It was, usually, nearly impossible to simulate a real Royale Rush race.

  Not because of a lack of resources or a lack of space. But because no simulation could quite grasp the insanity and brutality of a real Royale Rush.

  Contrary to a Traditional Roster, where competitors could only engage in direct combat in the first and final lane—and where many regulations and limitations had to be strictly followed—in a Rush, anything could go. Which was why the injury and mortality rate of Royale Rushes was so much higher.

  Of course, there were rules about purposely causing permanent or life-threatening injuries. Yet to be able to prove an attack was done with ill intent, and that said injuries couldn’t have been avoided regardless of the situation…not only was it extensively bureaucratic, the amount of legal fees one would have to pay was simply not worth it in most cases.

  Due to its violent nature, the gears and tools riders and their mounts used for Royale Rushes were not the same. For any race, every equipment had to adhere to a set number of requirements to guarantee the rider’s and dragon’s well-being. Yet the requirements for a Royale Rush race were even stricter.

  After I found out one of the races in the interclass event would be a Royale Rush, I checked all of Vin’s gear that had been stored away. And while there was some equipment I could use for a Rush, they were quite worn out.

  Which was why I was so stupidly happy to receive new gear—for free.

  “…can you tell me why you are just giving this to us?”

  Jaya laughed at my question, its sound amused and gleeful. “Why wouldn’t I?! I made it for you. You don’t demand money for gifts, do you?”

  In front of me was one of the chests Jaya had brought with him, filled to the brim with gears for the three dragons.

  Emrys and I continued to stare at him, bewilderment stamped across our faces.

  Jaya’s smile crumbled, his eyes widening as the words left his mouth in whispers. “Wait, you do that here? You people from Arotis are insane…”

  Ah…

  He really must be a foreigner.

  I had my suspicions, considering the man’s stature and some comments he threw here and there.

  It was common for people all around the empire to end up in Arotis, considering the kingdom’s advanced alchemy and mana pools. There was also Ergos’ presence as one of the best academies in all three kingdoms. Yet of which other two Jaya was from, I couldn’t be sure.

  “These are all coated equipment. They are not easy to craft.” The way Liber spoke was almost like an accusation, his voice sharing the same confusion in his eyes.

  If even I was able to tell what kind of gear these were, of course Liber saw.

  The alchemical shimmer.

  Jaya scratched his chin, nodding once. “Hm, right you are, pal. Had to place a custom order for the coatings, too. It was a first for me, so they may look rough around the edges, but it was quite the experience! Next time, I’ll do better.”

  Next time…?

  No matter how modest the man tried to be, each one of these gears appeared to be, at the very minimum, middle-grade. A professional middle-grade. The kind of gear that would cost thousands, perhaps even millions depending on the coating.

  Before either Liber or I could say anything else, Ceres jumped at the man with open arms, locking him in a hug.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re amazing, Jay!”

  A cheerful, warm laugh escaped Jaya’s lips as he patted Ceres on the head. “That was the very least I could do! Now come on, let’s get your scaled friends ready—I want to hear your thoughts about the gears later.”

  He didn’t have to say it twice.

  I was surprised at how light the equipment was, considering the size and metallic glow. Dragon racing gear was usually made from very specific materials, since it had to be both light and resistant in order to protect both riders and their mounts.

  And these specific materials were expensive.

  Very much so.

  “This…is the last piece…just one more knot, and…we are done! So, how’s the fit?” I asked, taking a few steps away from Styx. As I saw the ebony dragon’s reaction, a smile crept on my face.

  Like a child with a new toy.

  The previous gear I had for Styx was made of reinforced griffin leather, which was a fine material, although a bit worn. Jaya’s, however, was made of pyrudium—also known as “silver paper”, one of the lightest metals in the world.

  Before, Styx had armor for his abdomen and leg joints, as well as goggles I would usually have him wear in certain cases. Yet Jaya had also made a protector for his tail, a mask, and leather sleeves for his wings.

