When the glow of sunrise once again washed over the silhouette of Mount Paladin, Vilanelle Adrian was already seated at the desk in her bedroom.
A sheet of Frost Paper was spread out on the table, covered in strategies she had drafted to handle the academy’s audit process, but they had all been crossed out one by one. The tip of her pen had rested on the paper for so long that a large blot of ink had bled into the surface.
‘None of these will work…’
She propped her cheek up with her hand in distress, her gaze unconsciously drifting toward the fireplace.
Ignis was curled up in his little nest, his scales rising and falling slightly with his breathing, while a soft purr occasionally emanated from his snout.
The sunlight filtered through the frosted glass window, casting a warm vertical stripe across his back.
Vilanelle rose gently and walked to the fireplace. She slowly knelt, hovering one hand in the air without actually touching Ignis.
The scene from yesterday evening was still vivid in her mind. When faced with her request, he had nodded without much hesitation.
“Are you really… willing?”
Vilanelle’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
Ignis remained motionless, though the tip of his tail curled almost imperceptibly. She wasn’t sure if it was a response.
***
The academy library was least crowded during the morning hours.
Since she happened to have no classes this morning, she could afford to set aside time for the library.
Vilanelle pushed open the oak doors inlaid with rune components. Inside was a soaring hall where light slanted in through stained glass, casting mottled shadows across the polished stone floor.
Fine dust seemed to dance in the air, mixing the pungent scent of ink with the herbal aroma of insect repellent.
The sound of her footsteps created slight echoes throughout the hall.
Vilanelle’s gaze swept past row upon row of vast book collections, landing on a carved door deep within the public reading area.
The Imperial Magical Creature Classification and Control Catalog she was looking for should be in the restricted reading area behind that door.
This catalog was not a required textbook for class, so it could only be consulted at the library.
Sitting behind the management desk was the librarian, Casper, a thin middle-aged man wearing glasses thicker than the bottom of a glass bottle.
At that moment, he was using a crystal-embellished quill to rapidly register a batch of newly arrived books.
Vilanelle walked up to the desk and took a deep breath. “Mr. Casper, I would like to consult the Imperial Magical Creature Classification and Control Catalog.”
The middle-aged man did not look up. The scratching sound of the quill against the paper paused for half a second. “For a course?”
“Yes, Magical Creatures class.”
“Student ID.”
Mr. Casper finally raised his head.
Vilanelle handed over the copper badge she had been clutching in her palm. The badge was embossed with the academy’s crest, its edges slightly worn.
He reached out to take it and pressed it against a rune stone tablet. Soon, the tablet glowed with a faint light, and several lines of text materialized in the air, displaying her name, year, and borrowing permissions.
“Vilanelle Adrian… third year.” Mr. Casper lifted his eyelids and sized her up through his thick lenses. “The Control Catalog is classified as B-rank material. Your access level is only C-rank. You need a professor’s signature or proof of course requirements.”
Vilanelle’s heart sank slightly, but fortunately, she had come prepared.
“Professor Hiram explicitly requested that we consult this book to prepare for next week’s practical session. She also said… it is a mandatory part of the curriculum.”
It was mostly the truth, just stretched a little.
Mr. Casper fell silent, seemingly deep in thought, his knuckles tapping rhythmically against the register.
The only sound left in the hall was the swinging of the pendulum clock, making every second feel agonizingly long.
“If it is a course requirement…” he began slowly, “there should be a notice or a relevant entry in the syllabus…”
“I don’t have a hard copy of the notice,” Vilanelle interrupted quickly, keeping her voice as steady as possible. “But if you need it, I can go find Professor Hiram right now and have her confirm it in person… Though, she should be in the greenhouse preparing for this afternoon’s class. A round trip would probably take about half an hour…”
In truth, she had no idea if Professor Hiram had a class that afternoon.
Another silence followed.
Beneath her robes, Vilanelle’s palms were sweating slightly, her fingernails digging deep into her skin.
Casper looked at her, then at the pile of unprocessed scrolls on the desk, and finally let out a sigh.
Fine, fine. It was a small matter, and it wasn’t worth wasting so much time over.
