I Became an Extra Without Growth in the Academy

Leaving the corpse of the giant wyvern behind, I made my way inside and finally reached the core of the Rift.

In the middle of the empty space, a magical stone was sitting there, radiating an unmistakable vibe that screamed, “I’m the core of the Rift!”

“President. Can I smash that thing?”

“Hmm? Go ahead.”

Since I’d dumped all the demon-slaying responsibilities on Alkiné, I decided to take the last hit myself because I was worried about my contribution rate. I mean, if I didn’t even get 40%, I wouldn’t say it was a waste of effort, but it would definitely feel a bit hollow.

I approached and stabbed the center of the magical stone with my sword. It pushed in easier than I expected, like poking a frozen jelly.

The moment I pierced the center of the stone, a red aura burst forth instantly.

Ding!

[Congratulations! You have successfully tackled the Rift!]

[Calculating contribution…]

[Your contribution is 57%.]

[This feature is currently locked.]

[Unlock Condition: Successfully tackle a total of 5 Rifts with a contribution of over 40% (2/5)]

Well, if that’s the case, I was in the safe zone even if I didn’t land the last hit. But now I just realized that finding the path only netted me about half. I should pay more attention to my contribution rate next time.

While I pondered, I felt relief wash over me. I managed to finish it before the Rift went out of control.

Honestly, I lightly mentioned calling for help from the Academy if I failed, but if the Rift did go haywire, the aftermath wouldn’t be a joke.

I’d faced so many demons on my way here; imagine just how many would be in the entire Rift! If they all burst out, it would turn into a total catastrophe in no time.

So, even if my contribution was lacking, just the fact that I prevented the outbreak could ease some of my disappointment. And now that my contribution was filled, the joy was double.

But suddenly, the Rift didn’t disappear and started to tremble.

Bum bum bum bum!

Alkiné, startled by the unprecedented phenomenon, asked in a panic, “Rudion, was what we just destroyed really the core?”

“Yes. The Rift has definitely been successfully tackled.”

She could be uncertain since she distinguished the core solely through her senses, but to my eyes, that magical stone was definitely the core. So, if the core was destroyed and the Rift wasn’t disappearing…

Before I finished my thought, a round circle appeared on the ground where Alkiné was standing.

The moment I saw it, my body moved faster than my mind. I urgently pulled Alkiné’s arm, and the spot she stood on exploded with a boom!

“…Huh?”

“Ugh, seriously, why can’t things ever go smoothly?”

At the same time, I realized what was happening. This was the final desperate pattern that occurred when you tackled a Rift on a really low probability.

Due to an excessive amount of energy that needed to disappear, it became overloaded, condensing and then exploding, destroying the surroundings. Was that the setting?

Whatever the setting, it was definitely dangerous. Even the protagonist, who had matched the final technique, could end up in a near-death state if they didn’t defend themselves. At Alkiné’s level, in a worst-case scenario, she could die instantly.

But it was okay. This might have a larger range, but if I thought of it as just a simple area damage pattern, it was manageable to avoid.

Of course, I could avoid it. It was just that I couldn’t leave her behind in this situation.

Hey there, president! You’re standing right in the danger zone!

It felt faster to just grab her and run rather than explain, so I lifted her up and bolted.

“Eep!”

She gasped in surprise at being suddenly picked up, but already grasping the situation, she leaned into me without a word. She seemed quite accustomed to it, having done it once before.

Hmm… but has she gained a bit of weight in the past week? Still light as a feather, President.

Holding on to Alkiné, I ran frantically. Dodge here, dodge there! Boom! Boom! Explosions kept going off, leaving no time to stop.

Focusing solely on dodging without a chance to think about anything else, I suddenly noticed the Rift had vanished.

Since the circles on the ground had stopped appearing, I looked around and realized we were outside the Rift.

After taking a deep breath, I asked Alkiné if she was okay. She answered in a surprisingly small voice, “…Just put me down and let’s talk.”

Ah, right.

Now that I looked, everyone from the Student Council was staring at us with expressions of shock.

I hurriedly set her down, and at that moment, Diggerus started striding towards us.

‘What’s he up to now?’

But… something felt off about him.

He was heading toward me instead of the president. Plus, it looked like he was ready to whip out a weapon and stab me… Oh wait, he really is pulling it out!?

Whoa, dude, even though I did just flaunt holding the princess, isn’t this a bit of an overreaction?

Sure, I could just dodge if it comes to that, but the fact that he was acting like this sent chills down my spine. I knew he could act out, but I didn’t think he’d jump the gun this quickly.

And just as his drawn sword pointed towards me—

“…President.”

“What are you doing right now?”

