Part XI Dragoon Academy

Dragoon Academy was founded by Alaire Ignis before the Turtelians split into four major clans. It boasted a large dormitory, a main building used as classrooms, a coliseum, and a spacious front yard. After disembarking from the horse-drawn carriage, Lazuro and Tristan passed through a large iron gate with pillars and dragon flags on either side. In front of the academy grounds, a large number of young men gathered, wielding their Mythbreakers.

“This is incredible. Everyone carries a Mythbreaker.” Lazuro dropped his jaw.

"As I said, Dragoon Academy is a prestigious institution, and these are likely all the young men from the four villages on Huanglong's back who aspire to join." Tristan smiled.

“Then how can someone without a Mythbreaker come to this place? Isn't that just tainting?”

Aaron suddenly appeared with his friend, arms crossed, staring at Lazuro and Tristan with hatred.

"No Mythbreaker? Just so you know, I just got Master Alaire's Flamebreaker.” Tristan picked up the Flamebreaker, which hadn't yet transformed into its spear form.

At the mention of Flamebreaker and Alaire's name, the entire crowd immediately turned to Tristan.

"Mr. Alaire's Flamebreaker, you must be dreaming. That must be an imitation or a fake mythbreaker you bought to deceive everyone. You truly embarrass the northerners." Aaron made a mocking expression.

"I knew it; it couldn't possibly be a flambreaker."

"I never thought he'd make a mythbreaker that looked like that."

The gossip began to pour out, hitting Tristan. The red-haired youth clenched his fists, trying to hold back his irritation.

"If you don't believe me—"

"Shut up!"

Tristan intended to show off the authenticity of his Flamebreaker. However, a woman's scream made Tristan abandon his plan. The source of the voice was a short, blonde woman wearing a long, black robe that covered her body. The woman stood at a podium with several students and teachers lined up around her. Lazuro glanced at the students and teachers and stopped at one student with long, flowing blonde hair that had a braid tied at the back.

"Isn't that the blonde girl who saved me two days ago?" Lazuro narrowed his eyes.

"Attention, to the young men who have come all this way, I thank you. My name is Djuana Yard, the principal and a teacher at this academy. Today, we, the teachers at the academy, will test your eligibility to enter the academy. Before we begin, I want you to form a line of five!"

Everyone gathered immediately complied with the blonde girl's request and formed a line. Several uniformed students standing on the podium immediately approached the line. One of the seniors heading towards Lazuro's line was the blonde woman with a strong and graceful face who had saved Lazuro from the robber.

"Look, isn't that Princess Fiore?" said one of the boys.

"Yes, Fiore Ignis. Her beauty is truly as rumored," replied another boy.

"I wish I could be her husband."

"Don't be silly, she's royalty. Rumor has it that one of the nobles tried to propose to the princess. Then the princess gave him a battle test, and guess what, the nobleman was seriously injured. So don't even dream."

The two young men fell silent as Fiore arrived and gave them their number. Lazuro overheard their conversation, making him nod. Remembering how the princess had beaten up the robbers, Lazuro felt deeply sorry for the man who had a crush on the princess. However, that was none of Lazuro's business. The skinny, gloomy-faced Lazuro had never been popular with women. Furthermore, he was an otaku.

"Well, that's none of my business." Lazuro nodded.

"What's none of your business? Hurry and take this number."

Lazuro flinched, not realizing that Fiore was already standing in front of him.

"Ummm... thank you for your help yesterday. I really appreciated it." Lazuro lowered his head.

Fiore pulled Lazuro away from the crowd, and after a while, she began whispering.

"What did you say?"

"Didn't you—"

"Lower your voice!" Fiore shouted as quietly as she could.

"Excuse me, but it wasn't the princess who saved me. I just wanted to thank you." Lazuro whispered.

Fiore leaned closer to Lazuro. The faint scent of roses wafted from Fiore's body, making Lazuro almost lose himself.

"Listen, if anyone finds out about this, I'll definitely kill you. Now take a number and get back to your line!" Fiore ordered.

