A crystal bird hanging just above the door shimmered faintly. Adrian Heather had seen that sight before.
“Hello, students of Basamiel Academy!”
It was a campus-wide broadcast—one that even played inside the dorm rooms, apparently. Mikhail, who had been training inside, frowned and rose to his feet.
“We’ve got a special announcement just for the new students!”
A special announcement? Mikhail flopped down onto the bed with a heavy thud. His massive frame rose and fell with deep breaths, still winded from training. Adrian sat on his bed, knees up, resting his elbows on them.
“It’s been two days since you all signed your contracts with Tilon. And the results so far? Absolutely astounding! Especially our first-place student! Sure, it’s only been two days, so the rankings don’t really mean anything yet… but who cares? Visible rankings are what drive motivation!”
Rankings, huh… The Gold Dragon cast a sympathetic glance at Mikhail, who was lying flat on his back. Mikhail, catching that look, glared back as if to say, What are you staring at.
“Right now, the top-ranked student among the freshmen has earned 112 Tilons. Wow! Earning 100 Tilons is impressive enough, but where did the extra 12 come from? Of course, to protect the student’s privacy, we won’t reveal any names. Mysterious top scorer, won’t you share your secrets with me?”
“…What? 112 Tilons? That’s pretty damn good.”
Adrian’s jaw dropped. Was that person really one of the students who started with the same 10-Tilon capital? That was some serious talent. While the Gold Dragon sat up lazily, wondering how someone could earn 112 Tilons in just two days, the broadcast continued.
“And next, heh… heheh, and now, the important—Pffft, ha ha ha!”
Pinyata burst out laughing mid-announcement, seemingly forgetting he was still on air. He must’ve just heard something hilarious.
“Who the heck is this? Someone already blew through all their starting capital in just two days? And get this—the spending report says… it was all at the academy cafeteria. Pffft! This is too funny. I swear, there’s no way I could host this broadcast with a straight face, no matter who I brought in. Hahaha!”
Zero Tilons…? Adrian glanced across at the bed opposite him—toward the prince.
“You made it onto the broadcast.”
Adrian let out a short snort of laughter. Mikhail’s expression crumpled with a violent scowl. The description had been so detailed that even he immediately realized the broadcast was talking about him.
“Rough, huh? Then again, you were already famous, so I guess it’s not that surprising.”
“…Shut up for a second.”
The prince gestured for silence, wanting to hear the rest of the broadcast.
“To this last-place student, let me give a bit of advice as your senior at Basamiel—think carefully about why they gave you 10 Tilons as starting capital.”
“Starting capital… So you really did start from the bottom,”
the Gold Dragon muttered, earning a tightly clenched jaw from Mikhail as if to say, Seriously, shut up already.
“Well, that’s all for today! This was Pinyata, your Basamiel storyteller. See you next time—without any prior notice, just like today! Bye-bye!”
As the broadcast ended, Mikhail, still grinding his teeth on the bed, muttered under his breath.
“…Just you wait. I’ll earn 10,000 Tilons and shove it in their faces.”
The prince, recalling the sword of Fellen Deeps displayed in his cabinet, reignited his determination. But as always, making money rarely followed the rhythm of one’s resolve.
***
It was the afternoon he’d decided to join Ordinas.
Is it here? After finishing his meal, Adrian made his way to the rear of the academy’s main building. Behind it stood a glass greenhouse, nearly the size of a dormitory. He reached out and pressed his palm against its clear, pristine surface.
A layer of magic wrapped around the glass, preserving the warm sunlight within.
Creaaak—he opened the large arched door to the greenhouse. A rush of warmth and perfectly humid air, ideal for growing plants, brushed against his skin.
Adrian glanced around the cozy interior.
Plants from all corners of the continent were growing in their own designated sections. At the center of the greenhouse stood a large, magically sustained waterfall, its booming roar supplying moisture to the entire interior.
