Who Dares Call Me an Extra?
The current time is 6:00 AM.
"From this moment on, I will explain the details regarding the Dungeon Practice. The instant you enter the dungeon, everyone except your party members is a competitor, and combat between parties is permitted. Your primary objective is to eliminate the boss..."
Every student participating in the Dungeon Practice was listening intently to the Archmage's explanation.
Blabbering on and on at the crack of dawn. Aren't they tired? Listening so intently at this hour. Well, I suppose it's only natural...
Maybe it was because I had tossed and turned all night trying to figure out what to say to Ronia, but I was absolutely exhausted. I was barely paying attention, nodding off, when Mycaris tapped my shoulder.
"Pay attention."
"..."
I don't really need to listen, though...
From the dungeon's layout to the location of the boss room and the protagonist's route—I already knew everything. What was the point of listening? I had already prepared a plan. Reach the boss room via the shortest path and eliminate any party that got in our way.
It felt a bit villainous, but since I had to beat Winston to a pulp, I had no choice. Even if an ordinary party somehow reached the boss room, defeating the boss would be impossible for them anyway, so it didn't really matter.
"I will now open the gate. I wish you all good fortune."
While I was lost in thought, the Archmage's explanation had apparently ended. When I snapped out of it, the students were already lining up to enter the dungeon.
"Let's head in now."
"Lord Hound? You weren't dozing off, were you?"
"Ah, yes. Of course not. I definitely wasn't sleeping."
I'm barely half-awake. Is it really okay to go in like this?
Swoooosh!
The moment we stepped through the gate, a sensation of being sucked in washed over me. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. What is this? I think I'm getting motion sickness...
The Tunnel of the Digging Kobolds. Since it was an illusion created based on an actual dungeon, it felt incredibly realistic. A gloomy atmosphere, dripping water from the heavy humidity, and thick dust that choked the throat.
I had anticipated this and brought masks.
"Everyone, please put these masks on."
"How did you know to prepare something like this?"
"I prepared for every possibility since we didn't know what we'd face."
"Thank you. The dust was so bad I could barely breathe."
This area was particularly dusty. It made sense, considering this was the deep part of the tunnel where mana stones were mined.
As we made our way through, I noticed that Ronia and Mycaris were quite stiff. Well, it was their first time in a dungeon. It was mine too, technically...
To ease the tension, I threw out a light joke.
"Lady Mycaris. If we take first place in this practice, do I get a reward?"
"What kind of reward?"
"Like a hug, or maybe a kiss?"
"Are you trying to climb over me lately?"
"I can be the one to give you that reward, if you'd like?"
"What? You...!"
Just as we were exchanging this silly banter, two digging kobolds approached.
Grrr!
One held a hammer, the other a crossbow.
I shouted to Mycaris and Ronia.
"Both of you, get behind me! Cast your magic targeting the one with the crossbow!"
"U-understood!"
Mycaris and Ronia seemed tense, facing monsters for the first time. Their hands trembled as they drew their magic circles.
At this rate, their magic will be too late.
The kobold in the back had already finished loading its crossbow. I had no choice but to handle both of them myself.
Activating my calf muscles to their absolute limit, I lunged forward in an instant. Recalling the Edelian swordsmanship, I drew a line with my blade. A diagonal slash to the bottom right for the one in front, followed by a rising thrust for the one behind.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed from both kobolds. Flicking the blood off my sword, I encouraged the girls.
"Relax. This isn't a difficult dungeon."
"Have you been in a dungeon before, Lord Hound?"
"...You're strangely calm."
"I am the son of a family of adventurers, after all."
I smiled warmly and continued.
"Don't worry, I will never let an attack reach either of you ladies."
"My personal knight is indeed highly competent. Whoever appointed him did an excellent job."
"Indeed. I find myself wanting a personal knight like him too..."
Mycaris's gaze toward Ronia turned icy cold. Ah, please don't start...
"Now, let's keep moving."
Brushing past the chilly atmosphere, we advanced further into the dungeon, only for more kobolds to appear.
Grrr!
"Lightning!"
