856 C-6, Rain Month 2, Moon 28
“Hurry up!”
“I’m moving as fast as a ‘human’ is capable of,” I growled. “Or maybe is it acceptable for me to move at my usual elder dragon speed?”
“Ugh! I told you not to have a seventh parfait!”
“How could I not? The clerk said it was a lucky number to aid me in my placement exam today.”
“I never took you for someone who’d buy into those kinds of superstitions.”
“I’m not. I simply desired another parfait, and that served as the perfect pretense.”
For some reason, I could feel the human glaring holes into me. Don’t act jealous simply because I was able to outsmart the staff for another parfait and you couldn’t.
“Oh, there she is.” The vampire looked up at us.
We arrived at a large field with a flat stone arena in the middle of it. Waiting by the side of it were five individuals. Among them were three whom I was already acquainted with, and the most surprising of which was the vampire from yesterday. She’s unaffected by the sunlight? Though she was carrying a parasol and was wearing long sleeves and a dark material that covered her legs under her skirt, that shouldn’t be sufficient for a vampire to survive in the sunlight.
“Oh, there they are.” I felt a pang of annoyance as I heard the succubus doctor’s voice.
“Sorry, we’re late! We got...held up.” The human shot me an annoyed look.
“It’s quite all right,” the vampire said with a gentle smile. “You’ve only arrived minutes after some of the other members here. And we’re still waiting on Ca’al, so it’s not a problem at all.”
The human sighed. “He’s not here? I just saw him here a few hours ago.”
The vampire shrugged. “I even told him to be on time, but it seems he’s disappeared off somewhere.”
“You know how adolescent boys are these days.” The succubus doctor shrugged. “I’m sure he’s occupied with some sword swings, if you know what I mean.”
The human shot him a disgusted glance.
“Oh, I bet he’s by the tree,” an unfamiliar female beastkin said. “I told him about my secret training place, and he said he’d go there. Y’know, I bet he fell asleep! I totally get it. It’s like the best place on campus to take a nap,” she said proudly.
“Which tree?” the human asked.
“That one,” the beastkin said, pointing generally into the distance.
“That really doesn’t help...”
“It’s not that hard. Look, it’s that big one over there.”
“There are a lot of big ones over there,” the human said, rolling her eyes.
“I’m sorry to ask, but would you mind fetching him?” the vampire asked the human. “I would ask Nayira, but I don’t want to delay the start of the placement exam.”
“Sure, I’ll get him. Seriously, what the heck is wrong with him?” the human grumbled.
“Just walk like ten, fifteen minutes thataway, and you’ll see a real awesome tree. Can’t miss it.”
“Uh-huh...” The human shook her head, muttering something under her breath.
But just as she began to leave, she was stopped by the other familiar individual here: the Magic Breaker boy from yesterday.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Karen and the rude transfer student. I see you’re not rude just with your words but your actions as well. Please do consider how I’m taking time out of my busy schedule to be here, and yet you seem to have no regard for that whatsoever.”
The human rolled her eyes and scoffed before leaving the scene.
“That’s probably ’cause they don’t care about your precious time,” the female beastkin said matter-of-factly.
“Shut up, Nayira. What would you know? You were late yourself. I wish I was more surprised, but I don’t think it’s in your kind’s nature to be punctual. Uncivilized beasts,” the Magic Breaker scoffed.
“How about I show you just how punctual I can be,” she growled, her claws protruding.
“Humph. You can’t beat me. The last time you tried, I thoroughly trounced you.”
“You got lucky! Next time, I’ll—”
“Enough.” A silver-furred wolf trotted up to them and commanded silence. “Your squabbling wastes precious time. Rhand, return to the waiting area. Nayira, proceed to the arena.”
“Okay...” The beastkin looked reluctant.
“Humph. Yes, sir,” the Magic Breaker said sarcastically.
“Thank you, Professor,” the vampire said. “I apologize that you had to step in like that.”
“It was for their safety. I can only imagine what you’d do if they erupted into their own fight and ruined the placement exam.”
The vampire giggled, neither confirming nor denying the wolf’s claims.
“You’re the new student, El, right? Greetings. I’m the head professor of the combat track, Professor Fhrugen.” He held out his paw toward me.
