How to Survive as an Extra

Chapter 51

Sundays at the Hero Preparatory School are peaceful.

In the mornings, especially, many cadets who went to their family homes have not yet returned, making the vast grounds feel like one’s private property at times.

It was a peaceful routine where the children of influential families enjoyed tea time, flaunting their individual elegance; those driven by their own shortcomings sweated it out in the training grounds from early morning; and a few who wandered in search of knowledge were engrossed in books at the library.

In my case, I usually sleep in until midday due to strenuous training every dawn, but today I woke up a couple of hours earlier and left the Hero Prep campus.

”It’s absolutely packed.”

My destination was Seoul’s District 7, a commercial district.

The reason I came to the outskirts of the city was because of a condition I had secured while cooperating with Cha Yeri.

That day, I had arranged to be introduced to a blacksmith from the Hyeonseong clan as my condition.

The reason I requested a blacksmith was to commission a training sword with the same specifications as the Mist-Clearing Sword.

Of course, only the length and weight would be the same; the appearance would be different.

”An opportunity to commission a piece from a Hyeonseong blacksmith doesn’t come easily.”

Above all, the cost alone would be immense pressure.

It would have been easier if Cha Yeri had accompanied me, but she had been keeping an extreme distance from me since the Countdown.

It was no surprise, as she had always been sharp and decisive when it came to personal relationships.

As the heir to Hyeonseong, she had to be thorough with her connections.

As an aside, superpowered groups in the form of corporations like Hyeonseong are generally born from the union of several guilds.

A guild of guilds, so to speak.

This structure often leads to monopolies, so the Bureau of Superpowers views it negatively, and most such corporations were established only in the early days of the Great Rift era.

And that was limited to guilds other than Hunter guilds.

If Hunter guilds were to unite and form a massive power bloc, a crisis of a different nature than the Great Rift could arise.

In any case, before meeting the Hyeonseong blacksmith, there was something else I had to do first.

I followed the address I had received on my smartphone into a secluded alley in Seoul’s District 7, and just as all the signboards disappeared from view…

”Probationary Investigator Ji Seokhyeon, I have been waiting for you.”

I was met with a woman’s voice.

Looking around, I saw one other cloaked figure besides the speaker.

The owner of the voice had to be Kim Seyeon, the one who contacted me, who was likely the aide to the Special Affairs Division Chief, Baek Dojun.

”It’s been a while.”

The man pulled back the hood of his cloak halfway, revealing his face.

To my surprise, it was Park Chaeshin, with whom I had been entangled back in District 27.

He looked relatively healthy.

The fact that he was still associating with the Special Affairs Division must mean that Baek Dojun had taken a special interest in him.

”Ahem.”

Park Chaeshin cleared his throat and spoke nonchalantly.

”First, I want to thank you. Whatever the reason, I owe you my life.”

”Ah, well... But is it alright for you to be moving around like this already?”

”I am pushing myself a bit. But perhaps because of the psychological effect of having survived, I wanted to wander around outside. This just happened to be a good opportunity.”

Park Chaeshin poured out his words, quickly explaining everything that had happened in the meantime.

The story of how he had been declared dead and lost his name.

And the story of how he was gradually recovering from his state of mana insensitivity.

That day, when I handed him over to Baek Dojun, I had little expectation that he would do more than just have his life prolonged.

At best, I thought he would be confined to a bed, relying on a high-performance Metalgrid just to breathe.

But for there to be this much of an effect meant that the character of Baek Dojun was an exceptional figure who could stand completely independent, outside the framework of my own thinking.

After all, I couldn’t predict everything from just a few lines in the setting collection.

”It will be difficult to recover completely, but once my condition improves to a certain point, let’s go for a drink. Back when I was alive... I mean, I used to have this killer regular spot.”

”...”

Was he always this talkative?

I hadn’t given him any detailed settings since he was a one-off character, but still…

I subtly sent a glance toward Kim Seyeon, and she soon cut the atmosphere short with a decisive tone.

”Shall we get to the main point now?”

