EESOP - A Dragon's Guide Through Time

Chapter 16: EESOP

EESOP. Also known as The Early Educational System Of Ochros Palace.

Simply put,It was operated for the reason of academic education of each and every dragon hatchling as well as dark elves.

All Selene residents knew EESOP operated in a detached palace, connected to Selene, called Ochros Palace.

If one looked back into the past, they'd have immediately found out how much of a significant power it had.

It holds a long history since the palace was built in honor for Ochros, the twin brother of 5th monarch Xanthos.

In the first minor war that happened after the God's war ended, Ochros died while protecting the dragon egg his twin brother fathered. To protect the next generation of the royal dragons, he sacrificed his life killing 2000 Grand Angels and 2 Archangels at once, earning the title "Guardian Dragon".

And by the time Xanthos's daughter; Nike, who was saved by Ochros when she was merely an egg, was crowned the Queen, the second minor war started with demons.

Although in the demons' perspective, it was the first war they waged after the great God's war, dragons' thoughts were different.

The dragons, who were already exhausted by the minor war with Angels, had to heavily depend on Dark elves. Leading to a significant decrease in dark elven population at that time.

Dark elves were more compatible with going against Angels rather than demons, that must be one of the reasons they struggled against Demons.

Anyhow, Queen Nike was able to win the war, even earning her the title "Goddess of Victory" by humans.

After the war ended, she turned Ochros Palace into an academy for both dark elves and dragons, introducing EESOP for the first time.

"...is what the book says." Kyriaki walked leisurely along with Kyrios, explaining the history of the place they were about to spend their next five years.

Netzer quietly tailed behind them as if he was a shadow.

Kyriaki let out an impressed sound inwardly, realizing his footsteps were so minimal it almost made no sound. She was certain if she was an ordinary human, she wouldn't have noticed him at all.

They were walking in the side garden of the Selene Palace, to the place mentioned above.

The long road, decorated with street lamps of magic stones emitted an aura of ancient architecture of the medieval age, a stark difference between the AI governed Palace or the city behind them.

Cyprian Cedar trees, with its' balsamic and fresh earthly scent, along with neatly maintained Oriental thuja trees welcomed the street walkers on both sides of the road as if Royal attendants were standing on a line.

As they left the road, they entered the back yard of the Selene Palace.

The scenery changed instantly, turning it into a spaceship station.

However no one was surprised. As this type of scenery change was normal on the moon for them.

Starry night and the planet above them glowed faintly like glitters on a bride's veil. It was peaceful. So much so that it was enough to arouse doubts of illusions in young hearts.

A star, a lonely one that held a perfect divine glow, yet still fallen and vulnerable, shot through the dark sky.

Despite the look, it was supposed to be early morning to the continent of Wealden where the twins lived for a century.

Right at the moment, they were going to Ochros Palace to enter EESOP as students by the order of their father.

It had been two weeks since the awakening ceremony ended and Kyriaki became the crown princess. After all of the fuss calmed down, the twins were instructed to attend the special academy exclusive for young warriors.

For the next five years they'll obtain a variety of knowledge and go on missions to level up their core rank.

They'll find their talents and learn their weaknesses.

They might even get accepted as disciples of power houses. Without a doubt, they were the future that had to be nurtured in the present.

But for now, they were first grade students who had no interest in sitting down before a desk and taking notes for over six hours.

Kyriaki fixed her eyes on Ochros Palace, which closely resembled Herrenchiemsee Palace of Germany. It was splendid just gazing at it from outside, yes, but compared to Selene Palace, it looked like a dwarf of common birth, standing behind the queen of titans.

"Ah!" A low exclamation brought Kyriaki back to reality.

She saw two figures standing in front of the palace gates, looking at them from afar.

"Who are they?." Kyrios asked curiously.

"Weren't you paying attention when the awakening ceremony occured?."

"Nope." Kyrios replied cheerfully to Netzer's question.

"That's Euclid Of house Agyris and Sirius of house Orpheus. Be careful when interacting with the former." Kyriaki sighed as she walked towards them.

"Hmmm…? Why is that?" Both Kyrios and Netzer showed their interest in her warning.

"If you want answers, observe and analyse." She shrugged her tiny shoulder, a small smile on her lips as they came closer to the duo waiting for them.

"I-I greet—"

"No need. We are first graders from now on. It'll be uncomfortable to receive greetings every time we meet, which'll increase with time. So speak comfortably." Kyriaki waved her hand, interrupting Euclid's sloppy greetings with the grace of a swan.

"I-I understand." Euclid nodded.

