused on the path ahead.

As they continued deeper, their positions shifted into a familiar formation that was taught during the Dungeon Trip elective.

Since Silvena and Rosalin were close-combat fighters, the two of them walked slightly ahead, while Ruvian stayed in the middle just behind them, forming a loose triangle.

A short distance behind that triangle was Seraphine herself.

From there, the three of them always remained within her line of sight. If anything were to go wrong, she could react immediately, stepping in before the situation spiraled out of control.

It was a simple formation that reflected a basic truth of coordinated combat: the rear position often saw the most, and the one who saw the most had the greatest responsibility to respond first.

Then suddenly...

"Your name is Ruvian, right?"

Seraphine asked as they walked.

The question itself was simple, but it was enough to draw the attention of both Silvena and Rosalin.

"Yes," Ruvian replied, not even bothering to turn around for such a straightforward question.

"Lady Silvena informed me that you would be leading this dungeon expedition, and that your orders take priority over hers."

"However, that said, my foremost duty is her safety. Do know that if any of your orders conflict with that, then I will not follow them."

"Understood."

After a brief pause, she spoke again.

"Also I would like to reconfirm other matters."

"...Sure."

Ruvian slightly glanced at the back.

"Do you want me to clear all of the Lesser beasts myself, or do you want to take part in this as a learning experience?" she asked calmly.

"Because you haven’t really stated my role yet. The only thing that was made clear was that I am to be in charge of your group."

’Ah, right... I haven’t told them about that yet.’

Ruvian deeply pondered.

Then, he casually said:

"Since this is still an expedition, let’s proceed with the usual procedure. Your role remains the same until we arrive at our main destination."

There was a brief pause before Seraphine responded.

"Understood."

As they walked deeper, the cave path of the dungeon gradually grew darker.

Instinctively, Seraphine cast [Illuminate], by activating one of her artifacts to produce a steady source of light.

A soft glow spread through the tunnel, and their path ahead was illuminated just enough for them to move forward without losing their footing or awareness of the surroundings.

"Then... since we’re following the expedition procedures, all of you should get into formation. One of the Lesser Voidspawn is ahead of us," she said calmly.

But before she could even finish her words, Rosalin and Silvena had already drawn their weapons, they too, had already picked up the monster’s presence.

Rosalin pulled her longsword from its scabbard, while Silvena retrieved her whip from her dimensional storage ring.

The moment Ruvian saw the weapons, he recognized them immediately.

[Scarlet Blade] and [Wildvine].

Rosalin usually carried two types of swords with her, a longsword and a shortsword, switching between them depending on the situation.

She preferred using the longsword, but in narrower spaces she would often switch to the shortsword for easier movement.

However, since the dungeon’s ceiling and space here were wide and open, she could comfortably use the longsword without any restriction.

Meanwhile, Silvena’s weapon was a whip that could shift between forms, either a barbed type or an iron type, depending on what she preferred.

As the damp air of the cavern grew heavier, Ruvian suddenly heard the unsettling skitter of chitinous legs scraping against the stone floor.

Instinctively, he pulled out his wand, mirroring the swift reactions of Rosalin and Silvena.

’It’s coming.’

Though honestly, Ruvian doubted he would need to do much.

Both Silvena and Rosalin were more than capable of dealing with a single Lesser Voidspawn on their own.

However, if he wanted to gain the rewards from the kill, he still had to contribute.

"It’s an ant-type Voidspawn." Seraphine said calmly.

"I forgot the exact name, but the three of you should be capable of dealing with it. They usually move in swarms, but it seems this one either got separated or perhaps—"

"A scout."

Ruvian finished the sentence for her.

Seraphine nodded.

"Yes."

"They’re Voidspawn that operate collectively," she continued, her expression calm but watchful.

"Their main point of attack is their mandibles. But their real danger lies in how they overwhelm their prey once the swarm arrives."

In other words, what Seraphine meant was that since this one was by itself, it shouldn’t pose much trouble at all.

The situation was still unfolding more or less the same way it had in the original novel.

The Deepmarch Dungeon was known to be inhabited by ant-type Voidspawn, also commonly referred to as Carapace Crawlers.

As soon as the ant entered their range of sight, revealing its dark chitinous form under the glow of the light...

In a flash, Rosalin and Silvena erupted forward toward the beast.

Their movement was nothing short of explosive, so sudden, so violently swift, so powerful that it sent a sharp jolt of shock through Ruvian.

Both of them were frighteningly fast!

For a split second, their figures seemed to vanish from where they had been standing. The distance between them and the Voidspawn collapsed in an instant.

Yet despite the overwhelming speed of their charge, Ruvian had already expected them to move like this.

He proudly smiled.

’Yes, this is nothing strange for them.’

So, while the two surged ahead like unleashed twin arrows, Ruvian calmly lifted his wand and cast:

"[Bind]"

’Since I’ve already awakened to the Intermediate stage, controlling this type of affinity has become incomparably easier.’

The difference was so stark that even Ruvian himself could feel it with startling clarity.

From now on, to an almost absurd degree, he could guide the Pure Mana affinity through logic and imagination alone without the slightest need to utter a single incantation.

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[Chapter 99: The Deepmarch Dungeon (4)]