How to Survive as an Extra

Chapter 75

The battle with the chimeras ended in an instant.

A one-sided fight that was closer to slaughter.

[You have completed the episode.]

[The influence of the sub-character, ‘Ji Seokhyeon,’ increases.]

[The setting intervention rate of future episodes increases by 5.777%.]

Dispel still had not arrived.

In front of me, the chimeras’ bodies were evaporating into environmental mana, and I kept catching my breath as I leaned my back against a nearby bus.

“This… If the fight had dragged on even a little longer, I would have fallen into mana depletion…”

Mana aside, maintaining Erosion was physically punishing.

If I did not put a healing potion to my lips right now, I could not even bring myself to return to the bushes where Do Minyeong was.

Still, the fact that I had skipped training with An Hwigom under the pretext of the stakeout filled me with a sense of relief.

“If I had trained like that, I would have been beaten senseless without even resisting.”

Well, I got beaten senseless most days anyway.

Still leaning against the bus, I pulled out my smartphone and sent a message.

It contained information about forced awakening and the situation on site.

The recipients were, of course, Park Chaeshin and Kim Seyeon.

As for Dispel, I planned to state that chimeras had appeared but collapsed after triggering mana rampage on their own.

Considering the original story, it would be best to conceal the chimera’s appearance, but now that things had already reached this point, forcibly suppressing it might create an unforeseen variable.

“Therefore, reporting it to the Special Affairs Division is the minimum insurance.”

Not only Dispel, but I also had to prevent my identity from being exposed to Demonic Beings.

My name had likely already been mentioned among a few Demonic Beings due to my entanglement with Lee Eunho.

If I became a target of Demonic Beings simply because I had involved myself in Camellia’s affairs, I could be dragged into a truly troublesome mess.

“Still, why did Choi Jaejin make that choice?”

Being expelled from Hero Prep was certainly a significant stain in this world, but his decision was extreme.

According to rumors, Kim Muung, who had plotted with him, was moving between Seoul and other regions distributing items.

To begin with, the title of social care beneficiary only held weight within Hero Prep, so somewhere in awakened society there would have been a role for Choi Jaejin.

Something a little more decent, something that could have become a different goal.

“…”

Surely he was not trying to take revenge on me.

The Psychic Mafia was certainly a convenient place to borrow strength from, but…

While I was sinking into thought, I heard Dispel’s sirens.

Along the ridge, I could see the headlights of vehicles as well.

I started walking toward the bushes where Do Minyeong was.

But after only a few steps, I halted.

I realized that, despite unintentionally killing five mafia members, I felt no guilt at all.

Was it simply because they were villains?

Because they were nameless extras?

No. Park Chaeshin, whom I had nearly killed, had also been an extra in the original story.

I had even saved Park Chaeshin because I could not bear the guilt.

And yet now, after only a few weeks, I could not feel guilt over five deaths…

That meant I had become stained by this world.

A world with zero plausibility, made for the blind satisfaction of catharsis.

“…”

With a bitter smile, I hurried my steps.

“…Damn it.”

***

When Do Minyeong opened her eyes, a man was facing the chimeras.

‘What happened?’

The wound in her abdomen had already closed.

Her clothes were roughly torn, but there was not a single injury left on her skin.

Half-conscious, she fixed her gaze on the man.

He was overwhelming the chimeras with movements that were impossible to believe.

He was never struck even once. He smoothly diverted every attack and pierced straight through the chimeras’ weaknesses.

“Grandfather…?”

For an instant, Do Minyeong thought of her grandfather, Sword Saint Kim Yuseong.

But there was no way the Sword Saint, who could not possibly be alive, had come to save her from chimeras.

She had only murmured with lingering longing because the man resembled the image of Kim Yuseong she carried in her memory.

Soon, Do Minyeong realized the man’s identity.

A figure as familiar as Kim Yuseong’s image…

“…Ji Seokhyeon.”

‘So I received help again. …And I still have not even apologized properly.’

With emotions tangled together, Do Minyeong watched Ji Seokhyeon dominate the chimeras and felt doubt rise within her.

It was hard to accept that he could move like that when, in her memory, his swordsmanship had been several steps below hers, and he had not even been able to run properly.

‘Had he been hiding his skill?’

Why?

She consciously rubbed her eyes and looked again, but she could not deny that familiar sprinting form.

‘…Perhaps he is in a position where he must hide it.’

Soon, with a sharp death cry, the ground shook violently.

Ji Seokhyeon had brought down every chimera.

The moment the last chimera vanished, Do Minyeong reflexively lay back down in the bushes.

An instinctive judgment that she should not let him know she had seen the battle.

‘But what posture was I in before?’

Had she been lying on her side?

‘My bare skin has to be exposed the same way too…!’

Do Minyeong closed her eyes and focused on sound, trying to track Ji Seokhyeon’s movements.

Fortunately, it did not seem as though he was coming straight over, but strangely, her breathing kept growing rough.

It was not because the chimera’s injury had reopened.

The mana inside her body was not flowing abnormally, and she had not even moved violently.

She had only sat up and lain back down.

Like a child hiding under a blanket to avoid being caught oversleeping, Do Minyeong curled herself tighter inside the bushes.

