How to Survive as a Supporting Male Lead

“What’s happening?”

Derrick stepped forward, echoing Iann’s concerns. Even with a group of three festival participants, taking down a lower-grade monster should have been quick work.

Yet there were easily over ten people struggling with it.

“This is bad, Iann.”

Before Derrick could finish his thought, Iann was already sprinting ahead. As the distance between him and the monster shrank, the horrifying sound of its cries pierced his ears.

Screeech! Screech!

It was a chilling noise no ordinary silverfish would ever make. Iann’s entire body shuddered. Every instinct screamed at him to turn tail, run far away, and shout, You deal with it yourselves!

But what could he do? He had the ability, and retreat wasn’t an option.

“Derrick! Protect Yuhwa!”

Iann kept running. Using teleportation now would have been foolish. It was far better to get closer and figure out the monster’s attack range. When he finally arrived at the scene, the monster— the silverfish…

“Ah, s**t. Seriously.”

…was enormous. Too enormous. It was grotesque, horrific, utterly revolting. Iann felt a bit of tears well up. He’d rather be asked to destroy an entire kingdom. The monster had too many legs, too many eyes. It was impossible to tell whether it was a silverfish or an absurdly long-legged spider. And why did its cries sound like nails on a chalkboard? None of it made sense.

Ever since Iann had mastered magic, his first spell had been the “No Bugs Within a 3-Meter Radius” spell. This was a cruel and unusual ordeal for someone like him.

“Isn’t Kallian coming? Please, please, Kallian. If you show up now, I’ll return everything I’ve ever stolen from you. Just come here and take care of this! Now’s your cue as the protagonist!”

Iann hopped from foot to foot, scanning his surroundings. In the white forest, if Kallian appeared, his black hair would be the first thing to stand out.

But there wasn’t even a hint of black to be seen.

“Ugh!”

That useless protagonist! In the end, it was up to Iann to handle this. Worse, one of the participants who had been flung aside by the monster recognized him.

“The Tower Master, Lord Iann!”

And, of course, it had to be a young mage from the Tower. They revered Iann as a god.

“Waaah! Tower Master, you came all this way to save us! The Tower is truly one! Thank you, thank you!”

Clutching Iann’s sleeve, the mage burst into tears, overwhelmed by relief at escaping death.

From afar, the other participants’ gazes immediately turned toward them.

“The Tower Master?”
“It’s the Tower Master! He’s here!”
“Let’s step aside so we don’t get in his way!”
“We should still do something! Lord Iann, we’ll try to hold it off for a moment!”
“Yes, we’ll do our best to keep it still!”
“The rest is up to Lord Iann.”

No, it’s not! I don’t want to do this! Iann wailed internally. But with the appearance of a capable figure, everyone quickly retreated, leaving him alone with the monster. His escape route had been thoroughly cut off.

Iann gritted his teeth. If he really had to kill that disgusting creature—if he absolutely had to—then he might as well protect his image while doing it.

“Everyone, fall back!”

Straightening his back, Iann raised his voice dramatically. From a safe distance, the fleeing participants looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“I’ll handle this.”

Iann’s low, resolute voice reverberated around the area. Even Derrick and Yuhwa, who were coming up from behind, heard it loud and clear.

Derrick, who had been trying to avoid looking directly at the revolting monster, clicked his tongue. Of course, Iann would use a voice amplification spell just to show off in this situation. Yuhwa, momentarily pondering how Iann’s voice could carry so clearly and powerfully, soon realized the answer and let out a cold sigh.

None of this mattered to Iann. He had resolved to milk this moment for all it was worth. Derrick and Yuhwa’s opinions were irrelevant. They were just two people. But the dozen or so participants hiding nearby were watching him with admiration. Iann was someone who prioritized maximum impact and massive audience.