Episode 7: Genre Misunderstanding: An Extra's Survival Story

Episode 7: Bunch of Weirdos

There were several reasons why Abel so desperately wanted to attend the Continental Academy.

The biggest one, of course, was to gain the strength to protect himself and the ones he holds dear.

No matter how much he trained on his own, he’d never escape being a frog in a well.

For an ability user, what matters isn’t just talent — when experience is added to that talent, the effect multiplies.

He had Lumine, his older sister and a radiant-type ability user, but that alone wasn’t enough. It would be far better to collide with more ability users, accumulate more diverse experiences.

And the next reason? There were many, but if he had to pick just one, Abel would say:

‘I’m a transmigrator, after all. And now I’ve become an ability user. I can’t just live like some nobody.’

In other genres, things might be different, but in ability-based stories, so-called “extras” usually face one of two outcomes:

They die early on… or disappear without a trace.

Neither outcome was something Abel was particularly fond of.

Maybe that’s just his fate. He firmly believes he’s the protagonist of his life, but maybe the protagonist of this world had already been decided.

He wants to believe otherwise, but maybe Abel is just another background character. Supporting cast at best. Just a random face in the crowd. An extra. A nobody who fades away without leaving a mark.

To deny that fate head-on — to shake up this genre — what he needs is reputation. In simpler terms, he needs to become a “named character.”

So, what’s the method? What’s the path to twist an uncertain future and seize his own destiny?

The answer lies right over there, with those guys who are causing a massive scene on day one, undeniably the main characters by any standard.

“I shouldn’t have tried to talk to a water-user. Let’s just settle the pecking order right here.”

“Fire-users are all the same — all they ever talk about is dominance. Fine. Let’s do it.”

Overflowing confidence and self-esteem. Manifesting blazing fire and crashing waves.

One with fiery red hair, the other with bright blue — practically shouting “I’m a fire-user” and “I’m a water-user.”

If someone still couldn’t figure out who they were, they might as well stick their face in a bowl of water and end it now.

“Why did the sons of Lord Phoenix and Master Sparrow both show up at the same time, on the same day…?”

“Lord Caligo? Then those two over there are…?”

“You’re right, Lady Seria. The red-haired one is Flam Phoenix, and the blue-haired one is Portus Sparrow. They’re fire and water-type ability users, respectively.”

Flam Phoenix — the son of Akin Phoenix, the continent’s greatest fire-type user and master of pyrokinesis.

Portus Sparrow — the eldest son of Jacob Sparrow, hailed as the most powerful water-type user in recorded history.

There’s a saying: “Just because the father is great doesn’t mean the son will be.”

Often, such heirs are crushed by the weight of expectations, collapsing under the pressure.

But not Flam and Portus.

They neither bent nor broke.

They gave their all, striving to meet those expectations and become worthy successors.

As a result, both awakened early and were prepared for the Academy, and the examiners unanimously approved their admission.

“But I heard they deliberately staggered their enrollment to prevent conflict between opposing elements. How did it come to this…?!”

Caligo clutched his forehead again. He’d hoped for a quiet life, but all his peers seemed to be utter chaos.

Even if he kept his head down, what good would it do? At this rate, doing nothing would seem even weirder.

Among normal people, being abnormal stands out — but among weirdos, being normal is the real anomaly.

Whooom!

The flames roared and waves crashed — they were clearly about to go all out.

New students widened their eyes like startled rabbits, while returning students had already brought out snacks and drinks to enjoy the show.

No one seemed interested in stopping the fight.

This was the Continental Academy.

Conflicts and duels between ability users were daily occurrences.

As long as there were no malicious intentions, everything was tolerated as part of training.

Sure, it was slightly problematic that it was happening before the entrance ceremony… but whatever.

For some, it was entertaining; for others, a valuable opportunity to gauge the power of potential rivals.

And since this wasn’t some staged mock battle full of bluffing, it was even more informative.

“This won’t do.”

It had gone far enough. Someone had to step in.

Caligo had tried not to interfere, but the Continental Academy was under the Empire’s jurisdiction — and Caligo himself was a prince of that Empire.

To sit back and watch this escalate into a serious fight would be a dereliction of his royal duty.

“Let’s stop this.”

“Abel?”

“Weren’t you trying to stay under the radar? If you jump in now, Caligo, your name will be all over the place.”

At Abel’s intervention, Caligo’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Leave it to me. Just this once, I’ll help you protect your peaceful Academy life.”

