The Unlimited Ascension: Reborn as an Extra

On the edge of Vale City, inside a large, abandoned park filled with broken slides, damaged swings, and rusted benches, a quiet atmosphere lingered. The park seemed to have been abandoned for quite a long time, and dense, untamed grass had grown tall across most of the area.

Alen sat on a rusted bench beneath the cooling shade of a large tree. He leaned back comfortably against the seat while eating a warm burger. Beside him, a commercial water bottle rested on the wooden slats, already half-empty.

Alen looked up at the sky as the bright rays of sunlight fell in front of him. The morning air was warm, and the atmosphere felt peaceful, filled with the occasional sound of chirping birds.

’It has been quite some time since I got to experience such a peaceful day... But alas, I can’t just slack off. I have to go attempt my next trial in the Ascension Realm next week... I have to prepare for that...’

’Sigh... I am a clear dumbass. I should have taken a proper break, but I can’t. At least not until I reach the second stage of the Ascension Realm and get that mysterious thing people call a ’Star’. If I get that, then I will finally be able to know what it really means to climb the Ascension Realm...’

’I will no longer be a newbie after that... Well, I just hope I won’t die at the very least. I don’t know why, but I am constantly attracting so much trouble toward myself... Sometimes I fear that I will mistakenly get involved in the massive political struggles of this world...’

’I wonder why I am so unlucky. Even in the past, only a few good things happened to me. Even in this new life, I am living a life filled with constant struggle... Do I not deserve to live a happy life? Do I not deserve to live a life free of struggle and suffering?’

’Tchh! What am I even blaming? It is only my own fault that I am suffering. I have never proven anything to anyone, and I have never become useful for anyone. Then how will I live happily?’

Alen slapped his own cheeks with both hands, the sharp stinging sound echoing in the quiet park as he tried to wake himself up from his depressing thoughts.

”Tchh! Why am I acting like a depressed boy? I should work harder instead of slacking off here... No one is going to come to help me in the struggles of my life. I have to lift my own burden. So, instead of slacking off, let’s work to the absolute hardest!”

Alen rose from the rusted bench. He walked forward to an open patch of grass and summoned ’Godless’ into his hand. The Crimson dagger appeared from Alen’s chest. He reached out and gripped the twisted handle. The guard was sharp and uneven, shaped almost exactly like broken spikes or jagged claws, and it emitted a flowing trace of Crimson Essence.

Since Ravena was the spiritual manifestation of the weapon, she could dispatch her physical form wherever she pleased, even if the actual weapon remained firmly in his hand. The spiritual form she had shown earlier was her projection, or more appropriately, the living manifestation of the weapon itself. It could be said that the weapon was currently divided into two separate parts.

Because she was not inside the weapon right now, the dagger’s power had decreased by at least 80% of its original capacity. The core consciousness and true power resided inside her, not the blade.

That was also the main reason she could cleave the giant worm in the ’White Heaven’ even without wielding the actual weapon. She had total control over the power, making her a literal walking weapon.

But now that she was absent, the weapon Alen held was just an empty shell without much actual magical power.

Alen didn’t mind this. He wasn’t originally planning on training its magical output anyway. He was just going to train his simple swings and learn the basic physical use of this weapon.

Since he was just a newbie using a dagger, it would take time for him to learn its proper use. But since he had his new innate ability, ’Weapon Master’, he needed to know how that ability might work in a practical setting.

”So, should I begin?”

He asked himself the question while holding the dagger tightly. Without using any Crimson Essence this time, he looked at the large amount of dense grass covering the park. The weeds were tall enough to reach his knees.

He stepped forward and started swinging the dagger wildly. As the blade passed through the air, the sharp edge of the dagger cut through the thick grass as easily as slicing through paper.

”Oh, this seems easy...”

He started to swing the dagger more wildly and unprofessionally, cutting through the tall grass in a chaotic rhythm. A few small kids who were passing along the nearby road with their parents started to giggle when they saw him cutting the grass with such weird, exaggerated footsteps.

”Hehe... Mom, look! That gardener is funny~”

”Hey, don’t look over there, sweetie. Keep walking...”

The kid’s mother tried to hold back her own laugh as she saw him. She quickly grabbed her child’s hand and hurried away.

Several other people also passed by the park, reacting with the exact same suppressed amusement.

’Fck! Am I really that bad at using a weapon? The ability says my speed of learning weapons will increase threefold, but I can’t feel anything different. Did I get scammed by the system?’*

As he cursed to himself, he didn’t stop swinging. He kept cutting the grass with the legendary dagger, trying in vain to improve his sloppy stance.

Minutes bled into hours. Almost half of the overgrown garden had been cleaned up by his chaotic strikes.

”Hah... hah... hah... Well, it seems at least the park got cleaned up, even if I didn’t learn anything... No, I can’t say I didn’t learn anything. It seems the dagger is just like a fist. I can thrust it into someone’s chest again and again to kill them...”

He paused, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

”Wait, I am sounding like a psychopath talking about torture... Sigh...”

Alen slumped his shoulders in exhaustion and disappointment. Suddenly, he heard the familiar, mocking giggle of a little girl coming from right behind him.

”Hehe...”

He spun around to look in the direction the sound came from. Two figures sat comfortably on the exact same rusted bench he had used during lunch. One was a guy wearing a black cloak, while the other was a girl with pitch-black hair and bright crimson eyes. She was happily eating a stick of pink cotton candy, swinging her small legs back and forth while sitting on the bench.

Both L and Ravena had been watching him for quite some time. They had witnessed all of his wild, untamed dagger swings and all of his highly embarrassing stances.

Alen looked at them with a shocked expression. His face instantly turned as red as a ripe tomato as all of his embarrassing moments were laid bare in front of his rival and the little girl he seemed to hate.

”Hehe... Your face is looking like a tomato right now! I think if I squeeze it, it might just burst. Hehe...” Ravena teased.

Both L and Ravena stood up from the bench and walked toward him.

”Hehe... You are truly ridiculously weak... You don’t even know a basic combat stance, dumbass...” Ravena mocked, licking her cotton candy.

Alen glared furiously at the little girl. He sent a pulse of Crimson Essence out, attempting to forcibly absorb her back into the dagger. But she quickly hid behind L’s legs as the Crimson Essence dissolved harmlessly into the air.

Alen finally looked up at L, meeting his violet eyes. He searched L’s face for any sign of mockery or amusement. L’s expression was completely blank.

For a brief moment, Alen thought he wasn’t amused by his embarrassing situation at all.

But suddenly, L couldn’t hold it back anymore. His blank expression twisted, his shoulders shook, and he started to laugh out loud.

”Hahahaha...”

Alen glared intensely at both of them as the little girl joined in, happily making fun of his amateur gardening skills.