Transmigrated as an Extra: Awakening of The Ex‐Class”

Tring, tring, tring!

The sound of the alarm broke the silence in my room, as if someone had roused me from my sleep and brought me snowily back to reality. The sound was sharp, piercing, with that irritating tone I'd chosen on purpose. I still wasn't used to waking up so early.

My eyes opened with great effort, my heavy eyelids dragging the weight of my consciousness back to reality. Clumsily, I reached for the shelf next to my bed with my hands, groping blindly until I managed to silence the alarm. The screen projected a faint glow in the darkness: 3:59 a.m.

"I can't keep rolling around in the sheets. The day has begun."

I sat on the side of the bed, my back hunched and my eyes watering, my bare feet touching the cold floor. I took a deep breath. The room was completely silent, barely illuminated by the soft blue light of the floating mana lamps, suspended in each corner like fireflies caught in an endless dance. From here, I could see the scattered mess of my things: the coat rack with my neatly folded training uniform, the runic wooden box where I kept the bracelet Nova had given me, and on the table, the old cell phone I still had.

I gently got up, almost stumbling, as if something heavy was still clinging to my shoulders, and walked toward the bathroom.

I poured my mana into it and turned on the shower faucet. I let the water run for a few seconds, heating up with its characteristic thermal hum. I undressed without thinking too much, left my clothes in a basket, poured my mana into it again, so it would wash automatically, and finally, I stepped under the running tap.

The drops of water fell with a force that cleansed the external impurities from my body. It soon became comforting, as if trying to erase not only the sweat or the sleep, but also the thoughts that distracted me, because although my body was strong, my mind couldn't escape. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened yesterday.

Even with all the skills and experience I've had since coming into this world, yesterday... that emotion... was the first time I'd felt anything like it. It was new, unsettling, and somehow... it made me feel more alive.

But I didn't have time for emotions. Not now.

I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, dried myself with a Dor cloth towel, and dressed in my training uniform: tight pants made of flexible, mana-reinforced fabric, a black sleeveless T-shirt that fit my torso perfectly, and over it, the impact vest, lightweight but durable with NOVA's signature lion emblem. I fastened my magic-lock boots and tied my hair back in a high ponytail. Finally, I slipped the identification bracelet I'd left on the shelf onto my left wrist: a black metal bracelet with blue lines that glowed with my mana when I touched it.

I was ready.

I left the room without making a sound, slipping smoothly into the academy's long corridors as usual.

At this hour, the world seemed different. The long hallways, usually crowded with cadets, professors, and festival guests, were now deserted. The flagstone floors were so polished they reflected my face and every step I took.

Outside, the sky was a patch of darkness barely illuminated by the constellations of the Milky Way: Ventus, Ignis, Aqua, Terra, and Umbra. All in honor of great heroes of the distant past. Around them, some stars continued to shine, reluctant to leave their side, perhaps lovers who perished with them. The wind whispered between the tallest towers of the Academy, a high-pitched, melancholic sound that seemed to count the hours before the nightmare that would become this day.

The mana lamps, suspended from the columns, illuminated each of my steps in a deep blue. Each of these lamps pulsed to the rhythm of the dungeon beast cores embedded within them.

"How peaceful..." I murmured, more to hear my own voice than anything else.

It was an intimate whisper, hoping that the worst wouldn't happen today. The stillness of early morning always washed my thoughts. Something that couldn't be replicated even in the quietest library or meditation hall.

Sometimes, I momentarily had pessimistic thoughts, feeling as if someone was pulling the strings of my will. It was as if the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

"I wish everything were always this peaceful..." I added, knowing full well it wouldn't be.

The calm never lasted. There was always a new order, a new challenge, a new wound. That's why in these moments, this moment was mine.

***

I finally arrived at the gym.

The giant black metal door, reinforced with runes, was imposing; I estimated its height to be similar to that of an ogre. As I approached, I extended my arm and placed the bracelet against the reader. A blue light emitted from it, reading all my information. It scanned everything very quickly, and after a few seconds, the doors finally opened with a soft thud.

The place inside seemed to be the same one I had visited last year: a sturdy steel cavern. Some of the walls were covered with a thin layer of mirrors with lines on their sides, which not only reflected the cadet's physical condition but also their life energy. In my previous world, this would have been similar to the "HP" in games. In the corners of the gym, there were pillars adorned with Dungeon Beast crystals modified to regulate temperature, gravitational weight, and light intensity. All perfectly optimized to improve the cadets' physical performance.

I looked around again; today, it was empty as well.

Not a soul. Not even Erwig, my longtime training partner, seemed to have finally abandoned me. We hadn't crossed paths in weeks. Maybe I thought today would be different, maybe he's still busy organizing... A silence that was no longer comfortable, but necessary.

I stopped feeling sorry for myself; there was no point in feeling sorry for myself anymore. Without hesitation, I headed to the gravity dumbbell area. Their shapes varied; there were hexagonal ones, others square, each one had a specific function, but I preferred the floating metal spheres that were activated with a keyword and an intensity level. I stood in front of them, placed both hands on them, and let my hand flow over the sensors before muttering:

"Level seven."

The spheres descended with a low hum, hovering a few inches off the ground. They weighed three times as much as a normal dumbbell, manipulating gravity to force the body beyond its limits.

I picked one up, inhaled deeply, and began the routine.

Every movement was a struggle against something invisible. The weight pressed against my muscles, yes, but even more so the presence of my thoughts, which recalled the progress I'd made since last year. As I went up and down, it was as if each repetition was a form of punishment, of redemption, of affirmation. "I'm here. I'm still here. I haven't given up." That was the idea.

But the thoughts returned. They always did, this time returning to yesterday.

That look, that accidental touch, that word that hung in the air like an unresolved musical note. I couldn't explain it; words weren't enough to describe it. I know it wasn't love, at least not the way the books describe it. I don't know, I don't know the feeling. Before I came here, I was an orphan. My parents abandoned me at age seven in a group home. I survived as best I could. In the end, I don't even remember how I died, or if I ever died.

"Was it real?" The appearance of that girl I saw. I wondered as I lifted the dumbbell with a stifled gasp. "Or just an ego-induced fantasy?"

I didn't know.

But I did know I wanted to feel it again, wanted to experience more, even if it was just for a short time.

Time in my mind seemed infinite, sometimes accompanied by this unfamiliar feeling, and other times I was afraid. Because, no matter how strongly my abilities blocked status ailments, loss was inherent to being human, a demon capable of leaving such a deep scar on a person.

"I want to save my friend. I have to save him."

Maybe that's why I was there so early. Maybe that's why I didn't want to stay still. Because I was afraid that if I stopped... that fear would spread throughout my body. Like a bubble bursting as I tried to catch it.

When I finally finished the set, I dropped the dumbbell onto the reinforced tile with a soft thud that reverberated throughout the gym. My arms were still shaking, my breathing labored, but it wasn't from the physical exertion. It was from that anxiety that would finally end today.

I dropped to my knees, placed my hands on the floor, and closed my eyes. I felt the flow of mana coursing through my body like a river current. It was part of me, but also foreign. It was power, but also a burden.

"I'm ready," I told myself silently, reaffirming my resolve.

In the end, only the echo of my breathing accompanied me as I walked directly to the classroom.