The Dragon’s Orb was a kind of Easter egg that even players couldn’t decipher.
If, by the end of the first year, terrorists raiding the academy’s treasure vault manage to plunder it, the Dragon’s Orb cannot be found.
What if, somehow, through extreme grinding, a first-year manages to enter the tournament and wins? You could obtain the Dragon’s Orb but wouldn’t be able to use it.
The Dragon’s Orb was a special item that only reacted to dragon energy. To utilize it, an actual dragon was needed—not like the baby dragons that occasionally appeared at the Academy, but a real dragon thought to have gone extinct long ago.
“Why on earth…?”
“Who knows.”
However, Sera discovered that Arthur possessed a dragon’s heart. Thus, she experimented to see if she could open the Dragon’s Orb, which had been impossible to access in the game.
After persuading Arthur, she got her hands on the Dragon’s Orb, and as she had expected, the orb reacted to Arthur’s energy.
As a result, what emerged from within was an egg—a mysterious egg.
“Where—”
Kail inserted his Aura into the egg to see what was inside. The egg absorbed Kail’s Aura entirely.
‘Oh?’
Seeing the egg absorb his Aura, Kail decided to test its limits by continuously pouring more Aura into it. As time passed, Kail carefully withdrew his hand after realizing the egg seemed bottomless.
“…Phew.”
It felt like he had used more Aura in this moment than during the recent battle between Masters. Even for a Master, expending such a burdensome amount of Aura yielded no reaction from the egg.
At that instant, Kail figured out roughly what the egg was.
“Arthur.”
“Huh?”
“You need to carry this around. This thing.”
“Uh… alright?”
“What is it, what is it!?”
Seeing Kail appear to understand the nature of the egg, Sera, unable to contain her curiosity, rushed over and pestered him.
Thump thump—after calming his racing heart, Kail cautiously spoke.
“If it’s an egg from the Dragon’s Orb, what do you think it is? Logically.”
“…A dragon’s egg?”
“That’s right. This is a dragon’s egg.”
At those words, Sera’s eyes sparkled as she revealed her greed for the egg. A dragon’s egg. If she could turn the dragon hatching from it into her pet?
It would guarantee an incredible power boost. However, seeing Sera’s excitement, Kail shook his head.
“Forget it, forget it. That’s not something us mere humans can handle.”
“Can’t handle it…?”
“Try channeling your magic into it, and you’ll understand.”
Hearing this, Sera cautiously placed her hand on the surface of the egg. Before three seconds had passed, she let out heavy pants and quickly withdrew her hand.
“Wh-what is this!?”
“Get it now?”
“What is this…”
Only after placing her hand on it and channeling her magic did Sera grasp what this egg truly was. She retracted her greed and distanced herself.
Amidst Arthur tilting his head in confusion, Kail explained the nature of the egg to him.
“I mentioned that the dragon’s heart emits infinite energy, right? So, does that mean its offspring also emit infinite energy from the egg?”
“Uh… I don’t think so.”
“That’s right. A dragon’s egg doesn’t emit infinite energy—it’s the opposite.”
A dragon’s egg absorbs all the energy a dragon emits before it hatches. This is why there aren’t many dragon offspring and why humans can’t artificially create dragons.
However, here and now, there was a human who bore a striking resemblance to a dragon. A human with a dragon’s heart embedded within, capable of channeling infinite magic into the dragon’s egg.
“Arthur, you’re going to be the mother of this egg.”
You’ll become its mother.
At those words, Arthur’s face slightly turned red.
* * *
There are occasional special events, sure.
But fundamentally, the Academy is an institution for nurturing talent.
Which means every day is filled with nothing but boring effort and training.
As part of the Knight Department, I ran across the training grounds daily, lifted heavy chunks of metal, and swung my sword to hone my skills in pursuit of becoming an even better knight.
However, truthfully, these activities didn’t significantly improve my abilities. They merely kept my skills from rusting—they didn’t help me ascend to higher levels.
In a way, it was only natural. Could a fully grown adult achieve growth akin to elementary school students by exercising alongside them?
‘Absolutely not.’
Even Gawein, known as the strongest in the Knight Department, was weaker than me due to an injury. So, it was understandable that I didn’t feel much passion for Academy life.
