The Novel's Extra: Scrapped

Ding dong—

The sound of a ringing doorbell woke me up from my sleep.

I opened my eyes in a daze and sat up with agitation on my face. My right wrist hurts with joint ache.

Glancing at the time I realized it was 3:00…am.

'Who the hell was at my door at this time of night!? I'm still freaking sore from the new streak of stigma!'

With that thought in mind I turned in my bed and ignored the sound.

This time the doorbell rang again, followed by a subdued voice.

Ding dong—

–Kim Hajin. I know you're awake. Open the door or I will.

Those intimidating words were spoken with such nonchalance I thought my ears were deceiving me.

But as the words sunk in I forced my body to move. The person behind the door was almost certainly not joking.

The moment I reached the door, my thousand mile eyes looked past the door and noticed an imposing figure standing outside.

He had tar black hair and pale but fair skin. His eyes, although wearing dark coloured contacts were a pale light gray, the dark rings under his eyes only served to make the iris' glow in the dark. 

He was tall, about a centimetre shorter than Kim Suho. His outfit consisted of a white shirt with dark gray trousers and a black overcoat. On his hands were a pair of black gloves, one of which was scaled with smooth black stones while the other had a stunning golden ring hidden beneath it.

A mass of pale gold mana formed a thin thread that wrapped around his palm like a web.

He's actually going to pick my lock!

I swung open the door to prevent him from doing so and watching him reverse the spell.

"..."

"..."

We stared at each other in silence before he walked inside and sat down on my sofa, clearly waiting for me to sit down.

What the heck does he want from me so early in the morning?

I cautiously grabbed my gun and sat down across from him.

He allowed me to do so, yet continued to observe me silently, waiting for me to speak.

It was a good thing I invested some SP into the Acting art… or else my heart might be unable to take the stress.

I was about to ask him why he was here but closed my mouth when an array of notifications popped up on my laptop.

[Problem: Major Villain, Minori Nii's betrayal was too unexpected and unreasonable. This led to many inconsistencies and holes within his backstory.]

[Solution: Minori Nii's betrayal is not of his own accord and instead due to the Gift of Lee Sang-Il's [Psyche Infestation].]

 [Psyche Infestation] is a genuinely disgusting gift I wrote for the leader of the Evil Society. Instead of charming or corrupting the thoughts of humans it devours sanity and lives inside someone's magic circuits. It limits rational thought while injecting vile thoughts in replacement. This usually leads to particularly filthy acts being at the forefront of a Djinn's mind.

If this gift was used on Minori Nii when he's barely intermediate rank 4 in terms of general strength it would be impossible to resist.

[A change in the setting has been detected.]

[Due to the observation of Kim Hajin's authority [Stigma], the character Minori Nii has become proficient at the dissection and interpretation of all magical creations. This has resulted in the creation of [Arcana Interpretation Genius] far earlier than the original setting.]

[A change in the setting has been detected.]

[Character Minori Nii has resisted and cured [Psyche Infestation]. Magic stat has been raised.]

[A change in the setting has been detected.]

[Character Minori Nii's plan for the downfall of heroes has been put on hold in favour of exterminating the Evil Society.]

Holy shi-

I felt [Acting] muffle the emotions raging in my mind as I focused on the present situation.

–Clack

I set the gun down on the desk before smiling knowingly, folding my arms and leaning back.

"So…"

My opponent's eyes sharpened as I spoke. His expression didn't change but I could see amusement in his eyes.

I knew it! He can't get a read!

Knowing this, I spoke with confidence.

"...You need my help." 

Minori Nii leaned back as well and crossed his legs.

"Correct. I need you to disable the cameras at the portal gate so I can get to Seoul without being noticed."

He gestured to the portal gate outside the window and then continued.

"I have information on the Evil Society that the Hero Association won't be able to pass up. Your skills are passable and we've worked together before. Which is why I'm asking for your help."

He seemed sincere and I knew he was capable of getting to the hero tower.

But if he can't see the flaw of this plan he might still be suffering from the remnants of the [Psyche Infestation].

"I can help you get out of Cube without alerting Djinn. But if you think it's as easy as going to the Hero Association and telling them about the Evil Society you're dead wrong."

"Why not? If I tell them, I'll definitely get some protection." Minori tilted his head.

"That's if you get them to believe you. Minori Nii, we are commoners. I understand you're in a bit of a rush as Djinn's may come knocking on your door at any moment but think a little bit. If it were princess Rachel or Chae Nayun it would be a different story. Not us."

Minori widened his eyes a little.

It looked like his mind was clearing up a bit more so I pressed on.

"And let's say they do believe you. Sure you'll get protection from a hero, but that's still two against however many they send to get you. And considering you spilled information the Evil Society may double their efforts."

The boy in front of me paused before sighing.

That was a good sign, although he's smart, he's also prideful in his own weird way. 

He still lacks experience dealing with the logic of this world. He's only 17 after all.

