Becoming an Extra in a Trash Game

Chapter 44

“Arrogant and foolish bastards……”

A rough and dry voice, like sandpaper scratching a dry towel, scatters into the air.

Caw―

As if agreeing with those words, a crow cried out in the distance.

“How dare they flee from my sight.”

Although he had set a trap predicting they would move through the western main road, those lumps of flesh mocked him by returning to the mining city.

The lich, who had expected to obtain a new body because of this, only realized the next day that his expectations had been cruelly shattered.

That anger. That wrath.

“But this time will be different……”

A chuckling sound crawls up from the contaminated magical spring.

Caw― Caw―

The white bone hand trembled at the familiar’s thoughts that spread like flattery.

“The Labyrinth is a bit tricky… But using the residual magic flowing inside and the wild undead, I can create an even bigger trap.”

However he had to gather magic to reconstruct his body again, thanks to having to send out a large number of familiars with reduced control in order to find those who had humiliated him and escaped.

When he kills them and takes their bodies, everything will be compensated.

What other reason would they have for going to the Labyrinth city of Labyrinth?

When they explore the Labyrinth, intoxicated by a mere handful of gold coins and honor, they will face his anger from behind.

“Go… Go and watch with the other crows.”

And even if they move elsewhere. Since he has increased the number of crows wandering around nearby cities, not just one, they cannot escape from his grasp.

“This time for sure……”

He will catch that rat and make it his body, and burn even the souls of its rat companions to use as sacrifices for black magic.

* * *

“So, the progenitor of doppelgangers was from an experiment by a dragon who lost their lover……”

“No, enough with that old-fashioned story. What about the answer to my question?”

I wiggled my feet while sitting, looking at the doppelgangers huddled together, and the druid who received my question opened his mouth.

“It’s… Possible. However, it won’t be easy.”

That’s all I needed.

I started writing a letter to Alkaido with a grin.

I’ve been curious since I first saved them. Except for the copy trait, they all had traits that matched the bodies they took over.

Then naturally, it could only be thought that these were traits obtained from the human bodies that became their templates.

‘But in fact, it was the opposite.’

Even Trau, with the body of a bearded dwarf, was like that.

No matter how much the original body of a doppelganger has no gender distinction, they still have preferences.

Originally, he wanted a female body, but because he realized his trait was axe mastery, when a dwarf’s body suitable for wielding an axe came in, he took it.

[Adonil―A doppelganger who copied Adonil]

Representative Traits: [Replication(B-)] [Taming(C)] [Affinity(B)]

Hidden Traits: [Instigation(D)] [Iron Wall(C)]

The Druid Adonil, who just had a conversation with me, also said that while raising a rat that somehow came along with an adventurer by feeding it his own body, he thought his trait might be taming, so he looked for a body that matched that as much as possible.

That means even if they move to a body different from their current one, their traits won’t change much.

Moreover, since traits can always change, it seems that with some effort, they can even gain new ones if the talent inherent in the body they swallowed is greater.

“Then learn hard from now on. You all know I have the hostage in my hands, right?”

Crunch―

Kitan, in the body of a dungeon hunter, grinds his teeth.

Seeing that he has a short-tempered trait, that might be hard to fix.

‘Alkaido will surely train them diligently.’

If traits follow the swallowed body, in the case of artificially created homunculi, they might not have traits, making them difficult to utilize.

But if the doppelganger’s own traits are maintained.

‘Even if they die somewhere and only the core returns, they can be reused as spies if we put them through plenty of spy training, even if it doesn’t generate as a trait.’

Conscience? Don’t have it. It wasn’t what they originally wanted, but since they lived with blood on their hands, they can think of it as atonement and contributing to preventing the continent’s destruction.

The more I act like a violent, evil employer towards them, the further away the bad ending becomes. I can take unlimited curses.

“Take this letter and money and go where I tell you to.”

I smiled at the Druid Adonil, who received my letter with wrinkled hands.

No matter how artificial Siren is, it’s not a machine, and it gets tired if used for too long.

