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The whistle sound ended the match, and the drill sergeant looking teacher declared the expected result. “Team one wins! No losses for team one, three losses for team five, and victory is achieved by taking the objective!” The man announced in a voice that carried to every corner of the training grounds.

"Well, that was easy." Rein celebrated and gave a fist-bump to Shaheera. Miralen was helping one of the 'dead' members of the other team up while Karna was returning to them while waving the flag the other team was supposed to defend.

"That's a little impolite to say in the company of the team we just defeated," Shaheera argued a bit out of politeness, and one of the defeated people grunted in agreement.

“True though.” Miralen mercilessly pointed out the obvious. “Karna’s plan worked perfectly, and the other team was no match for us. In fact, none of the competing teams were.”

“I wouldn’t let that go to your head too much. We have the four top students in our group after all. It’s not exactly shocking that a team like that would be able to overpower the opponents.” Karna stated as she got close enough to be heard.

"The results aren't final yet, so until then I'm not the fourth-ranked person in the class." Rein retorted. They were in the middle of taking the first five-month exams that would help determine their new rankings. The group combat and tactics test they had just finished was the last of the tests they were supposed to take together. They could still take tests in the electives they had taken, but the common tests were over.

“I was there when we were taking the tests. You did fine. I’m quite sure you’ll end up in the top five at least.” Karna reassured the boy. Rein was the one who was the most insecure about his scores in the group. He had clearly done well enough on the tests to increase his rank, though the full extent was still in question. He had worked hard and the other three had tutored him in the subjects he found difficult.

"Doesn't matter anyway," Shaheera interjected. “It wasn’t just our power that allowed us to win. I’m sure that no one disagrees that we probably could’ve taken three or four other teams at the same time and still come ahead, assuming we were given enough space to strategize. It was our tactics that won most of these group exercises and not our pure power.”

"I'm with the kitty on this one," Miralen added. The two of them were right of course. The four of them had excelled in large part because they had stuck together as a group in all the classes and had taken the tactics elective together as a group. As a result, they were able to execute much more elaborate and useful tricks and tactics than the other groups. Shaheera had been especially good at coming up with nasty tactics.

Partially that was because their group allowed for a lot of flexibility. Many other groups had very rigid roles and the groups also tended to be very unbalanced since they were not formed with those roles in mind. On the other hand, their group was quite flexible. Rein was an ideal frontliner that could stomp around, cause chaos, and draw attention, while Miralen was the perfect backline mage that could also move around stealthily and use a bow at the level of an expert, partly thanks to her elven heritage as cliché as that was. Shaheera was a great flexible midliner that could brawl with the best of what the other teams had to offer in the frontlines, while he could also fall back and perform the job of a mage when necessary. Add on top Karna who could fulfill all three roles and also provide support with her True Light magic, and you ended up with a very flexible team that could shift from a backline group of mages to a frontline heavy warrior group in seconds.

“Well, the four of you certainly did well.” The teacher complimented them as he walked close to their group. The teacher rarely said nice things, which made the compliment all the more impactful. “I’d say you could do well testing against second years as well. I’m not sure if you’d crush the opposition like you did here, but you’d do well. Good work. You will all be getting full marks from me at least. You performed your roles well and I don’t have any complaints. Even Rein managed to fix some of his issues and can be a bit more flexible now.”

They had been running group combat exercises as a test for a week now, among taking the other tests. Half the day was dedicated to other tests while the other half was for these combat exercises. They also finally got a chance to see why the Academy island was so large and had such varied terrains. The various terrains were not only good for training different elements, but they were also perfect for these kinds of tests that benefitted from being held in varied terrains.

“Finally I can relax! I haven’t seen my family for a month.” Rein celebrated. The testing schedule had been hectic, and those that had more electives also still had more tests to come. Luckily many of the electives had no tests or the tests were conducted together with other tests. For instance, the tactics and strategies test was held together with the combat and physical training test. On the other hand, some subjects like the basic magic courses had several tests, which luckily were already over.

“You might be done. I still have my chantless casting and Karna has her artisan classes.” Miralen complained a bit. “How about you Shaheera?”

