Chapter 17: Eucee
Kyriaki quickly tapped the screen at the speed of a bullet train, selecting appropriate subjects she was interested in.
Following her, Kyrios also tapped the screen carefully. He seemed to think deeply before selecting courses since you can't change them once you are registered.
[Ding!]
[Student profile
Name:- Kyriaki Elpis Eleftherios
Student number:- Z10100VQK-001
Age:- 100 years
Race:- Dragon Sub race:- Arch-Dragon
Core rank:- G-
Job:-
Attribute(s):- Light, Darkness, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Wood, Metal, Ice, Magma, Lightning, Mind, Space, Time
Grade:- 01
Homeroom teacher:- Professor Endymion Fotis Eleftherios
Selected Courses:- Mandatory
History (Course 01, Course 02)
Bio science (Course 01, Course 02, Course 03, Course 04, Course 05)
Military (Course 01, Course 02, Course 03)
Law (Course 01, Course 02, Course 03, Course 04, Course 05)
Magic (Course 01, Course 02, Course 03, Course 04)
Social Science and Etiquette (Course 01, Course 02, Course 03, Course 04)
Optional
Art & Craft (Course 04)
Language & Literature (Course 03, Course 04, Course 05)
Racial Education (Course 01, Course 02, Course 03, Course 04)
Minor Subjects (Course 01, Course 03, Course 04, Course 07)
Achievement points: 0
Penalty points: 0]
'Good. My schedule might be tight, but the knowledge I gain from this is more important than that.'
When Kyriaki lowered her arm, the black screen vanished. She paid no attention to it as she wore the smart watch on her wrist lazily. The moment it was properly worn by her, the exact black screen popped out of the smart watch in 3D.
[Ding!]
[Downloading Information]
[Student number: Z10100VQK-001]
[Confirmed]
[Hello, dear student. EESOP welcomes you to a delightful year of education]
'Oh my, this AI seems better than my system.'
[...I wish you'd stop slandering your authority, Host]
'Huh…not a chance, you fraud.'
Since the day her Elements got locked, Kyriaki had been constantly bothering her authority. Verbally abusing it was one of her most used techniques.
"As you can see.." Endymion's voice rang in students' ears with a clap, prompting them to look his way.
"I am in charge of your weapon combat and maintenance course. As it suggests, you have the free will to choose your main weapon. However, don't think that'll be the end. If you want to pass my classes, you'll have to master at least 10 weapons excluding your main weapon by the end of this year. Don't even think about slacking off. You all are prideful for being long living creatures, but if you can't even master 10 weapons, what's the point of living? Just die. For your information, humans don't even live for a century but they at least learn this much in their youth to survive out in the world. How disgraceful it'd be if the elites of the dark elves and noble dragons can't even get to the level of a human?" Endymion scoffed arrogantly, looking at students with narrow eyes.
Some students gulped dry saliva while some stared at him with eyes and mouths wide open.
"Woah…" Kyrios, who was sitting next to Kyriaki, exclaimed softly. "Grandpa is publicly executing the self-esteem of young students from the first day. It's so cool!"
Kyriaki swallowed an incoming laugh, maintaining her poker face as she watched Endymion walk towards the door.
"Well, that's it for today. You'll be meeting each professor of your mandatory courses from now on. For the professors of optional courses, stop slacking off and go find them on your own. Your classes will begin tomorrow. Good luck."
Slam!
Endymion disappeared as the door closed shut.
As soon as he left, the mummers regained their vitality. Everyone seemed to be surprised by Endymion's declaration of a painful year. Mastering 10 or more weapons in a year was close to impossible.
However, they felt like they had no power to object to this method of learning. The way Endymion shattered their self-esteem happened to play a big role in it.
[Ding!][Ding!]
Suddenly, the Twin's smartwatches rang loud bells. Both of them glanced at the smartwatch in sync.
Kyrios's eyes sparkled in curiosity while Kyriaki furrowed her golden brows.
[The Best Dad in the Word added you to the group chat "Home Sweet Home"]
'What nonsense is this?'
Kyriaki pressed the screen, her eyes holding disbelief.
[The Best Dad in the Word: Welcome!
The Best Dad in the Word: (emoji of a cartoon lion sending flying kiss)
The Best Dad in the Word: Congratulations on your first day at academy
The Best Dad in the Word: (emoji of a cartoon lion popping champagne)
The Best Dad in the Word: Do you like the new edition of the smart watch? I hastily upgraded it as your congratulatory gift.
Twin's no.1: Don't be dramatic Ellie.
Twin's no.1: Ah, congratulations on your first day at academy twins.
Twin's no.1: (emoji of a cartoon dragon nodding it's head seriously)
The Best Dad in the World: Oh, Father. I heard you trampled with the children's smartwatch at the last minute.
The Best Dad in the World: Don't Tell me you saved your number and forced your way here?
