Origin Of Dragon [2]

Asher sat beside Emma and Tay as they conversed among themselves about what had happened in school days or weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Asher had drifted far into his mind, thinking about one thing or another—mostly Ria and the notification he had received.

He was still baffled by how much Sinnett knew, but he didn't let that get to him. All he wanted was to make the right decision and not ruin everything.

"To think the headmaster scheduled a raid mission tomorrow."

That was the only thing that brought Asher back down to earth. He snapped his head toward their direction with a raised brow before finally speaking up.

"What raid mission?" He adjusted his seating position and turned fully to them. "Didn't we just get registered?"

Emma sighed tiredly. "Well, that's how the academy is... As first years, we get most of the mission calls, raids, organization duties, and other stuff," she explained, showing him her phone. "That's the entire schedule for the final-year students this month."

Asher took the phone from her almost immediately. He let his gaze linger on it for a while before exhaling.

First week: Trip to the Northern Mountains for rejuvenation, relaxation, and investigating the new waterfalls and fallen dungeons.

Second week: Semester exams, therapy, and physical strength recheck. Voluntary support at the Master's Guild in Highcrest.

Third and fourth weeks: High-ranked mission outside the city.

"This seems unfair," he uttered when he finally handed the phone back to her. "What about our schedule?"

Tay leaned against the wall and dipped his hands into his pockets. "Well, this week, since today is the first day, we have about two missions that will take two to three days. Assessment tests at the end of the week and night training—that's not compulsory, though."

"Don't we have any time for classes?" Emma suddenly asked, staring at Tay with hopeful eyes, but he shook his head.

"No classes, unless the supervisor for the day has something to say."

"Not a bad way to groom new students, just seems a little too much," Asher muttered, and they both nodded in agreement.

Emma stretched her arms above her head and sighed. "Well, we don't really have a choice. It's either we go along with the academy's schedule, get punished, or risk getting kicked out."

Tay shrugged. "That doesn't sound too bad."

Emma shot him a glare. "Not everyone has your connections, Tay. Some of us actually need this academy."

Asher stayed silent, processing everything. He thought about the absurdity of the raid. He didn't like the sound of it. There were too many unknowns, considering this would be their first.

And given what he had learned about the world's view of dragons, it only made him more cautious.

"What's the mission about?" he finally asked after thinking for a while, but Emma shrugged.

"The details haven't been released yet. They'll brief us tomorrow morning."

Tay pulled out his phone and scrolled through his messages. "I heard from one of the seniors that it might involve an abandoned site outside the city. Some rumors about strange mana readings."

Asher's expression darkened. Strange mana readings? That was never a good sign. It could mean anything—from lingering traces of a powerful entity to an undiscovered dungeon, or worse, a dungeon break.

"Sounds like a setup," he muttered under his breath.

Emma arched a brow. "What do you mean?"

Asher leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Sending first years on a raid, barely a day after they're registered? No proper training, no classes. Just thrown straight into combat? That's not normal. It feels more like they're testing something."

Tay chuckled. "Welcome to Velcrest Academy. They don't care how new you are. If you survive, you belong. If not..." He made a dismissive gesture.

Emma frowned. "Don't say it like that."

Asher exhaled, shaking his head. If this mission involved anything even remotely connected to dragons, he needed to be careful.

He already had Ria to worry about, and now there was a possibility they'd stumble upon something even worse.

His phone vibrated again. He glanced down and saw a message from Alya.

Are you done yet? Mom has gone to sleep, and Ria won't go to bed if you're not here.

Then another from Sinnett.

See you at the raid, Morgan.

Asher's grip on his phone tightened. That bastard really was watching everything.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day," he murmured, standing up. "I need to prepare."

Emma and Tay exchanged glances but didn't question him.

Asher turned towards the spot he had come up from. He said goodnight to them and made sure Tay and Emma left before he did.

Luckily, Emma knew how to use her class and abilities with her movements. She created a vine that extended between the apartment building and down to the stores below.

She used another vine to zipline down, while Tay, on the other hand, had enhanced leaps similar to Asher.

Without thinking much about it, Asher slid down the ladder to his balcony.

He strolled in casually and walked out of his bedroom, only to find Ria seated on the ground by the sofa, her food untouched before her—along with his.

"What is she doing..." He trailed off when she turned her head and looked at him, causing an awkward smile to appear on his lips.

"You haven't eaten. Why?" He asked as he positioned himself beside her, but not too close, to avoid anything.

Ria just pushed her plate away and leaned against the table with her elbow. "Asher is ignoring me."

Asher's gaze softened almost immediately, but then he smiled. "What makes you think I am?"

"Because I am a dragon," she glanced at him, "and Asher doesn't like dragons, right?"

'She's aware of what she is,' he thought, still keeping a fake smile.

"Well," he held her hands, pushed his plate aside, and pulled her onto the table before him. "I don't. In fact, I love dragons. But then, what makes you think I'm ignoring you?"

"Before I got sick, you told me not to tell anyone what I am, that you would find a solution. When Mommy brought me home, you acted like you didn't know me."

Asher smiled nervously, totally shocked. She was so little, yet she knew how to talk fluently and she could read behaviours. She didn't even stutter, which was another surprising thing.

But knowing she was a dragon made it easier to understand.

Dragons apparently lived for thousands, even millions of years, and yet when they took human forms, they retained youthful features.

As he had read in fantasy books in his past life, an infant dragon was anything below two hundred years old.

Which meant Ria was actually older than him as a dragon but still a child in human years.

Fascinating, but he hated the fact that his own little sister would actually be older than he was. Not that it mattered anyway.

What bothered him was how he would tame her, as the system instructed, and ensure nothing went wrong.

"Well, I don't mind you being a dragon," he raised his hand to her head and patted her gently.

"We'll find a solution to that, but first, I need you to tell me everything you can remember."