“I’m done. My tests are all complete already.” The Leonid replied cheerily. He’d mostly taken tests focused on theory and he enjoyed learning new things, so the tests were easy for him.

“Lucky you. I’m dreading my chantless casting test.” Miralen grumbled.

“So what are you going to do during your break?” Karna asked. They’d all get two weeks to relax and meet their families before the next semester started. The test results would come out during the break.

“Rein actually invited me to join his family. Apparently they have some fun activities planned.” Shaheera smiled at the memory of Rein’s rather awkward invitation. The two had become genuine friends. They’d all become fairly close, but those two had clearly spent the most time together.

“You could probably join us.” Rein pointed out, more at ease with inviting Karna for some reason. “I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind, especially if you can drag your father and Duskclaw along.

“I’ll take it up with Arjuna, but we already had something else planned. What about you Miralen?” Karna asked politely. Just like the two boys, Karna and Miralen had spent more time together than with the two others, though they were still a bit more distant than the two boys.

“I’ll be visiting my family.” The elven girl frowned. “I think it has to do with the unrest in the Sacred Dynasty. I think my father just wants to see that I’m ok. There’s also the fact that our enclave is still slightly at risk if the unrest spreads to the Magocracy as we're not too far from the border. There are preparations in place already, but…”

“But you never know and you’re still worried.” Karna finished for her. “Well, if you do run into trouble, you know you can rely on my help. And by that I mean I’ll bully my dad into helping.”

“Thanks. That means a lot.” Miralen nodded genuinely grateful. "So what do you have in mind?"

“Ah, right. I’m getting close to forming my third circle, so we’ll see if I can do it in an environment that would be beneficial to me.” Karna replied.

The pills she had gotten had helped, although the biggest benefit had come from the aid Gem provided her. Having a spirit that could speed up your development really was like cheating. Especially since the main factor holding her back wasn’t her mana. The issue was that she wanted to keep her Aura growing in tandem with her magic so that she could utilize the synergistic effects to the fullest, but there were no shortcuts to cultivating Aura like the pills she had received.

Thankfully she had several benefits when it came to cultivating Aura. The most obvious was that she was using the cultivation method she had compiled over her countless lifetimes. Even though the method wasn’t really focused on speed, it was still much faster than most just because it was a complete method. Most cultivators worked with incomplete or faulty cultivation methods that had deteriorated and been patched up over the generations. Another rather crucial benefit was the presence of Gem. The spirit could speed up her cultivation by several times. It also helped that her enormous potential made the early ranks easy to speed through, and now that her foundations have been laid, they allowed for greater speed and let her stop worrying about that.

“Congratulations. I was somewhat expecting this.” Shaheera was quick to offer his good will.

“Thanks! Good luck with Rein’s family. They’re all psychos just like him.” Karna joked.

Shaheera faked a worried expression. “Please tell me that isn’t true. I don’t think I could handle more than one Rein.”

“Oi!” Rein protested before bursting to laughter. He had learned to take jokes over the last five months.

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“Have you understood the instructions?” Menkhaf asked with a firm voice.

“Yes. I am to craft an item to the specifications given, just like I was fulfilling a real order. I’ll first pick the suitable materials from those offered. Then I’ll forge the item and add inscriptions to it like I was enchanting it. Finally, as a bonus, I will have to decide a suitable potion or a pill to be used by this fictional customer for the same purpose given." Karna repeated. After a moment she raised a hand to ask a question. "Am I allowed to ask further questions from this 'customer'?"

"That depends on the questions," Menkhaf said a little unhelpfully. “What did you have in mind?”

“We’ll see. You can decide not to answer the questions if you feel them inappropriate.” Karna conceded.

“Alright then. For the order itself, the customer wants you to forge them a weapon to be used against one of the Scourges, specifically the forces of the Netherworld.” Menkhaf gave the order in a very rigid official tone.

“Did the customer specify what type of Netherworld forces? It’s a lot different to fight against the standard undead than it is to fight against the more elite dynastic forces of the Netherworld Phaerons. And that’s without touching the spirit infused constructs that are sometimes among their armies.” Karna questioned. She had been an expert concerning the Netherworld in the past and that expertise had not disappeared, even though she’d been forced to update some of her knowledge.

