I wake up and find that Lemon is splayed out, taking up nearly half of the massive bed. I don't even know how it's possible for her to take up so much space, but she does. I gently nudge her and she growls through our bond so I just get up without her. I guess even dragons like sleeping in.

  I stretch and yawn a bit. The early morning escapades seem to have helped me sleep. Perhaps too well considering it is around noon. I leave my room and head into the study, perhaps I can figure out how magic works.

  It appears I am not the only one to have that idea. Moxie is sitting at a table surrounded by drawings of what I presume are runes. She has her eyes closed as several runes seem to form in the air above her palms in quick succession.

  “Of course you have already figured it out. Did you stay up all night reading?” I ask, walking up next to her.

  She jumps at my sudden speech and the runes disappear from the air. She opens her eyes and looks at me. “No Scareing. No Sleep, Magic.” Perhaps I should've been a bit more careful not to scare her.

  “Not sleeping isn’t good for you. Even if it is in the pursuit of magic.” I pat her on the head once. “Well anyways, you mind sharing a bit of your research?” Her eyes light up and she begins organizing the many papers scattered about.

  She shows me a bunch of papers with ‘runes’ on them. Apparently there are seven different types; Fire, Air, Earth, Water, Arcane, Light and Dark. Each type of rune has a bit of a different structure to their formation. But the foundational principles stay the same between them.

  In designing a spell, one must make sure that all of the mana is properly distributed, so as not to cause an overload and failure. Moxie says something about mana transference and hexognomatic dispersers but I just see them as squiggles that you add onto the rune. Moxie says it is a good idea to draw out designs before testing them, so you can review them. Once you have an understanding of the runes, you can combine them to form various spells.

  Moxie shows me a basic light spell, the rune looks like a triangle circumscribed with a circle with a star shape in the middle. She concentrates for a moment and channels mana into the area above her hand and forms the rune – skilled mages can do it anywhere nearby, but it takes a bit of practice. Once it is formed, she pushes a bit of mana through it and it lights up, blinding me.

  “Sorry not warned. Bright light.” She smiles at me and I pat her on the head again. Also I have noticed something from talking to her. It's not that she can't speak, or doesn't know the words. Rather it is like she gets so nervous trying to speak that she forgets and freezes, and has trouble speaking. Though she does seem to be getting better, especially around me. Maybe one day she will be able to give grand speeches to the masses, though that may take a few centuries.

  I give the spell creation a try and make a simple darkness rune. I figure out the designing part quite quickly with Moxie’s help. But I spend several hours trying to figure out how to form the rune, but I didn't manage it today. Moxie manages to successfully combine two different rune types and creates a little floating globe of light that moves around the room on an air current.

  To think, she both read the books and figured out how to replicate it overnight. Yet I struggle to even form a rune that she helped me design. I guess there is a reason why she has so many degrees, the girl is an absolute genius.

  I did however gain a level in Magic Fundamentals and a point in mana capacity. So the time wasn't all for nought.

  - The Next Day -

  The whole squadron is gathered together in the common room. Violet and I are wearing our armor (at direction from Dirge) and the others their formal wear. Our dragons are stored away in their orbs, which are apparently quite comfortable for them. Everyone is brimming with excitement and anticipation. After all, this is the day where we are officially announced as cadets.

  Violet is still ignoring me as usual, but that just means she wont say anything as I admire her awesome armor. Moxie is currently showing off some magic to the group and everyone is absolutely amazed as she makes balls of light dance around the room. We are all smiling and having a good time, which is nice to see. Considering what we are at this academy to learn, it's important to get some relaxing moments in.

  “Alright, is everyone ready to do this thing?” Stephen says, "Remember, don't make fools of yourself and all should be fine.”

  “Can I punch people if they annoy me?” Liv asks a valid question.

  “Do not do that, we would be forced to scrub your blood off all of the fine furniture." Violet says.

  “What makes you think I would lose!?” Liv squares up, like she wants to fight Violet.

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  “Aside from the fact you are unable to move in combat, the people that are the most annoying are often the strongest. So, be careful not to cause your own demise this early.”

  “Damn you with your logical thinking. I want to punch things!”

  Stephen steps in, “Well we can do some training later after the ceremony I am sure. You can punch things then.” He flawlessly both handles Liv’s desire to punch things and encourages more training. I can see why he is our commander.

  “Oh, okay then. Let's get this ceremony done!”

  We set off for the auditorium. We arrive about twenty minutes ahead of schedule and end up getting led to an antechamber before the event fully kicks off. Inside are all two hundred and sixty other cadets.

  The moment we enter, people start staring at us. Most of them are looking at Violet, but the rest are looking at me. No doubt because of our armor, and Violet’s wonderful appearance. The room goes silent, somehow our presence alone is enough to draw everyone’s attention.

