How to Survive as an Extra

Chapter 134

An unpleasant stench drifted from the forehead that had been burned black.

“It has the same number again. 210703.”

─The crimes are getting bolder. Committing murder in District 5, where security is tight…

An apartment in Seoul’s District 5, in the inner city.

A report had come in that someone had just seen the Phantom Thief, but by the time I was urgently summoned and arrived, the victim was already dead.

And just like last time, the number 210703 had been left on the victim’s forehead.

“More importantly, has the identity been confirmed?”

─Yes. He is a Hunter who worked as a freelance mercenary until recently, but his past is unusual. I do not know if you have heard of it, but there was a Hunter guild called Eternal Prism that made quite a name for itself over a decade ago. It seems he served as one of their executives for several years.

“An executive of a famous Hunter guild is working as a freelance mercenary?”

─That is what his record suggests.

“It certainly smells suspicious.”

─For now, collect clues first. There is no treasure trove like a scene that still has a body.

Dispel and I reached the scene at almost the same time.

We had both responded at tremendous speed, but no one saw the direction Lee Eunho vanished toward.

Chasing after him would be more effective than clinging to the murder scene…

“Um, Investigator?”

While I was lost in thought, a Dispel investigator cautiously checked my expression.

“Yes?”

“We have completed the procedural evidence collection and prepared for recovery, but… what should we do now?”

As he said, Dispel personnel stood blankly inside the narrow apartment, waiting for my orders.

Even the medical unit stood before the corpse with a stretcher in hand, blinking dumbly.

This was how Dispel operated. They had to follow the command of a Special Affairs Division investigator.

Even if someone like Investigator Gwon Seongjun were here as a branch chief, even if Dispel’s Commissioner General arrived.

At a crime scene, even a Bureau division head carried less weight than a Special Affairs Division investigator.

Watching the faces turned toward me with expectation, I felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

So this was why people grasped power.

With my Demonic Eye active, I said,

“It will only take a moment.”

“Yes, understood.”

After that, I calmly examined the scene.

First, the living room window that seemed to be the Phantom Thief’s entry route.

The instant Lee Eunho broke the window, the security alarm would have sounded, which meant he killed the victim as soon as he entered.

I arrived in response to the call and could not even glimpse his back, so there was no room for debate.

The issue was that Lee Eunho had targeted someone in District 5, deep in the inner city.

It was a clear departure from his earlier pattern.

That shift made me uneasy.

He had followed Gen because he was tempted by the promise of help with revenge, so it was hard to understand why he had wandered the outskirts until now.

…Had something gone wrong between the two of them?

If Gen was not leaking information as promised, and Lee Eunho had started moving in a haphazard manner?

Then it meant the opposite.

It meant that now they were truly working together.

Without Gen’s information, Lee Eunho could not have carried out revenge in the inner city.

“This has become more complicated than I expected…”

I stared steadily at the number carved into the victim’s forehead.

It was not simply a date.

Lee Eunho was enacting revenge for an incident thirteen years ago. If it were a date, it would have to read 2026.

So what did that number mean?

It clearly pointed to Gangneung, but…

As I stared hard, something particularly irritating caught my eye.

The narrow gap at the center, between 210 and 703, right at the glabella between the brows.

I did not know whether it was intentional, but there was a meaningful space between the 0 and the 7.

As though someone had pressed the space bar once.

Could it be…!

I touched my in-ear device.

“Senior, it is a postal code!”

─What?

“The number!”

─Wait. Hold on… I found it! The postal code for Gangneung City Hall is 210-703! Damn it! We could not find it because the location record had been deleted all this time!

“Then this confirms that the Phantom Thief is connected to Gangneung.”

─Gangneung… Then is he pursuing revenge for the incident thirteen years ago? Maybe the Phantom Thief is the survivor…

“That seems like the correct conclusion.”

─Good. You did well. Come back to District 2 for now. I will buy you a drink—

Beep.

I removed the in-ear.

Turning to Dispel, I said,

“Let us end the on-site investigation here. There is nothing more we can find anyway. Thank you for your hard work.”

With that, I left the scene.

To be honest, the truth behind this number was not a clue that mattered much to me.

I already knew that Lee Eunho was moving to take revenge for Gangneung.

However, to tell Park Chaeshin that, I needed plausibility like this.

If I abruptly suggested we dig into Gangneung, I would only invite suspicion.

Thanks to this, I could move Park Chaeshin and Maxi Fredo more proactively.

For example, we could identify likely targets connected to Gangneung and prevent incidents in advance.

“Or lie in wait there and run into Lee Eunho.”

If my luck was bad, I might run into Gen, but I could think about that when it happened.

***

After the day I agreed to learn summoning magic from Instructor Kim Seulhee,

every day after morning classes ended, I studied summoning theory in her office.

That meant Do Minyeong and I ate the lunchbox she brought for lunch, and then I spent several hours there with a pen in hand while Kim Seulhee taught.

“Fundamentally, the ability called magic hinges on resonance with mana. It is unfair to some, but it is an undeniable part of performing magic. Put simply, it is talent. Of course, Cadet Ji Seokhyeon, since you have opened a Demonic Eye, resonance will not hold you back. Rather, you have the optimal conditions…”

Do Minyeong always watched me study for a long time before heading off to train.

