Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 61 (R18)

The training session dragged on longer than usual. Reylan had them running through combat scenarios that tested endurance more than technique, and by the time he called them done, everyone was drenched in sweat and breathing hard.

William grabbed his water flask and took a long drink, his muscles burning from the sustained effort. At least the soreness from the dungeon had faded to a manageable ache instead of the sharp pain from this morning.

"Good work today," Liam said while walking past. "You’re keeping up better than I expected after yesterday."

"Barely," William muttered.

Liam laughed and headed off with Adrian to discuss something he couldn’t quite hear. The others started dispersing toward their respective dormitories, ready to clean up and rest before dinner.

William was gathering his things when he remembered that girl from breakfast—Maya something—had asked about fire training. He glanced around the facility and spotted her near one of the practice platforms, clearly waiting for something.

’Right, I said I’d help her,’ William thought while walking over.

Maya noticed him approaching and her face lit up. "William! I wasn’t sure if you would actually have time today."

"I’ve got some time before dinner," William said. "What are you struggling with exactly?"

"It’s my control mostly. My fire keeps fluctuating between too hot and barely there." Maya pulled out her practice sword. "My instructor says I’m forcing it instead of letting it flow, but I don’t understand what that means."

"Show me what you’re doing now."

Maya channeled fire essence into her blade. Flames appeared along the edge but they flickered wildly, sometimes roaring up and sometimes almost dying out completely. She held it for maybe twenty seconds before the enhancement collapsed entirely.

"See? It’s a mess," she said, frustrated.

"You’re thinking about fire wrong," William explained. "You’re trying to control every aspect of it, like how hot, how big and exactly where it goes. Fire doesn’t work like that. It wants to burn. Your job isn’t to control it, it’s to guide it."

"That sounds like the same thing."

"It’s not." William drew his own sword and channeled fire essence, creating stable flames along the blade. "Watch. I’m not telling the fire what to do. I’m just giving it essence and direction, then letting it do what fire naturally does. Think of it like... opening a door instead of pushing someone through it."

Maya watched carefully, her green eyes focused on his blade. "Can you do it slower?"

William started over, channeling essence at a much slower pace so she could see how the fire formed and stabilized. He explained his breathing pattern, how he visualized the essence flow, and where he focused his attention during the technique.

"Try again," he said once she seemed to understand. "But this time, don’t think about controlling the flames. Just give them essence and let them exist."

Maya attempted it again. This time the flames were less erratic, though they still flickered more than they should. But it was improvement.

"See? That’s better," William encouraged. "Keep practicing that. Once the basic flow feels natural, you can start refining it."

They worked for about thirty minutes, with Maya’s control improving gradually. By the end, she could maintain fire enhancement for almost a full minute without it collapsing.

"Thank you so much," Maya said, genuinely grateful. "That makes way more sense than what my instructor was telling me."

"No problem. Just keep practicing the flow part before you try anything fancy."

William left the training facility and headed back toward the main campus. The sun was setting, casting an orange light across the buildings. His stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and his body was ready to be done with physical activity for the day.

He was crossing the main courtyard when Marcus appeared from one of the side paths.

"There you are," Marcus said. "Sara and Elena are grabbing dinner early. Want to join?"

"Yeah, definitely. I’m starving."

They headed to the dining hall together, talking about nothing important. Marcus complained about an essay due for Magical Theory, he mentioned that someone in his combat class had accidentally set their practice dummy on fire, and generally filled the silence with comfortable rambling.

The dining hall was less crowded than usual since it was earlier than most students ate. They found Sara and Elena already sitting at a table near the windows, both with half-empty plates in front of them.

"You’re late," Sara said when they sat down. "We almost finished without you."

"I was helping someone with fire training," William explained while loading his plate with food. "Lost track of time."

"Was it that Maya girl from this morning?" Elena asked quietly.

"Yeah. She needed help with control."

"See?" Marcus pointed at William with his fork. "You’re becoming the go-to person for fire training now. That’s how it starts. Next thing you know, you’ll have a waiting list."

"That’s not even an achievement"

"Of course it is!"

"Please no," William muttered.

They ate and talked, the conversation drifting between topics without settling on anything serious. Sara mentioned some drama happening in House Valoris about a broken piece of training equipment. Marcus told a story about a student who’d fallen asleep during Professor Ashcroft’s lecture and got hit with a minor spell to wake them up. Elena mostly listened but occasionally added quiet observations that were surprisingly funny.

