Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 65

William stood in the center of the private training room, taking a moment to feel out the space. The room was simple, it had reinforced walls, a solid floor designed to handle essence techniques, and enough space to move around without feeling cramped.

He closed his eyes and focused inward, reaching for his essence the way he’d done thousands of times before.

The difference was immediate.

His essence responded instantly, flowing through his pathways with zero resistance. It felt effortless, like breathing. William opened his eyes and channeled fire essence into his palm.

The flame appeared perfectly formed, stable, and exactly as hot as he intended without any conscious effort to control it. He increased the output and the flame grew proportionally. He decreased it and the flame shrank back down.

’This is insane,’ William thought, staring at the fire in his hand.

He dismissed the flame and tried wind next. The air around his hand began to swirl, forming a tight vortex that spun at his command. He could feel every aspect of it — the speed, the density, the direction — all responding to his intent without the usual struggle to maintain control.

William spent the next hour testing different techniques. Fire enhancement on his practice sword was flawless, the flames coating the blade evenly without flickering. Wind-assisted movement felt natural instead of clumsy. He even tried combining both elements, something that should have been far beyond his current skill level.

The result was a blade wreathed in flames with wind circulating around it, amplifying the heat and reach. He swung it experimentally and the air ignited along the arc of his strike, creating a wave of fire that dissipated after a few feet.

William stopped and let the technique fade. His breathing was steady, his essence reserves barely touched despite using multiple high-level techniques back to back.

The trait description hadn’t been exaggerating. This was absolute mastery. Every technique executed at maximum efficiency with practically zero waste.

’If anyone saw this they’d immediately know something changed,’ William realized. Going from struggling with basic control to this level overnight would raise too many questions.

He’d have to be careful about demonstrating this in front of others. Maybe gradually show improvement instead of revealing the full extent all at once.

William practiced for another thirty minutes, getting comfortable with the new level of control, before deciding he’d tested enough for today. He left the training room and headed back toward the dormitory, his mind already thinking about dinner.

The dining hall was crowded when he arrived. He grabbed food and spotted Seraphina sitting alone at a corner table. She saw him and gestured for him to join her.

"How was training?" Seraphina asked when he sat down.

"It was productive," William said. "I worked on some techniques I’ve been struggling with."

"Any progress?"

"Some."

They ate quietly for a few minutes. Seraphina seemed more relaxed than she had been at breakfast, the earlier stiffness gone now that Kai wasn’t sitting there watching them.

"So," Seraphina said eventually, setting down her fork. "About what happened between us."

"What about it?"

"I meant what I said that night. I’m not going to pretend it didn’t happen or act like it was a mistake." Her crimson eyes met his. "But I’m also not going to pressure you about what it means. I know you have your own complicated situation."

William studied her. "You’re being surprisingly reasonable about this."

"I’m being realistic," Seraphina corrected. "I like you William. I’ve made that clear. But I also know you well enough to know that putting labels on things or making demands isn’t going to work with you."

"So what are you saying?"

"I’m saying I’m not going anywhere. Whatever this is between us, I’m in it." She picked up her fork again. "And I’m not naive enough to think I’m the only one who feels something for you."

William didn’t know how to respond to that level of directness.

"You don’t have to say anything," Seraphina continued. "Just don’t shut me out. That’s all I’m asking."

"I won’t," William said.

They finished eating in comfortable silence. When they left the dining hall together, students were scattered around campus, some heading back to dormitories and others going to evening training sessions.

They were crossing the main courtyard when Claire appeared from one of the side paths. She saw them walking together and something flickered across her expression, but she didn’t avoid them.

"William," Claire said, stopping in front of them. "Seraphina."

"Claire," Seraphina acknowledged with a nod.

"Can I steal William for a minute?" Claire asked, her tone casual but her dark eyes focused.

Seraphina glanced at William, then back at Claire. "Sure. I’ll see you at training tomorrow William."

She walked away toward the Arcturus dormitory, leaving William alone with Claire.

"So," Claire said once Seraphina was out of earshot. "You two slept together."

William blinked. "How did you—"

"Please. I’m not blind." Claire crossed her arms. "You’ve been acting different, she’s been acting different, and the way you two look at each other now is obvious."

"Are you upset?"

"Should I be?" Claire’s expression was unreadable. "You never promised me anything William. Neither did she."

"Then why bring it up?"

"Because I wanted you to know that I know." She stepped closer, her voice dropping slightly. "And I wanted you to know that it doesn’t change anything for me. I’m not giving up just because she moved first."

William stared at her. "Claire—"

"I’m not asking for promises or commitments," Claire interrupted. "I’m just making my position clear. You’re not getting rid of me that easily."

Before William could respond, she turned and walked away toward the Luminara dormitory, her black hair swaying behind her.

William stood there for a moment, processing what had just happened.

’This is getting complicated,’ he thought, though part of him had known it would end up this way eventually.

He headed back to his own dormitory, his mind churning through the various complications his life had become. Kai was in their room when he arrived, still reading at his desk like he hadn’t moved all evening.