It’s better to just send a brief communication and give the details by letter for now.

“Baby. You must survive. Understand?”

“Baby. We’ll work hard to earn your freedom, so……”

“Don’t cry at night saying you miss us.”

“That’s right. Your job is to see and learn many things now that you’re out. Don’t get caught up thinking about us unnecessarily.”

After hugging each other tightly and saying goodbye, Zero waves his hand with a smile as if he’s fine, watching the doppelgangers move away with heavy steps.

“Then shall we move now too?”

At my words, Zero looked at me with teary green eyes, then wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“Perhaps… Are you going to the Labyrinth? If so, I want to dissuade you……”

“No way, do you think the master of the labyrinth will push us to someone else besides you this time? We’re going to Chavid.”

Chavid, the country of grasslands and deserts.

It’s a bit vague to call it a country. There’s no king, and it’s not properly divided into administrative districts.

Suin race usually live together in family or tribal units, raising livestock.

That’s why there are more beast-race than humans, and more livestock than beast-race.

It’s like Mongolia on Earth.

I glanced at Luna, and she was already starting to pack with a smile on her face, as if excited.

“How long has it been since you’ve been to your hometown, Luna?”

“Three years……”

She smiles broadly and ties her long ears like a hairband under her hair, which is falling down as she packs.

It’s amazing every time I see it.

“Um, I’ve never been to Chavid before.”

Yes, me neither. Actually, except for Luna, it’s the first time for all of us, but.

I smiled at Zero, pretending not to know, and opened my mouth.

“Well, this is just the beginning. From now on, you’ll be able to see the world with your own eyes, not just memories obtained from others.”

And while at it, I’ll feed him various things and make him do tasks, and I’ll make good use of that cooking trait too.

“My chest feels strange, is this what it means to be excited?”

“That emotion is entirely yours, so you have to judge for yourself. Let’s go.”

Since I had swept so many things into my subspace when we first set out, and I had also bought a lot of items in bulk just in case, I quickly packed Zero’s travel bag right there before leaving the inn. As soon as we came out, Zero stopped in his tracks when he saw the sky.

He raised his hand as if trying to grasp the air, and somehow feeling sorry for him, instead of telling him to stop, I whispered to Luna.

“Can we get a horse that Zero can ride?”

“Hmm… We could get one, but… If you’re planning to go where my family is, our horses would be better, Young Master.”

The horses that Luna, Kane, and I are riding now are war horses that have received combat training, so they’re not at a level that can be readily obtained in a place like this.

If that’s the case, it would be better to get one from Luna’s race, where they tame and raise wild horses.

Then how do we move until then?

I turned my head slightly towards Kane, and Kane’s golden eyes flickered for a moment before settling.

“No.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Isn’t that unfair, really? Then will you let him ride with Luna?”

“I’ll say it again, but I refuse.”

You bad guy…

I grumbled as I tried to subtly get Zero to ride with Kane on his horse but was refused, and pondered.

“Then Luna, can we buy a good mare and exchange it there? A mare would be good for breeding too, after all.”

“Oh, that would be great. Wild mares are fewer in number… And since they’re protected at the center of the herd, they’re harder to tame.”

After losing a leg once, Luna has become much less timid, at least with me and Kane, and now she stutters and hesitates less often.

Pleased by this, I reached out and patted Luna’s head, tugging at her ears, then sent her to buy a horse. After that, I tapped Zero, who was still looking up at the sky as if it wasn’t even bright.

“Stop admiring and follow me.”

Caw~

Instead of opening my subspace to adjust Zero’s clothes and basic equipment to his body shape, a crow cries excitedly above our heads as we head towards the central tower where the Labyrinth is.

Are crows dominating here like pigeons in Korea?

Somehow they appear often, I wonder if they’ll walk even when they see running carriages.

“By the way, Zero, does that mean you don’t have any combat abilities or notable support abilities yet?”

