LGT Chapter 10

It was a night when everyone was asleep.

Lying in bed on the night of the entrance ceremony, Adrian Heather couldn’t shake the thought of his stone. Fortunately, the magic cast by the mage during the ceremony wasn’t something that “created” new objects, but rather, “moved” existing ones. The Gold Dragon had decided to retrieve his stone from where it had originally been.

Adrian slowly rose from his bed in the dormitory. Luckily, Mikhail was sound asleep nearby. Silently, Adrian lowered his feet to the floor and left the room without making a sound.

He carefully opened the large window just outside the dorm room and stepped up onto the railing. Their room was on the second floor of the building, but for the Gold Dragon, that was hardly an issue. Adrian Heather lightly stepped off the railing, and his body descended quietly to the ground, as if gravity itself didn’t fully apply to him.

He summoned a little more of his true power.

Closing his eyes and focusing his mind, he infused a small amount of magic into his body and slowly opened his eyes again. Once his eyelids lifted, his golden irises, glowing like the moon, shimmered in the dark night.

They were the noble eyes of a dragon.

Adrian took a deep breath, his broad chest expanding and contracting with the rhythm. Then, he kicked off the ground and sprinted in the direction of the banquet hall. The academy’s security was no joke, with surveillance magic set up in various spots. Adrian deftly leaped over the activated surveillance areas as he made his way to the hall.

The lively banquet hall, once filled with people and chatter during the day, was now utterly silent. Adrian stood outside, gazing through one of the large windows at the darkened interior.

Closing his eyes again, he focused on feeling the flow of mana throughout his body. He could sense one particular flow that had started here and was moving somewhere else. Keeping his eyes shut, Adrian followed the flow, skillfully dodging trees and leaping over more surveillance magic as he pursued it. The flow of mana led him deep into the forest surrounding the academy.

Soon, he reached a fountain within the forest. The fountain, majestic under the moonlight, sprayed clear water that sparkled in the moon’s glow. Adrian peered into the fountain’s waters, where neatly arranged stones rested at the bottom. His golden hair and eyes reflected in the water, shimmering alongside the moonlight.

Adrian reached out and submerged his hand in the fountain’s clear water.

His pale hand sifted through the water until it caught on something. Among the many stones, one in particular felt heavier. Adrian Heather pulled it from the water.

“….”

It was heavy. There was no need to weigh it on scales to know that. Yet Adrian, avoiding the reality of the situation, placed the stone on one side of the scale pedestal beside the fountain. As soon as the stone rolled from his palm and touched the scale, the dish slammed down hard with a thud.

Hmm. Was it always this heavy?

As Adrian stared at the dish of the scale, a vision flashed before his eyes—a vast battlefield.

“Arrrghhh!!”

Soldiers, shouting with all their might, rushed past where Adrian stood still. The land they ran across was littered with corpses, and thick, dark smoke rose from scattered areas. The soldiers were charging toward…

Adrian shook his head to dispel the vision. That wasn’t what mattered right now.

Adrian, curious, picked up another stone from the fountain. It was so light that it barely felt like anything in his hand. With trembling hands, he removed his own stone from the scale and replaced it with the new one. To his surprise, the scale slowly tipped in the opposite direction, the new stone lifting the scale delicately. Whoever owned this stone must lead a remarkably light life.

He lifted the stone into his palm, examining it closely. On its smooth surface, a name was engraved in elegant script: Mikhail Rous Inehart.

Adrian’s golden eyes crinkled as his lips curled into a smile. The Gold Dragon let out a quiet laugh in the dark forest. If things went exactly as expected, it wouldn’t be a challenge; it wouldn’t be fun.

With one hand holding his own stone and the other gripping Mikhail’s, Adrian stretched both arms forward as if weighing the two. His own stone in his right hand was heavy to the point of discomfort, while Mikhail’s stone in his left was so light that it was hard to keep them balanced. 

The dragon pressed both stones firmly into his palms.

Interesting.

It was a new challenge, one that intrigued the dragon who had previously only cared about herbology. He had found a special assignment tailored just for him.

The first task was to analyze this thoroughly.

Adrian pocketed his own stone and quietly made his way back to the dormitory. He retraced his steps from the fountain, leaping effortlessly to the open window on the second floor. Carefully, he opened the dormitory door. Judging by Mikhail’s steady breathing, the prince was still sound asleep.

