The Crippled Extra

It was nighttime. A young man in his twenties, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, waited nervously in a small, fancy restaurant. His face was above average in appearance, with neatly styled black hair parted in the middle. His brown eyes betrayed a nervous gaze.

He anxiously glanced at the entrance, then shifted his gaze outside the restaurant. Sitting near the glass wall, he could see the bustling street beyond. 

He took out a small box and opened it, revealing a diamond ring. Grinning, he thought about what he was about to do. This was his eleventh time going through the same process. The restaurant employees were beginning to look at him strangely. He had arrived half an hour ago and had yet to order anything. All he did was look around, take out the box, and grin. Noticing this, an employee approached him.

"Sir, if you're not ordering anything, can you kindly leave?" the employee asked politely.

The man quickly closed the box and pocketed it. "Ah, sorry, I'm waiting for someone," he said, smiling apologetically.

Seeing the diamond ring, the employee seemed to understand. He smiled at the man and gave him a thumbs up before leaving with an envious look on his face.

***

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I looked outside, waiting for her. 'Why are you so late?' Although I had arrived half an hour earlier than the agreed time, She always arrives ten minutes early, even if she's busy. 'She must be really busy tonight, might have some important work.'

As I looked outside a luxurious black car pulled up on the resturant parking lot. 'What a nice car, he mus—' My thought was cut off by the sight of a certain woman getting out of the car. Seeing a man also stepping out from the driver's seat, my heart skipped a beat.

'What are you thinking idiot? He must be a colleague,' I tried to reassure myself but something told me it's not.

Upon seeing her entering the restaurant, my heart quickened. In a few minutes her figure appeared in front of my vision. Her smooth black hair cascaded to her waist, and her hazel eyes looked emotionless. Unbeknownst to me, my hand gripped the box tighter. Calming my heart, I showed a smile and playfully said, "You're late. Busy with work again, huh?"

She didn't show any reaction. Taking a seat, she sat in front of me with a stoic face. 'Why is she in such a mood? Did something happen at the office?'

"Did something happen? You don't look good," I asked her, worried.

She remained silent for a few seconds. "Let's break up, Jake." And uttered these words

"H-huh? What did you say?" I couldn't process her words so I asked her again.

"I said, let's break up," she repeated without showing any emotion. Suddenly I felt a lump forming in my throat, and my mind went into disarray. Only one thought remained. Controlling my rising emotions, I asked in a strained voice, "W-why?"

" Do you want me to answer, why? Because I don't love you anymore. I can't waste my time and future on you anymore. You're poor, you don't have a quality job. Your only job is working at a small restaurant as a waiter. Do you think you can look after me and yourself with that measly wage?" She stood up, ready to leave.

Desperately, I said urgently, "I'm looking for another job, and we've been together for lo—" but was I stopped midway as she interrupted.

"I have a man now, so leave me," she said and walked away, leaving me alone in the restaurant. As she exited the restaurant and upon seeing him she smiled at the man outside, showing no coldness.

The emotions I had been holding back now crashed down on me. I sat there, my hands covering my face.

I sat there for an hour. It took me that long to control my emotions. The employees didn't ask me to leave, probably having overheard the conversation. Eventually, I quietly left the restaurant.

***

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Leaving the restaurant, I booked a cab. A few minutes later, the cab arrived. I walked to it, opened the door, and got in.

"Where to, sir?" the taxi driver asked.

"San Diego Street," I replied. Nodding, the driver started the car. I began to reflect on what had happened in the restaurant.

'So that's how small you think of our relationship, huh? After all those years we spent together, you just threw it away that easily. Did it ever matter to you?' I thought 

Noticing my melancholic face in the rearview mirror, the driver asked, "Is there a problem, sir? You don't look well."

Hearing that I gave a small smile at the driver and responded, "It's nothing, just some prob—" 

CRASH!

My words were suddenly cut off by a sudden collision as a vehicle suddenly hit the right side of the car. 

I don't know what crashed into the car, but my world suddenly slowed down. I could see everything in slow motion—the shattered glasses slowly approaching my face, and the gradual darkening of my right eye, and the stinging pain spreading across my face. As my head slowly moved towards the door, all I could think about was her smile.

She, Maya Isle, and I, Jake Dane, were orphans. I met her when I was five years old, and she was four. She was an orphan from birth. The surname Isle belonged to the nun who took her in.

I, who lost family at the age of five kept to myself, not talking to anyone. Seeing my gloominess the kids didn't approached me and the caretaker who saw this tried their best to make me be comfortable with the environment and the kids they but I couldn't fit in well. That's when she  reached out to me like a light in the darkness who showed me the way. She helped me during that time, and she always supported me in everything until now.

