Just like most people did, dragons had their own social media, but theirs was different.
They made their own in a way only dragons, with and without Tamers could use.
Don't take it wrong, it is not that they want to exclude others, it's just that there are things people shouldn't know about dragons.
Like the fact that they had the habit of gossiping among each other like old ladies.
So when the discovery of Dragon In Flesh was made, the Net was pure of speculations.
- Is it true? That there are dragons that can't use mana?
- How can it be true! A dragon that can't use mana is a dead dragon!
- But it was confirmed by an S rank appraiser and the emperor of the Cooper Empire himself.
- Upstairs, and you believe something like that? What do mortals know about a dragon?
The discussion was heated, no one knew what to expect.
But then someone stood up.
Teaching in the Academy: Well, I'm part of the group that will investigate the place, I'll send updates on the matter in real time.
Teaching in the Academy was actually very well known, as a young dragon that became a teacher in the Academy, along with his Tamer, to help dragons and Dragon Tamers that came there.
So the whole Net stopped to look at his account, waiting for updates.
And it was interesting.
The first post showed a picture of one of the islands of the archipelago, it had many rocky pillars and structures where beautiful dragon statues rested.
Teaching in the Academy: Pretty nice place, the air here is clear and has a good mana circulation, a lot of arrays, but nothing dangerous, just protection, kinda like the statues though, I wonder who made them.
- I was thinking the same! I want to meet the sculptor!
- I'm more curious about the models…
- Right! They're all so beautiful, and look at that jaw.
Everyone was quite lively in the comments as they waited for the next update, which came soon after, showing the video of a big dragon without legs flying in the sky and roaring with gusto, then a picture of the same dragon curled on the ground like a snake.
Teaching in the Academy: Look at this! So fiercy!
- Ancients! What a dragon!
- Such a big entrance, this one is quite confident!
- Look at the scales and teeth, he's still a teenager!!
- Wait, that's true! So big yet just a teen?
- Does that mean I have a chance with him?
- Show some shame Upstairs!
The discovery caused a bit of confusion on the Net, as with that size the kid could be considered quite the elder for them.
The next update came way sooner than everyone expected.
Teaching in the Academy: She took down the White Dragon!
It was a video that still showed the same dragon from before, but, this time, the focus was the woman that grabbed a very well know face before scratching at the side of his chin, taking down the youngest White Dragon of the century, living him with a content smile as the girl kept touching him, pressing his jaw with her thumbs, just so the White Dragon's fangs popped out to the viewers and the White Dragon surprised.
- What the-
- What did she do!?
- Did a human woman just forced a White Dragon to show his fangs by just pressing his jaw?
That caused a bit of turmoil in the Net, as the only things that could force a dragon to change forms, even partially, were special Items that could only be found in a Golden Goblin bag, and even then the chance is small.
There were only ten in all history and five of them were being used right now.
The next update was actually very interesting.
Well, for the single dogs and a few others.
Teaching in the Academy: Guys! This place is full of hot men and gals!
What was shown next was a compilation of pictures and videos of what humans and demi-humans could compare to gym photos and videos showing a lot of muscular men and women, which was uncommon for Dragons in Mana, who had slender and delicate appearances.
Even the raptor-looking ones were muscular, they were even more visible than the others, especially in the video of them running on the water surface.
- !!!
- Wish I was there…
- Why is everyone in this place so buff?
- These guys don't use mana so they must train their muscles to move from place to place.
- If they don't use mana, how does that raptor one run in the water?
- Don't you see the membrane in their feet? That is helping them to stay above water while running.
There were a few more updates, all of them with pictures accompanied with subtitles or videos of the same woman that took down the White Dragon explaining about the dragons that lived where now the Net knew was called Dragon Edge.
- It's interesting to see such a wide difference in species.
- It's quite refreshing
- I'm I the only one who feels a bit too plain?
- I think half the Net does.
The next update was talking about the cute dragons that he saw, the Gronckles, Terrible Terrors and Night Terrors, and the hot and cute dragons he had met, the Night Fury and Light Fury.
He also made an update about the Not Statues, now known as Sentinels, the guardian dragons of the whole archipelago that disguise themselves as statues to save energy and keep a low profile.
