856 C-3, Rain Month 2, Moon 28
In the midst of my slumber, vibrations rocked my body back and forth as if I were adrift in the ocean. I could faintly make out a distant voice as well, but my body refused to open its eyes. Even if a natural disaster has struck outside, I’ll survive. Maybe a meteor has fallen and crushed the Blade Saint. Oh, how wonderful that would be, if not extremely regrettable that I couldn’t snuff his life out with my own two hands. Now with that settled, I’m returning to sleep.
“El, wake up!” Suddenly, the human’s screech cut through the fog of my slumber, pulling me back to reality.
I blinked and surveyed my surroundings. Slowly, but surely, the events of last night came back into my mind.
After the human had finished with her evening task of maintaining the school’s barrier, she’d taken us back to my room and begun her nightly ritual prior to sleeping. Though I’d insisted on sleeping in the air, she hadn’t allowed me to. I’d also insisted on sleeping without any of those pesky garments on me, but she hadn’t allowed me to either. As a result, a heated argument had ensued, and then...
“You shot a sleeping spell at me, didn’t you?”
“You were being completely unreasonable!” she yelled. “Why were you so desperate to sleep naked and in the air?!”
“Why were you so desperate to deny me my comfort?”
“Because you’re supposed to be human! What if anyone looked in and saw a naked human floating? Best-case scenario, they’d think you’re possessed!”
“I still fail to see the problem. Besides, I was unaware that the Guardians employed such underhanded tactics to suppress any dissenting opinion.”
“I really don’t like the way you phrased that. Either way, no. You were acting like a child despite having a really busy day today. So, stop fighting with me, and hurry up and get dressed! It’s already eight thirty!”
“Don’t I only need to be present for the written exam by eleven? I have more than enough time to accomplish that.”
“We’re gonna get breakfast, and then make a...stop before the placement exam.” From the guilty look on her face, I could more or less guess I wasn’t going to appreciate the words that’d come out of her mouth next. “The infirmary.”
I could feel my face contorting to one of disgust. “The lair of that succubus doctor?”
“I know, I know, but she has to do a quick checkup on you to make sure you’re okay to fight. You may have gotten a clean bill of health to leave the infirmary yesterday, but that didn’t take into account that you’re taking your placement exam today. Without her giving you the okay, I’m not sure when you’ll be allowed to take the exam.”
I rolled my eyes and decided that any further argument was pointless. It’d be faster just to get everything over with. I grumbled and reluctantly left the bed.
If only I could change my scales. I could easily get dressed in a matter of seconds. Instead, I had to put on unnecessary layers of clothing just to take them off again later before I slept. Hmm? Wait. My scales... Sleep?
Something was beginning to nag me at the back of my mind, but I wasn’t sure what until my eyes fell on the human and then on her wand. How did she cast a sleep spell on me? There doesn’t seem to be anything suspicious or abnormal about her wand that’d allow her magic to affect me that easily.
Elder dragons had a natural resistance to magic due to our scales. Regardless of how weakened we became, magic generally couldn’t pierce our hides. Unless very powerful, spells connecting with our scales would simply be dispersed into mana particles. In my mind, the first spell she’d fired at me when I’d arrived had simply knocked me over with its sheer force, and I’d fallen unconscious due to the heavy injuries I’d sustained. However, her sleep spell shouldn’t have had any effect on me. And yet, it was a fact that I’d fallen asleep right after being hit with it. Had my scales been somehow malfunctioning? If that had been the case, I’d need to adjust my fighting style to avoid being struck with magic during the combat portion of my placement exam.
I need to make sure I can get to the Blade Saint, but I won’t be able to get there if I’m knocked out by these ridiculous spells. I doubt the doctor will have any insight into this problem, but...I suppose it’s worth asking.