The next few days of classes after that were as one would expect—challenging, but insightful.

They offered the students varying perspectives on Dragons as well as themselves, giving them the opportunity to learn new things and also pratice what they had learned without compromising the core essence of each teaching.

With the supervision of their expert instructors, the students soon became accustomed to classes.

There were a total of six core courses in their First Semester:

Breath Control, taught by Frost Winister

Dragon Anatomy, taught by Freya Littlefinger

Battle Strategy, taught by Mordi Reaves.

Gear Making, taught by Torvak—just Torvak.

History and Theory of Subjugation were separate courses that were taught by various Instructors who were scholars in the field. They would come to class interchangebly when it came to subjects that were in their area of expertise.

These were the six main courses that the students would be offering in the Academy.

But—

There were two other courses that could be considered more practical than actual classes.

They were: Practical Combat and Dragon Subjugation.

These two were designed to push students to their limits by pitting them against each other, when it came to the former, and against Dragons, when it came to the latter.

In the case of Practical Combat, two students would be paired together, and they would constantly spar using the techniques taught in other classes and also with the direction of the supervisor in charge of the class.

The pairing was done strictly based on ability, hence those with the closest skill levels were put together. Naturally, this meant Draco was paired with Jet Ashborne. Lizbeth was paired with Jonathan, while Lenard was paired with the student closest to him in ability.

According to the Supervisor's words, these pairings wouldn't be constant.

Hence, if a particular student showed much progress and improvement, even outgrowing their current spar partner, they would have the chance to change pairs and go for stronger students.

Likewise, a weaker and less impressive partner could be demoted to a weaker student to form a more suitable pair.

It was all about the best compatibilty that would foster growth.

Then what about Dragon Subjugation? This was a lot more straightforward, but also rather complex.

In this Practical Session that held only once every week, the students would be divided into two teams. Since only twenty-two students were currently in the Academy, that meant 11 students per team.

One person in the team would be chosen as the leader, while the remaining ten would act as their subordinates and work together in every round.

The goal? Subjugate the released Dragon!

During every Dragon Subjugation Session, these two teams would be placed in their respective arenas and given sufficient time and to group up and make come up with plans. In fact, the kind of Dragon as well as its species would be given to the students.

If they were diligent in their studies, they would be able to tell what kind of ability it would have.

As a result, they would be able to create a strategy to beat it!

Naturally, the further they went in the Academy, the greater the Dragons that would be released, and the less time they would be given to formulate a strategy. There was also a time limit given for the Subjugation, so the students had to be conscious of that as well.

The most important thing to note was that this was a competition between the two teams.

In essence, the first team to defeat the Dragon—using the most effective strategy—would be the true victor of that round.

This victory came with many perks, such as increased Student Points, which one could exchange for equipment and materials that would further boost their knowledge and advance their studies.

If a student gathered enough Points, they could also obtain more Rank 1 D-H and go ahead of the other Students in mastering more than one Breath. This would give them an immense advantage over the others.

Due to all of these factors, tension ran high in the Academy.

An undercurrent of strife existed among the students, as none wanted to be outdone by the other.

Within a week, most students had formed factions and began discriminating against the other students. After all, unlike with the pairs in Practical Combat, the two teams in Dragon Subjugation were chosen by the students themselves.

The Academy had no hand in choosing who the students chose to cooperate with.

As a result, students formed groups among another, and before long… there were two major factions in the class.

Team Jet… and Team Draco.

Jet had students like Lizbeth who had a vendetta against Draco, or those who saw Jet's potential as the Prime Student and chose to bet on him—also mainly due to Draco's difficult personality.

However, Draco's side had Jonathan and Lenard, as well as other students he deemed as talented or worthy of his time. He had no use for weaklings, and while no one in the Academy could be considered weak by conventional terms… he still had standards.

For those who fell below his metric, he chose to train them and beat them to shape.

His training was grueling and hard, but the students had nowhere to escape to, especially since Jet's faction was already full. Some regretted their choice, but it was already too late.

They were stuck with Draco!

To prepare for their first Dragon Subjugation, Draco seriously drilled the students. He made sure they all met him for extra training before and after classes.

He taught them how to effectively use Breath Control and how to last longer in activation.

He did this by mixing his personal experience and what he had learned from the Academy, catering to the respective needs of the students to ensure none of them were caught lacking.

Of course, this wasn't out of some benevolent inclination.

In Draco's mind, the more competent the students were, the higher their chances of winning the Dragon Subjugation and earning him more Student Points, which he could use to obtain more D-H for himself.

He could also use this opportunity to fight a lot more students and never lose, further increasing his reputation as well.

This was the best way he could make sufficient progress in his Secondary and Hidden Quests.

The main issue was his Primary Quest.

How exactly could he gain Jet Ashborne's trust? He had offered to help make Jet stronger, but the lad hadn't bitten into the bait yet. Draco was stuck on that front, but he wasn't entirely hopless either.

'The first step is to get his attention… and the best way to do that is to prove my strength!'

Just like Draco, Jet was obsessed with power.

However, unlike Draco who was simply more talented and had his auspicious encounter with the System, Jet had no such advantages.

He was being left behind at a massive rate.

Even the students under his wing couldn't compare to Draco's, especially since the latter was a far more competent tutor due to all the experiences he possesed. All of this was to say that Draco was in a much better place than Jet.

'So the best way to get closer to him is to rub it in his face…' Draco decided the night before the first Dragon Subjugation Session began.

'Once I show him how much better I am… he won't be able to resist!'

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