Chapter 6: Diderot

At a time when they should be thinking about how to ensure their own safe growth, these guys are instead eager to use magic to fight drakes? Have they lost their minds? Don’t they know curiosity killed the cat?

Speaking of cats, Vette wondered if there were any such fluffy creatures in this world. But even if there were… He glanced at his left claw and then scratched it with his right. A metallic scraping sound filled the air as a tiny spark flew from his scales. All Vette felt was a mild itch in his right claw.

Could someone like him ever truly appreciate something soft and fluffy?

The thought left Vette feeling a bit down, as if he was missing out on some simple joy in life.

Just then, the rumbling footsteps around him came to a halt. Startled, Vette looked up at Winterst, wondering why she had stopped.

Winterst clearly had no intention of keeping the young dragons in the dark.

"We’ve arrived. This is where you will live for the next century," she said.

The five young dragons were momentarily stunned. Vette glanced toward the distant canyon cliffs and the dragon lairs carved into the rock.

"Aren’t the dragon lairs over there?" he asked.

Winterst smiled and shook her head.

"No, dragon lairs are for adult dragons. Where you will be staying is—Desedro Dragon Academy!"

As she spoke, Winterst took a step forward, and the space around them rippled, leaving the young dragons wide-eyed in astonishment.

In a flash, the scene before them changed. When their vision cleared, a massive stone structure, radiating an ancient aura, appeared in front of the five young dragons. The deep, powerful roars coming from within made them instinctively shrink back, sensing the danger.

And this place was truly enormous! The doors alone towered far above even Winterst’s massive frame.

To Vette, the immense building looked like a gigantic cone-shaped volcano, except there was no molten lava here.

Winterst smiled at the awestruck young dragons and spoke, "Welcome to Desedro Dragon Academy. I am Winterst, the headmistress of this academy. Of course, you can still call me Lady Winterst—or Headmistress!"

As Vette gazed warily at the enormous structure, suspicion flickered in his eyes.

"Why do we need to join this Dragon Academy?"

"Good question, Vette!" Winterst replied, giving him a look of approval before continuing,

"This was originally something meant for your first lesson, but since you’ve asked…

Bloodline inheritance can give you knowledge and experience, but it’s not truly your own. If you don’t cultivate it, that inherited knowledge will eventually fade over time.

The Dragon Academy exists to teach you how to retain and internalize that knowledge, to make it your own so that it doesn’t vanish as the years pass.

Moreover, the knowledge within your bloodline inheritance is only a basic foundation explored by your ancestors. If you want to become a truly powerful dragon, inheritance alone won’t be enough!"

Hearing this, Vette’s expression darkened.

Noticing his reaction, Winterst gave him a "gentle" (though intimidating) smile.

"As I said, Vette, there's no need to worry about your bloodline inheritance! The Dragon Academy holds enough knowledge for you to study your entire life, all stored within the Dragon Library, waiting for you to learn. This, of course, includes the foundational knowledge from your bloodline inheritance. However, without the help of your inheritance, it may be more difficult for you to learn," Winterst explained, then flew toward the enormous door.

As she approached, the massive door slowly opened with a series of deep, mechanical creaks. At the same time, the dragon roars from inside grew louder.

Winterst led the five young dragons to the entrance, landed, folded her wings, and walked into the academy, revealing its interior to them.

Before them lay a vast, flat square, where hundreds of dragons of various species and sizes were either playing, fighting, or soaring freely through the air. The atmosphere was lively and chaotic! Despite the return of their headmistress, none of the dragons stopped their activities.

Vette glanced up at Winterst, who was watching the dragons with eyes full of warmth and pride. Seeing this, Vette hesitated, and the tension he had been feeling began to ease a little.

Then he turned his gaze to the surrounding buildings.

As they had seen from outside, the entire structure was cone-shaped with no roof, allowing natural light to stream into the massive academy from the opening above.

The academy was divided into nine levels, each with wide corridors large enough for several dragons the size of Winterst to walk through side by side with ease. Enormous stone pillars, each about a hundred meters thick, supported the upper-level walkways.

There were no staircases—because dragons could fly!

Aside from the walkways and stone pillars, the rest of the structure didn’t seem to be dragon-made. It looked as though this place had originally been a real volcano!

In short, it was quite impressive!

"Alright, this will be your new home—at least for the next century!" Winterst stood on the walkway, pointing to a nearby stone cave with a smile.

Vette looked at the huge dragon lair before him, a knowing expression crossing his face. As expected, this Dragon Academy was built from a repurposed volcano! The lair in front of him had been carved right into the inner wall of the volcano.

For the record, they were currently on the sixth level!

Wait a minute! Vette suddenly realized something and looked at Winterst in disbelief.

"‘Yours’? Does that mean the five of us are sharing this place?"

Hearing this, Winterst looked at Vette with some confusion.

"You were all born in the same batch, why wouldn’t you share? And…"

She set the five young dragons down on the walkway and pointed to the enormous dragon lair, large enough for even her to enter with ease.

"Why would you think a newly hatched dragon could live alone in such a large lair?"

Looking at the gaping maw of the dragon lair, which appeared like the jaws of a giant beast, Vette couldn’t come up with a valid reason to live alone...

Wait! Suddenly, a mischievous idea crossed his mind as he glanced at the other four young dragons. It seemed like there might be a reason for wanting to live alone, but it wasn’t the right time for that yet.

Seeing that Vette had dropped the subject of living alone, Winterst tapped the entrance of the lair lightly with her claw. Though it appeared empty, the entrance echoed with a thud, thud sound when she knocked on it.

"This barrier will prevent other dragons from bothering you. Now, each of you should smear some of your dragon blood on the barrier, and this lair will officially be yours."

Hearing this, Vette's face immediately fell.

"Can I use something else instead?"

"Maybe saliva would work instead? Or does it have to be dragon blood?" Vette asked, instinctively hugging his tail. Though his tail was always uncontrollably swishing around, it was still a part of him, and the idea of constantly drawing blood from it felt a bit excessive.

Unfortunately, Winterst shattered his hope.

"Sorry, Vette, it has to be blood."

The other four young dragons wasted no time, biting into their own paws with teeth that were sharp as knives, even though they had just been born. After casting a challenging glance at Vette, they pressed their bloodied paws against the invisible barrier.

With a flash of light, the blood was absorbed, and the barrier disappeared. The four young dragons cautiously stepped into what was now their own lair.

They shot Vette another mocking smile as they entered.

Vette sneered inwardly at the sight.

Keep smiling and enjoying yourselves now. Soon enough, when you're crying and begging me to stop, I’ll be the one having a great time—and I’ll also end up with my own private lair!

Yes, that was Vette’s plan! He just needed to beat each of the four young dragons until they no longer dared to live with him. Winterst, in an effort to prevent him from fighting them again, would surely give him a lair of his own!

Smirking at his own cleverness, Vette was suddenly brought back to reality by Winterst’s voice.

"Vette? Vette! You’re the last one!"

With a resigned expression, Vette walked toward the barrier, still clutching his tail, trying to muster the resolve… but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.

"Need some help, Vette?" Winterst asked.

Horrified, Vette looked up at her and saw those sharp claws, each larger than his whole body.

You’re a demon! How can you say something so cruel to a poor little dragon with a straight face?!

Glancing one more time at those sharp claws, Vette hurriedly made a small cut on his tail and squeezed out a drop of blood, pressing it against the barrier.

Once the barrier absorbed his blood, Vette successfully entered the lair as well!