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

Chapter 125: Life Beyond Heroes (II)

In the academy’s second dining hall—the smaller one used by fewer students—a group of third-years gathered around a table, their lunch mostly neglected as they talked about recent events.

"Henrik’s still in the medical wing," reported Sarah Vex, a serious girl whose older brother had graduated two years prior. "I visited yesterday. He’s recovering but he’s taking the whole Derek betrayal thing really hard."

"He should," said Thomas Crane, who’d been on the expedition. "It happened under his supervision. He feels responsible."

"It wasn’t his fault though," protested Jennifer, a healer-in-training who’d been helping with expedition recovery. "How was he supposed to know Derek was planning coordinated assassination?"

"Doesn’t matter logically. It matters emotionally." Thomas pushed food around his plate. "I was there. I saw how Henrik tried to protect everyone even after he was seriously injured. He did everything right and students still almost died. That kind of thing stays with you."

"How are the other expedition members doing?" Sarah asked.

"Physically? Mostly recovered. Mira fixed the worst of the poison damage, and academy healers handled the rest." Thomas was quiet for a moment. "Emotionally it’s harder to gauge. Everyone’s processing differently. Lin won’t talk about it. Roland is angry all the time now. The first-years who were there are either traumatized or pretending they’re fine."

"What about you?" Jennifer asked gently.

"I’m managing. But I keep thinking about how close we came to actually dying." Thomas looked around the table. "Makes you reconsider what we’re doing here. We’re training to be cultivators, fight monsters, maybe join the military or mercenary guilds. But until that expedition, it all felt theoretical. Now it’s real."

"The competition is in like ten days," Sarah pointed out. "You’re still competing, right?"

"Yeah. Henrik insisted we all continue. He said letting fear stop us from competing would be letting Derek win." Thomas managed a slight smile. "Plus spite is a strong motivator. I want to do well partially just to prove that Derek’s betrayal didn’t break us."

Their conversation shifted to competition speculation—who would place well, what events would be most dangerous, which academy was favored to win overall.

At the next table over, a completely different discussion was happening.

Four first-year students were arguing about the social hierarchy within House Ascendant—the academy house that accepted students who didn’t fit neatly into the other three houses’ criteria.

"I’m telling you, house Ascendant has the weirdest mix of students," insisted Robert, a lanky boy with fire affinity. "We’ve got brilliant misfits, noble family disappointments, people with unusual cultivation methods, and like three actual geniuses who chose Ascendant deliberately."

"That’s what makes it interesting," countered Lily, whose water manipulation skills were exceptional but whose academic performance was terrible. "Other houses are so homogeneous. Everyone fits the same mold. Ascendant is actually diverse."

"Diverse is a nice way of saying chaotic," muttered James, who’d been hoping for House Luminara before the sorting put him in Ascendant. "We can’t even coordinate for inter-house competitions because half our members are too antisocial to participate."

"Kai Wraith is in Ascendant," Lily pointed out. "And he just defeated professional assassins. I’d say that reflects pretty well on our house."

"Kai is also so antisocial he makes hermits look extroverted. Not exactly a team player."

"Neither is William Cross technically, and he made the Inter-Academy team."

"William is from House Ascendant?" Robert looked surprised. "I thought he was Luminara."

"No, definitely Ascendant. I checked the house rosters." Lily counted on her fingers. "So we’ve got William Cross and Kai Wraith plus at least three other students who’ve placed highly in various competitions. Ascendant is doing fine."

"We’re doing adequately," James corrected. "Not fine. Adequately."

"Did you just quote William Cross?"

"Everyone quotes William Cross now. ’Adequately’ has become a meme in our study group."

They continued debating house dynamics while afternoon slowly turned to evening.

---

In the academy’s advanced training grounds, a different scene was unfolding. A group of fourth-year students were running combat drills, preparing for their final academy evaluations that would determine post-graduation opportunities.

"Again!" shouted their instructor, a severe woman named Captain Morris who’d retired from active military service to teach. "Your formation is sloppy! If you can’t coordinate a basic defensive line, you’ll die in actual combat situations!"

The students reset and ran the drill again. After the fifth repetition, Captain Morris finally called a break.

"You’re better," she acknowledged grudgingly. "But better isn’t good enough. You’re fourth-years. You should be functioning as a cohesive unit by now, not a collection of individuals who happen to be standing near each other."