As for me, I didn't do much for her. All I did was rely on her till the end. That must be why she lef—'Ha, haha! Even close to death, all I can think about is her. Jake Dane, you are really a fucking idiot to think about he—'

BANG!

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"Argh!" Screaming, I got up from the bed, and panted heavily. Rising my hand, I touched my right eye, where the shattered glass had pierced. "Huff-huff-hoo, d-didn't I die?" I could feel the bandage covering my right eye and body.

"No, you are not dead" a female voice resonated in the room "but your body and eye are damaged," Looking up I saw a nurse suddenly enter the room where I was lying.

Hearing that I wasn't dead, I sighed in relief. "Is there any permanent problem with my body? Where am I? How much time has passed?" I asked the nurse, feeling uneasy.

The nurse, seeing my unease, replied, "The doctor will explain everything related to your body. As for the time, it's been four weeks since you were admitted. And this place, you should know very well that every Supreme Royal Academy student is treated in the academy hospital." I was stunned hearing the words Supreme Royal Academy.

'I'm not hearing things right.' It might be an aftereffect of the accident. When I looked up, the nurse had already left to call the doctor. 

As I lay there, my mind wandered about what had happened in the accident and my relationship with Maya.

'For some reason, I feel like that's all a dream, a nightmare. Wait, what happened to the taxi driver? Is he alive or…no, don't think about that.'

After some time, the door opened, jolting me out of my thoughts. The doctor approached me along with the nurse who had come earlier. "It's good to see that you are doing fine, Cadet Jadel Wayner." Hearing that name, my mind froze.

'Huh, Ja—Jadel Wayner? What is going on here? Why are they calling me the dead character from the novel I read ages ago? No, calm down. You have to calm down.' Repeating that, I calmed myself. When I tried to speak got the wrong name he started speaking again.

"I'm sorry to say this, but we couldn't recover your right eye, and more significantly, the majority of your mana veins are injured. When the professors from the academy found you, it was already too late. You are infected by a rare mutated python; it's a miracle that you are still alive." He paused to let me digest everything. Observing my face and seeing the grim look, he continued.

"If you are concerned about being a hunter, you still can be, but your growth speed will decrease drastically. With only a few mana veins, it will be hard to absorb and circulate mana. You can't use spells above 2 stars, and for skills, you can't use above E rank. Using higher spells, skills, or your innate skill will cripple you so always keep that in your mind." The doctor explained lengthily.

'I-I'm am not hallucinating or dreaming, right? Are they messing with me or Am I really in the novel with this messed up body?' I couldn't digest what they were talking about, it's like they were playing dirty jokes with a patient. 'Or I really hurt my head beyond repair.'

"You can be discharged tomorrow after a body checkup to see if there are any abnormalities. Nurse Sue will change your bandages and clean your body." Saying that, he left.

As the nurse approached me, I instinctively backed away. Seeing that, she said, "If you're wondering about me cleaning your body, don't worry. I'm using magic to do that." Hearing that, I felt embarrassed and really confused. 

'Wh-what! Magic?' The nurse changed my bandages and cleaned me with her magic. Seeing this confirmed that I was in the novel I had read ages ago.

"You want to learn this spell" she asked seeing my stupefied face.

"Ahh, no thank you"

" Okay, I will come tomorrow for your body checkup. If you have any problems, press the blue button on the wall." She pointed at a blue button on the right side of the bed and left the room, leaving me stupefied and surprised.

'So, I'm in a novel, huh?' Thinking that, I wondered, "But how? Am I dreaming or did I really die? Did a god take pity on me?" Feeling a mix of emotions, I closed my eyes and tried to remember the body's memories.

Suddenly, a splitting headache formed. It became so overwhelming that I lost consciousness.

***

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Waking up in the morning and seeing the same room, I mumbled to myself, "So, I'm really not dreaming, huh? I really became the dead character of the novel, a small character that the MC used to face slap."

"Sigh, Im hated by the all main characters, not only main characters but the entire class hate me, not me this body, 

Jadel Wayner." an extra from a second strongest human family, the Wayner family, also known as The Ruler's Of the Night.

He should've died in the dungeon. The dungeon got manipulated by demon contractor's, around thirty students died in that dungeon and he, Jadel is also one of them

"I'm not only transmigrated as a extra but an almost cripple, what am i gonna do to rise strength… speaking of strength what is his status" I called out 

"Status"