Don't Want to Be Ordinary Even Though I'm an Extra Character

"Here. Consider this your payment."

Rainer spoke calmly as he tossed a few old coins onto the wooden table near me. Before I could say anything, he was already standing. His movements were so swift and energetic that it was as if the wounds that had him collapsing moments ago never even existed.

I could only stare at him in awe, my mouth slightly agape. "Huh? You're already healed?"

"Thank you again, Arkan. I really owe you," he said quickly, his tone full of resolve, as he walked toward the door. His steps were determined, like a man who had decided to return to a battlefield or set out on another perilous adventure.

I watched his back grow smaller as he moved away, still marveling at his incredible recovery. God, this is really protagonist-tier power! His plot armor is impenetrable! Wounds that would leave someone like me bedridden for weeks seemed to vanish as if they'd never existed. If it were me, I'd probably end up with a severe infection, considering how neglected those injuries had been.

I was jolted from my thoughts when I noticed Rainer already at the door, appearing to be in a hurry. "Wait, Rainer! I need to talk to you for a sec—!"

But it was too late. He didn't even turn back, disappearing through the door with quick steps, leaving me standing frozen in the middle of my messy shop. The wooden door swung a couple of times before softly closing.

I suddenly felt like crying. "Damn it… that golden opportunity just slipped away!" I groaned, clutching my head.

Rainer—the protagonist of this world—had shown up in my shop, and I let him leave just like that without capitalizing on the situation. Shouldn't I have been smarter? Persuaded him to cooperate? Offered him something to make him owe me more than just a "thank you"? Now he was gone, and I had no idea if he would ever come back.

"Ohhh… stupid Arkan!" I muttered, pacing back and forth like a lunatic, desperately trying to figure out what to do next.

Of course, that was when Mr. Oldan's voice came crashing down like a thunderbolt, destroying whatever shreds of composure I had left.

"ARKAN!" he yelled from the back room. Moments later, the old man appeared, his face red with anger, resembling an overripe tomato. "What is this mess?! Why is the shop floor in such disarray?! And who left all these bloodstains?!"

I froze on the spot, pointing weakly at the floor with a resigned look. "Uh… Rainer?"

Mr. Oldan snorted in fury as he rolled up his sleeves. "How dare you blame one of our customers! Look at this mess! Who's going to come to our dump of a shop if this keeps happening?!"

"Wait, wait, Old Man! It's not my fault! He—"

"Stop arguing! Clean this up before I dock your pay for the month!"

I could only let out a long, defeated sigh as I grabbed a mop, glaring at the blood-streaked, mud-stained floor. Meanwhile, the little voice in my head continued to berate me. Idiot, idiot, idiot! You had the main protagonist in front of you, and you wasted it!

As I wiped away the mess, something small caught my eye from the corner of the room. Hidden between the cracks of the wooden floor was a faint glimmer—something that Rainer must have left behind when he had collapsed earlier.

Curious, I approached the spot and bent down. "What's this…?" I mumbled softly, picking up the small object.

It was an old ring. The surface was tarnished in several places, and its carvings were nearly worn away, yet there was something strange about it. A mysterious aura seemed to radiate from the ring, making it hard for me to tear my gaze away.

"This ring?" I tilted my head, trying to remember. I didn't recall Rainer having something like this.

As someone who had read Warrior Destiny to its conclusion—saving up hundreds of chapters until the end—I was confident there was no mention of a worn-out ring like this. Sure, Rainer had collected several powerful artifacts during his journey, but a ring? That was new.

"Did I miss something? Or… could this be some kind of hidden addition the author snuck in? A secret DLC or an alternate ending?" I muttered to myself, turning the ring over in my fingers. Doubt started creeping into my mind, but my curiosity far outweighed it.

The ring looked like it would fit perfectly on my ring finger. Hmm, it's the right size… What harm could there be in trying it on? I thought, not thinking much of it.

I slid the ring onto my finger.

And that was my mistake.

The moment the ring settled snugly onto my finger, the world around me trembled. A sharp electric shock coursed through the ring and surged across my entire body. It felt like thousands of tiny needles were stabbing into every inch of my skin simultaneously. My eyes widened, my breath caught, and my mouth opened in a silent scream.

"AAAAAAARRRRGGHHHHHHH!"

The shock was so powerful that my body was thrown backward, hitting the hard floor with a loud thud. I felt every bone in my body vibrating violently, and flashes of strange light swirled inside my head. I tried to scream again, but the only sound that came out was a faint, incoherent murmur before everything went black.

Damn it… What's happening…?

That was the last thought I had before my consciousness sank into an endless darkness.