The Retired Hero is an Extra

Unlike the silently cursing and escaping Jash, the stadium was alive with sounds—cries of panic, roars of monsters, and the occasional explosion of magic.

Just when the oblivious audience and examinees were rejoicing in their situation, a sudden explosion shook the island.

—BOOOM!!!

Dust clouds rose as a large number of examinees were disqualified within seconds, unable to showcase their skills.

Some survived by the skin of their teeth, like Jash, who felt something was wrong and immediately moved away.

The audience, initially cheering, fell into stunned silence as the sudden explosion unfolded, not to mention the disoriented examinees.

However, none of the talented ones were disqualified, as if the explosion was placed in specific locations to avoid targeting them.

Of course, no one could complain about it as even Jash, the son of a Duke, was almost disqualified.

Meanwhile, Rui made a strange sound, disturbing the silence, "Aaaaaaaah..."

"Explosions are truly an art!" he exclaimed with his eyes turning a shade of crazed red as he basked in the limelight.

Despite the hatred-filled and murderous glances being cast his way, Rui shrugged them off, zooming in on Jash's crumbling expression.

'Impressive,' Rui commented, believing Jash was very good at managing his expressions.

Little did he know that if Jash didn't care about his money and was aware of the hidden test, he would've been cursing Rui at the top of his lungs.

'Calm down, Jash, calm down. Think of the money, damn it!' Jash repeated it inside his head as if it were a mantra.

Unlike others, he was well aware that this trick was pulled off by Rui as he was a member of the planning committee and no one noticed it.

At this point, it was too late for even Vice-Principal Zander to remove Rui as it wouldn't salvage the situation at all.

In the end, he just let the test continue and decided to punish the troublesome guy after the test was over.

There was another person who thought similarly to Zander, it was Jash. 'I will definitely let you feel the joy of your pranks, Rui.'

As if the threat was something pertaining to his existence itself, Rui felt a chill go down his spine and blamed it on Zander.

"Ahem, ahem, let's clear out the dust," Rui commented, diverting the attention and showcasing the dilapidated state of the examinees.

The explosions obviously disturbed not only the examinees but also the flora and fauna of the entire island.

Avalanches, tsunamis, and floods occurred in one place whereas some places had earth cracked open with lava flowing through it.

In the forest-like region, several trees were lit with fire while the desert turned into glass at some places.

Despite all the changes in geography, Jash was left stuck in the marshes.

If he could, he would curse his luck openly, but he could only do it inwardly, 'Just how bad is my luck!? What kind of cardinal sins have I committed?'

Not wanting to grieve over uncontrollable factors, Jash stood up as he gritted his teeth, bearing through the pain from being thrown off.

Due to the proximity to one of the explosion's sites, Jash was thrown back into the direction he spawned at.

No matter how much he knew, he could also forget things at the spur of the moment, he was only human.

"Ugh," he groaned as he turned around, having to explore another way out of the marshes as the previous one wasn't safe anymore.

With a sword strapped around his waist, Jash weaved through the way, relaxing as he knew the candidates he found were disqualified.

Although unaware, the way he appeared and his struggle seemed to the audience to raise his value and even some bets were made on him.

Sadly, most were of the type, "When will he be disqualified?"

Too bad for the betters that they were going to lose a ton of money to the betting platforms today.

Meanwhile, in another area of the courtyard though, the Solarnelle Royal Family was watching the Prince and Princess.

"So those are the famed young geniuses…" Adrian, the first prince of Solarnelle Empire, said, his eyes seemingly locked onto each one of them.

"Whatever you're scheming in that mind of yours Adrian, I'd implore you to stop," the Empress said, noticing the strange light in Adrian's eyes.

She wanted him to not mess around with the kids due to the prophecy she feared would arrive while Adrian didn't retract his gaze.

Instead his gaze solidified with a glint of mischief, lingering over Ava and Avon before shifting to Amael, Caera, Ziva and Jash.

"I make no promises mother," Adrian responded with a shrug to his mother's words, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Just don't cross the limits," the Empress said with a side eye.

"It's already a headache with what you did with the two of them, not to mention whatever it is you're planning to do."

The tone of the Empress carried resignation as she knew her son too well, unlike the facades he played with Avon and Ava.

Even the whole thing about being a successor was nothing but a sham orchestrated by this guy for "fun."

'If he wanted, he could already be the crown prince,' the Empress sighed at her son's weird antics, giving in as a mother despite her precarious position.

The Empress, after squeezing time and clearing a bit of her schedule, stood directly beside Adrian, choosing to focus on the test.

Although the Emperor had also wanted to show up to support his kids, he had way too many duties to attend to that could not be put off.

As a result, he couldn't spare the time to come along.

Of course, it spurred the feelings of self-doubt and not being up to the mark in Avon's heart when he found out.

After all, the Emperor was the epitome of power in his eyes unlike Ava who only had eyes for her mother.

In fact, the two were quite distant due to the difference in their birth mothers.

Ava was born to a childhood friend and maid of the Emperor, while Avon was born to one of the Empress's ladies-in-waiting.

Of course, that's why the Empress was always distanced from her husband, only giving birth to Adiran and the First Princess.

Considering the complex system of the Imperial Family, many might think the Empire was in unstable hands...

Yet only the people involved themselves knew the reason for their actions and why the Empress never fought the Emperor despite his known infidelity.

Sadly, she was the mother to all four children in the eyes of the masses, the truth only known inside the Imperial Family.

Or to anomalies like Jash and Amael.

Talking about them, Jash had finally escaped the marshes after a tough journey of a couple hours.

'Damn! I am never talking random teleportations in my life!' Jash vowed inwardly, taking the first step into the next terrain.

A forest.

"At least the creatures here are just mosquitoes," he muttered with a twisted expression, looking at the bite marks of the insects all over his limbs.

Though it wasn't really painful, it was very irritating and some bites were super itchy, making Jash want to slice apart his skin.

Alas, as Rui mentioned, there was no time to even attack oneself.

He had to keep moving if he really wanted to emerge victorious as first rank and win this whole thing.

Taking in the new surroundings, Jash mumbled, "A few hours passed, I guess? So, how much audience is left?"

Naturally, the audience weren't going to sit for three entire days and watch the screens.

And there was just no way the Academy would force the audience and extremely busy people to stay here for three whole days just to wait for the results.