This is getting me nowhere! I clench the wrinkled paper in my hand ever-tighter, restlessly shifting back and forth in my chair.

Adventuring is supposed to be fun and exciting, and instead I find myself stuck in one of the worst forms of bureaucracy! By the time I'm going to get out of here, not only will the hunt for the ‘dragon’ (i.e. me) be over, but I myself will be nothing more than a living husk, stripped of any semblance of will to do any adventuring ever again!

Maybe I should just start my own Adventurer’s Guild? It’s going to be awesome! No waiting lines, no rules against magic use! Ah, but if I let everyone use spells and magic, somebody might burn down my Guild! And I would also have to provide the adventurers with quests and rewards for completing them. That means I’ll need to acquire different quests, catalog them, make sure to collect the rewards for completion with a percentage for myself, actually check if they even completed the quests properly or not… Oof, my head hurts just thinking about it. Perhaps I’ll save that idea for later.

If I’m being perfectly honest, I don’t really need all this to get my name out there. I could bypass the whole system. But at this point it’s a matter of principle. I’ve wasted too much time here already to just give up now! No, I’ve got a better idea! I smile mischievously and life returns to my face.

I thought to use this trick during the actual hunt, but why wait for so long if I could just start now? Though I will probably need a Summoner class for that first. Wait! No, I don’t! After all, I am an Elementalist! With the power over all four elements! And what is a dragon if not an embodiment of the element of fire? Ah, but a fire-breathing dragon is not what I need right now. A water dragon should do the trick!

Now, to create the proper spell! I need to make the dragon as strong as possible so that he is can actually pose a threat to the other adventurers. First of all, the spell needs to use all of my current Mana Points. After all, the more mana the spell uses, the stronger it is! And I’ll be back to full in less than eight minutes anyway, so no worries on that front. It also needs to summon only a single dragon. No point in creating two or more weaklings!

Also, if I remember correctly, in most games, the spells with ‘wild’ or ‘chaotic’ effects are stronger, since they can also harm the caster just as much as his targets. So, it stands to reason, that I’ll probably be able to summon a much stronger dragon if it is summoned as a hostile, wild one and will not be under my control. I just need to make sure that—just like all the times before—I still cannot be damaged by the spells I create. I’m pretty sure it already works like that, but I think I’ll need it in writing this time.

So, first, the passive.

[Skill unlocked!]

Skill name: Foolproof Level: 1/1 Type: Passive Cost: 0 MP Elementalist cannot be harmed by her own skills, spells or any form of magic she creates.

Great! Now, for the main event!

I get up from my chair, walk past the grizzly bear, who just finished his fourth jar of honey, and head of the exit.

“I’ll be just a minute, I need some fresh air,” I say to the panther girl.

“Remember that if you miss your call, you will have to get a new number and start from the end of the line,” she says in a monotone, almost robotic voice.

“R three hundred sixty-one! R three hundred sixty-one!” I hear the same voice echo across the hall.

I look at my piece of paper that has the number go past seven hundred and say to her, “I don’t think that will be an issue.”

I swear, I’m going to hear that echoing announcement voice in my nightmares.

I step outside, stand on the grand marble staircase and close my eyes for a moment. I feel the warmth of the sun on my face. The refreshing, gentle breeze of summer wind helps clear my mind. I can’t help but smile. Then I raise my arm in front of me, pointing upward, open my eyes to see where I’m aiming and whisper, “Summon Hostile Wild Water Dragon.”

[Critical Success!]

“Wait, what critical—"

Skill name: Summon Hostile Wild Water Dragon Level: 1/10 Type: Passive Cost: 1805 MP Summons a hostile Water Spirit in a form of a Dragon. Cannot be controlled, manipulated or reasoned with. Has a 5% chance to be summoned with a blessing of the water god Suijin himself.

“A blessing?” I read the description of my new skill that appeared, then remove it from my sight and look ahead, over the rooftops of the houses opposite of Adventurer’s Guild. A couple of rows of houses ahead a great, winged, watery dragon descends on those houses.

The dragon’s half-open jaw is large enough to eat every adventurer gathered at the Guild whole, with room to spare. Both of its wings are like a mist, no, steam, and one of those reaches all the way to the Guild, casting a slight shadow on the silent and shocked adventurers standing in the open square. The drake has four semi-translucent, but very corporeal and real watery legs, just like the rest of the dragon's body, with the exception of its wings. Each paw is larger than the roof of the house it presses on for support, crushing the houses instantly under the unimaginable pressure.

“ROOOOAAAAR” the water dragon roars and from its jaw unleashes a torrent of water, with the force and magnitude of a broken dam, in the direction of the adventurers gathered at the white steps of the Guild.

I run back inside the building and shout at the top of my lungs, “Oh, no!! A wild dragon has appeared! Whatever shall we do?”