The Retired Hero is an Extra

While a lot was happening outside, Jash remained oblivious as he dreamt of a forgotten past from his previous life.

Usually, the system's leftover protocol would sweep in to stop the memories from entering his brain, halting at just a dream.

However, the golden energy deep inside him had overworked itself, exerting a level of force it wasn't supposed to.

It was currently absorbing and making the inky-black energy to be a part of itself, strengthening itself in the process.

In the end, Jash was its owner and it had to protect him, so that he could wield it one day as he ought to.

Though, that's far into the future.

Currently, Jash was experiencing the core memories and emotions that were sealed by his previous self.

It wasn't a nightmare like the last time, but quite a neutral one.

While his body was treated with several healing potions and pastes, his consciousness swam in the memories of mana techniques.

"This one is good..."

"But this is better for agility..."

"Then the strength isn't up to the mark..."

"Isn't there any mana circulation technique that encompasses all aspects?"

His past-life self muttered after having gone through hundreds of mana circulation techniques and their contents.

[#### #### ## ## #### ##### ## # ###### #### #########]

"Hmm, are you sure? What if I create one?"

His past life self seemed to be conversing with someone, but Jash couldn't hear or see anything else.

All he could see and hear were his past self's words and the messy room.

"Alright. I will make one myself!" Bhairav affirmed before muttering with a cheeky smile, "But let's get out of the enemy's territory first."

It turns out he was actually stealing the mana circulation technique from someone he deemed an enemy.

Unfortunately, Jash could only observe, and the scenes abruptly shifted from looking in a certain direction inside a room to being in a cave.

Inside a damp cave, quite a few paper scrolls with different languages written on them were sprawled around.

"Ugh. I am so close, just what am I lacking?" Bhairav muttered to himself as he got up to peruse through the texts once again.

However, the texts remained a mystery to Jash, as he was unable to read or understand them, even though he had memories of the languages from his previous life.

It was strange, but he didn't really care, knowing he won't have those memories after he woke up.

Alas, the strangest thing was he could make connections between the perfected technique he received in inheritance and the one Bhairav was actively working on.

"It's been 4 years already and I have reached the peak of Mortal Ranks yet I can't find the last step?"

Unlike a typical person who would feel depressed or frustrated after not getting the results they wanted, Bhairav was calm.

Honestly, his calmness was eerie.

It was so strange that a man who was considered a genius of mankind, the hope, the hero, the most talented to get stuck here.

Yet he didn't seem bothered by his failure, he instead learned from it every single time, trying to overcome the challenge.

"No way! How could I miss something so simple!!"

"It's always been with me!"

As if he had gained some sort of enlightenment, he started mumbling strange words, confusing Jash.

"The elements... fundamental components... combine... form the physical world..."

"Wood... Water... Fire... Earth... Metal... Air...

Space... Light... Darkness..."

"Harmony... Balance... Disbalance... Creation... Destruction..."

He didn't stop, but Jash felt dizzy from all the strange mumbles, causing him to abruptly leave the dream world at the most pivotal moment.

[Congratulations Host! You________]

Alas, Jash missed the system notification he could've heard unlike the first one as he had a greater immersion at the moment.

…

"Haa... Haa..."

Unconsciously, he started panting for breath the moment he woke up, sitting upright as a reflex.

His body seemed to have adjusted to the pain as he felt nothing of his previous predicament.

'Just... what did I experience?' he thought in confusion before a headache assaulted him.

"Arghh," he grunted in the sudden pain before it eased out, leaving him with some parts of the dream he lived through.

'This... did I just retain the dream!?' he wondered in disbelief, skeptical of the whole ordeal.

Fortunately, his mind got diverted from the complex thoughts in the next second as he felt a pair of strong arms envelop him.

"Jash!"

Hearing his mother's worried voice and feeling the sudden hug, he felt weak and barely uttered, "Mom..."

His sense of weakness seemed to have vanished as he really felt comfort from the warm hug despite the plethora of thoughts running inside his head.

'Those aren't important,' he told himself and chose to focus on the current moment, knowing fully well he wouldn't be able to experience such moments soon.

The academy was truly cruel, as it was the precursor of the novel and the world's destined path he sought to change.

'I will make sure I succeed,' Jash reiterated to himself when Sera broke the hug.

Her eyes were moist as she inquired worriedly, "Are you fine? What happened inside? Just what did you go through? How did you even enter it?"

After getting bombarded by several questions from Sera, all he could do was smile wryly.

'At least give me some leeway to answer, no?' he mused to himself, but wisely kept his thoughts to himself.

While bold, he wasn't an idiot to antagonize his mother for no reason when she was just worried about him.

Thankfully, his chance to speak soon came as Carcel took the hit.

"Sera, my dear," he said in an endearing tone. "Give him some space to answer, will you?"

Naturally, he got Sera's death glares as she went quiet, knowing her impatience got the better of her.

But who gave the right to probe her when he knew her the best?

Unfortunately, what's done was done, and he too shifted the focus to Jash very smartly. "Ahem, Jash, you should answer your mother."

Caught between his parents' concerned gazes, Jash hesitated for a moment. 'I need to be honest,' he thought before beginning his explanation.

"Mom, Dad. I don't know where to begin, but I am sure this is the right thing," he said, taking out the sword hilt that allowed him entry.

It definitely confused his parents, though.

"I know what you're thinking. Why do I have it instead of Caera, right? Well, let's just say I won it."

At the end of his sentence, Jash shivered slightly, haunted by the memories of the spars that were nothing short of traumatic for him.

"Anyways, what matters is this was obtained inside the dungeon and is the one thing that allowed me entry."

Before their shock could fully set in, he quickly added, "You know what that means, right? This belongs to the dungeon and is not some hunter's keepsake."

The Ramille couple nodded gravely, understanding the significance of the event.

Most dungeons had nothing good as rewards yet many hunters entered it, trying to get something out of it besides the monster carcasses.

Some dungeons actually had random rewards placed around different monsters, but it was just way too rare.

Calling it abysmal would not be a lie if one were to consider the odds.

Yet what confused the Ramille couple was the specific item in Jash's hands, as it didn't seem anything impressive.

It just looked like a scrap, how could it have any significance?