“Let’s say generic undead forces.” Menkhaf nodded. That had been a good question, and one a proper artisan should ask. It was also a bit too much to ask Karna to forge a weapon to be used against the elites of the Netherworld. Only expert artisans were suited for that task.

“And what kind of weapons does the customer prefer to use? I’d hate to make a sword for a spear-master.” Karna asked with a grin.

“Let’s say a spear.” Menkhaf once again nodded approvingly. Since this was an imaginary customer, there was no need to know specific measurements, but at least knowing the right weapons type was necessary.

With expert eyes, Karna picked the perfect material to cause maximum damage against the named enemy. Materials heavy with light or lightning elements were significantly stronger against weak undead. The forging process was conducted perfectly and without any wasted movement. Menkhaf actually enjoyed watching the perfect economy of motion that still somehow managed to look graceful. It was like watching the famed elven smiths of the High Elven court at work. As a dwarf, he of course had pride in the artisans of his own race, but the elves were indeed much more graceful in their actions, and Karna seemed to have that same quality.

The resulting weapon was not only extremely functional and effective but also artistically decorated. It didn't have any of the waste found in purely ceremonial weapons, but it still managed to look beautiful without sacrificing practicality. The practicality was simply enhanced with little flourishes and decorations. The inscriptions on the weapon protected against the miasma often exuded by the undead, as well as hampering the regeneration that many undead benefitted from. It wasn't a complicated inscription, but it was perfect for the purpose. As a final touch, Karna brewed an antidote potion against the most commonly seen toxins and poisons that the lower level undead used naturally.

“Good choices. I was somewhat surprised you chose against creating a potion that would stop corpses from rising as undead. That’s the most common option for those that take this test.” Menkhad half questioned. He didn’t bother mentioning that this test was actually something that was given to those that had studied the artisan classes for at least four years. This test had been picked especially since it was the least demanding when it came to the mana reserves of the artisan. Karna might be skilled, but she was still just a second circle mage.

“I don’t have much luck when it comes to sacred materials. The results tend to vary a lot more, so this was a safer bet." Karna replied with a secret smile. She knew how to use sacred materials and inscriptions, but there were some complications when someone with Divine origin used such spells and materials. The results could be staggeringly powerful or explosively bad depending on how her heritage worked with the materials and spells used.

“Fair enough. I'll have neutral parties evaluate your work, but I think it's safe to say you passed with flying colors. Was this your last test?" Menkhaf asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, it was, master.” Karna nodded.

“In that case, I won’t keep you for any longer. Have a good vacation.” The teacher dismissed her.

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Arjuna was always rather shocked to see all the activity going on in Llethunaxx’s lair. Everywhere servants that were almost cultists were carting around massive amounts of wealth. That was the normal part when in a dragon’s lair. What was less common was that some of the servants were clearly accountants and magistrates that categorized, counted, catalogued, and cleaned all the treasures. Llethunaxx fancied himself a business-dragon, and had his claws in many pies. Sometimes literally as he also owned bakeries and rather liked the little delicacies instead of eating people.

The dragon owned hundreds if not thousands of companies in dozens of countries. He rather prided himself on the fact that everything in his hoard was earned and not taken the usual dragon way. The fact that not all those businesses were legal or very ethical was very much besides the point. Llethunaxx might not have been the most powerful dragon, but he was smart, and when necessary ruthless. Traits that were not uncommon in Blue Dragons, even if he took them to the extreme. A large Red Dragon had once tried to attack his hoard thinking that Llethunaxx was not up to defending it, but had quickly been made to regret that choice when the wily blue had summoned reinforcements from all his underlings and hired mercenaries.

None of the servants bothered to stop Arjuna as he walked through the long and wide tunnels of the lair. The servants either recognized him and knew better, or they saw the insignia on his chest and knew that trying to stop him would be pointless. The fact that he had opened a portal straight inside the lair also spoke volumes about his power, as dragon lairs were meticulously warded against such intrusions. Otherwise, someone could just make a portal and walk away with all the treasure inside.