I did not know what was so interesting about watching someone else study, but from time to time she even smiled quietly.

After several days of theory, I realized two things.

First, Kim Seulhee had more normal aspects than her appearance suggested.

Second, she and Do Minyeong actually got along well.

It was impossible to fully fill Aileen’s absence, but Kim Seulhee’s presence seemed to offer a measure of comfort.

For someone like me, who carried guilt toward Do Minyeong, it was a relief.

“As for golem shaping, it is purely the caster’s capability. The caster’s imagination has a tremendous effect on giving form to a golem. And this is not limited to summoning. The act of magic itself…”

Kim Seulhee taught theory for long hours every day, and one would expect her to show fatigue, but strangely, she only grew more passionate as the days went by.

It resembled the pattern seen in people who fervently love a single field.

Like so-called “otaku” enthusiastically lecturing about what they took pride in.

In any case, it meant her skill was beyond doubt.

“Now you understand, right? Summoning is art! The power to reveal the caster’s ideal to the world! You will soon feel its fatal charm!”

“……”

A few days later, the day finally came to attempt practice.

The location was the Hall of Truth, called the Tower of Magic.

A high-level training ground equipped with facilities where cadets of the Combat Division and Support Division could freely hone summoning.

I stepped onto fine sand.

“The foundation of an earth golem is sand. First, recall the sketch you drew last time and release mana into the sand beneath your feet.”

“Yes.”

Releasing mana into sand.

It aligned with the training I had done with An Hwigom.

It was no different from what I had done with the environmental mana around me.

“You must be as gentle as you can. You are granting life, even if only temporarily.”

The golem I had sketched was a weapon-bearing golem like Monica Bayliss’s.

Her Knight Golem had looked quite impressive.

A dignified figure like a knight protecting the caster was the very essence of summoning.

As an aside, not all golems were rough and jagged.

They were simply called golems because the summoned entities resembled human form.

“……”

Before I knew it, the sand at my feet was covered in my mana.

If it had been shadow, I would have already been using my ability freely, but it was my first time using magic with earth affinity, and I felt a subtle misalignment.

But only for a moment.

“That is it! Maintain that flow and imagine you are building a castle out of sand! Inside that castle, you must shape a mana core!”

Soon the sand began to move toward a single point.

It felt almost as though a wind had blown.

The sand gradually rose like dunes in a desert, and before long it reached my chest.

“Excellent! Now you must shape it into the form you envisioned! This is the moment to exercise a mage’s imagination! Mana is a friend that executes the caster’s will more clearly than anyone!”

Following Kim Seulhee’s guidance, I began carving the sand away.

From the feet touching the ground to the knees, thighs, and waist.

Then the solid abdomen and chest.

Finally, balanced shoulders and a head.

If Monica’s Knight Golem was a holy knight meant to protect something, the golem I envisioned was an agile killer that would plunge into the vanguard and annihilate the enemy.

A brave assassin who left no trace and ran straight toward his target…

But before the shaping could even be completed, the sand composing the golem collapsed.

“…!”

It was not due to a lack of mana.

In this case, it was because my design was based on shadow, a mixture of the earth attribute and the dark attribute.

Unable to overcome that gap, the golem fell apart.

My own strength also gave out, and I slumped down onto the sand.

The act of concentrating itself consumed considerable stamina.

In that case… I might need to remove the ring and practice in secret.

If the dark attribute were mixed in, the result would surely be different.

“Cadet Ji Seokhyeon.”

I looked up at Kim Seulhee, who stood beyond the sand.

“Why do you think the sand collapsed?”

“Because my proficiency is lacking?”

“That is part of it, but in my view, it is because you and sand are not compatible.”

“Compatible?”

“It means there is a more suitable material for you. We practiced with sand only because it is the foundational earth material, so you do not need to be discouraged. With your level of talent, the moment you touch the right material, you will surely raise a golem.”

That “right material” was obviously shadow.

“So drink a mana potion and try again! Let us find the perfect combination. This time, I think the gravel over there would be good!”

The atmosphere began to drift in a strange direction.

It felt as though she intended to make me use every earth material in this training ground.

If I thought of it as summoning practice, it was not necessarily a bad attempt, but would it not be better for me to practice alone with shadow instead?

Putting on an awkward expression, I said,

“Ah, would it not be enough to stop at a trial run for today?”

“What? Why?”

“I think I feel a bit nauseated since I did training I do not usually do…”

“Then let us rest a little and continue.”

“What? No, I mean next time.”

“Let us rest and do it. Ten minutes should be enough, right? How nauseated could an awakened person be? If you drink a healing potion along with a mana potion, you will feel better.”

“……”

“Oh! Since you are resting, how about sitting on the gravel bed? Feeling the material against your skin helps too! It is what we call affinity! The materials here all come from beyond the Rift and hold mana, so it will definitely help!”

No. That was wrong.

Once again, her eyes were gleaming with madness.

Somehow, I had become a test subject to satisfy Kim Seulhee’s hunger for research.

I had an instinctive feeling that I would not be allowed to leave the Hall of Truth without producing at least one complete golem that could truly be called a summon…

If she kept me until one in the morning, would An Hwigom break the tower and come rescue me?

No, that would just mean being dragged along anyway.

“Come on! Ah! If you do not like gravel, shall we use mud? Anything is fine, just say the word, all right?”

Ha….