How to Survive as an Extra

Chapter 11

Before long, the Training Ground was surrounded by cadets who had come to watch my duel with Gong Minwu.

To be precise, they were probably here to see how Gong Minwu would send me flying.

“Wow……. What is this? What kind of crazy bastard got up on the Training Ground with Gong Minwu?”

“Isn’t that him, the top student in the written exams? The non-awakened who fainted during the situational assessment.”

“Wait, so a non-awakened is dueling Gong Minwu? What a fucking lunatic!”

The cadets chattered away endlessly.

Even the cadets who had just started their own duels came down from the Training Ground to add their own comments.

“Did you hear? He’s supposedly a Social Care Beneficiary.”

“Man……. On top of being a non-awakened, he’s got no breeding either.”

“I know, right? I don’t even know how he got into the school.”

Gong Minwu paid no mind to the commotion around him and looked straight at me.

Given his personality, he was surely bothered by the fact that I had blocked his attack.

As expected, he took a stance that was distinctly different from before and rushed at me without even giving me time to catch my breath.

“……!”

It was an attack with his left fist, typical of a left-hander.

I read his movement with my kinetic vision and quickly tried to twist my body to dodge, but I ultimately couldn’t avoid the incoming fist and was struck in the abdomen.

“Ugh!”

My abdomen throbbed as if I had been hit with a tool.

Fortunately, since I was maintaining my center of gravity, I was not pushed out of the Training Ground.

Though I still ended up collapsing unsightly.

I forced myself back up as if out of stubbornness.

“You still want to go?”

“Yeah, as you can see, I’m still fine.”

Gong Minwu took his stance again.

I followed suit, awkwardly lowering my posture.

It was just a duel with a bell on the line, but for me, it was an invaluable time and opportunity.

“Then I’ll just have to make you not fine.”

Gong Minwu charged again.

This time, it was a right hook.

Unlike the first two times, the moment his fist swung, I rushed toward his chest.

My plan was to occupy the space on the inside and attempt a counterattack…….

“Ugh!”

But this time, too, I was struck squarely in the face and fell disgracefully onto the Training Ground floor.

“Isn’t he just Gong Minwu’s punching bag at this point?”

“Well, since there’s no one else to fight, maybe Gong Minwu is just killing time.”

“I thought he was annoying because he’s a Social Care Beneficiary, but now I feel sorry for him. ……Hey! What are you doing! Hurry up, go grab his leg and beg for forgiveness, you bastard!”

……What a bunch of bullshit.

I ignored the cadets’ words and got up again.

My entire face was so numb it felt like I had been burned, but one corner of my mouth began to twitch unconsciously.

That last attack, if I had read it with my Demonic Eye, I definitely would have dodged it.

Not only that, but I also could have dodged and counterattacked his abdomen at the same time.

I was not trying to speak in hindsight.

I was just trying to say that the trajectory of the attack had changed in an instant and headed for my face.

The fact that ‘he is reacting to my movements.’

I curled the twitching corner of my mouth and spoke.

“You said you wouldn’t go easy on me a second time, but it seems you’re going easy on me quite a few times.”

At my words, Gong Minwu, who rarely showed much change in expression, narrowed his eyes and replied.

“I can’t kill a cadet.”

“That’s a very scary thing to say…….”

Gong Minwu was a character who proved himself through actions rather than words.

He was rarely arrogant, but in this duel, he was being careless about one thing.

And that was the lack of follow-up movements to his attacks.

The reason he took such a static offensive was simple.

No matter where he hit me, I would go down in one shot.

Through the exchanges so far, I had verified all of Gong Minwu’s attack patterns.

The settings I knew as the original author.

For instance, the habits he developed from using a spear.

That he mainly used his fists because he set his stance with his lower body first.

That his movements were large because he relied on the recoil of his waist.

That because he wielded a pole with both hands, he was clumsy at gauging the distance to an opponent with his bare hands.

“Then please continue to go easy on me with that broad generosity of yours.”

“I’ll shut that mouth of yours first.”

Along with his reply, I kicked off the ground.

A preemptive strike.

Gong Minwu, seemingly surprised, took a step back to hold his ground.

“……!”

The distance closed quickly.

As I dug in toward his left, his right fist, as expected, moved in a large arc along with the movement of his waist.

