"...No."
The word hung in the air, blunt and final.
I nodded slowly. My expectations hadn't been high to begin with—Zephyr wasn't exactly the nurturing mentor type. No, he in fact was, but I only saw him that way in academics while teaching me. Same couldn't be said for combat, right?
But then—
"Someone else can."
My head snapped up. Zephyr's expression hadn't changed, but his gaze flicked meaningfully behind me.
Someone else?
"Who?" I asked, pulse jumping.
Zephyr's lips thinned. "...My master."
His master?
My brain stuttered for half a second before clicking.
No way.
I whirled around—
And there, floating midair with a book held delicately in his tail, was Virion. The emerald-scaled serpent peered at me over the pages, its eyes gleaming with amusement.
Sneaky as always. Like he hadn't just materialized out of nowhere.
"What?" Virion's voice was dry as desert wind. "Don't want to?"
I barely stopped myself from gaping.
How could I refuse?!
This was a primordial being—an entity older than kingdoms, stronger than legends, who'd apparently trained Zephyr into the nightmare he was today-no, yesterday. And he was offering to—
Wait. Was he actually offering?
...Whatever.
Without hesitation, I cupped my hands and bowed deeply, the motion smooth but urgent.
"Master Virion," I said, voice steady despite the adrenaline sparking through me, "will you take me as your student?"
I didn't bother hiding my eagerness. This wasn't just about training—this was about survival. If Virion could teach me even a fraction of what he'd taught Zephyr, I might actually stand a chance in this world.
And if he said no?
Well. At least I'd tried.
Virion's tail flicked, snapping his book shut with a sound like a cracking whip. His grin widened, revealing needle-sharp fangs.
"Tch. Finally, someone with manners." He floated closer, circling me like a shark. "Zephyr took three days to ask properly. You? Straight to the point." A pause. "I like that."
My breath caught.
Is that a yes?
Virion's emerald eyes glinted. "Tell me, wingman boy—" His voice dropped to a whisper that slithered into my bones. "How much pain can you take?"
"?"
Behind me, Zephyr exhaled—almost like a sigh.
...It's not what I think it is, right?
"Wait, you don't need to tell me, I have seen everything that day."
...Is he talking about that bath incident?
Virion's grin widened to an alarming degree, his fangs glinting. "Hehe, it will be fun to beating—" He paused, tail flicking thoughtfully. "—training you. Yes, training, not beating, haha..."
The way he said it made the word sound infinitely worse.
I swallowed hard.
Because I alreaady knew, right then, that I was in for hell.
...I won't regret this later, right?
Zephyr's sigh behind me sounded suspiciously like "You already do."
Virion's tail coiled around my wrist like a living shackle. "First lesson starts now. Let's go."
Oh no.
"W-Wait, let me change—!"
My protest died in my throat as the world lurched violently around me. The library's wooden shelves, the scent of old parchment, even the solid ground beneath my feet—gone in an instant.
My stomach dropped as I found myself standing on a floating stone platform, suspended in an endless sky that defied logic. Above me, not one, but dozens of moons hung in the air, their surfaces covered in what looked like... wings? They twitched occasionally, as if alive. Countless big shiny stars blinked like eyes, watching me with unsettling curiosity.
What the actual—. No cursing.
But... Are we in a children's fairy tail or what?!
"JieJie."
A mischevios chuckle echoed from above.
I looked up to see Virion lounging on thin air, tail curled around a bag of snacks and a cup of what smelled suspiciously like expensive fruit juice. He grinned down at me, fangs glinting.
"Well? Like the place?"
I forced my jaw to unclench. "Yeah, I think it's... good?" My voice came out strangled. "Umm... Where are we exactly?"
"Hehe," Virion's tail flicked proudly. "Welcome to my playground, wingman boy."
"Playground?" My head filled with question marks.
"And your training ground." Virion added probably to correct itself.
I nodded absently, my mind already racing through possibilities.
Is this a pocket dimension like that phantom heart place? Or perhaps a personal domain?
My mind quickly guessed the right answer - because most stories had something like this for overpowered mentors. Convenient for training montages, terrible for student characters like me.
Virion took a dramatic sip of his wine before continuing. "Time flows slower here than outside. A day out there? Might be a week in here. Neat, huh?" He smirked. "Also, injuries heal almost instantly. So don't worry about you health."
My lips twitched.
That sounded suspiciously like "I can break you repeatedly without consequences" you know.
"And I can change everything." He added. "Wait, let me show you."
"I bel-"
To demonstrate, he snapped his tail.
The platform beneath me melted into quicksand.
"Gh-!"
I yelped as my legs sank instantly, the cold sludge swallowing me up to my waist before Virion lazily reversed it, the stone reforming like nothing had happened.
"See?" He popped a snack into his maw. "Fun, right?"
I was still gaping at the now-pristine platform when he added, voice dripping with faux innocence:
"Oh, and you don't have to worry about dying too. I will watch over you."
Dying too?!
Before I could demand clarification, Virion's eyes gleamed.
"Lesson one: Survive The Starfall."
W-What? Survive The Starfall??
The name alone sent a chill down my spine.
That sounded like the title of some tragic hero's last stand—not a first lesson.
Before I could voice my concerns, the moons above twitched.
My breath hitched.
They weren't just twitching.
They were opening their eyes—cartoonishly round and glowing with mischief.
My blood turned to ice as they blinked their oversized eyes at me causing my background character senses tingling nonstop. Their mouths stretched into wide, unsettling grins—like children about to play a game.
Oh no.
The closest one—a moon with a face that looked suspiciously like it belonged in a children's bedtime story—giggled.
"JieJie~"
Then it spat.
A single, glittering star shot toward me, trailing a brilliant comet-like tail. My body moved before my brain could process it—I lunged to the side just as the star struck the platform.
BOOM.
The explosion sent me skidding across the stone, my ears ringing. When the dust cleared, my stomach dropped.
A crater the size of a small house had been blasted into the platform. The edges were still glowing, molten rock dripping into the endless abyss below.
What kind of training is this?!
Then—
Crack.
My breath hitched.
Spiderweb fractures raced across the platform, branching out from the impact site. One thin, jagged line slithered directly beneath my feet.
Shoot—!
I barely had time to leap before the stone beneath me shattered.
"Lesson One: Don't stand still!" Virion's voice echoed from somewhere above, far too amused.
The moons above cackled in unison.
And then—
They opened fire.
A rain of glittering stars descended, each one leaving a dazzling trail before smashing into the platform with the force of a meteor.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The world became chaos.
I sprinted, zigzagging wildly as the platform disintegrated beneath me. Chunks of stone broke away, plummeting into the void. My heart hammered against my ribs, every instinct screaming at me to move, move, MOVE—
A star whizzed past my ear, close enough that I felt the heat.
Too close!
I rolled to the side just as another one cratered the spot where I'd been standing. The shockwave sent me tumbling.
This isn't training—this is an execution!
"Haha, good job guys, don't let him relax too much!"
Virion's delighted voice rang out like a cheerleader at a sadistic sports festival.
This psychotic snake—!
I barely had time to curse him before the next star exploded at my feet, sending me flying toward the crumbling edge of the platform.
The last thing I saw was Virion's grinning face as he raised a toast with his juice—just before the world dissolved into white-hot pain.