The Extra is a Hero?-Chapter 297: THE TRAITOR’S MONOLOGUE
Chapter 293: The Traitor’s Monologue
The tunnel was dark, damp, and smelled of sulfur, but to Ren Dover, it smelled like victory.
He sprinted through the twisted root passage, his boots splashing in shallow puddles of black sap. The bioluminescent moss here was dim, flickering with a dying pulse, but Ren didn’t need light. He had [Shadow Cloak] and the adrenaline of a successful heist coursing through his veins.
He reached a fork in the tunnel and slowed to a halt, pressing his back against the wall to catch his breath.
He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out the crystal vial. Even through the leather, he could feel the warmth of the [Life Dew].
"Too easy," Ren whispered, a smirk playing on his lips.
He pulled a small, jagged stone from his pocket—a [Whisper Stone], linked directly to a frequency that bypassed the Zone of Silence.
He channeled a sliver of mana into it.
"Master," Ren spoke into the stone.
A voice crackled back, distorted and layered, sounding like dry leaves skittering on pavement. "Report, Disciple."
"The objective is secured," Ren said, turning the vial in his hand. "I have the Tear of Gaia."
"And the obstacles?"
"The Guardian is destroyed," Ren reported. "The Hero... is buried. I left him in the collapsing chamber with the Tactician. They are dead men walking."
"Excellent. And their bond? Did it break?"
Ren laughed softly. He thought back to Leon’s horrified face as the knife pressed against his throat.
"Like glass, Master," Ren said. "Friendship is a construct, just as you taught. A fragile delusion for the weak. Only the Abyss is eternal."
"Bring it to me. The ascension awaits." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
The connection cut.
Ren pocketed the stone. He felt lighter. He was no longer Ren the Student, or Ren the C-Rank Support. He was Ren the Ascended.
"Now," he muttered, pulling out the folded piece of parchment Michael had given him. "Let’s see where this ’backdoor’ leads."
He unfolded the map.
He squinted in the dim light. The map was crude, drawn in charcoal. It showed a path leading to a ventilation shaft.
But as he unfolded the last crease, his thumb brushed against something slightly raised. A small, square sticker.
Ren froze.
He looked closer.
It was a standard-issue [Fire Rune] decal. The kind sold in the Academy convenience store for 50 SP. Low damage. Used for lighting campfires or pranks.
But written on the rune, in tiny, precise handwriting, was a single word:
Checkmate.
Ren stared at it. His brain, honed by years of assassin training, processed the implication in a nanosecond.
The Tactician didn’t give me an exit.
He gave me a bomb.
A hissing sound echoed from the darkness ahead. Not the hiss of a fuse, but the hiss of biology.
Ren looked up.
The tunnel didn’t lead to a ventilation shaft. It opened into a massive, writhing pit.
Hundreds of [Root Vipers]—blind, venomous, and agitated—raised their heads. They had been sleeping, until the scent of the intruder—and perhaps the subtle pheromones laced into the rune sticker—woke them up.
And then, the rune activated.
It wasn’t a large explosion. Just a small pop of heat and light.
Enough to burn Ren’s fingers.
And enough to act as a flare gun in a pit of monsters.
"Michael..." Ren breathed, his eyes widening in realization.
The vipers struck.
"NO!"
Ren drew his daggers, slashing wildly as the tide of scales and fangs washed over him. He screamed, but the sound was swallowed by the roots.
[Location: Heart-Root Chamber]
"Did you hear that?" Leon asked, his voice trembling.
We were huddled near the entrance of the chamber, as far away from the collapsing floor as possible. The sound of Ren’s scream had echoed faintly through the stone, followed by the undeniable, wet sounds of a feeding frenzy.
"I heard it," I whispered, leaning my head against the wall.
My vision was swimming. The [Mana Rebound] had hit me like a truck. My mana channels felt like they had been scrubbed with steel wool.
"He... he’s dead, isn’t he?" Leon asked. He looked at the dark tunnel where his friend had vanished. "The map... it wasn’t an escape route."
"It was a disposal chute," I rasped, clutching my broken ribs. "He made his choice, Leon. He chose the Abyss."
