"I'm dying?" Dex felt the pit of his stomach drop, even though he realized it was part of the game. "Is there anything that can be done?"

Nix had waited until Hyai left to tell him the news. "Of course. That's why you are here. Saving people is what I do."

Dex felt the urge to mess with him but refrained; who knew if that would result in a 'bad ending?' "You've dealt with fatal poisons?"

Nix nodded and walked toward the far end of the shop. "I saved Del Tali by placing her in a dragon egg. A fair bit of business if I say so myself."

"You're putting me in an egg?" Dex followed the Inferno Leader, stopping when Nix sat down.

"Sadly, there seems to be a temporary shortage of viable dragon eggs." Nix tapped his work table, causing a hud to pop up. "I can do better than an egg."

"So... Not an egg?" Dex felt like Nix was somewhat of a mad scientist. It made him wonder what Nix the player was like in the VRMMO; surely he didn't have seven wives.

"I'm a puppet master, Dextron! Why place you in an egg when I can put you in a dragon!"

"Just call me, Dex."

Quest Updated.

Nix stared at him for a long moment; his bright yellow eyes seemed to take in every little detail. Then, finally, he walked around the table and removed a puppet from his inventory. "What do you think?"

"Is this what it looks like?" Dex touched the smooth scales of the puppet. It was a bit over three meters long with a dull gray coloring. "Why so small? And what's wrong with the color?"

"So many questions..." Nix placed the puppet in a queue and began to add enhancements. "It's small because it's a dragonling puppet. The color won't change for a few more years."

"Can't I get a bigger one?" Dex coughed into his hand.

Nix shook his head. "Do you think dragon puppets grow on trees? This is already better than anyone else can do." The Inferno Leader frowned at the queue he had set up. "Well... In you go."

[Choose an Option.]

1) Do what Nix asks.

2) Get more details.

Dex noticed that Nix seemed bothered by something. "Is something wrong with the dragonling?"

Nix scratched his chin. "It seems that the puppet is a bit damaged. It has a viability rating of 85 percent. More than enough for our purposes, though. In you go, Dex."

[Choose an Option.]

1) Do what Nix asks.

2) Refuse the puppet.

Dex bit down on a smile that threatened to come out. The truth was that he missed being virtual. If he could use a real virtual interface instead of his homemade crap to access the wave, he would probably have deep-dived as a hacker. "Seriously? Did I give you an 85 percent effort when we fought Khione?"

Nix blinked once... then twice... The silence in the room went on for several seconds. "You're right! I... I can repair it!"

[Dragonling Puppet: Common Rating 85 percent Viability]

Nix cleared off a storage crate that had been doubling as additional counter space; he slid the top off and then nearly disappeared from view as he appeared to dive in.

Dex couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Nix's feet sticking up out of the crate. The sound of rummaging went on for a few minutes before he pulled something out.

[Shadow Strike Puppet: Rating Unknown, 19 percent Viability]

"What is this thing?" Dex shook his head slightly; it had no discernable shape and was cloaked in darkness as if trying to absorb all the light around it.

"Hmm? Well... strictly speaking, it's a failed experiment. I found the remains of an ancient puppet in some Nether ruins. I combined it with the best puppet that I could make, hoping to repair it."

Dex smiled slightly; Nix looked like a little kid talking about his favorite race car. "What kind of puppet did you use to repair it."

"Pure rat puppet," Nix replied. "Of course, it didn't work, but the viability rating rose from 15 percent to 19 percent."

"Couldn't you keep repairing?"

Nix nodded. "Sure. But by the time it was repaired, it would have changed too much. I don't know what this puppet was to start with, so I didn't want to risk erasing it."

[Choose an Option.]

1) Ask him to repair the dragonling using the Ancient puppet.

2) Accept the Dragonling as is.

3) Tell Nix to find something else.

Dex covered another coughing fit, his eyes straying to the large crate. Nix probably had all sorts of things that could be used. Was this the best he could do? On the other hand, the mystery surrounding the ancient puppet might be worth unraveling. "Do your best to repair the dragonling using the Ancient puppet."

Nix clapped his hands together. "Let's do this!"

Dex nodded and stepped back to give the Inferno Leader room to work. Over the next few minutes, his impression of Nix as a mad scientist was reinforced. His expressions ranged from depressed one second to nearly maniacal another. When he was finally finished, he stepped back and stared at his creation.

[Dragonling Puppet: Unknown Rating 110 percent Viability]

Dex grinned at the Inferno Leader, intending to thank him. "Thank you for your hard work..." But, unfortunately, the rest of his sentence was consumed by a coughing fit. Instead of lasting on a few seconds, it went on until he fell to his knees, unable to breathe.

