"Dragons also have three different types of awakenings," Esdeath said softly, her voice sounding a little serious.
Maruti tilted her head. "Three? What's the first one?"
"Bone Dragon," Esdeath replied in a calm but low voice.
"Bone Dragon?" Maruti repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Esdeath nodded and explained in detail,
"You can think of it like the dragon version of an Anomaly. But unlike Anomalies who lose their minds completely, Bone Dragons still have some control over their thoughts. Though… their hearts usually fill up with dark feelings—hatred, cruelty, and malice."
Maruti listened with wide eyes as Esdeath continued.
"Just like the name says, they turn into a dragon made completely of bones. Their wings are sharp and made of bones too. They also get 'Death Aura' and power that lets them summon or control undead creatures, become ageless, and control dark magic really well. Sounds strong, right?"
Maruti slowly nodded, a bit disturbed.
"But it's not all good," Esdeath added. "Bone Dragons can't turn into a human form anymore. And the more they kill, the more evil thoughts fill their minds. That's when they start losing control and turn into monsters that cause massive destruction."
Esdeath agreed with a quiet sigh, "Yeah… But because their bones are really rare and strong, people hunt them. Bone Dragon materials are used to make high-grade essence stones. One of them is called the Bone Wings Essence Stone. It's Rank A, and gives insane flying speed—some say it's one of the fastest flying-type essence stones out there."
She paused, taking a breath before continuing.
"The second awakening type has a few names—Dragon of Pleasure, Incubus or Succubus Dragon, but the most well-known name is Fallen Dragon."
Esdeath gave a small shrug, "I don't know everything about them, because in the FLF game, I never even met one. But from what I've read… when a dragon awakens as a Fallen Dragon, they start showing traits similar to succubi or incubi."
Maruti leaned in a bit closer, clearly interested.
Esdeath raised a finger. "Eyes turns red, Their horns turn black and curl like goat horns, and they grow a tail—like the ones succubi have. They also gain very high affinity with the charm element, sometimes even stronger than a real succubus."
Esdeath then added. " As for downside,You probably guessed it… They need to have sex. A lot. What I mean is way a lot. Also Their tails are… special. They can be used to get others pregnant—or to get pregnant themselves."
Maruti's jaw dropped. "Wait—doesn't matter if they're male or female!?"
"Nope," Esdeath replied calmly. "The tail takes care of everything. It's wild. If you want the full details, there are some long biographies written about them in the academy library.",
"Wait... is that the reason why dragons rarely breed?" Maruti asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Maybe," Esdeath replied with the same puzzled look.
Maruti took a deep breath and puffed out her chest proudly. "Ahem, ahem… well, I don't need to worry about charm anyway. I'm immune to it, thanks to my Divine Rank Essence Stone!"
"No. You're immune to mind effects like hypnosis and mind control. But charm is different. Charm is about attraction, not control," Esdeath explained calmly. "Still, your Constellation gives you some resistance, and your strong mind helps too."
Maruti blinked. "Oh... I didn't know that."
She leaned closer, curious again. "What about you?"
Esdeath looked at her with squinted, disappointed eyes. "Are you seriously asking me that?"
Maruti gasped. "Oops, I forgot!"
Esdeath rolled her eyes and looked ahead. "Anyway… the last kind of awakening is the one every dragon hopes for. It's a pure power-up. You gain full mastery over an element or power type. Like, if you awaken as a fire dragon, your fire becomes unmatched. Your fire breath can melt through defenses, and you could fight off a dozen fire-type dragons alone."
"Lilith went through this one. She was already a Silver Dragon, but after her second awakening, she became unmatched. Her breath alone could destroy magic shields and burn through anything. In her prime, She could use lift mountains with just raw strength," Esdeath explained.
Maruti nodded slowly. "So that's why everyone fears her."
"And Kaelith, her daughter—when she got her second awakening, she either gained the same power or specialized in ice, her affinity with water and wind got way stronger."
"Hmm… she does use ice magic a lot. Makes sense," Maruti mumbled.
Esdeath looked serious now. "But other than this type, the other awakenings—bone dragon and fallen dragon—will turn you into an outcast. No one trusts them and be thrown out",
"What about beast-kin?" Maruti asked.
"They're a bit more like humans but have four types of awakenings."
"Four?"
"Yeah. First is anomaly—just like humans. They turn into wild, corrupted versions of their animal form. Second is beast awakening. In this one, they fully become the animal and lose all memories and intelligence. A tiger-kin becomes a normal tiger and lives like that forever."
"That's horrible!" Maruti said.
"Third one is simple—just a boost in strength, senses, and powers. But the last one is spiritual awakening. That's the best. They become half-spirit versions of their kind. Like nine-tailed fox spirits or saber-toothed tiger spirits. They get a huge power-up and new abilities too."
Before maruti could say more, Esdeath held up a finger. "No more questions. That's enough for today."
Maruti laughed and raised her hands. "Alright, alright! I'll keep quiet now."
--------
As their long conversation came to an end, Esdeath and Maruti finally arrived at their destination.
Below them, chaos had already taken over. A wild fight was breaking out between students. Everyone was shouting, clashing, pushing, and trying to get ahead—yet no one was able to make much progress because someone always jumped in to stop them or take their place.
"What's going on down there?" Maruti asked while floating in the air, blinking in confusion.
Esdeath didn't answer right away. She simply smirked and pointed toward the far end of the area.
"Look over there."
Maruti followed her finger and spotted something extraordinary—seven giant golden doors lined up side by side. Each one looked grand and ancient, like they belonged in a royal palace. The golden doors had carvings of dragons, stars, and mysterious runes that glowed faintly.