  Styx was swinging his tail left and right, flexing his wings again and again.

  I could practically see the joy sparkling in his eyes.

  “For an old man, you’re looking quite good.” I managed to dodge Styx’s attack just in time, jumping right on cue as the dragon’s tail passed beneath my feet.

  Before I could celebrate, however, Styx pushed me down with a single movement of his wing.

  This time, the black dragon didn’t hide his smile at all. “Hah, you little…”

  “If you are done playing around, can you mount already?” Liber’s irritation was palpable even as his voice reached me from afar, the boy already holding on to Blue’s reins. “We are wasting daylight.”

  Cornelius and Blue were wearing the new gear as well, all of them sharing the same bluish tint from the metal.

  Jaya really did a good job, huh?

  When I got up, Styx was already waiting for me to climb him, and with a single glance I could tell.

  He was just as eager as I.

  No landing or ceasing flight until the end of the race

  No flying too far away from the barriers

  No use of weapons, potions, or tools of any kind

  Those were the rules we had agreed on for this race.

  Since Ceres’ estate didn’t have a proper stage to simulate a Royale Rush, she took us to the biggest gymnasium. Then, she relocated three barriers to serve as walls—barriers that Jaya was tasked to shut down as time went by.

  We were at different starting points, the space only big enough to provide me a shallow sense of freedom. Still, I couldn’t get my hands to stop shaking. It was a blend of excitement, anxiety, and fear.

  I had never raced against Liber before.

  As Jackal, I controlled him. Gave him orders, monitored his flying patterns, coordinated his movements and attacks. But even after receiving lessons from him as Vex, I had never faced him directly. At the entrance exam, we were flying against ten thousand riders—it was not the same.

  It was not like this.

  Shit, my heart won’t stop racing.

  The barriers were already up. Jaya was already waiting at his spot, his hands hovering above the control panel. Sooner than later, the signal would echo and the race would start. A mock Rush, with only myself versus two other riders. Classmates.

  Rivals.

  “You’ve done Royale Rushes before, right?” My words were weightless whispers, the reins wrapped tightly around my hands. “I can’t recall whether you ever won one. But regardless if you did or not, you ride with me now. So why not show my coach just how much I improved by winning this?”

  Styx never gave me a reply.

  He didn’t need to.

  The second we heard the sign, all three dragons were gone from the ground. Yet instead of rushing toward the finishing line—

  They rushed toward each other.

  I had no time to think as shards of ice were shot my way, yet instead of dodging them like usual, Styx blocked them with his chest armor, getting closer and closer to Connie.

  “You crazy—!”

  Before I could curse him, my eyes caught a glimpse of a figure. One with a bright blue mane running across its shape.

  My hands moved in the same heartbeat, pulling the reins as I shifted my legs and leaned my body forward. Without missing a beat, Styx slid to the left, diving at a diagonal angle just as Blue and Emrys came at full speed—the yellow dragon already coiling his body, preparing for a strike. During these seconds in between, Connie’s attention got split between Styx and Blue, ceasing his attacks.

  Which was more than I needed.

  Blue charged at us, trying to strike Styx from below. Either Ceres or the dragon himself spotted the opportunity, shifting his pose in order to hit both the ebony and yellow dragon. As I moved my feet, Styx turned his body just enough. Enough so it wouldn’t be obvious, enough to give him the edge.

  We waited.

  …now.

  With my signal, Styx turned in one rapid movement, firing an air shot at Blue. Without being able to dodge, the wingless dragon was blasted away, crashing against Connie in the same second—the impact sending both of them against the first barrier.

  By the time both sides recovered, Styx was flying on the other side of the gymnasium.

  A smile stretched across my face.

  You must’ve forgotten, kid.

  Just how well I know your moves.

  Sure enough, I probably couldn’t win against Liber in a traditional race. Not when it came to speed and maneuvers. Even Ceres and her little monster gave me a difficult time. But these two were not as important for a Royale Rush.

