Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 75

Monday morning classes started normally enough. William made it to Magical Theory on time despite his body still protesting from yesterday’s training session.

Professor Ashcroft was lecturing about essence flow optimization when William’s attention drifted. He’d heard this material before during previous study sessions with Lyanna, and his new trait made the concepts feel almost intuitive anyway.

He was pulled back to attention when the professor called on him.

"Mr. Cross, since you seem lost in thought, perhaps you can explain how secondary essence pathways differ from primary channels in terms of flow resistance?"

William stood up. "Secondary pathways have roughly thirty percent more resistance due to narrower channel diameter and less developed pathway walls. They’re primarily used for overflow when primary channels are at capacity or for specific techniques that benefit from the slower, more controlled flow rate."

Professor Ashcroft looked mildly surprised. "Correct. And the practical application?"

"If you’re doing sustained essence enhancement, you’d route most flow through primary channels for efficiency. But for precision techniques requiring fine control, secondary pathways give you better modulation despite the resistance."

"Accurate." The professor nodded. "You may sit."

William sat back down. Across the room, he caught Lyanna watching him with a small smile.

After class, she caught up with him in the hallway.

"Showing off?" she asked.

"Just answering the question."

"You sounded more confident than usual. The training with Kai must be helping with more than just combat." She adjusted her bag. "Are you free for lunch later?"

"Should be."

"Good. I’ll find you." She headed off toward her next class.

William’s second class was Practical Essence Application. The instructor had them working on sustained enhancement techniques, maintaining essence flow through physical objects for extended periods.

William completed the exercise easily thanks to his Absolute Essence Mastery, but remembered to make it look slightly less perfect than it actually was. No need to draw more attention than necessary.

Maya, the girl he’d helped with fire training, was struggling at the station next to him. Her enhancement kept flickering and collapsing after twenty seconds.

"You’re still forcing it," William said during a break between attempts.

Maya jumped slightly, not having noticed him watching. "I thought I was getting better."

"You are, but you’re still thinking about it too much. Just let the essence flow naturally through the blade."

"Easy for you to say. You make it look effortless."

"It’s not. I just practice a lot." William demonstrated a slow enhancement, channeling essence into his practice sword gradually so she could see the process. "See? It’s not about power, it’s about consistency."

Maya watched carefully and tried again. This time her enhancement lasted almost forty seconds before flickering out.

"Better!" she said, genuinely pleased.

"Keep practicing that. Once consistency feels natural, you can work on intensity."

After class, William headed toward the dining hall for lunch. Marcus intercepted him halfway there, appearing from seemingly nowhere.

"There you are!" Marcus said. "I’ve been looking for you. We need to talk about the history essay due Wednesday."

"What about it?"

"Have you started it?"

"Not yet."

"Good, me neither. Want to work on it together? Sara and Elena are meeting in the library this afternoon." Marcus fell into step beside him. "We could actually get it done instead of panicking Tuesday night."

"Fine. What time?"

"Around three. After your classes end."

They reached the dining hall and got food. Lyanna was already sitting at a table near the windows. She waved them over.

"Marcus," Lyanna acknowledged when they sat down.

"Lyanna," Marcus replied. "How was your weekend?"

"Pleasant. Went into town." She glanced at William. "You?"

"Boring. Stayed on campus, worked on some assignments." Marcus started eating. "Did you hear about the Inter-House rankings being updated?"

"No, what changed?" William asked.

"Arcturus moved up somehow. Beat Luminara in some kind of team exercise last week." Marcus was clearly getting his information secondhand. "People are saying the Inter-Academy competition is going to be more competitive than usual this year."

"It’s always competitive," Lyanna said.

"Yeah, but apparently the other academies have been training harder. Some political thing about proving regional superiority." Marcus shrugged. "I don’t really follow that stuff."

They ate and talked about nothing particularly important. Marcus complained about various assignments. Lyanna mentioned an interesting magical theory paper she’d read. William mostly listened, contributing occasionally when directly asked something.

Sara and Elena joined them partway through lunch.

"There you all are," Sara said, sitting down. "William, I barely see you anymore. You’re always training or hiding somewhere."

"I’m not hiding."

"You’re definitely hiding. Or at least being antisocial." Sara looked at him critically. "Are you okay? You seem stressed."

"I’m fine. Just busy with Inter-Academy prep."

"That’s still three weeks away."

"Better to be prepared early."

Elena, who’d been quiet as usual, spoke up softly. "You look tired though. Are you sleeping enough?"

"Probably not," William admitted.

"You should take better care of yourself," Sara said. "Getting sick right before the competition would be terrible."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

The conversation shifted to the study session Marcus had mentioned. They made plans to meet in the library at three to work on the history essay together.

After lunch, William had one more class before his Inter-Academy team training. Combat Theory with Professor Varen, which was mostly lecture-based about tactical positioning and team coordination.

The professor was discussing flanking strategies when someone knocked on the classroom door. An academy messenger entered and handed Professor Varen a note.

The professor read it and looked up. "William Cross, you’re needed at the administrative office."

William gathered his things, feeling every eye in the classroom on him as he left. That was unusual. Students didn’t get called to administration unless something was wrong.

The walk to the administrative building felt longer than it should have. William’s mind ran through possibilities — had his family sent some kind of message? Was there an issue with his academy standing?