The Gold Dragon, idly brushing a leaf of the nearby plant with his fingertip, thought to himself, Healthy growth.
“Oh, you actually came.”
Kyle waved a hand lazily from a bench on one side of the greenhouse. As the president of the club, it seemed he’d taken on the responsibility of explaining Ordinas to the new member.
This guy’s always lying around, Adrian thought, staring coldly at the lazy man.
“Ever been inside the academy’s greenhouse before?”
Adrian had passed it a few times while walking by the main building, but only seen it from the outside. He shook his head and answered, “No, I haven’t.”
“Yeah? Then let’s start by making it official—let’s get you signed up as a member of Ordinas.”
Kyle extended his right hand forward, channeling mana into his voice to activate the Tilon contract. His outstretched fist glowed faintly, as if holding a ball of blue light.
When Adrian simply stared at his hand, Kyle whispered quietly, “…You have to say your name.”
At that, the Gold Dragon murmured, “Ah,” and lifted his head.
“Adrian Heather.”
As soon as the Gold Dragon spoke, the light in Kyle’s hand pulsed. The moment it heard Adrian’s name, it briefly paused—then suddenly flared to life, writhing and thrashing. With a sharp whoosh, it flew up toward Adrian’s head.
Hovering for a second, it was then absorbed into the faintly glowing Tilon sigil hovering just above his head.
“Welcome to the club. From now on, you’re a member of Ordinas. Anything that belongs to the club—you can use it.”
Gazing at the sign of a completed contract, Kyle flashed a wide grin.
“You said you wanted to know about that weird door back then, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well then, if you help tend the greenhouse and herb garden every day, I think you’ll eventually uncover the truth about it. Let’s figure it out together and reclaim the Kevish saplings!”
Before Kyle could start rambling about how big of a revenue stream the Kevish saplings used to be for the club, Adrian quickly nodded.
“Great.”
With a swift turn, Kyle headed toward the center of the greenhouse.
“Come on. I’ll show you exactly what kind of work you’ll be doing. Don’t worry—you’re the only first-year in Ordinas right now, but others will join soon enough.”
“Got it.”
Adrian followed with a neutral, halfhearted response. Kyle stepped onto a stairway that led up a hill toward the base of the waterfall and turned to check if his new recruit was keeping up.
“By the way, can you swim?”
“…What?”
The sudden question caught Adrian completely off guard. His face practically screamed, Why the hell is he asking about swimming right now? It didn’t bode well.
Kyle, noticing the rookie’s wary expression, gave a sidelong glance and continued up the stairs.
The metal staircase wound around the hill where the waterfall began.
“Basamiel’s greenhouse garden is designed to support the growth of every type of plant on the continent. But among all those, the most impressive are the aquatic species. Humans haven’t even seen half of what the seas and rivers hold. The ocean and rivers are endless sources of potential for research.”
Step by step, Adrian climbed the metal stairs, Kyle’s explanation serving as background noise while he glanced down at the central garden below.
The higher he climbed, the more the massive greenhouse came into view in its entirety. Humans really couldn’t resist this kind of thing—violating the natural order and laws of the wild just to suit their own purposes.
If you need desert plants, just go to the desert and get them. The Gold Dragon clicked his tongue and shook his head.
The waterfall, summoned by magic, began at the top of the hill. Kyle reached the summit and picked up a small box that sat on a pedestal.
Click. Inside the box was a vibrant blue dye, glowing faintly. He dipped a fingertip into the dye and dabbed it beneath both of his eyes. Then, he held the box out to Adrian.
What is this?
But the Gold Dragon said nothing. He simply mimicked what Kyle had just done. There were very few human customs that could actually harm a dragon, after all.
Kyle then walked toward the edge of the hill, where the waterfall gushed powerfully downward. Turning back slightly, he spoke casually to Adrian,
“All set. Now follow my lead. Don’t worry.”
And with that, he leapt from the top of the hill.