To put Kim Seyeon’s image simply, she was Yu Hyeonjeong ten years in the future.

Which is to say... she was excellent at handling her work.

”Do you remember Park Oseok, the former medical instructor who worked at Hero Prep?”

I nodded my head.

Of course I did.

He was the first villain who stole the Shard of the Mirror of Greed, one of the Witch’s seven tools, and the owner of the smartwatch used in the last episode.

At the time, he had been captured by Lee Eunho and imprisoned in Muspel.

That was, until I received new information through the information lines yesterday evening.

”I heard the news that he escaped from Muspel.”

”Yes, there are currently many differing opinions circulating within Dispel. It is the first time in nearly twenty years that an inmate has escaped from Muspel.”

According to the lore, it is nearly impossible to escape from Muspel, where the worst superpowered criminals are incarcerated.

And yet, Park Oseok had brazenly succeeded in his escape.

There were probably several reasons behind it, but fundamentally, I was largely responsible.

I had him escape, ignoring the established settings, so I could use him as a villain in the next episode.

”Currently, the presumed motive for the fugitive Park Oseok is his desire for revenge.”

”Revenge?”

”Yes, there was testimony that during his incarceration, he expressed rage toward the combat cadet Lee Eunho, who had captured him.”

”Does that mean... he might set foot in the 4th Scholastic District himself?”

”Yes, for now, we have determined it will be during the Spring Scholastic War next week.”

The Spring Scholastic War, a special period when even non-awakened individuals could enter the 4th Scholastic District.

Fortunately, the development was the same as the original story so far.

”The Division Chief believes the fugitive Park Oseok succeeded in his escape with the help of an accomplice inside Muspel. That is why he has gone to Muspel himself.”

”An accomplice? Do you mean a Demonic Being like Lee Gangju?”

”Yes, that is a possibility, or another faction may have exerted its power. ...The fact that he could escape Muspel is an incident that transcends existing concepts, so we must keep all possibilities open.”

Keeping all possibilities open...

It seemed Baek Dojun’s mood had become thoroughly sharp-edged.

”But why are you giving me this information... and in person, no less...”

”Because the Division Chief has entrusted this case to you. The matter of recapturing the fugitive Park Oseok.”

The words I had been worried about finally came.

”The best-case scenario is that nothing happens during the Spring Scholastic War, but...”

”Wait a moment. What about the other investigators in the Special Affairs Division?”

”They are already pursuing the other fugitives who escaped along with Park Oseok.”

”...Just in case I have to ask, how many escaped in total?”

”Fifteen.”

”...”

”It means the citizens of the Seoul Special Self-Governing City of Superpowers are exposed to an exponentially increased risk of terrorism.”

I stared at Kim Seyeon for a moment.

Her impression and manner of speaking were such that I felt she would be wearing glasses if she were not an awakened being.

In that moment, I realized.

This was a person against whom emotionally venting about this absurd situation would be useless.

As if to inform me that I could not back out of this case, a system message appeared before my eyes.

Title: Spring Scholastic War

Characters: Lee Eunho, Park Oseok

Reward: Remake Coins

It was a Main Episode that began just one week after the previous one had ended.

I had anticipated that the Spring Scholastic War would be chosen by the Favorite Reader, but…

I had not thought the episode would be announced this quickly.

Meaning...

[The difficulty of the Main Episode will be adjusted in proportion to the amount of Remake Coins used.]

[Remake Coins used up to this episode: 0]

[Applied setting intervention rate: 50.000%]

And I had not used a single coin for a week.

”...”

The total number of coins I had accumulated so far was 4,614.

I had been planning to save a little more and pour it all into Simulated Training, so this was a complete disaster.

The Favorite Reader must have done this on purpose to give me a hard time.

”But it probably won’t do much good no matter how much Instructor Park Oseok rampages, will it?”

It was an unexpected comment from Park Chaeshin.

Kim Seyeon immediately countered with a question.

”Why do you think so?”