But what really made her uneasy were the strange figures standing in front of each door.
Each door had a huge, creepy humanoid creature guarding it. Their bodies were huge and bulky, with a strange mix of fat and muscles, like sumo wrestlers. They wore traditional sumo belts and masks with exaggerated, unsettling expressions—wide grins, empty eyes, and oddly shaped noses that made them look more like cursed dolls than real beings.
"They all look the same..." Maruti muttered, narrowing her eyes.
But then, her gaze landed on a large wooden board standing right in the center, planted firmly in the white ground like a signpost. It had rules written on it in thick, black ink. At the top, in big letters, was the title:
**Rock, Paper, Scissors**
There were only three simple rules written beneath it:
1. Whoever wins gets to pass the gate. Whoever loses fails.
2. The winner's physical strength increases by three times, while the loser's strength is reduced by three times.
3. The winner gets to slap the loser, and then the next round begins. The game continues until one of them dies. If the player wins, they pass through the gate. If they lose, they fail the trial.
"So everyone is fighting because only seven people will get to pass?" Maruti raised an eyebrow. "Is this Squid Game now?"
She laughed to herself and cracked her knuckles. "Whatever. I'm just gonna go down there and beat everyone up!"
She was about to rush in and join the fight, but Esdeath stretched out her arm and stopped her gently.
"Wait," Esdeath said calmly. "Look first… and then decide."
———————
"Stop! Stop fighting!" Ethan shouted from the ground below. He stood in the middle of the brawl, trying to calm everyone down, but no one was paying him any attention. His voice was drowned out by the noise of fists and screams.
"Listen to me! We can talk this out! There's no need to fight!"
But nobody listened.
In the middle of all the chaos, one person stood out.
Sasha had quietly slipped through the crowd, unnoticed. With quick steps, she dashed straight toward the golden doors—still holding Alice by the tail like a bag of potatoes.
Before anyone could react, Sasha stopped right in front of the second door.
The large sumo monster guarding it opened its eyes slowly and slammed one foot onto the ground. A heavy tremor spread across the land with a deep rumble. Everyone paused and turned their heads toward Sasha.
The sumo creature raised his thick, heavy hand in the air.
"Three…" he growled in a hoarse, grating voice.
"Two…" he continued, lifting his arm higher.
Sasha grinned like a kid playing a game. "One~" she chimed in, completing the countdown herself.
She suddenly threw her hand forward—her fingers already shaped in a move.
At the same time, the sumo monster also struck forward with his hand.
Everyone watching froze.
Dozens of eyes locked onto the two hands.
No one blinked.
Everyone was thinking the same thing—
Who's going to win?
But then, everyone clearly saw Sasha showing "Scissors" while the sumo monster revealed "Paper."
Sasha had won.
A strange energy rushed into her body. She felt her arms grow heavier—but in a good way. Her muscles tightened, her heartbeat grew louder. She looked down at her hand and smirked.
She stepped forward.
With a smooth motion and a powerful swing—
SMACK!
Her palm crashed into the monster's body like a thunderbolt. In just one slap, she completely destroyed the monster's upper body. It vanished in an instant—like it had been erased from existence.
The lower half of the monster wobbled for a second… then collapsed and slowly sank into the fog-covered ground beneath.
Everyone stood frozen, mouths open, eyes wide. No one dared to say anything. The only sound was the quiet creaking of metal as the golden door behind the monster slowly began to open.
"Let's go," Sasha said calmly to Alice, who was still being dragged by the tail. Without waiting, she walked through the now-open gate.
Alice didn't even argue—she just followed, after Sasha entered, the door got shut again.
The students still outside stood there, stunned.
Then someone finally spoke. "Wait… if more than one person enters with the winner at the same time… they can pass too?"
A girl jumped up excitedly, "Then who wants to team up?!"
Suddenly, the crowd shifted.
Everyone who had been punching and kicking moments ago was now walking around looking for partners. Groups formed quickly—everyone trying to figure out how to improve their chances. Nobody wanted to die just because of bad luck in a game.
But not everyone thought the same.
A boy with short green hair and sharp brown eyes slipped away from the crowd with a confident grin on his face.
"Haha! Idiots. While they waste time making teams, I'll just go ahead and win this on my own," he said proudly.
Moving fast, he dashed toward the first golden door. The other students were too busy making teams to notice.
As he got close, the large sumo monster guarding the gate opened its eyes and raised one leg.
BOOM!
The ground shook from the impact. A low growl echoed from the creature's throat.
"Oneeeee!" the monster roared in its raspy voice.
"Twooooo!" The monster raised its thick hand, slowly preparing its move.
The boy raised his own hand, squinting at the creature.
"Alright, if the last one used paper, then this one might use scissors… or maybe stone. I'll go with stone—it's either a draw or I win!" he thought.
"Threeeee!"
Both of them revealed their moves at the same time.
The monster showed Paper.
The boy showed Stone.
He lost.
The boy blinked in surprise. "Hehe… I guess I lost, huh?"
But before the thought even fully formed in his head—his world twisted.
His body stayed standing, but his vision tilted backward and upward. Everything spun.
"Why is the sky upside down?" he wondered, confused.
Then, darkness.
His head had been sliced clean off his shoulders in a flash. It flew through the air silently, spinning until it landed in the white fog, lifeless and then sinked in the ground.
The sumo monster slowly lowered its hand back down, as if nothing had happened.
And the golden gate stayed shut.