The Retired Hero is an Extra

They all arrived one by one with their own flair yet paused in their steps at the sudden bloodlust.

However, how could it stop them when they were the cream of the crop, and very few could rival them.

A solemn look appeared on their faces as they exchanged wary glances amongst each other.

The monster wasn\'t the problem; it was the examinees next to them, as putting your guard down meant losing this chance.

\'These idiots... they are thinking about their own reputation and family name,\' Jash mused with a disdainful look.

Of course, no one was paying him much attention, considering him one of the smart ones who chose to wait for others.

Little did they know two geniuses among them could solo this injured beast and actually had the guts to do it!

If not for Jash purposefully trying to achieve this situation, it would\'ve never happened.

Of course, some would arrive, fight, and attract the boss monster, spelling doom for many.

Yet did the academy want that?

No. They wanted excellent students, something beyond exemplary this year, given the talented generation.

Despite the tense standoff, Jash\'s eyes scanned the area, trying to locate someone matching the protagonist\'s description.

\'Not here?\' he frowned at not finding anyone who could closely fit into that description.

And it wasn\'t just Jash looking for the guy, Amael too had kept an eye around, trying to look for the protagonist.

He even asked his system to give the status windows of everyone nearby and was currently assessing them.

Sadly, there was nothing about Jash... yet again.

\'System, you\'re kidding me, right?\' Amael asked, frustrated by the lack of information and unsure of the system\'s intentions after studying all the statuses.

Only a handful were in E-Rank, let alone being in the late E-Rank where he was, making them quite easy to deal with.

Of course, being geniuses, everyone could fight across ranks, so why would Amael be left behind?

That\'s why such a thing made no difference when comparing geniuses as no one could fight across entire ranks.

At least that was the common knowledge besides those who used forbidden methods or sacrificial ones to gain a boost of power.

And there was no way, there\'d be someone with such a method in the Academy Entrance Test.

Every candidate was screened at multiple levels and even if someone like that sneaked in, they\'d be teleported at the first sign.

The Academy wasn\'t a charity and nor was it a forgiving place, only god knows what would happen to such a person.

Thankfully, such incidents were unheard of in not just the past years, but even a few past decades.

{No, Host. The system cannot read him, so assessing is impossible unless you see him in action.}

\'Can\'t I just make a rough guess by then? Why would I need you?\' Amael grumbled inwardly, ignoring the glaring Avon.

Who knows how Caeron escaped from Avon and attacked Jash after he dashed away and Amael wasn\'t the least bit interested in knowing that.

His focus was divided between the system, his surroundings, and the boss monster.

To be exact, his focus was on finding the protagonist and taking note of any movement by Jash.

No matter how sure he was of his victory, it was always better to account for unknown factors early on.

That\'s why the first target in Amael\'s mind was the protagonist with his plot armor and then Jash.

However, the absence of the protagonist steeled his target, but the problem was how to initiate an attack.

As if right on that moment, a newcomer appeared on the other side of the boss monster, alone.

The closest examinee to him was at least a few meters away, and he was yet to enter the last area of the boss monster.

\'That\'s it,\' Amael thought, but before he could say anything, a loud shout rang out from nearby.

"Look, he is directly gunning for the boss monster!"

Everyone got alerted, turning to look at the one who shouted and who he was talking about.

Who else could it be except Jash?

Unlike Amael, his entire focus was on finding the protagonist as he recalled a popular line:

"Protagonists always arrive late, oftentimes last, to become the beacon of attention and stand out to the crowd."

Although Jash was unaware of its credibility, the situation truly suited itself.

The person dashing from the opposite side had golden-hair and golden-eyes, shining as if they were the sun itself.

His hair flowed like rays of sunlight while his eyes added another layer of confidence and purity to his appearance.

Jash didn\'t even need to spare a split second to realize it was the damned protagonist.

With a sword in hand and a determined expression, he was heading for the boss monster, unaware of the dangers lurking ahead.

Even he looked up after the shout as he wanted to explain that he wasn\'t attacking it.

Alas, call it plot armor or his protagonist halo, he didn\'t get any time to as the examinee closest to him launched an attack.

Of course, he easily swung his sword to block the attack and even pushed the guy towards the boss monster accidentally.

Sadly, his credibility went down with that one move as no one even needed to insinuate.

"This guy... he thinks we are a joke, waiting before fighting the boss monster!" an examinee shouted, gritting his teeth.

Not just one, many were angry at the golden boy for breaking the status quo, alas, the boss monster stood in between them.

\'At least he succeeded in getting all the attention,\' Jash clicked his tongue, seeing the protagonist hog all the attention.

Not that Jash wanted any attention, it was just that he couldn\'t let the protagonist get Rank 1.

\'No way I am losing my money because of some shit plot armor!\' he cursed inwardly as the situation worsened.

Of course, the protagonist was the protagonist, how could he get no time to explain?

He stopped right in his tracks, saying, "Uhm, I have no idea what\'s going on here. I just defended myself and it was all an accident."

Before anyone could think of it, Amael agreed, "Yeah, it could be an accident."

However, it didn\'t have the same effect as the golden boy hoped as Avon readily rejected the idea.

"There\'s no way," Avon said, "Even if he arrived just now, the situation is clear from how we\'re all standing at a distance."

"Yeah, that\'s right..." another examinee added, followed by others.

"Makes sense..."

"He\'s lying..."

Hearing others agree with him, Avon gave a smug look to Amael, who appeared to have lost.

Only, Amael was snickering inwardly at how easily Avon fell for his words and made the situation go just as he hoped.

Unfortunately, Jash figured out Amael\'s intentions and raised his eyebrows in intrigue.

\'What\'s he aiming for?\' Jash pondered, unable to think of any reason for his \'friend\' to go against the protagonist.

It only roused Jash\'s suspicions about Amael and he even wondered if that was really Amael or someone else?

\'Could it be that he too got reincarnated or regressed or something?\' Jash made a wild guess but didn\'t have time to continue the thought.

The battle was about to begin with everyone arriving at the conclusion that the golden boy wanted to sneakily take down the boss monster.