The sun had barely risen, as I followed the yawning soldiers from the barracks. Surprisingly, the armor that the troop wore had been more casual than I initially assumed. It was simple chainmail armor with iron plates sewn into the larger areas; light but durable. Simply put, it served less for show and more for movement.

Lars struggled to keep his eyes open, balancing on the other twin, Daniel. Back at the dorm, they had barely managed to slip on their armor and left the barracks half-awake. It was early enough that the birds were still sleeping, no chirps could be heard. Still, everyone had gotten out of the door on time to head to the training grounds.

Eran walked by my side, along with Gunnar, who seemed awake despite the early hour. Leading the group was the human named Trent, who whistled a tone during the short walk.

“Were you able to read the manual before you fell asleep?” Eran leaned over to ask, his voice was still rough from waking up. Still, he tried his best to be "leader-like". That's what I gathered, at least.

“Yes, most of it. I have one more section left.” I nodded, partly lying. In truth, dragons didn’t need as much rest. Therefore, I was able to memorize the tiny book throughout the night.

It ended up being efficient and gave me something to pass the night with. Everything worked out.

He raised his eyebrow as if doubting me, “Page 121. Section IV. Part III. Number V.”

“Royal Guards must announce their presence in all rooms of the empirical palace unless advised otherwise. Exceptions persist if accompanying a declared member of the Trane Royal family. Failure to abide by this rule can result in punishments as severe as hanging.” I recited word-for-word, not missing a beat.

I smirked, proudly. Like he wasn’t asking a creature that is known for its intelligence.

“How diligent…” He clicked his tongue, speeding his steps to join the front of the crowd.

Of course, I was.

Gunnar wheezed at this sight, wiping a tear from his eye. He elbowed my side, “Don’t mind him. He does it because he cares. Knights are punished often for forgetting the simplest rules.”

I waved it off, “No worries. I figured.”

Punished for the simplest things? Didn’t they have bigger things to worry about? I wondered how far the Hellion army had progressed in my father’s conquest since my defeat. Knowing his pride, I’m sure my second brother was sent to take over the original location that I failed.

Still, it made sense. Strict rules come with reasons. In this case, it was political. If there were rumors that they couldn’t control their workers, then what would others think of their rulership?

The Morningstar bloodline punished severely for the smallest things. Once you were less feared, was when your enemies attacked. It was the way of life for my father’s children. I think it was more of an outstanding concept for me, seeing as I was born of monster blood.

Getting information would be my way to redeem myself.

The group rounded the bend, to a dirt field on the side of the estate. Wooden dummies were stuck on sticks in the ground and racks of weapons sat near the walls. Leaning against the side of the estate was Serlon, who walked over as soon as he spotted us.

Eran saluted the head knight, followed by the others, then me.

“Sir Serlon. Reporting for morning training.” Eran stood tall and acknowledged the head guard.

“A visiting baron that’s staying in the Crown Prince’s estate is about to leave to attend a morning meeting with the King. I want the rest of you to escort his carriage to the imperial castle. Asta will stay with me to evaluate his full skills.” Serlon announced, tossing a steel blade on the ground in front of me.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I peered down at the unsheathed blade, leaning down to pick it up only to stare at my reflection in the blade of another that had been stabbed centimeters from my face. My body froze at the blade, waiting for some type of comment to be made.

There was only a scoff from the troop leader, Eran turned on his heel, followed by the others.

He gave one last parting comment, not daring to question the head, “Don’t kill him, please. He may be young, but it would be nice to have another person in our squad.”

Serlon waited till the footsteps faded into the distance, before seeming to continue torturing the newbie, “Are you going pick up the sword? Or are you going to stay frozen?”

The tilted blade leaned over my shoulder. Was he serious?

“Maybe if the blade wasn’t positioned to cut into my shoulder, I would,” I spat, glaring up at the amused guard. Already, I had enough problems with my wing. One more would be cruel.

He sighed, withdrawing his blade, “I was right to make a deal with you. You got quite the head on you.” He admitted, watching as I twirled the blade in my hand.

It felt weird in my hand. Right. I suppose it had been a while since I had used one. But if I was incapable of only being skilled in physical combat, then my father would have killed me ages ago.

Besides, I only had to perform well enough to ride the wings of the royals to get my information. It was a mere game for me.

A small snap. I see. So that’s how it was.

