It was morning and the sun was shining down on Raven’s face. He had fallen asleep on the giant sofa. Now that Raven thought about it, almost every day is sunny in this world and he wondered how they grew crops. Maybe they had a magical water system or something along the lines.

He saw that Liliana was up and was currently eating breakfast. “I asked for a breakfast for two.” she said.

“Thanks, Lily.” said Raven.

He took a seat and saw it was a typical dinner: fresh bread and butter, with fruit tea for a drink. Apparently, fresh bread was a delicacy in this world.

…

They finally finished eating breakfast and Liliana opened her mouth “The examination starts today.”

“Starts?”

“There are several stages. The first one is crystal ball test, the second one is knowledge test and the third one is a practical test.” she said.

“Oh, that makes sense.” Raven said.

“It’s better to be early than late.” said Lily as she got up and walked towards the door.

“You’ve got a point.” said Raven as he followed.

Although he could fly, he heard that there was something called Air Security in cities that would take fees for using the air. He wasn’t familiar with the city, so he was in Liliana’s care.

The carriage was waiting for them, so they didn’t have to walk. It saved the trouble of losing their way. He peeked out the window and saw that the city was bustling. Why wouldn’t it be, after all, today was the examination day for the number 3 school in the world.

“Now that I think of it, why didn’t you go to Serene Academy, I heard that they specialize in [Ice] magic and an all-girls school?”

“My brother studies at Krouxorth, so they wanted me to have a backing. You know, boarding schools have bullies and stuff.”

“Surprisingly, that makes sense.”

The rest of the road, the 2 were silent. Raven was always wearing the robe, even when he slept. This way, he wouldn’t attract unneeded attention.

There was actually a traffic jam, with all the nobles’ carriages. So they decided to walk. They weren’t far away, only about a district away. The walk was short, after all, Liliana was almost running.

There it was, a stage with a few examiners on top of it. There was a magic formation on the stage and anyone who stood in the middle would show their magic talents to others. Unlike a crystal ball in which the orb floated inside it, the magic formation would create orbs in the air for the public to see. This was developed to let them see that there was no backdoor in this examination.

Countless examinees descended the stage with long faces, only 4 students passed as of then. They were a wolfman boy with a unique talent, 2 human girls with 3 talents and high elven 1 boy with 4. It was about time for them to make their appearance. First up was Liliana.

She walked up the stage without the slightest trace of nervousness, as if she was sure to pass this test, in fact, she was. Four orbs floated in the air as the examiners stared at it in disbelief. “[Gravity] and [Summoning], there are actually 2 rare talents!” they shouted.

She walked down the stage as if it was normal. Then it was Raven’s turn and he walked up the stage. “Please take off your robe to proceed with the examination.” He took off the robe, revealing his black scales and massive wings.

“It’s a dragonman!!!”

‘”Amazing.”

“Woah, I didn’t think I would see one in my lifetime.” the crowd chattered on. He didn’t know that dragonmen were such a huge deal, maybe they were in a city of mostly humans.

He walked towards the magic formation and stood in the middle. Four orbs flew around the air, one grey, one blue, one black and the other one a mix of yellow and white, significantly bigger than the others. They slowly rotated in the air.

“Another four talented mage and this one has the [Soul] and [Death] attributes!!!” shouted one examiner.

Another examiner slapped the back of his head and said “Idiot, the orbs are moving through the air, he has [Body Modification] too.”

“Then, could it possibly be? A 5 talented mage, he’d easily get accepted by this test alone.”

And sure enough, he passed. He saw an angry Lily waiting for him below the stage. “Why did you hide your fifth?!” she shouted.

“I didn’t know it myself, there were only 4 orbs.”

“I can smell lies, you chose it before coming here, didn’t you.”

“Of course not, why would I hide something from you.” they had become quite intimate in a short time aka 1 day.

“I hope so, I don’t want you to become one of my enemies.”

‘It seems she bought it’ he thought to himself and said “Me neither.”

They both passed the first test with flying colors and decided to go to the shopping district. Lily insisted that she’d pay it so all he had to do was follow her around and tell her when he wants to buy something.

They were already near the center of the city, so they reached the high-end shopping district in no time at all. There were shops and the like, selling clothes and jewelry. Nothing caught Raven’s eyes, as he didn’t fancy clothes or jewelry unless it was given by someone. Luckily, nor did Liliana.

