5. Extras (1)
A stinging evening with the wind blowing on the tip of your nose. Two men were walking down a dark street.
One is Siwoo. Another person was a man named Derek who accompanied me on my way to this city.
The two of them walked together at a different beat, so it was quite awkward to be a group. In reality, it had been a while since we had been together. Because he was the person who accompanied me on my way out of the village just before.
But that doesn’t mean the two really acted like strangers. Derek seems to be quite friendly, as he often talks to Siwoo. Since Si-woo is a modern man and there is a clear difference in values from people in this world, he did not necessarily want to talk to him, but he still accepted him in moderation.
Nevertheless, there was silence between the two now. We were both exhausted from walking until evening, and the surroundings were quiet.
Siwoo was secretly satisfied with the quiet. However, Derek must have felt awkward about the silence that followed, so he spoke in a loud voice for a monologue.
“Huh. “The lives of us wandering around are like Bupyeong Elementary School.”
Si-woo was tired from the long journey and did not want to open his mouth, but since this was a world where it was easy to get into trouble if you acted coldly, he answered briefly.
“That’s the life of an extra.”
“Extra?”
“A small part in a play. It appears for a moment and then disappears.”
“Oh, I know what it is. It certainly is. In the end, it’s a life where you can’t leave anything to the world… “I wish I could change the world in some way.”
“Well. “The only thing I’ve learned while living in this world is that you need to understand the subject well.”
“Well…”
After talking like that and walking for some time, a fork in the road appeared in front of them, divided into two branches. The left was the road to the entertainment district, and the right was the road to a place where ordinary inns were concentrated.
Derek naturally turned to the right. Since I had just arrived in this village today, I was planning to start off with my travels. However, when the person he was supposed to follow did not follow, he turned his head with a puzzled expression.
“Her? Are you going to drain the water as soon as you arrive?
Siwoo, who was walking to the left, looked back at Derek and nodded his head silently. Actually, I didn’t mean to do that at all, but I was too lazy and tired to say anything more. Because surviving in a dark fantasy world was a truly grueling and tiring task.
A poorly developed road. Wild beasts and monsters emerging from the forest. And even the scariest ones. Siwoo, who had overcome everything to reach Caucasus, only looked fine on the outside, but was already in a state of overload. This was despite the fact that he was always using his inner strength.
But Derek, who couldn’t possibly know that, shook his head.
“What kind of person has physical strength… No, enjoy yourself.”
Siwoo smiled helplessly and walked down the street, and when Derek was completely out of sight, he summoned his Sylph.
The sight of silver wind gathering above her hand and transforming her into a tiny girl was always mysterious.
“Dad! “Where are we?”
Siwoo smiled brightly at Sylph’s innocent question.
That smile was so lively that it was hard to imagine that it was someone who had been tired just before.
“This is a city called Caucasus.”
“Caucasus? Dad… Hero? “The place where you said it was?”
“Huh.That place is here.”
Actually, there was no need to come here. This is because many Siwoos said in unison, ‘Interfering with the main story does not provide a clue to returning to reality.’ From Siwoo’s perspective, it would be easier not to come here.
There is no need to be an extra who gets swept up next to the main character who causes accidents.
Nevertheless, there is one reason why Siwoo found the main character. It was because of a concern he had recently.
In order to find answers and share concerns that only the protagonist can hear in this world that cannot be shared with other Si-Woos.
However, Sylph, unaware of such complicated circumstances, simply nodded his head without thinking.
“I see…”
Sylph clucked while holding Siu’s sideburns, which had grown long because they had not been cut for a long time. He looked like a child, holding on to something and swinging on a swing.
Siwoo smiled happily as he felt Sylph’s presence through the feeling of his hair being pulled. In this world where ethics and morals were missing, spirits were his few sources of vitality.
“But you seem a little big?”
“Huh! That’s right! “It’s a little big!”
The sylph placed both hands on his hips and lifted his chin proudly. Siwoo thought it was cute and gently stroked his hair with his fingers.
Sylph was said to have grown a little, but in Siwoo’s opinion, the growth was remarkable. His height, which was initially shorter than his fingers, has grown to the level of his forearm, and his facial expressions have become recognizable.