“Restricted reading area, fourth row of bookshelves, number 4-1173. It is not to be taken out of the reading area, the pages must not be defaced, and the content must not be transcribed. Violators will be banned from the library for three months.”
He repeated the book management regulations as a formality and handed her back her student ID.
“There are monitoring arrays by the reading tables. Do you understand?”
“I understand. Thank you, Mr. Casper.”
Vilanelle took her ID, suppressed her excitement, and walked quickly toward the restricted reading area.
This area was dimmer than the main hall, and the air carried a slight chill. The bookshelves were made of dark ironwood, reaching all the way to the ceiling, with yellowed copper tags engraved with book numbers on every shelf.
On the shelves further back, there were a few books secured with iron chains, as if something dangerous were trapped inside them.
There were very few people here, and the tables were empty.
Vilanelle soon found the row of shelves specified by the librarian.
The Control Catalog was much larger than she had imagined. It was a massive tome—proof that “knowledge is power”—with a dark brown leather cover that looked as good as new, suggesting it was the latest edition.
She struggled to pull it from the shelf and carried it to a reading table.
A circle of runes glowing with a faint blue light was engraved around the edge of the table. If any attempt to transcribe the contents of the borrowed books was detected, an alarm would be triggered.
Vilanelle opened the cover, which featured the title embossed in gold.
The catalog was divided by danger levels, ranging from Level 0 (Harmless) to Level 5 (Calamity), though the fifth level currently existed only in theory.
She flipped directly to the category for Level 3 creatures and searched through the subcategories for dragons.
As her fingers brushed over the thick, coarse pages, they felt cold to the touch. The edges of the pages were filled with tiny creases, suggesting they had been flipped through by many hands.
Finally, the section she was looking for came into view.
[Dragon Genus — Black Dragon Hybrid Branch]
[Name] Black Dragon (Common domesticated variant)
[Aliases] Domesticated Black Dragon, Imperial Military Black Dragon
[Danger Level] Level 3 (Controllable threat, requires professional management)
[Average Adult Size] Wingspan of nine to twelve meters, body length of five to seven meters
[Mana Characteristics] High heat, low stability, moderate Abyss Affinity (See Appendix 7: Abyss Pollution Identification Guide for details)
Vilanelle’s gaze swept downward as she gradually held her breath.
Under the “Standard Domestication Procedures” section for Black Dragon habits, rows of cold, heartless words were written in black and white:
— Within forty-eight hours of hatching, the first pain tolerance training must be conducted (cauterization or electric shocks are recommended);
— A Dragon Magic Suppression Collar must be worn continuously, with models updated as the subject grows;
— Feeding must be combined with obedience training; uncommanded self-feeding is prohibited;
— Periodic Abyss Pollution testing is recommended (reagents are provided by workshops under the Holy Light Church).
Further down, there was an anatomical diagram of a Black Dragon, with labels suggesting uses for various body parts.
Heart: can be used to create high-intensity mana containers; Dragon Bone: can serve as high-grade rune substrates; Dragon Blood: can be used for brewing alchemical potions; Dragon Scales: can be used to manufacture armor…
Every word felt like an ice pick stabbing into her vision.
Containers, substrates, potions, armor…
These words reduced a living, breathing, thinking being into a cold list of resources.
Vilanelle’s fingers trembled slightly as they rested on the page.
‘No.’
These measures shouldn’t be used on the little guy. He wasn’t the violent, dangerous creature described in the book.
Vilanelle impatiently flipped to the next page, her eyes darting across the text as she tried to find something she hoped for—perhaps, perhaps there were special provisions for abnormal individuals?
She turned to the annotations at the end of the chapter.
Finally, at the very end of a long series of notes, several lines of small print caught her eye. They were so small it seemed as if the compilers didn’t want readers to notice them, yet were forced to include them anyway:
For individuals that significantly deviate from the behavioral logic of their species, an “Special Observation Permit” may be applied for following an evaluation by at least one high-ranking biology professor. This allows for contact and research under strict supervision (For details, see Article 7 of the Royal Academy of Magic Special Research Case Management Regulations).
Applications must include: 1. A behavior observation log; 2. A behavior deviation analysis; 3. A commitment of responsibility from a supervising mentor.
Vilanelle’s heart skipped a beat.
‘This is it!’