Kim Yoo Hyun never really expected much out of life. His daily routine was pretty simple… school, webnovels, food and sleep. That was it.
He lived like a leaf floating lazily on a river, just going with the flow. And every time he tried to step out of that flow, bam! something went wrong. Like that time he tried to copy Haikyuu jumps and ended up with a dislocated knee.
And yeah… saving Lee Jin Woo back then was definitely not part of the usual flow.
Trying to be a hero got him killed. Or, well, transmigrated. Which, honestly, didn't feel all that different from dying, considering the system slapped him with death flags the moment he arrived.
Still, he figured as long as he followed the first and most sacred rule of all transmigrated extras, he might have a chance at surviving:
Avoid those walking nukes known as protagonists.
He wasn't joking either. His trait, [Protagonist Buffer Zone], only activated near those story-centered freaks. Which meant if he just ignored them… stayed in his lane… he'd be okay.
Yoo Hyun turned his head, peeking out the window of the train cabin he was in. It seemed like Sylas Ravion the original owner of this body, had this room before Yoo Hyun arrived. Or at least that's what his flickering, glitchy memory was trying to tell him.
Inside the cabin, there were three other students. Two wore uniforms in blue and silver, and one had green and bronze. All three looked like extras, just like him.
And one thing he'd noticed was that he was the only one wearing black in the entire train car. Not a single other student had a black uniform.
He looked down at his outfit again and sighed.
Yeah. His luck was definitely cursed.
The black-and-purple uniform belonged to House Umbra, one of the four main houses at Velatrix Academy. It was infamous for producing cold-blooded duellists, sharp-tongued geniuses, and loners with superiority complexes.
And even worse, House Umbra was the rival of House Ignis.
Guess which house the protagonist belonged to?
Yup. Ignis.
Yoo Hyun dragged his hands down his face.
He wasn't just some peaceful background extra. It seems like he was an enemy house extra. The kind that shows up just enough to get punched, humiliated, or mysteriously killed in an "accident" to raise the hero's tension arc.
"...I need a reset button," he muttered under his breath.
No one in the cabin seemed to hear him. Good. He needed time to think. Maybe he should try making a survival rule book.
"Well, let's see,
Rule number one: Do not get friendly with anyone who looks like they have theme music following them around.
Rule number two: Stay away from the plot."
He was about to say something else when the girl sitting across from him let out a heavy sigh. It was sharp, dramatic, and clearly meant to be heard. Yoo Hyun blinked and glanced her way.
She wore the green and bronze uniform of House Sylva, The bronze color short skirt, green jacket, white inner shirt with green tie, also with that silver crest which said she was belongs velatrix.
Her hair was a cascade of wild blonde curls, and her eyes were a deep, piercing green. Definitely not a character he recognized. Probably just another background extra like him.
But judging by the look on her face…Yeah, she already seemed annoyed by his very existence.
Well… not surprising. Most students from the other houses didn't exactly get along with Umbra folks. "System," he muttered under his breath.
[Yes, Mr. Idiot?]
Here it goes again with that insult.
That cold voice chimed like a fake customer service assistant, almost like Google Assistant had teamed up with a sarcastic YouTuber. A translucent window popped up in front of him, displaying the message. Yoo Hyun's smile twitched.
"Damn it,"
Even the damn AI refused to respect him. No matter how many times he tried talking to it, if it wasn't about pulling up the status bar, it always responded like this. Every. Single. Time.
He was still glaring at the window, silently radiating murder, when,
"Excuse me?"
The voice cut through his inner monologue. He blinked and looked up.
The Sylva girl was staring at him, raising one eyebrow, arms crossed casually as she leaned back in her seat.
"Yeah?" he answered, blinking out of his daydream.
She tilted her head slightly, "Do you always talk to yourself?" she asked, "or am I supposed to be worried you're hearing voices?"
Yoo Hyun stared at her.
"....???"
His mouth opened. Closed. Then opened again. He had no idea how to answer that. Because honestly, both were true.
He cleared his throat. "Well… yeah, I talk to myself. It's the only way I get intelligent responses," he said casually, leaning back a bit.
