Volume 2, Chapter 10: The Special Dragon Transfer Student of Shail Mage Academy

Discourse #11

Since you were a former human, Marius, you should know that in the human lands, there are generally three sizes of kingdoms: small, medium, and large. The kingdom I was born in—Shail Kingdom—is a small sized kingdom, home to perhaps about one million humans.

Small sized kingdoms have populations of up to two million people; medium sized kingdoms have populations of two million to five million people; and anything greater than five million is considered a large sized kingdom.

By your expression, I can tell you are curious as to why I am bringing up a common fact that is already known to you.

Well, ponder no more, for the reason I bring this up is because I have found that, in my experience with military information and travels, an average of about .2 to 1 percent of humans in the human kingdoms are born with magic. Other races, however, I am not sure of.

I see this information has dawned on you, so I shall continue telling you of my time during the Mage Academy of my birth kingdom.

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{277 Days Remaining}

When morning came, I went to see Alice Silver and left her the key to my room. There had been some awkwardness from her when she had asked about Leana, but I assured her that nothing had occurred except for the fact that she had slept overnight.

I took out the coin purses, which I had left in the inn's room and paid the fee for three months. I had no need to use the prize money for the tournament, since there was still money leftover.

After the transaction and our conversation was finished, I gave Alice a small farewell and headed outside the city, where I would wait about two hours or so for Lady Calina Serle.

Leana was still deeply asleep inside my room, so there was no need to worry about that; the ensuing awkwardness would also be avoided.

The two hours would also give me some time to unwind, allowing me to practice my sword forms and magic.

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Outside of the city, close to the nearby forest, I deeply breathe in the fresh air. Then I started stretching, and before long, I began moving into the routine I was taught by Grandmaster Kizam. I drew my longsword free from its sheathe.

I started off with Leaf Twirling in Wind, transitioning into Walking Mountain. All too soon, the routine became a natural rhythm, the few forms of the Wandering Flame style I had recently learned soon flowing into each other.

Grandmaster Kizam's voice was fresh in my mind as I practiced.

“My own master—you need not know his name—once taught me that before you begin a battle, you must first unfetter your mind of all irrelevant thoughts. Hone it and sharpen it, just like you would a blade. I won't say become the blade itself, for that is a stupid notion. No, you must, at all times, be aware of your surroundings. Yes, you must maintain constant vigilance...the only thing that is left then is to practice until the sword becomes a natural extension, a part of your body. Of course, practice is just one of the means toward a long journey; you must also gain the ability to use these skills in real situations. And if you die in a real situation, well...you were just an unlucky maggot then. Tough shit...”

I worked through a series of aggressive movements that implemented both my body and my weapon, for the Wandering Flame style's baser nature was of aggressiveness.

My booted feet left streaks in the dust, my longsword traced simple, effective arcs in the air, cutting at imaginary foes, and my shadow danced, accompanying me in this ritual of disciplined violence. As I became more and more used to the forms, I went at it faster.

The speed, no doubt, would have surprised even the grandmaster, for it was not one a mortal human could obtain—at least not any human I knew of or heard of.

I became an ephemeral blur, the motions of my body and sword coalescing.

Time passed by quickly and it was perhaps a little more than an hour before I came to a stop. But it was not due to fatigue or anything like that. No, I stopped because I wanted to practice my magic.

After I was finished, however, I would need to go back to the outside of the city southern gates, where I would wait for Lady Calina Serle to arrive.

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To live by the sword is to die by the sword.

I pondered about this common military saying as I felt the weight of my longsword strapped to my back. It was still a relatively new weapon, given to me by Grandmaster Kizam. Not so new, however, in regards to its baptism.

After all, the weapon had been thoroughly coated with the blood of dark elves during the subjugation.

Dark elves were a curious race; cunning, fierce, and cruel. And judging from how the others had deferred to that female dark elf known as Blackheart and from my past experiences, I would think that they were a matriarchal society. A likely truth, but I was not too sure.

A voice interrupted my musings about the sword and dark elves.

“Ride with me, slave,” Calina said, walking toward the horse-drawn carriage with her arms folded. Similar to the day I accompanied her to meet her teacher, she wore a Gothic style black dress cut short above her knees. Below that, she wore a lighter shade of black stockings which went all the way down to her soft-furred, brown boots. All of this served to express her small proportions quite admirably, including her shapely rump.

Mind you, I am just speaking to you of my observations. It is, to say the least, one of my favorite things to do—observing, that is, not leering at women's bodies. Of course, like any other normal male, I had an inclination to look at women with desire, but it is to a far lesser degree, almost negligible, really.

