Eren found himself standing amidst a picturesque green grassland, the gentle breeze causing the tall blades to sway like an ocean of emerald. Occasional bursts of color from blooming flowers added to the natural beauty, creating a captivating tapestry under the warm embrace of the setting sun. The horizon was painted in hues of orange and pink, with the sun casting a golden glow that bathed the entire scene in a serene radiance.
As Eren absorbed the tranquil surroundings, his senses were suddenly drawn to a distant sight—an awe-inspiring red dragon. Its scales shimmered in the dying light, and even from this distance, Eren could see the intricate details of its face. Instead of fear, an inexplicable sense of awe and curiosity enveloped him. Eren stood still, anticipation mounting, as he awaited the dragon's approach.
With a grace that defied its immense size, the red dragon descended from the sky, its massive wings outstretched like an ethereal embrace. The air around Eren seemed to warm, suffused with the dragon's presence. The feeling of awe intensified as the dragon's wings enveloped him, and for a fleeting moment, Eren felt a sense of connection, of being part of something ancient and majestic.
A rush of warmth enveloped him, a feeling that he was cherished and protected. Just as elation began to bubble within him, a booming voice shattered the dreamlike experience.
"Wake up, Eren Pendragon!"
The sensation of warmth and the dragon's embrace dissolved as abruptly as it had appeared. Eren was abruptly torn away from the dream, yanked into the harsh reality of his dorm room. He found himself sitting up in bed, dazed and disoriented.
As his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, Eren's gaze fell upon the imposing figure of Professor Joshua, whose serious expression brooked no nonsense. The professor's words cut through the air, "You have become lazy, Eren Pendragon!"
Eren's mind struggled to make sense of the situation. He had been in a dream, one that felt strangely significant, but now he was back in the real world, facing the repercussions of oversleeping. His thoughts were in disarray for a moment as he took in his surroundings, only to realize that it wasn't even the actual morning hour yet.
But he quickly realized the reason for Professor Joshua's anger.
The short hand of the mechanical clock at his bedside was long past the mark of 3 and was approaching four.
'Crap!'
"Did you have a good dream?" Zephyr who stood beside professor Joshua said as he teased Eren, a mischievous grin playing on his lips.
Ignoring the brat, Eren quickly rose from his bed, bowing to the professor in a respectful show of apology. "I will be in the field in 10 minutes, Professor."
"You better," Professor Joshua's voice carried a mix of admonishment and grudging amusement as he turned to leave the room.
While the professor left, Zephyr remained, seemingly amused by the predicament.
"What was the dream that you were so happy?"
Zephyr didn't seem to stop his mouth as he went on saying whatever that came to his mind.
Eren's irritation flared momentarily as he shot a glance at Zephyr.
As the professor exited, Zephyr lingered, seemingly intent on continuing the banter.
"Eren, do you want to spar with me after the training?" he asked, his playful tone suggesting that he wasn't going to give up easily.
"No," Eren said curtly before heading towards the bathroom.
Zephyr's whining persisted, his words trailing Eren as he closed the bathroom door behind him. The sound of running water muffled the noise, giving Eren a moment of respite. He focused on the mundane task at hand, trying to clear his mind of the dream and the lingering frustration.
As he finished his ablutions and stepped out of the bathroom, Zephyr's voice greeted him once again. "Come on, don't be like that. Just one spar... one!"
Eren chose to ignore Zephyr's continued persistence, slipping into his usual stoic demeanor. He knew he had to stay focused on the upcoming training session with Professor Joshua, which awaited him at the training grounds.
With determination, Eren moved forward, his steps guided by purpose. He crossed the threshold of the training grounds, where the sun was nowhere to be seen. The prospect of pushing himself to his limits in the training ahead gave him a sense of grounding.
"Hoy, Eren! Don't be like that, spar with me once... I will do anything."
Eren's steps faltered as an unexpected idea took root in his mind. He turned around to face Zephyr, his expression contemplating. "Anything?" he questioned, curiosity piqued.
"Ah! I am not into that kind of stuff!" Zephyr said, covering his upper half of the body with both his hands.
"..."
Eren just stared at him, regretting having said something and was about to turn around. "Joking! I was just joking!...! I will do anything!" This time Eren waited and his eyes narrowed as he considered the possibilities. He had a proposition, one that would serve both his goals and Zephyr's request.
"Become my partner in the midterm exams," Eren proposed, his voice steady and unyielding.
Zephyr's strength was undeniable, and the prospect of having such a powerful partner appealed to Eren. However, the discrepancy in their ranks presented an obstacle.
But there was a problem, Eren was ranked 101 while Zephyr was ranked 1st. There was a huge 100 ranks difference between them and for them to be in a team, they need to be in between 20 ranks.
But Eren had a solution for it.
Before the mid term exams, there is a ranking battle scheduled at the end of this month which would update the rankings of the freshmen in the Frejlord academy.
Now that Eren had stabilized the 3-star nadir stage, he could definitely get a rank in the 80s. His plan was to first challenge Zephyr who would deliberately lose to Eren making Eren take 1st place while Zephyr would be in 100th rank. After that, Eren would not use any of his battle chances and wait for his rank to stabilize, which would definitely reduce since many would challenge him at the greed of achieving rank 1 easily by defeating him.
Eren's plan was to decline all the battles he couldn;t win and see in which rank he would end up as.
Since Zephyr would be the last in the list to challenge among the freshmen, he can challenge someone near the stabilized rank of Eren and make the difference in rank between them to be below 20.
It was a method which allowed them to be placed together while also following all the academic rules, you could call it a loophole.
As Eren finished explaining his loophole-laden strategy, a shadow of disappointment crossed Zephyr's face and as if pouring cold water to Eren's plan his words came out. "Ah, sorry. But I already have a teammate."
Eren's mind quickly worked through the implications. He failed to consider that Zephyr could have already been asked by someone to be their teammate.
'I guess it was normal, since he is ranked 1st.' Like Eren many would have thought about riding a comfy bus called Zephyr and would have approached him. And since Eren got to know about the deatils of the exam a bit later than everyone else, there was nothing he could do.
Zephyr's status had drawn attention, and Eren's delay had cost him the opportunity. He understood that he couldn't rely on others' schedules to align with his own.
With a decisive nod, Eren left Zephyr behind and continued towards the training area.
"Wait! What about the spar??"
"Forget about it." Eren said coldly, moving on.
It was true that he was late and couldn't do anything about Zephyr already being in a team but he didn;t think much about it.
There would be other students anyway and since he had also attracted much attention after the incident at the royal museum, he was sure that someone would surely accept to become his teammate. He just had to wait and ask around.
Nevertheless, Eren wasn't going to do something without getting something in return.
He was living by the principles of give and take , and wouldn;t change his mind even if it is for the disciple of the sword saint.
"Hey! Common on!"
Zephyr who felt offended by Eren's meanness, started whining once again and followed behind him, pestering him without giving it a rest.
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Daily Chapter ~~
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