Alkiné’s mana sword blocked the space between me and Diggerus.

Yeah, that’s how it should be.

With him so openly trying to strike, there was no way our benevolent president would just sit by!

In a more serious tone than usual, she began to interrogate Diggerus.

“Why are you doing this?”

“….”

Diggerus seemed to realize his behavior was disgraceful as he subtly sheathed his sword, but he couldn’t bring himself to answer.

He knew he messed up, yet he glared at me. What the heck does he want from me?

But… didn’t I clearly say? I was just going to stick by the president and mind my own business.

And now was precisely that time.

Gotcha!

Every time Diggerus shot me a glare, I made a silly face at him. The way his expression twisted was quite the sight!

“President! Look at how that guy is acting!”

I rushed to snitch on him to the president. So disgraceful, so shameful.

“Haah… Rudion. What on earth is wrong with you?”

Ahem!

Caught red-handed.

I thought he wouldn’t notice since he wasn’t looking.

Alkiné looked back and forth between me and Diggerus, shaking her head as if to say ‘you two…’.

“Honestly, it seems true what they say: all men are just children at heart.”

Well, the students at the Academy are still mostly around middle to high school age. They’re in a phase where they act foolishly.

Of course, I’m an adult in a child’s body… but whatever. Age is just a number, right?

Thanks to our little exchange, the mood lightened a bit, but that didn’t erase Diggerus’ mistake.

So Alkiné asked him once more… and maybe it was the lighter tone that caused him to start getting angry.

“Diggerus. I’ll ask you again. Why did you do that?”

“…That’s what I want to ask you.”

“Huh?”

He didn’t answer but deflected the question, suddenly pointing a finger at me and raising his voice.

“Why were you in the princess’s arms? What reason could there possibly be for the president to be clinging to that guy in the Rift!!”

The more he insisted on me being ‘in her arms’, the weirder it sounded.

…Your Honor, that’s a misunderstanding! I was just holding the princess!

But beyond that… his outburst had everyone perking up their ears, focusing on the matter. It was clear that Diggerus wasn’t the only one with that question.

The atmosphere turned oddly similar to a morning drama, but hey everyone, it’s still a serious situation! The vice president was about to stab me, remember?

Alkiné hesitated for a moment at his question, but thinking there was no other way, she revealed the reason.

“…Well, it was to save me.”

“Lies!! Don’t lie! President! If the president was going to save someone, why would she need someone else to save her?!!”

But he was denying it desperately.

Why even ask if you won’t believe the answer?

Alkiné sighed deeply at Diggerus’ reaction, calling his name in a slightly angry tone.

“Honestly, I can’t understand you. Vice President. No, Diggerus Jibchak.”

“…Yes.”

Even here, calling him by his full name had an imposing effect.

Diggerus, who had been so full of himself, instantly shifted to a submissive stance.

Alkiné glanced at him briefly and then opened her mouth.

“I don’t know when you started seeing Rudion as ‘that guy’, but making it obvious is foolish. Haven’t I told you before?”

“…You’re right.”

“I won’t ask what on earth you thought when you did that. And sure, I’ve made arbitrary decisions and acted on my own recently, so I can’t blame you too much.”

“No, president. You have the highest priority when it comes to decisions made by the Student Council….”

“Enough. I don’t want to hear it.”

As Diggerus got tongue-tied, he started looking at Alkiné nervously.

Alkiné stared at him quietly before continuing in a very subdued voice.

“And I really don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you might have, but I’m just a person too and I hope someone will help me if I’m in danger. When did you become someone who only helps others?”

“No, president. What I meant was not that….”

“Enough. The Rift tackling has been a complete success, so I will end the meeting here. Great job, everyone.”

As Alkiné questioned him, Diggerus hurriedly tried to take back his words, but it was already too late.

Right. Diggerus might have spoken without thinking.

No matter how strong he is, singling out Alkiné, a student, like that?

She’s just a girl of that age. Sure, she appears strong because she tries to follow her father’s footsteps, but only in concept.

In any case, regardless of what happened, since Alkiné declared it was over, everyone began to leave one by one.

I was about to naturally blend back with the crowd when… Alkiné suddenly grabbed me.

“Where do you think you’re going? You need to help me with the report now, so follow me.”

“Right, I guess so.”

The mood might be bad, but work needs to get done.

So, I followed the president back to the Student Council.

As I glanced back on the way, I saw Diggerus standing there, staring blankly.

I was wary he might suddenly go crazy and attack me from behind, but thankfully that didn’t happen.

And after that day, Diggerus disappeared from the Academy.

…He declared he’d turn the Student Council upside down, but I didn’t think it would go down like this.

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