  Endurance.

  Strategy.

  The ability of choosing your battles and biding time. Of taking hits without crashing down, of getting ahead with minimum effort—that was what Royale Rushes were about.

  And unlike the previous times, where I raced against riders for the first time, I knew my competitors quite well.

  Cornelius the Third had an aggressive and explosive flight pattern. It was powerful, yet too unpredictable, even for him. This meant he wasn’t good with impromptu maneuvers, and if Ceres changed directions last minute, most often than not, he wouldn’t be able to follow through.

  Liber and Blue liked to eliminate competition by having Blue wrap himself on their competitors, then throwing them against each other or obstacles. Yet Blue’s stamina was not great, and he tired faster if he kept engaging so much in direct combat.

  This will be fun.

  The first barrier would deactivate at the five-minute mark. But even with all three barriers up, there was still a lot of space to fly around the gymnasium. And while Connie was too much of a wild card for me to predict in that regard, Liber was true to my assumptions, targeting me at every chance he got.

  It wouldn’t take much for Blue to catch up to Styx, given how simple my flight pattern was. Yet every time the yellow dragon got close, all I had to do was wait. The second I sensed Blue’s body around Styx, the ebony dragon would use a short air boost—sending him ahead just enough to avoid Blue’s trap.

  We did this once.

  Twice.

  By the fifth, I would hear Liber’s curses echoing through the space, forcing a giggle out of me as I watched the scene repeat time and time again. Am I bullying him too much? Deep down, I knew I should feel bad, yet my heart felt so light and full.

  On Connie’s side, however, I took a different approach.

  While the dragon’s attacks were incredibly powerful, his aim was still lacking. He was still too hasty—too eager and reckless—making so most of his shots would slow Styx down, yes, but seldom hit the mark. All things considered, I didn’t have to do much.

  I just had to fluster them.

  Times when Connie was chasing after Styx, trying again and again to bite his tail, I would have the older dragon turn suddenly, rushing toward them instead of flying away. Or have the ebony dragon appear the second the youngest got distracted, sending both him and Ceres away with air shoots—sometimes making them collide with Blue, others with the barrier.

  Just like that, for five minutes, Styx and I kept pestering them.

  When the first barrier went down, Jaya did something else. He activated the turrets.

  Ceres’ estate had better technology than Vin’s, which never surprised me. Yet something I couldn’t help but notice every time we trained there was how much those turrets resembled Ergos’. And I was still unsure whether I liked that or not.

  Don’t lose focus, Vex.

  Even as you dodge them, don’t lose focus.

  While many of the shots would either rebound or be absorbed by the second barrier, a lot of them still hit. Liber was not even fazed by the projectiles, having Blue dodge and snake away around them with ease and grace.

  Ceres’ biggest problem was having Connie dodge them and chase after us, the young dragon getting too easily distracted with the coming shots during their flight, more often than not.

  Having to fly through fire balls, lightning rays, ice shards, and venom was not easy. Especially with some of them rebounding from the barrier, and when half of the gymnasium was still off limits. But my goal this time was not to be faster.

  I just had to stall for time.

  Maneuvering at the last second possible, making Blue and Connie collide against each other or take the hits in Styx’s place—again and again, we kept flying around that place, Styx using his air boosts and air shoots sparingly.

  Before I noticed, a total of nine minutes had passed.

  And we were down to the last barrier.

  Blue…

  Just as I thought, he’s slower.

  Though Liber stopped falling for my taunts after the first barrier went down, Blue’s strikes used a lot of the dragon’s energy. And with no stops or breaks, while still having Styx charge at him at times, Blue was no longer at his top speed.

  …I always had a feeling, and I was right.

  Blue was not fitted to Royale Rushes.

  Yet what will Liber do about that?

  I glanced at the black crystal attached to my glove, the countdown being displayed with glowing numbers. Less than a minute for the last barrier to deactivate.

