My head aches from a nasty hangover as I climb into the shuttle. Moxie gave me some medicine, but it still hasn't kicked in yet. Whatever I got up to last night, I've got no memory of it. The last thing I remember is slowly rowing back to shore, alone.

  Violet is sitting in the seat directly across from me. She seems to be avoiding acknowledging me at all. Which is fairly normal now that I think of it.

  Moixe, who is beside me, hands me some food and I thank her. We had to leave quite early in the morning to make the riftliner on time. The ascent into orbit is as smooth as one can hope, and we reach Tien’s dragon no problem.

  Looks like our vacation has officially come to an end. Back to the monster slaying business. Though first we've got some classes back at the academy. Plus, I bet I am going to be a real hot commodity for the scientists.

  After all, I do not think it is every day that people casually speak to the nature of space. Nor gain skills that allow them to move in another dimension.

  The transition through the fissure is quite pleasant. It turns out that it is more unpleasant if it is anchored around monster energy for whatever reason. But this fissure is anchored around the population on Marisphaera, so it feels like a wave is crashing over us.

  We land in the riftliner without issue and then head back to our quarters.

  The voyage back to the academy is relatively uneventful. Though I do get dragged out by Liv to hit up a bunch of restaurants and bars. I do avoid alcohol though, which disappoints Liv. I guess she thought she had a fellow drinking partner. I am honestly not sure how I even ended up drinking at all, it's not something I've ever thought of doing.

  When we return, the academy is just as we left it. Of course, we are given about an hour before we are summoned to a class. Which is fine and all, but couldn't they have at least given us time for a nap?

  The professor is one that I didn't get to meet before. The others apparently had a dragonology class while Violet and I were busy destroying reality. Apparently the professor is named Gora.

  I take a seat next to Moxie, Stephen and Liv and take a quick look around the classroom. Violet is of course sitting off in the corner alone. But the thing that really sticks out is all the other empty spots.

  There are six of them.

  “Gah, I hate this part of the year.” Professor Gora says as he walks into the room. He is a big guy. Like, really tall, and absolutely jacked up with muscles. Stephen is like a stick compared to Gora. “Ahem, you are all very perceptive, so I am sure you have noticed. Thus, we shall start this class with five seconds of silence for the fallen.”

  Gora stands behind the podium with a grim expression on his face. The students go silent for all of five seconds. Then, Gora’s grim expression turns into a smile. “Well then, now that that is over with, welcome back cadets. Oh and let's welcome two of our cadets that couldn't make it last time.”

  I flinch a bit as all the eyes in the room turn to look at me. Everyone seems to avoid looking at Violet, like she is dangerous or something. I mean, she is dangerous, but she is still pretty. I would expect at least a few people to glance at her.

  “Alright then, let's start off with a simple review question. What is a dragon?”

  Gran raises her hand. “A type of sapient inorganic creature that can harness aether from its surroundings. They are also the origin of the system that has been lent to us through the bond.”

  “Great work, it seems at least one of you paid attention. Dragons are indeed a strange set of creatures indeed, at least by our human standards. The environment of the aether has caused them to become unlike anything back in the universe. Now, who can tell me the requirements for forming a bond with a dragon?”

  Gora asks the question, and the room goes silent. A tension fills the air. After all, everyone in the room is very well aware of the answer. “Tough crowd eh? Well, allow me to say it then. The requirements to form a dragon bond are that a person’s soul be exposed to aether before puberty. As you all likely know, the most likely way for this to happen is for a child to be caught near a rift as it opens, and also suffer a devastatingly tragic event.” Gora pauses to let the information sink into our minds.

  To say it in other words, to bond a dragon you have to lose everything important to you before you even get a chance to live. Then, you are sent to one of the preparatory academies, where you are given the choice to train to become a dragon guard. The exams for which have a notoriously low pass rate of 4%.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  For those skilled enough, they are then sorted into an academy dependent on their skill level. It just so happens that the Travernium Academy is the top one in the entire empire. For good damn reason too. Thirteen percent of the top 5000 current Dragon Guards have come from this one academy.

  After a brief pause, Gora then proceeds to lecture on the different stages of dragon growth. It goes; Infant, Juvenile, Adolescent, Adult Stages 1-3, and then Elders. After the adolescent stage, the dragons become unable to maintain their structural integrity under gravity. Though if the Elder that I met is an indication, powerful dragons can simply use magic to strengthen themselves. Unfortunately there are only three known Elder dragons, and only two exist within the Empire’s territory.

