Chapter 45 : Leona's Secret Hobby #5 - No Kidding, I’m an Extra

---Riiiing! Riiiing! Riiiiiiiiiiiing!--- The shrill sound of the emergency bell echoed throughout. ________________________ [Main Quest: The Omen 2] [The gate that appeared again might be an omen of something. Defeat the leader of the beasts.] [Reward: 2,500 Coins] _________________________ He swiftly checked the quest details. Although he was tense, there was no reason to worry. After all, Kim Geun-cheol was here. And he had the extraordinary backing of Lee Sihu and Leona. The content was essentially the same as the last time. Completing this quest could boost his stats. Stay calm. Together with his friends, he would take down the beasts. Just as he resolved himself— "Oh my goodness! What's going on here! Quickly! Everyone, come inside!" A desperate cry from the kitchen. It was the shop owner. For them, it must feel like a disaster out of the blue. "Boss!!!" At that moment, Leona shouted loudly! "Huh? Yes?" "Please pack this up quickly! I'll come back later to pick it up!" "Packing comes with an extra charge, are you okay with that?" "Then pack everything including the side dishes! Quickly! Everyone, get it together! Let's head out! Oh, don’t close the shutters! We’re leaving!" Leona began to expertly direct them! Truly the class president, Leona! Handling the situation naturally! "Yeah! You mean let’s go out there and do something!" "Exactly! As hero cadets, we can't just sit still when a gate appears!" "That's right! We have to go, Geun-cheol!" "Truly, a hero!" ---Whoosh!--- Leona swiftly took care of the bill, and they all headed out to the street. The street was eerily quiet. At the sound of the emergency bell, everyone had relocated and shut the shutters. He heard that even civilians undergo periodic drills, which explained the rapid evacuation. "Alright. While the situation is urgent, we need to stay calm. Listen up. There’s no need for us, as cadets, to rashly rush into battle." "Wait! Leona! We can’t just do nothing either!" Shouted Sihu, driven by his righteous nature. Of course, Leona wasn't the type to back down now. "Calm down, Sihu. We intend to fulfill our duties as cadets." "Yeah. Relax. We have to do something now that we’re here. Angel Leona wouldn’t just run away, right?" "U-um, yeah. You're right." "Alright then." Leona organized the situation. "This is rather odd. If a gate had appeared nearby, one would sense something. Sihu? Geun-cheol? Did either of you feel anything?" "No. I didn’t feel anything. It's just like last time... Something's strange." "Yeah. I didn’t sense anything either." Even if he didn’t, Sihu or Leona should have sensed something. They're strong. This was undoubtedly a peculiar situation. Well, it was a main quest, after all, so it was bound to be unusual. It's understandable given it’s a main quest, right? But there’s no way to articulate that. "Indeed. It's certainly strange. But this isn’t the time for judgment. It’s unusual enough for us to lay low and observe." Leona spoke with a serious expression. "There might be civilians who haven’t managed to evacuate. Although the emergency bell rang, it’s worth checking. Let’s carefully assess the situation until the subjugation team arrives. Our top priority is to protect the civilians. Any objections?" Who'd object to that! "None, President!" "Yeah. No objections." "Heh, good." Leona beamed as our spirited answers came forth. "Hahaha, this Angel Leona. Suggesting to start with rescuing civilians right away. Quite the angel, isn't she?" "Well, consider it an extension of volunteer service. Those awakened ought to help people. Let’s move out!" "Right!" "Firstly, to get a better view, let's head to the rooftop of this building!" ---Whoosh!--- As soon as Leona spoke, Sihu climbed the signage in front of them to ascend upwards, no! I can't do that! "Kim Geun-cheol! You can't climb the building?" "Uh, yeah! I can't!" "No other choice, then!" And at that moment! ---Swoosh!--- Leona lifted him up in a princess carry! "What on earth is happening!" "Pieta! You know Pieta, right, Kim Geun-cheol!" Leona shouted excitedly! Clearly, she felt she made a great quip! "If you’re going to reference Pieta, then just let me sit here!" "I can't do that! Let’s go!" ---Whoosh!--- With that, Leona jumped to the rooftop with him in her arms! Such a smooth landing! Leona put him down after they touched the rooftop. "Kim Geun-cheol! Train hard so you can scale buildings someday!" "Ugh... Yeah. I should! But now, Leona! As the president, lead us!" "Look over there." "Hm? Ah." ---Sizzle!--- A gate had opened in the sky. ---Rumble!--- From that gate, F-rank beasts, the Antazoras, were pouring out. The same creatures he tirelessly defeated in training. Jellyfish-like creatures with two legs. But their numbers were overwhelming. What's this? There seemed to be over a hundred. "An immense number. For heroes like us, predominantly melee types, handling a large number of low-rank beasts can be challenging." "Yeah. I know." Slaughtering mobs is typically the specialty of the army or area-specialized mages. All of them, including Leona, Sihu, and himself, were melee types, suited to face a high-ranked beast one-on-one. For them, dealing with such a tsunami of creatures was difficult. "Leona. This isn’t normal. The number of F-rank beasts appearing is unexpectedly large." "Indeed. It’s distinctly abnormal. I think we should report this to our families too..." Is it that odd? "Why. Should there be fewer of them?" "Yeah. There should be fewer. Just from a glance, there are over three hundred. This is undoubtedly abnormal." Abnormal. He made a mental note of it. "In fact, nationwide, around a hundred gates appear in a day. It's not unusual for gates to open. However, it's rare for so many beasts to come out. And even if they do, there's usually a sign beforehand." In other words, gates with this many beasts are rare, and when they do occur, someone with awakened senses usually picks up on it beforehand. "But the usual ‘rules’ don't apply here. We may have to give up trying to understand it. It's an unpredictable scenario, so it might be better to scour the area for civilians?" "Yeah. I was thinking the same." Sihu agreed. Then that's what they would do. "What are you waiting for? Let's go! Move it, everyone!" "Follow me closely, Kim Geun-cheol!" "Got it!" ---Whoosh!