Extra in a Romance Fantasy

170 – The Core (1)

Having endlessly moved and completely exited the fields, I continued to advance inward, following the direction my intuition led me.

In the process, I passed through various paths and spaces.

Among them were lakes, waterfalls, and even deserts.

Each one was distorted, with no normal terrain to be found, and in a place like this, there was no way there would be signposts, making it an ideal space for an ordinary person to get lost.

However, I had an intuition that had reached a transcendent realm, so I had no trouble finding my way.

Thanks to that, my steps never faltered.

Of course, there were other issues besides finding the path.

Countless obstacles blocked my way.

Specifically, the obstacles known as monsters.

The monsters that revealed themselves before me as I advanced were easily in the triple digits just by counting their numbers.

Moreover, it wasn’t just that there were many; their numbers definitely exceeded the average of typical monsters.

In fact, the level of these monsters increased the further I went inward.

However, to put it simply, those monsters posed no significant danger to me.

For someone who had reached a new level, such monsters were not even worth stopping for.

No, perhaps even the old me, before gaining enlightenment from the battle with the Sword Master, would have felt the same.

At that point, I was already on a different level compared to ordinary warriors.

Furthermore, with the Hero’s sword in hand, I could face the monsters without worrying about depleting my magical power as I moved forward.

Having gained new enlightenment and become a warrior of an entirely different caliber, there was no way that ordinary monsters could stand against me.

I dealt with the monsters with relative ease and continued to advance.

After passing through several spaces, the task of dealing with the monsters began to feel tedious.

I crossed yet another space and beheld a new sight.

A mountain densely covered with trees.

The moment I took in that view, I realized.

This place was entirely different from the spaces I had passed through until now.

The atmosphere itself was different, and the air itself was different.

At the same time, my intuition told me.

‘This is the center.’

This was my destination.

Just by stepping in, just by standing here, an ominous sensation stirred throughout my body.

A strange, unsettling energy filled the entire space.

“…….”

As I briefly looked around, examining this space.

I soon took another step forward.

The first thing to welcome me was the thick fog.

The fog was so dense that I couldn’t even discern a step ahead.

A fog so thick that I couldn’t tell front from back.

If an ordinary person entered, they would be perfectly suited to become a lost soul wandering forever in the mist, but for me, it posed no significant problem.

I’m not trying to boast, but any seasoned warrior would likely say the same.

The senses of a warrior who has reached a certain level far surpass those of an ordinary person.

Thus, simply not being able to see in front of me wouldn’t lead to a loss of direction.

With that, I continued to move forward without any particular difficulty.

The fog grew denser, and at some point, even the trees became indistinguishable.

It truly felt like the perfect situation for a monster to attack, yet for some reason, no monsters appeared.

Not only were they invisible, but there was also no sense of their presence nearby.

Having encountered monsters relentlessly up to this point, I found it strange that they wouldn’t show up in such an ideal environment for an ambush, but that didn’t mean I let my guard down.

I could feel it.

The deeper I went, the denser the fog became, and along with it, the strange and ominous energy also intensified.

Anyway, I wondered how long I had been walking aimlessly.

Suddenly, the fog thinned.

And as a result, my previously obscured vision became clear in an instant.

As the trees, hidden by the fog, revealed themselves once more, I realized.

That a figure was standing among the densely packed trees.

The moment I became aware of the figure’s presence, I immediately heightened my tension.

In a place like this, the probability of encountering an enemy was significantly higher than that of not encountering one.

However.

“……!”

I had no choice but to stop in my tracks and widen my eyes.

I recognized the figure’s face.

The identity of the figure was a face I knew all too well.

An elderly man with a shock of white hair, his body marred by numerous wounds, and for some reason, his left arm was completely missing.

He was an unassuming old man, the kind you might find anywhere, with no sense of grandeur about him.

Yet, if the old man were to step out into the world, most people would likely recognize him.

And they would be greatly surprised.

Because the identity of that old man was.

“…Principal?”

The principal of the academy, the great wizard Beluid Demens.

‘Why…?’

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of confusion at his sudden appearance.

