Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 56

The passage sloped downward into darkness, the faint glow from the bioluminescent moss barely enough to see by. William’s eyes adjusted slowly as they descended, the air getting cooler and heavier with each step.

"Watch your footing," Astrid called from the front. "The ground gets slippery once we reach the first chamber."

The passage opened up after a few minutes of careful walking, revealing a large cavern that had to be at least fifty feet across. The ceiling stretched high above them, covered in glowing moss that cast everything in a faint greenish light. Thick vines hung down from above, swaying slightly despite there being no wind.

"This is the first floor entry chamber," Astrid explained, her voice echoing slightly. "It’s pretty safe usually, but stay alert anyway."

William looked around the space, taking in the strange plant life growing from every surface. Flowers the size of his head bloomed along the walls, their petals an unnatural shade of purple. Their roots twisted across the ground in patterns that looked almost deliberate.

"It’s actually kind of beautiful," Elena said quietly, staring up at the glowing ceiling.

"Beautiful and deadly," Marcus corrected. "Those vines? Some of them are Vine Crawlers. They’ll grab you if you get too close."

As if to prove his point, one of the hanging vines suddenly whipped toward Marcus. He sidestepped casually and his sword flashed, severing the vine before it could retract. The cut end writhed on the ground for a moment before going still.

"See? Deadly."

"How do you tell which vines are beasts and which are just plants?" William asked.

"You don’t, really," Astrid said cheerfully. "That’s part of the fun. Just assume everything might try to kill you and you’ll be fine."

"That’s reassuring," William muttered.

They moved deeper into the chamber, weapons ready and eyes scanning for threats. The ground was indeed slippery, covered in some kind of moisture that made every step require careful placement.

"So Kai," Liam said while navigating around a particularly thick cluster of roots. "Are you strong?"

The question came out casual but Liam’s expression immediately shifted like he realized how that might sound.

"Oh, I didn’t mean it in an offending manner," Liam said quickly, waving his hands. "I just meant—you know, for dungeon combat and—"

"Yes, I am," Kai interrupted calmly. "It’s no problem, I understand what you meant."

William’s head whipped around to stare at his roommate. "You’re strong?"

He had lived with Kai for months now. The guy spent all his time reading, barely attended classes, and had the general energy of someone who couldn’t be bothered to care about anything. Strong was not a word William would have used to describe him.

"Actually, I’m not that strong," Kai corrected himself in a matter-of-fact tone. "But I am incredibly smart."

Everyone stopped walking and turned to look at him.

William stared. Astrid blinked. Even Elena looked surprised by that level of shamelessness.

"Did you just—" Marcus started.

"The confidence," Astrid said, sounding impressed and amused at the same time.

William rubbed his forehead. "Then why did you say yes when Liam asked if you were strong?"

"My parents told me to always say yes when people ask that question," Kai said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"Your parents," William repeated slowly. "Told you to lie about being strong."

"It’s not lying if I believe it," Kai replied.

"That’s absolutely lying!"

"Is it though?"

Astrid burst out laughing, the sound echoing through the chamber. "Oh my god, I like him. William, your roommate is hilarious."

"He’s something," William muttered.

A rustling sound from above cut off any further conversation. Everyone’s attention snapped upward where several vines were moving with clear purpose, descending toward the group with surprising speed.

"Vine Crawlers incoming!" Astrid called out.

The group spread out instinctively, weapons raised. Three vines shot toward different targets—one at Liam, one at Marcus, and one directly at Kai.

Liam’s sword flashed and severed his vine cleanly. Marcus dodged and countered in one smooth motion. But Kai didn’t draw his sword at all. He sidestepped the attacking vine, grabbed it with his bare hand mid-strike, and yanked hard.

The vine tore free from the ceiling with a wet ripping sound. Kai swung it like a whip and used it to entangle another vine that was going for Elena, then released both and stepped back as they writhed on the ground.

"Okay," Marcus said, staring. "That was actually impressive."

"Thank you," Kai said calmly, still not drawing his sword.

More vines descended, at least a dozen this time. The group engaged properly now, the casual atmosphere shifting into focused combat. William drew his sword and channeled fire essence into the blade, the flames providing extra light in the dim chamber.