According to Spirit Siwoo, spirits grow in proportion to the skill of the caster, so this is probably due to Siwoo’s frequent use of spirit magic. Si-woo thought that if he did this, he could proudly show it to the spirit Si-woo.
“Sylph. From now on, form an air film around my face and body. “So that you can only breathe clean air.”
“Huh. Okay!”
Sylph nodded his head and sat on top of Siu’s head and spread his arms.
Then a curtain was created that only Siwoo could see.
A useful technique that I used on a daily basis to filter out things like manure odor. But it was even more important now.
If you breathe the air of the place you are going from now on, it will be fatal to your mind.
“Sylph. You won’t be able to see it from now on, so come into my heart here. “Cover your ears too.”
“Can’t you stay here a little longer?”
“No. Instead, when I go to the dorm, I’ll take a nap and wake up to play.”
“Ugh…”
The Sylph tossed and tangled his hair for no reason, but in the end, he couldn’t resist Siu’s urging and came into Siu’s arms.
After confirming that the sylph was covering his ears with her small hands, Siwoo took his feet away again. In the distance, a shining street covered in hazy fog came into view.
The fog was the smoke from burning hallucinogenic herbs and drugs, and the light was from the lanterns held by prostitutes soliciting customers. The streets were full of only pleasure and lust, filled with coquettish fawning and false doctrine.
Siwoo walked calmly in the dim light. If there wasn’t a sylph, I wouldn’t have dared to come in, but since there was a sylph, at least I didn’t have to worry about my health being damaged. The scatological shouts of those who only live for today and the blatantly spreading and obsessively clinging gestures of the prostitutes were irritating, but I could bear it.
The back alleys that were occasionally visible were filled with people having decadent pleasures and dirty orgies, creating a picture of hell. The squirming lumps evoked disgust proportional to their number.. Abandoned corpses and blood stains were occasionally seen.
Meanwhile, dark shadows pass by in the back alley. Siwoo clearly saw them with his enhanced visual acuity, but did not show it. These are things that will be dealt with by the main character in this episode anyway. As an extra, Siwoo just had to act appropriately.
This is a world where you can just pick something and die. Siwoo realized that fact keenly after killing nine people.
Siwoo shook off all of his touches and headed to the inn in the center of the entertainment district. This place, often called the ‘Cloud Inn’ instead of its original name, was the cheapest and safest place in the city, so it was a place only used by people who knew the Caucasus well.
It was also where the main character stayed. That is why Siu, who was visiting the Caucasus for the first time, knew about this place.
Siwoo paid a reasonable amount for a week’s lodging at the counter. Strangers tend to be overcharged, but Siwoo sent Sylph into the inn first to check how much other people were paying, so he didn’t overcharge.
Siwoo went into the assigned room, locked it with a clumsy lock, and fixed it with a spell he had used hundreds of times. He purified the air in the room, ridding it of the fumes of drugs and hallucinogenic candles, and threw himself onto the bed. The terrible fatigue weighed down my eyelids.
His body seemed to sink into the bed. His consciousness sank and his overworked, twitching muscles healed.
And the dream that followed was a scream that could not reach Siwoo.
*
There was light in the dark night sky.
They each had a different shape. Tutorial challenger. A student at the academy. A symbol of the world of Seonhyup. The female knight’s squire…
As time went by, the light increased. Conglomerates, politicians, royal family, lords. They got together and hung out. The halo of light was so dazzling that it seemed as if not a single speck of it would be visible.
And far away from those lights. Here on earth. On top of a dark and dull mound of dirt.
Siwoo was kneeling here.
Dark red blood was sticky all over his body. Pieces of flesh were sticking out of his clothes, and the corpses of nine people were lying around him.
Those were the nine people he killed.
Siwoo looked up at him with difficulty. The beautiful cluster of lights that decorated the night sky danced gracefully as if completely unaware of his feelings. It was so far away that it seemed like he would never be able to reach it, and it was bright enough to make him feel miserable.
Under that light, Siwoo felt terrible emptiness and loneliness.
The corpses longed for that halo of light. He wanted to go up there. I could live well there too.
That was what Siwoo always thought.
I want to run away from this world.
I want to go to a peaceful and comfortable world where no one threatens me.
