The Unlimited Ascension: Reborn as an Extra

"Am I dead again?"

Alen’s hazy eyes finally opened. The very first thing he saw was the bright bonfire burning steadily in front of him. He felt the soft cushion beneath his head, a warmth he had unconsciously grown used to after sleeping on it for so long.

He looked up to see that the mysterious guy, L, was staring down at him.

Alen quickly pushed himself backward, scrambling away.

"Hey, why the f*ck am I laying in your lap?!"

L sat there stiffly and replied in a calm tone.

"I was just helping you sleep comfortably because the ground was hard..."

"The ground was hard? Don’t worry about me. I am not the type of guy who can’t sleep on the hard floor..."

Alen looked down at the wound on his chest, where a diagonal scar still lay. The injury had healed, but it still left a visible mark on his skin, a permanent reminder he was surely going to remember for life.

"Tch! Do you still feel like I am some ghost?!"

L stood up from the ground and walked closer to him. Alen looked at the guy with caution. He no longer underestimated the person standing in front of him; L had almost shown him death just hours ago.

As L walked closer, he stopped a foot away from Alen and bowed his head.

"I am so sorry. I was wrong to judge you without even hearing your words. I had no idea that I would suddenly meet you here... I am sorry, it is all my fault..."

Suddenly, L summoned a sharp dagger from his storage ring and handed the hilt toward Alen.

"I hurt you, so you should also do the same to me..."

Alen blinked, caught off guard by the guy’s unexpected offer. He hadn’t expected L to suddenly shift from a standard apology to requesting direct punishment. If any other person were in L’s place, they would have finished the apology and left. Yet here he was, offering Alen a chance to inflict the exact same amount of pain he had suffered.

Alen held the dagger firmly. He looked at L, noting that the guy was still refusing to meet his eyes. For a long moment, silence was maintained between them, and the only noise heard was the crackling sound of the bonfire.

’Is this guy nuts? Why does he want me to hurt him? It is not like I would get anything valuable by stabbing him. Though, if I were in his place, maybe I would have done the same...’

Alen sighed, shaking his head. He pulled his hand back and returned the dagger to L.

"You don’t have to worry about that. A simple apology is fine..."

L blinked in confusion. He couldn’t comprehend why this guy was acting so kind toward him. He had expected an outburst, anger, or hate, but he felt no hostility coming from Alen.

A massive wave of guilt flooded L’s heart, realizing Alen was just letting him go without seeking retribution.

Alen looked at L with a slight frown.

"Why are you not looking at me? Is there something weird on my face? Don’t tell me I am looking like some grotesque monster?!"

Alen panicked. After traveling through the terrifying Void, he didn’t know what kinds of bizarre changes might have happened to him behind his back in that place, especially since he had fallen unconscious immediately after entering there.

"Hehe... Your face looks like shit right now. Of course she would look away..."

Ravena beamed as she tilted her tiny head from behind L, looking at Alen with a amused expression.

As Alen looked at the spirit’s mocking expression, he finally sighed in relief. He knew he was never going to trust her sarcastic words, which meant his face was completely alright.

"You shitty weapon, just disappear before I beat you up..."

Ravena looked offended.

"Hey! Don’t call me a weapon! I am the Transcendent Weapon, ’Godless’! I can destroy your whole world with a simple fluke!"

Alen looked at her with a look of pure pity.

"Transcendent? My foot. You are just a toddler right now, stuck in a tiny, cute form..."

Ravena’s small face flushed slightly.

"Hey! I am not a toddler, and I am not cute either! Just shut up! Just wait until I get my original power back. I am going to torture you to death!..."

"Oh, really? Can you even touch me right now? Do you want to try?..."

Ravena looked at him with boiling frustration. She marched toward him and punched forward with her tiny fist, using all the strength she could muster up.

*Uff~*

As her small fist surged toward him, it suddenly halted right before it could touch his skin. It was as if an invisible wall had been formed; her own body refused to listen to her demands.

She pulled her arm back and stormed away adorably.

"Damn you! One day you will kneel before me, you ungrateful creature!"

"Hehe... Let’s see about that..."

As L watched their loud bickering, his tense shoulders relaxed slightly. But the heavy guilt inside his heart still remained.

Alen glanced back at L and spoke calmly, offering no further arguments.

"Listen, you—well, whatever your real name is... Yes, I was angry with you about attacking me. But not anymore..."

"Just realizing your mistake is enough. The fact that you are willing to face the consequences and feel guilty for your actions is enough to show that you definitely did not actually want to hurt me."

Alen stepped forward toward L. His tone softened slightly, noticing L still didn’t look up.

"It is fine. You don’t have to feel guilty anymore, and I am not blaming you. Instead, think about it: if any other person had mistaken me for a ghost and attacked me, there would be an even lesser chance they would have stayed to save me. Most people would have run away the very moment they found out they made a mistake..."

Alen smiled softly as he patted L’s shoulder.

"And besides, if I had been in your place, I probably would have done the same thing. How can we trust anyone in this bizarre realm? Trusting others is fine, but trusting others blindly is a literal death sentence in this place..."

L sighed softly, feeling his heavy guilt start to lessen at Alen’s comforting words. He finally raised his head and looked at Alen, seeing the boy giving him a reassuring smile.

Suddenly, L saw a fast punch coming at him with incredible speed. He didn’t get the time to defend himself. Alen’s fist hit directly into his stomach, striking hard enough to cause a flash of crazy pain, but not hard enough to do any lasting harm to his body.

L was pushed backward. He stumbled onto the ground, clutching his aching stomach with his hands.

"Wha—t?...."

"Hehe... Consider that a repayment for harming me. I will not owe anyone unreturned favors... Now you really don’t have to feel guilty..."

As L stared up at him blankly, rubbing his stomach, Ravena muttered under her breath from a short distance away. She wore a look of utter disgust.

"Scumbag. Acting like he was lessening her guilt while simultaneously taking his revenge. What a lunatic..."