There are probably only two types of classical fantasy settings in the world.
Type one: "This continent once had glorious magic and soaring dragons, but those are legends of the past. Perhaps one day, when the ancient bloodlines awaken, the dragons will return to open a new chapter for the world..."
Type two: "Holy crap! How do we kill these damn dragons!?"
Instructor Raymond currently felt a deep resonance with the second setting.
He, a senior instructor at the Lordaeron Empire's Seventh Magic Combat Academy and a noble Gold Rank fire mage, leading twelve pillars of the Empire's future, was actually being... robbed by a dragon.
The air was deathly silent.
Everyone stood frozen on the spot, staring at that blue monster dragon, their brains having completely stopped functioning.
"Don't move, this is a robbery!!!"
That sentence, spoken in perfectly standard and articulate Continent's Common Tongue, still echoed in their ears like some utterly absurd incantation.
Evil dragons collecting treasure was common in stories.
But a terrifying existence that had just crushed an Overlord-tier monster head-on and whipped up a natural disaster-like Sandstorm, only to strike such a street-thug pose the next second, was simply... too abstract.
Raimond felt his worldview shattering inch by inch.
Veronica was even more completely dazed; her face, which had been flushed with excitement, was now filled with blankness and bewilderment.
Why... did things turn out like this?
The script was wrong.
Shouldn't the dragon have used its discerning eye to recognize her peerless talent, then stepped forward of its own accord, hoping to sign a Dragon Mage Contract that would be praised for ages?
What the hell was a robbery?
"Didn't you hear me?"
Caesar looked at this group of dumbfounded humans and shook his head somewhat impatiently.
He wasn't feeling very good right now.
"Inferno Overdrive" had drained almost all the mana in his body, and combined with the double consumption of Terastalization and Z-Power, he was currently weakened to the extreme.
The muscles of his dragon body were trembling involuntarily, and the scene before his eyes even began to show double images.
Caesar was currently an empty shell, standing here entirely on sheer willpower.
If he pushed the other side to a dead end at a time like this, they would definitely resist to the death. A Gold Rank mage leading a group of apprentices in a final struggle—even if they couldn't kill him, they could definitely take a layer of skin off him.
It wasn't worth the loss.
But letting them go just like that felt like a huge loss to Caesar.
So, he thought of a way to have the best of both worlds.
The people can leave, but leave the treasure for me!
He'd treat it as his future startup capital.
After all, he had saved them from fire and water; it wasn't too much to ask for some compensation, right?
As for where that fire and water came from?
Don't ask; if you ask, it was just a coincidence.
Caesar was busy calculating his gains in his head.
Seeing the humans still hadn't reacted, he took a step forward, his shark-like Dragon Tail slamming heavily onto the gravel-covered Ground with a sharp "crack."
"I'll ask one more time, do you understand?"
This explosive sound finally jolted the students out of their petrified state.
"Eek!"
A timid female student screamed, nearly collapsing to the Ground, only to be hurriedly supported by the companions beside her.
Instructor Raymond shuddered and instantly snapped back to his senses. Looking into the blue monster dragon's emotionless golden vertical pupils, cold sweat broke out across his back.
Run? The Sandstorm the opponent whipped up could cover the entire lakeshore; their speed was definitely shockingly fast.
Fight? Don't be ridiculous. The residual heat from that "concentrated sun" still seemed to be scorching his skin. Even the Overlord-tier Giant Crystal Crab King had been killed in one hit; their group combined wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between the opponent's teeth.
It seemed the opponent didn't intend to kill them all right now.
Although "being robbed" was humiliating, it was better than being wiped out entirely.
Only... how was he going to explain this to the Academy Board and the students' families when they got back...?
Raimond took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the complex thoughts in his heart, and spoke in a dry voice, "Your Excellency True Dragon... we are willing to hand over our belongings, only requesting that you keep your promise and let us leave."
"Very good, consider yourself lucky!"
Caesar nodded with satisfaction.
He maintained a safe distance from the humans. With a thought, a claw composed of pure shadow energy appeared out of thin air, floating in mid-air.
The Shadow Claw drifted silently toward the nearest noble youth.
"M-Mage Hand...?"
Some students recognized the prototype of this Spell but immediately dismissed it themselves.
"No... Mage Hand is an invisible spectral hand and can only carry a few pounds... this, this is too solid! It doesn't fit the 'Intermediate Conjuration Energy Decay Model'..." (whispering)
Instructor Raymond's eye twitched violently.
Mage Hand, a Zero-ring Cantrip, was a mandatory introductory course for every mage apprentice. Its purpose was to create an invisible spectral hand to manipulate distant objects, facilitating delicate operations or avoiding danger.
But to condense shadow energy into such a substantial "claw" like the one before them—its stability and control precision were simply inconceivable.
This dragon... its understanding of magic was likely far beyond their imagination.
Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, the Shadow Claw fumbled around the male student with extreme flexibility, finally accurately pinching a small pouch at his waist and a silver ring on his finger.
"A Storage Ring..." Instructor Raymond's heart sank.
Oh no, this dragon knows its stuff!
Beside them, Cecilia, who had been watching the show, finally found her role. The little Silver Dragon flapped her wings and flew over like an overseer.
She hovered next to the Shadow Claw and, in an extremely professional manner, urged impatiently:
"Hurry up, hurry up! What are you dawdling for! Hand over everything shiny, this young lady is going to personally count them!"
The students looked at that little fat Silver Dragon aiding and abetting the villain, feeling another layer of their worldview collapse.
Hey! Aren't you supposed to be the legendary kind and lawful Silver Dragon? Even if you're a bit round and fat, the color of your scales can't be faked, right?
Why aren't you saving us? Why are you joining in on the robbery!
The Shadow Claw tossed the Storage Ring and the hidden gold pouch to Cecilia.
The little Silver Dragon clumsily opened the pouch with her claws and poured the gold and silver coins inside onto the Ground, making a pleasant "clink-clank" sound. Her eyes instantly turned into the shape of gold coins.
Cecilia cheered and pounced over to start counting the shiny coins.
"Ground Dragon! Ground Dragon! Look quickly, so many shinies!" (Dragon Language)
Caesar ignored her money-grubbing appearance and had the System scan the contents of the Storage Ring.
[Silver-quality Healing Potion x3]
[Dry Rations x50]
[Change of Clothes x2]
[Advanced Fire Magic Techniques x1]
All trash.
Caesar was somewhat disgusted. He commanded the Shadow Claw to dump all the daily supplies from the ring onto the Ground, taking only the ring itself, and then threw the empty pouch back.
"I'll leave the food and water for you; I'm taking the ring." Caesar said succinctly.
Then, the Shadow Claw floated toward the next person.
"That's my Family's Signet Ring!"
"D-don't take this... it's just a souvenir..."
The noble students' faces turned ashen one by one as they watched their months of accumulated funds, medals of honor obtained at the academy, and even Family Magic Items being swept away by that detestable claw and that even more detestable little Silver Dragon.
When it was Instructor Raymond's turn, his face had already turned black.
The Shadow Claw unceremoniously plucked the Storage Ring from his hand, which looked quite valuable!