"Have you heard? In a few days, there's going to be a big exam. If you do well, you might not have to attend classes anymore."
"Really? If you pass the exam, you won't have to go to class? I thought that was just a rumor."
"It's true! Our ancient dragon professor said it personally. How could it be fake?"
This explosive news spread like wildfire through the academy. During the ten-minute break between classes, hundreds of adolescent dragons were abuzz with discussion. For once, there was no division between species; even gold dragons were seen chatting with blue dragons, united by the hope of escaping the burdens of their intense studies. They had all grown weary of the relentless day-and-night learning.
In the excitement of this news, they momentarily forgot the grudges described in their inherited memories. After all, these grudges didn't directly harm them, and they were all taking classes in the same room. If they really wanted to fight, they'd be punished. In this situation, who had the energy to maintain hostilities? They'd have to be out of their minds!
"Don't get too excited. This exam is bound to be difficult. With the academy's standards, there's no way they'll make it easy for us to pass," a bronze dragon calmly analyzed.
"But no matter how hard it is, it's still meant for us to take. If they're making us take it, there must be a chance to pass," a refined gold dragon said confidently, his eyes gleaming with wisdom. "If it were an exam with no intention of letting us pass, the ancient dragons wouldn't bother holding it. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of time."
"That makes sense. Some of us will definitely pass this exam, but how many? There are 168 of us eligible to take it, but they wouldn't limit it to just eight who pass, would they?"
Amidst the worries, expectations, and resignation of the adolescent dragons—some of whom had already given up and were just coasting—the much-anticipated exam finally began…
The exam lasted only two days, without any breaks in between. After all, a dragon's stamina is far beyond what mortals can understand, and going without sleep for several days isn't a problem for them.
Once the exam ended, the academy was filled with the groans of despair. The dragons who emerged from the testing halls were dejected. They knew their scores; they knew how many questions they got right and how many were pure guesses. So, as they walked out, the air was filled with complaints.
"These questions aren't even meant for dragons! How am I supposed to answer something like, 'Imagine you're a 103-year-old white dragon facing a fully armed team of dragon hunters. How should you respond?' This question involves knowledge of geography, dragon anatomy, human studies, and dragon-hunting weapons. And it's not just one question—an entire exam was full of these! They never intended for us to pass!"
"Exactly! I'd like to see the dragon who said some of us would definitely pass. If I find him, I'll beat him up. How could anyone score 90% on this?"
"Wait a minute, if none of us can do it, and you can't either, then we're all in the same boat, right? That means there's still a chance for some of us to pass. The professors wouldn't fail all of us, would they? That would be too embarrassing."
Despite some dragons clinging to optimism, the results were announced three days later, and they were a total disaster—every single dragon had failed. None of the expected passing scores materialized.
"Not a single dragon passed? The dean and professors are too harsh. What's the point of this exam? Just to humiliate us?"
"They're probably just reminding us to study hard. This is their way of telling us we're far from ready to graduate."
"This exam was probably just a warning!"
…
"This is quite the embarrassment, isn't it? Not a single passing grade," Leonine, the ancient gold dragon, sighed as he watched the despondent adolescent dragons checking their results below.
"What's there to sigh about? Didn't we expect this outcome?" responded another ancient dragon, Giovanni, coldly. The thirteen exams, covering all subjects, had been jointly compiled by Muria and the twelve ancient dragons.
As Muria had requested, they made the exams as difficult as possible, with the goal of crushing these adolescent dragons academically. No leniency was allowed.
According to Muria, lowering the difficulty or giving them an easy way out during these foundational exams would be ruining their future and would be the greatest disservice to them.
With that directive, the ancient dragons had crafted the most challenging exams they could. However, they still believed that, despite the difficulty, the questions were within the dragons' grasp—just a bit more challenging than usual.
"We knew this would happen, but it's still quite a sight to see nearly two hundred dragons fail."
"They were too lax in their previous studies. If they spent one day out of ten actually reading, that was considered good. How much could they possibly have learned with that kind of effort?"
"Muria divided them into academic years, and the first year hasn't even ended yet. Why worry? If they don't pass this time, they'll try again. Eventually, some will pass."
"Creating new exam papers is a hassle, though. We can't reuse the same questions next time, so we'll have to start over."
"We have no choice. This is about providing them with the best education and preventing some from gaming the system. After all, these dragons have photographic memories. Many of them probably memorized the entire exam as soon as they finished it. If we used the same questions again, we'd go from a total failure to a total pass, which would be even more embarrassing for us."
…
"Do you know why I've gathered you here?" While the ancient dragons were announcing the results of the first exam, Muria sat on the crystal throne of Wind King's Castle, looking down at the twelve chromatic dragons who had shone brightly during the combat demonstration.
"No idea," the diverse group of chromatic dragons replied, laughing as they watched the metallic dragons' reactions to their failing grades on the screen before them.
"Don't be so smug. You'll be taking these same exams next. If you fail, you're going back in there too." Muria's words were like a hammer blow to the cheerful chromatic dragons.
"Do we really have to? I have important things to do."
"Yeah, me too. I'm really busy, Your Highness. I don't have time to take exams."
…Hearing that they would have to take the exam, the dragons tried every excuse to avoid it. They knew that if even the well-studied metallic dragons failed, they had no chance.
"Don't worry, whatever tasks you have will be handled by others. Your only job now is to complete these thirteen exams," Muria said with a smile. "If you fail, you're going back for remedial classes!"
"Please, Muria, we really have important things to do!"
Muria smiled as he listened to their desperate excuses, but in the end, none of them escaped. They all obediently took the three-day exam.
As Muria expected, all twelve of these exceptionally powerful young dragons failed, giving him a perfect excuse to send them back to the academy for further studies.
"Now do you see where you stand? Do you still have the nerve to laugh at the metallic dragons?" Muria asked with a faint smile, looking at the twelve dejected chromatic dragons below him.
Hearing Muria's words, the twelve distinctive chromatic dragons lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze. Their earlier mockery of the metallic dragons now felt like the biggest joke on themselves.
"Alright, I have something I want you to do," Muria said, knocking on the armrest of his throne to get their attention. "Now that you're enrolled in the academy, I want each of you to establish a club in your own name."
"What's a club? And why do we need to establish one?" The dragons looked confused.
"A club is an organization where like-minded dragons gather. The purpose of establishing these clubs is to prepare for the future legions you will command," Muria explained with a smile.
"Legions?" Upon hearing that they were to form legions, the twelve dragons perked up and focused intently on Muria.
"Muria, are you saying we should recruit dragons under the guise of forming clubs to create legions?"
"Exactly. Why else would I go to such great lengths to establish this school?" Muria replied with a rhetorical question. "The goal is to form dragon legions that I can command. Now that the school is on track, it's time to start forming those legions."
"Oh, I see. So, the real reason you wanted us to establish clubs was to prepare for forming legions! And this exam was just an excuse. Even if we had passed, you would have found another way to send us in!"
"You figured it out, but keep it to yourself," Muria sighed. "Remember, the smart dragons are always the ones who talk themselves into trouble."
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