One of the students, a muscular boy named Gregory raised his hand. "Captain Morris, I have a question. The second-years on the Inter-Academy team seem to work well better than we do despite having less experience. What are they doing differently?"

"They have Seraphina Ashenheart, who’s a natural tactical coordinator, and they’ve been training together intensively for months specifically for team competition." Morris crossed her arms. "Also, they’re motivated by upcoming high-stakes competition. You lot are coasting on seniority and assuming competence will just manifest."

"That’s harsh," muttered a girl named Catherine.

"It’s accurate. Want me to prove it?" Morris gestured to the training ground entrance. "Those second-years practice here most evenings. Watch them coordinate for ten minutes and tell me I’m wrong about your sloppiness."

The fourth-years exchanged uncomfortable glances but didn’t argue.

After training ended, Gregory approached Catherine and another student named Marcus—the third Marcus in the academy, which caused endless confusion.

"She’s not wrong though," Gregory said. "We are sloppy compared to what we should be."

"We’re also not training for a specific event," Catherine pointed out. "We’re preparing for general post-graduation evaluations, which is a much broader skill set."

"Still. Watching second-years outperform us is embarrassing." Gregory grabbed his water flask. "You hear about the Thornvale expedition disaster?"

"Everyone’s heard about it. Derek going crazy, assassins attacking, Kai Wraith somehow being a hidden combat master." Catherine shook her head. "It’s insane. Makes you wonder how many other students are hiding significant abilities."

"Or how many are faking competence," Marcus added darkly. "I mean, Derek was a third-year. He’d been here two full years before having a complete breakdown and hiring assassins. What if there are others who seem stable but aren’t?"

"That’s a cheerful thought."

"I’m just saying, we assume everyone here is relatively normal and sane. But Derek proved that assumption is wrong. Makes you wonder who else might snap under pressure."

They continued discussing paranoia and academy security while heading to dinner.

---

The academy’s message board in the main common area was perpetually crowded with students checking announcements, event postings, and the informal note-sharing that happened in the margins.

Currently, three different students were adding to an ongoing debate written directly on the board itself:

Best essence cultivation method: DEBATE

Below this header, dozens of students had written their opinions in cramped handwriting:

"Morning meditation with fasting - efficiency rate 87% - signed, Marcus Chen (First Year)"

"Evening cultivation after proper nutrition - efficiency rate 91% - Marcus Chen is wrong - signed, Patricia Vane (First Year)"

"Both methods work depending on individual constitution you’re all being inflexible - signed, David (First Year)"

"Have you considered afternoon cultivation during peak sun hours for fire affinity users? - signed, Robert (First Year)"

"Afternoon cultivation interferes with class schedules genius - signed, Anonymous"

"Who schedules classes during optimal cultivation hours anyway? The academy administration needs to reconsider - signed, Thomas Crane (Third Year)"

The debate continued for several dozen lines, growing increasingly specific and occasionally hostile. Near the bottom, someone had written:

"Just asked William Cross his opinion and he said ’whatever works consistently is adequate’ which is the most William answer possible - signed, Frustrated Second Year"

Below that, another hand had added:

"I asked Kai the ssame question and he just stared at me until I left so that was productive - signed, Different Frustrated Second Year"

Three students currently reading the board laughed at these additions.

"They’re both completely useless for advice," one observed.

"They’re both also significantly stronger than any of us, so maybe their approach works for them even if they can’t explain it." Another student pulled out a piece of chalk. "Should we add to the debate?"

"And get dragged into this chaos? No thank you."

They moved on to check other announcements—upcoming social events, study group formations, equipment lending opportunities.

The academy continued its daily rhythm of students learning, training, socializing, and navigating the complicated social dynamics of adolescent cultivators living in close quarters.

Somewhere in this mass of ordinary students pursuing ordinary academy lives, extraordinary events were unfolding with William Cross and Kai Wraith.

But for the vast majority of students, those events were just gossip material between classes, interesting drama to observe from a safe distance while they focused on their own cultivation advancement and personal struggles.

The sun set over the academy, and students filtered toward dining halls for dinner. Conversation buzzed through corridors—debates about essence theory, speculation about the upcoming competition, relationship drama, academic stress, and the eternal question of what mysterious food the dining hall would serve tonight.

Normal academy life continued, ordinary and precious in its mundane complexity.

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