Transmigrating as an Extra, But the Heroine Has Regressed?!

Even though she had pushed him away, she had still come to fight.

Still, Kael didn't let the moment weigh on him too long. He took a deep breath and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

Kael turned in the opposite direction from where Elysia had gone. His hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword.

His body still ached from the earlier battle, but his eyes were sharp, focused.

(I'm not done yet,) he thought.

And with that, he disappeared into the forest on his own path.

Somewhere Deeper in the Forest!

Professor Sylvia moved swiftly and silently through the dense forest, her long coat fluttering behind her like a shadow. She barely made a sound as she leapt from branch to branch, her eyes sharp and focused.

Every movement was precise—like a predator hunting its prey.

Her gaze followed the faint traces of lingering dark mana in the air. The forest around her was quiet, unnaturally so, as if all the creatures had gone still after the Shadow Leech passed through.

(That beast should never have appeared here...) she thought, her mind racing.

(And if it did... then someone must have brought it in on purpose.)

She clenched her jaw. (This wasn't a coincidence. That kind of monster didn't just wander into student trials.)

It was a high-threat creature—too powerful, too dangerous. Someone had either summoned it or released it deliberately.

There—on the trunk of the tree beneath her—were long, jagged claw marks, torn deep into the wood. Black ooze, thick and sticky, clung to the bark and dripped slowly down.

It was fresh.

She crouched low like a panther, her body tense. The trail hadn't gone cold yet. The beast was still nearby.

Her eyes flicked forward, locking onto something further ahead—too fast to be seen by normal eyes. Just a blur of shadows slipping deeper into the forest.

Without hesitation, she launched herself forward again. Her body vanished into motion, leaving only the rustle of leaves behind.

Back at the Forest Edge

As soon as they were out of sight, he turned in the opposite direction—quiet, focused, and completely alone.

He made his way deeper into the woods, through a narrow, overgrown path that most students wouldn't even bother with. Twigs cracked under his boots, but his pace remained steady.

Eventually, he arrived at a secluded part of the forest—the exact place he had chosen earlier to set up his traps.

He had planned this.

Kael glanced around. The area was quiet, still untouched by any other students. A faint breeze moved through the trees, rustling the leaves above. Shadows of trees danced across the ground.

(They wouldn't think to come here,) he thought, crouching down behind a thick bush.

(Because this area wasn't even mentioned in the original novel.)

That was his advantage. He had memories from the story—a novel that described the important battles and locations in detail. But there were always blank spaces between the lines. Gaps the author never filled.

Kael had filled those gaps with careful planning.

He had set six traps in total—simple but deadly. Some were pitfall traps, covered with leaves and branches, spiked at the bottom with sharpened sticks hardened by fire.

Others were rope snares tied between trees, designed to yank a beast's leg and hang it upside down in seconds. One was a bait trap, using rotten meat and beast blood to lure them in before triggering a cage collapse.

It took hours and hours the night before, but now it was paying off.

Kael crouched in the brush, still and silent, waiting.

Minutes passed. Then an hour.

Finally, he heard it—low growling, heavy footsteps crushing branches.

A beast emerged from the shadows. It was large, muscular, and covered in matted fur. Its eyes glowed faintly, and on its forehead shimmered a green crystal—the mark of a Feral Rank Beast.

Kael didn't panic. He stood up just enough to make himself visible.

"Over here!" he shouted, then turned and pretended to flee.

The beast snarled and chased after him, right into the clearing.

Snap!

The rope trap caught its back leg. The beast roared, but the next second—thunk!—it tumbled into the spike pit that had been hidden just beyond. It struggled briefly, then went still.

Kael stood above it, panting slightly. He leapt down, took out his short blade, and carved into the creature's forehead.

Inside, buried beneath the flesh, was a glowing green beast core—rough, warm, and pulsing faintly with energy.

"One down," he muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Over the next few hours, five more beasts stumbled into his traps—each one different, but all caught by his clever designs.

Some struggled longer, some died instantly, but not one escaped.

When the sun had shifted halfway across the sky, Kael sat on a tree stump, exhausted but satisfied. In a leather pouch at his side were six beast cores, each from a Feral Rank monster.

They shimmered faintly in the light, like little jewels filled with raw energy.

(These cores... They're not just for points,) he thought, looking at them seriously.

He didn't care about the exam scores like the others. Most students were busy showing off, battling monsters in groups, trying to impress the professors and earn high marks.

But Kael had another goal.

Some of these beast cores, he would turn in—just enough to meet the exam requirements. The rest, he would sell at the market.

He needed a coin. He needed gear. He needed to be ready for what was coming.

Because Kael wasn't fighting to pass a test.

(Who would even notice?) he thought bitterly.

As he rose to his feet and slung the pouch over his shoulder, Kael glanced back toward the deeper forest.

And then he went deeper into the forest.

West Side of the Forest — Forgotten Arena Ruins

A deep, low sound echoed faintly through the crumbling stone corridors of the Forgotten Arena, a place swallowed by time and danger. Dust drifted through the air like mist, stirred by each careful step Jin and his team took.

Jin moved cautiously at the front, his twin swords drawn and ready. His eyes scanned every corner of the moss-covered walls and cracked floor. The once grand arena had collapsed into a haunted ruin, now filled with danger.

"Phew... we got away from those beasts," someone behind him sighed in relief, his voice slightly shaking.