Twin's no.1: Oh yes, I did.
Twin's no.1: And I also saw your ridiculous nickname you saved yourself too.
The Best Dad in the World: (emoji of a pouting cartoon lion)
Twin's no.1: By the way, Ria, Rio. Were you surprised?
TADAKyriosishere: You were scary, grandps.
TADAKyriosishere: But it was cool.
Twin's no.1: (emoji of a laughing cartoon dragon)
Twin's no.1: Don't be surprised if I don't act myself from now on, okay? Otherwise, we can't etch lessons into students' minds.
TADAKyriosishere: (emoji of a cartoon puppy saying 'okay')
TADAKyriosishere: Oh Ria, save my number as "The Best Brother ever" okay?
(Kyriaki001 left the group chat) ]
"Pfft." The moment she left the group chat wearing a deeply disturbed expression, Kyrios burst out laughing. "You're going to save my number, right?"
"Later." Kyriaki replied shortly.
"You must save my number. You must!"
"Okay."
"Oh, and, Dad will probably add you again."
"I know."
"It's fun. Don't leave once you're in, okay? I want to share the new puppy emojis I brought."
"...you brought emojis?"
"Yep! A ton!"
"...but it hasn't even been half an hour since we've given our smart watches."
"Hehe."
"Sigh…" Kyriaki pressed her temple, unable to under her family of three idiots.
How could they be so childish and dramatic?
Are they really the rulers of Mitherr-ge? The greatest of the universe? Dragons from myths?
Nevermind those, she couldn't understand the three golden dragons who lived like heretics in the original timeline acting like silly jokers in the current timeline.
'Is this their true personality?'
"By the way, Ria…"
"..."
"Ria?"
"..."
"Ria~" Kyrios placed his head on the desk, looking at his twin sister with a broad smile.
"What?"
"Tell me your main weapon!"
"It's a secret." Kyriaki bluntly refused in an instant.
"Aww…" Just as fast as Kyriaki refused, Kyrios pouted adorably, letting out a dejected noise like a rain soaked puppy. "Then Ria, What kind of weapons are you choosing excluding your main weapon?"
"Bow, Scythe, Dagger, Double-edge Battle Axe, Trident, Gun & ammunition, Charkram, Great sword, Guandao and War Fan."
"Hmmm~ I'm thinking about Bow, Crossbow, Sickle, Dagger, War Hammer, Javelin, Whip, Katana, Long Sword and Sai."
After Kyriaki shared a list of weapons so nonchalantly, Kyrios immediately strengthened his back, excitedly pouring out his intentions.
"Pfft… what are you going to do with them, Rio? I'm afraid not even an ant would be threatened by you."
Kyriaki giggled softly, teasing Kyrios as revenge for the earlier incident. Her usual dreamy laughter caught the attention of those around them. But Kyriaki paid them no attention. No. She couldn't.
Because at the moment, her wrist, where a mysterious golden thread was tangled, was glowing, showing its presence. She felt someone's gaze on her for a while now.
Therefore, she intentionally ignored the glowing thread on her wrist, as if she couldn't see it, and engaged in a lively conversation with her twin.
'One.' She counted in her mind.
'Two.'
'Three.'
"Oh! I'm thinking about Twin Blades as my main weapon!" Euclid chimed in.
'Wow, at this point, isn't he being too impatient? This isn't like him at all.' Kyriaki marveled inwardly, watching Euclid and Kyrios.
"Awesome! So you like swords? Isn't it too much trouble to fight close combat?"
"Not at all! It looks fancy when my mum does it. So I wanna try it too."
"Oh, your mother uses Twin swords too? That's cool."
"Right? Women who handle swords are incredibly cool, isn't that right, Your Highness The Crown Princess?" Euclid's ocean blue eyes were intently staring at Kyriaki as he voiced his words.
Kyriaki smiled gently in response.
"Indeed." She nodded. "But Eucee, a woman doesn't need a sword to look incredible."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"..."
Euclid and Kyrios let out foolish noises at the same time at Kyriaki's choice of word. Even Sirius, who was sitting there staring blankly ahead, snapped out of his who-know-what imagination and looked at Kyriaki with his mouth slightly opened.
The reason?
It was because Kyriaki used a pet name to address Euclid. The way she pronounced it like "Yuu-kee" with a cute voice was utterly adorable.
Kyriaki chuckled mischievously.
"I told you to speak comfortably. But it'd be too sad if I didn't follow my own words now, wouldn't it?" She playfully explained.
"Ah!" Kyrios' eyes twinkled with stars."I'm jealous that Ria is so friendly with Eucee, but the name is so cute I feel like I can let it go just this once."
He grinned innocently and turned his attention to Euclid. Who was truly flustered at the moment. He glared at Kyriaki openly, forgetting he wasn't supposed to show his feelings in public.