“Which is exactly why I’m trying to stop you, Abel.”

‘Your eyes — they don’t belong to someone trying to break up a fight.’

‘No… those are the eyes of someone itching to jump in and have some fun.’

‘And the fact that you can say you’re doing this for me with a straight face on day two… You’re a real piece of work.’

‘A weirdo. But one I have no choice but to rely on.’

“Keep it ‘moderate’, Abel. ‘Moderate.’”

“Worried I’ll get labeled a troublemaker before classes even start?”

“That too, but there’s another reason. This isn’t some important test, and it’s not wise to show your full strength in a situation like this.”

“I had no intention of doing so.”

Abel strode forward with confidence. Watching his back, Seria couldn’t hide her concern. Flames were roaring and crashing waves the size of houses were rising right in front of them, after all.

“Will he be okay? I feel like it’s better to let the upperclassmen or professors step in. What if Abel gets hurt…?”

“Is that truly what you think, Miss Seria?”

One of the perks of being a prince, Caligo thought, was the wide variety of people he’d met. Through those meetings, he learned how to gauge someone’s character—what kind of person they were, what they might be hiding, and what their true nature was.

‘The abilities of those two aren’t ordinary. Yet he’s confident he can stop them without showing his full power? What exactly are you planning, Abel?’

His gaze was full of certainty. His voice was laced with confidence that he could stop them no matter what. He definitely had something in mind, though Caligo couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

What’s he planning? At first, Caligo thought Abel was just skilled with a sword, but maybe… he was just as good at handling people?

“Hey, you two. Rather than fighting like this, how about getting an objective evaluation?”

…Huh? What did he just say?

“I can see that you’re both just using counter techniques to keep each other in check. How about this—each of you use your best technique on me, and I’ll judge who’s better based on that.”

“…?”

Is this guy insane? Does he even realize who those two are? How can he make such a ridiculous proposal?!

Caligo was about to shout for him to stop messing around, but the two elemental hotheads answered before he could.

“Hey, you. Are you serious? You could get hurt, you know.”

“Of course.”

“Fine. Let’s do it. Hey, pyromaniac—mind if I go first?”

“Ha! Trying to wear him out so you can blame your loss on fatigue? How pathetic.”

“If you don’t like it, then you go first!”

“You trying to trick me into going first so you can win easily?”

“Damn it. Then what do you want me to do?!”

Not a single one of them is sane. How can there not be a single normal person among the three standing over there?

Caligo groaned, face in hands, then glanced at Seria next to him.

“Thank you, Miss Seria.”

“…Huh?”

“Thanks to you, I was able to forget about all my worldly worries for a little while.”

Yeah. Even if those classmates are all like that, I’ll endure it—because Seria is one of them too.

⋆⋆⋆

To get straight to the point, Abel didn’t accomplish anything he originally set out to do.

“Everyone stop right now! Did you forget the warnings given before you even passed through the Academy’s gates?! We said we’d tolerate a little chaos—not a full-blown brawl like this!”

A professor who had been watching the situation stepped in, using telekinesis to snatch up the two raging boys.

Even while dangling in midair, Flam and Portus showed no signs of backing down. In fact, they even agreed to settle the fight properly sometime soon.

Thanks to that, Abel avoided being hoisted up like those two. All the heat and attention had been drawn to Flam and Portus. Instead, Abel even received a bit of praise for courageously stepping up and trying to stop the fight as a freshman.

‘What a shame. It’s such a shame.’

But the man himself was just clicking his tongue in regret.

Flam Phoenix and Portus Sparrow—both sons of men who reached the pinnacle of their respective abilities. They would’ve received elite training from their fathers and were most likely far stronger than your average ability user.

Clashing with them could’ve provided him with experience that would normally require ten battles with regular opponents. And even with fewer fights, the quality of what he could learn would be better.

That’s why he was so disappointed. The atmosphere was just right; they looked like they were going to go all out.

They had asked if he could really endure it, but at least when it came to physical strength and durability, Abel was confident. Even before awakening his sword ability, his body enhancement skills were already top-tier. When he was younger, people even joked that maybe his ability was extreme endurance and adaptability.

“Abel Rotensilt.”

“Here.”

“Follow me.”

Starting that afternoon, it was time for power assessments for the new students.

Oh well. He’d just have to vent his frustration during the exams. With a light heart, Abel followed the professor to the testing grounds.

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