A Dragon's Curiosity

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“What’s the academy’s rule for distributing spoils between different teams?”

Nisha asked a question all of a sudden, but it was not directed at any of the teens present.

She peered upwards and behind Jihu Blacktalon, towards the top of the stone path through the boulder formation.

One of the teachers had concealed himself and observed their conversation.

The elf considered asking for his help to distribute their gains fairly, yet she discarded that notion.

If the man had any intention to intervene, he would have already shown himself earlier.

The [Royal Academy] emphasized independence and individual responsibility, hence it was perfectly fine for Silas, the instructor, to watch and stand by until they managed to come to an agreement.

Only by standing up for herself would their group obtain their fair share of rewards.

Unico did not disappoint her this time either. He walked forward and regained his tranquil and polite smile.

“According to the rules of the Academy, in the case of a joint action between several groups on an extracurricular activity the distribution of spoils is decided by several factors.

In case of materials and valuables obtained during the expedition, the ownership goes to the harvester and, or, the person who felled the source of the materials.

Alternatively, to make a long and unwieldy explanation short, the killer gets first pick, and all discussions for alternative splits are voluntary, not mandatory.

Is that the answer to your question?”

The young man with a purple hued skin only needed to bow and press his fist to the chest to complete his act as a perfect assistant. He most likely already had an inkling about the intention of the elf in his party.

Jihu Blacktalon’s expression grew unsightly right away.

He had had a vague impression about the rules and approached Vilia Sternbloom exactly because of that beforehand, hoping to intimidate the two smaller groups by virtue of being the majority and emphasizing the favor they did for them.

“That is exactly what I wanted to hear.

Since that’s all cleared up, we can take a look at the ‘so called’ materials first.

Then we can decide the proper allocation.”

Nisha ignored the dismayed expression on the youths face facing her, as well as the uneasy behavior from Vilia and collected the corpses of the leaders.

Thanks to her [Spirit Sight], their stronger energy stood out like brightly lit pearls in a sea of dim candles.

With unerring accuracy, exactly two dozen slain [Yellow Banded Loam Monsters] were lined up in front of the students.

Eighteen of them were in relatively good condition and only had one big injury that ended their lives.

The dragon used the entirety of her strength in conjunction with her [Taurith Short Sword] to deliver the fatal blow, felling each of them with a single strike.

Compared to the relatively untouched appearance of her kills, the remaining six bodies were mottled with countless blows and wounds.

The three teams aside from Nisha and her group had to exert everything they had and more to stave off these powerful monsters and only managed to put them down after a lengthy struggle.

If more than a single leader type monster appeared at the same time, it would have spelled a catastrophe for them.

Luckily, Nisha took that burden for them and decimated the monsters while they were occupied and protected everyone from being overrun in the small stone path.

With a single glance, it was easily apparent who killed which monsters, but Jihu was not resolved to take a loss in this manner and prepared to speak up.

Unfortunately for him, the elf was even faster than him.

“I don’t have much to say about their condition, but you will likely not accept the distribution as it is.

So I’m willing to give you a chance.

Pick any of the sixteen bodies on the left and inflict a second wound similar to the one they already have with a single strike.

As long as you manage to do that, my group and I will agree to distribute all spoils per person.

But if you cannot do so, you have to acknowledge that these were hunted by me and therefore go into the possession of my group, while the regular variants will get split by group equally.”

Exuding confidence and conviction in her voice, the dragon kicked one of the corpses with carefully controlled strength and it landed perfectly in front of Jihu Blacktalon, who was still weighing options.

He grimaced at the open challenge, but had no possible avenue of retorting back, since he disputed the distribution first, Nisha only deflected his query back to him.

Combined with the rules of the academy, his only chance to obtain a greater share now laid in this bet.

While it was not a fair move and would perhaps earn her a bad reputation, the elf was fully capable of taking away the lion share of the points without discussing anything with them.

He was left with no other choice and closely inspected the [Yellow Banded Loam Monster] leader carcass, before turning towards Nisha’s group again.

“I can accept these terms, but I want to borrow your weapon for my attempt.

Only then will everything be fair.”

The youth was no fool. He had seen how the elf decapitated, bisected and sliced apart the normal monsters with little effort, sending limbs and fountains of blood flying everywhere.

If it was not for the rules of the academy restraining them from hurting each other, perhaps Jihu Blacktalon would not have dared to ask for more than his share at all.

Now that he had to perform a gargantuan task and hack apart the sturdy body of a monster, he wanted to secure every advantage possible before making his attempt.

At this moment, Lisa - who had so far not intruded in the exchange - stepped forward and expressed her puzzlement.