  “Well, this is a tad bit awkward, isn't it?” I say.

  “Yep, guess all these folks are already aware of our overwhelming power.” Liv says, “Good to know that they are aware of the order of things.”

  A tall guy with black hair approaches us. He looks quite fancy, likely has an ultra rich sponsor. His uniform has the insignia for the Ares squadron on it. “Hmm, what have we here? What are a pig and her friends doing here? I didn't know this academy was a barn.”

  Before I can blink, Violet’s armored fist slams into the guy’s jaw with a loud crack. The guy goes flying back a few meters and hits the floor with a thud. Immediately, the room seems to heat by a few dozen degrees. Violet merely brushes some blood off her hand and smiles.

  One of the guy’s squadmates comes after Violet and in a beautiful series of movements she grabs him and flips him over. She slams him into the ground with a heavy thud and a crack as some of his ribs must break.

  The three other Ares squadmates charge at Violet. Violet handles one of them with a sickening punch to the gut. The next one gets thrown as Violet grabs her and chucks her away. The last girl looks a bit nervous, but Violet shows no mercy and ends her with a kick to the groin. No one even gets close to hitting her. Violet is an absolute badass, and it's so hot.

  “Violet,” I say, “weren’t you the one that told us not to punch people?”

  “I told you imbeciles not to punch anyone. I did not say anything about myself.” She replies smartly. “None of these weaklings could lay a single finger on me, thus I can punch all I want.” She smiles a very vicious smile.

  “Well then, fair enough. That was awesome!”

  It is at that moment a man wearing armor walks over from the side of the room. He has long blonde hair tied in a braid and a scraggly beard. There is a very awesome katana at his hip, and it seems to radiate a lot of aether. “What the heck happened over here?” He says, looking at Violet. It's not a good look for her to be surrounded by the near-corpses of five cadets.

  “They insulted my squadron, Sir. So, I gave them a little bit of discipline.” She says, smiling brightly.

  “Well then, It seems they got what was coming to them.” He scratches his beard, trying to hide a smile. “You must be Cadet Sharpe, and I see Cadet Ilemon over there as well. Do be careful, you two have drummed up a bit of attention, as you have probably noticed. Though, I think that display might prove suitable to establish yourself.” He turns to the crowd, which has been watching with much attention. “Listen up cadets. Insults and verbal bullying shall be tolerated, however this does not mean that you are not exempt from the consequences by your fellow cadets.” So basically, you can insult whoever you want but you better hope they don't punch you in return.

  The man then walks out of the room without saying anything else. “So, who was that guy?” I ask.

  “Maka, seriously?” Stephen says, an astonished look on his face. “That was the headmaster of the Academy. He is like, a legend said to be over level 6000. How did you not recognize him?”

  “Huh, I knew of him but I never had the chance to see a picture. He looks awesome!”

  Just then an announcement is made. “Cadets, please line up in an orderly fashion with your squadron before the doors. Upon special request by the headmaster, please have the Asteria Squadron exit the room last.”

  We all file up, though Liv mumbles something about going last. To which Violet answers, “It is likely an honor to go last. Knowing the headmaster, he has something absolutely absurd planned. So perhaps brace yourselves.”

  Taking her advice, we all steel ourselves and walk through the doors.

  We emerge into a massive stadium. Brightly lit by an artificial sky above. All around are seats, stacked high. There must be space for several thousand people, and all of the seats are filled. Mostly with Dragon Guards, but there are a few others. Some have white hair and blue eyes.

  It seems even a few Uppers deem it worth their time to come watch us cadets. I guess it's the least they can do to watch us before we start training to march to our deaths. After all, they are the ones that control the purse strings. So I guess it makes sense they want to see how their investments panned out.

  All of the cadets arrange themselves on a large stage, standing proudly at attention. Our squadron is guided to a special place, right at the center of the stage. Violet was right about the headmaster having plans for us. Not that I would doubt her of course, she is clearly far smarter than me. Though I think Moxie still has her clearly beat on the nerdy side of things.

  The crowd quiets and the sky dims a bit. The air seems to shift a bit, like it is growing thicker with aether.

  Then seemingly out of thin air, the headmaster appears. He floats effortlessly in midair above and to the front of me. His ponytail is swaying gently back and forth. A strange aura seems to ripple around him, like he is showing off his power for all to see.

  He gives a deep bow and then begins speaking. His voice seems a lot more worldly than before.

  “Ladies, gentlemen and everything in between and without. Without further delay, let us begin the Induction Ceremony for the 172nd Class of The Dragon Guard Academy!”

  Then, all hell breaks loose.

  Next Chapter: The Ceremony

  If you are enjoying the book, I would really appreciate it if you dropped a follow or comment!

  Checkout the official