After a few more updates that talked about the things he discovered about the place, Teaching in the Academy stayed quiet for some time, making everyone nervous.
But then he came back, with a video with just a simple 'I found my type' subtitle.
Curious, the dragons clicked in the video.
What came next was something that left many dragons stunned, male and female alike.
It was a male dragon, he was flying in circles in the sky while carrying a basket with his only pair of legs. He had a pair of broad, strong wings with a big and muscular body and a long and thick tail that could easily carry a human.
He circled a bit more before making a turn to fly down, revealing the extra pair of wings that he had kept hidden somehow.
He dropped the basket on the ground before landing, revealing his wyvern-like walk using his lower pair of wings as his front legs.
The Net was silent for some time.
But it soon drowned in chaos.
***
The way to the Training Hall was actually very long, and they had to stop many times to make sure everyone could keep up and to hear the woman, Stella, explain about the dragons.
But Nicholas was ok with that, he could see other Dragons In Flesh that moved around.
And by the Ancient Dragons, what a view.
He was pretty composed, but the younger dragons that came with them were a lot more… vivid about it.
/Great Ancients! Look at her colors!/
/She's so pretty!/
/Look at that dream of a man over there!/
"I am so sorry about them" Nicholas apologized for what he thought to be the millionth time.
"Oh don't worry" The woman said "I lived with dragons for nearly twenty years, I heard and saw worse, Noir's first courting will forever be in my memories"
That did little to make him and the older dragons less embarrassed.
He had to admit, these guys were a sight for sore eyes, but it was not a reason to be so frivolous!
"How old is that boy we saw in the docks?" One of the older dragons asked, aiming to change subjects "And what kind of dragon he is?
"Marble?" She asked "He's seventeen, and is a Screaming Death, the only of the species actually"
He and the rest of them exchanged a worried look.
"Why is he the only one?" Another dragon asked.
"Screaming Deaths are mutations" She said "There is a chance of one being born once a century of so, so even if he had children, they would be Whispering Deaths, not Screaming Deaths"
Oh, so not because of hunting or external factors, but a genetic issue.
That brought some relief to Nicholas and the others.
"He is quite big for seventeen, isn't he?" Someone asked.
"Not quite" The woman said "Screaming Deaths are known for being a big species compared with most dragons and Marble still have a bit more growing to do, furnetly there's a lot of food for him to eat"
Well, wasn't that a surprise?
"What do these dragons even eat?" He asked "This place have a good mana circulation, but not many things here have mana"
"That depends" The woman said "Typoonmerangs eat eel, Whispering Deaths and Screaming Deaths eats fish and soil, more specifically the minerals on the soil, Foreverwings eat deer, Flightmares eat glowing algae found in the water, but most dragons eat meat like fish and sheep, but they all love the Vanehein fruit, it's highly nutritious and tastes good, all species, dragon or not, can eat it"
He and the rest of the dragons were quite surprised by that.
Dragons In Mana usually eat a lot of mana filled food to keep up with the consumption, even Nicholas eats quite a bit.
But the realization came.
They don't eat food with mana because they don't need to, they don't use mana, so they don't need to refill it, what they need is food that can keep up with their energy consumption, with them comes their diet of choice that better accommodates their needs.
A good variation indeed.
"That sounds so practical" one of the dragons sighed.
Not depending on mana is a wonderful thing, to the point that Nicholas's little dependence on it was acclaimed by other dragons.
He was thinking about how great Dragons In Flesh were when Stella dropped the bomb.
"Dragons In Mana actually can became Dragons In Flesh, and Dragons In Flesh can turn into Dragons In Mana, it all depends on the life style"
They all stopped, frozen in place as the woman kept walking unaware of the shock she just caused.
"Look!" She said pointing at the distance "It's the Academy!"
Right, the Dragon Academy, the place where 'Riders' and their Dragons could train without causing destruction.
Stella had a strange way to refer to Tamers, calling them Riders instead, quite simple, but accurate.
He actually prefers this, Nicholas is not a wild beast to be tamed.
They followed the woman, still a bit shaken by her comment.