Meanwhile, Netzer's eyebrows twitched into a frown.

"What's with that guy?"Without a single ounce of hesitation, he asked openly.

"Careful, Netzer. He might understand you are badmouthing him." Kyriaki chuckled, taking the lead and walking past the gates.

Just as she predicted, the corners of Euclid's beautiful lips lowered ever so slightly.

'Spot on.' Kyriaki's smirk grew larger.

"I don't care."

"He's still a member of house Agyris, you should respect that name. And mark my words, Netzer… he's going to learn sign language and pretend not to understand to spy on what we are talking about starting from tomorrow."Kyriaki cheerfully and very politely badmouthed the boy who was having a conversation with her twin brother all while keeping a thoughtful eye on her.

"I knew it…he's such a petty guy." Netzer made an expression that looked like he was told to bake a three layer cake using salt instead of sugar.

In response, Kyriaki's dreamy laughter echoed in the palace as they walked through a beautiful hallway that displayed the overwhelming beauty of medieval royalty.

'You caught him.' Her bewitching laughter seemed to convey exactly that.

With small talks here and there, they finally reached their classroom on the first floor of the palace.

Netzer hurried over and opened the door before Kyriaki could react, bowing his head on top of that.

Kyriaki sighed as she walked past him. She felt the way Kyrios also signed as if Netzer's actions were unbelievable was quite similar to hers.

As the door opened. Over 200 pairs of eyes landed on them. Silence followed, like a ghost of a horror tale young children read at night.

The room was bursting with dark elves, with various types of hair colors and eye colors, looking as beautiful as dolls.

Those young elves, without knowing what to do, stared at them with their mouths shut, afraid of making a sound. They didn't dare to gossip among themselves, for the two hatchlings at the forefront of the group held the highest position after the Dragon King in Mitherr-ge, including all five planes.

This time, even naive Kyrios picked on what was happening in an instant, prompting him to sigh once again with Kyriaki in unison. Then they both moved simultaneously and took a seat at the end of the stairs, way back of the classroom.

'Ah yes, the seat of the protagonist.' Kyriaki nodded in satisfaction as she sat at the window seat.

'Since I'm here to save a soon-to-be ruined world as a member of a mythical race, aren't I qualified to become a protagonist of a fantasy novel? Or maybe my story will be suitable for a groundbreaking anime? At least a manhwa adaption is better than a Nexflix series. As long as it's not a gender reversing race changing Nexflix series, I'm all in though.'

As she wasted her time once again thinking useless thoughts, She saw from the corner of her eyes that Kyrios sat beside her and Euclid sat next to him as if it was only natural. After a brief hesitation, Sirius sat next to Euclid with a slightly gloomy expression.

Theodoros was already sitting on the other side of the seats right at the back, just like them. He even went a step ahead, bowing to the twins and flashing a smile to the Euclid-Sirius duo.

Kyriaki noticed that Netzer was nowhere to be found as he had already finished his education 400 years ago.

And so, her gaze brushed over the classroom, which was slowly regaining its lively atmosphere.

Only Elites of Elites among dark elves were allowed to enter EESOP to study with dragons. And so, a large portion of students were high elves, who boasted incredible spiritual power, mana control and nature connection more than an ordinary elf. Well compared to the current dark elven population—which was over 22 million—only accepting less than 200 means it must've had fierce competition from the start.

EESOP's precisely crafted classes were attended by Dragons and ordinary dark elves around the age of 100-200 while dark high elves around the age of 200-300. But the most fascinating part was that they all looked like children around 5-8 in human age.

'It's like a kindergarten in appearance, but the knowledge they learn here was as complex as those of a top university.'

The door opened exactly ten minutes after Kyriaki's group settled down.

Unlike the last time, exclamations filled the spacious classroom as they all took notice of the person entering.

"Good day to you, young guardians of Mitherr-ge!" With a graceful gesture, not overly polite but also not too disregarding, he greeted all students.

Tak.Tak.Tak.

As the sound of footsteps, mixing with mummers and gasps of admiration echoed to a mysterious rhythm, Kyriaki chuckled in silence, covering her mouth with elegant movements.

"Wow…"

"No way…"

"So cool!"

"He's so handsome!"

"Gasp!"

"...This must be a prank."

"Hmm… I guess everyone knows who I am. Well, it doesn't matter. Here, you'll be calling me Professor Endymion, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for this year."

The man, Endymion, flicked his braided long golden hair over his shoulder and turned sharply, facing the audience. His gentle and kind demeanor seemed like an illusion compared to the man he was now.

