NOVEL NEXT 4
Their First Meeting
Dragons call it a game when they blend in among humans, hiding their true nature.
“And with that, we have our final champion for this gladiatorial tournament! Throughout every match leading up to the finals, not once—not even once!—has this warrior conceded defeat! Let’s give a round of applause for the greatest gladiator of our time!!”
When it came to swordsmanship, he was unmatched.
“I can’t believe you managed to simplify a mana formula like this…! I’ve never seen a young genius of your caliber before! Please, do us the honor of leading our Royal Court Mage Association!”
When it came to magic, he was unparalleled.
Anything a dragon set its hand to would inevitably bear greater and more magnificent fruit than anything humans could achieve. Some said that human progress was not the result of collective effort but rather the accomplishments of a few exceptional individuals. Perhaps those individuals were actually dragons amusing themselves in disguise, or so he mused.
He had witnessed kingdoms rise and fall in the span of a single game. He had fought alongside comrades, watching them suffer injuries and even die—not as a dragon, but as a fellow human warrior standing by their side. From afar, all those grand adventures seemed trivial. They were fought over empty justifications, material wealth, or at best, for love.
Their ambitions were pitiful.
And yet, once the game was over, even those trivial pursuits lost their luster. The Gold Dragon would always find himself drowning in boredom once more.
The urge to return to the human world came from something utterly insignificant.
He had discovered a cluster of unfamiliar plants growing near his lair. Curious, he plucked a peculiar-looking specimen and brought it back to observe. No matter how much he searched, he could not identify it. He scoured every book on herbology and botany in his collection, flipped through countless research papers, but found no mention of the plant.
Without a second thought, he popped it into his mouth and chewed. The taste that spread across his tongue was precisely what he had imagined. A sharp, lingering bitterness awakened something dormant within him—a craving, a forgotten desire.
Curiosity.
The Gold Dragon, who had been buried in parchments for what felt like an eternity, suddenly lifted his head. The man who usually bore only an expression of perpetual boredom now had a rare smile playing on his lips.
“Found it.”
He had finally stumbled upon something worth his interest.
Thinking of what he wanted to do had always been the hardest part. Carrying it out, however, never took long. To live in the human world, he needed an appropriate identity. Such trivial matters could be resolved easily with just a handful of the gemstones piled in a corner of his lair.
He assumed the identity of a merchant’s son within the kingdom. After all, entry into the Royal Academy required a certain level of wealth and status unless one was of royal blood or high nobility. The rigid constraints of noble lineage were more troublesome than they were worth. A merchant’s son, on the other hand, would have a degree of freedom.
The academy admission application didn’t require much information. The most critical factor for entry into the Royal Academy was status. Since he didn’t hold a proper title at the moment, he enclosed a check along with the application. The Gold Dragon carefully arranged the application and documents inside a parchment envelope he already had in his lair before heading to his desk.
On the desk stood a five-tiered filing cabinet, each drawer sized to store thin sheets of paper or documents. At the very top of the cabinet sat a small service bell, the kind typically found in shops. This cabinet was, in fact, a network of mailboxes he had installed across the kingdom, all linked together through his magic. He slipped the envelope into one of the drawers and gave the bell a brief tap.
Swish. A faint rustling sound followed. It was the noise of a postal worker collecting the letter.
The reply arrived several days later.
Just as he was preparing to enjoy a cup of hot coffee in the garden, the bell atop the filing cabinet chimed with a clear ding—a signal that a letter had arrived in one of the mailboxes. The Gold Dragon set his coffee down on a nearby table and walked over to the cabinet. It wasn’t until he opened the third drawer that he found the letter.
Even without opening it, the luxurious paper and the elegant, calligraphic handwriting—clearly penned by a professional scribe—made it obvious that this was an official correspondence from the Royal Academy.
He ran a claw along the seal with a soft scritch, slicing it open. Inside was a pearl-white letter embedded with fine flecks of shimmer.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
[Basamiel Academy Admission Approval]
Recipient: Adrian Heather
We are pleased to inform you of the results of your application to Basamiel Academy.
For years, Basamiel Academy has devoted itself to the advancement of scholarship and the prosperity of the kingdom. We grant admission to those of exceptional aptitude, individuals who embody the spirit of academic pursuit and the future of our nation.
By the approval of His Majesty, the King of Rustavaran, we hereby grant you admission to Basamiel Academy for the current academic year.
