I'm an Extra, so What?
Chapter 129 - 129: Wanna Kill Some Monsters?

Luka didn't hesitate. He veered left, away from safety.

Serene blinked, glancing at the sun dipping low through the canopy. "...You do know we just finished a dungeon, right?"

Luka didn't answer immediately. His eyes were sharp, still glowing faintly from the buffs and surges of mana.

The faint sting of wounds, the pulse of blood in his ears, the phantom vibration of clashing steel—it was all still alive in him.

"I'm not done," he said finally, rolling his shoulders, his grin sharp. "That thing barely scratched the surface. I'm still wired."

"You're high on adrenaline," Serene said dryly, adjusting the strap of her shield across her back. "Again."

"And you're still here."

"I know." She sighed. "Don't remind me."

Snow let out a sleepy, vaguely concerned chirp from Luka's shoulder—but didn't try to stop them.

They moved like shadows beneath the trees, slipping through thick ferns and under low branches.

The deeper they went, the more the forest changed.

The air grew heavier, thicker with damp earth and magic.

Strange cries echoed in the distance—far-off roars, chittering laughter, and the snap of something large brushing against bark.

Luka's blades sang again before long.

A stone-skinned tuskwolf lunged from the underbrush, half-camouflaged in lichen—but Luka had already ducked, sliding beneath its jaw and driving his dagger upward into its skull.

It slumped without a sound.

[EXP +140]

He didn't stop to loot it.

"I thought the goal was progress," Serene said, stepping over the body. "You're not even taking the materials now?"

"I don't need fur," Luka said, scanning the trees. "I need blood."

"…Not ominous at all."

A swarm of stingbees buzzed overhead—and were immediately intercepted by Snow, who released a wide puff of flame that roasted them mid-air. Their crispy remains fell like ash.

They moved on, deeper into a region marked by crumbling statues and sunken ruins, where the trees grew so tall and thick that the sun barely reached the forest floor.

This was beyond even what the Academy maps marked—uncharted territory.

And the monsters changed with it.

Luka danced through a writhing mass of root-puppeteered boars—hacking through the animated corpses with brutal efficiency.

Serene shielded his flank from the surprise attack of a stonebeak owl, swatting it mid-air with a resonant crack of her tower shield.

More EXP. More movement. More bodies in their wake.

It wasn't madness, not exactly.

Luka fought clean, efficient.

But there was something in the way he moved—like he was chasing something just out of reach.

Not glory. Not even experience. Just...release.

"This is excessive," Serene said at one point, stepping over a shattered carapace. "Even for you."

Luka didn't answer. His eyes were scanning, always forward.

They reached a deep ravine, moss-draped and humming with residual mana. A beast slithered from within—something between a crocodile and a centipede, its dozens of clawed legs skittering against stone.

Luka leapt before it finished emerging.

It lashed out with a wide tail, sending debris flying. Serene took the hit, bracing hard, boots skidding across the dirt—but not falling.

Luka stabbed one of its eyes, then jammed an explosive talisman into its exposed underbelly. It let out a hideous shriek and blew apart from within, ichor splattering the rock.

He landed lightly beside its twitching body.

[EXP +600][Bestiary Updated: Ravine Horror]

"That one better have calmed you down," Serene said, wiping gore from her cheek.

Luka finally exhaled. A slow breath. His shoulders dropped slightly. "...Maybe a little."

"Great." She looked around. "Because we're in the middle of nowhere, running low on potions, and I think Snow's starting to have a meltdown."

Snow, curled on a rock, gave a pointed whimper and flopped dramatically onto his side.

Luka wiped his blades clean and sheathed them, giving the sky a glance.

Twilight had settled over the forest.

Fireflies blinked to life in the branches, and a strange hush settled over the land—less tense than before. As if even the monsters were turning in for the night.

"We should head back," Luka said quietly.

Serene nodded, already pulling out a small crystal orb. "Recall stone?"

"Yeah."

They placed their hands on it together, and with a pulse of pale light, the world bent around them.

A heartbeat later, they stood just outside the Academy's eastern gate, muddy, bloodied, and very much alive.

Snow flopped to the grass with relief.

"I swear," Serene muttered, half to herself, "next break, we're resting..."

Luka grinned faintly. "We'll see."

.

.

.

The moment their boots touched the paved courtyard, Luka knew.

