Clang! The melodious sound of the bell echoed throughout the entire campus, and as it passed through the dormitory area, it instantly triggered a wave of curses. This bell was designed to be invigorating, waking even the deepest sleeper. No matter how drowsy they were, the bell's sound made it impossible to stay asleep.
"Damn that cursed bell! One day, when I become an ancient dragon, I'll smash that thing to pieces."
"Why wait for the future? Go do it now. Who's with me? Raise a claw."
"Go ahead, go ahead. We'll support you in spirit."
"Ha! Cowards."
"Smashing the bell won't do any good. If you have the guts, flip the entire academy upside down so we won't have to go to class anymore."
"To flip the academy, you'd have to defeat the ancient dragon professors and the headmaster. Oh, and don't forget there's a giant army stationed outside. You'd better be sure you can escape in one piece after smashing the academy, or else just prepare to die!"
Amidst the grumbling and complaints, the young dragons begrudgingly got out of bed and started preparing the books they needed for their classes.
As for washing up, that was unnecessary for the young dragons. As higher beings, they were naturally pure, free from things like earwax or eye crust. The elements that naturally gathered around them kept their bodies spotless.
"The sun hasn't even risen yet!" grumbled the sleepy little silver dragon, Lufi Pendragon, as she looked up at the starry sky still cloaked in darkness. The stars were still shining brightly, and she was filled with indignation.
"Damn Dad, damn Mom, sending me to this hellish place. I want to go home." Lufi longed for her life back at home, where she could sleep as long as she wanted without anyone urging her to get up. When she woke up, she could play until she got bored and then maybe study a bit of magic. Life was free and easy.
But now, she was forced to follow a strict schedule: when to get up, when to sleep, when to study, how long to study, even what to eat and how long to eat. Everything was laid out clearly, and she felt like she was in prison rather than school, a prisoner in this so-called academy.
Despite her frustration, Lufi obediently followed the other dragons to the meditation tower. She would start with an hour-long meditation session, then eat a simple breakfast before beginning four classes in the morning. Her total break time for the day would barely add up to two hours.
Soon, they arrived at the meditation towers. The young dragons found their assigned spots, determined by their strength, size, and age, and began meditating, guiding the external elements into their bodies to accumulate power.
"What's the point of meditating? The power gained after each session is barely noticeable. We'd be better off getting some extra sleep," Lufi muttered, her resentment still strong. In her opinion, the morning meditation was completely unnecessary and wasted their precious sleep time. She had discussed it with other dragons, and most shared the same view. They all thought the meditation session was redundant.
However, their objections had no effect. Even those who tried to use their connections to get the school to modify the schedule were flatly refused. They still had to attend meditation class, and if they dared to skip, they knew what awaited them—the same fate as those four metallic dragons who had been tortured by the six elements.
After the morning meditation, all the young dragons received their breakfast—a precisely cut piece of elemental crystal, tailored to their strength and size.
For these young dragons, this meal was another form of torment. Elemental crystals were akin to currency, and being made to "eat money" was outrageous. Most of them didn't even have their own treasure hoards yet.
But clearly, to prevent any dragons from choosing to starve and secretly hoarding the crystals, all the crystals had been treated. If not consumed, the elemental energy within them would dissipate completely within three days due to the runes embedded in them, turning them into worthless decorative stones.
Lufi clutched the crystal in her claw, a look of reluctance on her face. Every meal was a mental torment and a test of will for the young dragons. "This crystal will disintegrate in three days. Might as well swallow it now," she sighed.
With a determined gulp, Lufi swallowed the crystal, and a comforting chill spread from her stomach, invigorating her spirit.
Due to the special nature of their breakfast, the dragons had only five minutes to eat. After finishing, they had to quickly make their way from the meditation towers to the classroom buildings—a task that doubled as exercise.
The meditation towers and classrooms were not on the same island, with the closest straight-line distance being ten kilometers and the farthest exceeding thirty kilometers.
"They're just making things difficult for us on purpose," Lufi thought, grumbling again as she considered the twenty-kilometer distance to her classroom in the middle of the island.
With only fifteen minutes to get there, the dragons had no choice but to flap their wings furiously to make it on time. Any mishap along the way would almost certainly mean being late.
Those who had it worse were the younger dragons whose classrooms were on the outer edge of the island. They only had to fly about ten kilometers, but their smaller size, weaker stamina, and slower flying speed made it just as challenging.
However, what Lufi envied most were the newly hatched dragons. They could directly use the teleportation arrays to reach their central island classrooms. But this privilege was only available to those hatchlings who couldn't yet spread their wings.
...
"This scene never gets old," Muria said with a satisfied smile as he watched the dragons heading to class under the golden rays of the rising sun from his vantage point on the floating island.
"Your Highness, you didn't seem to be this strict with the chromatic dragons when you were young," said Mia, the golden-haired dragonborn maid standing behind Muria, a hint of confusion in her voice.
Muria had told the ancient dragons that his harsh educational methods had shaped the formidable chromatic dragons. But Mia clearly remembered that Muria's approach had been much more relaxed, merely assigning them learning tasks and checking on them periodically.
"Mia, I said that to convince them. Don't you think this method of education better brings out the strengths of the dragon race?" Muria turned to look at his somewhat naïve maid and patiently explained.
"This is all for their own good. With this approach, any dragon can quickly develop good study habits and achieve visible results in a short time. This way, their parents and the older dragons will have no complaints."
"But Your Highness, the giant army stationed outside the academy has already caught twenty-four dragons trying to escape this month."
"These naïve little ones didn't even think about where the dragon academy is located. Did they think they could just come and go as they pleased? At least use your brains before trying to escape!" Muria chuckled upon hearing the number of escapees. He found their innocence somewhat endearing.
"Give them the six-element punishment and announce it to the entire school. Also, notify their parents to come to the academy," Muria ordered, showing no mercy despite finding the young dragons' naiveté amusing.
"Understood," Mia noted the punishment decision, then hesitated. "Your Highness, it seems like this system you've set up is more suited to humans, not dragons. It feels like only short-lived species would strive so hard for the future, not dragons. They don't need this."
"You're wrong, Mia," Muria replied, looking at his maid, finding her naiveté similar to that of the young dragons trying to escape. "It's not about being short-lived or long-lived. It's the weak who need to strive hard.
I know many of the young dragons in the academy resent and hate me, but what does it matter? When they grow up, they'll understand my good intentions. The harder they work now, the more they learn, the better they'll fare when they leave school and face the world.
These young dragons are still very young and only want to play and enjoy life, but this is also when they are at their weakest. There's no time for play in this world.
They need to learn and grow stronger, so they need a powerful and strict dragon to force them to study, to shove knowledge into their heads, even if they don't want it."
"Your Highness, you're really going out of your way for them."
...
As the sun set, Lufi stretched luxuriously like a cat, shook her scales, and walked into the academy's most prominent building, the library. It was now free time, and the student dragons could do whatever they wanted.
"What's this book?" Lufi was about to read another biography novel when she noticed a massive book with a black-gold cover. It seemed to emanate faint wails of tormented souls...
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]