"I am listening." responded Luciana seriously.
"I'll tell you about the goddess if you agree to become my mentor." said Zenyph boldly as he stared straight into Luciana's eyes fearlessly while challenging her with his declaration.
Luciana contemplated his proposal carefully.
"How much do you actually know about the goddess?" inquired Luciana as she narrowed her eyes.
"I mean I know her weakness and one secret." answered Zenyph truthfully earning a skeptical look from Luciana.
"If you think that I will let you off after giving me such vague information then you're sadly mistaken." chided Luciana .
"The offer is valid until the end of the month." Zenyph countered as he crossed his arms stubbornly and refused to budge on his stance.
"Alright then I hope you know basic fire magic, your highness." smirked Luciana confidently before creating a fireball in the palm of her right hand.
"I can survive one day. Maybe even two if I'm lucky." retorted Zenyph calmly which surprised Luciana.
"Hmm sure." said Luciana before closing the door with a smirk on her face.
Zenyph stayed alert for several minutes after the door slammed shut without hearing anything unusual so he assumed that Luciana must've gone somewhere else within the cabin to wait for him to cave.
Zenyph watched intently as the sun sank behind the horizon. It wasn't long before darkness enveloped his surroundings rendering it impossible to discern any shapes or figures. He began shivering as a chilly wind swept through the empty woods sending shivers up his spine and chilling him to the bone. Then he had a brilliant idea. He stood up and went to find a nearby body of water. Once he found one he jumped in fully clothed. The sudden drop in temperature caused him to gasp involuntarily causing him to swallow some water. He started coughing as he tried to remove any remaining moisture from his lungs.
Once he recovered Zenyph began using the cold temperature of the water as a tool to help ease his mind and clear his thoughts.
Smelling the mana in the water made him remember that he had scales. He closed his eyes and focused on his new skin. After a few tries he finally felt scales appear along his forearm. The scales made him feel far more comfortable in the water than his original skin. They made it easier for him to control the direction in which he floated. And most importantly they kept the frigid winds of winter at bay.
"Honestly I can just sleep here." muttered Zenyph while staring up at the moon through the rippling surface of the lake.
Zenyph gradually closed his eyes and relaxed his body allowing himself to drift aimlessly while drifting in the currents created by the flowing streams of liquid that surrounded him. His consciousness slowly faded away and his vision turned black. The next moment his entire being seemed to float upwards until he felt the warm rays of sunlight enveloping him gently.
"Good night's rest eh?" chuckled Luciana as she stared at the floating boy in amusement.
Zenyph bolted up and immediately spotted Luciana sitting cross legged on a rock while watching him swim. He opened his mouth but before he could speak Luciana interrupted him.
"That is poison water right? You're lucky your scales protected you otherwise you would have been poisoned."
"Oh." Zenyph lowered his eyes as he recalled how uncomfortable it was when he accidentally swallowed a mouthful earlier.
"But no matter. Now get dressed and follow me." instructed Luciana sternly with a commanding tone laced within her words that left no room for argument.
"Where are you taking me?" questioned Zenyph skeptically while climbing out of the pond and walking barefoot through the snow covered terrain towards the awaiting woman.
"The academy grounds of course." replied Luciana nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulders.
"And why did you choose to wake me up at this early hour?" grumbled Zenyph irritated at having been rudely awakened in such an abrupt manner by a woman who seemed hellbent on ruining his life.
"Because I'm bored and you're amusing." snickered Luciana smugly making Zenyph roll his eyes in annoyance at her childish antics.
Luciana glanced at her watch before speaking up again.
"We've wasted enough time already. Hurry up." demanded Luciana.
"Where the portal? " Asked Zenyph curiously after noticing the lack of spatial magic anywhere near them.
"Portal?" laughed Luciana before she motioned for Zenyph to hop in her arms.
Zenyph raised a brow and looked at Luciana suspiciously.
"You're going to princess carry me to the academy? That sounds stupid and embarrassing. How far is the academy anyways? " Zenyph said defensively while stepping backwards trying to keep a safe distance between himself and Luciana.
"The academy is far. However the portal won't open again for a couple days so yes princess carrying is the only option. Now are you going to cooperate or shall I forcefully throw you over my shoulder?" warned Luciana impatiently.
