Nothing beats a cliched waking up in the morning to start a good story.
"Wake the hell up, Ulysses! Today is your god-forsaken remedial exams, right?! Hurry up and screw off away from my basement! Get lost!"
It was my mom who shouted a blissful morning greeting at me. She opened the curtains so that the sun rays can mercilessly assault my face. She removed my blanket, then my duvet, and finally, my pillow in the final attempt to wake me up.
I stretched my arms as I made an elegant but soundless yawn. I wiped my eyes to see my beautiful demonic mom who is all set with her long frilly duchess gown with matching headdress. She even had her fancy umbrella ready to spank me.
"Good morning~" I tried to make the most charismatic smile even though I still have dried saliva on my lips and snot on my eyelids.
"Good morning your face!"
The umbrella swung towards my leg. I felt a swift jolt of pain from my bone!
"Ow! Ow! Stop it, mom!" I cried.
"Get your ass in the dining room, breakfast is ready!" The demon roared.
"Okay! Okay!" I cried.
I hurriedly went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I checked my face in the mirror. My black eyes sparkled as I appreciate the handsomeness of my reflection. I brushed my black hair upwards to make myself more stylish.
"Tres Bien!" I double finger gunned myself in the mirror then clicked my tongue. "As usual, I'm as pretty as ever~"
I put on my polo shirt and dark jeans, then immediately went to the kitchen. My father is there, reading news on his tablet while sipping tea. He adjusted his eyeglasses when he saw me. He didn't say anything. He just glared at me with disgust.
Meanwhile, my little sister is already eating the bacon and egg on the table. She stopped chewing when she saw me sitting beside her.
"Oh, the trash is already awake."
"Shut up, bitch. Trash is still much better than you." I replied.
I joined them and happily hummed as I skewer the bacon and pancakes. When I'm about to take the first bite of my elegant breakfast, my father called my attention.
"Ulysses. Today is your remedial exams, right?"
"Yep!" I happily answered then put the bacon in my mouth. Then I took a sip of a fragrant chamomile tea.
"Good. Make sure you pass that exam or else I will disown you." My father said calmly.
"W-What?" I puked out the tea from my mouth.
"You heard me. I have no need for a shut-in son like you who already graduated from the Magic Academy and refused to work and be a productive member of society. You're already a twenty-two-year-old adult that is responsible enough to make our reputation as a house better, yet you chose to play games and watch movies for one year. You already failed the Dragon Sage Library Entrance Exam once, and the remedial exam today is your last chance."
My father all said those words with a poker face, and that's more terrifying.
"R-Right..." I bowed. All my attempt to liven up and make this day a wonderful morning has already crumbled.
"Yay! My brother is to sleep in the streets tonight! Together with his fellow trashcans!" My supportive sister cheered.
I kept my silence. If I would quarrel against my little sister, my father might subject me to a long sermon again.
I looked at my watch and then decided to put barrages of bacon, pancake, and fried eggs towards my mouth. I'm getting late already, and I can't spend any more of my minute here at the hostile dining table. I put on my shoes and then shouted.
"I'll be going off!" I waved at my family happy.
My mother, who just entered the dining room, is the only one who reciprocated my jolly goodbye. "Don't come back!"
Best family ever.
Luckily, after I left our manor, I caught a bus that was about to leave. I sat on the rightmost part of the bus and looked at the windows to embrace the beauty of Novum Metropolis.
Just like what most travel brochures say, Novum Metropolis is the pinnacle of science and magic in the continent. The Cyber Mystic Age is best described in this city as most machines are run by easily replenishable energy called mana or magical life force. Mana is used to run gadgets like phones and computers without charging to an electric outlet. Even vehicles, like the bus I'm riding in, are using the mana of the bus driver.
Of course, mana is still used to evoke magic, just like old times. But here in Novum Metropolis, they found ways to make mana much more useful even to those who are not spellcasters.
I opened up my hand, and I materialized a blue magical circle with lightning sparks. It's been ages since I last used magic, so all the studying I made back in the Magic Academy is almost already wasted. I stared at my magical circle and muttered my frustration.
"Dammit. If only my parents know how hard it is to be admitted to the Dragon Sage Library... Didn't they know that it's a doctorate-level magic education, the highest of them all?"