Honestly, he did talk to himself during exams. And okay, maybe he was trying to throw a jab at the system just now, but it came out a little too smooth.
The girl raised an eyebrow. Then her lips curled into a sharp, unpleasant smirk.
"...Wow. House Umbra really is full of assholes, huh?"
Yoo Hyun blinked. Wait, what?
He stared at her, confused. Why did she sound genuinely offended? He hadn't meant to insult her, he hadn't even been talking about her. His brow furrowed, and he tilted his head slightly. "Huh?"
Was this some kind of misunderstanding? Or did he accidentally step on a social landmine again?
Trying to recover, he scratched the back of his neck and offered an awkward smile. "Don't worry. Not everyone can handle House Umbra's standards."
...He immediately regretted saying that. Well, he was just trying to say he wasn't like those others in that house. But why did he say it like that?
The girl's expression twitched. She looked like she was going to burst a blood vessel.
"No, no, I mean-" he quickly waved his hands, panic kicking in. "Most people don't like em'. It's not a bad thing or anything! Just... you know, personality compatibility? Like horoscopes. Nothing personal!"
She stared at him in silence for a beat. Then her smile returned, slow, syrupy sweet, and full of venom.
"Oh, you little-" she hissed, hands clenched into fists.
And right at that moment, Yoo Hyun's brain finally processed what was going on. He remembered what the system told him before.
[Trait: Master of Unintentional Offense]
Success Rate: 50%]
"Ah," he muttered, internally facepalming. "Of course."
Just ignore him, fellow extra. He was just trying to survive. At least let him live in this peaceful moment, or so he thought until the train jolted hard, just like the train of his world, just before his death.
"What's going on?" one of them asked.
Yoo Hyun looked around curiously, sensing something off. A moment later, the train came to a complete stop on the tracks with a faint screech.
He sighed and leaned toward the window. As a veteran player who had played through this stage countless times, he already knew what was happening.
In this world, there were people known as Asuras, aka demonized humans, essentially twisted cultists. They made contracts with demons and borrowed their powers.
If someone asks Yoo Hyun which of those monsters in the rifts are the most dangerous, Asuras or Demons, his answer will be Asuras. Humans with twisted minds were more evil than the devil himself.
Well, this moment marked the very first stage of the game: World of Mages. And right on cue, the Asuras were attacking the train.
Not that it had anything to do with Yoo Hyun. Or rather, anything to do with Sylas Ravion, the character whose body he currently occupied.
Their target wasn't him, it was Princess Nayun Kallian, who happened to be traveling in Car 1, alongside the so-called protagonist. Yoo Hyun, on the other hand, was tucked safely in Car 28. Far, far away from the danger zone.
A smug grin crossed his lips as he glanced toward the Sylva girl, who returned his look with a glare. She seemed annoyed, as always.
"Is it a monster attack?" one of the Aqua cadets in the cabin asked nervously.
"Are you an idiot?" the Sylva girl snapped. "This is Velatrix Academy's terrain. Monsters can't cross the barrier."
Yoo Hyun blinked at her reaction. Man, she really is arrogant, he thought. As the passengers murmured and speculated, a heavy sound of thump... thump... thump, echoed through the cabin, growing closer.
Yoo Hyun leaned back in his seat, instinctively tense. The wooden cabin door creaked open.
Everyone fell silent. Even the proud Sylva girl stopped mid-sentence.
A cold pressure swept into the cabin. Standing in the doorway was a tall figure dressed entirely in black, a hood covering their face.
Yoo Hyun's heart skipped a beat. It was… an Asura.
He forced himself to stay calm. Maybe it was just patrolling.
Then, the figure spoke, his voice was so cold that it almost felt like frost.
"Where is Sylas Ravion?"
".…"
Yoo Hyun stiffened instantly. Why is an Asura looking for Sylas Ravion?! That made no sense. Sylas was supposed to be an extra. A throwaway name. Not someone an enemy would directly seek out.
Seriously, the heck was going on here?!
He glanced at the three students beside him. They were petrified, frozen with fear. Not one of them looked at him. Wait… maybe they don't know I'm Sylas Ravion.
That might work.