“Very well, mistress Calina,” I said amiably. (At least, I tried to say it amiably, though I am afraid it might have come off rather indifferently, in my opinion).

Calina did not bother to reply, only continuing walking toward the horse-drawn carriage. Funny enough, she somehow tripped over a pebble as she neared the carriage. Her hands instantly went out to stabilize herself, and her short, black dress became upturned as a result. The final result was her being in an arched position, revealing a sheer red panty, which was almost thin enough to be negligible.

It was out of character for me, but I was in a light mood. That, combined with the fact that I was role-playing as her “slave bodyguard,” caused me to whistle wolfishly (or should I say dragonishly) at her. “I find your taste in red panties to be in my liking, mistress. Rather daring too, might I add humbly,” I said in a polite tone, adding just the barest inflection.

Having recovered from her fall, Calina stood up and turned around to look back at me. Her face remained expressionless, but I noticed the slight twitching. “I have no words for you, slave. I would punish you if I have the time, but we must journey to the academy now. Just hurry into the carriage now.”

“No disrespect was intended, mistress. I was merely complimenting your choice of wardrobe for today.”

“...”

Similar to Calina, my face remained expressionless also, though I was more experienced in hiding my emotions—I did not have much to hide, after all.

The form of the fourteen year old noble lady disappeared as soon as she went inside the black carriage. Black, I was beginning to think, was most likely her favorite color.

I followed along, accepting Calina's invitation to sit inside the carriage with her (not that there was any other place for me to sit as I was her bodyguard).

I also noticed that all through this moment, the carriage driver had a gloved hand held up to cover the lower half of his face.

No doubt, the driver most likely had an amused smile hidden underneath his hand.

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{274 Days Remaining}

The horse-drawn carriage shook a little as we steadily moved along toward Shail Kingdom's Mage Academy.

Inside the carriage, Calina sat across from where I was sitting. Her legs, covered in long, light black stockings, were crossed with her right leg over the left. Her lips were somewhat pursed, and she had on a dull expression while her intense looking, steel grey eyes remained blank.

I, along with her, felt inclined to agree with her mood. We had been riding inside this carriage for about four days now, traveling toward the central region of Shail Kingdom. But to arrive at the Mage Academy, one and a half more day of riding was still required.

Naturally, we also had to stop to rest and eat; at nights, the carriage driver would stop at a nearby town and find us the best inn and reserve three rooms, one for each of us. The money, I might add, also came solely from Calina's deep pockets. To be technical, it came from her father's deep pockets, seeing that he was the richest noble in the northern region of Shail Kingdom.

We stopped at a fairly large town since the sun was already setting, and day was turning into night.

After settling everything, I was left to my own devices in one of the modest, yet spacious room of the town's inn. The name of the inn was called the Dancing Pig.

Surprisingly enough, the inn had a large number of customers, despite its name. It was also the biggest inn in the town. Perhaps there was just something about the inn's name that attracted people. Hah, a dancing pig. I would have liked to see such an animal; it sounded amusing.

Inside the room reserved for me, there was a mirror about as tall as I was. The room was also furnished with a small desk, a well-made wooden chair, and a soft-feathered bed with two blankets neatly folded on top. There was also a small window to let in the night air in case the room became stuffy.

I undressed myself, taking off the new garments I had bought, since the clothing the eldest had made for me became worn out from use. My new garments consisted of a green sleeveless tunic, a black shoulder mantle, and linen leggings of a darker green. The season was summer, after all, and I dressed to suit the weather.

There was also no need to don armor, for the central region of Shail Kingdom was safe, as there were many outposts along the roads. These outposts kept any stray goblins or monsters from encroaching into human territories.

Naked, I put my neatly folded garments onto the desk and walked toward the bed, planning to sleep for little more than an hour.

“Strange,” I said to myself, catching a look at my reflected image on the mirror.

I could not help but be surprised at seeing the large tattoo of three spirals which were connected together in the center, all of it in a circular fashion. Small jagged spikes, each one not similar to one another, surrounded these three spirals in a circular perimeter. Below this, there were small flames devouring a tree. All of these black patterns resulted in a mesmerizing display.

But how had this black tattoo appeared onto my back without me being aware of it? I had felt nothing. I had seen nothing.

I pondered at this novelty, sifting through my memories, but the only thing that I found close to suspicion was of the four-horned female apparition. Her words and her mesmerizing, yet strange voice were still distinct in my mind.

“It seems you are marked...” That was what she had said to me.

Prior to that, these black designs on my back had never appeared before...before I had met her. What had she done to me? And what did she meant by saying that I was marked?

A growl almost burst out of me—I disliked not knowing things, especially when these things concerned me and my life.

