Weak

The Dragon's tail came at me fast and I was barely able to roll out of its way, giving the others enough time to try and come up with an attack that could damage the beast. I had noticed previously that its right thigh and side were singed from Samuel's initial attack, and I had an idea. Large white chains wrapped around the Dragon's body as ice began to slowly encase its massive body. I knew the attempt would be futile, but we needed to get the beast pissed, and I mean it needed to be royally pissed off for any miracles to happen.

I managed to stop the Dragon's flames once more but, after realizing that it couldn't use its breath, it decided to use brute strength to break out from its binds. Myrnos let out a crazed roar as large spikes began to grow from its back and along its tail, while its eyes had turned a solid black. The Dragon's veins began to bulge out from its skin as its footsteps left large imprints in the solid ground. The beast's frame began to shrink down in size until it gained a semi-human form with its wings, horns, scales, and tail all intact.

The Dragon turned its furious gaze toward me and said "You have forced me to use this form, and so I shall make sure you feel my wrath! You damned Human!!" Myrnos suddenly appeared in front of me and sent out a powerful kick toward my stomach, sending me flying back. I found myself dangling in the air from Murnos' clawed hands before it delivered a punch to my ribs, fracturing them and making me cough up blood.

Myrnos began to laugh maniacally before looking me in the eyes and saying "Yes! I need you to scream out in agony! Give me more entertainment, filthy worm!!" The Dragons began to deliver a flurry of punches to my stomach and jaw, leaving me bloody and with several broken bones. I refused to let a single noise escape my throat as I spat at Myrnos' ugly face. "Go fuck yourself, bastard..." I said as I weakly lifted my middle fingers with a toothy grin.

Myrnos grit its teeth and drew its hand back as its nails hardened. Suddenly, a large spear of white crackling light pierced through the creatures stomach before sliding back out and leaving a hole big enough to allow me to see Samuel's smiling face. "Need some help, or will you get mad at me for stealing your kill?" He asked with a cheeky wink. I narrowed my eyes and didn't reply, causing Samuel to take my silence as permission.

My wounds had already started to heal over at a visible, yet slow rate, so I was easily able to move out of the way as Myrnos' grip around my neck loosened. Samuel brandished his sword and light spear before blocking the Dragon's clawed swipe. I felt utterly exhausted as I stumbled away to a safe distance and sat down just before Samuel was blasted away by the Dragon's whip-like tail. The beast seemed to be in a complete rage as it huffed and yelled away while Samuel bid his time.

I clenched my fists in annoyance as I realized just how weak I truly was. I had gotten cocky after seeing that I could negate Myrnos' fire, and payed the price for my folly shortly after. 'If only I was stronger...then I could've done something...I could've saved my parents from starving, and I could've killed that bastard William before he took me in...'

In the middle of my thoughts, a deep voice echoed deep in my head. 'Can you shut the hell up already? I'm sick and tired of hearing my vessel whine like a little bitch all the time. If you can't do something then don't do it at all or work until you can do it. It's that simple.' The voice struck fear into my heart as memories of my first time meeting the grotesque Mor'Ulthan surfaced to the front of my mind.

My body was weak and my mind had dulled from the stress of this battle, but I was able to stand up and stumble over to my fallen bow. I picked it up and drew another arrow from my quiver before nocking it and drawing the bowstring back. Currently, Samuel and Myrnos were engaged in a rather vicious clash with neither coming out on top. I waited for my opportunity to reveal itself as the two went back and forth.

Suddenly, Myrnos opened its maw and let out a large gout of black flames, which Samuel had dodged, however, he was caught by Myrnos' tail. The beast slung Samuel to the floor and leapt toward him with an insatiable bloodlust. I took a deep breath as time slowed down before releasing it along with my arrow. I heard a loud crack as my arrow went soaring through the air before landing directly in Myrnos' eye, stunning the Dragon and giving Samuel enough time to plunge his weapons into the beasts belly as it howled in pain.

Myrnos scrambled away from Samuel with fear and rage evident in its eyes, but a wall made of earth rose up to block its path. I saw the Dragon glance over at me as Samuel drew closer. The Dragon then leapt toward me in a last ditch effort to survive, but was pierced through the back by Samuel's light spear. Myrnos fell at my feet with a wet crunch, signaling the end to this battle. The light spear slowly faded away, leaving a gaping hole next to the other holes Samuel had made before.

Samuel walked up to me with a small smile as he said "You saved my ass! If not for you shooting this bastard in the eye, I would have a big hole in my head." I shook my head before responding. "Save your praise for later. I was practically useless this whole battle, and I realized that I need to get stronger if I want to complete my goals." I slung my bow over my shoulder and started to walk off toward the mouth of the cave when Samuel's voice called out to me.

