The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 187

“Taylee. You’re the main character.”

“No matter how hard things might seem right now… the day you overcome it all will come to light.”

A night full of stars.

Ayla whispered to the wounded Taylee, sitting next to him behind the barn.

Even if they were just words of comfort, Taylee himself knew just how much they meant.

“The reason the hero is so wonderful is because they overcome difficult ordeals.”

“So, all of these hard ordeals and pains you’re experiencing right now are the basis for the glory you’ll receive when you overcome them all.”

However, contrary to thinking she was just saying words of comfort… Ayla Triss was being completely sincere.

Ayla was sincerely cheering for Taylee as he went through countless ordeals and hardships, no matter how difficult they were.

“It’s always the darkest before the sun rises.”

The cool air of the night passed by as the bugs in the grass cried out, the two of them sitting next to each other.

“So, you must never forget that the reason your life may be dark right now is because you are the protagonist of your own life. You will overcome it all.”

* * *

Schwaaaa!

The rain poured down during the dark night in the camp in the North Forest.

There, a blond boy stood in the middle of the pouring rain, as if he didn’t care about the cold raindrops that hit his skin. As if he didn’t care about the dark and dreary night.

Standing like a warrior, he gripped the dagger in his hand…

That boy was Ed Rothstaylor.

Looking at Ayla, he opened his mouth to speak.

What else was there to say? Ordeals didn’t just come to the protagonist.

Rather, there were more people in the world who didn’t live the life of a protagonist.

The world was too vast, with too many people for everyone to be the protagonist.

That was why, whether it was Ayla, Ed, or anyone else… They ended up living the life of a supporting character.

And even to them, cruel ordeals would come their way.

Getting kicked out of the academy to live a life alone in the forest. Trying to find one’s place in the passing scenario, with his life at risk. Clenching his teeth to survive in Silvenia, where he had no allies amidst the accusations that came his way.

Unlike those who lived the life of the protagonist, who hoped there would be light at the end of their ordeal…

They were unsure if there would be light or darkness at the end. The world was full of those who only did their best to survive.

And that was also the life of Ed Rothstaylor, who stood on the final stage of Act 5.

Yennekar Palerover, Glast, Lucy Mayreel, Krepin Rothstaylor, Silvenia Robester.

Those who were responsible for ending their own stages in .

The life of those supporting actors was engraved in his eyes.

Main and supporting roles. Heroes and villains.

Ayla knew from the beginning that it was impossible to divide the world in such a shallow way.

However, being locked in a dark room, listening to the news of the world… It was a clear fact that there were those who lived the life of a main character, and those who lived the life of a supporting character.

And, naturally, there were more supporting actors than main actors in the world.

There were far more people who were only there to help the flow of the story move along to the next stage, the next act, and eventually the ending.

The story of those who lived ordinary lives, far from extraordinary.

Yet Ed always came into close contact with them.

A strong alchemist with a passion for learning, a blood-drunk swordsman, the guardian of the northern grasslands, and a weak-minded elementalist.

The lives of the supporting actors, including Ed, who would have to endure all sorts of hardships without any promises at the end of the tunnel.

Ayla felt it vaguely as well…

“The Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok will be resurrected.”

Ed Rothstaylor’s shoulders, as he stood sternly in the rain, seemed heavier than she thought.

“He’s the only one who can kill it.”

* * *

The wreckage of the Elte Store, which had fully collapsed, had completely fallen into the front garden of the building.

Forcefully dragging along Clevius, who was having a hard time controlling his body, Elvira moved to a safe place and gently wiped away the rainwater running down her face.

“This… was much bigger than I thought…”

Clevius lay down under the tree in the front garden of the store as he squeezed the water out of his hair.

“Is it really okay to make such a scene?”

“In the first place, the owner of the building is Lortel. So, Ed must have done this because he has a way to fix it.”

Elvira frowned and sighed deeply. Ziggs came out from under the rubble of the building, dusting off his clothes. Since he was responding naturally to Elvira, he seemed completely fine.

He didn’t seem to have any major injuries. In the first place, it looked like he didn’t fight all that hard at all.

Unlike Elvira, who really fought hard to the bitter end, Ziggs didn’t seem to have done as much. Elvira opened her eyes wide and glared at Ziggs.

“What’s the deal, Ziggs? You look completely fine. Taylee was running around as if he was going to destroy everything.”

“Even though he looked like that, he must have still held onto his sense of reason. It looked like he didn’t want to injure someone he was close to after all.”

Ziggs was also drenched from the rain, his bangs sticking to his forehead. He looked a lot calmer than usual, probably because of his wet hair.

“Actually, he didn’t really care about us. He was only interested in going to save Ayla as soon as possible. Were you injured, Elvira?”

“Not really. That temperament of his where he gets stronger the more he gets pushed back… I’d heard of it before, but seeing it in person was completely different.”

Elvira leaned against the tree as she shivered a little bit.

“Honestly, I thought he was going to get stopped by you, Ziggs.”

