I'm an Extra, so What?
Chapter 130 - 130: Investigation

The Next Morning – Guild Hall

The warm scent of fresh ink, old wood, and baked bread filled the Adventurer's Guild hall.

Sunlight streamed through stained-glass windows depicting heroes of ages past, each with weapons raised toward some ancient, unseen enemy.

Luka stood in front of the mission board, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. A few lower-rank adventurers whispered behind him, unsure whether to approach or give him space. Most wisely chose the latter.

"Guildmaster wants to see you upstairs," a clerk said, approaching with a nervous smile and a clipboard clutched to her chest. "Said it's a personal request."

Luka gave a short nod and turned without a word.

Upstairs, the noise of the main hall faded away. The second floor was quieter, lined with bookshelves, record logs, and magical scrolls sealed behind enchanted glass. At the far end sat a wide office, the door slightly ajar.

Inside, the Guildmaster was waiting.

A woman in her forties, armored in worn leathers and bearing more scars than most retired adventurers, sat behind a broad desk littered with reports. Her short gray hair was tied into a practical knot, and her eyes, sharp as whetted blades, lifted as Luka entered.

"Sit," she said.

Luka complied.

"We've got a situation," she began, skipping pleasantries. "A supply convoy bound for the border outpost went missing three days ago. Scouts found the wagons yesterday—torn apart. Blood, no bodies. No tracks. Just... silence."

"Monsters?" Luka asked.

"Not just monsters." The Guildmaster slid a parchment across the desk. A crude map was inked onto it, showing the route and the dead zone. "A forested ridge east of here. Cursed terrain. We usually avoid it. But this was a marked path. Something's moved in recently. Something smart."

"Other teams?"

"Sent two. Neither returned."

Luka's eyes narrowed. "And you're still sending me."

"You're not like them," she said simply. "And we can't afford another failure."

Luka stood. "Fine. I'll look into it."

As he turned to leave, she added, "Take someone with you. I'm not interested in repeating last week's miracle with another damn resurrection bill."

.

.

.

Later That Day – Forest Outskirts

Serene adjusted the straps on her shield and gave Luka a sidelong glance. "So... just a simple investigation, huh?"

"Simple enough," Luka muttered, leading the way.

Snow rode on his shoulder, tail twitching with anticipation. He'd grown since they'd adopted him, his wings larger, his eyes sharper. He chirped once as they crossed a shallow stream and approached the region marked on the map.

The shift in atmosphere was immediate.

Birdsong ceased. The air thickened. Trees grew unnaturally twisted, and a sickly green mist hovered along the ground.

Luka crouched, inspecting a snapped branch near the road. "Wagons came through here. No drag marks. Whatever took them… carried them off."

Serene knelt beside him. "No scent either. Like it never happened."

"Except we know it did."

They moved carefully, weapons at the ready. An hour passed with only silence and shadows.

Then—

A shriek tore through the air.

Snow flared his wings, hissing, and Luka spun just as a shape lunged from the trees.

It wasn't a beast. It was a man—or had once been. His body was twisted, his skin rotted and stretched, and black ichor oozed from empty eyes. A rune was branded into his chest, glowing red.

A cursed thrall.

Luka's dagger flashed.

He ducked the first wild swing and drove the blade into the thing's throat. It didn't fall. Serene intercepted the counterattack with her shield and bashed it aside, creating just enough space for Luka to slash again, this time across the rune.

The glow shattered. The thrall let out a gurgling wheeze and collapsed in a heap.

More shrieks echoed through the trees.

"They're coming," Serene warned.

"Good," Luka said, eyes already scanning the terrain for the best killing ground. "Let them."

Thirty Minutes Later

The forest floor was littered with broken bodies and burning runes. Luka stood at the center, blood spattered and breathing evenly. His movements had taken on the smooth, detached precision of someone on instinct—his blade an extension of will.

Serene exhaled, propping herself against a half-fallen tree. "Still think this is 'simple'?"

"Getting there," Luka said. "One more source left."

A trail of dead vegetation led deeper into the woods. At its end, they found a crumbling stone crypt half-swallowed by the roots of an ancient tree.

From within, a soft chanting pulsed—a wrong, rhythmic whisper in a forgotten tongue.

Luka stepped forward without hesitation.

Serene followed, her shield glowing faintly from the wards she'd activated.

They descended into the darkness once more.

The descent was steep.

