I Became an Extra Without Growth in the Academy

Wham! Smack!

Parrying is one of the most powerful skills around.

This skill, which bounces back attacks, completely defends against even the mightiest foes—if you succeed, that is! Plus, it can even leave the opponent just a tad dazed.

Who would’ve thought such a remarkable technique could break through the walls of the game system?

“What’s going on? Weren’t you losing? How are you suddenly winning?”

“Are you seriously taking it easy on these guys who are practically guaranteed to be in the top class?”

“Wow, this is insane! With moves like that, our grade’s top spot is pretty much a lock!”

Sure, there might be some misunderstandings brewing, but that wasn’t my priority right now.

It was shocking to discover parrying actually exists, but the counterattack after we parried was instinctively ingrained from the nation of gamers. If I missed it, seasoned players would be crying tears of despair at my incompetence!

So, I dashed in and swung my shield.

Why a shield and not a fist, you ask? Who only uses shields for blocking? This hefty buddy has a light side that’s quite handy for striking!

Thanks to my swift movements, I struck before Harold could regain his stance.

Paff! Paff!

I whacked his face twice, and he started swinging his hammer around in pain.

Clearly a pattern that couldn’t be parried, I leaped back to dodge.

Sure, I got lucky just a moment ago, but parrying isn’t a cure-all. Most boss-level enemies have clear ‘no-parry’ rulings, so you can’t just deflect everything.

To explain the earlier situation, Harold’s hammer barrage consisted of five motions, and the only parryable motions were the second and fourth. I had countered the fourth motion.

But you know, as long as you’re successful, there’s a massive payoff to be had, so I made sure to memorize every possible and impossible pattern.

In any case, what mattered was the realization that it was possible. There’s a world of difference between “it’s difficult” and “it’s impossible.”

While I was contemplating this, Harold had regained his stance. There was blood trickling from his nose, but I conveniently ignored it.

After that odd situation, he seemed more cautious, but honestly, I was just pondering other things.

‘But hey, if this works, wouldn’t something else work too?’

Maybe it was the success of the parrying. Somehow, I felt confident that dodging would be effective too.

Just because parrying works doesn’t mean dodging won’t, right?

So, I intentionally baited Harold into attacking.

Not rushing in, I kept circling around and waited until the moment seemed right to charge forward.

As I executed a dodge motion, my body momentarily flickered, and I zipped through Harold’s hammer.

It was just like those graphics in games—dodging right through an attack!

“What?!”

The attack I thought would surely hit sliced through the air, and the target I was meant to hit passed right through it as if nothing happened.

It’s no wonder everyone watching found it utterly perplexing.

“Did I just see what I think I saw?”

“What? I was just watching this girl pass by.”

“No, the attack just went through!”

“What are you talking about?”

“She dodged right through that swinging hammer like a ghost!”

“No way, you must be seeing things. Just watch the girls passing by like I do!”

As they quarreled, it was clear the crowd was buzzing—whatever just happened was shocking.

Well, that makes sense. Unlike the concept of parrying, which could somewhat be explained, dodging was just absurd for everyone watching!

Amidst all this confusion, I thought, why not try a dash cancel just in case? Accelerating while canceling into another motion then canceling that back into a dash… a simple but surprisingly tricky fundamental movement to master.

Shffshh-

In an instant, my vision homed in on Harold.

I did it! So straightforward!

It looked just as goofy as in the game, but rather than the standard dash, this involved repeating instantaneous accelerations, ensuring incredible performance.

So much so, that even Harold could barely keep up with my moves as he aimed to exploit an opening.

With my agility theoretically doubled, it made perfect sense!

Anyway, surprised by my bizarre movements, he went to swing his hammer again, but at this distance, it would’ve been smarter to throw a punch instead.

Naturally, I kicked him. A light tap on his shin, and he was practically writhing in agony.

“Arrgh! You cruel bastard!”

