Leadership Mission

The noise of students and the light steps echoing through the hallway accompanied the four boys as they made their way toward the courtyard. Arian, Drikaron, and Maro kept silent, trailing behind Frank.

Outside the academy, sunlight filtered through the branches, casting dancing shadows with the wind. The mingling of birdsong and students’ chatter still lingered in the air, at times almost irritating.

“Well then, boys—before anything else, introduce yourselves!”
Frank flashed his teeth in a grin at the three youngsters.

Arian, Drikaron, and Maro exchanged quick glances. Finally, Maro stepped forward.
“I’m Maro, from the Order of Shadows.”

“I know that already. Tell me something new—like your desire, your goal, whatever.”
The spark in Frank’s eyes dimmed a little.

Maro hesitated, gaze fixed on some far-off point. Once again, the familiar coin spun between his fingers.
“My goal… Honestly, it’s just to grow stronger. Maybe it sounds shallow, but that’s it. To have the strength to protect the ones I care about.”

Frank’s eyelids loosened, and he spoke in a calmer tone.
“Not the most exciting answer. Still, I respect it. Just didn’t impress me much.”

This time he pointed at the young dragon of the group, black scales beginning to bloom faintly along his wrist.

“Greetings, senior. I’m Drikaron. My goal is to make my father proud—and to be strong enough to help my friends. I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.”

In the tradition of the dragon clans, Drikaron revealed his white scales, gleaming with a metallic sheen under the sunlight.

Frank gave his shoulder a firm pat and grinned.
“I see. Hope you can make your sister proud too, White Dragon.”

Silence settled again, until Arian—the one destined to be at the center of this chaos—finally spoke.
“I’m Arian. My goal? First, to find out who I really am. Then… I want to build a society of my own.”

His blue eyes locked with Frank’s broad, imposing face.

“Mmm. Well, you three are boring as hell,” Frank muttered, licking his lips before shutting his eyes to weigh the silver-haired boy’s words. After a pause, he resumed walking, glancing back at them.

“I’m sure Professor Nayus told you about the mission. But I’ll say it again—this won’t be easy. It’s not like playing with your toys. You three won’t just deal with your classmates. You’ll be facing the second-years too.” He cracked his knuckles. “And by facing, I don’t mean fighting. I mean earning their trust.”

Arian threw Maro a side glance before asking in a deep tone:
“So, senior… how exactly do we do that? This hierarchy has to be respected. A group can’t be leaderless, but the leader has to submit to someone above them. How does that work?”

“In short—you prove your strength to the first-years. That’s why Professor William played with you in the forest: to see who was strongest. After that, you challenge the second-year leaders to a spar. Winning isn’t required—you just have to prove you’re worthy.”

As they walked, Frank nodded politely to some girls passing by, then turned his eyes back to Arian.
“And the reason I called you my successor is simple: I’m not just the leader of my own faction. I’m the leader of all the fourth-years. That responsibility will eventually fall on you, Arian.”

A heavy silence fell, so thick it drowned even the chatter of other students.

“What about the other leaders?” Maro flipped his coin into the air, studying Frank’s eyes. “Me and Drikaron will lead our factions, and we’ll both submit to Arian. But what about the second-years? Do they have a leader above all?”

“Professor Nayus told you already—you’ll learn the truth later.” Frank clapped each of them on the shoulder, seeing only children where they stood. “Maybe we’ll meet again. No… I’m sure this won’t be our last.”

He gave them a quick wink, bowed his head slightly in respect, and then slipped away into the crowd of students like a shadow, leaving the three boys alone in their storm of thoughts.