But at that moment, I leaned my body outward, and…….

SWISH!

Gong Minwu’s fist swung wide, hitting nothing but air.

“……!”

How could I describe the expression on Gong Minwu’s face, seen in that fleeting glance?

A polar bear slipping on a glacier?

Or maybe, a brown bear that had just realized the honey it had been stealing from a human apiary was actually made of sugar?

Who cares.

Without any time for such thoughts, I instantly got behind him and, raising my heel, delivered a turning kick to the back of his head.

“Hmph!”

It was an impeccably accurate strike.

The moment when the taekwondo I had probably last done in my days of carrying a shoe bag to buy cup tteokbokki proved useful for the first time in my life.

Gong Minwu’s waist bent unsightly.

Not missing the opening, I gathered all my strength into my right elbow and moved to strike his back.

But then…….

WHOOSH!

Mana, wreathed in flames, radiated from Gong Minwu’s body, sending all the cadets around the Training Ground flying back several meters.

Being the closest, I was thrown all the way to the large rock where An Hwigom was sitting before I could even react, crashing my back and the back of my head right into it.

The impact was strong enough that I would have surely fainted if my durability were low.

“…….”

I clutched the back of my head and took in the scene of the Training Ground, which had fallen into a deep silence.

The cadets were looking back and forth between me and Gong Minwu with wide, rabbit-like eyes.

Gong Minwu was staring at me where I had been thrown, his eyes filled with indignation.

And An Hwigom was clicking his tongue as if in disapproval.

Soon, An Hwigom’s voice broke the silence, directed at Gong Minwu.

“Tsk, I told you that releasing mana is forbidden in this class……. You, you get a 5-point deduction.”

***

Seoul’s District 2, Bureau of Superpowers Headquarters.

Special Affairs Division Chief Baek Dojun’s office.

After listening to Kim Seyeon’s report, Baek Dojun quietly repeated her words.

“No peculiarities could be found regarding Cadet Ji Seokhyeon……. How interesting.”

Kim Seyeon asked.

“Should I make direct contact with the cadet?”

“No, there’s no need for that. That would be an ill-mannered way of ruining the game.”

“Pardon?”

“Park Cheolyeong is an opportunist. It’s unlikely that a man who likes to reveal, expose, and be confident in things would have sent such a preface.”

“By that, you mean…….”

“It must have been ghostwritten by someone under him, in this case, Investigation Instructor Yun Jeongseop. I’m sure that man didn’t report the truth to Park Cheolyeong. Park Cheolyeong also wouldn’t have any interest in a fellow like Ji Seokhyeon. Would he pay attention to a Social Care Beneficiary when he’s busy scheming with the Hyeonseong Group’s successor and other promising kids?”

“But why would Investigation Instructor Yun Jeongseop make such a decision?”

“Because he was persuaded.”

“How on earth……?”

“Don’t ask me. I’m curious myself.”

“Then should we proceed with contacting the Investigation Instructor…….”

“That’s enough.”

Baek Dojun stood up from his seat and looked at the ashen clouds by the window.

“We can just stay put. That fellow, Ji Seokhyeon, I don’t know what secrets he’s hiding, but he’ll be working diligently to find the accomplice, just as we are.”

“To clear his own name, you mean?”

“No, to hide even deeper.”

“……Pardon?”

“From our perspective, it’s like lying down and eating rice cakes. We can just laze around and we’ll get a staff increase.”

“……I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Well, you’ll find out if you wait.”

Baek Dojun averted his gaze from the window.

Then, he curled his lips into a grin at Kim Seyeon, who was tilting her head in confusion.

“……Ah! But what was the minimum hiring age for our Special Affairs Division again?”

***

Monday evening.

The Hall of Protection, the main building of the Combat Division.

As today’s last class ended, the group that followed Gong Minwu naturally gathered around him.

“Minwu, you’re going to eat dinner now, right?”

“I’m going for seafood today. Minwu, you’re having troll meat as usual, right?”

“Minwu, let’s go eat on the 4th floor today. I heard they set it up with private rooms.”

“That sounds good. It’s hectic because of all the girls chasing after Minwu.”

Though it was a group of only five, including Gong Minwu, they were the top-tier group within the Combat Division, holding an unshakable position.

