A Dragon's Curiosity

Despite the best efforts from Annabelle, Lydia and Henry during the shared dinner conversation, Nisha did not reveal which classes she planned to attend. Due to her fortitude, the three already knew they had no chance to sway her decision and could only wait to hear from the elf on the next day.

Slipping the small wolf into her bed, Nisha went to sleep quickly, eager to wake up even a tiny bit earlier. Her whole residency in Thurgau had only one goal so far, to attend the Royal Academy. And a single night separated her from achieving that. Sinking into the gentle embrace of the night without troubles, even her awareness inside the [Inner World] rested on this special occasion instead of practicing her skills.

Even during her rest, a beautiful smile was painted on her face.

Rushing towards the academy district - which earned the name, as the total amount of land taken up by various building and courtyards did not lose out to the noble district - the dragon ate the remaining bread she smuggled out of the kitchen even while running. She had elected to not bring Accalia on the first day, as there were still some lectures she first wanted to attend before making the final adjustments to her schedule.

Waving her student token to get by the guards at the gate, she soon found the yard which would hold the first class: [Beginner Swordsmanship].

As a fundamental course, each student needed to attend either this class or [Beginner Wizardry], to begin walking down the path of aura or mana respectively. For simplicity, Nisha planned to attend both in order to get an impression which lectures she liked more. Fortunately they weren’t held at the same time, otherwise she’d have to decide on one or the other.

Due to being very excited, she was among the very first students in this particular field. As there were many more beginners during this turn compared to previous years, several other instructors offered the same class in the neighbouring yards. Yet Nisha chose this particular teacher, as his aura was far more solid and controlled compared to the others, making him particularly appealing in her eyes.

“Good morning, sir. How are you?”

Taking the initiative to greet the instructor, she was one of the few students inspecting the training grounds, the weapon racks filled with wooden weapons and the scarecrows erected in the middle of the field. Most of the young elite however hid themselves in the shadow cast by the adjacent stone building, the sun unusually bright and warm for the changing seasons, fall was almost upon them and most of the children weren’t used to waking up so early.

“No need to call me sir, I’m just a commoner. But it’s a great morning indeed, I hope you are as excited as me to start the lessons. My name is Oak, by the way, you can just call me Mr. Oak.”

Laughing like two boulders colliding, the mountain of a man revealed a bit of his good nature and reminded Nisha of the straightforward fellows that usually gathered around the dungeon.

“A pleasure to meet you, then, Mister Oak. Have you been a teacher for a long time already?”

Curious about his rough air and frank manner of speaking, the elf carefully probed further into the conversation.

“Haha, not a shy one, are you? No, this is my first turn as a teacher. Before this, my team and I were a group of Dungeon Divers, ranked in the C category. Because of the lack of teachers, the guild approached the academy and recommended us as well as other of the higher ranked teams to serve as instructors. I’m very thankful for that chance, maybe I can retire here.”

“Retire? Isn’t a C rank considerably high and well paid? Why would you want to retire as a teacher?”

For Nisha, who loved to fight, Mr. Oak’s statement made no sense. A high ranked adventurer was respected anywhere and enjoyed quite the preferential treatment.

“You’re still too young, and I shouldn’t really tell you, but …

Do you know how many B ranked teams there are? Not to mention A ranked teams, in the whole kingdom there’s only one of them. Every time you embark for the dungeon, you put your life on the line for gold. While the upper ranks make more money, the danger increases proportionally. Think about it, every turn so many new recruits sign up in the guild and form parties, yet the same names still are regarded as the apex for many decades.

If you want to hear my advice, study well. Being an adventurer seems glorious, yet there’s not many openings at the top. Getting employed by a trading company or in service of the kingdom is much better.”

A trace of pain could be seen in the instructor’s eyes. Hiding it quickly, he shrugged off the heavy mood.

“That doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams though. Throughout the week, several adventurers that declined the offer to lecture will go through the basic warrior and mage classes, looking for suitable disciples to tutor. Do your best, maybe you will be chosen.”

Treating the conversation as wrapped up, Mr. Oak walked towards the building on the side of the yard, addressing the many boys and girls grouping up there while he had conversed with Nisha.

“Good morning to all new students. I am your instructor for the foreseeable future, you may call me Mister Oak.

As your new teacher regarding the way of the warrior and the handling of aura, I welcome you to come to me if you have any questions regarding the content of the lessons.

To start the first session, allow me to tell you a bit regarding the nature of aura itself. Like mana, it is a vital energy which almost all living forms possess. Monsters, humans, dwarves, dragons, all of them are alive due to the aura nourishing their bodies. Rather than looking at it as an energy or tool of war, you can think of tempering your body and increasing your vitality by its nature as a measure of your aura.”

Lifting his right arm and flexing the muscles of his well trained body, strands of vital energy emerged from his flesh, coiling around itself in a spiral before disappearing into the air.

What a stunning display. Pure aura projected into the air.

Spectating with both her regular view as well as with her [Spirit Sight], Nisha could ascertain the truth behind the show.

“Advanced warrior techniques do not rely on weapons either and can reinforce the user’s body to an incredible degree, turning men into dragons.