His first strike burned through a vine that got too close, the plant beast recoiling from the heat. Another vine came from his left and William pivoted, his enhanced blade cutting through it easily.

Beside him, Liam was fighting with his usual efficient precision, each movement he made was processed and effective. Astrid fought with surprising aggression, with her strikes powerful and direct. Elena used wind techniques to keep vines at distance while supporting the others with well-timed attacks.

But William found his attention drawn to Kai despite trying to focus on his own fight. His roommate was moving through the combat zone without his sword drawn, using only his hands and what looked like basic martial techniques. He redirected attacking vines rather than cutting them, used their momentum against them, and generally fought with a level of skill that didn’t match his usual apathetic demeanor at all.

A particularly large vine wrapped around Kai’s arm. Instead of panicking or cutting it, Kai used the grip as leverage and pulled himself toward the ceiling, then kicked off a wall and used the motion to tear the vine free. He landed smoothly and immediately moved to intercept a vine going for William’s blind spot.

"Behind you," Kai said casually while redirecting the attack.

"Thanks," William said, then added, "Why aren’t you using your sword?"

"I don’t need it for these," Kai replied.

The vine assault continued for another few minutes before finally dying down. The group had eliminated or driven off all the active Vine Crawlers in the immediate area, leaving severed plant matter scattered across the chamber floor.

"Everyone okay?" Liam called out, checking on the group.

Murmurs of confirmation came from everyone. No one had taken any serious hits, just minor scratches and the general exertion from sustained combat.

"Not bad for a warm-up," Astrid said, wiping plant sap off her sword. "Though I have questions."

She pointed at Kai. "You. Why didn’t you use your sword? Are you some kind of martial artist or something?"

"Something like that," Kai said vaguely.

"He’s hiding his power level," Marcus joked. "Classic mysterious character behavior."

"I’m not hiding anything," Kai protested mildly. "I just don’t need a sword for basic threats."

"Those weren’t basic threats," Elena pointed out quietly. "Those were actual dungeon beasts."

"Relatively basic then."

William shook his head. Living with Kai for months and apparently knowing nothing about his actual combat abilities was both annoying and impressive in equal measure.

They continued through the chamber and into a connecting passage that led deeper into the first floor. The environment shifted gradually—less open space, more narrow corridors with roots breaking through the walls and ceiling.

"So William," Astrid said while they walked. "You’re on the Inter-Academy team, right? That’s pretty amazing for a first-year."

"It’s been... educational," William said.

"That’s one way to put it," Liam added. "Instructor Reylan is brutal with the training schedule."

"I’ve heard stories about him," Marcus said. "Supposedly he once made a student fight continuously for six hours straight just to prove a point about stamina management."

"That sounds excessive," Elena said.

"That sounds exactly like something Reylan would do," Liam corrected.

They reached a fork in the passage—two tunnels branching off in different directions. Astrid consulted her map.

"Left goes to a larger chamber with more plant beasts. Right leads to a resource node area where we can gather essence materials. Which way do we want to go?"

"Resources first?" William suggested. "We should get the useful stuff before we get too tired from fighting."

"Smart thinking," Astrid agreed. "Right path it is."

They took the right tunnel and emerged into a smaller chamber filled with strange crystalline flowers growing from the walls. The flowers pulsed with faint light, clearly saturated with essence.

"Essence Bloom Flowers," Astrid explained. "Their petals can be harvested and used for cultivation aid or sold for decent money. Take what you can carry but be gentle—they’re fragile."

The group spread out and began carefully harvesting petals, storing them in cloth pouches designed for essence materials. William worked alongside Elena, who seemed to have some experience with this kind of gathering.

"You’ve done dungeon runs before?" William asked while carefully plucking a petal.

"A few times," Elena said quietly. "My family is merchant class, so we do a lot of resource gathering for business purposes. Dungeons are dangerous but profitable if you know what you’re doing."

"Makes sense."

They worked in silence for a moment before Elena spoke again. "Can I ask you something? What’s it like training with people like Seraphina Ashenheart? She seems... intense."