Then they saw a tall monster. When they got closer, they noticed it was a robed man carrying boxes, stacked one over another. It was far above his head, at least a meter. While Raven’s eyes were focused on that person, Liliana’s eyes were focused on someone near him.

“Oh, isn’t it the princess of the Lionheard family?” asked out a woman sarcastically. She was around the same age as Liliana, long black hair and azure eyes. Her beauty rivaled Lily’s, but didn’t exceed it.

Lily made a strange face, but didn’t reply. “Is that your boyfriend, perhaps?”.

Clearly, Lily was ticked off, but her mouth was still closed. “Actually, I’m just a friend.” the one who replied ended up being Raven. He had put his robe back on when he left the stage, so she was oblivious to the fact that he was a dragonman.

“Oh, so you went and made a friend. Strange.” she commented.

“It’s none of your business!” shouted Liliana, finally at her limit.

“But it is, as your self-proclaimed bully, I take up the duty of humiliating you into my hands.” she said.

Then Raven noticed, his body was several times heavier. The air around him felt stuffed, making trouble for breathing. “You dare!!!” shouted out the woman as the robed man rushed from behind her.

He sent a fist towards Lily’s abdomen, so being the nice guy he is, Raven sent the other guy flying with a fist to the face. Clearly enraged, he threw away his robe and launched himself towards Raven. The reveal was quite shocking for Raven, but he quickly regained his senses.

He used [Shadow Step] to move behind the red-scaled, and as always, used [Shock Blade] to electrify him by hitting his neck with it. The [Lightning Bracelets] showed its powers, as the power of the skill was at least twice as strong.

“Count yourself lucky.” she said, as she turned to leave, motioning for a previously hidden person to take the unconscious dragonman along.

“Who was she?” asked Raven, as if nothing appeared.

“The bride of The Cangard Family.” she said, her anger not nearly dissipated.

“That weakling’s bride could act so tough, huh?”

“No, that was just a servant, from the Secundus Branch. His bride is the second prince of the family, who should be attending Krouxorth Academy too.”

“Oh, so she was a big shot after all.” said Raven.

“It’s better to not mess with them.” said Lily, with a grave tone.

“I can’t quite promise that. If the bride is like this, I don’t think I can stomach the bridegroom.”

“They’re too dangerous.” she warned him yet again.

Not in the mood, they decided to go get something to eat. The city was indeed large, it had a district for almost everything. The luxury diners were on the other side of the Central Pavilion, but they decided to go to the middle-class’s diners.

None of the two were too rich in their past lifetime, so their preferences lied in the middle-class. Even after 16 years, Lily wasn’t used to it, the bravado and all.

The buildings became taller, and the outer appearance of the said buildings became simpler as they got closer to the wall. The walk took at least an hour, as they arrived at the diners. Surprisingly, they weren’t much different than the market district back home, with stalls and all. There were quite a few places with tables and chairs outside. Inside diners were the minority.

After walking for a while, Raven saw someone he didn’t think he would in here. It was none other than Franco the Croc, doing his business as usual. Raven motioned for Lily to follow him, and took her to Franco’s place.

“Sup Franco, what you doing here?” Raven asked. He had come to Franco’s place often before his dad went away, and visited with his mother occasionally when he wasn’t. During these time, they became something like friends.

“Oh, isn’t it Raven, right back at ya.” said Franco, with his usual cheery yet hoarse voice.

“I’m gonna attend Krouxorth Academy.”

“Nothing less from the son of Tristan.”

“Thanks. And you didn’t answer my question yet.”

“Ah, I had to deliver something to the city, and I’m testing if people would buy my fish here.”

“Hmm, interesting, so what if they fancy it?”

“I’ll send my son to work here.” he answered.

“Well, I’ll order the usual.”

“Comin’ right up. Wait a sec, is it a gal I see behind ye?” previously oblivious to her existence.

“Yeah, a friend.”

“Well, you have your father’s blood after all, can’t say you’d not be showered by girls.”

“I’m flattered.”

Liliana was frozen stiff, her expression stuck in a frown. “What’s the matter? Never seen a croc before?”

As if snapping out of her trance, she sat down, all the while making a strange face. “Is your father Tristan Cangard?”

“Yeah, so?”

“I suggest you don’t tell his name to anyone else.” she said with a hushed voice.

“I don’t quite get it, could you please explain.” Raven asked.

“He’s the first prince of The Cangard Family.”