"Welcome back," Kai said without looking up.

"Yeah." William dropped his bag and sat on his bed.

"Rough day?"

"Something like that."

Kai finally looked up from his book. "For what it’s worth, you’re handling it better than most would."

"Handling what?"

"Everything." Kai gestured vaguely.

William wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be encouraging or just an observation. "Thanks, I guess."

Kai went back to his book and William lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His body was tired from training, his mind was tired from thinking, and tomorrow was going to bring its own problems.

But for now, things were manageable.

He closed his eyes and let himself relax, the quiet sounds of Kai turning pages eventually lulling him toward sleep.

---

The next morning started normally enough. William woke up, got ready, and headed to breakfast with Kai trailing behind him again.

"You’re following me around again?" William asked.

"I told you, I’m bored," Kai said. "Your life is more interesting than sitting in our room."

"My life is a mess."

"Exactly. Entertaining."

They reached the dining hall and got food. This time when they sat down, Marcus appeared almost immediately and dropped into the seat next to William.

They ate breakfast while Marcus continued fishing for details and William continued not providing them. Elena stayed quiet as usual, though William caught her smiling slightly at the whole situation.

Halfway through the meal, a girl William vaguely recognized from House Luminara approached their table. She had long auburn hair and green eyes, and she stopped directly in front of William.

"You’re William Cross, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," William said cautiously.

"I’m Helena Rubinstein," she said, extending her hand. "I’ve heard a lot about you."

William shook her hand briefly. "Nice to meet you."

Helena smiled, though something about it felt calculated. "I was hoping we could talk sometime. Maybe after classes today?"

"About what?"

"Just getting to know each other. I’m relatively new to the academy social circles and I’d like to understand the dynamics better." She glanced at the others at the table. "You seem like someone worth knowing."

William wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Something about her tone felt off, like there was a secondary meaning he wasn’t catching.

"Maybe," he said noncommittally. "I’ll let you know."

"Perfect." Helena’s smile widened slightly. "I’ll see you around then."

She walked away, leaving William with a vague sense of unease.

"That was weird," Marcus said once she was gone.

"Yeah," William agreed.

"Helena Rubinstein," Sara said thoughtfully. "I’ve heard that name before. I think she’s related to House Rubinstein somehow, but she transferred in recently from another academy."

"Why would she want to talk to William specifically?" Elena asked quietly.

"No idea," William said. "But I’m not particularly interested in finding out."

They finished breakfast and split up for morning classes. William had Magical Theory first, which meant suffering through Professor Ashcroft’s lecture for ninety minutes.

The class was mostly uneventful until midway through when Professor Ashcroft called on William to demonstrate a theoretical essence circulation pattern at the board.

William walked up and started drawing the diagram, his mind automatically calculating the optimal flow paths. Thanks to his new trait, he could see inefficiencies in the standard pattern that he’d never noticed before.

Without thinking, he adjusted the diagram to show the more efficient version.

Professor Ashcroft studied the board for a long moment, then looked at William with interest. "That’s not the standard pattern."

"It’s more efficient," William said.

"Show me the calculations."

William wrote out the math, demonstrating how the modified pattern reduced essence waste by approximately fifteen percent while maintaining the same output.

The professor examined his work carefully, then nodded. "Correct. Though this level of optimization typically isn’t taught until third-year advanced theory. How did you derive this?"

"Just seemed logical," William said, realizing too late that he should have stuck with the standard answer.

Professor Ashcroft gave him an appraising look. "Interesting. You may return to your seat."

William sat back down, aware that several students were now staring at him. He’d just demonstrated knowledge beyond his current level and the professor had definitely noticed. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

’I need to be more careful,’ William thought.

The rest of the class passed without incident. When it ended, William gathered his things and headed toward his next class, trying to avoid drawing any more attention.

He was crossing the courtyard when someone called his name. He turned and saw Helena approaching quickly.

"William," she said, slightly out of breath like she’d been hurrying. "Do you have a minute now?"

"I have class in fifteen minutes."

"This won’t take long." She smiled again, that same calculated expression. "I just wanted to ask about the Inter-Academy team. I’m thinking about trying out next year and I’d like some advice."

"The tryouts are pretty straightforward," William said. "You compete in the Inter-House tournament and if you rank high enough, you make the team."

"Is that how you made it?"

"Yeah. Placed fifth overall."

"Impressive." Helena moved slightly closer. "I heard you beat some strong opponents to get there."

"I lost more than I won."

"But you kept getting back up. That’s admirable." Her green eyes studied him carefully. "I like people who don’t give up easily."

William was starting to feel uncomfortable. This conversation felt like it had an agenda he wasn’t seeing.

"I should get to class," he said.

"Of course. Maybe we can talk more later?" Helena’s smile never wavered. "I’d really like to get to know you better William."

She left before he could respond, heading back toward the main building.

William stood there for a moment, processing that interaction. Something was definitely off about Helena, but he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly.

He pushed the thought aside and headed to his next class, already tired and the day had barely started.

---

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