I'm sure of what I'm doing with this life!
I'm gonna become the captain of the Sterling Squad.
Why? This guy clearly has nothing better to do than yell at a five-year-old to do push-ups faster. Every damn day!
Yes, I want that life.
"That is enough slacking, twenty laps now, faster! Hurry!" Rudwick said, adjusting his cap over his bald head, hiding all the shine.
"I am FIVE!!!" I yelled and started to run.
"You are gonna be six tomorrow. Suck it up and run faster!"
That I did. Talking back to this dude is like punching a wall, DUMB choice.
Just like that, I've been training on physical stamina with him for six months.
It worked well for me. I'll at least have a chiseled body by 15, even if I can't freeze corridors with a sneeze.
The next morning, I was summoned to Tessron's office. I got dressed in my gym clothes and made my way there.
"He is too young to know all that, Tessron," Rudwick's voice echoed down the corridor. I ran closer to listen in.
"He needs to be careful. What if they come for him again?"
Yep, the kidnappers, right? I want to know! tell me!
"Think about it from his shoes. He must already be traumatized from all that. He barely talks as it is. We can't shove more fear into him!"
I don't talk because I can't talk like I'm five, when I am NOT!
"Done eavesdropping?" I jumped at the voice. It was Valeria with her hands crossed over her chest, looking down at me, unimpressed.
"I was curious, sister," I gave her an innocent look. Of course, she didn't buy it.
As I turned toward the door, her dragon's tail flicked lazily from behind the corridor.
"Don't touch him," Valeria said without looking. "You will get torched like a marshmallow"
"He's asleep."
"He breathes fire!"
The door opened fully, revealing Tessron and a Rudwick adjusting his hat to hide his expression.
"Today is the day! Finally, my little one is going to get his elemental powers!" Tessron said while affectionately rustling my hair.
I finally get where Viktor got his 'diva' personality from. His dad and gramps know how to coddle!
But in the back of my mind, I couldn't stop thinking—
What if nothing happens? I know I am NOT Viktor, but what if I can't even do a fraction of what he did?
"Yes, Father. Let's leave." Let's get this over with soon.
Just like that, all the heads turned to look at Arxia, in perfect unison.
"I have to carry a whole entourage!" he let out a huff of fire, completely pissed and flew out of the window to turn into his original gigantic form.
We got out and got on the dragon. I had Tessron holding me in place.
"I ruled the South now, I am being treated like a mini-bus," Arxia whined under his breath. I vibe with this guy!
We flew through all the tall buildings and towers. I wanted to explore the city, but I was NOT allowed to, for obvious reasons.
I witnessed the sun rise, illuminating the blue ocean with orange and gold hues. I could still see the two moons fading in the sky.
The rest of the flight was spent in awkward silence. I couldn't be happier that we didn't have more family dinners after that night. Theron threw a tantrum after losing the tender and disappeared to one of his vacation homes. Good riddance.
We reached a remote island with a tall mountain. I think this is Arno, the only island in the Meridon Archipelago with four mountains, one of them a volcano.
The climate was a bit eerie with heavy winds.
"I have a bad feeling," Arxia mumbled. So do I. And the last time I had one of those. I woke up in a prison cell.
We landed at the foot of a mountain, covered with tall trees, hiding almost all the light from outside. I could hear the snakes hissing and small animals running around. For some reason, the air felt heavy.
"We have to climb up a little bit and move to the other side, there is a waterfall, that will be the perfect place to get natural air and water aura infusions," Tessron added with a smile.
"Let's walk. Hurry up!" Rudwick started walking in the front.
"There goes our resident drill sergeant!" Arxia added with a snort as he started to follow after Valeria, tousling his long black hair, shifting to a human form. That's it, I love this guy!
We walked for around four hours, passing by huge rocks, a few occasional monkeys and a lot of snakes.
Finally, I heard water splashing. The air was humid, and I smelled the water touching the soil.
We set up our camp. Tessron and Rudwick started to put up runes in the nearby trees and on some boulders which were poking out from the water. Valeria sat on a stone, took her phone out, and Arxia joined her.
"Let's hurry!" Rudwick picked me up with a swing.
I was positioned on a boulder, gushing water on all fours, passing me, to pour down the cliff. One misstep, I'll fall to my death from a waterfall this time!.
Soon, Tessron started a chant in ancient Meridonic. The runes glowed, and the aura concentration formed a star-shaped golden glow around me. I felt like I was being tasered, and my eyes turned moist. It was painful! Was it this painful the last time around?
The aura started flickering, the electricity kept increasing, and I felt like I was thrown amidst a thunderstorm.
"IT HURTS! STOP IT!" I shouted from the pits of my stomach.
Tessron stopped the chant with a terrified expression, and Rudwick jumped in to try pushing some of his aura into me, to stabilize me. Valeria and Arxia stood up and came near to help as well.
I could barely make out who was who, and all my senses were muddled.
"Something is wrong, Tessron. We need to take him to a doctor," Rudwick said, shaking a frozen Tessron.
"He is right, Dad, come to your senses, let's leave quickly," Valeria added, losing her cool demeanor.
DRRRRRILLLLLLLL! BANG!!!
There was a sudden drilling sound and a loud explosion. The water splattered, and the whole space got enclosed in smoke.
"It's like we came for the main episode and got an OVA as well," a boy with a black hood and mask jumped in from the smoke.
"A dragon!!!! We did hit the jackpot! Coming for a brat wasn't a waste of time. We are making bank, babe!" said a tall guy with salt and pepper hair, putting out his cigar. A short girl with pink hair in a pixie cut followed him, moving a candy in her mouth with her tongue.