--- They immediately sprinted across the rooftop. Gazing down, they searched for civilians. "But Kim Geun-cheol? You said this happened last week too?" "Yeah." "Hmm... If this kind of thing happened twice, there should've been a report. Could you check online for anything?" "Oh, sure." Jogging slowly, he searched the web. With some approximate keywords. "Ah. There's one article. Phenomenon occurring? The location matches where Sihu and I went. Seems it struck people as odd." "It is peculiar." But speaking of that place... "Kitty, that damn cat." Kitty crossed his mind. ---Beep Beep Beep.--- While he was at it, he called. He’d received her number earlier. ---Riiing--- There was a signal. "Hey." -Oh, Geun Cheol's Brother? You called right away? More than that, with the emergency bell ringing, are you alright? "Yeah. Don't worry about me. What about you?" -I'm outside. "WHAT?!" This crazy— -Heh. Just kidding. Relax. I ran the moment the bell sounded. I don't want to get scolded by you, Geun Cheol's Brother. "Good! Really well done! That's exactly why I called! Stay safe!" -Yeah. Will do. The moment he received her answer, he hung up. "Kim Geun-cheol? Was that the kid?" "Yeah. Said she escaped safely." "Then that's a relief. Let's keep searching!" "Alright!" ---Whoosh!--- Continuing their sprint across the rooftops, they kept searching. At the same time, he took a glance at the gate... It certainly looked dangerous. Though it hadn't spewed out more beasts, the mere presence of that purple interdimensional rift was ominous. Then it happened. ---Aahhhhhhh!--- A scream suddenly rang out! "Leona! Geun-cheol! That's a scream! Quickly, this way!" "Right, let's go!" ---Whoosh whoosh!--- They rushed toward the direction of the sound! And looking down below! "Aaaahhhh! Save me!" A kid was being chased by beasts! The instinct was to rescue her immediately, but shockingly, the child was completely surrounded! Beasts closing in from three directions, charging at her! And the ones advancing from the opposite side! ---Overwhelming!--- If that wasn't enough, there were so many beasts! It was like a wave crashing down...! Despite being F rank, there were over a hundred. Going in recklessly would surely lead to disaster. But leaving it would mean the child's life was at risk. "Hey! Leona! What do we do in a situation like this?!" "There are far too many beasts...! This is hopeless as it stands!" Couldn’t they just swoop down and grab the kid? Though if Leona, who knew more than him, said it was impossible, it surely was. They are not suited for mass combat. Without a mage specialized in area damage... But that kid is about to die! The moment she tires, it's over! "Sihu!" "Ugh!" Sihu looked as worried as he felt! "You can't think of anything either?!" "There are too many beasts...! If we go in, we'll be overwhelmed!" Even the strong Sihu was saying the same thing. Would they have to stand by and watch the poor kid's fate? He wouldn't accept that! Even the three of them combined couldn't manage it? But at that moment! "But we can’t just leave that kid there! Leona! I'll go down! Do something to distract them!" "Wait?! Sihu! Even if they're F rank, there are so many of them!" ---Whoosh!--- Sihu leaped towards the beasts! "This is insane! Sihu! Damn it, no choice! Leona! We have to do something!" "Damn...! We have no choice! Kim Geun-cheol!" "Yes! Whatever the plan is!" "Draw their attention!" Draw their attention? "How exactly do I do that?" "You're good at shouting, Kim Geun-cheol!" "Hey! That may be a joke, but you can't really mean—" "Beasts respond to human screams! Shout quickly! It's our last resort!" ---Thump!--- At that moment, Leona kicked off the ground and charged towards him! "Huh?!" Like wielding a magic wand, she lifted him and aimed him at the beasts! "Kim Geun-cheol!!! Scream as loud as you can, aimed forward!!!" "This can't possibly work—!" "Just do it!" A-alright! If that's the plan! ---Deep Breath!--- He swallowed his breath! "Eee." And released it! 「SCREEEEEEEAAAMMMMMM! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !」 And then. "Qweeek?!" "Kyurr?! Kyurrr!" "Kurrurrrk!" The beasts that were charging, aiming for Sihu who had scooped up the child and lifted him onto his back. "Qweeeee!" "Kyurrrrk!" They all turned their attention towards him. ---Scurry scurry scurry!--- ---Scurry scurry scurry!--- ---Scurry scurry scurry!--- They began climbing up the building walls towards him!!! "Nice work, Kim Geun-cheol! That scream aggro was killer, scream master Geun-cheol! Yaaahoo! It was the last resort, but it worked like a charm!" "More than that, let me down already!" "Let you down? What for! We need to run now! Shut up and hold on tight!" And like that, he was whisked away by Leona as if he were merely an RPG character being carried along for the ride. "…" The hero he imagined himself to be... wasn't quite like this. illustration: https://i.ibb.co/v66q1gkk/image.png