The Extra's Return

I entered the bathroom. I slowly took off my clothes. Completely naked, I immediately dipped myself into the bathtub.

Hot steam rose from the water inside the bathtub. Right at the moment my skin came into contact with the water inside the bathtub, a feeling of comfort penetrated the pores of my skin. My muscles which had been tense soon became limp.

"I never thought I could feel this kind of luxury."

Leaning back in the bathtub, I enjoyed the sensation I was feeling. If I calculate from my previous life, it's been almost 11 years since I've had a hot shower.

Before I could enjoy the sensation of the bath any longer, my stomach suddenly started to hurt. I was sure this must be the effect of the poison Baron Warwick had administered.

"He invited me to eat with him. Could he be trying to test whether the poison he gave me works or not?"

I wanted to laugh. To be honest, what Baron Warwick was doing seemed like child's play to me now. Just like a prank.

"Does he want to come up with a good excuse to get me kicked out of this house? Like I'm going to let it slide."

After all, I need the identity of a noble. There are many benefits that I can get in the future if I keep the identity of a noble child. Even if the identity of a noble child was not the main heir, there would still be many benefits later.

Before thinking about the future, I'd better get rid of the poison in my body.

I took a cross-legged sitting position in the bathtub. I closed my eyes and calmed the rhythm of my breathing.

I focused my thoughts on the internal organs of my body. It was like diving into the deep sea. I kept my focus, so there was no deviation.

It took a lot of time and effort for me to feel the mana in my body. As you already knew, this body was a trash body that had no potential to have mana at all.

Even so, I still believed I could do it.

Mana.

Mana is a spiritual energy that does not exist on Earth. The energy that previously only existed in fictional worlds, but now this spiritual energy is all around me.

Among all the uses of mana known to the general public, there were still many secrets about mana energy. In short, the use of mana was to manifest magical events.

Examples; manifesting fire according to the will of a Magician, breaking rocks with a fist for a Warrior, and other uses.

They are called Mana Users. In this world, only 1:100 people can use Mana, though that was just my rough guess.

Usually, magicians are born from among the nobility, while warriors are from among the common people.

However, there was one condition to be able to use Mana, and that was to have a Mana Core. And that's where my problem was, because the body I had now didn't have Mana Core, I became miserable.

According to common knowledge in this world, one can only use mana if they have a Mana Core.

Mana Core was a place to store Mana, so, without a storage place, one wouldn't be able to use it, right? That's the ingrained logic of this world. However, they are all actually wrong.

Actually, everyone in this world had Mana, but not everyone could use it. Therefore, the concept of Mana Core was created.

The requirement to use Mana is that you must be in a life-threatening situation, or survive in a life-and-death situation, or if you are unlucky, you must try a half-dead situation hundreds of times before you can use Mana without a Mana Core.

In my previous life, I was busy trying to survive. Although I initially tended to avoid places that were likely to become Jullian stages, even in places far away from the protagonist's stage, danger always lurked in this world. That was why I had quite a lot of experience being in life-and-death situations.

Because of that, I can use Mana.

Of course, the most important factor was that I had met Cornelia. She had taught me everything. Whether it was about Mana control, Mana circulation, or other things.

What I had learned in my previous life still lingered in my brain. So, even though my body became weak again, I still remembered how to manipulate mana, how my body felt when I used Mana, and how the sensations arose from using Mana. Do people call it muscle memory?

I refocused on eliminating the effects of poison on my body.

In short, the method I had been using requires you to attract and collect mana that you can collect in your body.

Then use that mana energy to flush out the harmful substances in your body. Let's just say you ordered the white blood cells to fight the poison.

However, it was very difficult. It may feel like diving into the deep sea without using anything, but the target you should aim for is the big shark. Not only you cannot use force, but you also have to lead and make the shark obey your commands.

Drops of sweat began to ooze from the pores of my skin. Not because of the hot steam from inside the bathtub, but because of the tension I kept feeling.

The breath that came out of my nose was calm at first, but now it slowly became heavy.

***

A few minutes later, I slowly opened my eyes.