"I'm going to regret this aren't I? " Zenyph muttered quietly to himself under his breath.
Luciana sighed deeply before saying "Look if I promise not to drop you or tickle you will you stop stalling and hop into my arms already? The faster we finish this the less time we spend stuck in this place together. Besides there's no one around anyways so no one will see us either. Deal? " Luciana held out her hand expectantly towards Zenyph with a pleading expression on her face.
Zenyph bit his lip and contemplated whether to accept Luciana's offer or not. Eventually he gave in. When he hopped into Luciana arms, she revealed her beautiful white wings that had golden mystical patterns on them. She jumped into the air with a flap of her wings.
"Hold on tight!" Luciana shouted.
The ground blurred beneath them as they flew swiftly through the sky.
"Fucking hell how fast are you going!?" Zenyph yelled back through gritted teeth.
"Fast enough to reach the academy in a matter of minutes." Luciana answered.
Zenyph grabbed onto Luciana's clothes tightly and shut his eyes close. He tried to ignore the unpleasant sensation of his stomach churning due to the constant turbulence caused by the powerful gusts of wind generated by Luciana's movements.
"Can't you slow down a little?!" Zenyph asked as his heart raced frantically while staring at the ground below with wide frightened eyes.
"No!" Luciana responded sharply while increasing her speed further resulting in the surrounding landscape becoming an incomprehensible blur.
Zenyph grimaced slightly and closed his eyes again before repeating the mantra of 'it's better than falling' continuously within his head over and over again. Until it suddenly hit him. 'I'm a dragon right? Where are my wings?' Zenyph thought. He wanted to try and attempt to fly using his dragon form but he had no clue how to activate it. He figured if he could just shift into dragon form it might be possible to escape Luciana's grasp and he wouldn't be at her mercy anymore. But he knew that was unlikely to happen if he couldn't figure out how to transform in the first place. He had a feeling his instincts would guide him if he did but that's all just conjecture at this point. He was interrupted by the magical scene he saw before him.
Seven floating islands surrounding one upside down floating island with purple mana barriers that are substituting the gravity.
"The middle one is where the opening ceremony will be held." said Luciana.
"What's the eight island?" Zenyph asked while staring in awe at the magnificent sight before him.
"Nexus Royal Academy's campus grounds." replied Luciana briefly causing Zenyph to glance at her with surprise.
"You'll learn soon enough," shrugged Luciana nonchalantly as she swooped downwards towards the island the size of a city.
"When's the sun coming out?" Zenyph questioned nervously.
"It's coming." chuckled Luciana amusedly which confused Zenyph.
Zenyph didn't reply immediately instead choosing to observe their surroundings silently while struggling to comprehend exactly how large the academy truly was.
He could barely see the edges of the island even after squinting hard so he assumed it must be significantly larger than any other school he attended back on earth. However Luciana stopped in front of what looked to be the courtyard entrance that led into a massive structure made entirely out of marble with intricate designs carved into its walls.
She headed towards one of the poles that had what seemed to be the flag of Nexus Royal Academy hung upon it. Luciana chuckled before immobilizing Zenyph with her magic and gave him the ultimate wedgie. She hanged Zenyph on top of the pole.
"Seriously. The worst day ever." Zenyph whispered in horror.
Luciana blew a kiss and took off flying with her wings flapping violently against the harsh winds blowing through the city streets as she ascended higher and higher into the sky above. She vanished from view within seconds as her silhouette faded away completely and was replaced by nothing but the sound of roaring thunder echoing throughout the area.
Zenyph thought his pants would rip anytime soon as the friction was becoming too much for him to handle.
"I suppose this is where the entire school will assemble soon to welcome the fresh batch of students," mused Zenyph as he scanned the empty courtyard that stretched out for miles before stopping in front of a pair of colossal doors leading into what appeared to be a gigantic auditorium filled with thousands upon thousands of seats arranged neatly in rows spanning horizontally across a vast expanse.
"Let's just hope Lynette finds me before it starts." Zenyph hoped out loud before realizing that his pants were actually about to rip apart any moment now.
"Fuck this shit!"