“I was caught off guard, too. When did Clevius get here?”

“I don’t know. Why did this stupid idiot come all the way…”

Elvira glanced at Clevius, letting out a sigh before finishing her sentence. It was as if she didn’t want to complain about Clevius any longer.

Ziggs looked at her as he smirked.

Everyone was the same at the end of the day.

“I don’t know anymore. Since we got involved, what are we supposed to do to fix this?”

“I’m not sure. Whatever the case, since we finished our jobs, let’s get ready to head back. Are you going straight to Ophelis Hall?”

“Yeah, well… But what about Yennekar and Trayciana?”

Looking at the Elte Store, you couldn’t help but have your mouth open in awe.

That massive building was cleanly cut in half, all the way through.

The sight of such a building being cut like that… When would anyone ever have the chance to see such a strange sight?

Even though he was a descendant of the first swordsman, no one could have ever imagined that he would be able to land an attack that could do so much damage.

The power of Taylee, when pushed into a corner, somehow went against fate… Even the two of them, who have also been through a lot, had no idea just how powerful he could be.

“Trayciana is taking care of the employees. It would be bad if there were casualties, so it looks like she used defensive magic.”

“She really is reliable.”

“I also came over here to help. You and Clevius seem to be in pretty bad shape, so you two can just head back. Don’t worry about cleaning this up.”

From Ziggs’ point of view, Clevius was an unexpected variable.

Originally, there was no plan to push Taylee to such an extent. However, Taylee still managed to overcome all of it, leaving them all in awe, and ran away.

As Elvira nodded, leaning against the trunk of the tree, Ziggs glanced around a few times and asked,

“But… Yennekar…? She’s not here either?”

* * *

Schwaaaa!

In the pouring rain, Ayla’s pupils trembled greatly.

She pondered what I said for a moment, and then she stuttered, not even thinking about her trembling eyes.

“What did you say…? The Holy Blue Dragon will be…resurrected…? The seal of the great sage Silvenia was lifted…”

A story that came completely out of the blue.

A truth that was so horrific, you would only want to run away from it and ignore it… She stared at me at a complete loss for words.

There was no proof or reason for her to believe what I had said. Thus, it was only natural for her to think that I had completely lost my mind.

In the first place, just as I said, I didn’t expect other people to trust me.

Ayla couldn’t say anything as she stood there for a while. I couldn’t really yell at her either, so I just stared back at her.

[Young Master Ed…!]

At that moment, a bat suddenly flew from the forest, coming over and landing on my shoulder.

“Mugg?”

Despite the pouring rain, the fire on Mugg’s body was still burning strong.

After becoming a mid-ranking spirit, he was now hardly affected by the climate.

Mugg now had a much bigger body. He came over to my ear as he whispered.

I nodded my head. I then canceled Mugg’s manifestation as I gathered my magic power back into my body.

At the time, I could barely draw any magic power from my body. Thus, I wanted to minimize the amount of magic power I consumed while maintaining a spirit.

“Taylee is coming.”

“What… Did you say…?”

“It seems like he made his way through the Elte Store. However, it also seems like things didn’t go the way I planned, either.”

When I said that, Ayla’s eyes started to tremble again.

Did he really make his way through all of them? That was unbelievable.

Even Ayla, who had always trusted and depended on Taylee, never thought that he would be able to overcome and break through walls of that level.

I was the same.

Even if he was born with the fate of the main character, I still thought there was a degree to his power. I couldn’t say anything for sure, since I didn’t know the situation of what took place at the Elte Store, but I didn’t expect that.

“He will arrive at the camp soon.”

“Then… are you going to fight Taylee?”

“Don’t worry. It’s not going to be like what you think.”

I gathered magic power from my body. I couldn’t even gather a tenth of my usual amount.

And physically, I still had a slight fever. It was raining and my body felt heavy.

“Either way, right now I can’t defeat Taylee. Currently, there are too many restrictions against my body.”

“Then, in the first place… Why did you…?!”

“Didn’t I tell you from the start? It’s still the same.”

From the first time I told Ayla my plans, I’d always been honest about my goals.

“I just want to check his specs.”

In order to defeat Velbrok without taking major damage, at minimum there are a few things he needed.

The most important thing for Taylee, who was going to defeat Velbrok, was his Swordmaster’s Skill. To be more precise, he needed to be capable of Empty Swordsmanship, Dragon Slaying Sword, Holy Sword, Space Slicing, and Heart Sword.

And in order to lower the casualties as much as possible during Velbrok’s resurrection, I needed to gather the largest number of forces as I could for the subjugation. There needed to be a large subjugation team to help make things easier.

The Imperial Knights, the Elte Company’s Mercenary Corps, the Apostles of the Holy Father Building, and even members of the imperial family… Whether it was through political means or as a deal, I needed to somehow have them join the subjugation team.

In addition to that… Only by securing the belongings left behind by Silvenia Robester would we meet the ‘minimum conditions’ necessary to defeat Velbrok without any casualties.