Leon slumped against the wall. He looked older. The shiny, optimistic Hero who had boarded the train a few days ago was gone. In his place was a survivor.
"He took the Dew," Leon said hollowly. "Even if he’s dead... the snakes have it now. We can’t go in there. It’s a pit of Level 50 mobs."
I closed my eyes.
"Check your inventory, Leon."
"What?"
"The flask," I said. "The one you filled. Check it."
Leon frowned, confused. He opened his system interface. He pulled out the spare flask he had used—the one Ren had forced him to fill.
It was empty.
"I don’t understand," Leon stammered. "I filled it! I saw the gold liquid go in!"
"You saw liquid," I corrected. "But you didn’t see the item tag."
I reached into my own coat pocket—the inner one, protected by a seal.
I pulled out a small, unremarkable glass test tube.
Inside, five milliliters of thick, golden liquid swirled with a divine light.
[Item: Tear of Gaia (Small Vial)]
[Quantity: 1 Dose]
Leon stared at it, his jaw dropping. "How? When?"
"Sleight of hand," I said, a faint smile touching my lips. "When I told you to fill the flask, I used [Shadow Swap]. I swapped the contents of the flask with plain water from my inventory for a split second before the system registered the item."
I hadn’t swapped the flask. I had used the spatial distortion of the room to redirect the flow. Ren had watched Leon fill a flask with dungeon water illuminated by the ambient light.
The real Dew—just a single drop, which was all we needed—was in my pocket.
"You..." Leon laughed. It was a wet, choked sound. "You crazy bastard. You stole it right in front of him."
"I told you," I said, my vision fading to black as the exhaustion finally won. "I’m the Tactician."
[System Alert: Quest Completed.]
[Objective: Secure the Cure.]
[Bonus Objective: Eliminate the Traitor.]
[Reward Distribution]
[XP Gained: 15,000]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[SP Obtained: 5,000]
I opened the System Shop interface with my last ounce of consciousness. I needed to stabilize the [Void Cut] skill. It was currently "Incomplete" and unstable. If I passed out now, the skill might degrade or vanish.
[System Shop]
Skill Stabilization Scroll (Rank: B) - Cost: 3,500 SP
High-Grade Health Potion - Cost: 500 SP
"Purchase," I mentally commanded.
A warm light enveloped me. The agonizing pain in my mana circuits faded to a dull throb. The black static around my hand settled, sinking into my skin like a tattoo.
I looked at Leon one last time.
"We need to go," I whispered. "The train..."
"I got you," Leon said.
He picked me up. The Hero carried the Extra.
We walked out of the dying dungeon, leaving the traitor and the gold behind.
[SYSTEM STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Michael Willson
Age: 15
Class: Magic Swordsman
Rank: D (Verified)
[ ATTRIBUTES ]
STR: 144 (+5) ➔ 155 (Level Up +2)
AGI: 104 ➔ 115 (Level Up +2)
STA: 137 ➔ 150 (Level Up +2)
INT: 118 (+2) ➔ 130 (Level Up +2)
Mana: 3400 / 3800 (Base Increased)
[ RESOURCES ]
SP: 14,720 (Previous) + 5,000 (Quest) - 4,000 (Shop Usage) = 15,720
[ ACTIVE SKILLS ]
1. Void Cut (Black)
Rank: Incomplete ➔ Stable (B-Rank)
Cost: 2000 Mana
Description: A spatial severing technique. Currently limited to a 2-meter range.
Note: Stabilized via System Shop Scroll (3,500 SP).
2. Quantum Analysis Mind (Purple)
Status: Active
Cooldown: 1 Hour (Reduced due to Level Up)
3. Ice Domain (Gold)
Status: Sealed (Zone of Silence)
4. Aura Dominion (Gold)
Status: Sealed (Zone of Silence)
5. Shadow Swap (Purple)
Status: Active
Usage: 1/3 Charges remaining.
[ INVENTORY ]
Tear of Gaia (1 Dose)
Breaker’s Hammer (Returned to Leon)
Elven Diary
(To be Continued)