"Then may I call you Ria too, Princess?"
"Sure." Kyriaki shrugged her shoulders. Euclid's eyes widened even more at her nonchalant expression.
'I'm going to slowly get on your nerves and shatter your ego at once in a surprise attack. You should look forward to it, Euclid.'
With that kind of thought and a soft, gentle smile on her lips, she failed to notice Euclid's ears and cheeks dropping with the crimson of a red rose.
Thereafter, Professors of each course kept coming to greet them and give special notes on their specific fields.
And amidst all that chaos, Kyrios did not let go of Euclid and kept talking without twisting his tongue even once. It was truly impressive how he could use his adorable mouth to such an extent.
At the end of the day, Euclid seemed to have lost his mind after being directly hit by Kyrios' overwhelming energy. After all, all fakes are nothing in front of the real innocent and cheerful demeanor of a naive boy.
∆ ∆ ∆
The moon shone brightly over the slumbering world as if to comfort the land that faced the heated sun all day. The silvery eternal moonlight, whispering ambivalent dreams and magical lullabies, shimmered over the slowly cooling land.
The way millions of stars twinkled around the moon looked so mesmerizing it felt as if the moon was inviting them to a secret embrace.
Amidst all the moonlit allure, on a far away island that was free from the sentiment of the outside world, there resides a clear water lake on the west side of the large island.
The inhabitants of the island called it Lagujarna, which translates to "The lake of stars."
True to the name, it held countless stars on the surface like a mirror, giving the illusion that if one dived into the bottom of the lake, they could obtain all those stars twinkling beautifully.
The peace, the beauty, the undeniable purity, it all was so perfectly put together even taking a drop of water seemed like a crime.
A small white bird that resembled a peacock flapped its wings and landed on the shore of the lake like a graceful swan. Then with cautious little jumps, it got closer to water in hope of extinguishing the burning sensation of thirst it felt.
A few seconds passed as the tranquil scenery continued.
But alas, nothing in the world could remain as it was for eternity.
To prove it true, the darkness seeped out of shadows, materializing into something solid, something visible to clear eyes, something that sent warning signals left and right.
Flap. Flap.
Bat like wings flapped together, an extremely beautiful woman with light pink skin and maroon hair looked around with a smile full of madness.
"Huhuhuhu…" She giggled as her thin tail curled into a heart shape. She licked her red lips, displaying her long canine teeth. "I might be a lesser demon succubus, but my tasks are as important as the war that's about to come."
She twisted her barely covered body seductively as if to arouse sexual desires of onlookers and flew in a circle above the lake. She seemed to be searching for something as she looked around.
Then she paused in the air, still flapping her wings diligently. Her smile deepened like a seductress calling for a companion.
She then extended her slim arm slowly and carefully. Her red paint tinted nails twitched as if she was very excited.
A dark crystal full of black and orange energy appeared in her arms.
"My Queen said to lure Titans. She said those peace-loving idiots must be curious too. She said those idiots will take care of the rest and I just have to open this." The succubus tilted her head and talked to herself with puzzlement.
"But what are they all so curious about? I'm curious too! Tell me too!!" She pouted like a little kid, rolling the crystal from one hand to another. Her heart shaped red pupils trembled as she lowered her eyelids with a dejected expression.
"Ugh… whatever. Since she told me to report if dragons also come, I'll stay low and watch the situation after this." She lifted her arm holding the crystal and threw it up to the sky leisurely.
The thrown crystal slowed down going up as gravity pulled it down. It began to fall down slowly at the start like a scene from a movie. Within a second, the speed of it falling increased.
Crack.
A crack, like a glass shattering, rang in the silent air. The black and orange crystal broke, shattering into countless tiny pieces. Then they paused.
As if time had stopped…
As if gravity had forgotten those tiny shards…
At that moment, something eerie happened to the shattered crystal shards. They melted. Like sugar melting inside a warm cup of tea, the tiny shards melted into thin air above the lake.
Silence…
An eerie silence followed the unusual scene. Only the flapping wings of the succubus and her hard work to not laugh loudly could be heard.
A minute passed…
Another minute passed.
But the succubus waited patiently as if she knew certainly something was about to happen.
Then it truly happened.
The space twisted on the place where crystal shards melted, mana around the air vibrated chaotically as an unpleasant sound of glass shattering and metal scraping together filled the entire area. The bird flew away in an instant.
Shatter!
The next moment, the space tore opened.
A dark orange gate manifested out of thin air, emitting a dark and omniscious aura around the lake. The water on the lake slowly turned black, mixing with that aura.
School of fish, water plants and flowers everything turned to dust as the gate grew wider and wider.
The color of the gate changed from dark orange to yellow, and then it stopped at half of the gate painted by an eerie grey hue and the other half painted by a disgusting dark green.