  With a foot tap, I signaled Styx to start flying through the corners. The second the mana barrier flicked, we would air boost our way toward the finish line. While still keeping both Liber and Ceres in my field of vision, Styx and I continued to dodge the turrets’ projectiles, with me doing my best to avoid getting too close to either of the dragons.

  Twenty seconds.

  My heart began to race, my hands clutching the reins as tight as possible.

  Connie started to catch up to us, the ice attacks ceaseless as he flew up and down, avoiding the turrets’ attacks and the rebounds. At that moment, despite my calculations, we got surrounded. I was forced to choose which attack Styx would take.

  A lightning that would hit right into Styx’s right wing—something the armor would not be able to defend too well.

  Connie’s ice charge across the ribs.

  Two rebounds that would hit both Styx’s eyes and me.

  Ten seconds.

  Shit…

  Through my directions, Styx did a fast U-turn, Connie’s ice shard tearing through his scales as it passed by him. Beneath me, I felt Styx’s muscles flinch and tense as the sound of ice crystals reached my ears, the ice likely spreading deeper into the wound.

  “Hold on just a little more…!”

  Maneuvering to the sides, we made more turns until Ceres and Connie were right in front of us, Liber and Blue right behind—the barrier separating us.

  Three.

  Two.

  The barrier flickered. My eyes didn’t blink. My heart stopped.

  We’ll make it.

  At this distance, with Styx’s air boost, we’ll get to the center first.

  Then, just as the last barrier went down and I told Styx to use the boost—

  Connie wrapped his tail around Ceres.

  It was a scene I had seen once, during the highlights. Something I came to know later had been a prank. But this time, Ceres tried to hold on to the reins, pulling them as she was thrown. And right as the reins reached their limit, and would pull the girl back down…

  A fire ball cut through them in one clean shot.

  Connie didn’t slow down.

  And Ceres began to fall.

  “Fuck..!”

  She never screamed. At least, I didn’t hear it.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Did Ceres have emergency tools? Did the gymnasium have safety nets? I couldn’t recall.

  Yet long before she ever reached the ground, Blue’s tail wrapped around her body, holding her tight. Liber’s gaze met mine, and while I could not say what was reflected in my eyes, there was a silent warning in the boy’s. Something piercing and cold.

  Styx stopped right on top of the finish line, with Connie jumping at the center two seconds after. I didn’t know I was holding my breath until a let it go as Blue landed with Ceres and Liber, and only realized the turrets had been turned off as well when Jaya came running toward us.

  After dismounting Styx, I barely spared a glance at the infant dragon as I made my way to the group.

  This...this won't end well.

  “Ceres! Hey, it’s all right now, focus on me. Does anything hurt?”

  Jaya’s voice was warm, even with all the layers of concern and fear creeping above, his hands holding Ceres by the shoulders in a firm grasp.

  Her entire body was shaking.

  There was a silent horror flooding from her wide-open eyes, the tears streaming down without a second thought. Her once honey-tanned skin was pale and lacking life, and while her gaze was fixed on Jaya, it took a few seconds for them to focus.

  “N-n-no, I-I’m fine. It do-doesn’t hurt or anyth-thing.”

  Hearing Ceres’ voice crack, with her hands never ceasing their shake…something tight wrapped itself around my chest. Made it hard to swallow. To look at her further.

  I turned toward Liber. “You’re not hurt either, right?”

  The boy scoffed, crossing his arms. “Why would I be?”

  He wouldn’t. Not when riding Blue, not when he had been Jackal’s ace in the underground. But the tightness in my heart would not lessen, and I didn’t know what to do or say to make it go away.

  Without warning, Cornelius the Third dropped a few meters away from his owner, starting to roll on his back before shifting his attention to Blue. Just as he was about to rush toward the wingless dragon, Blue bared his teeth and growled, the sound menacing enough to send shivers down my spine, making Connie lower his ears.

