“... why are you wearing a crown?” Melissa asked in confusion as Zane entered the hotel room wearing a golden crown.
“It’s part of my cut,” Zane said cheerfully. “It’s fake, so we didn’t sell it,” Zane took a seat on the coach then handed Melissa a bank card.
“What’s this?” Melissa took the card.
“I got 134 thousand credits,” Zane revealed. “This kind of job pays really well.”
Melissa tried handing the card back, but Zane shook his head. “Huh?”
“I’ve never had money before. I don’t how to use that,” Zane stated.
Melissa started laughing. “I guess I’ll need to teach that to you too.”
------
A week had past and Zane had done nothing but make the most out of his new found freedom. He didn’t skip out his daily training with Averin’s, but he made sure to leave a lot of time to explore the city.
He experienced going to the market with Melissa, eating out, buying clothes, going to a cinema, and many more.
For the first time ever, Zane felt like a normal person.
“You’re really enjoying yourself,” Melissa commented as they returned to the hotel.
“Can you blame me?” Zane grinned. “I enjoyed this week more than first years of my life.”
Zane slumped down on the couch. “What do you plan on doing for the rest of it then? You never really gave me an answer back then,” Melissa mentioned.
“Now that I think about it, did they just let me go?” Zane asked, changing the topic.
Melissa rolled her eyes at that, but decided to answer his question. “Yes and no. They can no longer limit your freedom, but they’ll keep an eye on you.”
“Ugh...” Zane groaned.
“Also, once you register that you have a Dragon trigger, you’ll have other problems,” Melissa stated.
Zane groaned even louder. “Freedom... it was nice while it lasted...” Zane said dramatically.
“Should I tell you now, or do you want future Zane to deal with it?” Melissa teased.
“Give me a sneak peak,” Zane replied.
“For one, you would be required to have at least three wives,” Melissa revealed.
Zane raised an eyebrow. “Is that allowed?”
“Before the dragon war, it was most religions frowned upon to have more than one wife,” Melissa began explaining. “But during the war, the dragons mostly feasted on the men first and kept the women alive and a few men to breed for their food supply. After the war, 96% of the population that moved here was female since most of them were survivors from their own worlds.”
“... does that mean I was refrigerated for that purpose too?” Zane asked.
“What do you mean?” Melissa cringed a bit at his wording.
“I mean... if I remember correctly, only three males were recovered and the rest were female. Wouldn’t the dragons have done that for the purpose of livestock?” Zane suggested.
“That’s right,” Averin answered. “That’s a standard protocol for long term wars.”
“...”
Melissa was silent as well. “Time for bed. Good night,” she promptly escaped to her room.
------
“Why am I being punished like this?” Kayde groaned.
“You’re the one who agreed to this instead of going on the den raid,” an old man with gray hair and a muscular build responded. “This will only take three days, then you’ll be back in your office.”
“I doubt that,” Kayde grumbled.
The Vegas city tournament. It was annual event where combat mages fight for the grand prize of joining the Karama family, one of the Guardian clans that have been blessed by the divine beings to uphold the peace in New earth. Anyone below stage 3 with a clean record is allowed to join the tournament, making it a large-scale event with over thousands of participants.
Kayde found it hard to believe that such a tournament would end in a few days.
“How many applicants this year, Silvester?” Kayde asked.
“Slightly below a thousand,” Silvester answered. “A lot of people probably backed out because of the young lady.”
“Young lady?” Kayde raised an eyebrow.
“Tasha Karama. She decided to join the tournament to avoid meeting with suitors,” Silvester explained.
Kayde nodded in acknowledgement. “I can respect that.”
Silvester rolled his eyes. “Figures you would.”
------
“Damn...”
Zane looked at the giant building in front of him in amazement. It was so tall that he had to strain his neck to see the top. At the front of the building was giant bull dog with a bone in its mouth acting as its logo.
This was the mage tower under the governance of the Karama family and the Albertian faction. This was also the place where Zane needed to register himself as a mage and a wielder of a Dragon trigger. But mostly the former.
“Do I need to show my Dragon trigger?” Zane muttered as he placed a hand on his chest.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“Just say that the artifact is a biological type.”
“I still need proof,” Zane replied.
Melissa had explained the process to him. After registering, they would conduct a test to find out if he was telling the truth. Melissa mentioned that they would have a device to measure a mana core, but for Dragon triggers, a proof is necessary.
After Zane gets completely registered, he would receive an identification card and the benefits of being a registered mage. He could request access to training facilities, request funding for researches, and many more.
“Might as well get this over with...”
Zane entered the building and found a crowd of people busy doing their own things. It took him a while to figure out where he needed to go, but thankfully when he got there, he didn’t need to wait in line.
“How may I help you?” the woman at the counter asked.
“I need to register myself as a mage,” Zane answered.
The woman nodded and placed down a form in front of him. “Please fill this out.”
Zane picked up the form and went to side where a pen was provided. The form asked for his basic information like his name, age, and residence. He wrote down what was needed, but he left the ones without a clear answer blank like his residence.
After that, Zane returned the form to the receptionist then he was guided to a room with several machines. “We will measure your core here.”
“Please step into the platform,” a woman wearing a lab coat gestured to a metal platform with a magic circle engraved on it.
Zane nodded and did as he was instructed. A moment later, the magic circle began to glow. He felt a tingling sensation coursing through his body, as if it was feeling him up.
It felt weird.
The woman wearing a lab coat approached him. “Congratulations. You’re a Stage 2 mage with the ice affinity,” the woman said with a smile.
