Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 22

The next morning started with Sara making her usual breakfast while everyone gradually woke up. The camp had fallen into a comfortable rhythm where people did their own things without needing constant group activities.

William was under his tree practicing cultivation when he heard voices approaching from the forest. He opened his eyes to see another group entering the clearing, with their academy uniforms marking them as fellow first-years.

"Hey, is this Group 7’s camp?" called out a tall guy with red hair leading the other group.

Marcus stood up from where he’d been checking supplies. "Yeah. Do you guys need something?"

"We’re Group 4," the guy said while his group filed into the clearing. "Our camp is about twenty minutes that way. We ran out of medical supplies after one of our members had an accident. Mind if we borrow some?"

"Sure," Sara said while digging through their supply cache. "What do you need?"

While Sara helped them with bandages and ointments, William noticed one of the Group 4 members staring at him with obvious recognition. The guy nudged his companion and whispered something, and William realized they probably recognized him from the tournament.

"You’re William Cross right?," the red-haired leader said while walking over. "The guy who fought Liam like crazy in the tournament"

William nodded but didn’t engage further. The guy seemed to take the hint and went back to his group after getting the supplies they needed.

"Thanks for the help," he said to Sara. "We’re doing a group dinner tonight at our camp if you want to join. We got some decent food and it beats eating alone."

Sara looked interested. "That could be fun. What do you guys think?"

Marcus shrugged. "I’m fine with it."

Lyanna looked up from her book. "A change of scenery would be acceptable."

Claire smiled. "Why not."

Seraphina didn’t respond but didn’t object either. William remained under his tree and Sara took his silence as agreement.

Group 4 left with their supplies and directions to return later. The rest of the morning passed as usual with people doing their own activities.

Around mid-afternoon, Sara and Marcus decided to work on more documentation while Lyanna went with them to collect essence samples from a different location. That left William, Seraphina, and Claire at camp again.

William continued his cultivation practice while monitoring his affinity gates’ steady progress. The Vale’s environment was optimal for natural development and he could feel the gates opening gradually without strain. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"You’ve been practicing constantly since we arrived," Claire observed from her spot by the fire. "Most people would take a break."

William opened his eyes and found Claire watching him with that calculating expression she always had.

"Progress doesn’t happen from breaks," he said simply.

"Fair point." Claire stood and stretched. "Though I wonder what you’re progressing toward. You already made it to the semifinals despite starting so far behind everyone else."

William closed his eyes again without responding. After a moment he heard Claire’s footsteps moving away.

Seraphina had stopped her training and was sitting near the stream sharpening her sword. William noticed she’d positioned herself where she could see both the camp and the forest approaches, maintaining awareness even during rest.

The afternoon passed quietly until the mapping group returned looking satisfied with their work. They had enough documentation now to complete their objectives with time to spare.

"We should head to Group 4’s camp around sunset," Sara said while organizing her notes. "It should give us time to clean up and rest first."

Evening approached and the group prepared to visit the other camp. William changed into clean clothes and made sure his practice sword was secured properly, not expecting trouble but being prepared anyway.

The walk to Group 4’s camp took about twenty minutes through forest paths that were well-marked. They could smell cooking food before they saw the clearing.

Group 4 had set up a larger camp than Group 7, with more elaborate cooking equipment and what looked like significantly better supplies. The red-haired leader, who introduced himself as Derek, welcomed them enthusiastically.

"Glad you could make it! We’ve got actual seasoned meat and fresh vegetables. Way better than the standard rations."

There were two other groups already there, making it about eighteen students total gathered in the clearing. Someone had started a large fire and people were scattered around in small clusters talking.

Sara immediately joined a conversation with some students from Group 9 who were discussing essence beast encounters. Marcus gravitated toward a group comparing combat techniques. Lyanna found herself talking with another House Luminara student about magical theory.

Seraphina took a position near the edge of the gathering where she could observe everything while Claire circulated between groups with easy social grace that she was naturally gifted with.

William found a spot away from the main clusters and sat down to watch. He wasn’t interested in socializing but the atmosphere was relaxed enough that his presence wasn’t required in conversations.

"You’re William Cross."

He looked up to find a girl standing there with blonde hair and a confident expression. She sat down beside him without waiting for an invitation.

"I’m Elena. We fought in the second round of the tournament."

William remembered her as the wind mage he managed to beat. "I remember."

"You’ve gotten stronger since then," Elena observed. "Your essence signature feels different than before."

William didn’t confirm or deny the observation but Elena didn’t seem bothered by his lack of engagement.

"I’m not here to make friends or anything," she said bluntly. "I just wanted to say that match taught me something about my weaknesses. So thanks for that."

She stood and walked away before William could respond, leaving him slightly confused about the point of the interaction.

The evening continued with groups mingling and sharing food. Someone produced alcohol from somewhere and people started getting louder and more relaxed. William accepted food when it was offered but otherwise stayed on the periphery.

He noticed Seraphina hadn’t moved from her observation position and Lyanna had found a quieter group to talk with about academic topics. Claire was currently engaged in what looked like a debate with Derek about combat tactics.

"Not much for parties?"

William looked over to find Sara sitting down beside him with a plate of food.

"Not really," he admitted.

"Fair enough." Sara ate quietly for a bit before speaking again. "You know people talk about you a lot. Mostly because of the tournament match and the way you improved so fast."

William didn’t respond and Sara smiled.

"I’m not fishing for gossip or anything." She stood up. "Anyway, the food is not bad so you should eat more before it’s gone."

She wandered back toward the main group and William was left wondering why people felt compelled to share their observations about his life.

The gathering continued for several hours before groups started heading back to their own camps. Group 7 made the walk back together with Sara chatting about the evening while others listened with varying degrees of attention.

Back at their camp, people dispersed to their tents without much discussion. William took watch with Marcus again and they sat in comfortable silence under the stars.

"That was more socializing than I expected for an expedition," Marcus commented eventually.

"Could have been worse," William said.

They finished their watch and woke Lyanna and Claire for the final rotation. William lay in his tent afterward thinking about the evening and the various interactions.

People kept approaching him to make observations or comments about the tournament or his progress. He wasn’t sure what they expected from these interactions, but he found them mostly pointless.

And so the night ended.

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Hey guyssss, the novel is surely not dropped! I was just working on the contract process and all... Enjoy and expect more!