Five times I repeated that process, feeling my mind clearing up again—some of my tiredness fade away. Somehow, I had to study for the written exam and also had enough sleep to be in a decent condition for the race against the sophomores.
Splendid.
Completely feasible.
“You do know how to keep up.”
I glanced to the side, a towel hanging before my face.
“If I didn’t, you would’ve kicked me out of the elective,” I replied while accepting the towel, letting it absorb all the dripping water from my face.
Belenus gave me one of his amused smiles, his eye sparkling for a second.
“Glad to know you are aware.”
Out of all electives open for new students, T.E.A.R.S not only had the highest drop rate, but it also had the highest failed grades. And especially because I knew that, to have Belenus say I was “keeping up” was almost insulting.
I was one of the best students—and he knew that.
“When will you let me register for the advanced class? My scores so far have been nearly perfect, if not for you nitpicking every mistake I make.”
The man chuckled, taking the towel off my hands. “When you start getting actual perfect scores, and manage to graduate from this sorrowful class made for infants, I will consider.”
I scoffed, clenching my teeth.
This sadistic bastard…
It was as if he thoroughly enjoyed seeing his students have the life drained out of them.
“Why are you here, anyway? Don’t you have an old and comfortable couch waiting for your old ass to warm it up?”
I realized things were serious when Belenus Kairon didn’t throw the water bucket at me. When he didn’t snap back, much less laugh.
“Vex.”
Yet I only felt fear when I heard him say my name.
When the shadows that filled his eye embraced his voice as well.
“The students who will participate in the race tomorrow, they were not chosen randomly.” It was like I had been thrown into a frozen lake. As if someone was grabbing my legs so I would never resurface, dragging me to the depths instead. “From your scores so far, I don’t see you failing the written exam…so you should use your time well.”
I clenched my fists, a bitter taste spreading in my mouth.
“…why are you telling me this?”
Belenus threw the wet towel across his shoulder, averting his eye for a moment.
“I told you before. You actually remind me of someone, and I can see potential in you. Would be a damn shame to put it all to waste. Also, me telling you won’t change anything.”
I took a deep breath, locking eyes with Styx, who had been resting in his cage until that moment. Wondering since when he had been paying attention.
“I need you to answer me something.”
Professor Bel crossed his arms, giving me almost a taunting grin.
“Depends on the question, kid.”
When I met his gaze, his smile faltered for a second. For he could probably see—could probably sense—how serious I was.
“Do you think I can place fifth in the race?”
Belenus Kairon was many things.
He was a man who would change his lessons and classes on a whim, yet had ironclad rules that doomed students the moment they broke them. He was a professor who constantly complained about having to waste his time with a class like ours, yet always left detailed and very thorough comments on questions we got wrong, or what we should improve.
He was one of the greatest riders of his generation, and would’ve been even greater had he not been obligated to retire due to his injury. For that man, like most riders, had a true passion for the sport. And that same passion made him a great teacher, as well.
One thing Belenus Kairon was not, however, was a liar.
Much less a dreamer.
“The old geezer could get even second place, if those sophomores underestimated him too much,” he replied, nodding toward Styx. But then he pointed at me. “You? You will need to ride as if you are chasing down the Manticore to get back your “Heart”. Because one stumble will be enough to kill you.’
So if there was one thing I could be certain, was that Belenus meant every word he said.
And that I was a fool for believing I would get any chances of sleeping better that night.
That was the message I sent to both Elowen and Ceres.
I was not heartless. For the past three months, after taking so much advantage of our “friendship”, it was more than fair to give something back. Otherwise, I would be no better than a leech. Owing others without ever paying back.
And I would rather die.
“Unless there is a subject that could make you fail the written exam, we have to practice for the race. So tell me if there is anything you need to know now, otherwise I will fetch the gears.”
They exchanged glances before turning to face me. Somehow, they looked even younger than they were—fragile, vulnerable, afraid.
“Did you hear something from Professor Bel…? You did, didn’t you?” Elowen started biting his nails, his voice shaking as much as his hands. “Cousin Thomas said I would fail. He said it was only a matter of time, and he was right, wasn’t he?”
Ceres was staring at nowhere, as if her mind had stopped functioning.
I sighed, trying not to sound as exhausted and stressed as I was. By the way they both flinched, perhaps I failed.
“You were both there, weren’t you? We will race against the sophomores—we need to be ready. Knowing how much Ergos made it difficult for us to make it this far, this is likely their last attempt to make us all fail. So we just need to do what we’ve been doing since the beginning.”
