The Retired Hero is an Extra

Unlike anyone else who'd be troubled in their current situation, Jash was smiling crazily, finally feeling that his itch to battle would be scratched.

'This is truly... a good opportunity for me,' he thought with a calm smile, composing himself and restraining his leaking emotions.

As if right on cue, the ones holding animosity showed up.

"Undead?" Jash blurted out, his smile widening, unable to reel in his excitement.

They were a ragtag group of skeletons with some scrap-like weapons in the front before more and more of them appeared in his eyes.

Yet Jash remained unfazed, fully aware that it was just an illusion and that he was in no real danger.

A plethora of weapons—spears, machetes, swords, daggers, khukris, sharp claws, greatswords, axes—in hand they approached.

'They're humanoids but since they aren't humans, I can fight all of them without hesitation,' Jash mused, noting the closing distance.

As the distance neared a mere five meters, he moved from his stance, breaking all hell loose.

He slashed, sliced, swung, cut, thrusted, and used the flat of the sword in a continuous harmony, deflecting all attacks on him.

However, the wide smile and falling apart skeletons reflected the reality of his swift and hidden counter attacks even though he was on defense.

'Thanks to the illusion, I don't have to hold back anything at all,' he mused with a small smile gracing his lips.

The mana inside his body boiled violently, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice and take down his enemies.

Still, Jash continued to forcefully circulate it inside his body, strengthening his muscles, tendons, ligaments and reducing tension and friction.

Using the mana as a coating and protecting the tissues from any wear and tear, he increased the time it would take for his body to fatigue.

His already abnormally powerful body was further enhanced by the abundant mana within, boosting his efficiency.

He didn't stop swinging his sword, using it to parry, block, and evade, all the while slashing it to incapacitate the skeletons.

"Huu..."

Jash exhaled deeply, his eyes scanning the battlefield littered with fallen undead, then focusing on the remaining enemies.

Naturally, since they were undead, they didn't have an emotion like fear and charged at him regardless of how many he destroyed.

Nothing mattered anymore as Jash almost got into a trance, fighting the horde of never ending skeletons.

The mastery of his swordsmanship rose visibly as unnecessary movements started reducing with greater efficiency.

In simpler terms, if he could only take down one skeleton with a single slash earlier, then he could take down two or three with the same slash.

To top it off were the reduced amount of mana and physical stamina consumption as he started losing the sense of battle.

The repetitive slashing grew monotonous and boring as he cut down skeletons with ease as if it were straight out of an action movie.

Jash's movements slowed down as he felt the lingering presences around him dwindle away and his unfocused eyes regained focus.

It turned out he had half-entered a trance state and got pulled out of it due to the lack of enemies to fight against.

"Is it over...?" he mumbled in disappointment, thinking, 'It'd be such a pity if that was all though...'

Just as the thought rose in his mind, he felt stronger presences and malicious intent all of a sudden from all around him.

Despite his situation, his reaction was different.

His voice tinged with anticipation as he smiled, talking to himself, "So it really isn't over yet."

As the skeletons came into view, he also noticed that they were donning armor made of some metal that fully covered them.

'It's broken and dilapidated but the energy they emanate is far more powerful!' he observed with a critical eye.

However, his smile only became more stuck on his lips as the distance closed and swung his sword to stretch his tense arm a bit.

"This is just the start," he muttered before charging straight into the lines of the undead enemies.

The size difference or the larger numbers or their armors or their better weapons—nothing seemed to deter him in the least.

He didn't even realize himself that his itch to battle was like an itch that, no matter how much you scratched it, would only feel like it wasn't enough.

Holding the sword firmly, Jash swung it, taking off the helmets worn by a few skeletons as they moved their necks at the last second.

'Better than before... probably F-Rank?' he guessed, not knowing their true rank since they were a horde.

If he was just facing one of them, it would be so much easier to take it down yet a multitude of F-Rank Undead wouldn't be easy for someone at the Early E-Rank.

Yet Jash stood staunch, eager to fight it out, as if to defy the logical thinking the world seemed to work on.

—Swish!

"Ugh," Jash grunted, moving his head in the nick of time to dodge a sudden arrow being launched at his head.

'At least there aren't any mages yet,' he thought, relieved slightly due to not having to deal with those pesky mages.

Sadly, it seemed he himself jinxed it as a fireball flew towards his face while wind blades shot at his arms, to unarm him, literally.

Sweat dripped from his forehead as he narrowly dodged the attacks, using an undead as a meat shield while blocking an axe swing.

'They are slowly getting stronger,' he observed their quicker movements and how it was becoming harder to deal with them.

Despite his precarious situation, Jash seemed to be enjoying it.

Little did he know that it would continue to change him fundamentally as it were the aftereffects from reincarnation.

The memories he gained without real effort, coupled with his unique soul aspect—something rare even in this world—were beginning to manifest their influence.

Naturally, it was caused simply because this was the first battle that felt real and something he could actually do.

Unlike the time in the dungeon, where he barely survived due to unknown external factors, this battle was manageable with a little overexertion.

The feeling of fighting continuously without pause as if his life was on the line spurred his past self into his being itself.

Despite it being an illusion and he knew it, it was undeniable that the thrill of the battle got to him, ignoring the fact.

As if he wanted to reach unattainable heights, he had decided to get the most out of this opportunity, not wanting to regret it later.

After all, being able to sleep with peace of mind that he was the strongest was far better than making half-assed efforts and having to stay awake for fear of the strong.

Thankfully, the memories he only witnessed but never really got the feel of were also fusing within him.

'The insights from my past life, something I never understood, are now becoming one with me.'

Rather than thinking about them actively, they were pouring within his mind, trying to get refined and polished for his current body.

'Come at me!' he exclaimed, eager to try his new style eagerly.

'Faster and stronger!'

His thoughts narrowed onto using the undead as test dummies to refine his swordsmanship, feeling the wall to the intermediate realm of mastery cracking open.

'Just a little more...'