I wasn’t the type of person who could reach the Master level and then slack off, relaxing and goofing around.
If I were that type of person, I never would’ve reached the Master level in the first place. Reaching the Expert level in my teens alone was already a sign of being an extraordinary genius.
‘So boring.’
Just as boredom began seeping into both my body and mind—Gawein brought up a rather intriguing topic.
“In a few days, after the final exams, it’s vacation. You all know that, right?”
Vacation. At the mention of that word, the cadets erupted in excited cheers, seemingly forgetting about the upcoming exams.
Watching the cadets get excited solely at the mention of vacation, Gawein began to wear a look of exasperation.
“Those who get too excited about vacation and mess up their exams will undergo hellish training throughout the break.”
“W-what…? What’s the standard for messing up?”
“What kind of obvious question is that? I’d like to say everyone except the top scorer…”
Glancing—towards me, Gawein lightly shook his head and clarified the criteria.
“We’ll judge based on those whose scores drop excessively compared to the midterm tests. No complaints, right?”
“Yes!”
“The exam format has changed slightly, but if you’ve worked hard until now, there shouldn’t be any major issues. Right.”
While mentioning the change in the exam format, Gawein kept glancing at me. What’s with him? Why does he keep looking at me?
I tilted my head in puzzlement, and seeing that, Gawein let out a deep sigh.
His reaction was truly incomprehensible.
* * *
“Kail. What are you planning to do during the break?”
Lunchtime. Yuri naturally took the seat next to me and asked about my plans for the vacation. Naturally, having no plans yet, I shrugged and replied,
“Hmm, I haven’t made any plans yet.”
“Then, how about hanging out with me—”
“Ah, Kaaiiil-!”
And just then, from afar, Sera came running and plopped down in front of me. She had run so vigorously that her body swayed back and forth, yet not a single drop of sweat clung to her as she looked at me.
“You free during the break, right!? Clear your schedule—I’ve got somewhere to go!”
“What for?”
“What do you mean ‘what for’?! It’s vacation, vacation! What do you think we’ll do!”
Though she didn’t say it outright, I quickly caught on to what Sera was planning. Something she couldn’t mention in front of others but was too excited to contain.
She was going to collect Affinities known only to players. Realizing this, I immediately nodded and acknowledged her.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“Yes! You absolutely have to come! There are a few things only you can do!”
With those words, Sera grabbed her tray and headed off to get food. Watching her leave, Yuri cautiously opened her mouth.
“You seem close with Sera.”
“Huh? Yeah, I guess.”
“When did you two get so close?”
“Past life?”
Though I meant it as a joke, Yuri’s reaction wasn’t great. She tightly closed her mouth and stared at me intently, prompting me to let out a nervous laugh.
After a brief silence, Yuri gently took my hand and spoke.
“How about going out with me during the break?”
“Hmm?”
“Not with Sera. With me.”
Having known her for over ten years, I realized how rare it was for her to make such a request. In other words, it took considerable courage on her part.
While it wasn’t particularly difficult for a fiancée to suggest going out, it was indeed uncommon in a medieval fantasy world for a woman to initiate something with a man.
“Is that okay?”
Yuri pressed her body against mine as she spoke. Looking down at her clinging to my arm, I gave a slight smile and answered.
“No.”
I felt bad for her, but running around with Sera wasn’t for personal reasons. It was to gather widely scattered Affinities in this world and grow stronger.
To survive in this world and protect the people I care about.
However, hearing my response, Yuri nodded as if she understood.
“…I see. That’s how it is.”
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll have some free time after I’m done with Sera. Shall we hang out then?”
“No. It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“Go hang out with Sera. Have fun.”
With those words, Yuri promptly stood up. I scratched my head as I watched her walk away.
“What’s with her? Why’s she acting like that?”
“Hey, I’m here!”
“Oh, you’re here?”
“What about your fiancée?”
“Dunno. She went somewhere.”
“Really? What’s up with her?”
Seeing that even Sera, who arrived late, didn’t notice anything amiss, it seemed like it wasn’t a big deal.
I continued eating while discussing with her which Affinities we might acquire.
