Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)
chapter-34

Chapter 34: Encountering the Dragon Again

“Stop!”

“Hold it right there!”

The two boys on duty were not slow either. Although they lagged behind by a few seconds, their physiques and speed far surpassed a freshman like Xiao Lin.

The path leading to the logistics department was paved with stones and was dense with woodland. The bright moonlight was blocked out, leaving only a few white spots on the stone road.

As soon as Xiao Lin made a turn to the first exit, his shirt was grabbed by the two boys behind him. Under normal circumstances, Xiao Lin could never have been able to run faster than a second-year student, and on top of that, his extreme exercise that afternoon had already pushed his physical strength to the limit.

“You must be a freshman. I didn’t expect to catch a freshman with the guts to roam around instead of going back to their dorm. Let’s go! We’re heading to the student union right now! ”

“Hmph. Can’t wait to see what your punishment is!”

Xiao Lin lamented internally. Even though he was actually already prepared for such a situation, it was still a pain to think that the rewards he worked so hard to achieve in the admissions test were soon going to disappear.

Knowing that there was no point in resisting, the desperate Xiao Lin accepted his fate and was about to turn back. He shot one last reluctant glance at the logistics department, which was also within spitting distance. If he walked through the woods and came to the big building, he firmly believed that there would be roast chicken and roast duck there.

All of a sudden, Xiao Lin sensed that something was amiss. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly and he stopped in his tracks, just as he was about to start moving. He pulled at the uniforms of the two sophomores and whispered in a very low and cautious tone, “Be careful. There’s a dragon!”

Perhaps it would have done him good not to say that, for the two boys roared furiously after he said that, reprimanding, “F*CK THAT! That trick again! Do you really think we’re stupid!”

Roar!

A resounding dragon roar suddenly echoed, and Xiao Lin’s face instantly paled. He was practically on the verge of tears as he said, “I told you to be careful! Why did you yell so loud!”

The two boys were also stunned to the spot, as if they were struck with a freezing spell. Having experienced what happened in the opening ceremony, they should not have been as scared of the dragon as they were then, especially when the dragon’s roar seemed to sound as if it came from a dream. The roar did not contain much dragon might and was insufficient to leave them instinctively fearful. However, the main issue was that the source of the roar was far too close, as if it was just next to them!

All three of them looked at each other and turned around cautiously. In the depths of the forests, where the lush foliage completely blocked the moonlight, a pair of orange lights flickered in the dark.

They gulped hard and finally recognized the behemoth hidden in the dark. It was clearly a dragon’s eyes; it was none other than the dean’s golden dragon!

Xiao Lin finally understood the saying ‘speak of the devil and he doth appear’. No one would have expected that creature to be hiding in the woods, seemingly fast asleep, right in front of the logistics department. However, there was one thing that all of them understood: no creature would be pleased to be awakened from their slumber. The two boys were well aware of that fact and began retreating slowly, observing the dragon’s actions.

Xiao Lin took the opportunity to break free from both their grasps and rushed toward the only house in the woods. He paid absolutely no mind to the dragon that was close at hand.

The two second-year boys widened their eyes in bewilderment and anger.

“After him! I’ll get the year leader! This freshman must be punished severely once we get our hands on him!” One of the boys gritted his teeth and ran away.

“You!” The other boy was dumbfounded and watched his companion turn and run off. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, glanced at the dragon’s golden eyes, and felt his heart thumping wildly.

Xiao Lin was fearless because he was ignorant, but the second-year courses had already explained the habits of dragons. The boy knew that the dragon was presently in a half-dream/half-awake state. Dragons never completely closed their eyes when sleeping, and they were highly alert. The slightest danger could wake them up.

That was also why Xiao Lin could rush past it so safely. After all, he was an underachiever with an attribute value of only 10 points. The golden dragon’s instincts did not take him for a threat at all.

The boy was unsure of whether his strength would be as dangerous, as his control over his own power was very poor. Unable to fully exert control, he could only take little teensy steps as he moved forward. All he could do was hold his breath and focus his attention; that was the only way he could reduce his own presence to a minimum and avoid awakening the dragon.

The path stretched for about two hundred meters through the woods, and although Xiao Lin’s physical strength was at about 70% or 80%, he still could not run anywhere, even if he was at full strength. In any case, he had to at least run faster than the second-year student’s tortoise-like pace.

Before arriving at the building marked ‘logistics department’, Xiao Lin was actually rather scared still. Fortunately, the dragon seemed to be sound asleep and showed no signs of waking up at all. He even had the errant thought of throwing something to wake the dragon up completely, but he soon decided to drop the idea after some thought.

For one, he bore no grudges against that sophomore he did not know, who was also just doing his duty. Secondly, if Xiao Lin really did disturb the dragon, he felt that he might end up becoming the dragon’s supper.

Before the boy had arrived, Xiao Lin decided to hide in the building for a while and look for something to eat while he was at it. Even if he ended up getting punished, he still had to fill his stomach. Having spent half the day in hunger, Xiao Lin was overwhelmed with an intense yearning for food.

The logistics department was different from the previous teaching building. It was nothing more than a low one-story bungalow, but it occupied a larger area than all the other teaching buildings. The front entrance was a heavy, black metal door. It was locked tightly, but Xiao Lin walked along the wall and chanced upon a small fence gate which happened to be unlocked.

Xiao Lin felt enlightened when he pushed the door open and entered. Inside the towering walls was a huge courtyard that was not shaded by tree leaves, but instead shined beautifully under the moonlight. Individual patches of vegetable gardens grew in the courtyard and each patch was planted with a variety of vegetables. The corners were covered with vines, while farther ahead were trees laden with unrecognizable fruits.

The place was clearly a vegetable garden and an orchard. Xiao Lin felt that he had come to the right place and it was indeed the logistics department. Believing that he could find something to eat there, he continued forward and opened the door with a squeak. In front of him was a long, quiet, dimly lit corridor. The rooms on both sides of the corridor were all wide open.

Curious, Xiao Lin stepped into the nearest room. It was empty, surrounded only by a row of iron cages. After his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he discovered that there were chickens in the cages. It turned out to be a chicken coop.

Xiao Lin’s eyes beamed like a weasel. He gulped and muttered to himself, “Beggar’s chicken sounds really good right about now.”

Unfortunately for Xiao Lin, someone was hot on his trail. His idea of making beggar’s chicken sounded good in theory, but aside from having no condiments to cook with, there was also a problem of slaughtering the chicken.

Xiao Lin shook his head, sighed with regret, and decided to head to the other rooms to find out if there was any cooked food.

“Craving beggar’s chicken so late at night? Good idea, but do you know how to cook?” came a man’s lazy voice from inside the dark house.

Xiao Lin was so scared that he nearly fell flat on the ground. He yelled out, “Ghost!”