The air wasn't just warm from the nearby lanterns or humming with late-night mana currents.

"You left me!" Arthur's voice split the stillness like a blade.

Luka and Serene turned.

Arthur stormed toward them from the central path, his cloak torn and dust-stained, one arm bandaged, his normally pristine armor scratched in ugly streaks.

His hair was windblown and unbrushed, his jaw locked so tightly it looked like it might snap.

Behind him, two of their classmates trailed awkwardly—Gregor, looking as neutral as a brick wall, and the healer, who gave Luka an apologetic shrug.

"Oh no," Serene said quietly. "He's doing the thing again."

Arthur didn't even glance at her. He stopped two feet from Luka, chest heaving. "You. Ditched me in the Elven Kingdom!"

"You ditched yourself," Luka replied flatly. "You were too busy to notice the rest of us leaving."

"YOU!!"

Gregor coughed into his fist.

Arthur's cheeks flushed. "You had no right to leave without me! Do you have any idea what I had to deal with?! I was detained for hours by their royal guard! Then I had to find a guide through the Western Ridge, and do you know what was waiting there? Wyverns. Three of them!"

"Should've tamed one," Luka said, brushing a bit of dried blood off his tunic.

"I fought them alone!"

"And survived. Congratulations."

Arthur took a step forward. "This was insubordination. Treason. You left a party member behind in hostile territory—"

"You're not the party leader," Luka said calmly. "No one voted you anything."

"I am the chosen one!"

There it was. The phrase.

Serene actually took a small step back in anticipation.

Arthur jabbed a finger toward Luka's chest. "You were supposed to back me up. Support me. You and your glorified maid went off on some idiotic side adventure while I—I—was stranded in enemy territory with no backup!"

"You weren't stranded. You were smitten," Serene muttered.

Arthur ignored her. "And to make it worse, while I was risking my life, you were out racking up dungeon kills and loot drops like some glory hound—!"

Luka blinked, tilted his head. "You jealous?"

Arthur went still.

Serene covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

"I—no! Why would I be jealous of you?!"

"You tell me." Luka shrugged. "We completed a dungeon, gained four levels, cleared a forest zone, and brought back rare monster cores. What did you bring back?"

Arthur sputtered. "Dignity!"

"…Sure."

Arthur looked like he might explode. He took another step forward, hand drifting toward the hilt of his sword.

But a warning chirp came from the side—Snow, now fully awake and baring tiny fangs.

Serene calmly unhooked her shield, not raising it, but letting the movement speak.

Gregor stepped between them at last, sighing like a man shouldering furniture. "That's enough, Arthur. You made it back alive. They made it back alive. Let's leave it at that."

Arthur's jaw worked. He glanced at the healer, who gave him a tired look.

He turned back to Luka. "This isn't over."

Luka met his gaze without blinking. "It never is."

Arthur spun on his heel and stalked off, muttering under his breath. Gregor and the healer followed, though Gregor gave Luka a faint nod in passing.

Luka watched them go.

Serene exhaled, finally relaxing her stance. "Well. That was dramatic."

Luka turned and began walking.

"You know he's going to try to challenge you again soon, right?" she said, falling into step beside him.

"I hope he does."

Serene glanced sideways. Luka's eyes still held a gleam—less from adrenaline now and more from something quieter. Steady.

.

.

.

Luka didn't say a word as he peeled off the last of his outer gear and let it drop to the floor.

He moved toward the bed, not with his usual quiet intent, but with the weariness of someone who had given every last drop of energy to the day.

He pulled back the sheets and dropped into bed face-first.

A small, warm weight scrambled up onto the bed a few seconds later.

Snow let out a satisfied chirp and spun in a circle before flopping down right against Luka's side, his soft white scales pressing into Luka's arm.

"Don't hog the blanket," Luka muttered sleepily, not opening his eyes.

Snow responded by licking his cheek once and letting out a tiny puff of heat, just enough to warm the immediate area like a personal furnace.

Serene, meanwhile, moved with quiet grace.

She lit a single enchanted lantern, letting it cast a gentle golden glow over the room.

She tidied up Luka's discarded armor, wiped off a stray smear of dried ichor from his cloak, and hung it neatly.

"You should get some sleep too," Luka mumbled, voice muffled into his pillow.

"I will," Serene said softly:

"After I do my maid duties..."

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