Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 74

Sunday morning came too early.

William woke to Kai shaking his shoulder at five-thirty again. His body protested — he’d gotten comfortable in his bed and the idea of immediately starting combat training was deeply unappealing.

"Up," Kai said flatly. "We’re losing daylight."

"It’s not even light yet."

"Exactly. We’re losing it." Kai was already dressed in training clothes. "Move."

William dragged himself out of bed and got ready. His muscles were sore from the week of intensive training, but it was manageable. He’d dealt with worse.

They made their way to the private training rooms in silence. The campus was almost completely empty at this hour — just a few truly dedicated students already running morning exercises.

Kai locked the door behind them once they were in the training room and immediately moved to the center.

"Today we’re working on awareness," Kai said. "In most loops, you don’t see the attack coming until it’s too late. Even when I’m nearby, the assassin gets the drop on you."

"So what’s the training?"

"Close your eyes."

William closed his eyes.

Immediately something whistled past his ear. He jerked back instinctively and opened his eyes to see Kai holding a small stone.

"You’re dead," Kai said. "That was a throwing knife. Again. Eyes closed."

They repeated the exercise dozens of times. Kai would throw objects from different angles and William had to sense them coming without vision. It was frustrating at first — he got hit more often than not. But gradually he started picking up on the subtle sounds, the displacement of air, the feeling of something approaching.

"Better," Kai said after about an hour. "Your essence sense is improving. You’re starting to feel disturbances in the ambient essence when objects move through it."

"I didn’t know that was possible."

"Most students don’t learn it until third year. But you need it now." Kai picked up another stone. "Again. This time I’m moving while I throw."

The exercise became harder. Kai circled around him while throwing objects from unpredictable angles. William had to track his position through sound and essence sense while also detecting incoming projectiles.

He failed repeatedly. Stones hit his shoulder, his back, his leg. But slowly, gradually, he started catching the pattern. Started sensing Kai’s position even with his eyes closed, started feeling the objects before they arrived.

"Good enough for today," Kai finally said. "Open your eyes."

William opened them and realized he was drenched in sweat. His entire body was tense from the sustained concentration.

"That was exhausting."

"It’s supposed to be. Essence sense isn’t passive — it takes active mental effort until it becomes instinctive." Kai grabbed his water flask. "In loop thirteen I tried teaching you this and you couldn’t grasp it at all. The improved essence control you have now makes it possible."

"How long until it becomes instinctive?"

"Months normally. But you’re learning faster than normal, so maybe a few weeks." Kai checked the time. "We have an hour before breakfast. Want to run through tunnel movement again or call it here?"

William’s body wanted to call it, but his mind knew better. "Tunnel movement."

They spent the next hour practicing combat in confined spaces. Kai had marked out narrow corridors on the training room floor with chalk, simulating tunnel dimensions. He attacked from various angles while William practiced defending and counter-attacking without the space to dodge laterally.

By the time they finished, William could barely lift his arms.

"Good work," Kai said, which was about as close to praise as he ever got. "You’re adapting faster than previous loops. At this rate you might actually survive the first assassination attempt."

"Might?"

"I’m being realistic. The assassins are good at what they do." Kai headed toward the door. "Get cleaned up. We’ll hit the library after breakfast to continue researching who might want you dead."

They made their way back to the dormitory. William took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes, his muscles screaming the entire time. When he emerged, Kai was already waiting by the door with several books tucked under his arm.

The dining hall was more crowded now with students getting breakfast before classes started Monday. William grabbed food and they found their usual corner table.

Marcus spotted them and wandered over with his tray.

"There you guys are," Marcus said, sitting down uninvited. "Haven’t seen much of you this weekend William. Where’ve you been?"

"Went into town yesterday afternoon."

"Oh yeah? With who?"

"Lyanna."

Marcus’s eyes widened slightly. "Like a date?"

"Like spending time together."

"That’s a date." Marcus grinned. "How was it?"

"Fine. We looked at some shops and a gallery."

"A gallery? That sounds boring."

"It was interesting actually."

"If you say so." Marcus started eating his breakfast. "So are you two together now or what?"

"I don’t know. We just spent an afternoon in town."

"That’s usually how it starts." Marcus glanced at Kai. "What about you? Did you do anything this weekend besides read?"

"No," Kai said flatly.

"That’s depressing."

"That’s accurate."

Marcus laughed and continued talking, mostly to himself since neither William nor Kai were engaging much. Eventually Sara and Elena joined them and the conversation expanded to include complaints about upcoming assignments and speculation about midterms.

William ate and half-listened. His mind was already moving ahead to the library research, trying to figure out angles they hadn’t explored yet about who might want him dead.

