Dragon Necromancer: Starting With First Dragon Bloodline-Chapter 52: Practice

"We have a practice with the princess," Noa said with a smirk.

Both Kael and Lior watched him as if he were the biggest scum of the human race.

They had seen Noa walking with the council guards.

In normal circumstances, he should have already been expelled, but instead, he kept his place and was also practicing with the academy’s goddess.

They hadn’t heard about the rumors yet.

However, seeing his cocky attitude irked them.

Thalia nodded at his words too, proving that Noa had been telling the truth.

But how?

How did the academy’s weakest student, who offended the teacher and almost got kicked out, manage to befriend the most talented student of the academy?

Her mysterious status also played a role in their confusion.

But before the boys could ask even one question, a soft voice reached their ears, silencing them instantly.

"I told you not to call me that!" Selaira said.

With arms crossed, she appeared behind Noa on the stairs and glared at him.

Her eyes didn’t show disdain, nor the usual coldness she was known for.

She looked distant but familiar at the same time.

Seeing this, Kael and Lior exchanged glances, their confusion deepening.

Unfazed by her glare, Noa turned towards her. "Then you should give me something else to call you. Teacher or princess, which one do you like?" he asked, locking eyes with her.

Thalia, meanwhile, hit his shoulder. "Stop it," she warned, taking the girl’s side. "Don’t tease her."

Selaira’s brows twitched tighter.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she walked past Noa and ascended the stairs.

"Hurry up. We don’t have all day," she added, vanishing from the spot and swiftly reaching the training grounds.

Thalia moved first.

She was the most eager one to spend more time with the girl.

Noa followed her closely.

He, too, wanted the same thing but for different reasons, ones tied to fights.

Still processing what they had just seen, Kael and Lior stood frozen for a moment. Nevertheless, they followed, afraid of falling behind and missing the show.

Meanwhile—

In the dark corner of the hidden chamber, two black-suited men bowed before a woman.

The woman had long, silky ginger hair and a devilish smile.

Her brown lips moved as her hands stayed on her luscious hips. "Follow him and his friends," she ordered. "I want to know everything about that brat. Search through his mind if you have to, and report anything unusual."

The men bowed even lower.

They didn’t speak but gave the woman a silent nod, showing respect and dedication to the mission.

"Now go and lurk in the shadows," she gestured and stretched her back.

A moment later, she stood alone in the chamber.

Her unsightly smile widened, and her eyes shone in inhuman colors. "Let’s see if you make a worthy sacrifice," she murmured before fading into the darkness.

Not knowing what was happening around the academy, Noa and his gang finally reached the practice grounds.

Selaira was already present.

She was standing close to the center of the arena.

The familiar silver sword hung at her hip, catching the blinding light from the high, colorful windows.

As the boys stayed behind with the crowd, Noa and Thalia closed in.

"So," the former began. "What are we doing today?"

Selaira scanned the students behind them, her eyes narrowing. She fastened the sword to her side and held it in her left hand.

"You shall leave," she announced to the spectators.

That included Noa’s roommates, as the girl had no intention of sharing her practice time with the strangers.

Everyone moved out of the chamber dejectedly.

Noa looked at the boys and shrugged, as if saying that there was nothing he could do.

The other students went into a discussion.

A new wave of rumors had erupted.

But within moments, the silence settled over the room, leaving only the trio behind.

"And then you are getting angry at me for calling you a princess?" Noa teased again. "What’s that then? Your single word was enough to vacate the entire room."

The girl eyed Noa for a moment.

"I paid for this room. So it’s under my authority, and I can do whatever I want with it," she said calmly.

"I think you are proving my point," Noa joked and took a crappy training sword. "Enough chit-chat, right? Time for a real talk."

Ignoring his jabs, Selaira stepped into a circle.

"You have decent basics. But I feel like it hasn’t been a long time since you started training," she said, motioning them to come closer.

"How do you know that?" Noa questioned.

He hadn’t expected the girl to guess that his previous body owner had been a slacker.

"Your muscle density," she answered. "And though you aren’t wasting too many movements and your every step has purpose, I feel like the technique isn’t fully yours yet."

Noa nodded. "You are right. What are we going to do for that?"

Selaira smiled. Just barely.

"Good old teaching method should work," she said and put more pressure on her sword.

Still, her beast was nowhere to be found.

Noa gulped. "You mean beating me to a pulp?"

The girl didn’t react. "I am glad we are on the same page. Ready?"

She asked but didn’t give Noa a moment, her legs already blurring at unseen speed.

There was no time to react.

Noa only thought about raising his guard before Selaira closed the gap, but his hands didn’t cooperate.

Usually, his instincts would have kicked in.

But not now.

Not when his eyes couldn’t feel her shadows, rendering his senses useless.

So her blade stopped close to his ribs. With enough force, she could have sliced Noa in half, but halted at the last moment.

"Too slow," she barked. "Let’s try again. I want you to get used to this feeling. Then we learn how to attack because it is your weakest link."

Noa exhaled deeply.

He collected his stance and reset his footing.

A second later, Selaira appeared behind him and swung to sweep Noa’s legs.

As Noa stumbled to the ground, her eyes shimmered in four colors, like she had found the final piece of the puzzle.

"You really have an elemental affinity," she muttered seriously, studying Noa. "And it is a shadow, right?"