The Novel's Extra: Scrapped

"Oh, so you're our little Suho's friend! Please, take care of him." A pretty looking middle aged woman spoke to me, standing next to her was an embarrassed looking Kim Suho and a proud looking old man.

What's happening?

Today was saturday, combat exams would begin on monday. During the combat exam periods, Cube was open to cadets' family members, various Hero associates, and all institutions that hired Heroes.

"Oh, no I can assure you Suho is doing very well for himself." I spoke with an awkward smile and looked back and forth between the two.

He really bears a resemblance to his mom…

"Minori, as you can see, these are my parents. They, uhh, wanted to meet my friends."

"Yes, I can see that."

After a short conversation I moved away from them, walking through the crowded park.

Strangely… something felt off. 

The crowd was full of people of all ages and races, bustling tightly together with smiles and letting out sounds of laughter.

But I felt unsettled, as though someone incredibly dangerous was mere metres away- no they're closer.

I blinked and brought the stars into view.

It was then that a woman appeared, she was covered in a strange shade, but even so, I caught sight of a glowing radiance.

The moment I caught sight of her a killing intent rushed over and assaulted my senses.

I blinked again and let out a sigh, walking through the crowd as though nothing happened.

No matter what, I can't look in that direction. I can feel them getting closer and closer.

Swish-

My shoulder brushed against something, causing me to snap out of my thoughts.

I looked at the cause and made eye contact with a woman.

Her expression was cool and calm. Her steps froze as we looked at each other.

Her figure was tall and slender, pale skin exposed modestly. Long black hair flowed down her head, and obsidian eyes stared into my gray ones. 

The Melancholic beauty continued to stare intensely.

A familiar overbearing pressure pushed down on my shoulders. 

I didn't let it show.

If I did, I had no doubt that I'd disappear.

I turned my gaze away naturally and walked away, feeling her do the same.

The more footsteps I took the more I felt safe, but I didn't let my guard down just yet.

Eventually I leaned up against a wall and let out a breath.

"What the hell is she doing here…?" I whispered to myself while adjusting my mindset.

I now had to pay extra attention to how I acted. As long as she's here, I can't relax.

… 

Clack, clack.

The woman stopped in an artificial forest. After confirming that no one was watching her, she quietly murmured.

"I was spotted. Twice."

The forest was empty without even a shadow of a person. However, a strange voice rang out from the ground.

—Really? Maybe you were mistaken.

"No… definitely not."

—..? Is your necklace working?

A full body mirror shot up from the ground. The woman looked at herself in the mirror. Around her neck was a Siren's Necklace, an item with the ability to prevent people from recognising her.

"It's working fine."

—Really? So two people saw through the necklace? What are Cube feeding these kids… Do you remember them?

"Stop joking. You saw them too." Her voice was serious as she looked down, trying to recollect something.

A clicking of keyboard sound rang out as the woman awaited the reports.

—Say boss. Did you know that boy?

"What?" She spoke with irritation in her voice.

—Hehe, nothing~ Anyways here are the files.

The voice from the ground made an over the top noise of clearing their throat.

—First off is Kim Hajin, the one who called you hot.

The woman's hand twitched.

—Ahem, He's an orphan without any relatives. The orphanage he was in held an examination for potential heroes and he was admitted to the Agent Military Academy at the age of 6. He never stood out, maintaining below-average rank before entering Cube. Oh! And he has a 300 million won debt. That's all.

"..."

'Then how did he notice me?'

To her, that was the question. Siren's necklace was a mythical grade accessory. Siren, of course, being the half human half bird creature in Greek mythology.

'Perception distortion' was one of the many abilities the necklace had. Without exceptional perception and eyesight, it was impossible to see through it.

—Do you still have doubts? I can put his name down on the notebook if you want.

"No, let's move onto the next one."

—Alright. Oh, this is interesting, Minori Nii's identity appeared only 4 years ago. Before that, it was completely unknown where he came from. He was at the top of his class before Cube and managed to get a scholarship but ranked 150 in the entrance exam.

"...Let's just keep an eye on them for now." The woman let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, unable to shake the sense of familiarity.

"Oh, Boss, you were here."

At that moment, an imposing voice resounded. The woman turned around. There, a large-bodied man was smiling viciously.

"It's been a while, Boss."

It was a bit funny seeing a man call a woman, whose height couldn't even reach his shoulders, Boss. However, the man clearly treated the woman with a great deal of respect.

"This place is filled with powerful heroes."

The man clenched and unclenched his gauntlet-covered fist.

"Take it off. We didn't come here to cause trouble"

"Ah right. I almost forgot."

At the woman's command, the man's black gauntlet scattered into dust. He then scratched his neck in silence, while the woman glared at him coldly.

"W-What?"

Startled, the man asked. What the woman wanted to ask was said by the mysterious voice underground.

—The report.

"Oh right. There's nothing to report. I can pop everyone's heads off with a flick of a finger."

—Idiot… That's obvious. I'm talking about their future potential.

The man rubbed his chin and pondered.

"Hm.. I'm not sure. I went to watch the second year's rank 1 cadet, but he wasn't anything special… or there was this boy in the crowd who had sharp senses."

—Who?

"Dunno, but he gave me one look in the eyes and immediately turned the other direction."

—Maybe it's just because you're so big.

"Nah, he didn't have the eyes of a loser."

The banter continued for a bit longer until the three disbanded and went their separate ways.

…

Monday, the week of the combat exams began.

Today was a duel.

The exam was carried out in a simple way. Cadets would nominate cadets they wanted to fight. Each cadet had 3 nominations, and a nominated cadet couldn't refuse a duel.

The exam was designed to be fair, giving bonus points depending on the difference in the cadets' rankings.

This meant that as long as I challenged high ranking cadets and won, my rank would skyrocket.

And plus humiliating some big names would bring me infinite joy. I just have to differentiate myself from the old me so I'm not recognised by her.

Which is why, for my first duel, I chose Shin Jonghak. Not only will I try to win this is also an experiment to see how I stack up against the rank 2 cadet.

But before that…

A brunette sat next to me, her legs crossed as she leaned back in the seat. She was wearing sunglasses and a beige suit coat. She smiled knowingly as she stared at me with beady, curious eyes.

"Please stop staring so intensely, Yun Seung-ah-ssi."

"And if I don't want to?" She leaned on her palm while ignoring the match that has yet to start.

"..."

"Exactly."

She wants something. Her expression is that of someone playing right into her hands.

"So…a friend told me you visited Norway around a month ago."

"Yes, I did." I told her bluntly.

She knows. How does she know? Does she know about my violet banquet account? Only Vatz knows as of this moment… It doesn't matter, it's not like she can use this information against me. Plus she's a hero if word gets out that she blackmailed me with information she wasn't sure of, it's over.

"Hmm not denying it? I helped during a troll break out. Someone even recorded it."

She projected a video.

"What do you think? Interesting right? With this information on your side I think you'd make it big within the Creator's Sacred Grace."

So she's here to try and persuade me again.

"I'm sure I might… but to be honest. It doesn't seem very appealing to me. Something tells me I wont be able to achieve my goals inside your guild."

I spoke calmly as Kim Hajin and Kim Horak stepped into the Arena, the crowd drowning out any rebuttal Yun Seung-Ah might've had.

Now let's take a look at this fight, my intuition tells me I might be able to learn something if I watch carefully.