The Extra System: Summoner of Shadows

Cedric was not proud of his plan, which he came up with on the spot. There were too many instances where he could have died because of his inability to ensure everything ran smoothly. For instance, the steam could have made him faint before the assassin was even inside.

Another thing he couldn't figure out was the number of assassins. If there were more than just one, he would have been attacked as soon as he ran through the door. But Cedric remembered the system telling him that the assassin was alone in its narration.

In the end, he had no choice but to gamble with his life. Either through calculation or sheer luck, he managed to escape the guesthouse unharmed, running out into the bushes where he tried to hide. Cedric could feel his heart beating through his chest as his eyes darted around the estate, looking for an exit. Even if he was labeled a wanted criminal for fleeing the trial, it was better than forfeiting his life.

[Mana: 3/31]

His mana pool had regenerated slightly since earlier. It had been almost half an hour since he last used it, telling him that one mana point regenerated every ten minutes.

'I don't need the narrator to tell me things,' thought Cedric as he remembered the feeling he had once he used the Observe Skill. Once activated, he would have an omniscient view of the surroundings, like an extension of his own body.

Cedric could feel his consciousness expand to envelop the surroundings, letting him see every detail in the small grove: the moving grass, ants in a single file, the small cocoon in the branches, and even the small nest with its hatching eggs.

The same blue hologram did not appear as it did before, letting Cedric know that he could use just a portion of the skill. The narration seemed to be the main consumer of mana, since Cedric realized he could keep the ability active.

[Mana: 3/31]

A minute passed, which Cedric used to test his ability. It had a diameter of ten meters around him in a sphere, giving him quite the feeling of reassurance as he ran away toward Ember. Once the minute was over, Cedric noticed a change.

[Mana: 2/31]

If Cedric used the Observe without the narration, only the spatial awareness, it would consume one mana every minute. If he used the narration, which was akin to future sight, it would consume one mana every two seconds.

Even after learning of this mana-saving trick, Cedric did not regret his earlier use. If he hadn't known about the assassin waiting outside, he wouldn't have known better and would have ended up losing the precious life he had just obtained.

Cedric traveled farther away from the guesthouse with every passing second, even though he no longer had any strength left. His muscles failed him, but he kept going through sheer will. It didn't take long for the alarm to sound off within the estate as the soldiers rushed to find him.

[Your willpower increased by 1.]

A blue hologram appeared in front of him, and he indeed found that his willpower had increased to 12. Cedric found it fascinating to have other methods of increasing his stats. This meant that even if he was imprisoned, he could increase his stats through training.

What unnerved him was that willpower was increased through enduring hardships. He felt like if he wanted to train it, he would have to become a masochist of sorts.

As such useless thoughts bounced around in his mind, several shadows rose from beyond the trees. Cedric managed to hide before they spotted him and realized they were guards. His Observe Skill activated in time to save him.

In a diameter of ten meters, Cedric became an omniscient god. Nothing escaped his vision, and his ears became the perfect eavesdropping devices.

"Have you found him?" asked one of the guards, who seemed to be their captain solely because of his exquisite armor.

"Not yet, sir," answered the subordinate. "The guesthouse he escaped from is not far, and he's just a tamer. We will find him before the duke finds out."

"For our sake, that is," said the captain as he rushed in a different direction. Cedric hid behind the tree, grateful that none of them seemed to have detection skills. But once the trackers arrived, he would be found in no time.

Cedric had no problem with being found, but he could never be sure that the one capturing him wasn't after his life. Thus, ideally, he would find Ember first before he got arrested. At the very least, he could tell her to protect him.

'Although pathetic, I have no other choice,' thought Cedric as he waited for the guards to disperse before making his way toward the garden.

None of them assumed that this would be his goal since a prisoner is bound to seek the exit, not the deeper parts of the estate. Cedric couldn't use the Observe Skill continuously, so he thought of another trick.

In order to preserve his mana, Cedric used the Observe Skill in bursts of one second. Once he reached the edge of the previous sphere, which he found no danger inside, he would release another burst. He managed to turn the 2 points of mana, which could last him two minutes, into 120 bursts of detection that lasted him the entire way.

Cedric found the estate to be too large, which slowed his progress and weakened his ability to hide. His mana bottomed out after using his ability to run through some empty barns and jump over the fence.

According to his rough calculations, his mana regenerated by 1 point every ten minutes. That meant he needed six hundred seconds to regenerate one point, which he would spend in sixty seconds. In order to use the Observe skill for one second, he would need to wait ten seconds.

"Too much math for a fantasy world," muttered Cedric as he leaned against a barn door after making sure it was empty. Then, he waited for a minute in order to use the skill six times. Before he moved again, he used his ability one more time. But this time, he paused.

The previously empty barn now had two figures, having appeared out of thin air in the short span that Cedric was resting. Cedric would have ignored them if they were a pair of guards. Using his omniscient view to see beyond the walls, he was surprised to see a familiar face.

Caroline Astrid Ravenswood, who should be recovering from the trauma of his assault, was standing inside the barn surrounded by hay and darkness. There was another figure, wearing a cloak and mask that prevented Cedric from seeing his face.

"Our agreement was to lure him into the garden, and I did just that," said Caroline to the masked figure. "I even tarnished his reputation in order to make his death less impactful on the state of the nation."

"The prince lives, and even now, our assassin has failed to kill him," the figure replied. At that moment, Cedric felt his mana bottom out as he suddenly felt dizzy, but fought the urge to fall. "You cannot participate in the trial, for the Oath of Truth will reveal our plan."

His skill ended there, and Cedric felt his consciousness become entrapped with his senses again. Although he made sure to keep himself steady, the mana deprivation hit him harder than he anticipated and he fell to the ground.

The noise was loud enough to make him curse inwardly. Cedric felt a strange energy surround him as Caroline's muffled confusion came through the thin walls. He had been found, but he was not too worried.

'No better time than now to use the Forgotten skill,' thought Cedric as he selected his target as the masked man. The blue hologram appeared in front of him again.

[Target has been selected. The extra character, Cedric Everhart, will be forgotten from the target's mind for three minutes and forty seconds.]