Not only did each of them have the backing of their respective families, but they had also been attracting the interest of prominent guilds even before entering the Hero Preparatory School, to the point that Production Guilds were desperate to sign exclusive equipment support contracts with them.

Among them, Gong Minwu was the third son and a direct descendant of the prestigious Gong Clan, a family of spear masters with intense succession competition, and he was considered to have more talent than his two older brothers, who had already made names for themselves.

The Gong Clan was divided into five branch families, with about twenty relatives of Gong Minwu’s age.

Amidst such suffocating competition, Gong Minwu was a genius who, through relentless effort, had entered the Hero Preparatory School hailed as a talent comparable to the Sword Saint.

And yet…….

That very same person was now scowling, his mind on a single cadet.

‘Ji Seokhyeon…….’

Ji Seokhyeon, not Lee Eunho.

Of course, it was the same with Lee Eunho, but seeing a small fry he thought would be no match for him not only withstand his attacks multiple times but even counterattack, had suddenly started to get on his nerves.

‘Just what kind of ability does he have?’

All sorts of suspicions arose, but in the end, there was only one way to solve the mystery.

‘……I need to fight him more.’

Lost in various thoughts, Gong Minwu left the Hall of Protection with his friends.

But just outside the entrance of the Hall of Protection, a cadet with a bright smile on his face stuck to the group.

“Minwu, guys, looks like your class ended late.”

It was Investigation Cadet Kim Muung, who had been one of Gong Minwu’s group before entering the Hero Preparatory School.

But belying his friendliness, no one in the group answered him.

Kim Muung, pretending not to notice the awkwardness in the air, started chattering away by himself with a silly grin.

“Anyway, it’s totally awesome. I heard that bastard got his ass kicked by you, Minwu. How could he even think of taking you on? ……Ah! I’m talking about that bastard Ji Seokhyeon who wears suspenders. He’s in the Investigation Division here. I was already planning on teaching that bastard a lesson since he doesn’t know his place, but just hearing about it was so satisfying. Hehehe.”

“…….”

Perhaps Kim Muung’s efforts paid off, as Gong Minwu stopped walking and turned to look at him.

“You, do you know that guy well?”

“Uh, yeah! Of course. He’s a Social Care Beneficiary, a non-awakened, and he ranked last in the practical entrance exam. He’s probably the weakest bastard in the Investigation Division. I was about to deal with him soon myself. Besides, he doesn’t know his place and sticks to Do Minyeong like glue, you know? That Do Minyeong girl was treated like a princess in Seoul just because she’s a direct descendant of the Sword Saint, then she fled overseas because she had no talent. A good match for the biggest troublemakers of the 71st class of the Hero Preparatory School, I guess.”

After spouting a long stream of words, Kim Muung watched Gong Minwu’s expression.

Just as he was deluding himself into thinking that since he had thoroughly bad-mouthed the guy who had gotten on Gong Minwu’s nerves, he would at least get a greeting for a few days, Gong Minwu turned away as if he had heard something useless and quickened his pace.

“……Mi-Minwu?”

The group moved along with Gong Minwu.

Among them, Choi Minsang, Gong Minwu’s tacit right-hand man, broke away from the group and briefly approached Kim Muung.

“Hey, do you have no sense, or no shame?”

“……Huh?”

“If you got pushed into the Investigation Division, you should know to stay away on your own, you bastard.”

“…….”

“Frankly, does it even make sense for you to hang around with us when you’re not skilled enough to be among the 180 combat cadets? I heard your father’s guild got caught for contract fraud with its own hunters too, right? If you don’t have skills, you should at least have some breeding. You piece of shit.”

“Mi-Minsang…….”

“And you bastard! ……That Do Minyeong girl is Minwu’s childhood friend.”

“……What?”

“Ugh, a bastard who doesn’t know his place just runs his mouth. Get lost, out of my sight!”

Choi Minsang shot a glare and chased after Gong Minwu.

Kim Muung watched Gong Minwu’s retreating back and clenched his jaw tightly.

“Shit…….”

He knew it was his mistake.

Both being relegated to the Investigation Division and running his mouth.

But he had no intention of admitting it.

After all, he had a convenient target for his resentment.

“Ji Seokhyeon……. If it weren’t for that bastard, I wouldn’t have even mentioned Do Minyeong……!”