The Extra Who Shouldn't Exist

The sun filtered in through the tall arched windows of the Rune Department’s main office, casting golden light over countless bookshelves, floating scrolls, and half-assembled rune constructs buzzing with mana.

At the center of the chaos stood Alex Dragonheart, arms crossed, eyes slightly narrowed, while a man with disheveled grey hair, a monocle strapped to one eye, and ink-stained gloves danced excitedly around a glowing chalkboard.

Rick Colesan—Rune Division Head, madman, and Alex’s rune-crafting master—was in his element.

"Now, pay attention, boy!" Rick shouted, smacking the board with a mana-inscribed wand. "This here—this is the Binding Sigil, one of the foundations of containment runes! Combine this with a focus glyph and a channel rune, and you can trap the mana flow of a core without it imploding!"

’Why does he always act like he’s defusing a bomb instead of teaching runes...’ Alex thought, watching the old man vibrate with enthusiasm.

Rick turned, eyes gleaming. "Come here! Try replicating it. And if it explodes, don’t worry. We have backup limbs stored in the medical wing."

Alex blinked. "Wait—what?"

Too late.

He stepped forward, hands steady as he pulled out his mana quill. The faint hum of magic tickled his fingers.

In the past two days, this had become routine—after exhausting his body through sword practice and hand-to-hand combat drills, he’d spend the rest of his time learning runes from Rick.

And surprisingly... he enjoyed it.