Fate of Mirithia [LitRPG, Isekai]

Hiral did a double-take. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me, Professor," Meera replied. "How does a dragon become an archdragon?"

Hiral frowned. "Why do you wish to know that?"

"I thought that would be obvious by now," Meera replied. "Only an Archdragon's flames can bring down the wall of the Winter Spire. That or someone who knows the language of the Cosmarians. And believe me, if you can find me someone like that, I would happily go to them, than follow along on what most would call a suicide mission."

"Which is…"

"I'm going to turn a dragon into an archdragon on the condition that they help me take down the wall."

The professor's face couldn't be more shocked even if he tried. His eyes bulged out so much that they threatened to pop out of his head. She had expected as much. On a scale of all the mad things she had tried, it was definitely up there. She had no other options.

Even with Manazhar and Garal's armies reinforcing Rehia, they still couldn't take down the Cult. They could try to starve out the Cult by besieging it, but that could take months, and Meera did not have that much time. She needed to finish the Cult's chapter as soon as possible so she could move on with her quest.

So, a drastic step was needed, and she couldn't think of anything more drastic than evolving a dragon and forcing it to work for her.

"A-Are you sure, lass?" Hiral asked. "That is a tad bit severe, and totally mad."

Meera shrugged. "I have no other course of action left, professor. You don't understand how desperate I am to find my brother. It's been two months, and it seems like whenever I get close to him, something holds me back from getting to him. I am done with that. I will find him, even if I have to burn the worlds down."

He patted her shoulder. "I can't say I understand the sentiment, but I can feel the love that burns in your heart."

You don't know the half of it.

This was the longest she had gone without seeing him. Even when she was away at university, she always made it a point to come home every few weeks to see him. Then, when their mother fell ill, she moved back home to make sure he was cared for properly, even if she had to travel almost two hours one way for her school, every day.

There was an ache in her chest that wouldn't go away until she finally laid eyes on him again. Until she could ensure that he was fine. Until she could use that mirror and leave all this prophecy business behind and let someone else take up this burden. Then and only then will her heart know peace.

"Let's say you are successful in evolving a dragon to an archdragon. How will you keep it from honoring its word?" Hiral asked. "And you know, keep it from running rampant in the empire?"

Meera smirked at that. "You leave that to me, professor. I learned a thing or two about dragons from my time on Gethys. Now, can you please help me?"

Hiral pulled on his collar and dabbed at his forehead. "I wish I had the same belief as you. If it were anyone else, I would've quite literally kicked them out of the door, but seeing as how it's you asking me, I'll do all I can. Now, do mind you, I'm not the most learned man on the campus when it comes to dragons. That would be Professor Sarozan. His office is in the biology wing, which doesn't happen to be far."

Hiral moved to walk for the door, but Meera stopped him.

"Wait, Professor. No one knows I'm here, and I would like to keep it that way. So, please take care when you introduce me to him."

Hiral smiled. "Don't worry, lass. I am the leading professor on history, after all. I know more names than there are stars in the sky. I'll come up with a fanciful name for you."

Meera ducked out of the professor's office while keeping her head low. The hallways were starting to get a little busier. There were some students and professors about. She didn't see anyone who looked suspicious.

It didn't take them long to arrive at the biology wing. A few turns later, they were standing outside the office of Professor Sarozan.

This man's office was locked, and there didn't seem to be any light peaking from under the door. Unlike Hiral, the man wasn't so cracked that he would never sleep.

Hiral knocked on the door, and at first, there was no response. He tried two more times, and still no response. Meera figured the man was still asleep. So, she was about to turn away, but the madman beside her had other plans.

He banged his fists on the door, intending to break the door down. "I know you're in there, Sarozan. If you don't open this door right now, I'll have my friend break it down, and this is someone you really don't want to get angry. She's destroyed my door twice already for not meeting with her."

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People stopped and looked at them as if they were vandals. This was the opposite of keeping a low profile. But among all those people watching them, she saw a woman who was watching them too intently. Their eyes met, and she moved on, so Meera just chalked it up to the scene that Hiral had created.

Meera grabbed the professor's wrist. "Professor, please stop. You're creating a scene."

"If I don't create a scene, the man won't open the door," Hiral replied. "The man is even more eccentric than I am."

Meera was taken aback. Now, I've got to see this.

"I'm more eccentric than you." Someone barked a laugh from inside the office. "What lies have you been spewing about me, Hiral?"

The door swung open, and staring them in the face was a red-eyed man with a wiry beard with flecks of a greenish powder in his unkempt beard. He looked to be in his sixties, a little older than Hiral. His clothes were filthy with dirt, dark stain patches which could only be blood and other bodily materials, as if he were coming out of an autopsy of some animal. Speaking from looks alone, he did seem more eccentric than Hiral.