"You can get all of the training you want at Archven Academy, so long as you attend. As I promised before, I can get you enrolled, but you'll have to put in the effort to stay in. Or, if you want, you can stay with my party and I'll even train you personally..." I stopped and turned my head to look at Samuel's unusually serious face. "I need to get to Archven. As for the academy there, I-"

I stopped myself from continuing as I seriously thought about the information I could gather from being inside of the continents most prestigious academy. "I'd like to go. I didn't have much of an opportunity to receive a decent education, so I promise to take this seriously if you can get me inside." Samuel's smile returned to his face as he walked up and pat me on the shoulder before saying "Aha! I knew you would be tempted by the academy. Trust me, it is a fine place and the dorms are probably the best part, if you're lucky...well, you'll find out once you get there."

Samuel walked past me and began to help with passing healing potions around, as most of the men in his party had minor injures from either overusing their abilities, or getting hit by stray debris. 'Well, looks like I'm going back to the hell known as school...' I thought as memories of the various people who always harassed me and took my stuff, but now I knew this time would be different.

'Calm down buddy, you're here to get as much information as possible, not to beat the shit out of people who try to look down on you.' I sighed and rubbed my temples as I continued to walk down to the mouth of the cave. A gentle breeze began to pass over my skin and filled me with a strange calmness. I took a deep breath as the sounds of footsteps got closer. I watched as the red-haired man and Trez carefully hoisted the entire wagon over their heads and jumped down to the ground.

I raised my brows in surprise at the display of strength and balance of the two hulking figure. The thought of those two lifting the wagon and bringing it up to the cave had completely slipped my mind, and it made me realize how little I pay attention to anything besides fighting. I shook my head and began to climb down the cliff as the rest of Samuel's team, including the man himself, jumped down instead.

"Alright men, we're heading to Archven!" Everyone let out a loud cheer before securing their gear as Samuel yelled "Now, let us hurry so we can get some beer and women!" eliciting another loud cheer. I let out a dry chuckle as I took my place at the rear and followed along. 'I wonder what it's like in the Capitol. Maybe it's better then where I grew up.'

---

The blonde haired girl was walking through a long hallway, her heels clacking on the hardwood floors. She eventually reached a door different from the rest and slid it open before entering the strange room. There were vials and bottles strewn across multiple desks and tables while a man with long, unkempt, oily dark-green hair stood over a large desk while mumbling to himself, his black coat blending in with the dark room.

Upon closer inspection, you could see the man's heterochromatic blue and green eyes gleaming from under his small framed glasses, as well as his handsome, clean shaven face. Sylia walked up to the man and picked up a vial full of a black liquid as she said "I have the materials you asked for, Professor Wakizawa."

The man looked up at Sylia before returning to his work and muttering "Go and place them on the table at the back. You can go after you do so. Thanks." Sylia turned and walked to the back without another word before placing a variety of herbs, crystals, and plants on the back table. Sylia then took a quick glance around the room before walking out through the sliding door and shutting it.

Her eyes darted toward both ends of the hall before she began to walk down the hall once more. She turned the corner at the end before descending the stairs and walking out into another hallway. She continued down as other kids, around her age, started to walk out of the doors to the building. Everyone was wearing the same clothes, which consisted of dark blue pants, a white, long-sleeved shirt with a collar, and a golden amulet around their necks.

Sylia ignored the various boys calling out to her as she walked out of the doors and was met with the sweet smell of flowers and a gentle breeze. She paused for a moment to appreciate the scenery before walking through the large gates of the surrounding walls and taking a left. Sylia continued on down the road until she came across a large building made of bricks. The lights were on inside and she opened the door before walking in and slipping her heels off.

A sickly sweet smell invaded her nose as a sharp yelp came from the kitchen area. Sylia sighed as she walked into the kitchen and saw her roommate healing the cut on her finger. "You really need to stop hurting yourself all the time, Amelia." Amelia glanced up and said "Oh, welcome back. I thought you'd never return with how long you'd been gone."

Sylia walked over to the fire and tied her hair up before taking a large slab of meat and rubbing it down with herbs and spices. "Yeah, it took me forever to get the things Professor Wakizawa asked for, but at least I made it back in time to help with dinner." Amelia let out a short sigh before saying "These Professors are weird as always. And here I thought that Archven Academy would have only the best of the best..."

Sylia nodded her head and said "Yeah, they're good people and all, but some of them need to learn how to properly read the room or, at the very least, learn how to act around minors." Sudden thoughts of her older brother began to flow through her mind as she thought 'Take was just like him. They were both quiet and stayed distant from their peers, however, Julian was so fun to hang out with at home...but I guess I'll never get to know how Take really was...'