"A-Aha... Ravion, right?" he said with a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, uh, he was in the first car!"
The Asura stared at him in silence, as though analyzing his soul. Yoo Hyun tried his best to look clueless. After a long moment, the figure turned away and exited the cabin.
As the door closed behind it, the tension broke. A collective sigh echoed throughout the train car, including their cabin.
"Oh my god, I thought we were dead!"
"What the hell are Asuras doing here?"
"Where are the guards?! This is insane!"
Just as people started processing what happened, the Sylva girl stood up, still fuming. "Uhm, excuse me? Are we just going to ignore the root of the problem?" she said, voice full of venom. "They were here for that bastard Ravion. He must've caused trouble again. What a pain."
Yoo Hyun, who had been trying to casually look out the window, froze at her words. Wait, are they seriously blaming me now?
"Seriously," someone added. "Can't believe the Academy even accepted someone like him."
"Of course they did," another scoffed. "Don't forget who his father is."
"Jeez, does he think money solves everything?" the Sylva girl muttered, slamming her fist into her thigh as she sat back again.
Yoo Hyun stayed quiet. He couldn't find the right moment to butt in. Also, they were literally talking about him.
What the hell…? I thought Sylas was a minor extra, but Asuras are after him, and cadets hate him. What's going on?
"Hey, you! Umbra trash!" the Sylva girl suddenly called out, pointing at Yoo Hyun. "You were pretty brave earlier. But since you've leaked out Sylas's spot, good luck surviving at the Academy."
"...Huh?" Yoo Hyun blinked. "Was he that bad? Sylas Ravion?"
The girl snapped as her eyes widened in disbelief. "Bad?! That guy, are you even alive? You seriously don't know who Sylas Ravion is?"
He scratched his cheek awkwardly. Of course, he didn't. He was Sylas now, but that didn't mean he had his backstory memorized.
"He's the second son of House Ravion. A complete psychopath," she said, her voice rising. "Just saying his name pisses me off!"
Yoo Hyun blinked again. Second son? House Ravion?
It didn't ring a bell at all.
"Wait… you really don't know? Then how did you know where he was?" she asked, reading his expression.
Another student stepped in. "House Ravion is the wealthiest family in the kingdom."
"Wealthiest?" he echoed, frowning. Something about that tugged at his memory. "Wait a second... wasn't the wealthiest family in the game called Ravryon?" He muttered to himself, eyes narrowing. "But the Ravryons never showed up in-game, at least not in the beginning, just their guild... Everlasting."
"Ravryon… Ravion…? Don't tell me they're the same family, nah nah, no way ha ha," he whispered.
"What are you babbling about now?" the Sylva girl snapped. "Are you daydreaming again?"
"Ah, it's nothing. Don't mind me," Yoo Hyun replied with a fake smile. She looked even more disgusted.
But inside, panic swelled. Yeah, that's right. There is no way Ravryon was Ravion ha…yeah, Ravion must be another noble family or something.
"To think that bastard is going to inherit the Everlasting Guild…" the Sylva girl muttered.
"...???"
Yoo Hyun's entire brain short-circuited as his hopes fly way.
Everlasting guild belongs to the Ravryon family in the game, so…
No way…Ravion… is Ravryon?!
He slowly facepalmed. In the game, the Ravryon family didn't have a happy ending. They were the main culprits behind a mass-murder incident tied to Asura experimentation. In the end, the entire family was executed, alongside a few other noble houses.
The train shook violently again. A low explosion echoed from the front cars.
It seems like the fight had begun.
Yoo Hyun stared out the window grimly. To think he was someone from that Ravryon- Ravion family. He didn't understand why the name changed. But right now he had a pressing matter to take care of.
He needs to leave the family before the downfall.
And also,
The Asura attack. Well, originally he will be safe, but now with these sudden changes, Yoo Hyun honestly didn't know. But it will be fine until that guy is there.
His eyes narrowed a bit.
He had a reason for directing that Asura to Car 1.
That was where the main character of this world, the future nine Star Mage Rin Lowell, was currently located.
And yeah, what Yoo Hyun just did was throw away his job to Rin Lowell. "I will buy you some ramen if we survived bro…" he muttered.