William thought about how to answer that without getting into complicated details about recent events. "She’s very focused. And yes, intense is accurate. But she’s also a good training partner if you can keep up."

"I couldn’t keep up," Elena said with a slight smile. "I would probably pass out after ten minutes."

"You might surprise yourself."

They finished gathering materials and regrouped in the center of the chamber. Everyone had managed to collect a decent amount of petals, enough that the trip would be profitable even if they didn’t find anything else.

"Next chamber?" Liam asked.

"Next chamber," Astrid confirmed. "This one should have some Thorn Sprouts. Basically mobile bushes with sharp thorns that try to impale you. Not too dangerous if you watch your spacing."

They moved through another connecting passage and entered a larger chamber filled with vegetation. Sure enough, small bush-like creatures dotted the area, their surfaces covered in wicked-looking thorns.

One of them noticed the group and immediately rolled toward them with surprising speed.

"Spread out!" Astrid called.

William jumped left as the Thorn Sprout rolled past where he’d been standing. His sword came down and struck the creature, fire essence burning through its plant matter easily. It screeched—an unsettling sound from something that shouldn’t have a voice—and retreated.

The chamber erupted into combat as more Thorn Sprouts activated and attacked. They were fast and their thorns could pierce leather armor easily, but fire was extremely effective against them.

William burned through three of them in quick succession, the heat from his blade making the plant beasts recoil before he could even strike them properly. Beside him, Liam was handling his own opponents with methodical efficiency.

Kai, still not using his sword, somehow managed to redirect a rolling Thorn Sprout into another one, causing them to tangle together. He then kicked the tangled mass toward Marcus, who finished them both with one strike.

"Nice teamwork," Marcus said.

"Thanks."

The fight concluded quickly, the Thorn Sprouts not being particularly durable once the group figured out their patterns. Everyone caught their breath while Astrid checked her map again.

"We’re making good time," she said. "There’s one more major chamber on the first floor, then the passage down to the second floor. Want to clear it or call it here?"

"Let’s clear it," Liam said. "We’re still fresh."

The group agreed and moved toward the final first-floor chamber. The passage leading to it was longer than the previous ones, sloping slightly downward and lined with strange fungi that glowed in alternating colors.

"Don’t touch those," Astrid warned. "They release spores if disturbed. Not deadly but they’ll make you sneeze for hours."

They gave the fungi wide berth and emerged into the largest chamber they’d seen yet. The ceiling stretched up high enough that the bioluminescent moss barely illuminated it, creating a sense of vast open space. And standing in the center of the chamber, surrounded by smaller plant beasts, was something significantly bigger.

"Is that a Thorn Brute?" Marcus asked, his voice carrying concern.

"Yeah," Astrid said. "They’re the mini-boss of the first floor. Tougher than the regular enemies but nothing we can’t handle if we work together."

The Thorn Brute was massive—easily eight feet tall and shaped vaguely like a humanoid made entirely of twisted vines and thorns. Its arms ended in club-like masses of hardened plant matter, and its entire body radiated essence strong enough that William could feel it from across the chamber.

"Any strategy?" William asked.

"Don’t get hit by those arms, they hit hard," Astrid said. "Focus on mobility and ranged attacks if you have them. Liam, you and I will maintain close combat pressure. William, your fire should be really effective—use it liberally. Marcus, Elena, support and handle the smaller beasts. Kai, you do... whatever it is you do."

"Understood," everyone confirmed.

The Thorn Brute noticed them and let out a deep rumbling sound that shook the chamber. Then it charged.

"Here we go!" Astrid yelled, and ran to meet it.

The battle began in earnest, the group working together to bring down the first floor’s guardian. William channeled fire essence and prepared to support Liam and Astrid’s assault while keeping the smaller beasts off their backs.

This was what dungeon diving was supposed to be like.

Dangerous, profitable, and surprisingly fun.

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Well in order to make this mass release more easier for you guys, I’ve changed the quota. (ONLY FOR THIS WEEK)

Any random three gifts and 120+ Ps = Mass release.

Of course the higher the gift the more the Chapters!