The Retired Hero is an Extra

Beneath the ethereal glow of a mana portal, its hues of blue-green-purple swirling like a cosmic dance, a young man stood resolute yet vulnerable.

Winter's chill pierced through his simple nano-armor and flexible black clothes, sending shivers down his spine.

His clothing remained a blend of practicality and agility, providing no protection against the biting winter winds.

"Fuuu... it's so cold," he muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible to even him over the howling wind.

With a steady hand despite frequent shivers, he retrieved a seemingly worthless piece of scrap, some remnants of a few golden carvings remained on it.

Yet its long-lost resplendence didn't impede him from recognizing its true worth.

"This is it," he muttered a little dramatically as the memories of obtaining it replayed in his head.

It was not only an important piece but also a token of hard-earned triumph over his younger sister.

Memories of rigorous training and beatdowns amidst his relentless determination flooded his mind, contrasting sharply with the desolate landscape before him.

As memories flooded in, he instinctively clasped the sword hilt, or what little remained of it, close to his chest.

After a few seconds passed, he subconsciously raised his head and fixed his gaze on the peculiar portal.

His mixed emotions burst in his heart as he unconsciously blurted out, "This is what I am here for!"

Just as he was about to enter the portal, he looked around to make sure he remained alone in the mysterious area isolated from people.

Even though the dungeon hoisted a unique gate as its entrance, all the interested hunters had long given up on it.

Many came in search of the unknown and so did they leave empty handed.

Recalling the warning about the public irregular gate, his heart pounded aggressively.

"It doesn't matter what others think of it, I have to solve my mystery," the man consoled himself.

In the next moment, he stepped forward resolutely, taking the first step to cross the threshold into the unknown depths of the dungeon.

The gate initially repelled him, but as he held the sword hilt, or the scrap retrieved from within, it reacted, momentarily blinding him with a bright light.

The portal's magic enveloped him, whisking him away from the wintry solitude into a realm unknown by others.

His departure left no trace, the abandoned site offering no clue to the mysteries unfolding within.

Silence descended over the winter breeze once more near the portal, its luminescence dimming as if to conceal the secrets it held.

Only the echo of his whispered words and the memory of his determined silhouette lingered against the backdrop of winter's chill.

Suddenly, in the place the boy stood a few moments ago, a black clothed woman appeared.

"He entered it," she said, holding her wrist.

"Keep watch." Another voice sounded from the black band on her wrist, though nothing could be discerned about the speaker on the other end.

"Copy that!" She replied before vanishing, or at least tried to.

Just as she was about to find out why she failed to vanish, a grumbling voice entered her ears, startling her.

"Tsk. Another idiot."

Before she could even process the words or understand her situation, her entire body was disintegrated to dust.

"Can't they take a hint already?" the voice had a grumbling tone to it as another one responded to it.

"Calm down, Theo. It's no big deal to take care of these pests," the voice sounded feminine and pleasant to the ear.

However, that was just an illusion.

"Damn it, Lessie! Stop using your technique without reason," the man, Theo, complained as he waved his hand to nullify her technique.

Lessie pouted at his demeanor, but chose to go silent before she noticed another intruder.

"Let me take care of him," she suggested with a playful smirk before flying down and taking care of the intruder.

"Just why is she here? She is just an S-Rank," Theo muttered under his breath, cursing his bad luck.

Although he was her master in a sense, he truly didn't like working with her, being an SS-Rank hunter himself.

"If not for Young Master's orders to seal the area at that time, I could be on another mission." Theo sighed, but stayed alert.

Unlike what others assumed, this single dungeon attracted far more eyes than any A-Rank or even S-Rank dungeons due to its unique restriction.

It was only thanks to it being located and listed under the Ramille family name that no one had yet tried to illegally get access to it.

Fortunately, the Ramilles were always known for being wise and they opened the area for anyone to come near it.

They could freely try to enter it upon the condition that they would need to comply once they exited it, if they exited at all.

Even the Hunter Association and Mage Association had sent numerous hunters from all species in hopes of figuring something out.

Alas, no one got any results.

Only today did the silent observers get active after hearing the reports from their subordinates' before they vanished.

For some reason, no one deployed around this dungeon could be contacted anymore.

Of course, the Ramilles had already given free entry for 10 months and only forced everyone to evict after that.

Though reluctant, the ten months had been nothing but a waste of time, so most hunters and researchers did leave.

What they left behind were spies or their own subordinates to keep a close eye on the happenings of this dungeon.

Oblivious to the complex situation unfolding outside, where his family might be removing tons of subordinates of influential people, the man finally came to.

"Ugh," he felt extremely disoriented due to the teleportation effect of the dungeon, but recovered within a second.

Compared to his first time entering the same dungeon, it was a monstrous improvement, given the timeframe of nearly 11 months.

It was the 5th of December, Year 2450 of the Holy Calendar.

As soon as the young man recovered, the first thing he did was put the sword hilt away to safety, back into his storage ring.

"This is different," he muttered in shock as his eyes scanned his surroundings.

The lush forest and hills had turned rather lifeless with spots of red all around the area.

As he stepped further, a suffocating stench of rot and mildew assaulted his nose, making him instinctively cover it.

Though it failed to provide any reprieve, the man cursed under his breath, "What the hell? Why does it stink so much!?"

Unfortunately, no one remained to answer him, nor was it the end of his uncomfortable situation.

With every step he took, the ground squelched beneath his feet, and his eyes struggled against the strong irritating gasses in the air.

"Ugh. I have to... go deeper..." he muttered to himself, his voice muffled by his arms against his face.

Continuing further, he finally found the source of all his discomfort.

Rotting bodies of small animals to wolves to dead and decaying trees appeared everywhere he looked.

The condition only worsened the further he went.

If earlier the spots of red were sparse, now the earth and soil themselves seemed to have been dyed red.

The visible insides of creatures with fungus and mold growing on them were more than enough to make the man nauseous.

Yet he gritted his teeth and repeated in his mind, 'Hold it in... Hold it in... Hold it in... Hold it in...'

Sadly, it didn't last.

As he approached his destination, following the path he remembered, he saw a harrowing sight.

His body froze as he couldn't help but curse his stupidity, 'Shit! Shit! Shit! Why did I even come here?'

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret and he would have to face whatever he saw.

As seconds ticked by, a chilling dampness settled in his bones, amplifying the oppressive silence and unease.