I Was Transmigrated As An Extraordinary Extra

2nd Day

As soon as I woke up, I rolled out of bed and started my morning stretches out of habit. Arms up, twist left, twist right—bones cracking as I popped every joints on my body. I followed it up with a light workout, just enough to get my blood flowing. Push-ups, squats, a few controlled kicks. Nothing fancy.

By the time sweat started dripping down my back, I was already in the zone—breathing steady, mind half-asleep, half-focused. I wiped my face with the back of my hand and turned around to grab my drink from the table.

That was when I locked eyes with Kairos.

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Since when..." I stared at him. "...were you standing there?"

"For a while now," he replied calmly.

"A while?" I clutched my chest. "Geez, you could’ve at least coughed. Or stomped. Or announced yourself like a normal human being."

He didn’t respond, which somehow made it worse.

"What are you doing there anyway?" I asked, grabbing my drink and taking a long gulp.

"Core Breathing Technique," he said.

I paused mid-sip. "...What?"

He tilted his head slightly. "You don’t know?"

"Should I?" I said. "Because it sounds like something people say right before they start floating."

Kairos ignored my sarcasm completely. "Once you master it, your breathing aligns with your core. Mind and body synchronize. Your thoughts become clearer, your reactions sharper. It stabilizes your mana flow and physical output."

I stared at him blankly.

"So," I said slowly, "you’re telling me... breathing correctly turns you into a better person?"

"Yes."

"...That feels unfair."

He actually looked mildly amused for half a second before continuing. "Most people breathe inefficiently. Especially when fighting or under stress. They waste energy without realizing it."

I crossed my arms, thinking back to all the times I’d been running for my life while screaming internally. "So if I learn this, I won’t feel like I’m dying every time something tries to kill me?"

"Less," he said.

"That’s still an improvement."

I took another sip and eyed him suspiciously. "So how long have you been standing there watching me?"

"...Long enough."

"Wow," I said flatly. "Creepy."

"You were doing it wrong," he added.

"...Excuse me?"

"Your breathing," he clarified. "Your movements are fine. But you rely too much on instinct. You force your body instead of listening to it."

I stared at him, then looked down at myself. "...You watched all that just to critique me?"

"Yes."

I sighed heavily. "Great. I wake up, exercise, and immediately get judged."

He stepped closer. "If you want, I can teach you."

I narrowed my eyes. "What’s the catch?"

"No catch."

"That’s suspicious."

Kairos looked away. "You’ll need it."

That... wiped the grin off my face a little.

"...Fine," I said after a moment. "Teach me your magical breathing nonsense."

"It’s not magic," he said.

"Everything is magic until I understand it," I replied, sitting down cross-legged. "Alright, oh wise breather. Enlighten me."

Thirty minutes later, Kairos was still in the middle of teaching me how to breathe like a sane person when a shadow suddenly loomed over the window.

"Hey, rookie!" Thorne peeked in from the third floor like a burglar who forgot he lived here. "Can you buy ingredients for our breakfast?"

I broke my posture instantly. "—Why me?" I grumbled, slumping back like my bones had given up on life.

"You have the most money out of the four of us," he said matter-of-factly.

"...Yeah, so why me?" I repeated, narrowing my eyes.

Thorne sighed, clearly having expected this. "Dagur doesn’t know what he’s buying—last time I sent him out, he came back with dried horse feed and called it ’grain’." His gaze then drifted to Kairos... paused... lingered... and snapped back to me. "And I’d rather die than ask him."

I opened my mouth to protest.

"One more ’why me’," Thorne added quickly, "and I won’t be cooking you breakfast."

My soul left my body.

"...Fine!" I shot up to my feet, pointing accusingly at the window. "But I’ll be the one choosing what our breakfast will be."

Thorne only grinned.

I turned to Kairos, who was still sitting there calmly like none of this nonsense existed. "You want to join me?"

He blinked once. "Sure. I’ve got nothing to do here anyway."

That response somehow felt like an insult to the thirty minutes of intense breathing lessons I’d just suffered through.

We headed into the street together. Morning sunlight bathed the town in a warm glow—vendors shouting, carts rolling, and scammers already stretching like athletes before a big game.

I headed straight for the street vendors that actually looked like they sold food instead of future regret. After a few minutes of circling like a hawk with trust issues, I settled on the freshest stall I could find and started picking ingredients one by one.

White onions, garlic, pork, mushrooms, and, of course, seasonings.

I nodded to myself. ’Smothered Pork Chops it is.’ Thorne was absolutely going to cook this whether he liked it or not. It’s my money anyway.

I turned to the vendor. "How much for all of these?"

The woman eyed the pile, then me, then the pile again like she was mentally preparing to rob me. "Two hundred fifty GP."

I didn’t even blink. "Make it one fifty."

"Two hundred," she shot back immediately.

"One hundred," I replied just as fast.

"Eyyy—no way, that’s too lo—"

"Eighty. Take it or leave it," I said flatly, already reaching into my inventory.

