The Unrecorded Extra



'That's why I accepted you as my master. You're different, strange. I thought you were an outsider like me. But no, you're a native of this world.'

'Utopia? I don't know. What's it though?'

'Have a sweet dream, I'll always be by your side.'

'I'll play hide. And you will seek professional help, master.'

'Death is too light of punishment for you…!!'

I was suddenly burdened by the memory of the past. The voices that were etched on me filled my head. My head was noisy. And I couldn't seem to stop the voices.

'Ah, so that's it… You are me from the future…hehe…'

The image of the younger Zio flashed as I heard his voice ring in my head.

'You capture me well. There's an intensity in your lines as if you truly see me.'

Zia's cold and doll-like face replaced the younger Zio. Her smile was thin and her red eyes looked like a pool of blood.

'Stop!' 

'Please have mercy!' 

'I can't do this anymore' 

'I'll be leaving first…' 

'You have gone astray.'

Many other voices filled in my head. Some were I recognized, some were I did not.

'See? You should have listened to me.'

'This is the end!'

'Goodbye.'

The voices grew louder and louder even the noises of the bustling city were muffled.

As I bumped into someone and fell, candies wrapped like a bowtie spread onto the cold concrete pavement.

I collected the candies and put them back in my pocket. Standing up, I apologized to the person I bumped into.

As I walked again, my hand reached for the candy and I couldn't help but stare at it, recalling the recent event with Ember in the dessert shop.

Some time ago, I was in the dessert shop, hanging out with Ember. I gained a lot of information after exchanging a few words with her.

Before we parted, she gave me these candies. I recognized them immediately because those were candies that I often found in the kitchen in my old house when I was living together with Shannon.

She said that it was a special candy that could help someone to relax. That was true. Every time I chew on this candy back then, I always felt relaxed.

What was weird about her giving me the candies was it looked like she was already preparing for this.

I unwrapped the candy and slowly chew it.

Sure, after a while, I felt relaxed. The noises in my head gradually disappeared. 

I sighed relievedly when the noises were completely gone. I felt at peace now.

"Fuu…"

After a long walk and taking public transportation for free because I was Octagram's student. 

I found myself standing in front of the huge, towering modern building. Covering the building's exterior were countless windows, displaying a hologram slide of the heroes' action footage and a company logo with its logotype (typography) that read 'Nova'.

That's right. The building in front of me was the Nova Corps' guild HQ. 

It was the day of the Catalyst Potion's launch in the market. The day when the Nova guild would rise to the first position of the guild ranking, which happened much earlier than the original, thanks to me.

Lumi invited me to watch the market statistics together, but I refused.

I refused her, so why did I come here? Well, to get my potion of course. I couldn't wait to reach the new level as the Enhanced.

…

"You've finally come, Zio the innovator!"

"What's that? That's so lame."

Arriving at Lumi's office, Lumi greeted me warmly with a little tease.

"Hehe. I think the nickname would suit you well."

She looked so happy. Well, who wouldn't when they knew they would soon bathe in money?

But somehow, I still couldn't bear this kind of Lumi. I meant I would rather like her quiet and calm personality.

Thinking of it, I felt like every character I had influenced seemed to be happier than usual. Not really all characters, only two for now.

Lux and Lumi. I wonder if Ember counts too.

Am I actually an incarnation of happiness? Hehe, as if.

I sat on the chair across from her, between us was a table separating the two greedy creatures.

"I don't have much time so I will get straight to the point. Can I have my Catalyst Potion?"

Lumi held my gaze, she looked like she was observing me. Then, she smiled and tried to persuade me.

"Don't you want to see how much money you would get from the potion? So, could you stay a bit longer?"

"That sounds great but no. I already know it would get us money and that it would dominate the market along with the Horizon Elixir."

To be honest, I was intrigued. I wanted to see how much profit I would gain from the Catalyst Potion sale.

But, my desire to become stronger was way bigger. I couldn't afford to delay any more time as I had already been stuck because of my low growth potential.

"Horizon Elixir. Right. That product…"

Lumi fell in thought, she rested her chin on her fingers, occasionally peeking at me.

"Is the Horizon Elixir also your idea?"

I raised my eyebrow at her, slightly tilting my head to the side.

I didn't know if it was me who blundered or if Lumi was just too perceptive and a doubter for her to think that the Horizon Elixir was related to me.

"What are you saying? Of course not. If it was mine, I would have given it to you together with the Catalyst Potion. Why would I waste my idea on a guild that even didn't have a business before?"

Hmm…thinking back, why would I even work together with them?

Hu. No. I can't be this arrogant. I worked with them to gain scores from Goose, the future Doctor Specter, King of Network. Thanks to that, I also established a professional relationship with one of the strongest <S> rank heroes, Neychta, Chrysalis Guildmaster.

Her emerald eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me.

"Hmm. That's good, then!" she said, clasping her hands. "But, if I caught you cheating on me. Just prepare yourself, okay?"

I rolled my eyes. At this point, I might have changed her too much. 

Where's the sugar mommy that I'd expected?! Fvck Lux and fvck my novel too!

"Must you use the word 'cheating'? People may misunderstand that," I said.

Lumi smiled behind her hand, her expression telling me she was going to tease me.

"Oh? You actually care about that?"

I sighed and chose to ignore her.

If I was to respond to that, her plan to make me stay longer by trapping me in conversation might turn out to be a success.

"Fuu… Don't know, don't care. I just want my Catalyst Potion, can I have it now?"

At that moment, I felt the throbbing pain inside my head. It finally appeared again after a long time. On top of that, the timing was worst. Why would it appear now?!

Appearing along with the pain, noises began to fill my head again.

Holding the urge to grab my head, I took the candy instead. Unwrapping it, I chew on it immediately.

Though it didn't make the pain and noise immediately subside, at least the impact of them had been reduced.

Lumi looked at the candy wrap in my hand. The moment she saw it, her surprised expression was palpable but it immediately changed into a concerned expression.

Her face when she stared at me seemed to want to throw a lot of questions, but she suppressed it as a thin smile formed on her face.

"Can I have one?"

I gave her a candy, she gave me the Catalyst Potion. What a fortune candy, I could get Catalyst Potion for a candy's price. Well, it was actually free so whatever,

Feeling satisfied, I got up and bid my goodbye.

Lumi looked like she wanted to stop me but did not.

Walking toward the door, I could feel the excitement electrocuting me, it spreading through my body from the top to the bottom.

'Finally, I can raise my growth potential. Now, what I need is luck…'

***

After Zio vanished behind the door and disappeared from Lumi's view, she found herself fixated on the candy clutched in her hand.

Suddenly, someone appeared behind her, their face concealed by a mask. However, their feminine figure and posture left no doubt about their gender.

Lumi initiated the conversation by unwrapping the candy and expressing her thoughts.

"I thought this is just a normal candy. But, as I expected, this is a special candy."

The figure behind her leaned forward, taking a closer look at the candy.

"Isn't this Serenity Candy? The candy that has the effect to calm one mind?"

"Yes, it is. But…" Lumi chewed the candy. "The effect only applied to those with special circumstances. Like hallucination or the other mental health problem."

The figure nodded thoughtfully.

"Then, the information we just obtained is true. That boy probably has one of those special circumstances."