Crackle!
Mycaris's purple lightning electrocuted the kobolds.
"Ronia! Follow up!"
"Fire!"
Whoosh!
Sparks traveled along the ground, catching onto the kobolds and setting their bodies ablaze.
Screeech!
"Excellent work. Let's keep going just like this."
As I led the way without hesitation, Mycaris suddenly stopped me.
"Wait. Earlier, you called us by our names without any titles..."
Is that really important right now?
"It was an emergency, so I slipped up..."
"No, I don't mind if you call me by my name without titles."
"Me too. Call me Mycaris as well."
"Pardon?"
"You said you called her by her name because it was an emergency, right? Call me by my name too."
"Very well, Mycaris."
"..."
Jealousy over something like this? Why does it feel like they're getting more and more obsessed with me?
Just then, a fork in the cave blocked our path. Here, we... go right. Because the protagonist's party went right.
"This way."
"How do you know?"
"An adventurer's intuition."
As we entered the right path of the split cave, a familiar slicked-back hair came into view.
"Y-you!"
Was it the Lory Viscount family? That vassal guy... What kind of family name is that anyway?
"It's been a while, Lord... Whateveryournameis of the Lory Viscount family."
"It's Hainir of the Loren Viscount family!"
"Ah, so that was your name?"
Why did he bother telling me when I had absolutely no reason to remember it?
"Tsk, what an eyesore."
Slick-back's party clicked their tongues and headed into the other cave.
There are a shitload of kobolds over there, though.
I didn't bother telling him. Judging by his expression, he was practically grinding his teeth in hatred of me. Even if I warned him, would he even listen?
"Let's keep moving. If we continue this way, we'll reach the boss room."
"But how do you..."
"An adventurer's intuition."
"You have incredible intuition, Lord Hound."
"Well, yes..."
I should probably think of a different excuse soon. Using the same one over and over was bound to look suspicious.
As we continued through the tunnel, we arrived at the mining site of the kobold mine. I paused and whispered to the girls.
"We need to be careful from here on. There are many kobolds, and we could easily get swarmed if we're not careful."
Mycaris and Ronia swallowed hard and nodded.
Just as we were trying to quietly slip past the mining site...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
From the cave we had just passed, a massive cluster of red lines—no, a giant clump of them—appeared.
What the...?
Thud! Thud! Thud!
I couldn't help but stare in sheer horror. That slick-backed bastard had dragged every single kobold from his cave and was running straight toward the quarry.
"Haha! Hahaha! I told you I'd be watching you!"
"That crazy bastard!"
Grrr!
At a glance, twenty? Thirty? It was impossible to count them all. At this rate, even Ronia and Mycaris would be in danger.
"What the hell are you planning to do with all of them?!"
"We have our ways! Hey, cast the invisibility magic!"
"Stealth!"
The figures of Slick-back's party distorted and quickly vanished from sight.
"Ronia, Mycaris. Spam your magic as much as possible. I wanted to conserve your mana, but given the situation, you have to use everything you've got."
"I'm already doing it! Lightning Edge!"
"Flare Von!"
Boom!
How many did that spell just blow away? Did ten of them die? But looking closely, there were even more behind them.
"Don't worry about me, just focus on defense!"
I leaped into the middle of the horde of over thirty kobolds. Countless red lines obstructed my vision, but it was fine. With my exceptional joint flexibility and the movements I had honed through rigorous training, I dodged them as if performing a circus act.
I even deflected the crossbow bolts flying toward the girls, putting on a veritable show.
"This is insane... Is that kind of movement even humanly possible?"
"Mycaris! This is no time to be amazed! They're rushing us too!"
Even though I tried my best to draw all the kobolds' attention, were some still slipping past?
Top-left, bottom-right, a hammer swinging down from behind, and an arrow flying straight at my face.
Clang!
I deflected the descending hammer, bent my waist to dodge another attack, and swatted away the arrow flying straight at me.
"Aura Blade."
Infusing my sword with Aura, I executed the Edelian swordsmanship, carving through the kobolds. It was a brilliant trajectory of steel, a movement worthy of being called a dance. Thanks to that, their numbers dwindled significantly.