"So what should I do? If I stay in Cube while everyone's away I'm almost certain Djinn will be prowling around Cube with the goal to kill me. While the moment I step out of Cube, my risk of being killed by an ambush increases a hundredfold."

I shook my head slightly.

This is a chance! A chance to increase my favorability and form a strong ally. If I can turn Minori into a supporting character–!

"I…can offer you a place to hide in until the end of the break. You can lay low and come back to Cube when the break is over. Take your time planning and since Cube's security is going to increase from now on you don't have to worry about being attacked once you get back."

That was pretty good right? I said that really eloquently. Although I wasn't so proficient in persuasion, [Acting] made me sound calm and reasonable.

And judging by the look of surprise, he hadn't expected that outcome.

"...I'll think about it. We have to meet again tomorrow for questioning, right? I'll tell you when to disable the camera's then…"

He nodded and got up, bowing slightly before walking to the door.

It seems our conversation made him a little more level headed. 

Another ping rang out from my laptop but I ignored it.

"The address is XXXXX street. Got it?" 

…

On a fine afternoon, four people sat in a room, being questioned by interrogators.

Despite being on edge, I coordinated my answer with the people next to me. Hajin and my stories were too detailed to be fake while Rachel and Kim Suho were simply too high profile to lie about such things.

Thankfully due to Rachel's high standing in society, the four of us were able to leave the interrogation room early.

Outside the interrogation room, Kim Suho, being the ever cheerful Rank 1 started a conversation.

"So where are you guys heading after this? I'm gonna head back home and see some family since the break is pretty long."

'Family…'

I repeated the word in my mind before answering.

"I'll probably head over to the wizard tower at 11:50. I've still got a couple things to do." I glanced at Hajin and he nodded before giving his own answer.

"I'm heading over to Wonju. It's a good opportunity to hunt."

'Ha, did he take acting classes? He doesn't seem as stiff as before.'

"Home." Rachel gave her one word answer. She stood between me and Hajin as Suho stood at the front. 

Just like the incident.

Unfortunately I had to go check on something.

I split off to the left and smiled at the group.

"I'll see you after the break, everyone. It's been a fun few months hasn't it?"

Kim Suho looked over.

"...Why are you making it sound as though…"

Before he could finish I walked away, a small smile on my face.

Kim Suho eyes my back with a strange expression.

…

I walked through the corridors of Cube quietly, the clicking of my shoes against the concrete floor echoed across the walls.

The clicking stopped once I arrived in front of a door.

Above it was a sign that wrote: [Medical Practice Club].

–shhhk

I slid the door open and stepped inside walking into the room and stopping at the back of the class, right at the end.

In the room that smelled of herbs, chemicals and blood, a girl stood at the front, leaning on the back of her hand and staring at me with pure amusement.

She had long brown hair, a slender figure and fair skin, her eyes were a cherry pink surrounded by an inky blackness. She wore a black robe over a tank top, a centipede tattoo crawling around her neck.

A soft breeze passed through as the setting sun illuminated the classroom

She came after all…

I smirked as I looked at her.

"Hello, Ori. Doesn't this remind you of our first meeting?"

"Yes. I suppose it does." She chuckled before holding up a watch with the text frozen on the screen.

[Minori Nii: Come to where we first met. I want to strike a deal.]

"You knew I would break into your dorm to kill you yet you willingly came to me. Are you ret*rded? But fine, let's hear you out. I doubt you can offer anything to convince Lee Sang-Il." 

I smiled before pointing at her.

"You grabbed the papers from under my floor boards right? No, I'm sure you did. Flip to page 5."

She eyed me suspiciously but produced a stack of papers, flipping five pages.

"...It's just a magical circle."

She spoke with confusion but couldn't help but feel a nagging fear in her heart.

"Not just any magic circle. It's the spell for a High rank grade 3 level Fire bomb. It is my greatest work. I hate you, which is why I'll be using it on you!"

I spoke cheerfully and watched her reaction.

The woman widened her eyes before thinking quickly and throwing them out of the window.

It might've been a bluff, but could she have taken the risk? The boy in front of her was the first human to survive Sang-Il's gift.

The answer was absolutely not.

Even so, her answer to this problem was the wrong one.

Because even if the circle left her range, it would leave mine first.

So without further notice, I smiled wickedly at my old superior and pointed.

Her voice rang out, no elegance, no allure, nothing to sweeten her voice. Just pure undiluted panic. 

"YOU HATEFUL LITTLE BASTARD!"

Mana so vile and dark wrapped surged out of her figure, tendrils of black rolled from her back. The pure density squeezed the breath from my throat.

She seethed, her head to look at me with wide eyes as she screamed at the top of her lungs, transforming into her Djinn form from instinct alone.

The papers fluttered in the wind as the simple glowed white hot, letting out a glow closer to a star than a fire.

I pushed myself to pour the mana into my strongest spell to date.

I then spoke with a calm, relaxed tone. My face smiling at her in relief.

"Go fuck yourself."

Silence.

Before instantaneous death.

—BOOM!