I wake up from my nap and as usual, I am a bit hungry. It's weird, I seem to always be able to eat, yet it doesn't actually bother me if I don't. Perhaps it has something to do with aether and how dragons live without consuming food.

  Still, I like food. So I head out into the common area to grab some. But the moment I enter the room I notice a strange man sitting on our couch. He has bright green hair and is wearing decorative robes. It takes a second for it to click, but then I remember who he is.

  The Headmaster, also known as Lucien Van Rose. The strongest Dragon Guard humanity has ever seen. And, he is sitting on our couch.

  He stands up and then to my complete and utter shock, he bows to me. Not just a simple bow either, a deep and low bow, like I am some sort of monarch. He rises from his bow and then speaks. His voice has a nice joy to it. “Hmm. You are a strange one indeed, honored one.”

  “Honored one?!” I blurt out. “Wait, headmaster, why are you here?”

  He laughs deeply. “Please, call me Lucien. Or at most Mr. Rose. It would be quite strange for one honored such as you to use such formality with me. Now, how about we sit down?” He takes a seat back on the couch.

  I sit down on the couch opposite him, ideas of eating food forgotten. “So, uh, what might your business be here, Mr. Rose?”

  “Well I simply wanted to meet you. The moment I awoke from my nap in fact. Alas, you were busy so I had to wait. I had wished your complement would show up as well, but it seems she somehow resisted my luring, quite intriguing indeed. I was travel to meet you right away, but Bel held me hostage.” His brow furrows. “She threatened to withhold my biscuits, can you believe that? She is truly an evil woman indeed.” I can only presume by Bel he means Bellaris, the 2nd ranked Dragon Guard. The rumor is that he proposes marriage to her about every five seconds, yet she continually rejects him, yet never leaves his side either.

  “That sounds… rough. Though for what reason would you wish to meet with me? I am just your average cadet after all.”

  Lucien leans towards me. “Average? Hmm, I didn't know the average cadet gained titles, those are usually only reserved for dragonkin you see. Nor does the average cadet manage to defeat their first hive with no assistance. Ha, not to mention how you managed to seal a spatial rupture on pure instinct alone. To say you are average is to say I am a mere civilian.” Now that he puts it that way, I guess I am not exactly average. Its interesting to note that only dragonkin get access to the titles, I wonder what that is about.

  I can't believe that Lucien and I are having a conversation right now. In my living room no less. No one is ever going to believe me. “Okay, perhaps not average, but certainly not important enough to be visited by you.”

  He ponders my words for a few moments. “If anything, it is I that should be honored to meet with you. If not for what you are currently, but for what you will no doubt become.”

  “What I will become?” I have no clue what he is talking about, and honestly I think he might be just a tad bit insane.

  “Well, even if we ignore your usual indicators of success like academic metrics. You are not only a dragonkin but you have already initiated your first challenge, without any guidance. Which is both a bloody foolish thing and a sign of genius.”

  “Wait, how do you know about the challenge? Did you get one too? Is that how you are so strong?”

  He bursts into a fit of laughter for some reason. “Before I answer that, how about a biscuit?” On the table between us, a large spread of varied biscuits appears, there is even a fresh pot of teoffe. He grabs a biscuit and takes a bite, instantly a large smile of absolute delight spreads across his face. Through a mouthful of biscuit, he mumbles. “Dewicious.”

  Going with the flow, I also grab a biscuit. True enough, it is absolutely divine. “Woah, who made these? They are awesome!”

  Lucien smiles at me. “Bel did of course, she truly is a master baker, despite how she might come off.”

  “Wait, you are talking about the Bellaris, right?”

  “Of course, who else but Bel could make such delicious biscuits? She also makes great cookies. Though her cakes do leave some room to be desired – don't tell her I said that though.” He lets out a light laugh as I sit there and stare at him, my hand frozen while holding a biscuit.

  “You mean to tell me that the legendary swordswoman that climbed alongside you to rank ten in just two years is also talented in baking?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Of course, even legends are still people.” He smiles at me and piles about three biscuits into his mouth at once. I bet his stats make it impossible for him to suffocate by choking, which seems very useful.

  “Wait, why do you keep avoiding my questions?”

  He pauses his biscuit eating for a moment. “I simply wish to prolong this conversation longer. It's not that often that Bel lets me talk to strangers. She says I scare people or something silly.”

  “Hmm that sounds rough. You do not seem that scary to me.” I take a sip of teoffe, even it is more tasty than normal.

  “Oh well that's because you are a bizarre person. Most people get anxious and freak out the moment they see me.”

  It is at that moment that Moxie enters the room from the study, a bunch of books in her hand. It takes her a second, but then she freezes and observes the situation. I suppose it isn't every day that the strongest human man is sitting in your living room casually eating biscuits and teoffe. “Waa.t” She says, then promptly collapses due to shock.

  I manage to Blink over and catch her just in time, and I set her down in the chair nearby.

