The figure stood atop the branch, still, silent, and watching the man from whom he had just taken back the basket.

"Just like how that other one was yours, this one is ours." A smirk ran across his face. Cassien couldn’t make out those features very well. "So I’ll be taking this back."

The basket containing every stolen supply rested casually on one shoulder as if it weighed nothing.

Cassien’s pupils shrank. Not because of the theft, not because the person moved faster than he could react, and not even because they somehow bypassed his instincts.

No, it was none of that.

It was because he recognised the sentence.

"Not this time, [Bastard Side-Character]."

That wasn’t a phrase from this world. It also wasn’t a title common to just anyone. That wasn’t information anybody here should possess from simply reading.

For the first time since his transmigration, Cassien’s brain froze.

’Impossible. Individuals only had five minutes to read the entire Chapter before everyone got sucked in, assuming others did at the same time as me. That’s also assuming he’s a transmigrator. But then... how else would he know?’

The figure smiled and vanished.

CRACK!

The branch exploded beneath their feet, and Cassien immediately moved.

"Wait!"

His body shot forward, the forest blurred, and trees flashed past him. Roots shattered beneath his boots as his mana reserves screamed in protest.

He didn’t have enough to do what he wanted.

But still, Cassien tried ignoring it just this once.

’I need to know who he is...’

The person remained ahead, but not too far. Almost as if they wanted him following.

"DAMN IT!"

Cassien accelerated, leaving both classes behind. The distance remained exactly the same as hundreds of questions flooded his mind.

’Who are you?’ 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

’Were you reincarnated?’

’Transmigrated?’

’Regressed?’

’Player?’

’Reader?’

’The author?’

’What are you to the novel... why can’t I manage to identify any of your features?’

Every possibility became worse than the last, and the figure finally glanced back.

Still smiling, he pointed far ahead, toward the Obsidian Peaks. Toward the mountain range where Class-1C was currently retreating.

And then he sped up.

Cassien followed as minutes passed by. He was slowly losing ground, but the sounds of battle behind them gradually disappeared.

Soon there was only wind, trees, and an endless forest stretching ahead.

The figure finally stopped.

Cassien nearly crashed into him.

They stood on a cliff overlooking a valley. The Obsidian Peaks towered in the distance.

Dark mountains pierced the sky as the figure finally turned around.

Cassien’s heartbeat accelerated. Rushing in now would have been insanely stupid considering how much energy had drained from his body.

But there was no need to rush...

The uniform confirmed Class-1D.

Black hair, average height, average build, an utterly forgettable face.

The kind of person nobody would notice. The one nobody should know or remember. No one would bother spending their attention on him.

That only made him even more terrifying, somehow.

The boy smiled.

"Relax."

Cassien held his daggers confidently, slowly tightening his grip on the handle of his pistol.

"Who are you?"

"Good question." The boy nodded. "I’ve been trying to figure that out myself."

"..."

"..."

Neither moved.

The basket remained resting on his shoulder.

Then the boy sighed.

"You’re different from the novel."

"You’re the same as me then. But why can’t I make out your features... just who are you? What’s your name?"

"Me? Ahhh, I see what you’re saying... You don’t mean what my name is; you mean who I am." The man smiled. "I’m a nameless person. Just an extra. A nameless extra in a world filled with the important cast."

"What’s your goal in all of this?" Cassien asked, understanding he wasn’t the only individual who had read until the end now.

He put his hood back on, then turned around and walked in the eastern direction.

"To discover an ending. One this story deserves."

Cassien slowly raised his pistol.

’He knows too much. I can’t let him get away.’

He pointed it at the man, blinking repeatedly.

’This must be done.’

Tap.

He felt someone pat his right shoulder.

"Cassien, who are you pointing at?"

Olivia appeared beside him, confused.

Cassien raised his arm ahead.

"There—"

Then a smile formed on his lips.

"Oh, I see. So it’s like that then?"

"What’s like that?"

Cassien turned around, seeing the rest of his class well and alive. Some had bruises and cuts from the constant running through the dense forest, but it was fine.

"Nothing," Cassien responded. "Where should we relocate now? It’s getting quite late, and I’d prefer it if we set everything up before sunset so we can analyse what happened today."

Olivia looked at him with a gentle smile.

"Agreed."

Ren, Alex, Siv, and Audrey walked over toward him.

"What happened to the other basket you were carrying?"

Cassien scratched his hair awkwardly.

"Butterfingers. I dropped it, and they snatched it back right away."

"Unfortunate."

"No need to worry, we got what we came here for." Then he turned around. "And on the plus side, we learned more than we could ever wish for today."

Cassien now acknowledged Class-1D’s secret player.

The [Nameless Extra], or so he called himself.

Class-1B wasn’t much of a secret, but there were still multiple things they needed to learn.

And now, there was only one class they hadn’t encountered yet.

Class-1A.

The strongest and most dangerous of them all.

The one ruled not only by the duke’s princess but also by Cid Forge, the loud and arrogant one who was supposed to battle Theodore during their winter holiday break.

Right now, that wasn’t his greatest concern, but neither was it the smallest.

Cassien needed to win.

He needed merit.

He needed to succeed.

Doing so would allow him to gain more connections. He had realised that much.

And with the novel’s plot already beginning to twist, he didn’t even know whether his fate would still play out the same way.

’What’s the meaning of discovering I’m a bastard if everything changes? Was I ever a bastard?’

Olivia suddenly took his hand.

"Come on, we’re heading over to the lakes beside the Obsidian Peaks. We’ll figure out a spot from there."

Cassien nodded, then sighed.

’Let’s see what the future holds.’