“Now that’s a bit harsh, don’t you think? You were trying to smash me with a hammer!”

If it hadn’t been for the successful parry, I would’ve been knocked out in one hit, and here he is throwing a tantrum over a simple kick to the shin!

Is it that his attacks are noble while mine are wicked? What a selfish guy!

But I dodged, while he got hit, so I totally came out on top, right?

“…Damn, fine, I lost.”

“I appreciate the clean admission. Thanks to you, I learned a lot.”

“Dude, you really suck at comforting people. Do you think I’d believe that?”

No, seriously though.

Thanks to you, I realized something very important. I owe you a feast next time!

“Sorry for ignoring you earlier. And… I’ll make sure I make up for that embarrassingly pathetic performance next time.”

Harold, not believing a word of what I said, just walked off, but it didn’t bother me one bit.

Thanks to his tutorial of fundamental techniques, I’d gotten past a tough spot and reduced my worries about the future.

Ahhh, Belly Button Garterbelt-sensei… thank you!

“…But seriously, why is this happening?”

Still, questions lingered.

Both parrying and dodging, and even the dash cancel—based on how people reacted, it seemed like no one else could do this but me, so what gives?

In the game, I accepted certain things, but in this place, it made no sense.

“Oh. No way.”

After thinking for a while, something suddenly dawned on me.

[Irregular]

[Experimental feature. Please be cautious that this trait does not get acquired by actual players.]

This Irregular trait I possess—could it have something to do with this?

While there’s no description of the function, it’s safe to speculate it was probably aimed at experimenting with infusing a player’s traits into NPCs or PVP bots.

If blocking the growth of stats made sense due to the diverse growth conditions in this game, that adds up!

I mulled over these various hypotheses, but ultimately, it felt pointless. If I didn’t know for certain, it simply meant I’d never encountered it in-game.

If I never encountered it, it means it likely failed, right?

To sum it up… I’d become an extra designed for experimentation, but somehow ended up possessing an experimental trait, letting me harness the game’s system.

Ugh. That’s a stretch. These kinds of plot devices get people canned these days.

‘But it actually happened.’

Is this even allowed to happen?

But on second thought, without this trait, I could have leveled up normally and rolled over everyone. That makes it more like giving a treatment while taking something away. What a pain.

But hey, it’s still better than nothing. Honestly, I had complete confidence I could utilize this trait better than anyone else.

In this game, dodging isn’t all-powerful. It’s not about just rolling and being invincible; you have to dodge at the precise moment to trigger the ‘just dodge’ system.

If you thoughtlessly spammed dodges, you’d likely get hit mid-action and go flying. This made the game quite challenging, leading many players to give up.

But that kind of thing was no obstacle for me!

Imagine the gasps!

Who do you think went through all the attack patterns in this game frame by frame to organize dodging timings, creating an Excel sheet to boot?

When I shared that spreadsheet on the game forum, the reaction was nothing short of sensational!

“Are you out of your mind?!”

“Wait, was there a pattern that could be dodged?!”

“The game company’s response just came in.”

“What’s it say?”

“They’re calling him a madman.”

“True, though.”

“LOL! The game company has acknowledged a madman ㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

It was undeniably tough, but the colossal impact made that effort feel worthwhile.

Now that I’ve even been possessed in this way, realizing dodging works has heightened my confidence level.

Just moments ago, I lost everything; now, I feel unstoppable. Whoever comes next, I’m ready to win!

So who’s my next opponent?

“Whoa, who’s that? She’s beautiful for real.”

“I heard she came from another country. Apparently, she’s of fallen royal blood.”

“Wow… Just like Rubetia, these royal types really look different.”

What is she doing here?

I genuinely don’t get it at all!

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lilith Raphi… no, just call me Lilith.”

Aren’t you supposed to be in a convent waiting for your saintess awakening?

Where’s that saintess special admission you’re supposed to cash in for while taking entrance exams here?

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