I'm an Extra, so What?

As the three of them chatted casually, something in the crowd suddenly caught Luka's attention.

His gaze sharpened as he spotted the main character making his entrance, blending into the sea of students.

His face was cold and expressionless, like carved ice.

Trailing beside him was Nike. Her usual spark dimmed, her demeanor reserved and subdued.

The two found a spot and sat down without exchanging a single word, an invisible wall of tension between them.

'I wonder if she told him yet or not…' Luka mused to himself, but he quickly shoved the thought aside.

Right now, his focus needed to stay on the selection trials.

Suppressing a yawn, he leaned back in his seat, letting the noise of the stadium wash over him.

Time passed, and soon, the sea of students settled down, each finding a place to sit.

The chatter slowly faded into a low murmur.

It was then that the Headmaster appeared, walking onto the center of the platform with a microphone in hand.

The moment he raised it to his mouth, a deep hush fell across the stadium, all attention drawn to him.

"First of all," the Headmaster began.

"I want to thank each and every one of you for being here today. Your presence alone speaks volumes about your courage, your ambition, and your pride in representing not just our Academy, but our race."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle in the hearts of the students.

"Today's selection trial is more than just a competition. It is a proving ground. A chance for you to showcase not just your skills, but your spirit. The elves are formidable opponents—disciplined, swift, and proud. If we are to stand against them, we must send only our very best."

The Headmaster cleared his throat, sweeping his gaze across the gathered students.

"This is your moment. Fight with everything you have. Fight not just for the chance to be chosen, but to prove—to your peers, your teachers, and to yourselves—that you are ready."

As he finished, a thunderous wave of applause erupted, shaking the air with excitement and determination.

Students roared and cheered, their fighting spirits ignited.

The stadium lights shifted suddenly, converging on the center platform.

The Headmaster raised his hand, signaling for silence, and the noise quickly died down.

"The selection trials will be simple," he announced.

"A battle royale. The last one standing will be chosen personally by me. Now then—will all the Rangers please come down to the platform? If you do not have a weapon, one will be provided for you."

At the Headmaster's words, students bearing the class of Ranger began stepping down, making their way toward the center platform.

Luka stood up with a casual stretch.

"Well, I'm off," he said, cracking his knuckles.

"Go kick some ass," Charlotte grinned, giving him a hearty thumbs-up.

"Good luck," Elysia added with a soft smile.

Without bothering to reply verbally, Luka simply waved a hand lazily in the air and headed toward the platform.

Upon reaching it, he immediately found himself surrounded.

More and more Rangers continued to file in until, eventually, the flow stopped.

The Headmaster, standing at the platform's edge, called out one last time.

"Last call for any Rangers!"

A full minute passed in silence.

Seeing no more stepping forward, the Headmaster nodded.

"Good luck to all Rangers," he said, his voice carrying across.

"We will now begin. May fortune favor each and every one of you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire platform began to glow intensely.

A brilliant light engulfed them, and then—just as suddenly—a barrier snapped into place around the platform, shimmering with a faint hum.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings transformed.

Gone was the smooth white platform; in its place stretched a vast, dense forest, wild and vivid, with towering trees and thick underbrush.

The immersive realism of it all was staggering—it was as if they had truly been transported.

Outside the barrier, massive screens materialized, showing the interior from all angles, zooming in and out to track the students.

The view shifted seamlessly from student to student, capturing the intensity of every moment.

Then a mechanical voice echoed throughout the air:

"Three... Two... One... FIGHT!"

The students, who had been tensely awaiting the signal, sprang into action the moment the voice rang out.

A storm of movement erupted—arrows zipped through the air, daggers clashed with sparks, and skills began to light up the forest.

Some students sprinted deeper into the trees, while others dove into bushes to hide.

A few brazen ones stayed out in the open, daring others to come to them.

Luka, meanwhile, chose the high ground.

He lounged comfortably on a massive branch of one of the towering trees, casually surveying the chaos below.

When the forest had first materialized, he had been lucky enough to be placed high up, avoiding the opening scramble.

From his perch, he watched as a handful of students, caught completely off guard by the sudden transformation, lost their footing and tumbled down, only to be eliminated immediately.

"Lmao," Luka muttered to himself, struggling to suppress his laughter.

He couldn't imagine a more humiliating way to be taken out of the selection trial.

"…" Luka's eyes flicked over to a small group of students huddled together, their quiet murmurs betraying the fact that they were forming an alliance.

He couldn't help but roll his eyes.

'What the hell is this coward shit?'

Luka got up and dropped down, landing with a light thud a few feet away from the group.

The sound of his landing was enough to catch their attention.

They whipped their heads around in sync, all eyes narrowing on him.

One of the males, a little quicker on the draw than the others, reached for his quiver and pulled an arrow, not wasting a moment before launching it straight forward.

The arrow shimmered with a faint green hue—poison.

Luka's movements were effortless as he sidestepped with a fluid motion, dodging the projectile by a hair's breadth.

He tilted his head slightly, his lips curling into a smirk as he called out.

"Hey, that could've hurt…"

Before he could say anything more, a voice came from one of the other students, a girl whose impatience was now evident.

"Don't let him breathe! Attack him!"

Luka's expression faltered, and inwardly he thought, 'Really?' A sigh escaped his lips.

'This is going to be fun.'

In the blink of an eye, a woman emerged from behind him, dagger in hand, aimed straight for his back.

Luka couldn't help but grin, sensing her presence a moment before her attack.

He used [Quicksilver Reflexes], and in an instant, a decoy of himself appeared.

The woman's dagger slid harmlessly through the illusion, leaving the woman momentarily stunned.

"What the...?" she stammered, her confidence cracking as her strike missed completely.

Luka didn't waste a second.

He reappeared directly behind her, his movements smooth and precise.

With a flick of his foot, he swept her legs from under her, sending her crashing into the ground face-first with a thud.

"Huh!" the woman gasped, her face colliding with the dirt, her body twisting awkwardly as she struggled to push herself up.

"LOL!" Luka stood over her, watching her flounder as she tried to regain her footing.