Seeing Fiore's frightening expression brought Lazuro to his senses. The young man quickly took a number and returned to his line. Everyone was whispering, curious about Lazuro and Fiore's relationship. However, they didn't have time to ask because Djuana began speaking again.

"We will assess you on several aspects. First is physical ability, second is mana control, and finally, and most importantly, your fundamental fighting skills. Now let's begin the first test." Djuana stepped down from the podium and began organizing the students.

For their first test, the students ran laps around the field, guided by seniors and running in a self-selected order. Lazuro, however, only completed five laps before collapsing, shaking his head at the superior performance of students who ran dozens of laps. Afterward, they entered the main building and proceeded to a spacious hall equipped with target boards and baskets of mana crystals.

"The second test is mana control. Each of you mythbreaker users who have synergized with a beast should be able to perform magic. Today, we want to test your mana control and abilities using a simple 'ball' spell. Please take a mana crystal that corresponds to your mythbreaker element.Red for fire, green for wind, brown for earth, blue for water, and purple for lightning. If you possess a rare element, please tell your seniors, as light and darkness crystals are very rare. Then, you can ask your seniors."

All the students began to take mana crystals corresponding to their elements. Lazuro himself was a little unsure about his element and ultimately decided on green because he liked the color. After taking his mana crystal, Lazuro took the back row. The student at the front was seen holding a mana crystal, pointing his other hand forward. Red energy began to gather and burn in his hand.

"Fireball!"

With a shout, the fireball in the child's hand flew toward the target, only to graze the edge of the round target board. The line began to advance as Lazuro watched Tristan prepare. Tristan appeared to be doing the same thing as the student he had seen earlier. Tristan, straining, attempted to conjure a fireball.The fireball began to form slightly but eventually disappeared. A shocked Tristan asked for another try but failed. After five tries, Tristan was finally forced to retreat. Finally, it was Lazuro's turn. Fiore, the senior guide, instructed Lazuro to stand behind the line.

"Okay, let's begin. Fireball... Iceball... Thunderball..."

Lazuro struck several strange poses, causing Fiore to cover her mouth and crouch down to hold back her laughter. Lazuro stared at his hands, wondering why he couldn't conjure an elemental ball like the other.

"Ano... Is this mana crystal broken?" Lazuro asked.

Fiore stood up, trying to keep her face as straight as possible, and then put her hand on Lazuro's shoulder.

"I don't know if you're crazy or what, but... taking this academy entrance exam without being able to conjure a simple spell ball type magic is truly ridiculous. You should come back next year." Fiore nodded.

“Well… I actually didn't intend to enter this academy either. It seems I'm not really suited to such a magnificent place.” Lazuro lowered his head and left.

After all the students had completed the second exam and the teachers had recorded the results, the final test came: the battle. One of the teachers united with his mythbreaker and caused the ground to rise, forming an arena. Djuana climbed into the arena with two students, one of whom carried a box. The students were allowed to sit down.

“Alright, the third test is the battle. We will assess how well you have mastered your mythbreakers. As you know, children are taught to hunt in their tribe when they turn thirteen. The rules of the battles here are quite simple. Killing is not permitted, those who leave the arena are defeated, and if anyone mutates, they will be killed on the spot. Alright, I will draw lots to determine who will compete in this arena by drawing a number from the box. All of you, get ready!”

Djuana drew a piece of paper and called out two numbers. Shortly after, two children took the stage. Seeing the two ready to fight made Lazuro swallow hard. Because he couldn't stand it, Lazuro looked at Tristan, who was beside him.

"You seem to really admire Mrs. Djuana."

"You don't know, Mrs. Djuana is one of the great generals with extraordinary strength. Some even say that Mrs. Djuana was able to take on two burning T-rexes single-handedly without injury."

"That's truly amazing."

"Contestant number twenty-three, please step forward!"

Tristan flinched when he heard Djuana's shout. He looked down at the paper he was holding and stood up.

"That's me; I'm going!" Tristan immediately ran toward the arena.