"Uwahahaha…." The madness filled laughter of a woman took over the peaceful atmosphere.
∆ ∆ ∆
The next day, according to the schedule, first graders of EESOP gathered at room A4-65 wearing track suits, with pure white & Jet-black fabric of expensive magical materials and the royal logo of a golden dragon that raised the confidence and morale of the students present.
"Hey I heard Professor Beizo and Professor Timotheos took a leave of absence?"
"Huh? Why is that?"
"What else if not for the birth of a dragon?"
"Gasp! a dragon was hatched? From House Zoticas no less? So it's a Fae-Dragon?"
"Yeah. Since it's their grandchild, they must have gone to prepare to let the hatchling take the first step to beat the wings."
"So currently, there are six hatchlings alive, huh?"
"Including the ones here, yeah."
"They say there are four more eggs to hatch. The dragon population will finally exceed 100."
"A historical moment. Thank goodness it wouldn't be on this midterm test though. I hate history."
"Sigh…I wish Professor Zeno and Aglaia also have children so that I don't have to attend boring history classes for a while."
"Hey, you do know that this is only the second day of academy, right?"
"Exactly!"
They grouped into three to five people and chatted amongst themselves, leisurely standing on corners of the training ground as vast as a decent city.
Artificial sunlight, something that was normal inside the Selene city, poured down on them, resembling real sunrays in all parts. Even the wind seemed so real that if someone was teleported there, they'd have never thought they were on the moon, inside a strange palace.
"They're being too relaxed, thinking a healer would go easy on them the first day." Kyriaki muttered, watching her fellow classmates wasting their time as she did some light exercises.
"Yeah… Grandpa's heavenly healer status is greater than his royal status after all." Even naive Kyrios seemed to agree.
When Kyriaki suggested a break from his usual activities a century ago, just before she underwent her 1st growth pace, Endymion had taken her advice to his heart.
The result was him traveling the world disguised as a healer for a century, earning the title of "Heavenly Healer" from humans.
"But he was a hero before he was a healer. A war hero who ended Eternal Eclipse. Aren't these guys just fools for underestimating him?"
"I bet they'll regret it before long." Euclid, as always, joined their conversation naturally, responding to Kyriaki with a grin. Kyriaki just mirrored him without any thoughts.
"By the way, Your Hi—Ahem— Rio, I'm curious about your main weapon."
Upon seeing Kyriaki's never changing polite and graceful smile, like she was on some business trip with her boss, Euclid immediately changed his conversation partner to Kyrios.
Just like Kyriaki did, Kyrios had already given him permission to call him by his pet name.
It was incredibly fast friendship development, but Kyrios' kind and gentle nature had played a big part in coming this far with a boy who wore a mask.
"Oh! That's a secret." Kyrios grinned brightly, placing his index finger over his lips. The image of him looked so utterly adorable that Kyriaki felt regretful for lacking drone cameras.
'Wow…I'm starting to understand why Dad and Grandpa carry around so many drones with them.'
"How disappointing."
Just as she was seriously considering bringing drones with her for the next class, Kyriaki heard a sigh and a haughty voice from above.
No, not just her. Almost everyone inside the training ground seemed to hear it. It was as if the one who did that wanted them to hear it at all cost.
"Gasp!" Euclid gasped next to her, feigning ignorance. Kyrios' eyes twinkled like stars while Kyriaki shook her head.
'So dramatic… this whole family is so dramatic.'
"This is truly disappointing…The future of Mitherr-ge? Who told such lies? The ones I see are a bunch of snooty brats who came here to slack off instead of focusing on their survival."
Who else but Endymion could say such a thing.
He was floating above them with his sharp amber eyes piercing right through their soul.
"Now that you've taken your time to laze around, hurry up and run 1000 laps around the ground." With visuals that transcended common sense, he commanded out of nowhere as a matter of factly.
"Huh?"
"Wh-what?"
"Pardon?"
"Huh? Uh?"
Confused mummers took over the place as Endymion crossed his arms over his chest. The emerald gems dangling on his forehead crown shone under the sunrays luxuriously.
Kyriaki was the first to move.
She started jogging at a pace not too slow nor too fast, ignoring the gazes she received. Within half a minute, Kyrios joined her, followed by Euclid and Sirius.
"The last 50 to finish will have to run an additional 100 laps!" A second announcement followed.
"Be grateful that it's only 1000 laps. That maniac Alexein will issue a drill including 10,000 laps."
His general like tone echoed inside the training ground as the students' faces paled in real time. All of them started running as if their life depended on it before even his speech ended.
∆ ∆ ∆
"Demons are a self-centered race, modeled after their very creator; Zal'kitana. The Goddess of Death. They are made to be a dominant race to conquer and rule over others. Thus the reason they still cannot give up on their ambitious even after they were abandoned by their Goddess."
—A teaching from the professor of Racial Education course 01—