It was useless, however, trying to make random conjectures about this black tattoo. Nothing could be done for the moment, as I had no clue as to what this was or how I had obtained it. I also doubted that this was another one of the eldest's trick, for I had not seen him do anything to my back. He had only marked my stomach with a blood mark, which I could use to contact him by activating it with my fire magic.

For now, I would put this curiosity away, and sleep for an hour or so.

Then I would spend the rest of the night practicing on sensing the magic in other people. The past few days, I had learned to sense a little of this, trying out a variety of methods, but I was still not adept enough. I also had no clue how to hide my magic; this was one of the few quirks of magic that was on my mental list to practice, but little did I know back then that I would only learn to do this after I had turned five years old as a dragon.

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{273 Days Remaining}

The next night when I was alone and out practicing half-nakedly, I was attacked by a dark form. My guard was up, however, so I instantly countered the dagger's thrust. I was beginning to tire of these constant assassins, so I did not waste any time in using my greater speed and strength to catch my attacker. Then I proceeded to slam the body of the assassin, pinning the assassin to the ground.

In the darkest and most indifferent voice I could muster, I asked the assassin a question. “Who are you.”

“Bastard,” the female voice spat out.

I recognized the voice. It was the voice of Veena, the fiery red-haired assassin I had faced in the tournament, and the one who had declared vengeance on me.

“Ah, Veena, eh?”

“Bastard,” she repeated again.

I ignored her insult, proceeding to ask Veena another question, a question which her life would depend on.

“Are you with Malice?” I asked, wanting to know if she belonged to the assassin organization that had connections to my human death.

I could tell that the assassin was stumped for a moment, trying to find the words to answer, or not answer, more likely.

“Why should I tell you anything!” she said defiantly.

“Because I will kill you if you do not,” I whispered, my hands still pinning her upper body and neck in a hold. Our faces were close to each other, almost touching, with the position I held her in.

“I suggest you not to spit at me and also stop trying to struggle. Otherwise, it will result in your death, Veena.”

The assassin remained motionless after that, but I could tell from her eyes that there was still fire within them. Even the night could not hide the fight in her golden-violet eyes. Though I must profess I cheated a bit, using my dragon eyes which could see better in the dark.

“You should answer soon, else I will slowly burn you alive.” To show her that I was not joking, I summoned a modicum of fire magic on my hands, which were pinning her to the ground.

Veena yelped a little in pain at the sudden heat, her eyes widening.

“You are a mage?” she half-shouted.

“That is where you are wrong, my dear assassin,” I confessed in a dark voice, growing dragon wings from my back, near my shoulders. Then I grew two dragon horns that jutted out from the sides of my head. Then I grew a dragon tail, with no spikes on it (I found that I could control up to that much during my practices).

I used this tail to tightly bound Veena's legs together to further frighten her. Then I whispered softly, “I am a monster, Veena, the likes of which you have never seen.”

“What are you?” she whispered back bravely, though I could sense the hidden fear in her voice. There was also defiance mixed with the fear.

“I grow tired of this, assassin. Answer me, or I shall kill you in the most painful ways I can imagine. And trust me, you mortal humans cannot even begin to know pain like I do. I suggest you do not lie to me also, for I can easily see through your lies.”

I was being dramatic and was lying through my “dragon-teeth,” but Veena did not necessarily knew that. It was also a little amusing to me to do so. She was most likely thinking that I was a monster out of her deepest nightmares.

Veena tried to take a deep breath, despite my hold on her body. The result was not good, but she spoke anyway. “No, I am not connected with Malice. In fact, I am its enemy. You could even say I am an outlaw assassin, in fact. Is it my turn to ask you questions now, monster?” Veena asked defiantly.

Perhaps I was a little impressed or perhaps seeing that she was going to die, anyway, I gave her a turn to ask me a question. “You may, assassin.”

“What does a monster like you have to do with Malice anyway?”

“I plan to obliterate it,” I said plainly.

At that, I could almost see Veena's mind working furiously, most likely trying to come to terms with my revelation.

“In return for sparing my life,” Veena slowly said, “I shall help you with your...revenge?”

“Why would I need you, anyway?”

Her lips became pursed rebelliously. “I know all of their locations.”

“Then what is to stop me from taking this information out of you, human.”

Her eyes and face hesitated a short second before determination became set in her eyes and face. “Nothing, except my promise that I shall help you.”

“The promises of humans are the stuff of fragility, assassin. I do not trust your word.”

Veena fell silent for a few seconds before finally opening her mouth. “Then let me bind myself to you, monster, though I am unsure whether it will work...”

“We shall see, mortal,” I said, intrigued by her idea.