”The Labyrinth Exploration team came back two days ago, didn’t they? There was no welcoming ceremony because the losses were so great, but the important thing is that the Principal of Hero Prep, Kim Shinwoo, has returned. As long as that man is sitting in the 4th Scholastic District, not just the Psychic Mafia, but even the Demonic Beings will keep quiet.”

”Of course, that may be true, but...”

Kim Seyeon trailed off, which was unlike her.

”...It is the Division Chief’s will to be mindful of all possibilities. Furthermore, the faculty’s first priority is to protect the students. It is difficult to ask for their full cooperation in an investigation.”

”I doubt that. That man, Kim Shinwoo, would...”

”Mr. Park Chaeshin, this is the Division Chief’s decision.”

”But that man is the real deal...”

Kim Seyeon said firmly.

”If you have nothing more to say to Probationary Investigator Ji Seokhyeon, we will be leaving.”

”No, he’s not called the Sword Emperor for nothing...”

”Any further unnecessary remarks will be reported to the Division Chief. I will state clearly that you are personnel who are of no help whatsoever to the activities of the Special Affairs Division.”

”What? You’re joking, right?”

Listening to their meaningless conversation, I quietly curled the corners of my mouth.

It was the sight of a clueless subordinate being scolded by a rigid superior.

They suited each other in many ways.

”Then, Mr. Ji Seokhyeon, next week...”

”Ah! Wait a moment.”

I urgently called out to stop Park Chaeshin.

”Hm?”

”I have a favor to ask you.”

Whatever the situation, it was a stroke of luck to meet a trustworthy alchemist.

I had just been thinking of looking for a skilled one, as it happened.

I naturally put my hand into the inner pocket of my outerwear and took out the Mystical Beard from my inventory.

The handful of beard I had obtained from the Dokkaebi on Jeju Island.

[Mystical Beard: The beard of a monster whose very existence is unknown. It is imbued with mysterious mana.]

”This is...”

Park Chaeshin took the beard from me, his brow furrowed as his eyes widened in surprise.

”Where did you get this?”

”That’s a secret.”

”Ah, right, an item’s source is expensive information. But... from its appearance, it looks like an item used in alchemy, and I’m a little surprised to see a material I don’t know. ...I’m not trying to show off. It’s just that for the past eighty years, most items used in alchemy have become standardized. Unless you’re one of those eccentrics trying all sorts of things to create an Elixir, finding new materials is a difficult task. It would be a different story if the Labyrinth were pioneered and resources increased.”

He was not wrong.

The potions that alchemists make are truly important items, but in reality, with the exception of a few, they could be considered standardized, mass-produced goods.

Though, it was my fault in the first place for not creating many material items in the setting collection.

”Is it a researchable material?”

”In alchemy, it is an unwritten rule not to speak of the impossible. Even if you die during the research. ...More importantly, I assume its use is for a potion, right?”

”Yes, as for the fee, I’ll pay you later...”

”No, it’s fine. I owe you a debt. Besides, there is nothing more enjoyable than researching an unknown material. Just buy me a drink together later.”

Park Chaeshin carefully put away the beard.

As if it were something precious.

”Then, Probationary Investigator Ji Seokhyeon, we will contact you again as soon as we acquire more information.”

With Kim Seyeon’s business-like words, they left the alley and blended into the crowd.

I stood there blankly until the figures of Kim Seyeon and Park Chaeshin disappeared.

”Was saving Park Chaeshin the right decision...”

Why would Baek Dojun keep him under his wing?

In alchemy, he was a step behind Hong Eunseok, whom I had recruited previously, and his combat abilities were not outstanding either.

His only real skill was in information processing, like hacking.

Could he be keeping him as leverage against me?

In any case, it was a positive thing that the two people who knew about my Demonic Eye were together.

Since they both knew the power of ’information’ better than anyone, they would not speak of it carelessly.

Even if Park Chaeshin were to harbor different intentions, Baek Dojun would not leave him be.

That is, as long as the Favorite Reader does not interfere...

”...Hah, this damn intervention rate.”