She had no idea what caused it, but one thing was certain.

“…”

The more she became aware of Ji Seokhyeon, the hotter her face grew.

***

Dispel’s 3rd Branch, the Information Analysis Room.

A police officer stared at a monitor with a bored expression.

“Just because she is an investigator, does she think she is all that? Why is she dumping what the branch chief ordered onto me?”

Complaining about being stuck on an all-night shift, the officer propped his chin in his hand, clicked lazily, and yawned again and again.

His assignment concerned the stakeout investigation from a few hours earlier, the one that Hero Prep cadets had gotten entangled in.

More precisely, he was reviewing the black box footage recovered from the vehicle the mafia had arrived in.

What kind of mafia drove around with a black box, but it seemed they had been unable to remove it because it was a recently stolen vehicle.

Thanks to that, they had gained a crucial resource for tracking the mafia’s movements, but the officer’s eyelids were already half closed in a losing battle.

“Haaah… It would be less boring if there were audio too.”

How long had he been watching?

At last, the footage reached the incident from a few hours ago, and the officer forced his eyes open.

“So a real chimera did pop out. The direct-line heir almost died. But that kid…”

Eyes suddenly bright as if he had never been drowsy, the officer paused the video and leaned closer to the monitor.

“Wait… no way.”

An extraordinary scene filled his view, something he could scarcely believe even while seeing it.

An ability he had only ever encountered in study materials when he attended the 4th Scholastic District…

“D-Did the branch chief… already leave work?”

It was Demonic Eye.

***

Friday morning.

Yesterday had truly been chaotic.

Meeting Choi Jaejin, confirming Demonic Being Allie, the appearance of chimeras, and Do Minyeong nearly dying.

By sheer luck, Gwon Chihun arrived at the depot around the same time as Dispel.

Of course, he drew Gwon Seongjun’s suspicion, but he slipped through by lying that he had been scouting the area alone.

“He really is talented at the strangest things.”

Among all those turbulent events, the greatest outcome was confirming my own potential.

The swordsmanship I had honed by spending coins in mock training whenever I had an opening had risen to a level that even I could feel was usable, and the effectiveness of the ability Erosion was excellent beyond question.

This was not arrogance.

“Agility 20 means I am the most nimble and sensitive being in this setting.”

So if it was a short battle where I did not need to pace my stamina, I could handle a C-Rank Hunter who had been grinding in this world for over a decade with ease.

Using a sword itself was a penalty I imposed on myself, but if I supported it with Erosion and Demonic Eye, I could probably threaten even a B-Rank Hunter.

If I went further…

I might even become a real Special Affairs Division investigator, not merely a trainee.

In any case, early in the morning, I left the dormitory.

It was a campus holiday, but ever since I began mock training, I often spent time in the Hall of Endurance, which had a physical training facility.

Even if the increases were minuscule, it was better than doing nothing.

Just as I stepped out of the dormitory building, I spotted Do Minyeong passing in front of the men’s dorm with an unnatural gait.

It looked like she had been waiting for me to come out.

Do Minyeong approached me with an awkward expression of recognition.

Half wary of her behavior, I spoke first.

“How is your body?”

She held her lips tightly shut until she came close, then finally answered.

“Because of you. …Th-Thank you.”

“…”

What was this.

This atmosphere was nothing like her.

Had she eaten something wrong overnight and gotten indigestion?

No, an awakened person would not get indigestion.

Do Minyeong’s gaze was strange, neither meeting my eyes nor avoiding them, hovering in an awkward middle ground.

Sure enough, her trembling voice continued.

“A-And back then, I did not understand your situation and I kept pushing you… I am sorry.”

It was sudden, but she was bringing up what had happened during the Spring Scholastic War.

The time I had hurt her by invoking her position as a social care beneficiary.

But did she have to say this while creating such a peculiar atmosphere?

The Do Minyeong I knew would have apologized more seriously and cleared the air quickly…

I forced a smile.

In any case, it meant her anger had eased.

“I am sorry too. I spoke harshly back then.”

“Ah! N-No, I did too.”

“…”

“…”

After that, the conversation broke off without context.

In this awkward air, the only noticeable change was that Do Minyeong kept avoiding my gaze more than necessary, her ears reddening.

As if she was embarrassed to face me.

“Th-Then, Ji Seokhyeon, I will go first.”

“Huh? Uh….”

Do Minyeong pulled up her hood and hurried away.

“What is that.”

Had her feelings changed in a single day?

As I tilted my head, unable to grasp her sudden shift, my smartphone in my pocket vibrated.

The sender was none other than Park Chaeshin.

I had surely explained enough about yesterday’s incident…

What was this about?

– Park Chaeshin: A video of yesterday’s incident has been leaked on Incrystal. It looks like there was a black box at the scene by chance. Contact me as soon as you check it.

A black box?

I hurriedly looked around and opened Incrystal.

The video in question immediately popped up and began playing.

It contained what had happened yesterday.

Why the chimeras appeared.

Why Do Minyeong lost consciousness.

The sight of me slaughtering the chimeras.

“…Damn it.”

And, in gruesome clarity, my discolored pupils.