"Thunder Lightning!"
"Atomic Flare!"
Crackle! Whoosh—Boom!
"Hound!"
Ronia and Mycaris rushed over in a panic.
"Huff, puff. I'm fine, so..."
We had dealt with the swarming kobolds, but... in the distance, I saw the quarry's resident kobolds rushing toward us.
"Damn it..."
I pushed the girls' backs, shouting urgently.
"Go straight down this path and hide in the small cave in the left corner! You'll be safe there!"
"What about you?!"
"I'll be fine, just go!"
"Lord Hound, let's fight together!"
"This isn't a number we can just fight off! Besides, the boss of this quarry is coming. There's no time! Hurry!"
I pushed their backs as they hesitated to leave.
"You... you must come back alive, okay?"
"Mycaris, have you ever seen me break a promise?"
Ronia and Mycaris hurriedly ran off.
"That slick-backed bastard is going to pay..."
I couldn't afford to get disqualified here. I had to beat the crap out of Winston no matter what. And I had to show the girls that we took first place.
Grrr!
I was completely surrounded by a ring of kobolds.
"Whew..."
I took a deep breath to focus. When surrounded in a circle like this, the key is to break through one side. The direction I chose was... the left, where the crossbowmen were gathered.
Clang! Boom!
Sweeping through with my Aura-clad sword, I broke through the left side. A strike from the top-left, arrows flying from the top-right and behind, a dagger flying straight at me... There were too many red lines, completely blinding my vision.
This was seriously bad.
I deflected the incoming arrows with my sword. Twisting every joint in my body, I repeatedly dodged and blocked. At the same time, I used the Edelian swordsmanship to dispatch them.
I was so out of breath that my side began to ache. My heart pounded as if it were about to explode, and a raspy, metallic sound escaped my throat.
Just as the kobolds were almost all wiped out...
Thud!
The Kobold Overseer of the quarry made its appearance. It was easily over three meters tall, wielding a massive hammer in one hand.
At this rate, I might actually get disqualified. I had no strength left to fight, nor the energy to run.
"Ha... Special Shop."
Tring!
I frantically scrolled down.
I wanted to establish a Magic Swordsman family!
In the end, I bought the Path of the Sword Saint.
The Path of the Sword God?
But that wasn't what mattered right now. This feeling of my blood boiling and a sudden surge of vitality flooding my heart. Five stars. The realm of 5-Star Aura.
"Whew..."
I steadied my breathing and glared at the Kobold Overseer.
Grrr!
"Aura Blade."
A brilliant blue light, incomparably more intense than before, enveloped my sword.
The Kobold Overseer raised both arms toward the sky.
A frontal slam.
*Crash!*
Leaping onto the slammed hammer, I ran up the handle and slashed its throat.
Splatter!
Blood erupted from the kobold's neck.
And yet, one red line still remained. I knew instinctively who it was. Hainir.
*Swish.*
As I drew a line with my sword along the direction of the red line, the stealth of Hainir's party was dispelled.
"Argh!"
The guy who fell must have been their mage. I grabbed Hainir by the collar and growled.
"You crazy bastard, do you have any idea what you've just done?"
"H-how dare a mere commoner speak to me like that!"
"You... just wait until this Dungeon Practice is over."
"What do you think you're doing to Lord Hainir?!"
*Slash!*
I cut down the nameless lackey of Hainir's party.
"I'm definitely not letting you off easy."
*Stab!*
"Cough..."
Dark blood trickled from Hainir's abdomen. I had avoided his vitals. Even if you die in the dungeon, you don't actually die in reality. The pain is also somewhat mitigated.
However, letting him off too easily didn't feel right, so I didn't finish him off. He could just get beaten to death by the late-arriving kobolds for all I cared.
I gave Hainir one final warning.
"If you ever show your face in front of me again, you're dead in the real world too."
But... my vision was blurring. Did I push myself too hard?
*Thud, thud.*
With heavy steps, I headed toward the girls. Praying that they were safe.