When he entered the office, the secretary directed him to a small meeting room. Inside was Headmistress Elara Nectaris, the academy’s leader, sitting behind a desk with several documents in front of her.

"Mr. Cross," she said, gesturing for him to sit. "Thank you for coming. I won’t take much of your time."

William sat down, wary. "Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong exactly. I wanted to discuss your academic performance." She glanced at the documents. "Your grades have been consistently above average, particularly in practical applications. Several instructors have noted significant improvement in your essence control over the past month."

"I’ve been training more."

"Clearly. Which brings me to my point." The headmistress looked at him directly. "The Inter-Academy competition is a significant event. It reflects on the entire academy, not just the individual participants. I wanted to ensure you understand the expectations."

"I understand."

"Do you? Because your background is... complicated. House Cross is well-established, but your relationship with your family is strained. Some parents and board members have expressed concerns about whether you’ll adequately represent the academy given those circumstances."

William felt his jaw tighten. "My family situation doesn’t affect my ability to compete."

"I’m not saying it does. I’m simply making you aware of the politics involved." The headmistress’s tone was even but firm. "You made the team through merit, and I expect you to compete with the same dedication. But be aware that your performance will be scrutinized more closely than others due to your family complications."

"Understood."

"Good. That’s all I needed to discuss. You may return to class."

William left the office feeling irritated. The political complications around his family name were exhausting even when they had nothing to do with him personally.

He made his way to the Inter-Academy training facility, arriving just as the session was starting. Instructor Reylan was already there with the other nine team members.

"Nice of you to join us Cross," Reylan said without any real criticism. "We’re running coordination drills today. Partner up."

William ended up paired with Mira Ashford for the drill. She gave him an easy smile as they moved into position.

"Heard you got called to administration," Mira said while they waited for instructions. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just the headmistress reminding me that I represent the academy."

"Ah, the political speech. I got that last week." Mira stretched casually. "My family isn’t as prominent as some others on the team. Apparently that means I need extra reminders about expectations."

"That’s annoying."

"Very. But whatever, we just have to perform well and they’ll shut up about it."

Reylan called for their attention and explained the drill. It was a complex exercise involving coordinated essence techniques between partners while navigating obstacles. The goal was to build synchronization for team events during the actual competition. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

William and Mira ran through the drill several times. His improved control made the coordination easier than it should have been, and Mira’s shadow manipulation complemented his fire techniques well.

"You’ve gotten better," Mira observed after their third successful run. "Your essence flow is way more stable than it was a few weeks ago."

"Been practicing."

"Clearly. At this rate you might actually place in the individual events, not just the team ones."

They continued training for two hours. The coordination drills were mentally exhausting but good practice. By the time Reylan called the session done, William’s head was pounding from sustained concentration.

"Good work today," Reylan said as they were leaving. "Cross, Ashford, your synchronization was solid. Keep that up."

William headed back toward the main campus, planning to grab a quick snack before the library study session. He was crossing the courtyard when Claire appeared, walking toward him with deliberate purpose.

"William," she said when she reached him. "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure."

Claire gestured toward a quieter area near the gardens and William followed. Once they were away from other students, she turned to face him.

"Have you been avoiding me?" she asked directly.

"No. I’ve just been busy with training."

"That’s what I thought at first. But then I realized you’ve made time for other people. Lyanna. Your friend group." Claire’s dark eyes studied him. "So it’s specifically me you’re avoiding."

William considered how to respond honestly. "I haven’t been avoiding you. I’ve just had a lot on my mind and I haven’t been very social in general."

"Is this about what happened at the Vale expedition? When I opened up to you?"

"No, that’s not—"

"Because if I made things weird between us, I need to know." Claire crossed her arms. "I value our friendship William, even if it’s complicated. I don’t want to lose that because I was too emotional one night."

"You didn’t make things weird. I promise." William met her eyes. "I’ve genuinely just been focused on training and dealing with some personal stuff. It has nothing to do with you."

Claire studied him for a long moment, then her expression softened slightly. "Okay. I believe you. But William?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever you’re dealing with, you can talk to me about it. I know I’m not your closest friend or whatever, but I do care. And I’m good at keeping secrets."

"I know. Thank you."

"Good." Claire stepped back. "Now go do whatever you were planning to do. I won’t keep you."

She left before William could say anything else, heading back toward the main campus.

William stood there for a moment, then continued toward the library. The study session was supposed to start in ten minutes and he didn’t want to be late.

When he arrived, Marcus, Sara, and Elena were already at a table with books and notes spread out. Marcus waved him over enthusiastically.

"Finally! We were waiting for you to start." Marcus pushed a blank paper toward him. "Okay, so this essay is about the political consolidation during the third era. Who wants to tackle which section?"

They spent the next two hours working on the essay together. Marcus provided historical facts with surprising accuracy when he bothered to focus. Sara organized the structure and main arguments. Elena quietly caught everyone’s mistakes and improved their phrasing. William contributed analysis connecting the historical events to current political patterns.

By the time they finished, the essay was actually coherent and well-written.

"See?" Marcus said, looking pleased. "Teamwork makes everything easier."

"We should do this more often," Sara agreed. "It’s way less painful than writing essays alone."

They packed up their materials and left the library together. It was getting dark outside, with students heading to dinner or evening activities.

"Want to grab dinner?" Marcus asked.

"Sure," William said.

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