Nix's face was grim as he picked Dex up. He held up a small dark sphere. "This is Enigma; he should be able to help you navigate your way through the next four years."

Dex tried to reply, but the effort resulted in his blood spraying into the air as he was seized up by another round of coughs.

"We're out of time. In you go, Dex."

*******************

The gentle rumbling and shaking made it nearly impossible to rise up through his peaceful sleep. The moment stretched on for several minutes; this warmth and comfort was finally overcome by the loud rattling of metal on metal.

Dex stretched comfortably, opening his eyes when his hand collided with an object. "Sweet mother..."

A quick glance of his surroundings affirmed that he was the only occupant in a rather luxurious stagecoach. Well-cushioned red velvet seats with extendable footrests and a stocked bar made him wish he had awakened a bit sooner. He leaned out the window in time to see a well-armored Dragon Knight waving the coach driver through.

[Welcome to the Tembai Academy]

"Holy crap..." Dex tried to count the long line of stages but stopped when the number reached a few dozen. He seemed a lot closer to the front of the line than the rear as far as he could tell.

The Tembai Academy consisted of several mid-sized campuses linked together by red cobblestone streets and paths. The buildings ranged in size from massive arena-type structures to multi-story classrooms complete with impressive white marble pillars. Dex didn't have to pretend to be impressed; something like this would have bankrupted a super-power in the real world.

"Freshmen Admissions Hall in two minutes. Please have your Student Card available, Master Dextron!"

The voice of the stagecoach driver stopped Dex from further admiration of the view.

"Student Card?" Dex glanced around the coach, not seeing anything that looked like luggage or a pack. It was at this time that he noticed the uniform he was wearing. A red blazer with a matching tie, coupled with a white dress shirt, darker pants, and well-shined shoes. There was a patch on the right shoulder of the blazer with a crest that he assumed to be from Tembai Academy. A quick pat of his pockets resulted in his discovery of the card in question.

[Tembai Academy Student Identification Card]

Name: Dextron

Ancestry: Undisclosed Draconic Hybrid

Element: Awaiting Assessment

All Statistics and abilities will be assessed during the Orientation Trials on Day 3.

The coach stopped a few minutes later; within a few seconds, the driver opened the door for Dex. "Freshmen Admissions Hall, directly ahead!"

Dex stepped out of the coach while his driver moved to the rear of the vehicle. "Thank you, Driver."

A loud bang announced the arrival of a trunk that his driver had pulled down from the coach's storage space. "This is quite heavy, Young Master. I'll have it brought to your dormitory."

Three long tables were set up in front of an impressive-looking Admissions Hall. Each of these tables was staffed with a dozen people.

Dex whistled softly; the Hall was a four-story building with red brick and more windows than he'd ever seen on one facility. In addition, the entire entrance was made of slightly reflective mirrored glass.

A staff member addressed the incoming students; her enhanced voice was easy to hear despite the steady din of people talking and moving about. "Feel free to get in the shortest line; once you get a room assignment, you can unpack and enjoy free time until tomorrow morning."

"I.D. Card, please."

Dex handed her his card, noting that the blonde-haired girl was very pretty, with light blue eyes and a slim figure. "Thank you, ma'am."

The blonde tilted her head to one side, her smile widening. "Very polite," she pointed to the Tembai Academy badge on her shoulder. "Did you notice that the outline of my crest is silver while yours is black?"

Dex verified what she said with a quick glance. "Black outline means I'm a first-year?"

"Full marks, Freshman. Blue is 2nd year; silver is 3rd and gold 4th." Her voice was filled with humor; she seemed in no hurry to cycle him through like her co-workers were doing. "You're in the Phoenix Dorm, 212B; it's a Quad."

"Quad?" Dex glanced at her nametag and noted that her name was Taye.

"It's basically two large rooms that share the same bathroom. Your trunk should have already been delivered to your room. Follow the sparrow sidewalk to your dorm."

"Thank you, Taye." Dex had no idea what the sparrow sidewalk was, but he decided to follow the other freshmen until he figured it out.

"Sparrow is the middle sidewalk at the eastern gate. Every twenty meters, the center brick on the walkway is etched with a sparrow. All walkways are marked in similar fashions." Taye handed him a small folder. "This is a schedule of events; it also contains a campus map. Normally these would be available on your hud, but those functions have been disabled until Orientation Trials on Day 3."

Dex accepted the folder and, with a quick nod, turned eastward. Not the coolest exit he could have made, but speaking calmly to an attractive girl for three minutes without embarrassing himself was already stretching the limits of his reach.