Chapter 1: Forest Foraging

“Hey, I scored 95.5 out of 100 marks for this week’s test. How many marks did you get?” a student nosily inquired.

“96,” his friend smugly replied. “I heard the lowest is 27.”

“It must be Jon again. What a loser,” Jon’s classmate sneered at him.

“He cannot do anything right,” another shook his head.

“He is so pathetic,” a friend who had been close to him now dissed him.

Jon usually barely passed and even miserably failed some of his school’s tests. His classmates could not understand why he was performing so poorly in school.

However, Jon did not pay any attention to their snide remarks.

Although he had difficulty understanding what his teachers taught during class, he did not give up. He always clarified any questions he had and practiced whenever he was free.

Now, however, he had less time to do that since his father was ill.

Ring, ring, ring…

“School is over. I need to forage for herbs in the forest,” Jon thought to himself as he packed his desk and headed out of his classroom.

His school’s hallways were filled with students who were laughing and chatting. Jon, however, did not interact with anyone.

He had discovered a dragon’s cave at the extreme end of the forest near his hometown last Sunday evening.

He had then made a mental note to go there again immediately after school on Monday since traveling would take time.

He determinedly trudged on as he passed peak hour streets populated with workers rushing to have their meals or meet their clients.

“Dragon scales would surely be helpful in curing my father’s illness,” Jon smiled hopefully to himself as he quickly made his way to the forest two streets from his town.

Chug, chug, chug…

A train arrived in Jon’s hometown. The train station occupied the town’s center and was the liveliest place in the town.

Choo, choo, choo…

As the train stopped, people rushed in and out of it: unloading cargo, picking up their stocks, catching their ride. The list of activities went on and on.

Due to the train station and the factories located at the end opposite to the forest, Jon’s town was always covered with smog.

However, its residents were used to the hostile environment and did not see a need for change.

Although many people fell sick frequently as a result, there was a lack of doctors to treat the patients.

Few of these experts would hinder their career growth by staying in this small town.

“I wonder if my father is doing well at home,” Jon worried as he quickened his pace.

Besides their nonchalant attitude toward their environment, Jon knew the people in his town had a narrow perspective of education.

They preferred practical subject matters and saw little value in learning about theory and language.

Jon could understand where they were coming from, especially since their hometown lacked resources to develop its people.

If its residents wanted a chance to succeed in life, they needed to earn a university scholarship by doing well in school.

Everyone was focused on the curriculum taught in school so no one thought that Jon was capable because he had a different talent.

When Jon reached the forest’s edge, he took out his dagger in case he met with any danger that may be lurking in the forest.

His dagger was also useful for foraging plants and clearing his path if the plant growth was too thick.

He did not want to be held up for too long. He needed to make it to the dragon’s cave with enough time to get back home by nightfall.

The forest is filled with danger at night. Many unfamiliar creatures would be awake then so it would be more dangerous for him to be in the forest.

Usually, Jon would take time to enjoy the forest’s sights and sounds. He loved the smell of damp earth and the cool shade from the forest canopy.

However, he needed to make haste for this trip.

“I do not have much time left,” Jon thought to himself.

On the way to the dragon’s cave, he visited a few locations where he could gather the herbs he needed.

Of course, he did not plan to gather all of them since he needed to get to the edge of the forest as quickly as he could.

However, he did not want to waste the visit to the forest by completely focusing on traveling to the dragon’s cave.

He planned his route such that he managed to get the best of both. This arrangement not only takes expertise and practice but also talent.

“I finally made it,” Jon stared at the entrance of the pitch-black cave. “Time to get to work.”

After an interval of intense concentration on channeling his energy to his dagger, it emitted a dim green light. Jon placed the dagger at the belt on his waist so that there was light as he entered the dark cave.

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle…

Jon struggled to see through the dim light as he gathered multi-colored dragon scales the size of his hand.

He needed to make sure he collected the ones that were flawless and as fresh as possible.

“Woah!” Jon fell face-down with a thud. “Ouch! What happened?”

Screech, screech, screech…

“Oh no! There is a dragon here!” Jon immediately recognized that the sound came from a dragon.

He scrambled toward the cave’s entrance and flew forward with all his might.

Screech, screech, screech…

The dragon followed him.

Snap, snap, snap…

The dragon tried to bite his legs.

“Ah,” Jon panicked and turned to shoot a ball of concentrated energy from his palm.

The green ball landed on the ground and left a black imprint after it disappeared. Jon then continued flying forward—out of the cave.

Pst, pst, pst…

Jon noticed the foliage around him burn up after the red balls of fire had hit them.

“Oh no, this dragon can shoot fire,” Jon felt his heartbeat race as he tried to dodge the attacks coming from behind.

Huff, huff, huff…

Jon was breathless as he flew through the forest. His green hair blended in perfectly with his surroundings.

“Hmph,” the dragon flew closely behind him, guided by its sharp sense of smell.

Jon could not shake the dragon off no matter how hard he twisted and turned. Hiding was definitely of no use.

“I should have been more careful,” Jon regretfully thought to himself. “I wish I knew how to teleport.”

Jon sighed as he entered a forest clearing, “I have nowhere to take cover. I need to fight the dragon. It is now or never!”