How to Survive as an Extra Chapter 122 : Chapter 122

Chapter 122

At the Hero Preparatory School’s Outdoor Training Ground No. 3.

A wind swept across the training ground.

A blade-wind called a sword strike.

SHOOOOM—!

An Hwigom’s sword strike had just grazed past the tip of my chin and vanished.

The gap was so close that calling it “barely” did not do it justice.

“In-Instructor? I almost died just now.”

“And did you die?”

“Did I die? If I had moved my head even a little less, my neck would have been cut off.”

“Hmph. A young man, and you whine like this. If I had truly intended to kill you, your neck would have been severed already.”

“That may be true, but…”

A few days ago, I began proper sword strike training with Brichalcon.

I thought I had finally found “real” training—sothing that would not endanger my life and would not exhaust my body.

But thanks to my abnormal talent, I mastered sword strikes in only two days.

To put into perspective how absurd that was, even An Hwigom—so rigid in training that no one could match him—actually said I did not need further practice.

Of course, improving at a frightening pace did not an only good things.

Because of my talent, which did not understand humility, the training environnt beca more and more extre.

Which ant…

“Tut, tut. Insolent brat. Put the blindfold back on.”

An extre environnt like having to dodge An Hwigom’s sword strikes with my eyes covered.

“Should you not be running out of mana potions by now?”

“Even if I drain every potion at Hero Prep, I have no intention of ending this training early.”

“Then there are only two options. Either I die, or I survive until three in the morning.”

“You understand well.”

“Haa…”

How was I supposed to endure this insane training?

At least so far, I had not been cut by a sword strike.

But because that old man fired each strike as though he truly ant to kill , every single one placed on the edge of death.

If I did not have the senses that ca with agility at twenty, I would have departed this world already.

I stalled as much as possible, raising the blindfold toward my face.

Then, at that mont, I sensed soone’s presence near the edge of the training grounds.

An Hwigom seed to sense it as well. Narrowing his eyes, he stared beyond the bushes.

“Hm?”

The figure hiding in the shrubbery noticed our reaction and quickly retreated away from the training grounds.

Watching our training would not have been a problem…

Still, judging by that swift reaction, he was unquestionably skilled.

He might have been watching us for quite a while.

After all, I had not noticed him approaching at all.

Most likely, he was only exposed because his smartphone vibrated.

Of course, if we had not been focused on sword strikes, we would have noticed him imdiately.

“Who was it?”

An Hwigom asked, as though prompting to use my Demonic Eye.

When I activated it belatedly, the man’s mana appeared with stark clarity.

“Hm… It was Gong Minwu.”

How unusual.

***

A few days later, construction began at Hero Prep.

The work would last twenty days.

In the end, I decided to stay at Yun Jeongseop’s place, packed the bare minimum, and headed to Seoul’s District 5.

Yun Jeongseop’s ho was far too large for a man living alone.

When I checked the kitchen, it looked as though no one had maintained the household for a long ti, and the dust piled beneath the furniture seed to have been left untouched for months.

I had expected this sort of atmosphere.

Even so, I was grateful just to have it.

“First, I should clean.”

If I did not want to suffer through that stale bachelor sll while staying here, I would have to fight a serious war.

“No, perhaps buying groceries first is better.”

Yun Jeongseop said he would co by for dinner once, but when had that been again?

As I was lost in such pointless thoughts, the intercom rang.

“…?”

Half-suspicious, I opened the front door.

A familiar face stood there.

“Ah, you are ho. Here is today’s mail.”

It was the delivery man who always brought mail and parcels to the dormitories.

Since most Hero Prep cadets likely lived in District 5, he must have delivered everything at once.

I had left this address with the school, noting that I would be staying here.

I carried the mail inside.

It was a package about as thick as a heavy book, but oddly, it had no sender information.

“Is this even allowed to be sent like that?”

Still, the recipient was .

And the delivery man assigned to Hero Prep had handed it to directly, so there was no room for doubt.

When I peeled away the wrapping, an antique wooden box appeared.

Roughly the size of a thick specialized textbook.

When I carefully lifted the lid, there was a notice that felt more like a formal missive than a letter, along with a token made of amber.

“Is this, by any chance, that?”

The notice invited to a martial tournant being held in District 10.

The enclosed amber token was called a tournant token, proof of qualification to participate.

In other words, I was a VIP who could enter the tournant without even applying.

“But this is strange.”

Tournant tokens were, in principle, a privilege granted only to the children of certain clans.

The total number of participants was eighty, and only sixteen possessed tournant tokens.

That ant an advantage: beginning with two rounds as automatic byes.

Why would such a token be sent to , soone with no ties at all?

Had they learned that I used sword strikes and invited specially?

“No. District 10 values tradition too much to make that kind of choice.”

In that case, soone was deliberately calling for .

The blank sender field was proof enough.

“Hm. Interesting.”

I had been planning to visit District 10 anyway.

This was an episode described in the original work.

In the original story, Lee Eunho won by using a fist technique that applied lightning attributes.

It caused an uproar—how could a mage win a martial arts tournant?

“And that was when Gong Minwu took second place and developed an intense rivalry toward Lee Eunho.”

So, who had sent this tournant token?

And what kind of incident was waiting for this ti?

I placed the tournant token into my inventory.

Since I had opened the door and already had my shoes on, I might as well buy groceries.

“…Wait, are the markets in District 5 this expensive?”

Should I just go back to Hero Prep and buy convenience store lunchboxes instead…

I had 1.2 billion won, so why was I acting like this?

Sorry, but the rich are often the worst about money.

***

Among the many distinctive districts of Seoul, if I had to na the strangest, it would be District 10.

Because District 10 was set with a martial arts world as its backdrop.