Each step echoed, the walls narrowing and pressing in with the weight of centuries. Faint whispers slid across the stone like smoke, curling around their ears. Snow hissed softly, claws digging into Luka's shoulder, his small body tense.

"I don't like this," Serene muttered, eyes scanning the shadows. "Feels… wrong."

"It is wrong," Luka replied. "This place wasn't built to honor the dead. It was made to chain something down."

The corridor ended in a wide chamber.

Dozens of ancient candles lit the space with green fire. Bones were scattered across the floor, arranged in a spiral leading to a ritual circle carved directly into the stone. Floating above it—barely held back by chains of light—was the source:

A humanoid figure, suspended upside-down, bound by spectral chains that dug into its limbs. Its skin shimmered like oil, and its face was a perfect mask—no mouth, no eyes, no features at all.

Yet it watched them.

A guttural, feminine voice echoed without a mouth:"Another one comes to kneel. Or maybe to break the seal?"

Serene raised her shield. "Who are you?"

"I am the First Reaper's Gift. The Curse Named Want. The Seeker of Void and Hunger."

Snow snarled.

The masked entity tilted her head, as if amused.

"But you… you're interesting, boy."The voice rippled like a scream underwater."You carry the mark of the dungeon. The echo of a Lich. And something else… raw. Untamed."

Luka's grip on his dagger tightened. "You're what's killing the scouts."

"I never kill. I invite. They begged for power… and I gave them shape."

The chains cracked.

One broke.

Luka acted instantly.

He threw a dagger—enchanted, humming—and it slammed into the floating circle. The ritual sputtered. Chains flared and held.

The creature shrieked. Then dropped to the ground in a flash of movement, standing on inverted limbs, bones cracking as it twisted into a spider-like form with blade arms and flickering afterimages.

[BOSS: Masked Horror – Spawn of the Void Hunger]Level: 42

Serene stepped forward without hesitation. "I'll hold it."

Luka dashed left, circling as the creature lunged.

It moved like smoke and steel—blurring, snapping, then vanishing to strike from behind. Serene blocked the first lunge with a thunderous clang and pushed forward, her shield shining with holy resistance.

Luka vanished.

Then reappeared behind the boss, slashing low at the limbs.

The Mask shrieked and whirled, one blade-arm morphing into a scythe.

It caught Luka's arm—slicing shallow but cold enough to numb his fingers. He grunted and stabbed upward, hitting just below its center mass.

It staggered.

Serene charged, slamming her full weight into it.

The creature screeched, digging into the stone with its claws.

Snow soared overhead, unleashing a burst of radiant flame—light, not fire—burning away the creeping shadows around them.

The boss shrieked louder, flailing.

[Phase Two Initiated]

A pulse of darkness erupted from the circle. The ritual reignited, and from the cracks in the floor, shadow copies of the boss began rising—lesser versions with dripping blades and twitching masks.

"Adds!" Luka shouted.

Serene gritted her teeth. "I've got the big one. Go."

Luka dashed past, throwing daggers into two copies before they even fully stood. He spun, kicking off a wall and using the height to drop onto a third. Each flick of his blade was decisive, honed.

Snow distracted a fourth with spiraling flashes of light, giving Luka the opening to rip through its core with a glowing strike enhanced by his soul core.

Serene slammed her shield into the boss again. "Luka!"

"Ready!"

He sprinted toward her. She planted her feet, and as the Mask lunged with both scythe-arms, Luka vaulted off her shield—flying forward.

Time seemed to slow.

He drove his enchanted dagger directly into the eye slit of the mask.

The creature shrieked—a sound that rattled stone—and then it imploded. Shadow, light, sound all vanished at once, leaving only ash.

A long silence followed.

Then a soft ding echoed in Luka's mind.

[LEVEL UP]New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Dancer's Step+1 Attribute Point. +2 Skill Points.

A glowing chest emerged near the center of the chamber.

Luka wiped blood off his blade and approached, opening it cautiously.

Inside: a dark pendant with a swirling voidstone set in the middle.

[Item Acquired: Whispering Pendant – Rare]Grants +10 resistance to mind-affecting magic. Allows user to resist fear. Occasionally whispers forgotten truths.

"Lovely," Serene said, peeking over his shoulder. "You keeping that?"

Luka held it up, eyed it. "For now."

Snow sniffed it once—then sneezed and turned away with a grumble.