I was all gloomy on the bus until I finally had my stop. Right after I took off from the bus, a gigantic skyscraper castle welcomed me. It has a golden sign of "Dragon Sage Library" on the entrance, and right after entering the premises, a wide garden full of bountiful flowers will welcome you. There's even a fountain of a maiden riding on a dragon at the very center of the garden.
I didn't have the time to appreciate the view. I'm getting late!
"By the power of lightning, give me speed!" I chanted.
My boots started to unleash mini lightning bolts. With these enhanced feet, I charged forward, leaving air dust in everyone's wake!
"Kya!" One of the maids in charge of watering the plants in the garden cried when her skirt was lifted due to the windblast I created.
"Sorry, cutie pie." I winked at the maid with a charming smile.
"Ew!" The maid answered in disgust.
I just left the maid who's pretty much playing hard-to-get (maybe) and blitzed all my way through the front desk, then to the stairs until I reached the fourth floor. I saw the door that has a label of "Remedial Exams", so I immediately opened it.
"Touchdown! The prince of handsomeness has arrived! Mwahahaha!" I held my hips like a macho superhero.
Meanwhile, the examiner and my fellow examinees who are taking the remedial exams went awestruck. I heard them muttering to each other: "What an idiot!", "Is that the one who shat himself during the Entrance Exam?", and "He still has the nerves to show his face here!"
I heard them, so I just forced my smile. I can't believe they still remember what I did during the entrance exam.
There was a three-second awkward silence before the examiner broke it.
"Oh, you're Mister Ulysses Corasell, right?" The examiner said as he checked his records. "Good job making it, you're next. We'll just wait for the last candidate to get out of the Combat Room."
"R-Right..." I scratched my head. Then I settled down on a seat.
"Do you still remember the rules? This Final Remedial Exam is combat-based, just like the Entrance Exam. This is also considered a ritual for a Dragon Sage to be born."
"Yes sir!" I jollily saluted. "We aspiring Dragon Sages should pass the trial made by a Dragonoid to create a Dragon-Sage partnership!"
"Correct." The instructor nodded. He gave out a white glove with a magical circle formula and gave it to my hand. "To pass this remedial exam, you must unlock the dragon seal in the Dragonoid's heart."
"Roger that!" I energetically saluted.
"However..." The instructor's face became grim. "There's a catch in this Remedial Exam."
"C-Catch?"
"Unlike before where you can choose the tier of the Dragonoid you'll be fighting, for this remedial exam, we only have A-tier in the roster. So you will be fighting the best of the best in the Dragonoid Military Academy."
"W-What!?" I cried. I held my aching head which is also overloaded and panicking. "I failed the entrance exam even if I chose to fight an E-tier Dragonoid! Why am I fighting an A-tier now!?"
"It is because the Dragon Sage University is concerned in balancing the scale. They want the weakest sages to partner up with the most capable Dragonoid so that they can keep up with the others."
"But still-"
I was immediately cut when I heard a door creak open. It was the door of the Combat Room. A bloody figure came out which made all of us examinees gasp.
The beaten-up examinee reached out his hand, asking for our help. His clothes are like rags that are used to wipe a crime scene. He got a lot of scratches and bruises. He's even walking limped.
"She's... the angel... of death..."
After muttering those words, he fell to the ground. The medical personnel who are on standby immediately put him on a stretcher and delivered him to the nearest hospital.
The examiners freaked out. The girls are screaming, and the boys are shaking. There's no way any of us losers could beat an A-tier Dragonoid!
"Well, you're next, Mr. Corasell." The instructor smiled.
"Shit," I muttered to myself. I inhaled a lot of air until my lungs are on the verge of exploding, and then I exhaled. I mustered my courage as I stood up and went to the Combat Room door.
The first few steps I took inside the dark Combat Room were the slowest steps I made in my life. It was so silent that my footsteps are echoing. The deafening silence is killing me.
And then the spotlight went on.
In the middle of the light, is a beautiful, white-skinned woman with long dark blue hair reaching her hips. She's a well-endowed woman with a thin waist and child-bearing hips. She's wearing a blue kimono with a blue frilly short skirt. Her white thigh-high stockings emphasize her long slender legs.
She's holding giant pistols on her left and right hand, and I can see a katana sheathed on her back.
When she opened her eyes, I was awed by its beauty. It's like a ruby star, shining in the middle of the darkness.
I would say it was love at first sight if only this is not the Remedial Exams.
She's the angel of death.