I'm an Extra, so What?
Chapter 147 - 147: Pride in the Shadows

The Forest's Edge – Twilight

By the time Luka, Serene, and Gregor reached the outer edge of the corrupted forest, night had fallen.

But not the kind of night that brought stars or calm.

This one was thick.

Suffocating.

Even the moonlight struggled to cut through the heavy clouds and tainted canopy.

Snow nestled tighter against Luka's shoulder, his normally bright blue eyes narrowed and alert. The baby dragon let out a soft trill—more worried than excited.

They were close.

Too close.

Serene dismounted and took point, shield up.

Gregor followed, axe in hand. "You think he's dead already?"

"I think he's Arthur," Luka replied. "Which means he's too stubborn to die and just dumb enough to touch something he shouldn't."

He drew both blades. "Keep your eyes open. This place has changed again."

And it had.

The corruption had spread—no longer patchy and wild, but purposeful. Spiraling outward like a storm's eye. Trees twisted inward as if bowing to some invisible center. The ground pulsed beneath their feet.

And in the center of it all?

A glow.

Faint.

Unstable.

Luka motioned for silence and crept forward through the underbrush.

What he saw made him freeze.

Arthur stood alone in a shallow clearing.

Or rather—he had been Arthur.

Now, cracks of black-violet energy veined his skin from collar to wrist. His sword pulsed with the same unholy light, fused now with fragments of bone and metal—shard-forged.

The obelisk fragment hovered above his palm, spinning slowly.

"Arthur!" Luka barked.

The figure turned, eyes glowing faint red in the dark.

A slow smile spread across his face.

"Well, well. Look who finally showed up. The guild's golden boy."

"Drop the shard. Now."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Why? So you can hog the spotlight again?"

Serene took a step forward. "You're corrupted. That thing's inside you—twisting you. We can still fix it, but you need to let go."

Arthur snorted. "Fix? There's nothing to fix. I see clearly now. I was right all along. Power doesn't care about personality or politics—it just is." He lifted the shard above his head. "And now it's mine."

He brought it down.

A pulse rippled outward, blowing leaves from the clearing.

The corrupted earth answered his call.

With a sickening crack, skeletal hands burst from the soil, dragging themselves into the light—decayed beasts, half-formed golems, bone-stitched crows. A dozen or more.

Luka's jaw tightened. "You idiot."

Snow leapt into the air with a blast of flame, cutting through the first wave.

Serene's shield shone with a holy barrier as she slammed into a bone hound mid-charge.

Gregor cursed. "I hate being right."

Luka rushed forward, blades glowing bright as he aimed directly for Arthur.

Their weapons clashed in a hiss of steel and dark light.

Arthur grinned. "Finally fighting me seriously, huh?"

"You're not yourself."

Arthur spat to the side. "Then maybe I'm better."

He kicked Luka back and sent a corrupted energy slash his way.

Luka dodged left, came back around—and this time aimed not for Arthur, but the shard still floating nearby.

One dagger flew.

The blade scraped its edge—enough to shatter the spin and send the relic tumbling to the dirt.

Arthur's eyes widened. He stumbled, staggered—

And that was all the opening Luka needed.

He struck the back of Arthur's sword arm, disarming him.

Then slammed him to the ground with a rough shoulder tackle.

Gregor and Serene rushed in, finishing off the remaining undead just as the final pulse from the obelisk fragment faded.

The forest sighed.

The corruption stilled—but only just.

Luka stood over Arthur, breathing hard.

"You're not a villain," he said. "Stop trying so damn hard to be one."

Arthur glared up, bleeding lip curled. "…You always think you know everything."

"No. I just listen."

Arthur didn't respond.

Didn't fight back.

He just looked… small.

For a moment.

Then the shard hissed.

A final spark.

And shattered—its power consumed or rejected.

Luka didn't smile.

He just turned to Serene.

"Let's drag him home."

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Later – Guild Infirmary

Arthur lay unconscious, arm bandaged, eyes twitching in uneasy sleep.

Luka sat beside him, silent.

Snow curled in a chair nearby, letting off a faint heat as if to keep the room warm.

Serene arrived with a report in hand. "The druids confirmed it. The obelisk wasn't the last. There are more… seeds. Spread through the leyline. Hidden. Waiting."

Luka nodded once. "So this wasn't a fluke."

"No," Serene agreed. "It was the start."

They both looked at Arthur.

Luka leaned back in his chair.

"…He's going to hate me even more now."

