Chapter 1 : Extra has a sharp exit angle

The protagonist of a story usually possesses a remarkable talent for growth.
Even if they start weak, they quickly become stronger, and in the end, join the ranks of the strongest people in the world and fight alongside them. That’s the trait of a protagonist.

So, what about the extras in a story?
They hardly appear in the story at all. At best, they might appear on the sidelines, admiring the main character or being jealous of them.
But even that could be considered a success for an extra. Most of the time, they’re just passersby on the street.

And…

‘That person is me.’

Yes, I was possessed by an extra.
And it wasn’t even someone I recognized, but rather the body of a complete stranger.

‘Applicant number 81 for the entrance exam – Rudion.’

It’s not like I’ve only played this game a day or two, yet I had never once heard the name Rudion. From the looks of it, it probably doesn’t mean anything. I’ve never paid much attention to NPCs who didn’t interact with anyone.

Although I thought I had died, finding myself like this was confusing in many ways. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury to sort out my thoughts.

“… Please note that any unnecessary contact between candidates or cheating will result in disqualification.”

It seemed the game had already started, so I figured I should focus on this side for now.

“Then, we will now commence the entrance examination.”

This was the entrance exam event that players could encounter right at the start of the game. I never thought I’d be taking it myself.

Feeling strangely excited, I followed the other applicants as they trailed after the examiner’s words.

It was a bit shocking to suddenly take the entrance exam while being possessed in the body of an extra in this world, but I knew exactly what to do.
After all, this world was my home ground. When it came to knowledge of this world’s lore, I might as well be at the level of a Ph.D.

‘Of course. This was the game I played right up until my dying moments.’

Not only did I enjoy every piece of content, but I scraped through every Easter egg and eccentric play through. There’s no way I’d struggle with just the entrance exam.

I knew exactly what would happen, when, and how, so I could approach the test more confidently than anyone here.

“Applicant 81, theory exam… perfect score… Excellent. Please follow the assistant to the practical exam room.”

I breezed through the theory exam.
It was genuinely nothing. There were questions like the characteristics of certain monsters or what to do in certain situations during battle, but with my knowledge of this world, monster data, and various strategies, the difficulty of the entrance exam was too low.

‘… Honestly, I was a bit worried that something I didn’t know would pop up.’

When you’re possessed, do you ever find that you’re suddenly confronted with difficult things like complicated formulas that don’t appear in the game, or theories you’ve never seen before?
I was a little worried that I would have to study for the rest of my academy life if that happened, but fortunately, the questions were all straightforward, just like in the game.

I started with a perfect score. In fact, the ratio of theory to practice is 2:8, so it’s not incredibly helpful, but it’s better than nothing, and it feels good.

Humming a little tune, I followed the assistant and soon arrived at the practical exam venue.

“You’ll be on your own from here.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for guiding me.”

“Sure, it seems like you did well in the theory. Good luck with the practical, too.”

I said goodbye to the assistant who guided me. I knew who he was, but it wasn’t really about that, it was just common courtesy.

There’s a lot to do in this game, but in a combat-centered world, acting rudely? That would lead to immediate “etiquette correction” through violence. There’s no need to create enemies unnecessarily, not that I had the personality to do so in the first place.

Thinking these thoughts, I entered deeper into the practical exam hall, which opened up into a Colosseum-like structure.

The practical test was more like a combat skill assessment than a typical exam, so the layout made sense.
They assessed each applicant’s abilities through duels, allowing the winner to continue, while the loser gets disqualified.
This survival format might seem unfair at first, but it wasn’t actually so. Even if you lose miserably, the examiners calculated every factor to produce accurate scores, so the results were more precise than expected.

The survival rule was just a way to reduce exam time, not an element of unfairness.
Rules didn’t really matter to me; what was important was how much I could accomplish here.
Even with a perfect score in theory, failing here would ruin everything.

Fortunately, ever since I got possessed, my body felt light and brimming with energy, suggesting that it wasn’t on the lower end of abilities.
I wished I could know my exact stats, but…
Ding!

[Checking abilities.]

Oh, there’s a system? Is this actually turning into a game?

I was suddenly curious if other system windows were accessible, but for now, I focused on the screen that appeared.

[Rudion]

• Strength: 17
• Endurance: 8
• Agility: 26
• Magic: 11

…Higher than I thought?

This shouldn’t be the level of stats one starts with at the Academy.
With these stats, I could even aim for the advanced class, not just the intermediate.

‘Maybe I could even place as runner-up?’

Rudion’s stats were impressive enough to make me think so.
Compared to the top-tier characters, these weren’t overwhelming numbers, but with extreme efficiency, there was definite potential.
As for first place… well, that other guy would make that impossible.

Anyway, with this level of specs, following the Academy’s basic growth route would allow me to comfortably stay in the upper ranks…

Ding!

[Due to your trait, your stats can no longer grow.]

Guess not.

What the heck, give me back my stats.

No wonder, despite having such high starting stats, I’d never seen this guy even once throughout the game. So I’m the one professors were referring to every semester when they’d say, “There are quite a few demoted students this semester.”

In a game where stats are king, being completely growth-blocked makes sense.

If this ridiculous penalty was tied to an absurdly overpowered trait, that would at least be understandable…

[Irregular]

[Experimental Feature. Please ensure that this trait is not accessible to real players.]

Overpowered or not, there wasn’t even a proper description written, so I decided not to think about it for now.
The important thing was to finish the test, and honestly, my current stats were so good that “acceptable” didn’t even begin to cover it.

With stats like these, I could easily dominate up to the intermediate class purely with physical strength, so I had no immediate concerns about falling behind.
Besides, I wasn’t an ordinary user in my current body.

I was a true “hardcore gamer,” a legend known by all in the community with thousands of upvotes on strategy posts—the player everyone referred to as “Buttcover of Lord Park.”
… I should have put more effort into choosing my nickname. Had I known I’d take this so seriously, I would’ve picked something less ridiculous.

In any case, there was no scenario where I would lose with these stats.
Original story? Butterfly effect? I’d already died and ended up here, so I wasn’t about to worry about such things. I was solely focused on enjoying this world to its fullest.

Sorry to the fresh newbies who just got admitted, but… now, it’s time for the seasoned gamer to take over.

With that in mind, I was about to boldly step into the duel…

“Oh.”

The examination hall was completely empty.
Oh, right. Everyone else must still be taking the theory test. I’d completely forgotten that I’d handed mine in early and left.

And… if my memory was correct, there was only one other new student who would be here at this exact time.
Realizing this, I tried to sneak away quickly, but it seemed like it was already too late.

Right in front of me was a character I’d seen countless times in games, her silver hair glistening with each step she took. And my heart sank.

She walked right up to me, looked me in the eyes with an expressionless face, and spoke.

“Nice to meet you. It seems it’s just the two of us here. Shall we have a duel?”

She was one of those overwhelming powerhouse characters who, thanks to her exceptional lineage and astonishing talent, dominated the storyline… eventually standing alone in her own league of world champions by mid-story.
The very student who held the title of “Top-ranked in Defense of the Protagonist” according to Forbes, ensuring that no protagonist could ever take the top rank.

Seria Rubetia. And she was challenging me to a duel.