The place was big and made of rock, pure rock, an iron chain net was set above, covering the place, but Nicholas could tell it could be lifted.
A man and woman could be found there, the woman had a Monstrous Nightmare behind her, while the man was on top of a Speed Stinger, a leader, if he remembered it right, with a few more of them behind him.
"Sally" The man said, looking done with whatever they were discussing "By the love of the World Tree, I'm not helping you with this stupidity! Don't you know it will only-"
"SALLY!"
One of the Hunters bolted out of the group, he was a butterfly fae, the one that looked like a owl face, he ran like a madman with group of fae that Nicholas assumed to be his party followed behind him, seeming as worried as the butterfly, while the woman just waved her hand happily at them.
A second party also bolted to the dark elf's direction, who at least showed an apologetic smile.
"You crazy woman! Who the hell told you to get a dragon!? You're a Healer, not a Dragon Tamer! You don't even have a Taming scroll!"
"By the Gods Lark! You're an Assassin! What are you even doing in a dragon's back!?"
Excuse?
"They're not Dragon Tamers!?"
All the Dragons In Mana present in the place were utterly shocked.
A dragon wouldn't usually stick to a mortal without a taming contract of a pack to have one or two eggs for distribution, so it was strange to see a dragon willingly let a mortal on their backs.
But these guys were not only letting them on their backs, but also seemed extremely chill about it while the mortals were fuzzing around them.
/Leaf/ One of the Speed Stingers said /Are you sure you want this female as your Rider? She sounds a bit too eccentric/
/I'm good/ The Monstrous Nightmare, Leaf, responded in a calm tone /She might have a few loose screws, but she's good/
/If you say so/ The leader Speed Stinger said while she shook her head /The choice is yours to make, you picked her/
/Quite literally/ One of the pack members added.
"Sally!"
/Speaking in picking/
Leaf took the opportunity to catch the woman by her clothes, then held her high above the ground, he also started walkin, climbing the wall and getting himself upside down in the chain cover,
Her teammates started to panic while the woman herself laughed hysterically.
"Look at my awesome bodyguard!" She said to her party "He is the best boy in all the Empires!"
/But of course I am!/ The dragon said full of pride with the woman's clothes still in between his teeth.
While that happened, the leader of the Speed Stinger looked at Stella with an amused expression as her Rider covered his face in embarrassment and the rest of her pack cackled.
/You tell me I get to watch this kind of thing for free?/ Was all she said.
Stella herself had a mischievous smile on her face.
/That and much more/ Was her response.
Nicholas and the rest of the dragons were as surprised as they were amused.
It was obvious as the day to them that there was no contract keeping these dragons to these mortals, as there was no sign of mana that indicated it, but they interacted so well that it was hard not to be amused.
It was a symbiotic relationship.
Nicholas could tell that it made some dragons feel a hint of envy.
He couldn't blame them, he felt it too.
Sometimes dragons and their Tamers had bad relationships, in the worst cases they would end the contract, but it was rare to happen, as both parties needed to agree with it to happen.
The Tamers would hardly accept such a thing to happen.
Even if he was freed from the contract, he didn't think there would be anywhere to go other than under his grandmother's wings, and that brought a sour taste to his mouth.
He shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts.
He watched as Stella walked to a lever close to the entrance while everyone entered the Academy.
She turned the lever and a loud noise came from above.
Everyone present watched curiously as a structure similar to a crane lifted the chain cover of the Academy and took it to the side, the Monstrous Nightmare had let go of it and flyed back to the arena, but stood in higher ground while putting down the woman.
"Since we have many people today" She said "I thought it would be better to have a more open space, but the cover is usually kept to help dragons train for situations were they can't just fly"
Oh, so that was the reason.
Nicholas and a few others nodded, that was good.
Betting everything in flight would cost much more than many could imagine.
Even mortals took that to heart, Nicholas had met demi-humans that nearly lost their lives because they thought they could leave with only flight.
After their first eye contact with death, they all learned how to protect themselves on land.
Even Nicholas' mother knew that it was needed, and she was one of the most prideful dragons he knew.
When the cover was completely lifted, a big surprise came to them.
"The statues are moving?"