Another benefit is an increased longevity with each step you break through regarding to the ranks. It’s not determinate how much exactly a higher rank adds to your life expectancy, however almost all warriors that attained high achievements in aura also led a life exceeding that of others by many times.”

Beside the dragon, who listened intently from the beginning, the bored and tired sons and daughters of Leandar’s nobility gradually drew closer, promises of martial prowess and an increase in lifespan luring them in. They joined the small crowd of eager students gathered from the outset.

“Don’t misunderstand, not everyone can achieve greatness in regards to aura ranks. Only with diligent practice and strenuous exercise can it then allow you to exceed the inherent limits of humans. Being a genius or high natural talent won’t amount to much without the corresponding effort. I’m telling you this from the start so you won’t be misled. But if you can follow through, then there will be no one that can surpass you on the continent and you can go wherever you desire. Even kings and nobility have to bow in the presence of absolute power.”

In the middle of the passionate speech, most of  the youths got excited and failed to notice the subtle hints regarding the allegiance of their teacher. Even his speech sounded prearranged, contradicting the advice he gave Nisha earlier.

“I think that should cover the useless talk for our first lesson. As you can see, around the yard are several racks prepared, each of them holding different wooden weapons. Whether it is daggers, a spear, swords, the bow or other arms, your first goal is to find one that fits with your temperament and feels natural in your hand. Trying out several different kinds is encouraged, there’s no pressure or time limit, this is an important process.

The scarecrows are placed here for you to abuse them, go at them as much as you want, they are enchanted to withstand a lot of punishment.”

Picking up a battered short sword, the teacher approached one of the aforementioned practice targets. Due to her uniques sight, Nisha recognized faint patterns on the scarecrow now that Mr. Oak pointed out the enchantment, as well as the rising and revolving strands of aura he transferred through his arms into his weapon. Striking out in a casual motion, the aura charge quietly slipped into the wooden puppet, gaining increasing speed in its rotation and volatility while he turned back to the expecting eyes of the students.

“Even the mightiest skills and the fiercest warriors need precise control over their strength and aura. Otherwise, you will fail to activate even the most simple inscription or the most basic skill.”

As if waiting for him to finish speaking, the wooden scarecrow exploded into splinters flying in all directions over the spacious court, giving the students quite the fright.

“Alright, now it’s time for you to move around your bodies and exercise a bit. Pick a weapon and hit the scarecrows, try to feel the aura in yourself at the same time. Once you manage to do that, you can start on working to redirect that energy into a skill. Go into the library when you get familiar with a weapon, you can pick a corresponding skill on the first floor as a student in the first year. If you have any questions or need pointers, you can come looking for me, I’ll be walking around to monitor your progress.”

Placing the wooden short sword back inside the rack, the teacher ended his first instruction. The novices hesitated, even wooden weapons were unfamiliar with them. Living inside the capital, they never needed to pick up one so far. Of course this did not apply to everyone. Fairly skillful with the bow, Nisha ignored the poor attempts to recreate a practice bow and stepped forward to consider the melee armaments. Standing out as one of the first to move, she felt more than one gaze leave her back as the owners followed her example and evaluated the alien weapons.

Nisha herself didn’t need long to decide. Although she was fairly used to handling her [Taurith Short Swords] - and a large number of adventurer seemed to rely on swords - the dragon wanted to experience new things to learn. Picking a large rod with a blunt end, the practice weapon could be either a staff or a spear. While there were other options, the long wooden pike appealed to her somehow.

“Isn’t that a bit tall for you? Not to say you are small … but you are.”

With a melodic accent in his voice, a fellow pupil approached the elf after they chose their respective weapons. Turning around and scrutinizing the origin of the voice, a small crease appeared on her forehead. Objectively speaking, the dragon knew her current body could be considered small by human standards, not to mention her previous scaled body. But being big and tall wasn’t always an advantage in a fight, so she didn’t mind. Just getting it pointed out by someone else still wasn’t pleasant.

As for the speaker, even without the accent you would realize he wasn’t native to Leandar. With a loose robe, decorated with elegant flower patterns, the young man held two wooden daggers, giving off an air full of confidence in handling them. A purple hue in both his skin tone and hair, Nisha already knew where he came from. And most surprisingly, despite the sting in his words, she did not take offense to them, considering he might really have her best interest in mind when he said it.

“You should pick a smaller one. While a heavy weapon does boast of superior destructiveness, it’s also heavier and offsets the bonus most of the time. These are my thoughts at least.”

Due to the silent gaze the elf returned, he probably felt the need to explain himself.

“My name is Nisha, you are probably right. Still, it caught my eye and I want to try different styles anyway. If it doesn’t work it out I can always change to another one. Are you already familiar to wielding daggers?”

With her unexpected friendly reply, she must have caught the foreign youth unaware, he blinked several times before returning to a smiling expression.

“You are right, I do have some experience with handling a similar type of armament. But it’s close enough. Unico Nehmi, a pleasure to meet you.”

Bending his waist in the customary greeting originating from the southern twin kingdoms, he showed her a sincere greeting.

“A pleasure indeed. I think we will get along just fine.”

Matching interactions could be seen all over the courtyard, the students started intermingling with each other with less attention on the social standing. Still, Nisha picked up more than just one or two important details and grinned devilishly before raising her spear and walking towards a scarecrow.