Beluid Demens held the position of head of the academy, the largest and most renowned educational institution on the continent, yet he rarely showed his face except at very important official events.

Although I had been away from the academy for unavoidable reasons for a while, I had still spent nearly a year there.

Even so, the number of times I had seen Beluid with my own eyes could be counted on one hand.

I had only seen him a few times during the opening ceremony or other significant events.

The situation would not be any different for other students.

Unless there was a specific event, Beluid had never been seen within the academy.

In other words, Beluid was a figure shrouded in mystery.

No one knew where he usually stayed or what he was doing.

In the past, I had even requested information about him from groups that handled such matters, but none of them could uncover any information about Beluid.

And the original work was no different.

In the original, Beluid was introduced solely by his title of principal, with little to no description.

Even when significant events occurred that the upper echelons of the academy could not ignore, it was always someone other than the principal who stepped forward to handle the situation.

Thus, even I, who likely knew more about this world than ordinary people, knew almost nothing about Beluid.

Yet, to meet him.

In this moment, in a place like this, I could never have imagined.

—

I never expected to face him in such a wretched state,

with one arm severed and wounds all over his body,

unable to even say he was safe, even in jest.

Should I call it fortunate? Despite such a dire condition,

Beluid’s breath was certainly still there.

Though his breathing was somewhat labored,

his eyes were clearly open.

“Hmm…?”

At the sound of my voice,

Beluid turned his gaze toward me.

And then.

“You are….”

He too widened his eyes.

As if he recognized who I was.

However.

That expression didn’t last long.

“…Is that so? In the end, it has come to this.”

He soon returned his expression to its original state,

nodding heavily.

At that reaction, I couldn’t help but flinch my eyebrows.

That expression, those words, that entire sequence of reactions—

they all seemed laden with meaning.

“…Do you know me?”

Thus, I had no choice but to ask.

It wasn’t mere self-consciousness;

Beluid’s reaction was unmistakably that of someone who knew me.

“I do know you.”

In response to my question, he lightly nodded, affirming it.

“…How do you know me?”

“You are quite the celebrity.

Anyone affiliated with the Academy cannot be unaware of you.”

“…….”

At those words, I was momentarily at a loss for words.

For it was true, as he said.

I was already well-known for various reasons.

And though I had fallen into a trap,

becoming the murderer of a prince and fleeing,

it wasn’t strange for even Beluid to recognize my face.

Yet.

I could not simply nod in agreement and step back.

—

His words certainly made sense.

However, that did not resolve all my questions.

What weighed on my mind was the reaction he had shown.

It was only natural for him to be surprised upon seeing me.

Yet, the reaction he displayed immediately afterward and the words he spoke had a distinctly significant undertone.

I was convinced that he was still hiding something.

“…Is that really the answer?”

In the next moment, I found myself naturally asking him again.

Is that truly all there is?

If not, is there another reason beyond that?

I had asked, but I didn’t hold much hope for an honest response.

And yet.

“Of course, that’s not all there is.”

Surprisingly, Beluid acknowledged my words without hesitation.

In fact, it didn’t end there.

“I knew you even before that incident occurred. To be precise, I knew you before you entered the Academy.”

“……!”

At those words, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes again.

It was an unexpected revelation that had slipped from his lips.

“What… what on earth does that mean?”

To think he had known me before I even enrolled.

That was something that simply defied common sense.

Strictly speaking, I had reached a level of thought before my enrollment, but I had never fully revealed my abilities to the outside world.

The alleyway gangs of Lakewood had given me a bit of attention, but from a continental perspective, such incidents were trivial.

It was hardly something a figure like Beluid would concern himself with.

And yet, he claimed to have known me even before I entered the Academy.

This left my mind in a whirl.

I hoped that Beluid would explain everything right away to quell my confusion.

However.

“That… I cannot explain at this moment.”

—

Beluid betrayed my expectations.

“What do you mean…?”

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I can’t speak.”

Beluid gently shook his head.

“It’s just that there’s no time.”

Looking at me with eyes whose depths I could not fathom, he said,

“There’s not much time left, Wade Hebron.”

The end is drawing near.