  Ceres bit her lip, the tears falling harder, her eyes getting redder.

  Then she stepped away from Jaya’s grasp, wiping his face with her sleeves before a cracked smile crossed her face.

  “So-sorry, would you mind if we ended things here? I’m feeling quite tired after all this, a-and I still need to give Connie a shower.”

  Her voice, her smile, her eyes—they were crying. And while that had not been the first time I had seen the girl shed tears, this time…it was different.

  There was pain in Jaya’s blue eyes, a pain that echoed in the man’s words as he tried to match the girl’s broken smile. “Say no more! We’ll help you put everything back in their place before—”

  “No!”

  None of us was more surprised by Ceres’ shout than herself, her gaze losing its shine as she took a step back.

  “I didn’t mean to shout, I…I’m just really tired right now. I can have one of the maids help me clean later, so…just leave for now. Please.”

  None of us said anything, not even Jaya. He simply gave her a nod before turning away. I never asked for help in taking Styx’s armor, yet he did so anyway, without sharing a single word between us.

  We took no more than fifteen minutes to gather everything we had brought and to go all the way back to the entrance.

  Only after we were outside the front gates, with Ceres nowhere near in sight, did Jaya speak again.

  “…I never realized it would hurt this much.”

  I didn’t meet his eyes as I asked. Somehow, I was afraid to. “…what? Riding dragons?”

  “To see a friend in danger while being powerless. To watch a friend be in so much sorrow without being able to help.” Those words made my chest feel tighter, my heart heavier. My body colder. “I knew it could be painful, yet I was too naive.”

  Jaya turned to me, my eyes still refusing to look up—to meet that all-too-knowing gaze. So they met Liber’s. And the words in those gray eyes were heavy and bitter. Words that knew the truth, and knew reality.

  One Ceres would have to learn as well.

  I opened my mouth, my throat feeling dry. Too dry. “She needs to decide what she wants to do. Whether she’s a breeder or not, dragon racing is a dangerous sport, and having a dragon you can’t trust is the same as a death sentence.”

  Before Jaya could reply, or say anything else, I took the chains of Styx’s cage and started pulling the cart, walking away.

  Almost two minutes passed until I heard that voice again, this time lacking its usual energy and glee.

  “Let us meet at my workshop before class!”

  I didn’t turn around. I just gave him a nod.

  By the time I got to Vin’s estate, the sun was down and the wind was cooler. Refreshing, almost.

  For the first time in a while, Styx didn’t rush out of his cage the second I opened its door. Instead, he glared at me—those purple eyes sinking into my own, not letting me breathe or step away. In their intensity, I could almost hear what Styx wanted to say.

  “…Liber got to her first.”

  I almost couldn’t find my voice. Yet as Styx stared at me, it was as if he woudn’t let me go. Not until I spoke. Until he heard the words from my own mouth.

  “She was never in danger, I knew she wasn’t. Even if Blue wasn’t at his top speed, Liber would have got to her in time. I know these two, and they were closer to her than we were.” Then why did I hesitate?

  Why did I start making Styx fly around to reach her faster?

  It was just a mock race—no, not even that. It was a silly exercise we decided on a whim. If Ceres had been in actual danger, I would’ve come to her aid. No matter how I saw our relationship, I was not a killer. I was not like him.

  But then why did I do that?

  Without blinking, without questioning. When I knew Liber was right behind her, why did I act?

  “I never realized it would hurt this much.”

  “To see a friend in danger while being powerless.”

  A friend.

  I bit my lips. I tasted the blood.

  And those purple eyes, they never wavered or looked away.

  “I’m not going to sacrifice my spot. No matter what, no matter who. I’ll keep training, keep improving, so we can keep winning. So you don’t have to worry—I won't bring us down. Never again.”

  Whether my response satisfied Styx or not, I couldn’t tell. All I knew was the judgment I felt from Styx’s eyes.

  Eyes that, for the rest of the night, never lost sight of me.