"If you have any complaints, go see His Majesty." His gaze, calculating and measuring, full of hidden coldness landed on each student in a time span of half a minute.

"And this…" he then calmly lifted his right arm up in the air and snapped his fingers. And a transparent black holographic screen appeared in front of each student in the blink of an eye.

Students exclaimed in increasing admiration, some even clapping excitedly. Endymion ignored all as if he was a deaf.

"This is your year's schedule," He continued in his pleasant baritone voice.

Still, his hidden sharpness conveyed an irresistible authority. Perhaps the remaining glory of the former monarch he had been surpassing had come out for a moment.

"It includes all your mandatory classes as well as optional minor subjects you have a chance to drop or choose with your will. It also contains the books and records you have to study for the midterm exam. Practical classes will be held on the fourth floor room A4-65, A4-66 and A4-67." Nevertheless, he calmly gave them a summary of what needed to be known.

"You'll also be given a smart watch that has access to EESOP'S facilities," He snapped his fingers twice.

Snap! Snap!

A watch, the color of the obsidian, materialized in front of each student right next to the transparent screen. Judging by the outer appearance, it looked like an ordinary smart watch that could be found in any corner of an electronic shop back on earth.

"It includes information compared to the archive of House Sokratis. There's a sub-space function too. And you can also make group chat rooms and communicate with your peers. Furthermore, if you are interested and the professors give you permission, you can also get in contact with your professors." He calmly ended his explanation. "Are there any questions?"

Silence.

Who'd ask questions when they were faced with a free smart watch containing a lot of functions that were useful for their future growth?

Not to mention, the AI attached to it was also valuable.

Kyriaki leaned back on her seat, glancing at the obsidian colored hologram with white letters.

[Hello, Student Kyriaki Elpis Eleftherios]

[I am EESOP, an AI under direct control of Selene]

[From now on, I'll accompany you through your smart watch. Please press >next< and download your year's schedule to your exclusive smart watch]

Kyriaki nonchalantly pressed the next button, only moving her arm. A new transparent screen popped out.

[Mandatory Course(s)

History:-

Course 01: History of Mitherr-ge

Professor: Zeno Thanos Sokratis

Purpose: Help students to master the major events, cultural developments and social changes that shaped the world.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , , , ,

Course 02: Ancient Civilizations in Full length

Professor: Aglaia Iris Sokratis

Purpose: Explores the civilizations that influenced society throughout years, focusing on their contribution and decline.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , , ,

Bio Science:-

Course 01: Dragons

Professor: Eurydice Cassia Nestor

Purpose: Discover the life of dragons in depth, including their thought process, behavior, biological functions and bloodline abilities.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , , ,

Course 02: Dark Elves

Professor: Kefira Orit Levi

Purpose: Investigate the life of Dark Elves in depth, how their organism functions, adapt and interact with their environment, including their bloodline abilities and potential.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , <10,000 Q&A of Dark Elves>, , , ,

Course 03: Zoology & Monsterlogy

Professor: Aviva Lital Finkelstein

Purpose: The study of animals.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , , , , , , , , , ,

Course 04: Ecology & Botany

Professor: Brizo Dorothea Zoticas

Purpose: The study of how organisms interact with the environment and the study of plants.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , ,

Course 05: Elixir

Professor: Timotheos Cleon Zoticas

Purpose: Focus on growth and production of Elixirs, how to find them, consume them and their use and limitations.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , , , ,

Military:-

Course 01:Basic combat training

Professor: Alexein Themistocles Hermes

Purpose: Focus on learning fundamental skills and techniques necessary for combat and martial arts, including stance, footwork, striking and defensive maneuvers.

Course 02: Weapon combat and maintenance

Professor: Endymion Fotis Eleftherios

Purpose: Help the students to master the art of weapons and maintain its order. Including proper posture, techniques and effective use of all weapons.

Requirements: Weapon of your choosing

Course 03: Strategy & Tactics

Professor: Apollon Socrates Hectate

Purpose: Focus on learning the art of planning and directing overall military operations and advanced movements in a war or battle to achieve success.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , , , , ,

Law:-

Course 01: Universal law

Professor: Astrape Melina Asterios

Purpose: The study of principles that applies to everyone and everything in the universe.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , <12L : The Most Famous Laws of the Universe>, , , , <100,000 reasons not to mess with the universe>,

Course 02: World law

Professor: Dionysus Timon Sophocles

Purpose: The study of principles that governs everyone and everything in the world under the command of the will of Mitherr-ge.

Required book(s)/Record(s): , , , ,

Course 03: Dragon law

Professor: Eryx Basil Eudoxus