There were no orthodox tropes like the Beggars’ Sect or the Five Great Houses, but every clan in District 10 consisted of martial artists who revered Sword Saint Kim Yuseong.

Kim Yuseong had lived in District 10 for a ti, and in the early days of the Great Rift—before firearms were widely distributed—many hunters gathered there to learn martial arts.

Within that context, the martial tournant was one of Seoul’s largest events, created to honor the Sword Saint’s achievents.

It was held once every four years, and it drew crowds comparable to the Spring Scholastic War.

It was also one of the few sports the Bureau tolerated.

“Because it generates an enormous amount of tax revenue.”

Jostled by tourists, I barely managed to enter District 10.

Just looking at the crowds filling the streets, finding a place to stay for two nights and three days would have been impossible.

Of course, that did not apply to .

When I showed my tournant token to the guides stationed throughout the streets, they escorted to the manor of the Gong Clan, the host of this event.

“You will stay here for the next two nights and three days. If you need anything, please let us know at any ti.”

The lodging they led to was splendid, steeped in an Oriental fragrance.

District 10 itself could be described as being wrapped in bamboo, so the atmosphere fit.

“So this manor is Gong Minwu’s family ho.”

It was the largest estate in District 10.

An antique property where Gong Seungryong, Gong Minwu’s father, served as the head of the family.

“Since Gong Seungryong is hosting the tournant, I should assu there is a high chance he sent the token.”

In the original story, Lee Eunho entered without a tournant token and still won.

If I was filling his vacancy, I should have begun the sa way.

“What are you plotting…”

As I sank into thought, a servant of the Gong Clan knocked politely on my door.

“Lunch has been prepared with the head of the family. All token holders will attend together, so please do not miss it.”

***

There were twenty seats prepared in the dining hall.

The sixteen token holders, including Gong Minwu.

And the head of the family, Gong Seungryong, along with his brothers Gong Seungho and Gong Seungung.

The remaining seat was…

“I apologize for being late. It took a while to inspect my outfit.”

Do Minyeong.

“Please, sit, Direct Descendant. We have not been seated long ourselves.”

At Gong Seungryong’s gesture, Do Minyeong sat beside him.

It was not strange for her to be here.

The tournant was a festival honoring the Sword Saint’s achievents, so it was natural for his descendant to attend.

More striking was that Do Minyeong was dressed more lavishly than usual.

She was so beautiful that anyone could tell she was one of the focal points of this festival.

It was old-fashioned, but if I were to describe it in an Eastern way, she looked like a fairy maiden.

When our eyes t, Do Minyeong’s cheeks reddened for so reason.

Then, from within her flowing sleeve, she fidgeted with sothing, and a vibration ca to my wrist.

-Do Minyeong, Investigation Division: Stop staring.

When I looked at my smartwatch and then back at her, her mouth clearly ford the words, “Lower your eyes.”

“Once again, thank you all for accepting our invitation. I am Gong Seungryong, the host of this martial tournant. For the next two nights and three days, I hope we may finish beautifully, and I invite you to share a toast with us.”

With Gong Seungryong’s toast, everyone lifted their cups, and conversations began across the table.

“I heard the Yeon Clan made a huge gain this ti.”

“They say if you reach the final four of the tournant, his father will pass down the Brichalcon he uses?”

Of course, I could not bring myself to say a single word. I only chewed my food.

Do Minyeong was the sa, staring fixedly at her plate.

As the atmosphere ward, Gong Seungho, the second of the Gong Clan, addressed Do Minyeong.

“Still, Direct Descendant, you have returned after so many years and beco a full young lady. Ha ha. You should hurry and form a connection with a proper man.”

“I intend to focus on my studies for now.”

“Hm? It sounds as though you have soone in mind at Hero Prep. Ah, co to think of it, you have been studying alongside my nephew Minwu, have you not?”

The table’s attention poured toward Gong Minwu and Do Minyeong.

They t each other’s eyes as well.

But only for a mont, before both looked away with indifferent expressions.

By the setting, the two did not get along.

They had grown up together, but when it was revealed that Do Minyeong was powerless, Gong Minwu drew a line between them.

For soone like Gong Minwu, who competed with nearly twenty relatives to beco the heir of the Gong Clan, it was the natural choice.

At the ti, Do Minyeong was criticized as though she had committed an unforgivable sin, and she was treated with a cruelty reserved for Demonic Beings.

Gong Minwu probably felt guilty toward her, but he would not regret it.

No matter the circumstances, becoming the clan’s head was his duty.

“Looking at them now, they suit each other quite well.”

Gong Seungho continued, turning to Gong Seungryong.

“What do you think, Brother? Among your male nephews, Minwu is the only one who has not held a wedding yet.”

“Enough with that foolish joke. It does not seem pleasant.”

“…Ah, ha ha.”

Gong Seungho laughed awkwardly, but beneath it, resentnt simred.

An older brother capable enough to bear the clan’s burdens, and a younger brother who always lagged behind.

The one forever caught in the middle was the third brother, Gong Seungung.

As though this were nothing new, he maintained a practiced smile.

Then, when his eyes t mine, he spoke as if relieved to have found a new topic.

“On that note, I have heard that the probationary investigator of the Special Affairs Division has already learned proper form at such a young age.”

“Yes. I had the fortune of eting a good teacher.”

“As expected, Hero Prep has many outstanding people. My youngest daughter will enroll next year, and I would be grateful if you would look after her.”

“If fate allows it, I will. But she will be in the Investigation Division.”

“Ah, ah… Ahem. In any case, I have asked the others already, but whom do you believe will win this martial tournant?”

An obvious question ant to dispel the silence at the table.

I took a generous swallow of fire liquor and answered.

“.”

“…”