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{272 Days Remaining}

The incident with Veena took a while to finish the previous night, but her idea had been satisfactory. The result of it had left her bound to me and her life well preserved. She would, for the moment, stay a distance away from me until I would call upon her.

Thus, it was on a hot afternoon the next day that we finally arrived at Shail Kingdom's Mage Academy. As far as the eyes could see, my eyes to be exact, the academy grounds were extensive. No, just calling it extensive would not do it justice. The scale of the Mage Academy was almost similar to Asolance, which was one of the largest city and home to hundreds of thousands of people.

I remembered hearing and reading much about this Mage Academy in my previous human life. There were about three thousand students attending this institution. There were also supposedly no distinctions made between commoners and nobles alike here. Every student was equal, for they were all mages. Well, novice mages to be exact.

Each of the student's education in the Mage Academy was also free, paid for by the kingdom's treasury, for magic was a precious commodity, mages even more so. In return, however, the students who graduated would serve in the kingdom's military doing all kinds of tasks as needed for three years. After finishing the term, the mage could also choose to continue serving in the military.

Students in the Mage Academy started from as young as age thirteen until they turned twenty-two. In other words, a student would need to attend the academy for nine years before they graduated.

Calina Serle, by the way, was a third year student, as I had found out in some of the conversations I had with her in the past few days.

Currently, Calina and I were standing at the southern quadrant of the Mage Academy, where the administration building was located at. There were others located at the northern, western, and eastern quadrant, as it would consume too much time to serve all three thousand students.

Surrounding us were hundreds of other students, whom I judged mostly to be newcomers, most likely first year students, as they all had looks of nervousness on their faces.

“Hey, you there!” a male voice shouted from behind us.

Calina turned to confront the voice, which seemed to be directed at us. Likewise, I did so too.

The voice, it turned out, belonged to a short, slim male student with an unnatural hair color. His hair was of a fierce pink color and his face looked delicate, almost more feminine than a bonafide female. The pink-haired student wore his hair long, the ends of it tied into a short ponytail, which hanged to the front of his right shoulder.

What was most interesting to me, however, was not the student's appearance. No, what caught my attention was the fact that the male student was riding atop the shoulder of a wooden puppet in the form of a human—except this wooden body was about twenty feet tall.

"Greetings, Calina Serle,” the pink-haired student said politely from above the wooden puppet, which had bent down on both knees. The student then jumped down from the puppet's shoulder and onto its hand, before finally landing on the ground.

“Ah, dog. It is you,” Calina replied in a monotone voice.

“My name is Phan Tsu, not dog! You, Calina Serle, seriously need to have some respect toward your peers.”

Calina turned her head toward me questioningly. “Do you hear some barking, slave?” she asked with just the slightest bit of inflected emotion.

“Seriously, don't just ignore me like that, Calina Serle,” Phan Tsu said in a pitiful voice, letting out a small sniffle.

“Do not address me by my full name, dog. Call me mistress.”

“But...but...Calina.” The pink-haired student's bright blue eyes finally noticed me standing beside Calina. “And who is this beside you, Calina!” Phan Tsu shouted excitedly. I could hear some aggression in his excited voice. Or was it rivalry?

“My slave,” Calina replied shortly.

“Your slave...”

“Yes, my slave, dog. He, by the way, has a higher rank than you.”

“...”

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After two long hours of waiting in line, our turn finally came, with Phan Tsu glaring from behind me.

The administration desk we were at was manned by a young man in plain glasses, just like his average face.

It took only a few minutes before Calina and Phan Tsu were enrolled as third-year students and their statuses were verified in the academy records. My enrollment, however, took about half an hour or so, mostly due to Calina arguing with the administrator that she wanted my occupation to be changed to that of a slave, instead of a student / bodyguard.

It also seemed that the administration had been informed by Zor Alzeroth of my special circumstances.

The argument between Calina and the young administrator turned coldly heated, before Calina finally gave up.

Then I was asked to touch a glowing globe, from which I could sense magic emanating from. I wondered as to what its purpose was as I had seen other students touching this glowing globe. I placed my right hand on the globe, following the instructions of the administrator.

“Strange,” the young man in plain glasses said, “the globe cannot determine your four common magic affinities. How strange...”

At that point, I began to worry. Did it perhaps have to do with the fact that I am a dragon? I had not known that there was a difference between dragon magic and human magic. Were there even any differences?

“Hmm...I think I shall have to call my superior. I have never seen a case like yours happening. Just wait a brief moment and my superior shall arrive. Every student should have at least one of the four common affinities: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.”

The young administrator muttered the last sentence under his breath, while Phan Tsu and Calina Serle looked curiously at me.

Well, shit, I thought. I had not expected this.

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Volume 2 (Chapter 11)