When the bell rang for the end of the seventh class, countless young dragons, not yet fully grown, poured out of the gates in an orderly fashion, resembling a herd of wild horses set free.
They formed a vibrant, multicolored torrent, surging toward the cloud islands specially designated for their play and recreation. These activities, designed by Muria specifically for dragons, were a unique form of exercise disguised as entertainment.
"Caesar, wait for me!" A small, cautious young dragon was flying through the throng of thousands of dragons, trying to catch up with her older brother.
Hearing her call his name, and noticing her black scales, many of the nearby young dragons moved aside, showing signs of respect on their faces.
Seeing the others give way, the small black dragon revealed a smug expression, flapping her little wings to catch up with the strong black dragon leading the pack.
"Caesar, don't fly so fast," the young black dragon, Serah, called out sweetly when she finally caught up with her brother.
"Why are you following me? You don't even join me in the gravity chamber for training." Seeing his younger sister keeping up with him, Caesar, the young black dragon, showed a hint of impatience in his eyes. He had recently heard rumors that his sister was using his influence to boss others around in her class.
"Who says I'm not training with you? Today, I'm going to the gravity chamber with you." Serah was startled by the dissatisfaction in her brother's voice. Without his protection, her situation could become dire, as she wasn't particularly strong in her class.
However, if she could maintain a close relationship with her brother, she could continue to live comfortably. Her brother was developing much faster than other dragons.
This made Caesar one of the strongest in his class. He was the bully of the third class, and his reputation had even spread to the second and fourth classes. His most famous feat was toppling four slightly smaller dragons by himself over a food dispute.
Such achievements had drawn the attention of their teachers, and even some high-ranking figures in the academy were aware of Caesar, providing him with extra resources. For example, he could enter the gravity chamber at any time outside of class to train his body.
"Alright, that's better. Let me tell you, the most important thing for a dragon is its body. The gravity chamber is a rare opportunity for us to train for free, and we must make the most of it. You won't find something like this outside."
"I know, but today is only my second time training. I think I'll stick to an hour… no, half an hour," Serah said timidly, having already experienced what ten times gravity felt like. She didn't take her brother's words about the chamber's preciousness seriously; after all, things that come easily or are free are rarely cherished.
"Suit yourself. I hope you won't regret your decision later." Caesar gave his sister a disappointed look before flapping his wings and flying ahead. In his class, he was among the best, but within the larger group of dragons, there were many like him, and the gravity chamber had limited slots, so it was first come, first served.
However, just as the dragon group reached the cloud island, which Muria had named the Dragon Playground, a commotion broke out. Many dragons paused mid-air, then left the group and gathered around something.
Caesar initially planned to ignore the disturbance and head straight for the gravity chamber, but when he saw the source of the commotion—a massive, black dragon squatting on the ground like a menacing mountain—he stopped immediately and changed course to head in that direction.
That was his idol. Since his idol was here, Caesar naturally had to pause his training. But when he tried to approach his idol, he found a dense crowd of stronger dragons in front of him. They seemed to be asking something, but most of them shook their heads and left, uninterested, while a few hesitated nearby.
"Lord Elio," Caesar finally got his turn. The stout little black dragon, who appeared strong among his peers, looked like a frail little creature in front of the giant black dragon.
"Hmm?" Hearing someone call his name, the massive black dragon Elio lowered his head and saw a tiny black dragon with big eyes sparkling with admiration.
"You're Caesar, the black dragon that eats dirt. I remember you. Not bad, you're growing strong; you'll be a fine young dragon in the future."
The burly and muscular black dragon Elio extended a paw, poking the little black dragon that was no bigger than one of his claws.
"Lord Elio, why are you here?" Caesar asked curiously, studying the explosive muscles of the black dragon in front of him, who seemed to be wearing a dragon-shaped armor. He also noticed a sign nearby with several bold characters written in the Dragon language: "Light of Truth Society."
"I'm here to recruit members." Seeing that fewer and fewer dragons were interested in his newly established society, Elio, out of boredom, started chatting with the eager young black dragon.
"Members of what?"
"Look, I've established a society called the Light of Truth. It's newly formed, so we need more members. I'm here to recruit dragons to join."
"Lord, what's a society?"
"A society is a group of like-minded dragons who come together to help and learn from each other." Elio repeated the concept that Muria had taught him to the bewildered little black dragon.
"Why is it called the Light of Truth?" Caesar felt that the name was strangely at odds with the muscular dragon in front of him.
"Kid, do you know what truth is?"
"No, I don't," Caesar hesitated for a moment, then cautiously shook his head.
"Let me tell you, this is the truth." Elio extended his dragon claw, which was as big as Caesar himself, and clenched it tightly. A thunderous sound of air exploding followed. "Fists are the truth."
"What about the light?" Caesar asked, still somewhat confused, though he felt his idol was just making things up.
"This is it." Elio opened his mouth, and a multicolored light appeared in his enormous maw, the spiritual glow swirling beautifully. But it scared Caesar so much that his scales stood on end.
"I understand now." Seeing the dragon breath building in his idol's mouth, Caesar quickly nodded. He had to admit, at that moment, that thing was indeed the truth to him.
"So, Lord Elio, can I join the Light of Truth Society?" Caesar asked cautiously.
"Well… you're too small," Elio said, looking at Caesar with some disdain. He was too scrawny and too young; he would need at least another hundred years of growth before he could fight.
Elio originally wanted to refuse, but when he saw the young dragon's dim eyes, as if predicting what he was about to say, and then remembered that his society had yet to recruit a single dragon, he reluctantly nodded. "…Alright, you can join my society."
"Yes!" Caesar cheered excitedly at the success of becoming Elio's follower, but his joy was short-lived when he asked a rather silly question.
"Lord Elio, how many dragons are in our society?"
"…Two!" After a moment of silence, Elio coldly replied.
"What?!" Caesar was stunned.
"It's just you and me," Elio continued, irritated by his disciple's shocked expression. "What are you surprised about? We're recruiting members because we don't have enough."
"Boss, I don't think you'll get many dragons to join this way. If you continue like this, no one else will join," Caesar carefully suggested, eyeing the banner behind the black dragon.
"What do you suggest?" Elio, who had only recruited one young dragon, asked gloomily, suspecting his methods were flawed.
"Lord, if you want to recruit more dragons, you should list the benefits of joining. If there's nothing to gain, why would anyone join?"
"Benefits?" Elio pondered. He vaguely remembered Muria mentioning something similar, but he hadn't paid much attention.
"Yes, if there are no benefits, who would go out of their way to do something extra?" Caesar bluntly stated, then added, "Not every dragon is like me, willing to join without expecting anything in return because of my admiration for you."
"Is that so?" Elio nodded thoughtfully, looking at the young dragon with a spark in his eye. He then asked, "Kid, do you crave power? Do you want to have power like mine?"
"Lord, I crave power!" Caesar responded with unwavering determination upon hearing this question.
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