Adrian slid his stone under his bed. The bedspread hung low enough to conceal anything beneath it. He briefly considered teleporting it back to his lair but decided against it—he planned to keep weighing the stone regularly until he found a sure way to reduce its weight. Besides, he was confident the prince would never check under his bed. Mikhail didn’t seem the type to keep his own space organized, let alone bother with Adrian’s.

Adrian slipped under his covers slowly. The first night at Vasamiel Academy was far from over.

***

As the academy had stated, the first year’s curriculum covered everything without focusing on any specific discipline. The first-year students would get a crash course in the basics of all fields.

The first class on the schedule was Introduction to Magic Studies.

“Alright! Let’s get moving.”

Adrian approached Mikhail, who was still lounging in bed, leaning against the headboard, flipping through a swordsmanship training manual. Adrian gave Mikhail’s bed a few light taps with his palm.

“Don’t make me drag you there like yesterday. Let’s go together.”

Mikhail raised an eyebrow at Adrian’s brazen attitude.

“Are you planning to be late on the first day?”

Adrian repeated himself, this time more firmly. With a scowl, Mikhail grudgingly got up from bed. He had no interest in magic, but it was a class he had to attend.

Thanks to Adrian’s push, they left the dormitory a little earlier than usual.

The academy grounds were vast, and there was a fair distance between the dormitory and the main building. As they crossed the academy’s beautiful garden, inhaling the crisp morning air, Adrian’s eyes caught sight of a piece of paper on the ground. 

Without breaking his stride, he glanced at it. The paper was filled with complex formulas, likely dropped by someone by mistake. Normally, Adrian would have passed it by without a second thought, as he wasn’t the type to go out of his way to help someone carelessly dropping important things. And today was no different.

But just as he walked past the paper, the image of the stone under his bed flashed in his mind.

Adrian decided to use this as an opportunity to run an experiment. It would also serve as a chance to establish some connections with the humans in the academy, which might prove useful for his current “game.”

He bent down, swiftly picking up the paper with his pale hand. 

Fortunately, the owner’s name was written on it. Mikhail, walking ahead, paid no attention to his roommate’s actions and maintained his pace. Adrian glanced at the name again: Catherine Esteban.

Adrian silently mouthed the name as he continued walking toward the main building. Despite the careless nature of the student, the formulas on the paper were quite bold. He kept his eyes on the paper, finding it a decent distraction from boredom.

Just then, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“I didn’t take you for the type to read someone else’s homework.”

A handsome young man with blonde hair, who had been observing Adrian pick up the paper, had decided to speak up. As Adrian stopped in his tracks, Mikhail, who had been walking ahead, turned back with an expression that clearly asked, Weren’t you the one in a hurry?

Adrian lifted his gaze from the paper and addressed the person who had spoken. The student was tall, nearly eye level with Adrian and Mikhail, which was uncommon among the freshmen.

“I was just planning to return it to its owner. Sorry if it seemed otherwise. Are you Catherine?”

“…You think Catherine is a girl’s name, don’t you?”

Adrian tilted his head at that.

“Is that so? Well, if you’re not Catherine Esteban, then don’t worry about it. I’ll be off.”

Adrian resumed walking, as class was about to start. But the stranger was persistent. He reached out and grabbed Adrian’s shoulder, blocking his path. Mikhail, standing ahead, glanced at the hand on Adrian’s shoulder but decided not to intervene since it wasn’t directed at him.

“Give it to me. I’ll return it for you.”

Adrian looked back at him with a puzzled expression. If you were so keen to help, you should’ve picked it up yourself yesterday, he thought.

“And what if I say no?”

The red-haired young man’s previously composed expression twisted into a frown. Pointing to his blue tie, he said, “You don’t even know Catherine. It’s easier if I return it. And I’m a second-year student.”

Adrian wasn’t keen on giving up an easy good deed to someone else.

“I picked it up, so I’ll take care of it.”

Of course, a bit of stubborn defiance also played into his decision. He didn’t want to simply give in to someone who was being pushy. Adrian firmly pushed the other student’s hand off his shoulder, and the boy stumbled back easily.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go,” Adrian called to Mikhail, who had been waiting a short distance away. Mikhail glanced briefly at the persistent stranger, then began walking again, his face as impassive as ever. Not wanting to follow behind someone else, the prince increased his pace to walk ahead of Adrian.

“Wow… what a personality.”

Hans Tavien, left alone after being ignored by the first-year students, muttered to himself. 

But there was no one around to share in his disbelief.