“Yes. After all, I haven’t fully absorbed any individuals, and it wasn’t the kind of environment where I could actively learn or try something……”

And I don’t know my traits yet… He added hesitantly, so I called Kane to save time.

“You’ve visually assessed Zero’s physical measurements, right? Buy some clothes, robes, and light armor.”

“Alright.”

“I’ll go to the temple near the Labyrinth with Zero, so let’s meet in front of the Labyrinth entrance.”

The Labyrinth entrance with the central tower is a kind of landmark here, so it’s convenient to gather there.

“Turn on your shield before you go.”

I nodded to Kane’s nagging and turned on my shield before moving with Zero.

I know Zero’s traits with the user’s eyes, but Zero has only heard rumors from books or faintly transmitted knowledge, so he seems excited.

Now that it’s just the two of us, his eyes are sparkling as if he’s extremely excited about something, even though he’s not saying anything…

‘You… You don’t have any main traits yet.’

[Zero―The Beginning and End of Doppelgangers]

Representative Traits: [Replication(D+)] [Kindness(A)]

Hidden Traits: [Versatility(A)] [Cooking(S)] [Dignity(C+)]

The hidden traits are only visible to my eyes, and Replication doesn’t show up when checked in a changed body rather than the original form, so in the end, what can be confirmed at the temple is…

[Kindness(A): You are a kind person.]

Kane and Luna received wooden tablets with something written in a long, encouraging tone.

Labyrinth was so businesslike, probably because there are so many rough people and adventurers who rely on traits and recheck them more than ordinary people.

Zero touched the wooden tablet with a face like a puppy abandoned on a rainy day, then put it in his chest.

“You know traits can change, right?”

“Yes… I know that I can learn and try anything with effort.”

Then why do you look like you’re dying?

As I stood at the Labyrinth entrance waiting for Luna and Kane, one of the two crows circling in the air flew straight across the distant sky. And the other one perched on a building a little way off.

‘Somehow it feels like it’s following us.’

I wonder if any of us – me, Kane, or Luna – have druid talent?

As I was having these idle thoughts, Luna arrived with a plump horse with glossy fur, and Kane joined us with light armor classified as leather armor covering the upper body, arm guards, shin guards, and robes.

“Is Luna’s hometown in Chavid, the country called the land of grasslands and deserts?”

“It’s closer to… A confederation of races than a country.”

The country of beast-race where many live nomadically without settling due to monster borderlands and mountain ranges mixed in between, as well as deserts, and even the grasslands have more rough grass than soft grass for livestock to eat.

The place with the largest desert and the largest grassland on the continent.

‘And also where Kane was called a Demon King and perished in the end.’

I opened my mouth with a gentle smile.

“Then let’s go.”

A journey that would take at least two or three months on horseback.

It’s that far, rough, and harsh, but.

Money is a good thing.

There’s only one portal in that vast Chavid, but so what?

“Um… Sir. Are you really moving to Chavid? The cost is too……”

I shrugged off the cautious words of the employee managing the portal, worried that I might hurt my pride as a nobleman, and handed over a moderately sized gem.

“Wow……”

And before Zero, who was seeing a portal for the first time, could stand dazed again, I pushed him into the portal first, then slowly stepped into the rippling portal.

* * *

Caw? Caw? Caaaw!

No, what is that crazy human saying?

According to what was relayed to Familiar No. 1, directly connected to the Master, humans are foolish and attached to material things, so once they come to this Labyrinth city, they wander the Labyrinth with vain greed until they obtain something big.

No, has it been a month since they came, has it been two months? Why are they moving, why?

Familiar No. 8 flapped its wings as if broken, lifting and lowering both feet on the branch while squawking loudly.

It would take ages to find No. 1, who had flown to the Master to activate the Labyrinth’s trap when Adelian’s group arrived at the Labyrinth entrance.

Caaaw!

There’s no choice!

“Huh? What’s that? The bird seems to have gone crazy!”

Familiar No. 8 hurriedly flew and launched its body just before the light of the portal completely faded.