She stared at me like I’d personally insulted her ancestors. "Fine!" She snatched the money the moment I handed it over, then squinted at me suspiciously. "You born here?"

"No," I answered.

She clicked her tongue. "You sure? You’ve got the skills of a scam—"

"Don’t bother trying to distract us," I cut her off calmly, "and tell your friend to stop what he’s doing right now or I’ll chop his hands off."

At the same time, I released my Aura just enough to scare them.

Behind us, a man who had been inching closer froze mid-step, his hand hovering suspiciously close to my inventory pouch.

The vendor’s face went pale. "H-Hey—!"

"Now," I said softly.

The man immediately backed away like his life expectancy had just dropped to zero.

I grabbed Kairos’s hand without thinking and pulled him along as we left the stall.

I only noticed I was still holding his hand when the inn’s crooked sign came into view.

"Oh—" I let go instantly like I’d touched a hot pan and coughed into my fist. "Reflex."

Before I could put a safe, respectable amount of distance between us, Kairos calmly reached out, his fingers closing around my hand again.

I blinked and looked up at him, genuinely confused this time.

He cleared his throat and turned his face slightly away. "Just in case someone tries to pickpocket us again," he said evenly. "Wouldn’t it be safer to stay close to each other?"

...Damn it. He was right.

I paused, then nodded. "Yeah. Makes sense."

And absolutely not because my brain short-circuited for half a second.

We walked the rest of the way like that—hands loosely linked, neither of us mentioning it again.

By the time we reached the inn, my heart had finally remembered how to beat normally.

I pushed the door open and marched straight to our room, immediately dumping the bag of ingredients onto the table.

Thorne looked up from where he was half-lying on a bed, hair a mess, eyes lighting up instantly. "Oh? Oh?? Ingredients?"

I pointed at the pile. "I want Smothered Pork Chops."

Thorne stared at the ingredients. Then at me. Then back at the ingredients. "...You didn’t even ask," he said.

"I wasn’t asking," I replied. "I was stating a life requirement."

Dagur leaned over his shoulder. "Make mine extra salty."

"Why are you all so demanding—" Thorne groaned, then sighed deeply, already reaching for a knife. "Fine. Fine! Sit down and don’t touch anything."

I collapsed onto a chair, victorious.

"...I’ll just sit," Dagur muttered, backing away.

Kairos moved toward the sofa. "I’ll stay out of the way."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

After the meal, the four of us lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling like people who had just eaten too much and were now questioning every life choice that led us here.

"So," Dagur said at last, hands folded on his stomach, eyes unfocused. "What should we do next?"

Thorne turned his head toward me, eyes gleaming with bad ideas. "Should we go to the gambling house, rookie? I heard you have an amazing luck."

"As tempting as that sounds," I scoffed, rolling onto my side. "I’m pretty sure I’ve already been blacklisted there. Possibly banned."

Thorne clicked his tongue. "Then what are you going to do?"

I sat up, eyes shining with pure joy. "Sleep. Of course."

Dagur frowned. "Sleep?"

"Yes," I said, already picturing it. "I already completed the mission, which means this is officially my vacation. Nine glorious days of doing absolutely nothing!"

I flopped backward dramatically onto the bed. Nine. Days. Of. Sleep.

For exactly three seconds, my dream was brutally murdered.

Then rough hands grabbed my arms.

"What—hey—!" I yelped as Dagur and Thorne hauled me upright like I was a sack of stolen potatoes.

"What now?!" I demanded, feet barely touching the floor.

"Since you can’t help us gamble," Thorne said cheerfully, "you’ll help us sell the items we stole."

"...Absolutely not," I said flatly.

Dagur shrugged. "You’re the best at bargaining, kid."

I squinted at them. "Why can’t you two just do it yourselves?"

Thorne smiled. That was never a good sign. "Because you’re better."

"Just threaten them into buying!" I suggested.

Thorne stared at me. "And go to jail?"

"...Details."

Dagur crossed his arms. "We’ll give you twenty-five percent of every item you sell."

I immediately snapped upright. "Fifty." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Thorne laughed. "Bargaining doesn’t work on us, rookie."

"Then my answer is no," I said, folding my arms and planting my feet. "I refuse. Let me sleep in peace!"

They did not let me sleep in peace.

Instead, they lifted me off the ground entirely as I kicked and flailed like an angry cat being carried to a bath.

"Put me down! This is abuse!" I shouted.

I twisted around desperately. "Boss! Help!"

Kairos, traitor, was calmly sipping tea.

"Have fun out there, Lia," he said, giving me a friendly wave.

"BOSS!" I wailed as I was dragged toward the door.

Kairos sat calmly by the table, sipping tea like this was a perfectly normal afternoon. He didn’t even look concerned.

He raised his cup slightly. "Have fun out there, Lia."

He waved.

"BOSS!!" I wailed as I was dragged toward the door, my dreams of nine days of blissful sleep being violently crushed under the weight of capitalism and stolen goods.