Checking Taylee’s growth was just the first step.

Clang! Hwaaaaaaak!

Near the entrance of the northern forest, the sound of someone sprinting with magic power could be heard.

Birds flew out of the way as the noise spread throughout the forest.

It was the sound of Taylee, who was probably furious, running towards the camp. Since I could hear it, he must have been pretty close.

And judging by the speed at which the sound was growing, he was probably almost at the camp.

After checking the condition of my dagger, I put it back in its scabbard. I then gathered the magic engineering items, various traps, and crafting tools that were scattered around the camp.

I took off my school uniform overcoat, which was soaked from the rain, and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt. I wiped my face, pushing the bangs away from my eyes.

“You…”

Only then did Ayla speak.

“Just what weight are you carrying?”

Her question sounded rather anxious, her eyes wide as she looked at me.

I made sure my dagger was put away as I gathered magic power at the tip of my fingers.

Unlike usual, there was a dark red energy that rose up… the power of Celestial magic.

“Are you curious?”

“……”

“Then, I’ll tell you.”

Saying that, I approached Ayla. As she nodded, looking at me with anxious eyes, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Listen to me well.”

“……”

“It’s… nothing much.”

“……”

Little by little, the power of the Celestial Magic power began to surround Ayla’s body.

Even though it was only a very small amount of magic power, the load started to affect my body. I struggled to breathe as I broke out in a cold sweat.

Nevertheless, I clenched my teeth and cast the Celestial Magic Dazzle.

The proficiency was still level 1, so I couldn’t take control of her completely.

It only dazed an enemy temporarily, making it hard for them to gather their thoughts.

However, at that point, that was enough.

“If you keep saying those things, you’re only going to get caught up in things more. So, go and get some rest.”

Whooooooosh!

As soon as I clenched my fists tightly, Ayla’s consciousness was cut off.

Because of the recoil of Celestial Magic, I winced while enduring the pain.

Thud.

I then caught Ayla’s body, which had lost consciousness. She wasn’t all that heavy, since she was rather small.

I brought Ayla over towards the wooden shelter. I put her underneath the roof so that she could at least avoid the rain.

I then covered her in a pile of leftover fur that was lying around so that her body temperature would be fine. I checked that the entrance was reinforced so that the rain wouldn’t seep in.

After putting Ayla—who was unconscious—aside, I slowly got back up and moved out into the rain.

Schwaaa!

The sound of running stopped.

After covering the entrance of the wooden shelter, I stood up.

I didn’t have to look behind me.

Even without looking back, I knew who was there.

Thud.

Schwaaa!

“You’re here, Taylee McLaure.”

I called out his name calmly, but no answer came back.

I slowly turned around. Looking at the boy at the entrance to the camp, I stood up, staring straight at him.

“Ed Rothstaylor.”

He was in a battered swordsman uniform, and his body was covered in blood and injuries.

His hair was white, and his eyes were burning red.

Needless to say, it was the protagonist of , Taylee McLaure.

The way he stared at me, with his burning eyes full of anger…

I didn’t know why, but I let out a cynical laugh.

“You…”

Whoosh!

Before I could say anything, he swung his sword towards me.

Taylee McLaure didn’t have much time left. As if he didn’t even have time to exchange words, he ran straight at me.

Clang!

I tried to cast defensive magic quickly, but there was a limit to my current magic power.

I was pushed back towards the campfire from the impact of his sword strike. Even though I blocked it, I rolled on the floor a few times. I then stood back up.

“Whew…”

I stood up in the mud. I wiped the mud off my face with my forearm and looked back at Taylee in the rain.

The protagonist of the world had his eyes wide open, holding a greatsword that was flowing with incredible magic power.

I could tell from a glance. Among his Swordmaster’s Skills, that one was Death Throes. It was one that activated when you were put in a critical situation. Seeing it, I could imagine just how difficult his fights at Elte were.

Taylee had been pushed into a corner. He had no idea just how much longer his skill would last.

He was in a completely injured state, and I was in a state where I couldn’t use magic power. Strangely enough, we were on completely even playing fields.

I then burst into laughter.

“Alright, let’s give it a go.”

I grasped my dagger tightly as I took out a piece of magic engineering equipment in my other hand,

Under the rain at the camp, staring at Taylee for a while… I waited for him to make his move.

The stage was coming to an end.

* * *

“Tell the driver to start moving the carriage.”

By the time Dune finished explaining, Lucy’s eyes were already in an unusual state.

Princess Penia and her closest aides looked back at each other. If it was true that Princess Persica had purposely added her own people into her escort group for such a reason, then that would mean she was taking advantage of Princess Penia for her own benefit.

No one knew just how Princess Penia would take that fact.

However, Lucy didn’t seem to care about Princess Penia’s position… As if she were the princess herself, she gave orders to the driver.

“I want to go to camp, too.”

Dune looked at Lucy with trembling eyes.

With a witch hat crammed tightly on her head, her blank eyes were wide. It was impossible to parse out the emotions behind them.