Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 96: Unexpected Request (II)

They finished the repairs by seven-thirty. The practice area looked nearly as good as before Seraphina had cratered it, though Kai suspected groundskeepers would need to do some fine detail work later.

"Not bad for punishment duty," Seraphina said, surveying their work. "Want to grab breakfast?"

"I guess." Kai replied nonchalantly.

They headed to the dining hall together, which immediately drew attention. Students stared and whispered as Seraphina and the mysterious guy they barely saw walked past.

Marcus spotted them immediately and practically sprinted over.

"Kai! I’ve been looking for you!" He noticed Seraphina and his eyes widened. "And you’re with Seraphina. Of course you are. Because yesterday wasn’t weird enough already."

"Good morning Marcus," Seraphina said pleasantly. "Your friend here is full of surprises."

"Don’t I know it. I spent all of yesterday thinking I knew this guy, and then he goes and fights like some kind of hidden master." Marcus looked at Kai accusingly. "We’re having a conversation about this. A long one."

"No, we’re not."

"Yes, we absolutely are."

Sara and Elena appeared, also looking curious. Sara studied Kai with renewed interest.

"So," Sara said. "Apparently you can fight at such level. That’s not something you casually hide from people."

"I don’t casually do anything," Kai replied.

Elena spoke quietly. "Are you actually a first-year? Some people are saying you might be older, using academy enrollment to hide your real identity."

"I’m a first-year. I’m just well trained."

"That word. I don’t think it means what you think it means." Marcus grabbed Kai’s arm. "Come on, we’re all eating breakfast together and you’re answering questions."

Kai found himself pulled to a table with Marcus, Sara, Elena, and now Seraphina, all of whom looked at him expectantly.

"I’m not answering personal questions," Kai said preemptively.

"Fine, then answer practical ones," Sara said. "How did you learn to fight like that?"

"Training."

"With who?"

"Various people."

"When did you start training?"

"Young."

Marcus groaned. "This is like pulling teeth. Can you give us actual answers instead of vague non-responses?"

"No."

Seraphina laughed. "Give up, Marcus. He’s not going to tell you anything interesting. I’ve already tried interrogating him."

"But you got to fight him! You know what he can do!" Marcus looked at Seraphina. "How good is he actually?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Seraphina’s expression became more serious. "Good enough that I couldn’t land a single legitimate hit when he was actually trying. Good enough that he blocked my strongest technique like it was a normal attack. Good enough that I have no idea what his actual upper limit is."

The table went quiet. Even Marcus seemed stunned by that assessment.

"That’s... that’s insane," Sara said finally. "Seraphina, you’re one of the top combat students in the entire academy. If he’s better than you..."

"I didn’t say he’s better. I said I don’t know his limits." Seraphina looked at Kai. "There’s a difference. For all I know, yesterday was him at ten percent capability."

"It wasn’t," Kai said, which was technically true. He had been using maybe thirty percent it wasn’t even quarter to his full power.

They ate breakfast while Marcus and Sara continued asking questions that Kai deflected with practiced ease. Elena mostly listened, though Kai noticed her watching him with calculating eyes.

After breakfast, Seraphina dragged him to Master Henrik’s office for the expedition briefing. They found Henrik with two older students, one of them was a tall woman with short black hair and a stocky man with a scar across his jaw.

"Ah, good. Seraphina, Kai, these are the team leaders for the expedition. Instructor Mira Chen, fourth-year, and Instructor Ben Trent, also fourth-year. They’ll be coordinating the student group."

Mira studied them with professional interest. "Seraphina Ashenheart, I know by reputation. You, though..." she looked at Kai. "You’re the one who fought her yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Impressive. I look forward to seeing what you can do in combat." She gestured to a table covered with maps and documents. "Let me brief you on the Thornvale Ruins and our objectives."

What followed was a detailed explanation of the dungeon layout, known monster types, safety protocols, and expedition goals. The Ruins were a five-level dungeon with progressively increasing difficulty. The plan was to spend three days clearing the first three levels, collecting materials, and providing combat experience for the senior students.

"Level four and five are off-limits unless emergency circumstances force us deeper," Henrik explained. "Those floors contain monsters that would challenge even experienced mercenaries. We’re not risking student lives for training exercises."

Ben spoke up. "What’s our team composition?"

"Twelve senior students, plus Seraphina and Kai as additional combat support, plus myself as overall supervisor. That’ll be fifteen in total." Henrik pulled out a roster. "Mix of combat specialists, support mages, and utility essence users. Balanced team for dungeon exploration."

They spent the next two hours going over equipment lists, emergency protocols, and individual roles. By the time they finished, Kai had a clear picture of what the expedition would entail.

"Questions?" Henrik asked.

"When do we meet the rest of the team?" Seraphina asked.

"Tomorrow evening. We’ll have a coordination meeting so everyone can introduce themselves and discuss strategy." Henrik looked at Kai. "Any concerns, Mr. Wraith?"

"No."

"Good. You’re both dismissed. Prepare your equipment and ensure you’re ready to depart Thursday morning."

They left Henrik’s office and Seraphina immediately grabbed Kai’s arm excitedly.

"This is going to be amazing! A real dungeon, actual monsters, a week of adventure!" She was practically bouncing. "Aren’t you excited?"

"Aren’t you overrely excited? I rarely see you act so childish around William."

"Then you don’t know me too well." She laughed. "See you tomorrow evening for the team meeting?"

"I’ll be there."

Seraphina headed toward her dormitory while Kai returned to his room. The space felt particularly empty with William still gone and the knowledge that he’d be leaving again in three days for a week-long expedition.

He spent the rest of the day preparing equipment, reviewing what he knew about dungeon exploration, and trying to ignore the growing number of students who now stared at him whenever he passed through common areas.

His anonymity was definitely gone.

At least the dungeon expedition would get him away from campus for a while.

Kai lay on his bed that evening, thinking about the week ahead.

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