Please refer to the enclosed documents for further details.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
When he had submitted his application, he had also made a donation—an amount so large that the average citizen couldn’t even fathom it. If that sum was what qualified as “exceptional aptitude” or “academic spirit,” then… well, there wasn’t much more to say about it.
The Gold Dragon conjured a small flame at the tip of his finger and held it to the corner of the letter. Whoosh. The once-beautiful, pearl-white parchment was reduced to ash in an instant.
Discarding the empty formalities, he picked up the academy’s informational pamphlet—far more useful than the acceptance letter—and made his way to the sofa.
His large frame sank heavily into the plush cushions with a soft thud. As he scanned the list of required supplies, he gestured toward various items already in his possession, summoning them into a pile in the corner of the room.
There was quite a bit to prepare.
According to the guide for new students, all first-years were required to stay in the dormitory.
“Adrian Heather.”
The Gold Dragon spoke the name aloud, testing the sound on his tongue. It was a name he would have to grow accustomed to.
***
Adrian set out from his lair without delay, heading toward Basamiel Academy in the Kingdom of Rustavaran. For the distances that were inconvenient to travel normally, he used teleportation outside the view of ordinary people. His luggage was light from the start, just enough to avoid being a hassle. There was nothing that could interfere with the Gold Dragon’s schedule.
Basamiel Academy was located in a city a fair distance from the kingdom’s capital. As he drew closer, several luxurious carriages passed by, their wheels rattling on the paved roads beside him as he rode on horseback. From behind the glass windows, young nobles shot him the kind of disdainful, arrogant looks typical of their age. Adrian, being the mature adult in the situation, chose to ignore them.
The first day at the Royal Basamiel Academy was bustling with new students. Many of them already seemed to know each other, chatting cheerfully in groups. Adrian, uninterested in socializing, made his way through the crowd and swiftly completed the admission process. After that, he followed the directions from his acceptance letter and headed toward the dormitory.
True to its reputation as a royal academy, Basamiel was surrounded by a vast, well-maintained campus nestled within a forest. Judging by the meticulous landscaping and the grand architecture, it was clear that the academy had spared no expense in crafting its elegant environment.
Adrian’s assigned room was on the second floor of the dormitory. He found it to his liking.
The window faced the sunrise, making it a perfect spot to grow something by the windowsill. As he unpacked, he began organizing the lower bunk of the double bed. The two beds in the room were identical, and the space was divided perfectly evenly, giving him the freedom to choose whichever side he preferred. He opted for the bed on the left, the one closer to the door.
Just then, the door opened, and a man carrying luggage entered the room.
Adrian paused what he was doing, looked up, and greeted him with a bright smile. He assumed this was his roommate. Since they would be living together for a year, making a good first impression seemed like the best course of action.
“Hey there.”
At his casual greeting, the man visibly flinched, his body stiffening in surprise. Then, in a low voice, he murmured,
“…I am merely a servant. Please, do not concern yourself with me.”
One of Adrian’s eyebrows lifted slightly at that.
The Royal Academy strictly prohibited students from bringing personal attendants into the dormitories. That meant his supposed roommate had already broken the rules on his very first day.
The man who had introduced himself as a servant diligently arranged the luggage he had brought. Adrian folded his arms and watched in silence. Judging by the sheer amount of baggage being brought in, his roommate was undoubtedly from a wealthy family. Every single item was high-quality—luxurious, yet refined, not gaudy displays of wealth but genuinely expensive and well-crafted belongings. Compared to Adrian’s side, which only contained the few essentials he had brought, the contrast was almost comical.
Just then, another young man entered the room.
He was about the same height as Adrian, with neatly maintained silver hair. However, the sharpness of his eyes and the harshness of his expression gave him a rather unpleasant first impression.
So, this was his actual roommate.
The servant quickly finished arranging the room and quietly excused himself, leaving the two new roommates in silence. Neither spoke for a while.
Adrian stared at the young man, examining his face intently. The other met his gaze with a look of irritation.
“What? If you’ve got a problem, you can go find another room.”
“I don’t have a problem. Nice to meet you.”
Adrian chuckled and stepped forward, extending a hand for a handshake.
The young man glanced at the offered hand, then casually turned his large frame away, completely ignoring the gesture.
…Excuse me? That rude little—
Lowering his unshaken hand, the Gold Dragon let out a quiet sigh, lamenting the utter lack of manners in today’s youth.