The sky above Nalanda cracked.
Not with thunder. Not with lightning.
But with the sound of a dragon screaming for mercy.
"LEFT! NO, NO, RIGHT! NO—FLIP BACKWARDS!" Aryan yelled, tugging on Taarask's scales like reins.
His hair whipped around like a nest of angry snakes, his face pale, and yet his mouth somehow found the confidence to keep shouting commands he clearly didn't understand.
System:
[Correction: That's not "controlling a dragon." That's playing charades with a flying apocalypse.]
Taarask's golden eyes narrowed mid-flight. He knew how to land. He knew how to glide. He knew how to descend with dignity. But thanks to the Dragon Master skill, his instincts were shackled. The brat's random yells were law.
So instead of slowing, he spun. Instead of gliding, he nosedived. And instead of gently descending, he plummeted like a flaming rock thrown by an angry god.
Ganpat clung to a scale behind Aryan, his beard standing straight up from the wind. "BOY! IF YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL US, AT LEAST AIM FOR A BARREL OF WINE!"
"WHY WOULD THERE BE WINE IN THE OPEN LAND OF NALANDA?!" Aryan screamed, "This is Nalanda city of Martial Artists not the city of Drunks"
Ganpat bellowed, "DESTINY PROVIDES!"
"DESTINY PROVIDES DEATH!" Aryan wailed back.
The dragon spiraled lower, its tail snapping ancient trees like twigs. Birds fled in terror. Squirrels prayed to deities no one had heard of. And then—
BOOOOOM!
They hit the forest.
Taarask's massive body tore through the greenery, carving a trench of chaos. Trees toppled, roots ripped out of the soil, dirt exploded skyward like a battlefield under cannon fire. When the dust finally cleared, the dragon's snout was buried in the earth, his wings splayed like a broken tent, and his passengers—miraculously—were still alive.
Aryan leapt off first, coughing up dirt and leaves. He slapped his chest proudly. "See? Perfect landing, and we reached Nalanda just on time."
System:
[Correction: That was less of a landing and more of a war crime against forestry.]
Ganpat rolled off, groaning. "If that's perfect, lad… I'd hate to see your definition of bad."
Behind them, Taarask groaned like a depressed mountain.
At the edge of the clearing stood Nalanda's registration counters, two stalls side by side.
The front counter had a line of students queuing up, their chatter nervous and excited. The left counter looked quieter, the clerks older, the aura heavier.
Aryan squinted. Then he smirked. "I think right is for chi users and left is for Chakra users and by the way Left. Left is always lucky."
System:
[Warning: Gut feeling detected. Probability of disaster: 99%.]
Ganpat rubbed his temples. "boy, I am having a feeling inside my heart that I had when I had a fight in a Tavern, but it ended with three broken ribs."
Aryan puffed his chest. "Trust me. Luck never fails me."
Zhang Xuan landed behind them, dusting off his white robe. His sharp eyes flickered to the counters, then back to Aryan. He didn't know the system of Nalanda. He didn't know the rules. But Aryan walked with confidence and talked with confidence too So He thought, He must know what he's doing.
So he followed, and goes to right side counter for his assessment of registration.
Aryan strutted to the left counter, chin up.
System whispered uneasily, voice thinner than usual:
[Strange… my readings are skewing. Something's wrong here. Bad luck is circling. I can feel it tugging your fate, but… I can't see the thread. This doesn't feel good, Boy.]
Aryan waved his hand dismissively. "Relax. What's the worst that could happen?"
System:
[Oh, I don't know. Jail. Death. World-ending curses. The usual Tuesday for you but not for others, obviously, so you should be careful so that you don't invite some kind of monster calamity at this tournament.]
Ganpat tugged his beard, eyes narrowing. "boy, I don't know about your luck but I am having a very bad feeling about this"
Aryan ignored them both and slapped his hand down on the counter. "I wanna register!"
The clerk, a middle-aged woman with sharp eyes and zero patience, raised an eyebrow. "Name?"
Aryan froze. His real name. Right.
System whispered quickly:
[Reminder: You're still a criminal in Rudrayan's kingdom. Want me to list the charges? Or just stick with fake ID?]
Aryan panicked and whispered to system. "Uh… Aditya Raj works then I guess."
System:
[yeah, definitely let me remind you. The name you are suggesting is the one you killed by your sneeze, so I guess it works because no one knows that he is dead.]
Aryan panickingly replies. "then it is Aditya Raj."
The woman with a suspicious look in her eyes squinted. "Fine. Place your hand on the orb."
A glowing crystal sat between them, swirling faintly with energy. Aryan slapped his palm on it, grinning. The orb pulsed, scanning his body.
The woman's face didn't change. She scribbled on a parchment and muttered, "Chakra 3, Stage 3. Weak. But… acceptable."
Aryan blinked. "Weak?!"
She shoved a token at him with his name and Chakra level spouting nonchalantly. "Next."
Aryan staggered away, his pride bleeding. "Weak…? But I've been eating entire forests for breakfast!"
System:
[Correction: You've been eating forests. That doesn't mean you're strong. That means you're environmentally unfriendly.]
Zhang Xuan stepped to the right counter, feeling anxiety surrounding. He pressed his palm to the orb.
The clerk there raised his eyebrows. "Chi 1, Stage 7. Promising." He handed Zhang Xuan a token. "Proceed."
Zhang Xuan clutched it, but inside his chest tightened. If Aryan at Chakra 3 was called weak… and my Chi must be feels like a pebble compared to that… then what monsters are hiding in Nalanda?
He swallowed hard, entering a different gate, but following what Aryan is doing without a word.
Meanwhile, Ganpat leaned on Taarask, smirking. "Well, big lizard, you stand out too much. Can you shrink?"
The dragon glared, insulted. But then, with a ripple of scales and light, his massive body condensed, folding into itself until—
poof.
A tiny dragon-pup with stubby wings and big golden eyes sat on the ground, growling softly.
Ganpat scooped him up with a grin. "Perfect. I will name you POP because you made a sound of a popcorn when you transformed, Now you're a lapdog of chaos. Fits our team."
The pup snarled, but Ganpat only chuckled, carrying him toward the Colosseum's grandstands.
The Colosseum loomed ahead, vast and ancient, its stone arches echoing with the footsteps of competitors.
Aryan marched confidently to the left gate, token in hand.
Zhang Xuan walked to the right gate, token glowing faintly.
Ganpat, with puppy-dragon in his arms, slipped through the middle into the audience seats, humming like a man who knew the best view was from the sidelines.
None of them realized that destiny again wants to play with them, just like always, Aryan had walked straight into the path of chaos—again.
System:
[I still feel uneasy. Something bad is waiting around the corner. I don't know what yet… but I don't like it.]
Aryan grinned, patting his chest. "Relax. I told you. Left is lucky."