He stared daggers at Hiral, then snapped a finger in Meera's face. "You girl, tell me who is more cracked out of the two of us? And don't lie, I will know."

He turned only one of his big brown eyes towards him, while the other was fixated on Hiral. A shiver went up Meera's spine.

Can humans even do that?

"Uh…"

Hiral slammed Sarozan's forehead with the palm of his hand. "You're freaking the girl out."

"Ow!"

The man stumbled backwards, and Hiral walked into his room, uninvited. Seeing that they had created enough of a scene, Meera followed suit and closed the door behind her.

The office was pretty much like Hiral's, though instead of scrolls and books littering the place, it was various dead, dissected animals resting in glass jars that contained a greenish liquid. She had seen the like in various biology labs back home. But there were creatures here that she hadn't seen anywhere.

But she didn't have time to waste on asking about the creature that looked like a cross between a bat and a raccoon, or what was very obviously a baby dragon, and other such oddities. No matter how much they intrigued her.

Instead, she focused on the bickering professors, who looked like they would start wrestling at any moment.

She stepped in between them. "Professor Sarozan, I need to know one thing, and then I'll be gone. You'll never see me again. Professor Hiral said that if anyone would know the answer to this, it would be you."

The professor calmed somewhat, so Meera figured this was the best time to ask her outrageous question.

"How does a regular dragon evolve into an archdragon?" She asked.

To her surprise, he wasn't outraged or even the mildest bit surprised. He started rubbing his beard in contemplation. He walked over to a jar with the dissected baby dragon.

"Truth be told, that knowledge is not known to the human world," Sarozan said. "The dragons stand at the pinnacle of all races, and they know that. They don't easily share their secrets with anyone, especially not humans, who they hate above all others. All my life, I've tried to learn the answer to that question, and I've failed miserably. I don't think there is any human alive who knows that secret of the dragons, save perhaps the Keepers. After all, they are the protectors of the wild, so they might've seen things that none of us can even dream of seeing."

Meera had deflated as he talked, but then his last words ignited some hope within her. "Keepers? As in the Keepers of the Wild?"

"Yes," Sarozan frowned. "You know of them?"

Meera grinned. "Oh, yes, I do. Thank you, Professors."

Before they could say anything more, she headed out the door. The hallway was just as they had left it, aside from a little more traffic, as the day was brightening.

She headed for the exit, and after traveling very quickly in what she thought was the right direction, she realized that she was lost. She stood and scratched her head, trying to remember which direction would lead her out.

She turned abruptly and called to a girl who was turning the corner. "Hey, do you know the way out of the campus?"

She started as Meera must've shaken her out of her thoughts. "Uh…sure. You need to take a left at the history wing and then three right turns, followed by a left—"

"Can you just take me, if you're not too busy?" Meera asked. "I'm sorry, I'm new here."

She looked uncertain.

"Hey, I'll pay you. I'm sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry."

She laughed nervously. "No need for that. I'm heading in that direction, I'll just take you."

Meera followed the girl, who didn't seem interested in making conversation, which was fine, but Meera was in the mood for making conversation. After all, this girl had been helping Meera out of the kindness of her heart.

"I'm sorry for troubling you," Meera said.

"It's no problem," the girl replied. "This place is a maze. I regularly got lost when I first got here."

Meera nodded. "What's your name?"

"I'm Kelsari."

"Is that your real name?" Meera asked.

The girl stiffened. "Huh?"

But before she could move, Meera sidled up beside the girl and gripped her arm tightly. The girl didn't cry out.

"If you make a scene, I will gut you where you stand," Meera said.

"What gave me away?" Kelsari asked.

"You made it too obvious. First, I saw you lurking outside Hiral's office, then you followed us to Sarozan's office, and you've been tailing me ever since."

She squinted her eyes. "I made sure I wasn't seen."

"I have eyes in the back of my head."

Meera saw the open-air atrium coming, as she knew it would. She pulled her along and took her to the atrium, which was empty save for one student passed out on the steps. It was perfect for what Meera intended to do.

"What are we doing here?" Kelsari barked.

Meera smiled. "I'm taking you for a long ride, so you can't wag your tongue to your boss."

She activated Druvis Might and tightened her grip on the girl's arm, making her flinch. Then she blasted off into the air, taking the spy along with her. Her clothing transformed into armor as she climbed higher and higher.

To her credit, Kelsari didn't cry out. She had her jaw clenched tight. When she was high enough, she could make out the expansive jungle to the southwest. Then, without warning, she blasted off towards the jungle. Even still, Kelsari kept her mouth snapped shut and didn't scream, but that wouldn't remain for long.

After all, Meera had things she needed to get out of her.