After they managed to compose themselves, I went over the major topics they were uncertain of. Fortunately for us all, their questions were not as complicated, and they were from subjects I knew well. In less than an hour, we were putting the saddles on our dragons and adjusting our gear.
Think, Vex.
What can I do to win?
There would likely be some kind of handicap applied to the sophomores—Ergos would still try to make things appear remotely fair, in their own twisted way. We had one more day until the race, yet considering we would have classes after the written exam, our time to practice became even shorter.
There are eight hours until sunrise.
By then, I need to have a plan.
I turned to Styx, his gaze even more striking. The dragon’s eyes were already distinct under normal circumstances, yet when night came…they would become even brighter, their glow intensifying. Ceres and Elowen’s dragons also had their own dominance and presence, their gazes powerful and oppressive, almost.
“Let’s warm up first,” I said as I mounted, feeling Styx’s muscles flex as he stretched his wings.
Once we were high in the sky, my eyes kept following Ceres and Cornelius. The wild mixed breed. Though it still felt like the animal did whatever he wanted at times, she did gain more control over him with Professor Pan’s help. Not only that, she knew how to take a good advantage of his attributes during races.
If she uses the dragon’s powers well, she can have a good edge in the race…
The ice blue scaled dragon was, as far as I was concerned, one of the most exceptional creatures in the academy this year. Yes, he was still far too young, yet if Ceres managed to tame his temperament, the dragon’s potential was endless. Perhaps, even if the girl failed the final race, her dragon would be just enough to get her inside Ergos for good.
Elowen’s mount, however, was nothing special. She was a young four-legged dragon, neither stronger nor weaker than average, covered in deep purple scales. Her attribute was not that praiseworthy either—when compared to other four-legged. So in the end, the dragon was barely above average in terms of skills.
That said, there was one thing that set the duo apart.
Both in my case and Ceres’, our dragons were the ones in the spotlight—the ones that caught people’s eyes, and made them gasp. With Elowen, however, it was his talent that got him this far. The boy was nowhere near as talented as Emrys or King, yet he did have it. That spark.
He could memorize new maneuvers in the course of a few days, and his ability to evaluate his competitors’ dragons was incredible. For someone his age, being able to gauge the animals’ powers with as much precision as he did…was impressive. Even to Jackal’s eyes. So while Ceres had Cornelius the Third, and I had Styx, Elowen had his own eyes.
And the boy knew how to use them.
Yet nothing of those things mattered to any of us if we didn’t come up with a real strategy to beat the sophomores.
So as I observed their flight pattern, allowing the ideas to continuously clash within my head—enough to give me a headache—a plan did start to form. Something that could give us a chance.
“You two, come here.”
The words were leaving my mouth before we even landed. I climbed off Styx, grabbing a broken branch from the ground. By the time Ceres and Elowen were standing in front of me, there were markings on the earth.
Drawings.
“What is this?” Ceres asked with a frown, tilting her head to the side. And from what I could see, Elowen also had questions brewing in his eyes. Yet they were different.
Because Elowen, like me, had been taking Professor Morr’s elective.
“Wait…you are not actually suggesting…”
I raised my gaze, my lips forming a smile that was as confident as I was allowing myself to be. A sweet lie a student would tell themselves as they stared at their potential fall at the end of a cliff.
“This is how we will show Ergos our worth. The way we can compete with the sophomores and pass the evaluation.”
And throughout that entire night, we practiced. We planned. Until the sun was almost about to rise. Until our bodies could barely stand, and our eyes would hardly remain open. Untill we could do nothing but collapse in my living room to get a couple of hours of sleep before leaving to take the final written exam. Because time was not our friend.
Much less Ergos.
One moment he’s dying in a warzone — next, he’s naked on a moon full of real cultivators.
Jake Sullivan just woke up in the wrong body, on a moon called Verdis, inside a cultivation academy where failure means getting culled back to Earth to live as a powerless mortal—and probably die uselessly in the upcoming alien invasion.
His memories are mostly gone, but his spirit’s intact. His classmates? Rich kids with qi crystals and family techniques. The school? Doesn’t give a damn. Let the strong survive. With enemy agents already on campus, Jake will need to out-cultivate, outfight, and outsmart everyone around him. He has only one year to become a real cultivator.
No dying this time!
Dark humor. Sharp dialogue. Flower picking, teeth flying. A fresh blend of sci-fi, xianxia, and LitRPG.