A Dragon’s Curiosity

Parting from the two other students and agreeing to meet up again if they shared a class, Nisha pulled out a simple map that each new admission to the school obtained. The map marked most of the faculties and districts right next to the river splitting the capital in half, allowing her to easily spot the crafting area situated to the south of large Academy grounds.

Studying the map, she remained seated for a little while longer, intent on figuring out where to go next. In any case, the dragon had some time to spare, and the midday sun of early fall was surprisingly warm, giving her the chance to enjoy the heat some more before winter would come. And while she didn’t fear the cold, Nisha didn’t particularly enjoy basking in the snow either.

Focusing on the map, she quickly discovered the overall layout of the Academy. Separated into three different factions, the largest one was the one the elf searched for, the crafting area. Due to taking as much as half of the overall space, all associated facilities followed the river line, giving her an easy way to find the right place, she only needed to head into the direction in which she could hear the water roar. Aside from the crafting faction, she knew the place she was currently in counted among the martial path, offering warriors a place to train and guidance to increase their rank.

Lastly, the remaining quarter on the map belonged to the mage faction. Raising towers even higher than walls surrounding the Academy, it housed libraries and laboratories which counted as a speciality found exclusively there.

Stretching her arms into the sky, Nisha let a yawn escape her small and pink mouth. Instead of being physically demanding, the morning practice failed to compare to the rigorous sparring matches she had with her two sisters Annabelle and Lydia back at the hunting grounds. Only the choice of arms slightly differed. Otherwise, she would have most likely made the decision to drop the first year warrior class from her schedule.

Looking around the area by herself, the elf was surprised to see the area wasn’t empty as she had surmised. Leaning against the wall belonging to the courtyard she just came from, a middle-aged man lazily laid down, a straw hat drawn deep into his face, giving him the appearance of a sleeping vagabond. Propping one leg up slightly, he scratched his hairy shin with the sandals on his other foot. Despite all that, each and every student failed to notice his presence when they left the practice field for their other classes. Maybe he only appeared later. However, Nisha had her [Spirit Sight] to look at her surroundings. And this poor man didn’t appear at all in her vision. Rather than not radiating any energy at all as Kenelm, the rude teacher, had done when she visited previously, even his figure failed to register in her mind. If he were to attack her, Nisha feared she would have been caught completely by surprise. As a Hunter, she scolded herself for letting her guard down by relying on her unique sight entirely.

As if feeling her gaze, the lazy vagabond raised his head, revealing a common face beneath his straw hat. If placed within a crowd, the dragon had no confidence in being able to identify him. No scars, no special features, even his demeanour lacked any imposing prowess. He just so much as glanced above the table where the elf sat, registering her presence, before he lost interest, surveying the area and pulling his hat down again. Neither his breathing, his expression or his posture changed. Judging just by this, it was hard to say if anything he saw even influenced his mood. And despite all of these dismissive hints, Nisha’s inner voice repeated one word over and over again - danger!

A tingling coldness seeped into the elf’s skin, as well as an inexplicable excitement. As a fellow beast, she recognised the predator behind the thin mask plastered on top of it. A primal, powerful feeling. Ever since she left the Wilderness, this beast in front of her roused her fighting spirit the most. A deadly menace, hidden in plain sight, waiting for a chance to strike.

Gathering her belongings, the map and her scarf, Nisha slowly rose from the bench, intent on avoiding any hasty or shaky movements. As a predator herself, she knew. A single impulse, a minuscule friction and the strike would come. She knew it. He was aware of it. Neither acted out. Maybe he would squash her like a bug. Maybe she would retaliate with unknown means and turn out to be more troublesome than expected. Neither side wished to tread on the others bottom line. At least that was the tacit understanding the dragon came to for now.

With a straight back, Nisha advanced along the stone path leading towards the craft buildings. The vagabond didn’t raise his head, she heard none of his clothes rustling, and the air didn’t shift. Nonetheless, his attention focused her, the dragon could feel it like a heavy pressure on her back. The moment passed, and the attention disappeared. Instead of a heavy weight, it was not a feeling of weightlessness or release, rather than evading the danger it was somewhere out there. It only didn’t take an interest in her.

Strangely enough, Nisha didn’t mind it too much. In the Wilderness, only the winner reigned supreme. The dragon sibling always knew there were existences far stronger than them living deeper inside the forest. Those mighty beasts and even the mindless monsters didn’t bother with the circles beneath them. Neither the Fairy Queen nor the Harpy Matriarch dreamed about ascending to those depths. They both knew the extent of their inborn talent, and their current seats of power represented the maximum they could achieve.

In a similar manner, the dragon wasn’t worried about the strange vagabond loitering inside the academy.

Even if he was a hundred times more dangerous, without offending him or giving him a reason to act, she wasn’t too worried about the danger represented by him.

And due to her nature as a dragon, Nisha swore in her heart, in the future she would surpass him. Looking down on the whole world, how good must it feel.

In an unusually short amount of time, the elf put the entire affair behind her. Death never strayed far in the Wilderness, meeting an exceptionally strong warrior or magician in the Capital wasn’t too surprising.

Suddenly itching to learn more about the wonders and oddities hiding in the academy, a new drive fastened her steps as Nisha arrived at the crafting faction. Regarding the inner affairs of the different factions, she wasn’t too clear yet. Currently, she merely had learned that the three separate factions each had a distinct ranking and grading system, while they all belonged to the academy. Whether a student wanted to pursue martial prowess, magical might or supreme crafts, everyone had the full support of the Academy. Anything beyond that, what kind of crafts or exercises awaited her, she would only know after entering.

