The first weekend after the class division, Xuan Xi finally slept in. When she opened her eyes, the sun was already high in the sky. She stared at the sunlight outside the window for several seconds before her consciousness slowly returned.
Today was the weekend. Ever since she came to Dragonborn Academy, she had hardly ever had a weekend. The previous weeks had been filled with training; the only difference between weekends and weekdays was that training was longer.
But this weekend was different. The class division results had come out, and the clamor of the assessments had settled. She finally had a complete, schedule-free weekend.
No training, no classes, nothing she had to do.
She turned over, facing the screen, only to realize there was no sound of breathing from the other side.
Xuan Xi sat up and walked around the screen. Sigrdrífa’s bed was neatly made, the blanket folded like a square block of tofu, the pillow placed squarely in the center. On the desk was a tray containing bread, milk, and jam, with a note tucked beside it.
Xuan Xi picked it up and read.
“It’s a rare weekend today, no training, so sleep in a bit more.”
A smile curved on her lips. “Sleep in a bit more”—these words coming from Sigrdrífa had a strange dissonance. That person who got up before dawn every day to perform Elemental Detoxification and only slept six hours a day was actually telling her to sleep in.
She folded the note and tucked it under her pillow. Today was the weekend, no training. What should she do? Right, hadn’t they said yesterday they would go out together today?
She picked up the Communication Stone and opened the contact list. Sigrdrífa’s name lay there quietly, like some silent wait. Xuan Xi stared at the string of numbers for a while, her finger hovering over the input box again and again. Finally, she typed a line.
“Any plans today?”
She sent it. She stared at the screen for a few seconds, feeling her heartbeat quicken. There was an indescribable—anticipation.
The Communication Stone vibrated once.
“No.”
Xuan Xi stared at those two words for two seconds, thought for a moment, then typed another line.
“Then go out? I haven’t explored the academy’s surroundings yet.”
This time the reply came faster.
“Okay.”
Xuan Xi looked at that “Okay,” put down the Communication Stone, and began to wash up and change clothes. What to wear? She opened the wardrobe and looked at the few changes of clothes inside. Suddenly she realized a problem—all her clothes were dark colors: dark cyan, dark gray, black. There were only two styles: training uniforms and casual wear, and only two sets of casual wear—one was in the wash, the other she was wearing.
Back in the Border Town, she had never cared about what she wore. Hellas’s blacksmith shop always smelled of iron filings and charcoal ash, and anything she wore would get dirty. But today, she suddenly cared—she cared about Sige’s opinion.
In the end, she still wore that set of dark gray casual clothes because she had no other choice.
She looked at herself in the mirror. The dark gray clothes made her look like a stone covered in moss. Not pretty, not ugly. That’s that.
When she walked out of the Dormitory Building, she found Sigrdrífa already standing at the door waiting for her.
Her silver-white hair was not tied up today, gently swaying in the morning breeze. She was wearing a set of light-colored casual clothes. This was the first time Xuan Xi had seen her wear something other than training uniforms or Academy Uniforms, and she suddenly felt a bit unreal.
That S-Class Miss who pierced targets with Thunder Light on the Training Ground was now standing in the morning light in casual clothes, looking like a beautiful landscape painting.
“Did you wait long?” Xuan Xi walked over.
“No, I just got here too.”
Sigrdrífa’s gaze paused on her face for a moment, then looked away.
“Let’s go.”
The two walked side by side on the academy’s main road. On a weekend morning, the academy was very quiet, with only a few early-rising students passing by, casting curious or awed glances their way. Xuan Xi no longer minded those looks because she had gotten used to them, especially since she was walking next to Sige, a Miss who attracted attention.
“Where to?” Sigrdrífa asked.
“Just the area around the academy, that town at the foot of the mountain.”
Xuan Xi said.
“I went there once before enrolling, but didn’t have a chance to look around properly. Elsa said there are many good shops there.”
“Do you want to buy something?”
Xuan Xi thought for a moment.
“I don’t know. Just… want to take a walk with you.”
Sigrdrífa glanced at Xuan Xi and didn’t ask further.
From the academy gate to the town at the foot of the mountain, it took about twenty minutes on foot. The academy had built a dedicated footpath for this, winding down along the edge of the Floating Peak.
Xuan Xi walked on the footpath, watching the clouds in the distance. Suddenly she had a very strange feeling. She had been at Dragonborn Academy for over a month, but this was the first time she had taken the time to look at this place.
Before, her eyes had only seen the Training Ground, Dormitory, Cafeteria, and Library. Those places had made up her entire world. But now she saw more—she saw the forest below the clouds, the horizon in the distance, the full view of the sky.
So big. The world was really big.
“What are you thinking about?” Sigrdrífa’s voice came from beside her.
“Thinking about how big this world is.”
Xuan Xi said.
“I haven’t even figured out this academy yet, and I already think it’s huge. But standing here, the academy is just a small piece of this mountain peak, this peak is just a small piece of the Dragon Realm, and the Dragon Realm is just a small piece of this world.”
She paused.
“I’m too insignificant.”
Sigrdrífa was silent for a moment.
“You’re not small. You’ve just started. When we grow up, our perspective will change too.”
“You always speak so briefly,” Xuan Xi said, tilting her head.
“As long as the meaning gets across.”
“But everything you say makes sense.”
Sigrdrífa didn’t reply.
The town at the foot of the mountain was exceptionally quiet on the weekend morning. The shops on both sides of the street had just opened, and the shopkeepers were wiping windows and arranging goods.
Xuan Xi stood on the main street and looked around.
“Last time I came, I went straight to a snack stall and then returned to the academy. I didn’t look around at all.”
“Then let’s take a good look around today.”
The two walked slowly along the main street. Xuan Xi found everything novel: the weapon shop had racks outside displaying various swords and blades glinting coldly in the sun; the potion shop’s window showcased colorful bottles and jars with labels reading “Healing Potion,” “Strength Potion,” “Agility Potion”; the bookstore had a pile of discounted old books at the entrance, their covers coated with a thin layer of dust.
“I didn’t see this bookstore last time.” Xuan Xi stopped in front of a bookstore and looked at the bookshelves through the window.
“It’s newly opened.”
Sigrdrífa said.
“Seems like it opened last week.”
Xuan Xi glanced at her.
“How do you know? Have you been here?”
Sigrdrífa didn’t answer, pushed open the door, and walked in. Xuan Xi followed behind her.
The bookstore was small but very clean. Wooden bookshelves extended from floor to ceiling, each shelf filled with books. The air had a mixed smell of old paper and wood spices.
Xuan Xi slowly browsed the shelves, her eyes sweeping over rows of spines: Dragon Race History, Element Theory, Combat Techniques, Magic Array Diagrams, East-West Cultural Exchange—most were things she wasn’t interested in or couldn’t understand. Her fingers stopped on a thin book.
The book’s cover had no pattern, only a line of handwritten text: “Eastern Myths and Legends.”
Xuan Xi pulled the book from the shelf and opened to the first page. The handwriting was copied by hand, not very neat, but each character was legible. The first line read: “Pangu created heaven and earth, and his body transformed into the myriad things. The Eastern Demon Beasts (Yao) were born from Pangu’s essence and blood.”
Her heartbeat quickened a beat.
Pangu, creation of heaven and earth, transformation into Eastern Demon Beasts. She noticed that this book was not about the Dragon Race, but about the Demon Beasts. Could it be that besides the Dragon Race, there were other species in this world?
She stood there, flipping through the book page by page. The content wasn’t much, probably only a few dozen pages, but each page was like a small window, letting her glimpse a world she had never encountered.