The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World

[Skill activation doesn’t meet the requirements]

[Target exceeds effective inspection range.]

[We recommend closing the gaps by 10 Meters.]

After hearing the message, Ruvian slowly gave in, a relieved smile forming on his face. It wasn’t that he had ever truly doubted the outcome, yet verifying it for himself brought a sense of assurance. It’s something rather than nothing.

’Alright. Let’s proceed then.’

Now, knowing full well that Silvena was nearby, watching over him, he could commit himself fully and demonstrate his worth to her.

’Hopefully, this should be enough to get her on my side.’

Ruvian gathered his mana and channeled it to his hand. The construction of the spell was already designed in his head. Quietly, he whispered the chant of the spell.

”From sleeping warmth, I invoke the fire to wake. Take form and heed my call.”

”[Ignite]”

*****

[Silvena’s POV]

Silvena stood beside a stack of half-open crates, her fingers moving assiduously through their contents. She lifted a narrow velvet pouch from the crate and allowed a sliver of its contents to spill into her palm.

What spilled out were a few jewellery accessories that she recognised all too well.

’How dare they sell this cheap imitation under D’Elvoire merchant’s name?’

Silvena shook her head in disappointment before returning it to the pouch and reaching deeper into the crates. That was when she found a pair of sealed documents bearing a merchant guild’s insignia, the wax cracked and clumsily resealed.

Her gaze darkened.

She felt the stirrings of anger, but they faded quickly. This was not the first time her merchant’s name had been used to sell off shoddy goods.

In the past, she had been lenient, choosing to shut these things down privately rather than make an example of anyone. It surely had kept things peaceful.

But now, seeing it happen again made her wonder... was her leniency had been mistaken for endless forbearance by these people? Or was she the one who had misjudged the nature of leniency?

’Tch. How presumptuous.’

Even so, whatever meaning they had taken from her lenity, it was clearly not the one she had intended. And so, she thought that it was time to make it clear that the D’Elvoire Merchant’s House was not to be taken lightly.

Silvena gripped the papers tightly before throwing them back inside the crates.

’It seems we’ve been generous long enough.’

Grimly, she turned around the corner and walked towards where the young man was being held. From a few distances, she could see his slightly broad shoulders, and his hand being tied to the chair.

—’Irene, how’s he?’

Irene stiffened at Silvena’s voice.

—’My lady... I must apologise.’

Upon hearing the changes in the tone of her closest attendant, Silvena slowed down her pace and stared at the young man’s back. Apart from him, three criminals were within her sight. The fourth one wasn’t there. She assumed that he had gone elsewhere.

Irene should have been here as well, concealed by her [Invisible] spell.

’I wonder what she’s apologising for. Don’t tell me... did something happen to the young man?’

That sort of speculation began to weigh on her mind. But Irene’s voice came and cleared her uneasiness.

—’My earlier report was... inaccurate. The man is unharmed. His condition is stable. And there are no signs of mistreatment beyond the restraints.’

—’I see. Then, what’s the problem?’

Irene hesitated for a brief moment, clearly choosing her words.

—’Ah, sorry. What I’m trying to say is... the man was never drugged or unconscious, my lady.’

Silvena halted her steps.

—’All this entire time, from the beginning, and until now... he has been aware. He was just... pretending.’

—’Pretending? So, you’re telling me he was never drugged in the first place, and everything he’s been doing here is just... an act?’

—’Yes. I just found out about it recently after I’ve managed to get a closer look at him.’

But no matter how many times she turned it over in her mind, it remained unfathomable. There was no reason for him to do it. What would he gain from such an act?

’Unless...’

Suddenly, the answer itself came to her.

—’My lady, what are your orders? Do you still wish me to proceed with saving him, as instructed?’

—’No. We do nothing for now. Simply observe, and stay in our invisible form. If the situation worsens, then we act.’

If her guess was right, then the young man here was no unfortunate victim. Perhaps he was pursuing the same goal as she was. And if so, then he would act soon.

Later, she saw the large man return.

He carried a squat glass vial in one hand, stoppered with dark wax, the liquid inside thick and faintly opalescent. Even from a distance, Silvena could tell it was alchemical in nature.

In his other hand, he held a folded scrap of cloth, already dampened. He pressed it over his own mouth and nose as he approached, muttering under his breath as he did so.

”Why is it always me?” Garrun grumbled. ”As if I don’t already do enough. Why can’t one of the others handle this cursed job... son of a crap.”

As Garrun drew closer to the captive, Silvena sensed the disturbance before it manifested—a faint, restless ripple of mana curling around the young man’s body.

Her attention honed in instantly, fixing on the young man’s bound hand. One of his fingers glowed softly.

The fire kissed the rope where it was tightest against his wrist. As the fibres darkened, a thin wisp of smoke rose, and dissipated almost as soon as it formed.

Then, the rope parted with a muted snap. The slack didn’t fall to the floor as the man held it tightly in his hand.

But, oblivious to it all, Garrun noticed none of it. The cloth pressed over his mouth and nose dulled any scent of burning.

’Hoo...’ Silvena wondered.

Garrun stopped in front of the chair and let out a low chuckle, shaking his head as he looked down at the bound figure.

”Poor bastard,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

”Looks like you’re sleeping a little longer today.”

With bold confidence, he reached up and pulled the coarse fabric free from the young man. Gently, he tilted the man’s head back, and angled the vial to pour its contents down his throat.

But just as soon as he did so...

In the same instant, a hand flashed upward with startling fidelity, striking hard at the hollow just beneath Garrun’s jaw.

Boom!

The blow landed cleanly, carrying a titanic force, and Garrun’s head went wide as his body lurched sideways.

He stumbled back and crashed into a stack of rotting crates and loose timber. The glass vial slipped from his fingers and shattered as the thick alchemical liquid splashed uselessly across the ground.

Even Silvena herself was momentarily taken aback.

From her observation, the movement had been almost leisurely. Had she been the one in Garrun’s place, she could have avoided it even if caught off guard.

Yet what unsettled her was not the speed, but the control behind the strike, the way the force had been delivered cleanly and without excess.

”What was that?” Vible shouted from across the warehouse.

”The hell’s going on?” Brask barked, panic creeping into his voice.

”Hey! Did you drop that vial again!?” Lenwick added, already scrambling to his feet, turning towards the sound.

Garrun groaned amid the fallen crates, struggling to draw breath as he lay tangled in the splintered wood.

Meanwhile, the young man bent forward calmly and worked at the rope around his ankles. Once free, he rose to his feet, rolling his shoulder and massaging his right wrist.

The remaining three criminals came and froze as they took in the scene. Their faces drained of color as they instinctively shifted into guarded stances.

”By the Void...” Lenwick muttered.

[You have received +30 Plot Points!]

The young man straightened and rolled his neck, the faintest crack sounding as his fingers followed.

He looked at them calmly and said:

”Sorry to disappoint you all, but this face...”

──────── ✦ ────────

[Chapter 18: Isn’t for sale]