William felt himself relaxing properly for the first time all day. No weird encounters with random girls, no cryptic warnings, no confusing social situations. Just normal dinner with friends who didn’t want anything from him except his company.

"Oh, midterms start next week," Sara reminded them. "Are we doing a study group or are we all just going to fail individually?"

"A study group sounds smart," Marcus agreed. "Though I have no idea what Professor Ashcroft is even going to test us on. That man covers so much material."

"Everything," Elena said. "He’s going to test us on everything."

"That’s not helpful."

They finished eating and lingered at the table, no one in a rush to leave. The dining hall filled up around them as more students arrived for dinner, but their corner stayed relatively quiet.

Eventually, Sara stood and stretched. "I have to go meet my study partner for Essence Cultivation. See you guys tomorrow?"

"Probably," Marcus said. "Unless I die from essay-induced stress tonight."

Sara rolled her eyes and left. Elena followed shortly after, mentioning something about practicing wind techniques before bed. That left William and Marcus alone at the table.

"You doing anything tonight?" Marcus asked while gathering his tray.

"Probably just heading back to my room. Maybe some light cultivation practice but nothing intense." William stood as well. "Why?"

"I’m just curious. You’ve been busy lately with all the Inter-Academy stuff and dungeon runs. I wanted to make sure you weren’t completely exhausted."

"I’m definitely tired," William admitted. "But it’s manageable."

They cleared their trays and left the dining hall together. The campus was quieter now, most students either eating dinner or already in their dormitories. The evening air had gotten cooler, carrying the faint smell of food from the kitchens.

They were walking past the main courtyard fountain when someone called William’s name.

"William!"

He turned and saw Seraphina approaching quickly from one of the side paths. Her silver hair was still tied back from training earlier, and she had that focused expression she got when she’d decided to do something.

"Hey Sera," William said. "What’s—"

Seraphina grabbed his wrist and started pulling him toward a different path.

"Sorry Marcus," she said over her shoulder. "I need to borrow William for a bit."

"Uh, okay?" Marcus looked confused but didn’t try to stop them. "See you later, William?"

William barely had time to wave before Seraphina was dragging him away from the courtyard and toward a section of campus he didn’t normally visit. He tried to ask where they were going but she wasn’t answering, just pulling him along with determination.

They climbed a stairwell he didn’t recognize and emerged in a hallway lined with doors. The Arcturus dormitory wing, William realized. Seraphina navigated the passages with ease, her grip on his wrist firm but not painful.

She stopped in front of a door, pulled out her key, and unlocked it quickly. Then she pulled William inside and closed the door behind them.

The room was neat—two beds, two desks, basic furnishings. One side looked lived in with books and training equipment scattered around. The other side was barely touched.

Seraphina released his wrist and moved to stand in front of the door. Her silver hair fell forward, partially hiding her face. Her hands clenched at her sides and her breathing was slightly uneven.

"Sera?" William said. "What’s going on?"

She didn’t respond immediately. Just stood there with her hair covering her expression, her shoulders tense.

The silence stretched on. William was about to ask again when Seraphina finally looked up at him. Her expression was intense—that same focused determination she brought to every fight, except now it was directed entirely at him.

"I think we should continue where we started from," Seraphina said, her voice hitching slightly. "That night. When I..."

She trailed off but William knew exactly what she was referring to. The night she’d gotten drunk and confessed. The night she’d kissed him and he’d stopped it.

’Oh no,’ William thought as his brain tried to catch up.

Seraphina took a step toward him. Then another. William found himself backing up until his back hit the wall with nowhere else to go.

"You said I had regret it," Seraphina continued, her voice quiet but steady now. "You said I was drunk and not thinking clearly. But I’ve had weeks to think about it sober, and I don’t regret anything."

She was close now, close enough that William could see the determination in her crimson eyes mixed with something that looked like vulnerability.

"Sera, wait—"

"I’m tired of waiting," she interrupted. "I’m tired of pretending I don’t feel this way. I’m tired of watching you and hoping you’ll figure it out."

Her hand came up to rest against his chest, right over his heart. William could feel his pulse hammering against her palm.

"I like you," Seraphina said, her eyes locked on his. "I’ve liked you for months. And I’m done hiding it."

William’s mouth opened but no words came out. His brain had completely short-circuited.

Seraphina’s free hand reached past him and he heard a soft click.

She’d locked the door.

"So," Seraphina said, her face inches from his now. "Are you going to stop me again?"

---

(This is an introduction! Explicit Scenes happen in the next Chapter which are skip able!)