Serene raised an eyebrow. "Why? You saved his life."

Luka shrugged. "Exactly."

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Guild Infirmary – Midnight

Arthur groaned.

The sterile scent of herbs and mana ointment filled his nose before his eyes even fluttered open. The dim candlelight cast soft flickers across the stone walls, and the faint crackle of parchment turning came from the other side of the room.

He blinked, groggy—and then remembered.

The obelisk.

The shard.

Luka.

He sat up with a jolt—only to be immediately shoved back down by a firm hand.

"You're lucky you're not in a coma," Serene said flatly.

Arthur looked up at her. "You—"

"Yeah," she interrupted. "Me. The one who bailed your dumb ass out. Again."

Arthur scowled, but a wince pulled the expression short. His arm still throbbed where the corruption had spread.

"Where is he?" Arthur muttered.

Serene didn't need to ask who.

"Luka's reporting to the guildmaster. They're deciding how to deal with the leyline disturbance… and you."

Arthur looked away. "He's going to rat me out?"

"He's giving them the truth," Serene said. "Not the twisted version you tell yourself where you're the victim and the hero at the same time."

Arthur clenched his fist.

"You don't get it. I was doing what had to be done."

"No," Serene snapped. "You were doing what would get you noticed."

Silence followed. Heavy. Thick with things unsaid.

Then—Arthur whispered, "I could've controlled it. I just needed more time."

"Or it could've controlled you," came Luka's voice from the door.

He stepped into the room, arms crossed, Snow riding quietly on his shoulder. The baby dragon hissed softly at Arthur—low and disappointed.

Arthur scoffed. "Come to gloat?"

"No," Luka said. "Came to warn you."

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"You touched something ancient," Luka said, tone calm but steely. "And the corruption didn't just infect you—it recognized you. It tried to use you. That means something. Either you're weak, or you're useful."

He stepped closer.

"And both of those options are dangerous."

Arthur looked up sharply, defiant. "What, you think I'm going to fall to the dark side or something?"

Luka didn't blink. "I think you already almost did."

The silence that followed felt louder than any scream.

Snow gave a tiny puff of smoke and curled into Luka's scarf.

Arthur turned away, jaw clenched, shame warring with stubbornness in his eyes.

Serene sighed and stood. "You'll be confined for a week. Guildmaster's orders. After that, probation. No solo missions."

Arthur's shoulders tensed. "So I'm being punished for surviving."

"You're being punished for almost killing everyone else while you tried to show off," she shot back.

Before he could answer, Luka turned and walked out.

Snow looked over his shoulder one last time—then followed.

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Adventurer's Guild – Briefing Hall, Next Morning

A large map had been unfurled across the central table, filled with red ink markings and mana readings. Guild officials, senior adventurers, and envoys from nearby magical circles surrounded it.

Luka stood at the head.

"This wasn't isolated," he said, pointing to a growing pattern of corrupted leyline nodes. "We found at least three similar distortions nearby—small for now, but growing. Someone's planting these."

"And using monsters as shields?" a ranger asked.

Luka nodded. "Or bait. Whatever they're trying to do, they want interference delayed, not stopped. That means we're already behind."

A silence fell over the room.

Then the guildmaster finally spoke.

"We'll assign teams. Rotate patrols. Start locking down the forest sectors closest to cities first."

She turned to Luka.

"You'll lead the first scouting unit."

Luka blinked. "Alone?"

"No," she said. "You'll take your maid, your dragon… and Gregor."

A pause.

"And Arthur."

Luka didn't even flinch. "That's a mistake."

"Maybe," she admitted. "But he needs the responsibility. And you're the only one he won't ignore."

Serene, watching from the side, shook her head slowly. "This is going to be a disaster."

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That Night – Back at the Tree

Luka sat at the top of the old tree he and Serene called home. Snow snoozed peacefully beside him, curled in a warm ball of white fluff, chest rising and falling with a gentle rhythm.

He looked out at the horizon.

Dark clouds hovered just beyond the forest's edge.

Corruption wasn't done.

And now he'd have to face it with someone unstable at his side.

"You okay?" Serene asked, appearing behind him with two mugs of steaming tea.

Luka took one, sipping it quietly.

"No," he said. "But I'll manage."

"You always do," she said softly. "But one day… you're going to have to let someone else carry some of it too."

Luka didn't answer.

Just looked up at the moon.

It felt smaller tonight.

More distant.

And the shadows had started to stretch farther.