After breakfast, William and Kai headed to the library. It was quiet on Sunday morning — most students were either sleeping in or doing last-minute homework before classes resumed.

They found a table in the back corner and Kai spread out several books about noble house politics and regional conflicts.

"We’re looking for anyone who benefits from House Cross losing a potential heir," Kai said, opening one of the books. "Even if you’re not favored by your father, you’re still technically in line for succession. Someone might want to eliminate that possibility."

"My older brothers would inherit before me."

"Unless something happens to them. Or unless you become powerful enough that your father reconsiders his position." Kai flipped through pages. "We’re looking for anyone with a grudge, anyone with political motivation, anyone who might see you as a future threat."

They researched for several hours. William read through documentation about House Cross’s business rivalries and political disputes while Kai cross-referenced information about assassination attempts on other noble families.

"Here," Kai said eventually, pointing at a passage. "House Marlowe had a dispute with House Cross about twenty years ago over territory rights. It was settled officially but there were rumors of lingering animosity."

"That’s pretty thin motivation for hiring assassins."

"Everything’s thin. That’s the problem." Kai closed the book in frustration. "In sixteen loops I’ve never found concrete evidence pointing to a specific enemy. It’s all just political noise and minor grievances that don’t justify murder."

"Maybe it’s not political."

"Then what?"

"I don’t know. But if we can’t find a political motive after sixteen loops of looking, maybe we’re searching in the wrong direction."

Kai considered that. "What other direction is there?"

"What if it’s about me specifically? Not House Cross, not political positioning. Something about William Cross the person."

"Like what?"

"I don’t know." William closed his own book. "But the original William died in a training accident in Chapter three. I took over his body and survived. Maybe someone noticed that change."

"You think another transmigrator is trying to kill you?"

"Maybe. Or someone who noticed William acting completely different after the accident." William thought about it. "Everyone says I’m nothing like the original William Cross. What if someone realized that meant something was wrong?"

Kai was quiet for a long moment. "That’s actually a theory I haven’t explored. In most loops I assumed the assassination was political because that made logical sense. But you’re right — if someone noticed you were fundamentally different after the accident, they might have their own reasons for wanting you dead."

"How would we investigate that?"

"We’d need to know who interacted with the original William regularly. Who would have noticed the personality change most clearly." Kai pulled out a blank piece of paper. "Your family obviously, but they seem to just think you recovered from the accident differently. Your siblings?"

"Barely interact with me."

"Servants at the Cross estate?"

"Possible but unlikely to have assassination resources."

They brainstormed for another hour, listing anyone who might have known the original William well enough to notice the change. The list was surprisingly short — William Cross hadn’t been well-liked or popular before his death.

"This is still speculative," Kai finally said. "But it’s a new angle at least. Better than going in circles with political theories."

"What do we do with this information?"

"For now? Nothing. We don’t have enough to act on." Kai gathered up the books. "But we keep it in mind. During the competition, if we can capture or identify an assassin, we ask them directly why they’re targeting you specifically."

"That hasn’t worked in previous loops?"

"I’ve never managed to capture one alive. They’re too well trained and always have escape routes planned." Kai’s expression was grim. "But maybe this loop will be different."

They left the library as afternoon stretched toward evening. The campus was more active now with students returning from weekend activities or preparing for classes to resume.

William’s body was exhausted from the morning training and his mind was tired from hours of research. But they’d made some progress, even if it was just identifying a new theory to investigate.

"Get some rest tonight," Kai said when they reached their room. "Tomorrow we’re back to normal schedules. Classes, your Inter-Academy training, then our private sessions in the evening."

"What about you?"

"I’ll maintain my usual routine. Skip most classes, read in our room, follow you when needed." Kai sat at his desk. "In this loop people expect me to be antisocial and lazy. Better to maintain that cover."

William nodded and collapsed onto his bed. His muscles were screaming and his mind was fuzzy from exhaustion. He closed his eyes, intending to just rest for a moment, and fell asleep immediately.

When he woke up, it was dark outside and Kai was at his desk reading by lamplight.

"What time is it?" William asked groggily.

"Around nine. You missed dinner." Kai didn’t look up from his book. "I grabbed you something from the dining hall. It’s on your desk."

William sat up and found a wrapped sandwich and some fruit waiting. He ate quickly, suddenly aware of how hungry he was.

"Thanks."

"Don’t mention it." Kai turned a page. "Classes start at nine tomorrow. Don’t be late."

William finished eating and lay back down, not bothering to change into sleep clothes. His body was still exhausted and his mind was already drifting back toward sleep.

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