“Ice?” Zane looked confused and somewhat offended.
“The irony,” Averin cackled.
Zane had expected his affinity to be related to darkness considering his Dark Dragon heart, but the ice affinity was just a hit in his sore spot. Not only was it an affinity he wasn’t familiar with, it was also a call back to the fact he was preserved in cryogenic state.
“Here’s your mage ID,” the woman handed him a metallic blue card. “Thank you for using our facility.”
“Thank you too,” Zane gave an awkward smile as he left.
Since he didn’t state that he had a Dragon trigger, he wasn’t taken to its testing ground. Zane decided to register that once he had a more visual proof.
Averin mentioned before that he would be able to use the other abilities of his Dragon heart once he reached the second stage. That would be a good enough proof when he registers his Dragon trigger.
“Oi!”
Zane turned to find Astrid stomping towards him. “Astrid?”
“What are you doing here?” Astrid questioned.
“I got myself registered,” Zane showed her his new ID. “Melissa said this was important.”
Astrid scanned his ID before her eyes narrowed. “Where’s your Dragon trigger?”
“I didn’t register it since I have no physical proof,” Zane replied.
Astrid tilted her in confusion. “Is it a spell type?”
Zane shook his head. “Biological.”
“Impressive,” Astrid nodded in approval. “I thought you came here to pick a fight,” she scratched the back of her head.
“Why would I do that?”
Astrid shrugged. “Just thought it was something you would do. Anyways, got to go prepare for the tournament.”
“Tournament?”
------
“There’s no camaras here?” Zane looked around the training facility he rented.
“There’s not, so focus on training. You’ll need to have a good grasp of your transformation by the end of the day.”
“Alright,” Zane began stretching. “How does it work?”
“The same as your mana control. Use the energy from your Dragon heart and circulate in the body part you wish to transform.”
Zane nodded and focused on his Dragon heart. It wasn’t a challenge for him to call upon the energy of the dragon heart, but circulating it was. Circulating mana felt like guiding water through a stream, while the energy from the dragon heart felt like a dog that pulled back on its leash.
It took a lot of effort for Zane to even circulate the energy to his right arm, but he still managed. “Did it,” Zane smirked as he felt a different power in his right arm.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that the back of his hand was covered in black scales.
“It will suffice,” Averin commented. “Now repeat the process.”
“Yes sir!”
10 hours.
Zane spent 10 hours doing nothing but training to use his draconic transformation. He had never put so much effort on anything in his life before.
“You’re thirsty for power. That’s good.”
“I want to become stronger to protect what’s mine.”
“The reason doesn’t matter. Only those who are thirsty for power will continue to grow.”
Zane just shrugged and packed his things before leaving the training room. He didn’t get much of a result from this training session and he still wouldn’t be able to use the skill during combat, but progress is still progress.
On his way out of the building, he saw a giant screen displaying different commissions. Most of them were escort or delivery missions, but there were a few retrieval missions and even monster exterminations.
“Do you want to take a commission?” a woman in uniform asked him.
“Oh... maybe be tomorrow,” Zane glanced outside where the sun was already setting.
“Alright,” the woman smiled as she walked away.
Zane did one last glance at the screen before leaving. They weren’t exactly in need of money right now, and they might leave the city soon, so Zane wasn’t particularly interested in doing a job here.
“Oi!”
“Again?...” Zane turned to find Astrid running towards her.
“Where are you heading?” Astrid asked.
“To the hotel,” Zane answered.
“Want to go get some food?” Astrid suggested. “I know a really good noodle place.”
Zane shrugged. “Alright.”
They made their way to the market area of the city. Zane was surprised by the difference in the vibe of the area during the night compared to in the day. During the day, the market was more like a busy office with people always discussing prices, while during the night, the market looked like one big party.
People were screaming and stalls were calling out to the customers. “Come on!” Astrid grabbed his arm and began dragging him.
The noodle shop was in a tamer area compared to the lively market. When they arrived at the actual shop, Zane took note how it gave off a very traditional feel to it.
“What do you want?” Astrid asked. “My treat.”
“I’ll just have what you’re having,” Zane answered.
They were seated at table next to a koi pond. Zane appreciated how calm the ambience was despite how lively it was outside.
“Hey. How did you do that to the corrupted mana?” Astrid suddenly asked. “Isn’t that toxic to the body?”
Zane remembered the little elf girl who was exposed to corrupted mana. “It is, but my mentor’s mana control could purify it.”
“Seriously?!” Astrid whisper-yelled. “Do you realize how valuable a mana control method like that is?!”
Zane just shrugged. “Do you also have a mana control method?”
“Yeah, but nothing like yours,” Astrid stated. “Damn... you’re quite the monster.”
A moment later, their order arrived. Astrid happily devoured her food, while Zane savored every bit of it. This was another reminder to him that he was missing out on a lot.
“...hey Astrid.”
“Hm?” Astrid looked up from her food.
“How many people have Dragon triggers?”
Astrid raised an eyebrow at his question. “I’m not sure, but in this city, probably around twenty?”
“They must be the strongest here.”
Astrid shrugged. “Not really. Not all dragon triggers are for combat and it’s not like they could use it.”
“...” Zane looked at her in confusion. “What?”
“Did you live under a rock or something?” Astrid asked before she drank the remaining soup in her bowl. “Dragon triggers cause a lot of strain when being used, that’s not even mentioning dragon manifestations. So that whole acting tough you do after summoning a dragon doesn’t work on me,” Astrid patted him on the shoulder before calling for a waiter.
Zane wondered if he should tell her that he could spam dragon manifestations.