“Odd way to test someone’s battle awareness,” I commented, following the pace of the knight, who circled my position. My eyes never left him, not allowing my guard to be let down.

“Humor me, kid.” His sword dragged on the ground behind him. The steel blade picks up mud from the drying grounds. Serlon’s position looked lazy. Despite that, he showed no openings.

“Excuse me?” I raised the sword to the front of my body, ready to block any direct lunges from the knight.

I jumped back, a clanging rang as our swords collided. Serlon had lunged forward from his heel, his blade swinging from behind him to point straight at my face. Swinging my sword up, I managed to redirect the blade, now locked into a clash with the human.

We locked our eyes, both pressing for the other to give up the challenge. Our swords engaged in a power match, as a broad smirk caressed our faces.

The knight looked at me with mad eyes, using his body weight to press down on the blade, “You could have killed that spoiled brat at the exams with ease! Aren’t I right?”

“What are you on about, old man? I’m only sixteen. How could a sixteen-year-old kill someone with ease?” I avoided the question, dropping down, and swinging at his legs. Serlon jumped, tucking his knees, and landed rolling to the side.

Wasting no time, he bounded back towards me, stabbing down towards my lowered body. I huffed and used that momentum to aim at his torso.

At the same time, I kicked up. The top of my boot hit the bottom of his sword, causing the blade to launch into the air. He cursed, pulling out the blade from his belt.

“Because” He swung, I ducked, “No sixteen-year-old,” He threw the blade at my face, cutting my cheek, sighing, “Can fight like you do.” Serlon finished his statement.

I reached up, my hand in crimson red. Heh. It was the same color as the battlefield, but this time it wasn’t the blackened blood that I remembered.

I know it was because of the transmutation magic but this blood was human. Human blood dripped from my cheek, as I dropped my sword, sighing, “Isn’t that why you recruited me? Whatever. The loss is mine. You win.”

“Why do you say that?” He crossed his arms, taking in each of my movements.

I pointed to the castle tower, at the slight glimmer poking from out of the tower. A glimmer that only became more apparent as the sun rose in the sky, emerging rays reflecting off it.

The slight tip of an arrow pointed down towards my position on the grounds. For a normal human, it would have been death to continue. That was the truth of the evaluation.

It was a pointless fight, to begin with. From the start, the archer had been there and ready.

Like Hellion, it was the concept of “Prove yourself or die.”, except the arrow would only wound you. Demons would jump at the chance to do more than just wound a “comrade”. Plus, fighting was second nature to me. Something as pathetic as this wouldn’t slip past me.

Serlon tapped his foot, waiting impatiently for some sort of response.

“Because if I didn’t stop, that archer would end the battle for you,” I answered, putting my hands up in defeat.

His stern face morphed into a deep chuckle, he reached down and slapped his knee, “I figured you’d end up noticing. What gave it off?”

If the style of the test didn’t give it away, my hearing did. The snapping of the bowstring was enough for me to realize the situation, that the test wasn’t just combating skills. Serlon seemed to be looking for people that saw the bigger photo. Honestly, it made sense for royal guards, whose priority was to protect their clients.

As annoying as it was, it was rational – this evaluation, that is.

“Your grip was loose on the sword. There’s no way someone like you wouldn’t cling to the handle with your life. You were trying to end the fight,” I pointed to the cut on my cheek, “the knife was a warning shot.”

“All correct, Asta,” He clapped, impressed at my deduction. Of course, I was right.

“Still,” He walked over to my side, picking up my dropped blade with his other hand, “What’s someone as young as you doing with all these skills? Typically, students learn to fight in the academy. Did you attend the academy?” he asked, sounding intrigued with his arm drooped around my shoulder.

“My caretakers were obsessed with fighting.” Not a lie, “And no, I’ve never attended an academy. I picked up a few skills here and there.”

“A few skills, huh?” He sighed, walking over to place the sword back on the rack, “Fine, don’t tell me. But lie while you walk, okay?”

“Lie? Head off?” Were we going somewhere? I looked around. I hadn’t heard of the troop returning yet. It would be a while till they arrived back.

He looked perplexed and pointed at my neck, “Your necklace. Since I just decided to keep you, I’m honoring the first condition of our agreement.”

That means…

“There’s someone in the estate that’ll fix your magic item for you. Let’s go now before your troop gets back.” Serlon moved ahead of me, I followed in silence, blinded by the reality that had sunk in.

Dagon.

I would finally be able to contact him.