The Retired Hero is an Extra

'The only problem is him,' Jash cursed inwardly, stealing a glance at Helios who stood with a poised expression nearby as if nothing could affect him.

But only oneself can know their inner thoughts, and at the moment, Helios had a serious expression as he tried to make sense of the situation at hand.

He had no clue where to begin to figure out why Jash had changed and was opposing his rise.

Indeed, it was his self-important side taking charge, but he also considered the possibility of Jash being an ally in the future.

Contrasting Helios's complex thoughts, Amael had a smile playing on his lips as if saying out loud, "As expected."

His eyes crinkled with amusement, wondering if Jash had gone through some supernatural phenomenon like him.

Although his knowledge on such topics was lacking compared to Jash, he could make vague guesses about the situation.

All of it because he wasn't from this world, or even the notion of such an event would seem impossible.

After all, wasn't it enough that one person, himself, had gone through such events, where did another person with similar experiences rise from?

Amael thought of this notion as sheer absurdity, but only something like that could explain all the changes surrounding Jash.

Unlike Jash whose first thoughts were like that, Amael was a bit reserved due to the system vehemently rejecting such an absurd idea.

Yet it seemed to be the most likely possibility, given Jash's absurd skills and different style.

One can change habits, personality, looks, and everything, but could they let go of their own uniqueness, something that made them

them?

That just wasn't possible unless one went through a harrowing experience like

death

or something far

worse

.

However, all such ideas eluded Jash as he pushed his mind and body to its limits in order to show off and really forced everyone back.

But that didn't mean he could lower his guard; the attackers were only hesitating and hadn't given up completely.

Their feelings of wanting to surpass and push down Jash were real and not easily forgotten, leading the situation to an impasse.

Though it was a good outcome for Jash, as he could recover somewhat, even standing was draining his stamina.

'Damn, just give up,' he cursed inwardly, wanting them to give up and prevent the bad feeling in his heart from becoming reality.

Jash wasn't sure why he felt this way, or why it seemed to be coming from Helios, he just wanted this farce to end, so that he could get going with his Aura training.

This duel only served to increase his body's coordination and allowed him to improve, but it was like a drop in the ocean compared to the possibility of Aura.

Just like his swordsmanship and mana pool, Aura could grow in both quality and quantity, becoming a potent weapon under his command.

In his eyes, the fight was majorly a letdown, and it irked him, seemingly a waste of time.

'I could've merged my Aura into my battle style,' he lamented, looking slightly disappointed.

His look of disappointment didn't escape the eyes of the ones closest to him as their blood turned cold, and they bit their lips and gritted their teeth.

With newfound determination, they were just about to continue their steps when...

"Just sit aside if you can't do anything! Why are you just standing there, you idiots?!"

The words caused an uproar until someone traced them back to the foul-mouthed dwarf who hadn't participated in the battle.

In the end, the words served as the final trigger, though not a good one.

The ones surrounding Jash literally ran idiotically straight at him, hoping to surround him and defeat him with their numbers, and not their skill.

'Truly now... what's with this mob?' Jash commented inwardly, almost shaking his head at the comparison of a herd of ants on their way to take down an elephant.

Of course, if the numbers were sufficient, they would be able to take down the elephant, and same was the case with Jash.

Alas, the number wasn't enough to overwhelm him despite being tired after a momentary respite.

Though, most of it could be attributed to their reckless lunging and swinging weapons without plans.

It was like watching a bunch of children playing with sticks in the garden.

'Just what's wrong with their brains?' Jash wondered before smiling as he caught sight of Helios's darkening expressions.

Surely, he had wanted to use them as a distraction and then attack Jash from his blindspot after tiring him a bit more.

Yet his plan got messed up by a random dwarf, and he really didn't know what to say.

He wasn't some petty second-generation scumbag who would harbor hatred or anything, it was just a bit of frustration that he evidently let go.

In the end, his plan to ambush Jash's blind spot could still work, just not as optimal.

And thus, he set in motion, right after Jash stopped looking his way and focused on the numerous attacks heading his way.

Even Helios found Jash's movements fluid and smooth as the latter easily parried and deflected attacks, redirecting them to clash with each other.

—Clang! Clang! Clang!

The repeated metallic sound of weapons clashing and colliding was the only symphony as even the professor looked baffled.

Only Aileen's eyes shone with stars at finding a new to–err, student to pla–err, teach!

'This is easy,' Jash mused, finding everything going too smoothly for a moment, and almost faltered as the premonition suddenly sank in.

'Where's he?'

He couldn't help but let his eyes dart around, in hopes of catching Helios's figure, but all he caught was nothing but air.

'I can't... see him, then?'

The thought immediately struck him!

Only one answer was possible: either Helio wasn't in his field of vision or at his blindspot.

While there seemed to be two answers, there was only one answer as Jash had looked all around him to catch a glimpse of Helios.

But he couldn't even catch his shadow, let alone spot him.

Warning signals rang in his head and his heart beat faster, but he couldn't focus on the ominous feelings gradually overwhelming him.

Jash forcefully focused back to the current situation of being surrounded by unfamiliar faces, each eager to plunge a weapon deep in his bones.

'Can't focus on the lion to be caught by a rabbit,' he cursed inwardly, finding his comparison absurd himself.

'Just what's with all these animals popping in my mind in the midst of this darned fight!?'

He wanted to exclaim it out loud, to cry out his frustrations, but he barely had the time to catch his breath while moving swiftly.

His feet seemed to have a mind of their own as they moved on their own, just like his sword, deflecting and parrying all kinds of attacks.

The attacks changed trajectories carried forwards to attack each other, giving rise to a chaotic situation yet Jash didn't seem the least bit content.

His eyes were furiously darting around, letting his body rely on instincts to fight completely.

If only someone noticed this abnormality, they'd know that something was off about Jash as he was too young to have enough experience to achieve such a feat.

And just as it seemed to be going exceptionally well, he caught the sight of a sword enlarging in his vision!