Oh, this is that handshake the vampire taught me. I took his paw in my hand and shook it up and down. He gave me a confused look while the vampire seemed to hold back a laugh.
“We’ll talk about that later... For now, I’ll explain the rules of your placement exam. It’s simple: win until you can’t. Matches continue until one person yields or is knocked unconscious. I’ll intervene if it seems that the match might result in any kind of critical injuries, and—”
“And if you or your opponents do get hurt, don’t worry! That’s what I’m here for. I’ll fix you up right as rain, so fight your hearts out and get hurt as much as you want, you hear?” the succubus doctor said, interrupting the wolf.
“As Doctor Paunsasoy said, she is here for medical support. However, the objective is to not sustain or inflict any injuries. Understood?”
“Sounds simple enough.” I nodded. I’ve no desire to end up back in that succubus doctor’s infirmary again.
“Good. Then why don’t you head into the arena?” the wolf said.
“Be careful! Or don’t,” the succubus doctor giggled.
As instructed, I made my way onto the stone arena and faced the beastkin who’d arrived there not too long ago. Her arms were crossed as if she’d been impatiently waiting for me.
“Took you long enough,” she barked. “Come on, let’s get this show on the road.”
I wasn’t exactly sure why she was in such a hurry to lose, but I was happy to oblige. While the human goes to retrieve the Blade Saint, I’ll quickly dispatch the two opponents before him, warming up for our showdown in the process. My heart suddenly began beating faster as I thought about how I’d soon be able to face the Blade Saint once more and take his life. Just a little longer...
As I began mentally preparing myself for the battle to come, for some reason, the wolf joined us in the arena. Apparently, he was here to give a lecture. “Combat is an art where you must always respect your opponent. So, before we begin, introduce yourself to one another.”
I truly couldn’t care less, but it’s best if I play along if I want everything to go smoothly so I can get my chance to fight the Blade Saint.
I’d learned what constituted a polite introduction from the vampire. Regrettably, I suppose she’s useful for something. For now, I decided it’d be best if I introduced myself according to how the vampire had taught me so as to be in line with the customs of this world. So, I stuck out my hand, palm up, which strangely prompted the beastkin to tilt her head.
“What is this?” she asked.
“A greeting befitting of your kind.” A non-elder dragon. “Now place your hand on mine, and we’ll shake.”
For some reason though, her body began to tremble. “Oh, I see... You’re making fun of me, calling me a dog because I have werewolf blood in me.”
Huh? What is she talking about? “Can you be a good girl and shake already?” I asked impatiently.
But this seemed to only make her angrier. She slapped my hand away and growled. “Is that dog collar on you also supposed to be some kind of joke? How dare you! Let’s do this! I’m ready to make you cry,” she growled, baring her fangs.
At this point, the wolf was deeply sighing while the vampire had turned around, clutching her mouth and stomach while trembling with laughter.
I truly could not comprehend what was going on, but it seemed like the beastkin was advocating for us to the match sooner rather than later, which I was all for.
“Great. Let’s do this.”
The wolf sullenly shook his head before walking out of the arena. “Remember. Respect. On my mark, the battle will begin. Get ready.”
At these words, the beastkin assumed a stance.
No weapon or magic it seems. She’s purely relying on her own physical strength. Excellent. Brute force is more my speed.
I knelt down, leaned forward, and reached out to either side of me until the pads of my fingers touched the ground. This was an elder dragon stance—or at least an adaptation for my human form of what it’d look like in dragon form.
“What kind of stance is that? You goin’ for a run or somethin’?” the beastkin asked.
“It’s a fairly standard stance. Feel free to use it after this if you’d like.”
“Yeah, right. I’m not out to embarrass myself like that.”
“Your loss.” I guess she hasn’t noticed the mana I’m storing to use as a burst forward.
The wolf looked between the two of us, confirming our readiness before yelling, “Begin!”
I immediately sprang off the ground faster than the beastkin had anticipated. Her eyes seemed to be able to keep up with my speed, but her body wasn’t. By the time she was able to move a muscle, my knee was already in her face.
Just as I was about to make contact, she narrowly avoided impact by leaning backward. Her face was still filled with surprise and duress of having to use the maximum of her abilities to react to me.
You’re no doubt internally celebrating being able to avoid an attack this fast. You’re even desperately scrapping together a plan for your next move. Too bad I already know mine.