Looking for an administration building, she already pulled her [Adventurer’s Card] containing her student identification out of her [Inner Space] to prove her status and start learning the crafts that allowed humans to stand against the Wilderness.

Although cooking and sewing were considered arts as well, Nisha had yet to work with materials higher than rank two. It resembled housework more than actual craftsmanship.

Finding the administration wasn’t hard. In fact, the most elaborate and the grandest building the elf tried turned out to be the correct choice. Countless numbers of students, dressed in either robes or more practical garbs, streamed in and out of the open doors. Most of them spared Nisha a glance, whether they were male or female. Somebody dressed in the warrior’s attire, coupled with the excellent appearance of a young budding woman, evoked a good amount of interest in the art dominated environment. For better or worse, the common interest stopped here. New students appeared regularly around this time of the year, so she most likely was going to enrol as a craftsmanship student as well.

Approaching the counter for new courses, Nisha quickly found one of the elder students who was in charge of minor tasks, such as introducing new students to their respective classes. While he did make a double take at an elf signing up, he couldn’t hide his boredom from repeating the same words over and over again.

“As a first turn student, you can only pick one of the basic craftsmanship lessons, such as tailoring, metal working or wood shaping. This procedure is needed to prepare for the more advanced content like enchanting, inscribing, jewellery crafting and such. In your second turn, you can apply for these, granted you have cleared the prerequisites and passed the exam.

Now, for the lessons itself, there are two major models. One is the free working with materials under the oversight of an experienced craftsman. This model allows more freedom, although there is a downside as well. The metals need to come from somewhere, and you can purchase them with merit points. For the points, there is the second type of classes.

You assist either an older student with miscellaneous tasks or a teacher and learn by observing. For working a set amount of time, there will be a specified number of merit points paid out to you.”

Quickly registering her card with the crystal behind the counter, the process neared its end. To Nisha’s surprise, it wasn’t just noting down her details, and rather the crystal copied the imprint stored on her card, which she observed with her [Inner Sight].

“To assist new crafters, the materials needed for classes can be purchased for one tenth of their regular price. All facilities are opened to the students if they want to practice outside of the allotted time for classes for extra practice or similar reasons. Needed materials are available for merit points as well, and everything created from purchased materials belongs to the student too, whether it’s a failure or a masterpiece.

Please do note that there exists the possibility to sell raw materials to the Academy obtained from the dungeon or field trips, paid out in merit points. The school dislikes people bringing in their stuff to practice with, although there’s no punishment for it. The masters know, though, so I’d personally refrain from it.

That’s about it, here is a more detailed map showing the suitable beginner classes and where their location is. If you have any questions, you can always come back here and ask for guidance; the administration has the final say for all departments.

Good luck to you.”

Reeling down the speech he pretty much knew by heart, the senior student handed her a piece of parchment, which focused only on the crafting related buildings instead of the whole Academy.

With a slight bow, she gracefully received it, a token of courtesy towards an older student.

Taking a closer look at it, the majority of courtyards still lacked finer details. However, almost all markings that were imprinted pertained to the introduction classes. Barely skimming through them, the elf disregarded most of the hunter and gatherer types, from living a life in the Wilderness in her dragon form she already knew a lot about herbs and how to spot them, the Fairy Queen and Harpy Matriarch were always happy to exchange them for shiny treasures. As an avid lover of shiny stuff and her treasures herself, she sometimes went out herself to collect the needed items instead of sending the subordinates of her siblings. And the Fairy Queen also showed off her garden whenever the dragon visited their domain. There was no better teacher regarding herbs and precious plants than a nature spirit.

Of course, Nisha also knew these type of rare things held great value among cultivators, whether human or beast, due to their concentrated amount of aura and mana. Luckily enough, the dragons never needed assistance in respect to raising their strength, and their ranks increased just by growing up.

If she looked back at the precious resources she gave away then, the elf didn’t feel cheated either. The [Dragon’s Den] received about as much in ores, meat and commodities than they gave away cultivation resources. And even if they slightly lost out in comparison, the two beasts still took care of them, so she was rather thankful instead.

For similar reasons, dismantling and mining also fell off the table, Nisha was confident in being able to handle the tasks at an adept level. This thinking process left her with only the actual crafting classes, and she secretly longed to become proficient in an artistic profession, similar to her enjoying music. As a local ruler, she knew how to fight well enough as a dragon. The manner of the contest changed in the body of an elf and Nisha had to learn how to handle weapons and new techniques, but she was confident to shine as a combatant sooner or later. On the other side, crafting represented a whole new field of expertise to her. Inside the Wilderness, there was nothing comparable, at least not on the level to replace the natural weapons monsters and beasts possessed. As she thought up to this point, the dragon subconsciously made her choice. Referencing with the map, Nisha picked a destination and left the administration building with its hot and dusty air behind, the senior student already repeating his speech to another new student. She paid it no heed.

Asking for directions to make sure she was going the right way, the elf soon approached another building, half of it being a two-storied structure while the other half only had a roof that partially covered it. Instead, a significant amount of smoke billowed out of several chimneys, carrying along the smell of wood and metal.

Taking a last look at the map and deciding she had reached the right place, Nisha entered the smithy.

The beginner course for aspiring blacksmiths was about to start, and she hoped to learn a lot here.