The halo of light grew further and further away, and Siwoo gradually sank into the mound of dirt. Nine bodies sank with Siu.
In it, Siwoo made eye contact with a corpse. The corpse was the first man Si-woo killed.
The corpse’s neck was shaking. Because Siwoo was inexperienced in cutting his head.
The corpse was waaaying and screaming. Starting with him, the other corpses each screamed. The last words uttered before death. The last flame burning hotly.
Siwoo’s hand throbbed. Nerves burning, frozen, his knife handThe feeling of catching and crunching lingered in my hand. Only human fragments were visible in the darkness. Human bones, human intestines, human gastric juice, human blood, human brain…
In it, Siwoo realized that this place was his dream. As soon as I realized, the scenery became blurry and my floating consciousness rose.
As my ability to think returned, fear suddenly came over me.
The fear of starting another day.
So Si-woo desperately hoped.
When I open my eyes, I hope I can see the scenery I miss. I hope that one year in the dark fantasy world was just a one-night dream.
However.
“… Under.”
Siwoo laughed helplessly.
The scenery seen was by no means what Siwoo had hoped for.
Siwoo struggled to get up. It was still early in the morning, but I didn’t feel like going to sleep at all.
What should I fill this morning with? After thinking about it, Siwoo remembered that he had decided to play with the sylph.
Siwoo summoned Sylph. Even in the dark, the sylph glowed softly.
Sylph looked around to assess the situation and spoke when he saw Siwoo.
“Dad. “Did you just wake up?”
“Oh, right. “Do you see it a lot?”
“Huh! “My dad always has that look on his face every time he wakes up from a dream.”
At those words, Siwoo swept his face with his palm. As if wiping off his expression.
Fortunately, dry washing was effective in its own way. Siwoo spoke in a brighter voice.
“Come on, Sylph. You were supposed to play, right? “What should we play?”
“Hmm… Umm…”
The sylph rested his hand on his chin. Uncharacteristically, he seemed to be thinking for a long time. Just as Siwoo was starting to worry about what he was going to ask, Sylph shouted energetically.
“Hold me tight and lie down!”
“Huh? “That’s not playing.”
“But I think I need something from my dad.”
“…”
Siwoo, caught off guard, fell silent. In fact, he was still suffering from great fatigue.
This is the only way to determine who is a child and who is an adult.
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“Then I feel so sorry…”
“I’m saying that because I don’t think you will play well today. Have fun next time!”
“… Huh. Okay. “I’ll play properly next time.”
Siwoo hugged Sylph and lay down.
He couldn’t sleep. But that alone was enough to relieve my fatigue. The tossing and turning of Sylph’s body soothed Siwoo’s loneliness.
By the time Siwoo opened his eyes, it was already morning.
“Thank you, Sylph. “I’ll definitely play with you next time.”
“Huh! Please remember!”
The returning sylph smiled proudly. It seemed like the happiness was contagious to Siu.
Siwoo called Undine, took a sip of cold water, and washed his face moderately. So it seemed like his mind had cleared up. If he didn’t have a spirit, he probably wouldn’t have died a long time ago. So he didn’t know that Siwoo treated the spirits more kindly.
Siwoo came down to the restaurant on the first floor and ordered breakfast. The menu is a typical chowder stew. However, he seemed to have paid attention to the mixture and ingredients, and the smell coming from the tables around him was not bad. The price was also cheap.
The chowder stew was soon served in a wooden bowl. There are many wooden bowlsThere were stains here and there, as if it were bitter, but it was bearable enough to eat. Just as Si-woo is feeling grateful and about to have a drink.
A person sat on the chair opposite.
She was the person Siwoo had been waiting for.
“Can we sit together?”
“… “Why are you shutting down?”
“Yeah… “Her face looks worried.”
With those words, Siwoo took her eyes off her stew and looked ahead of her.
There was a girl with purple hair and purple eyes.
The girl’s identity is the main character of the novel ‘Witch’s Discoveries’.
A girl who wanders the world, listens to people’s stories, and seeks to understand them.
It was the witch, Adriana.
“If it’s okay, may I listen to your story?”
At Adriana’s words, Siwoo put down the spoon.
“Great. There’s a story I wanted to tell you…”
Si-woo, who said that, began to let go of his thoughts as if he was sighing.