The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World

For a dozen torturously long seconds, neither of them had been able to seriously wound the other.

For every offense and defense, both of them managed to match up in equal measure.

Finally, the two of them disengaged and stepped back, pausing for a few moments. Ruvian was breathing heavily; his clone was in the same state, staring at him with a grim expression.

Looking at his original, the clone suppressed a devious smile. ”Tired already? I thought we were just warming up.”

A moment later, Ruvian gritted his teeth and pulled the exact smile.

”Bad news for you, I can do this warm-up session all day.”

It was then the clone’s cold, contemptuous voice suddenly grew heavier.

”Are you sure about that?”

Ruvian replied. ”There’s no need for me to reconfirm that.”

And so, they crashed into each other once more; their duel showed little sign of change, since each could release only a single offensive spell before being forced to evade the next.

The exchange carried on without flourish or waste, a grinding contest of precision where neither gained ground and neither faltered.

This was primarily because both of them remained bound to Spellcore Tier 1, which limited them to one cast at a time, and any hope of surpassing that restriction would require raising the tier of their Spellcore.

Under such conditions, both sides had very few opportunities to overpower or outwit the other, and so the contest gradually turned into a test of endurance in which victory would belong to whoever exhausted their mana first.

Ruvian could not help but wonder...

Was this the clone’s intention from the start?

Was its true advantage lay in holding a greater reservoir of mana than his own?

He could not dismiss the possibility.

It could be.

Perhaps, that was the missing piece...

Even so, he doubted that this was the real weakness he faced.

A larger reserve was not an insurmountable flaw, because reserves of mana were something he could refine and expand far more easily than any nameless extra wandering this world.

For that reason, he was sure that was not the most fatal flaw at the moment. It had to be something else, something more vital, and more deeply rooted.

If his mana reservoir was not the decisive factor, then the question still remained as to what hidden difference truly separated them.

’Damn it.’

’What exactly does this bastard have that I don’t?’

Gripping his wand tightly, Ruvian cast another spell.

*****

[Instructor Airin’s POV]

Instructor Airin sat motionless in her chair, her gaze locked onto the manaboard within the cramped chamber.

Upon the holographic display hovered five separate panels, each one showing a scholar locked in battle with their own double, the clashes unfolding in cold, silent light.

Her eyes moved across the shifting graphs and the flowing strings of numbers.

So far, the results matched what she had expected. Each of her scholars had already lasted well past three minutes, and their survival rates were still holding steady.

”They are doing quite well.” She murmured.

Her gaze drifted to the first panel, where Griffer confronted his mirrored self.

Both figures moved in tight arcs, their spears flashing in mirrored thrusts and parries that rang as though bound to the same rhythm.

However, the movement showed a different story. The clone’s motion was smoother between attacks.

Meanwhile, Griffer fought fiercely, but the signs showed he was under strain, and his breathing became faster whenever the pressure increased.

She nudged her glasses back into place and let out a slow sigh as the truth became clear to her. She could see it as plainly as a scar.

She finally understood what Griffer was missing all along.

He lacked composure and patience.

She turned to watch another panel.

This time it was Noelle.

Her fight against her double was going rather well, at least at first glance, since she had already managed to slice a clean cut across her opponent’s arm.

However, her clone had done the same to her, and worse. The data scrolling beside the image made it plain that she had taken more cuts than she had dealt.

Noelle fought like a drawn blade, keen, vicious, and unrelenting. Her assaults drove forward with the hunger of something that only knew how to cut.

As she forced the fight harder, her defense slowly weakened, and that was the flaw rooted deepest in her.

Whenever she saw an opening, all her caution disappeared, as though staying alive did not matter as much as landing the next strike.

Then, she moved to Melia’s panel.

For a moment, Airin adjusted her glasses, as if she needed to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her. What she saw defied what she expected.

Both figures, the original and the clone, had abandoned their bows. Instead, they were trading blows with their bare fists, striking each other in a fierce and ruthless exchange.

”So she really did go through with it... submitting that request to change her weapon. I suppose she truly has no intention of using a bow.”

Then, she looked at Corwin’s panel.

Airin’s face grew worried.

From what she saw, he would not be able to endure the trial much longer. His clone was overwhelming him completely, pressing him back without mercy.

The flaw was so obvious that even Corwin himself had likely begun to see it.

He lacked faith and confidence in himself. And while he faltered under doubt, his double stood firmly before him.

Later, a soft chime broke the silence of the chamber.

[Trial Concluded]

[Subject: Corwin Dunley]

[Endurance Time: 4 minutes 42 seconds]

Airin let out a soft sigh.

Disappointment brushed against her thoughts. Corwin had come painfully close to the five-minute threshold. Still, he had endured as long as he could, and she would not deny the effort he had given.

At last, she shifted her attention to the final panel.

Ruvian and his double were locked in a relentless exchange of spells. Of the five scholars, he was the only one whose flaw she had yet to uncover.

No matter how closely she studied the data streams or traced the patterns of their movements, she couldn’t figure it out.

At some point, it even made her question herself.

Did his clone even possess some hidden advantage?

However, the notion felt absurd the moment it formed. If such an advantage truly existed, it would imply that Ruvian himself lacked nothing, and that conclusion bordered on nonsense.

Yet the longer she observed, the more that impossible thought began to take root.

And then, another question came...

What if his double already knew what advantage it possessed and was deliberately concealing it from him?

’That’s... there is a slim chance of that.’

After all, it had already happened a long time ago.

Shaking her head, Airin dismissed the speculation before it could settle too deeply. Regardless of that issue, her duty remained the same.

As their circle instructor, she needed to identify the flaw that hindered Ruvian’s growth. Without that knowledge, she could not guide him into what he had the potential to become.

If even she could not discern it, then she would have to seek the judgment of other instructors.

While she was wondering about such options...

The tides of the battle on Ruvian’s panel had suddenly flipped...

──────── ✦ ────────

[Chapter 61: Trials of Confrontation (4)]