  “See, that is how people typically react around me. Hmm, perhaps I should've put up some sort of barrier to prevent such things. Oh well.” He casually eats another biscuit while I stare at him. Apparently people fainting at the sight of him is a regular occurrence, I see why he is kept hidden away.

  “So uh, about my question. You know, titles and stuff?”

  “Ah. Well you see, being who I am I simply know things. While I am not related to dragons myself, I have naturally encountered one or two dragonkin in my time. Also, I have a status ability tied to my Archealer path that gives me lots of information. Not that I need it, boy you practically have an aura of importance radiating off of you.” I am curious about this aura thing, and also his paths. Not much is known beyond him being an Archhealer, his second path is a complete mystery.

  “Oh right, that makes sense I suppose. These biscuits really are delicious by the way, I can see why you wouldn't dare risk them.”

  “Glad to see yet another recognizing Bel’s great talents. Perhaps she will finally open up that bakery like I have been asking her to. She seems to prefer slaying monsters for some reason.”

  “Well, you are both Dragon Guards. I am surprised you two aren't constantly out fighting monsters, given how strong you are.” I layer in a question to my last statement, and he takes the bait.

  “Well there are of course reasons. I believe the official reason is that it is expensive to deploy us, considering we are contracted to the government. Politics and such. Also, we are forced to fight at much lower ranks because there aren't enough people at our power level to perform a full conquest. Also I have basically no offensive power, and Bel won't survive for long without me to heal her. So we always have to be deployed together.” I try to remain calm as he just casually talks about his power level like it isn't that special.

  “That does make sense. It seems like even a grade one hive requires five people. I imagine grade fives require armies of people at the proper rank.”

  “Hmm, it is strange. As you increase in ranks it does get easier to take on higher grade hives. But past a certain point around rank 15, it starts to become a lot harder again. Something about the balance between skills, upgrades and difficulty.”

  I feel a chill spread through my body. “I don’t even want to imagine what horrors lurk in rank 20 hives.”

  He laughs loudly. “That you do not. They make rank one monsters look like mere specs of dust. Even my healing skills are not quite enough.” he goes quiet for a while, probably thinking about why only he and Bellaris remain from their original squadron.

  A knock sounds at the front door and Lucien immediately jumps up and hides behind the couch. He makes a ‘quiet’ motion as I walk up to the door.

  I open it to find none other than Bellaris standing there. She is very tall and has long black hair. Her face is set in a very intimidating look, and I instantly recoil away from her. “Hello there, have you seen a little green haired rascal about yay high around here?” She places her hand exactly Lucien’s height off the floor.

  Of course, Moxie chooses that time to wake up from her shock. She immediately jumps to her feet and turns to look at Lucien. “Strange man, what are you doing?” She says, giving away his hiding spot.

  Bellaris pushes past me a bit. “Pardon me, I have a quarry to catch.” Faster than I can perceive she moves over to where Lucien is hiding and grabs him by the collar. She lifts him up and pokes him in the ribs. “Idiot, what have we said about following proper procedures?”

  Lucien looks down and mumbles. “Protocol is important and should always be followed, especially in important matters like forming a new branch of the military.”

  Moxie comes and stands next to me, giggling at the exchange. It is quite hilarious to watch Lucien get scolded. Bellaris finishes her session of scolding and then drags Lucien towards the door. But she stops and stares at me for a moment. She squints and it feels like she is peering right into my very soul. “Hmm, you are indeed a strange one, I can see why Lucien has taken an interest in you. By the way, your squadron is to meet with Lucien tomorrow at noon. Don’t be late, he will need a distraction from being without his biscuits.”

  With that, she leaves the room just as quickly as she arrived, dragging Lucien by the collar behind her. I hear him exclaim, ‘Not the biscuits!’ as he is taken away. I say a prayer for his safety. He will need it, if he is truly trying to court her.

  “That is one strange man.” Moxie says.

  “That he is indeed. Though Bellaris isn't so normal herself. Perhaps all strong people are strange.” I laugh a bit at my joke. I wonder if some day we will all end up like the pair of them.

  “You are not strange.” I smile at the compliment and pat Moxie on the head.

  I do wonder why we all have been called in to meet with the headmaster. I hope we didn't cause some sort of trouble. Or more likely, I probably caused some sort of trouble.

  Somehow, it seems I am no longer hungry. Perhaps Bellaris’s biscuits have some sort of special ingredient. Though it could also be to do with the fact that I had several dozen of them, they were truly delicious after all. I do a bit of reading with Moxie and she shows me some cool new spells. She spent her vacation well, and is well on her way to understanding magics that we definitely should not have knowledge of.

  Before heading to sleep, I remember to water and feed my new flower. Apparently I've fully committed to keeping it alive, so I won't forget it. I wonder if I can find someone to care for it while we are away. I do not think it's a good idea to bring a delicate flower to a battlefield.

  I collapse into my bed, where Lemon is still dozing off. Studying is a lot of work, so I sink into a deep sleep.

  Next Chapter: The Spire

  If you are enjoying the book, I would really appreciate it if you dropped a follow, comment or even a rating!

  Checkout the official