The tunnels were rather basic and lacking in architecture, something the dragon apparently had little taste for, but things changed as he reached his destination. The tunnel took him into a large valley that was surrounded by tall and thin pillars that flashed with lightning despite the clear skies. All the pillars seemed to have crystals in their base that radiated lightning, and the energy ran along the pillar and sometimes jumped between them. The rest of the valley was filled with coin and other treasure. In the middle, a large Blue Dragon lay stretched out as servants poured coins on top of the great wyrm’s scales.

“More.” The dragon muttered in a deep voice with his eyes closed, and the servants obliged, getting new buckets full of coins. “M-m-more.” The dragon repeated with a very happy tone while stretching his front claws along the ground.

“Llethunaxx!” Arjuna said with a shocked voice. “Are you actually cumming from having coins poured over you?!”

The dragon opened his eyes and blinked a bit dumbly before he noted Arjuna. Then he made a grunt that sounded both frustrated and relieved at the same time. “Not anymore I’m not. Did you come here to judge me, Shadow Weaver? Because if you did, I can get that done by someone much more attractive than you. Unless you’re into that sort of thing? Unlike you, I don’t judge…” The dragon stated, with something that Arjuna hoped was a joking tone.

“No. I did not come here to judge. I was…just caught by surprise.” Arjuna said a bit defensively. It wasn’t a good idea to piss the dragon off right now. Not when he needed something from the beast.

“Well, knowing you, you haven’t had the pleasure, or any pleasure for that matter, for years, so I can see how that would shock you. What brings you here? Despite your rather awkward timing, you’re always welcome here. Especially if you’re here for business.” The dragon was feeling magnanimous. Despite the interruption, this was still a good day. And if the Shadow Weaver was here for business, it was about to become even better.

Arjuna grimaced a bit internally. This would cost him, but if it would help his little girl, then why would he care. It wasn’t like she often asked for things and it wasn’t like he had a lot of uses for his wealth normally. “I need a favor. And not a small one.”

This perked the dragon up and he even waved for the servants to take some distance. “Oh? You certainly have my attention now.”

“My daughter…” Arjuna managed to say before being interrupted.

“Wait, wait, wait! Since when do you have a daughter? Maybe I need to take back my words about you not experiencing something pleasurable for a while. Unless you outsourced that part of course? You never know with small folk, and I heard some of you were into that sort of thing.” The dragon teased him.

“…my daughter is an Aura user and she needs the perfect place to Awaken.” Arjuna soldiered on and refused to rise to the bait.

“Wait, what bloodline is she awakening that you need my help? I don’t donate dragon life-blood if that’s what you had in mind. Not even for you.” Llethunaxx got a bit suspicious.

Arjuna noticed the change in mood immediately. “No need to worry. We don’t need your blood. That’s not why I’m here. The bloodline she’s Awakening is that of a Titan. And she would benefit greatly from a place filled with metal and lightning elemental power.”

The dragon blinked a bit. “Oh?” Then it looked around the lair filled with coins. “Oooh! I see. Most people would think of a smithy or something. But I can see what you’re aiming for. You want to borrow my lair for the Awakening.”

“Exactly. Additionally, I wouldn’t mind it if you made sure the weather was…helpful in our endeavors. I can cause a storm, but a Blue Dragon can make sure the storm is up to our standards. It’s always better to leave such things to an expert.” Arjuna explained.

“Well, that’s not out of the question, but we’ll have to discuss some compensation.” Llethunaxx rubbed the thumb and the first digit of his front limb together in a rather humanoid gesture.

“Well, to start things off, last time my daughter Awakened, she also caused a tribulation to appear.” Arjuna made his pitch. Even if most of the energy from the tribulation was to be absorbed by Karna, the remaining energy would be really beneficial for a Blue Dragon.

“That’s…quite useful actually. I’d say very useful, but it’s also a risk to my hoard.” The dragon pointed out rather fairly.

“Alright. What do you want?” Arjuna gave a sigh as they went into negotiations mode. He was prepared to allow the dragon something out of his vaults, even if he didn’t like the prospect. He just hoped he didn’t have to pour coins on the dragon…

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