  Those being the dragon at this academy, and the Dragon Queen of course. Though no human has been able to make contact with the Dragon Queen for nearly a century, it's debated whether she is still alive. I sure hope she is, we need every bit of power we can get against the monsters

  The class ends and as we are heading back, we encounter a familiar face.

  “Hmm, looks like the pig is alive somehow. Didn't know that was possible.” A voice sounds from behind me. I turn and see just the person I was not hoping to see, Mr. Guy. It seems he is alone, which is honestly just plain stupid.

  I take a step forward as if to punch him, but Violet beats me to it.

  Her fist hits his sternum with a nice cracking sound. I am no doctor, but I don't think it is supposed to make that sound. He bends over and collapses onto the ground, making a horrible wheezing sound.

  But, Violet doesn't let up. She continues hitting him, over and over again. She looks like she is trying to kill the guy.

  Feeling a bit stupid myself, I step forward and grab Violet and pull her off the guy. Not that the guy wouldn't have warranted his own death, I just don't think it is a good idea for us to kill other cadets.

  After much struggle, and several elbows to my face, I manage to pry Violet off the guy. She struggles for a few seconds, and then goes almost limp in my arms as I drag her a bit away. She spits in Mr. Guy’s general direction as he lays on the ground. Or at least, what I think is Mr. Guy, it's hard to tell how badly Violet messed him up. Guess that is what will happen to me if I make her mad, good to know for the future.

  Several professors rush down the halls, and one crouches down to begin healing him. An older man walks over to us and Violet breaks free of my hold. Though she seemed to linger for longer than I thought she would, I can't really complain.

  “I will not say anything about meting out punishment. However cadet, I do warn you that self defense does have its limits.” With those few words, the professors depart and leave Mr. Guy lying on the floor, unconscious yet fully healed.

  Violet simply scoffs and walks away, without even glancing at me once. She could've at least called me an idiot.

  I head back to my room and end up helping Lemon with her scales for a while. It has gotten harder for her to perform the maintenance by herself. Who knew having a dragon would be so much work.

  Hey, I can read your thoughts, you know.

  Oh, my apologies o great Lemon. It is a great honor of mine to help you polish such lovely scales.

  That's more like it, now hurry up, humble servant.

  As you wish, my lady.

  Afterwards, I decide to have a nice meal consisting of a dozen rice balls. I carefully carry my treasures out into the garden and sit down by the pool, book in hand. Being a Dragon Guard is awesome. So long as you ignore the death, blood, horrifying monsters, end of all life, oh and the ridiculous amount of effort required to get here.

  This time I chose a fictional book called The Dedicated Loraeien Maid. It's quite an interesting story, filled with lots of political intrigue and military strategy. It even has a magic system, but it's quite absurd when you compare it to reality. Like seriously, four primal elements that you wield to make everything else? It doesn't even have a leveling or stats system. If only it was that simple.

  The riceballs are delicious, though I miss the ones that had such sweet filling. The ones at the academy are sweet, but somehow they lack the same kick as the ones on Marisphaera. Still, delicious food is delicious food at the end of the day.

  After I eat, I end up doing some laps running around the area. The running track isn't as large as the one in the gym, but I prefer it. It is nice to run under the stars and surrounded by a bit of greenery. Sterile metal and concrete does get a bit saddening after a while. Especially after the awesome vacation we just had.

  I collapse under the oak tree to rest. I stare at the star the station orbits. Even at such great distance, it still overwhelms the entire view. It really puts us humans into perspective. Even dragons are not but specs of dust in comparison to the size of a star.

  Which makes sense, stars are the engines that fuel the entirety of the universe. Whether it be providing energy to sustain life, or to synthesizing compounds that are necessary to build said life. In truth, we are just a bunch of blobs of carbon that hallucinate ourselves into thinking we are important. But, that is what makes life so important. That is why we must defeat the monsters and protect all life from their scourge.

  Just as I am about to leave I notice a flower. It is starting to wilt, so I pick it and quickly head back to my room. I put it in a vase and add some water and some plant nutrients. I have no idea how to keep a flower alive, but that should probably do it.

  Then I lay down for a quick nap – Lemon naturally taking her spot at the foot of the bed. I can say that the Academy beds are more comfortable than the ones on Marisphaera, but the luxury suite ones on the Riftliner were far superior of course. I wonder what the best bed one can get is.

  Just before I drift off, I look at the flower and it has perked right up. The little violet flower seems to be recovering nicely. Which means I must've done something right at least.

  Next Chapter: Lucien Van Rose

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