Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!

William woke to sunlight streaming through the window and Kai still unconscious in his bed which was a very a rare sight.

His roommate typically woke before dawn, but the exhaustion from the expedition had clearly caught up with him.

William dressed quietly and headed to breakfast alone, his mind still processing everything from yesterday. The academy dining hall was moderately crowded with students eating before morning classes. He grabbed food and found an empty table near the windows.

That lasted approximately three minutes.

"WILLIAM!"

He looked up to find Liam weaving through tables with a huge grin, followed by Marcus who looked equally pleased.

"You’re back! Finally!" Liam dropped into the seat across from him. "You were supposed to return Sunday and it’s Thursday morning. We thought something happened."

"Family obligations ran longer than expected."

Marcus sat down with his tray. "Define ’longer than expected.’ Because that’s like five extra days, which is a lot even for noble family stuff."

"My mother wanted additional training time. And there were political gatherings." William kept it vague. "How have things been here?"

"Boring without you," Liam said. "Though actually, not boring. Did you hear about the dungeon expedition disaster?"

William glanced at Marcus, who nodded seriously.

"It’s all anyone’s talking about. Henrik’s expedition to Thornvale Ruins got attacked by assassins inside the dungeon. Multiple students were injured, Derek from third year apparently betrayed everyone." Marcus lowered his voice. "They’re keeping details quiet officially, but rumor is Kai fought off multiple professional assassins basically alone."

"Kai did what?"

"I know, right? Your mysterious roommate who barely talks to anyone turns out to be some kind of hidden combat master." Liam looked fascinated. "People are saying he used six elements simultaneously and defeated four elite assassins with a broken sword. Sounds like something from a story."

William carefully kept his expression neutral while processing this. Kai had mentioned fighting assassins but not the specific details about six-element manipulation or defeating four elites.

"That sounds exaggerated," he said.

"Maybe, but Derek definitely betrayed the group. He’s in academy custody right now being interrogated." Marcus pushed food around his plate. "The whole thing has everyone on edge. If a student can hire assassins to attack an official academy expedition, what else could happen?"

Before William could respond, a familiar voice interrupted.

"There you are."

Seraphina appeared beside their table, looking slightly irritated. Her silver hair was pulled back in a practical braid and her crimson eyes fixed on William with clear displeasure.

"You were supposed to message when you got back," she said.

"I arrived late evening and you were probably already asleep."

"So you message in the morning. That’s how communication works." She sat down uninvited, ignoring Liam and Marcus’s sudden nervousness at having Seraphina at their table. "We have training scheduled for this afternoon. Don’t be late."

"I remember."

"Good." Her expression softened slightly. "How was your family visit?"

"Eventful."

"That’s vague."

"It’s as accurate as can be."

Seraphina studied him carefully, and William knew she was noticing small details a normal person wouldn’t notice—the way he carried himself differently now, the ancestral sword concealed under his coat, subtle changes in his essence signature from intensive training.

"We’ll talk properly later," she decided. "After training. There are things we need to discuss about the competition."

She stood and left as abruptly as she had arrived. Liam and Marcus stared after her.

"She’s terrifying," Marcus said with something like awe.

"Well she’s focused I’ll say that," William corrected.

"Same thing." Liam grinned. "So, training with Seraphina this afternoon? Should we be jealous?"

"It’s team preparation. Nothing romantic."

"Sure it is." Marcus’s expression suggested he didn’t believe that at all. "You know half the academy thinks you two are together, right? The other half thinks you’re with Claire. There’s apparently a betting pool."

William decided to ignore that entirely. "What else did I miss while I was gone?"

They filled him in on academy gossip while finishing breakfast which was mostly meaningless social drama and speculation about the Inter-Academy competition lineup.

After eating, William headed to his first class, grateful for the routine normalcy after everything that had happened.

Morning classes passed in a blur of theoretical essence manipulation and cultivation history. William found himself actually paying attention, his mother’s intensive training giving him new perspective on academic concepts.

Between classes, he encountered Claire in the hallway.

"William." She approached with her characteristic confidence, black hair perfectly styled and violet eyes assessing. "I heard you had an extended family visit."

"Yes."

"And that you’re back now, just in time for intense competition preparation." She fell into step beside him as they walked. "Convenient timing."

"It wasn’t planned."

"Nothing with you is ever planned. Things just happen around you." Claire’s tone was light but her eyes were sharp. "We should talk sometime. Properly."

"About?"

"About the competition, about whatever’s going on that you’re not telling anyone, about..." she paused, "other things."

Before William could respond, she had already turned down a different corridor with a small wave.

Lunch arrived and William found himself at a table with Liam, Marcus, and surprisingly, Lyanna Stormweaver.

"William!" Lyanna smiled warmly, her violet hair catching the light. "I heard you were back. How was your trip home?"

"Productive."

"Always so descriptive." She laughed. "We missed you at Magical Theory study group. Liam tried to explain essence resonance patterns and nearly set his notes on fire."

"It was one small fire," Liam protested.

"It singed Professor Ashcroft’s desk."

"That was unfortunate timing."

William listened to their banter while eating, finding it oddly relaxing after the intensity of the past week. Normal student problems seemed almost quaint compared to assassination attempts and family conspiracies.

"Oh, we should plan something fun before competition preparations get too intense," Lyanna suggested. "Maybe go into town this weekend? Just as a group, relax for a bit."

"I’m in," Marcus said immediately.

"William?" Lyanna looked at him hopefully.

"Maybe. Depends on training schedule."

"That’s not a no!" She looked pleased. "I’ll organize something. It’ll be good for team morale."

----

Back from break expect mass release!