The Eve of the Storm
The Dragon's Orb was a kind of Easter egg that even the players couldn't decipher. Once the Academy's treasure vault was raided by terrorists at the end of the first year, the orb would vanish. But what if, after endless grinding, a first-year somehow entered the tournament and won? You could obtain the Dragon's Orb, yet you still couldn't use it. The orb was a special item that reacted only to draconic energy, and harnessing it required an actual dragon—not some sub-dragon like the one that had appeared at the Academy, but a true dragon long thought extinct.
"Some kind of egg……?"
"Who knows."
However, Sarah knew that Arthur possessed the Dragon's Heart. She wondered if that might allow her to open the orb, something impossible in the game. After persuading Arthur to obtain it, the orb reacted to her energy exactly as Sarah had hoped. What emerged from within was an egg—an egg of unknown origin.
"Where—."
Kyle channeled his Aura into the egg to probe what lay inside. The egg simply absorbed every drop he sent.
'Oh?'
Intrigued, Kyle kept pouring more Aura, curious to see how much it could take. Time passed. Eventually he withdrew his hand, staring at the bottomless egg.
"……Hoo."
He felt as though he had expended more Aura just now than during his recent duel with another Master. Even that massive amount had elicited no visible response. In that instant, Kyle understood what the egg truly was.
"Arthur."
"Hm?"
"You'll have to carry this from now on."
"Uh…… Okay?"
"What is it, what is it!?"
Seeing Kyle's expression, Sarah could no longer contain her curiosity. She rushed over and began badgering him.
Kyle steadied his pounding heart before speaking carefully.
"If an egg came out of the Dragon's Orb, what else could it be?"
"……A dragon's egg?"
"Yeah. This is a dragon's egg."
Sarah's eyes sparkled with naked greed. A dragon's egg—if she could raise whatever hatched from it as a pet, her power would skyrocket. Kyle shook his head at her.
"Forget it. That's not something humans can touch."
"Can't touch……?"
"Try infusing mana into it. You'll understand."
Sarah hesitantly placed her hand on the shell. Less than three seconds later she yanked it back with a sharp gasp, panting heavily.
"W-What the—!?"
"Now you get it?"
"What even……"
Only after directly attempting to feed it mana did Sarah grasp the egg's nature. She quickly retreated, her greed extinguished. Arthur merely tilted her head in confusion while Kyle explained.
"I told you the Dragon's Heart emits infinite energy. So wouldn't this thing also radiate infinite energy from the moment it's born?"
"Uh…… Doesn't seem like it."
"Right. A dragon's egg doesn't emit energy—it absorbs it. That's why dragons are so rare, and why humans can never create them artificially."
Yet here stood a human who was almost a dragon herself—someone implanted with the Dragon's Heart, capable of supplying the egg with limitless mana.
"Arthur, you're going to be this egg's mother."
Become its mother. Arthur's cheeks flushed faintly at the words.
* * *
Special events were rare. The Academy was fundamentally an institution for nurturing talent, which meant every single day was filled with tedious, grueling effort and training. As a Knight Department student, I ran laps around the training grounds, lifted heavy iron weights, swung my sword, and refined my techniques—all in pursuit of becoming an excellent knight. In truth, none of it did much to improve my actual skill. It only kept my abilities from dulling; it couldn't help me reach a higher realm. In a way, that was inevitable. An adult training alongside elementary school children wouldn't suddenly grow at their pace.
'Obviously not.'
Even Gawain, reputed to be the strongest in the Knight Department, was currently weaker than me because of his injury. It was only natural that Academy life no longer stirred much passion in me. I wasn't the sort of person who would reach the Master level and then laze about satisfied. If I had that kind of personality, I never would have become a Master in the first place. Reaching Expert rank in my teens already marked me as an absurdly monstrous genius.
'Boring.'
Just as that boredom was beginning to seep into both body and mind, Gawain brought up something rather interesting.
"In a few days, once final exams are over, it'll be vacation. You all know that, right?"
Vacation. The cadets erupted in excited cheers. They seemed to have completely forgotten that exams still came first. Watching them get worked up over the mere mention of vacation, Gawain's expression turned disdainful.
"If anyone gets so excited about vacation that they bomb the exams, I'll put them through hellish training the entire break."
"T-That's…… What exactly counts as bombing them?"
"Why are you asking something so obvious? Everyone except first place…… is what I'd like to say, but."
Gawain glanced at me, shook his head lightly, and clarified.
"I'll judge based on those whose scores drop excessively compared to the midterms. No complaints that way."
"Yes!"
"The exam format has changed a little, but if you've been working hard, you shouldn't have any major problems. Yeah."
While mentioning the format change, Gawain kept sneaking glances my way. What? Why did he keep looking at me? I tilted my head in confusion, and Gawain responded with a deep sigh. His reaction was completely incomprehensible.
* * *
"Kyle. What are you planning to do over vacation?"
Lunchtime. Yuri had naturally claimed the seat beside me and was already asking about my vacation plans. Having none yet, I simply shrugged.
"Dunno. Haven't made any plans."
"Then how about with me—"
"Kyyle—!"
At that moment Sarah came sprinting over and dropped into the seat across from me. She had run so hard her body was still swaying, and a bead of sweat rolled down her face as she looked at me.
"You don't have anything to do during vacation, right!? I've got somewhere to go, so clear your schedule!"
"For what?"
"What else! It's vacation! What else would we do!"
She didn't say it outright, but I immediately understood. Something she couldn't mention in front of others—yet couldn't contain her excitement about. Collecting the hidden opportunities only players knew about. Realizing that, I nodded at once.
"Fine. Let's go."
"Yesss—! You have to come! There are a few things only you can do!"
With that, Sarah grabbed her tray and hurried off to get her food. Yuri watched her go in silence before speaking softly.
"You two seem close."
"Huh? Yeah."
"When did you get so close?"
"In a past life?"
It was meant as a joke, but Yuri's reaction was less than amused. She pressed her lips together and stared at me. I let out an awkward laugh. After a brief silence, she gently took my hand.
"Can't you go somewhere with me during vacation?"
"Hm?"
"Not with Sarah. With me."
Knowing her for over ten years, I recognized how rare it was for her to make such a request. In this medieval fantasy world, it wasn't easy for a woman to be the one suggesting an outing first.
"No?"
She leaned closer, pressing against my arm. Looking down at her, I smiled and answered.
"No."
It was a shame, but traveling with Sarah wasn't about personal feelings. It was to gather the world's hidden opportunities and grow stronger—so I could survive and protect the people who mattered. Yuri nodded as though she understood.
"……I see. All right."
"Mm. Once I'm done with Sarah, I might have some time. Want to go somewhere then?"
"No. It's fine."
"Huh?"
"Play with Sarah. Must be nice."
Leaving those words behind, Yuri stood up and walked away. I scratched my head while watching her retreating back.
'What? What's with her?'
"Hey, I'm back!"
"Ah, you're back?"
"What, where's your fiancée?"
"Dunno. She went somewhere."
"Really? Weird."
Even Sarah, who arrived late, didn't seem to notice anything strange. It probably wasn't worth worrying about. I continued eating while discussing with her which opportunities we should target next.