"Hup!"

Suddenly, the liquid that was in my stomach started to rise to my throat. I immediately threw the liquid on my throat to the bathroom floor.

"Blergh!"

Slowly the liquid in my throat came out.

What I expelled was all the poison that had been dispersed in my body.

After all the liquid in my throat came out, I wiped my mouth.

Only then did I see the message window.

[Detoxification was successful.]

[Please choose a name for your skill!]

I didn't expect that I would be able to instantly cleanse the poison in my body. I thought it would take a few days.

Had the World System been helpful in the detoxification process? Whether that would be a good or bad thing, I don't know.

As for the name, since I am not good at naming, I will name it, "Poison Resistance."

[The skill has been named Poison Resistance.]

***

I quickly rushed over, and as soon as I finished showering, I came out of the bathroom.

Unfortunately, the clothes that were in my closet were the ones that I had already worn for a few years, nothing new.

"Well, whatever."

I picked up a random black outfit that looked better than the rest. Although it's a bit difficult, I can finally wear this complicated noble's clothes

Then I stood in front of the mirror.

Now, the smell of alcohol is no longer in my body. The dark wrinkles are no longer under my eyes. Nor was there any sign on my face that I had drunk alcohol. My mind doesn't spin anymore either.

It felt strange to see myself looking younger than usual.

Unknowingly time passed quickly.

Knock! Knock!

After knocking on the door, a servant came in after I gave the order to enter.

"I will escort young master to the dining room."

He was the servant I had beaten before. His face was still swollen. I could only cover my mouth so as not to burst out laughing.

Importantly, he was more polite to me now.

"Lead the way."

He walked in front of me, and I followed him like a duckling. That way, I didn't have to worry about getting lost as I had somewhat forgotten the layout of the rooms in this mansion.

On the way, I could see some maids who were cleaning furniture or doing other work. When I passed by, they saw me and stopped what they were doing.

Dimly, I could hear the voices of people who seemed to be gossiping about something. They whispered in each other's ears while looking at me.

[You activated the Skill The Five Sense - Sense of Hearing.]

'Hmm? Why is it suddenly so easy to use skills?'

When the system message appeared, I circulated the mana in my body. Somehow it became much easier. Was this another favor from the system?

When I used the Five Senses skill to enhance my hearing, I could hear the maids' voices.

"Hey, isn't that Young Master Mesties?"

"It seems so. Will there be a storm today? I heard he's shutting himself down because he doesn't have a mana core yet."

"Well, isn't that a natural thing? People say, if a noble's son doesn't have a mana core, then he's called family trash. But what does that have to do with storms?"

"Stupid, that's just a figure of speech!"

"But it's also strange. Why would he suddenly come out after years of depression? Why would he come out all dressed up."

"That servant in front of Young Master Mesties is Gil, right? Why is his face so swollen?"

"Well, I don't care. What matters is that I get my paycheck."

"...."

And so on… Some saw the amazement on their faces at my appearance, but some just insulted me—I mean, this body.

Well, since what they insulted was the behavior this body did before, rather than myself, I ignored them. But for some reason there was a little anger ignited in my heart.

After I glanced at the maids one by one, as if I shot a laser out of my eyes, the maids started to turn their faces away.

They started pretending to continue with their activities; cleaning the furniture, sweeping, or running away. Surprisingly, some of the maids kept staring at my face without blinking. Weren't they afraid their eyes would fall out?

Most of the servants and maids in this mansion were from knightly families under the auspices of the Warwick Family, so there were no spies from other nobles.

'But... Mana core, huh.' I thought about what they just said.

Indeed, those who already had Mana Core were the ones who were easier to process, store, or manipulate Mana.

It would be a lie if I answered that I didn't want to have it, but I was still very aware that it was impossible.

There was no point in me continuing to hope for such an impossible thing. I'm glad that the realistic nature I had on earth still exists today.

"Young master, we have arrived," Gil told me.

Now, I knew that his name was Gil from the maids' words.

After I nodded slowly, he slowly opened the door.

Once the door in front of me opened, I would meet the entire Warwick family.