The chief of arms threw a sword at Rubix who caught it.

"I know you have claws like daggers but you are a knight now. No exceptions."

"YOU LARDASS! You cut your pole, you eat. He stays, you stay"

"Sir! Sir! Edges don't cut!"

"That's your problem, not mine!"

Rubix tried to type but her wrist hurt.

I then came up beside her.

"Wait, it doesn't fit your anatomy. Idiots type and they'll wear themselves out. I feel magic on these beams!.

"Can you feel it too?"

She nodded. What was nice was that I was able to talk naturally with her without feeling self-conscious about female attributes.

She was a real pal. We often trained in boxing and wrestling, her strength and terrible constitution allowed her to compete a little, to offer some resistance.

The other humans were thrown around like rags. There were buckets of water, pieces of old millstones and a hammer lying around.

"Are you thinking like me?"

She turned her head to the side, questioning me nonverbally.

"Give me your sword!"

I took mine and put it on a stone.

Do you breathe fire?

"Then make the two blades red hot".

Everyone laughed to see us play and the teacher got impatient. There was oil and Dad had already explained to me some tricks to improve a sword.

I tapped the edges to sharpen them and bent Rubix's a little, enlarging the guard for a longer grip.

Then, "Go ahead...heat them to white! Give it mana!"

The blades were about to melt and I smoothed the edge so that it would be even and with one stroke I dipped it in oil and the whole thing ignited.

Then, a few seconds later, I threw them into the water and a column of steam followed.

"Why oil and not water? "

"With the oil, the carbon bonds with the iron and becomes ultra-hard and the water soaks the softer steel deeply."

We also put some permanent mana into our blades. Then I took some leather straps and said

"Give your...hand (I almost said paw) and put the pommel in. Then I felt the bones and flesh that were supposed to absorb the shock, and then I put a thicker braid of leather.

So the shocks would be absorbed and returned in the blade and not in the wrist.

Furax, the soldier arrived.

"What are you doing? The poles aren't going to cut themselves!"

She felt the blade become immediately comfortable.

"You've seen how I do it!. So if you buy a blade, you'll have to fit it like this in your hand."

"Thank you Torin"

and I didn't have enough time to avoid the long stroke of the tongue on the cheek.

"Touché! hehe!"

Check!Then we run to our posts and together:RAAAAAAAHH

We roared and with one blow, the pole was cut cleanly! the blade not even blunt. The teacher remained speechless.Then he took the blades back and looked at the incredible work.

The others continued to hit, but we were the first to reach the canteen. We were joined by Jim, Beth, Saphie and Manu and Henri. Saphie sat next to me and Beth on the other side of the table, Rubix across from her.

Gamblin came by and waved to us while no one else was there. He sat down at our table and we all bowed our heads in respect.

He placed the glowing Ankh on the table

"Kids... you're not kids anymore, you know that...And you don't have to be a fool to see the evil around you... the cruelty of some."

and he glanced briefly at Rubix and she put her paw on mine. Saphie and Beth held my arms. A silent competition was underway without my knowing it...

"The virtues and the measuring system is wrong. Everything you have learned about the system is biased. It allows the nobles to do charity and move up in the rankings to get closer to the avatar.. A Blackthorne invention...It's like peaches and mangoes... right Torin?

In truth, they are showing their strength both financially and politically and they are using the virtues as a compass to establish their power but this is not normal, it is the work of evil forces... of 3 lords of the shadows. It is time for you to leave the academy. This is a prison for future heroes. They watch you and keep you out of harm's way.I feel my days are numbered. The ankh does not lie... The heroes are called and you are all candidates. The time is coming when the forces of evil will face the forces of good in an eternal battle. Only a hero or a chosen one can tip the balance.

A pink door will appear in front of the chosen one, but beware... evil lurks... He's on the prowl

Your parents have been warned... They will complete your training and pass on their knowledge to you. You are the future of Sosaria..of Britannia.

And you, Rubix, be careful to keep your freedom. I have put your legal address at Torin's with the agreement of Ragul and Esme.

Go to the armory, I had an armor made especially for you. You have your scales but the heart and the neck are vulnerable. You have a small plate that you can keep."

We thanked the old man. Then he gave me a leather booklet. These are my notes and directions in case you are pursued or I am neutralized.

"Your first mission is to visit the temples of the 8 virtues in the 8 main cities of Britannia. You will certainly encounter bandits, pirates and slavers, but I'm sure you and your dragons can learn from them and become stronger! "

Others arrived and Gamblin stood up as if nothing had happened so as not to be associated with our group. We all looked at each other and went straight to our dormitory to pack our things.

The dragonets were with us and they had to stay at the academy. They officially belonged to the dragonry and taking them away was a crime punished severely.

But when we arrived at our dormitories, books and items had been placed in our respective chests, safe-conducts, mission orders, and permissions to explore the dungeons. I had a two-handed longsword for my strength and swordsman's mantles, Rubix had magic axes, and a grimoire of draconic magic. Beth got a staff and a druidic robe, Cedric got a mage's cloak, staff and grimoire, Manu got a codex and a cleric's staff, and Henri got a collection of traps and disarming spells and boots of silence.

There was a letter that said:"I have here some gold and a few gems and invisible trunks for a few hours to put your dragons. I also put scrolls to make them grow so you can ride them but they have to recover 24 hours later, under their normal size. It's exhausting. Rubix, I also put the spell in your grimoire to change your size between human size and normal size. I wouldn't recommend enlarging it, we don't know if it will affect your intelligence."

We then decided to leave immediately, so as not to miss the moon and its portal. Meanwhile,At Cove, Master Damien was putting away his papers and making notes on the dagger of brilliance that sat on his desk. He was preparing the non-sacrificial activation ritual of purifying the hero with the dagger. Like any religious object, all these powers could also be reversed just as healing could be reversed into injury and so on. Then he heard... silence...

The owls had killed themselves and the silence was deadly. But he felt a presence... an evil presence and he turned around:

"Whoever you are, show yourself... I know you're here!... I am not afraid of you!"

But he felt a breath on his back and his blood ran cold. A huge jaw was in his back. Black, full of scales but mostly with horrible and big teeth. A black dragon...He began to speak...

"The dagger!"

And he showed the palm of his paw.

"You have a choice: Die quickly or by tearing yourself apart bit by bit!"

The priest cast an exorcism...

"HAHAHA, as if a dragon were a demon..."

And with a clench going so fast to react, Father Damien felt his head go backwards, half slit. No time to do any major healing. He collapsed dead before he even hit the ground. The black dragon licked its claw and managed to leave no trace. But his appearance was red....He took the box with the dagger and fled into the darkness.

"Rubix, you will be mine... prepare to beg me when I am the next Exodus!"