“If you need the weapon of my friend to make a similar injury, are you not admitting that it is impossible for anyone else to perform the same feat?

Then there’s no point for a comparison, is there?”

Though the blonde girl did not intend to do so, her response managed to shut down the youth’s request better than any retort from Nisha or Unico.

Indeed, as long as you need my sword to succeed, then it’s clear that all of these were hunted by me. Great thinking, Lisa.

Secretly delighted, the elf did not add insult to injury and copied a polite smile, mirroring Unico, who similarly did not respond to the request.

Angry at being refuted, yet unable to blame a girl who only asked a question and most likely held no malicious intent, Jihu Blacktalon redirected his rage on the body before him.

Evaluating his own early second rank aura cultivation and the sturdiness of a monster at the middle to late second rank, the burly youth came to a decision.

“You will not go back on your word, correct? If I manage to inflict a similar wound, you will allow my group to make the decision regarding the distribution?”

Asking again to get confirmation, Jihu Blacktalon decided to make his attempt.

Merit points were essential to enjoy more benefits at the [Royal Academy].

Several tens of points were enough to restore their gear to perfect condition, while a hundred points were valuable enough to purchase premium second rank gear from the academy stores.

Using the leftover points to speed up their cultivation, it was enough to pull ahead of their peers and stay at the top of their class.

“Of course, my word is the same as a promise. Inflict a wound comparable to the one the body already has, and we can agree to any distribution method you have.”

Nisha did not need to discuss the terms with her team, they already formed a solid bond of camaraderie through battle and shared practice.

The youth with the purple hued skin next to her always portrayed himself as a polite and cavalier youngster while Lisa was bright and cheerful, happy to go along with the wishes of the group.

Neither stood out to disagree and indicated that the elf had the power to make decisions for their whole group.

Jihu grit his teeth and drew his own longsword.

Due to his stature and muscle, the sword was bigger and heavier than similar examples wielded by the members of his group.

With a weapon in hand, he banished the ambient noises and the focus of the others on his actions.

Only the target in front of him and his sword existed  in his mind, adjusting his condition to allow him to execute the most powerful strike he was capable of.

Even the teacher Silas, who oversaw the exchange from the top of the stone formation moved closer and peered down on the stone path, clearly interested.

As the surrounding students quieted down and awaited the result of the agreement, Jihu Blacktalon exploded into motion and struck down with an overhead strike.

Putting the greatest weight he was capable of mustering behind his blade, the longsword struck down and tore apart the skin and muscles of the [Yellow Banded Loam Monster] leader.

While the opening exuded imposing grandeur and gave the teammates behind his back hope that their leader would win the agreement, the blade of his longsword scraped against bones and tendons next, where most of the force entered the dead body and broke open a little more distance, but ultimately ended up stuck on another bone.

Jihu Blacktalon stared at the result with a bitter expression.

He acknowledged that he lacked a better weapon and higher cultivation to achieve the same results as someone else.

No one said it aloud, but it was countless times harder to execute a strike capable of tearing through the body of a leader monster while it was still alive and in a fight.

Even if he managed to do so this time, it was still below the actual might of the elf he was competing against, regardless of weapon quality.

Rather than saying he failed to acquire more resources, it was more apt to think of it as a defeat against himself.

Therefore, Jihu was not angry and resentful against the team of three and gracefully accepted the outcome.

“I’m going to keep my word as well, it’s a good foundation to build a reputation for myself.

We have no more requests regarding the distribution, please take your share first.”

Just like he had observed his father in the past, Jihu copied his mannerisms and indicated with his hands towards the body on the ground and the other fifteen leader [Yellow Banded Loam Monsters].

It was a shame to miss out on so many merit points, yet his teammates did not bemoan the loss either, aware that the burly youth already did his best to fight for them.

Veilia Sternbloom wryly eyed her team, yet none of her friends looked her in the eyes right now.

They egged their leader on when Jihu made his intentions known previously, now they were embarrassed after their small scheme failed.

Nevertheless, Veilia never actively supported the proposal, hence the feeling of loss was not as strong either when it did not work out.

After a short discussion between the three groups other than Nisha and her friends, they agreed to split their six leader class remains into three bodies for Jihu and his team, two for Veilia and her followers and the last group of five took the last remaining body.

Right as they prepared to collect the regular [Yellow Banded Loam Monsters] and process them for materials, the wagon the older teacher requested for arrived outside of the stone path and made it easier for the groups to exchange their spoils.

Before the other three groups had the chance to leave, Nisha finished her short chat with her group and approached the others.

“Since you ended up doing us a favor and went through the entire ordeal with us, our group decided to part with some of the leader class bodies as repayment. Each group can take away two more leaders, so that should cover the costs for repairs and maintenance.”