The dragon’s weakest rider

2

Life in the lower district went on as Eryx passed through the streets.

Children chased each other through puddles barefoot laughing. Beside them, an old woman argued with a vendor over a loaf of stale bread, insisting that it was baked that morning.

“You call this fresh?” She snapped, holding it up. “This thing is harder than my husband’s skull!”

“It was baked this morning!” The vendor responded with a cuss. “Take it or leave it.”

“Hmph!”

The old woman tossed two copper coins onto the counter, snatched the loaf and shuffled away, still grumbling under her breath.

The warm scent of  bread drifted right into Eryx’s nose. His stomach clenched instantly. Eryx felt the two copper coins in his pocket, the smell of bread made his stomach grumble even louder.

He swallowed hard and moved towards the stall. The vendor looked up with a patronising smile. “What will it be, son?”

Eryx pointed timidly at the basket. “Yesterday’s bread… please.”

The vendor nodded, reached inside and pulled out a small loaf. “Two copper.”

Relief washed over Eryx.

He quickly placed the coins on the wooden counter. The vendor packed up the loaf, then his gaze drifted downward to the metal badge around Eryx’s neck.

His hand instantly froze and the smile on his face instantly disappeared.

“Dead pulse?!” He announced.

Instantly, every head turned towards the stall, even customers who were on the line with Eryx instantly gave a long distance.

Eryx’s shoulders stiffened as he bit on his lower lip, almost lowering his head in shame. He could feel all their disgust in his skin.

The vendor frowned and placed the loaf back into the basket. “We are out.”

Eryx blinked. “That’s not true. You just brought it out a few minutes ago.”

“I said we are out!” The vendor repeated with a scowl on his face. “I don’t sell to your kind. Go somewhere else.”

He waved him away like he was a disease.

A few people that had gathered around began to whisper.

“Look at him, dead beat wanting to eat proper food.”

“Haha, what a waste!”

A little girl stared curiously at the metal badge Eryx worse and her mother instantly drew her closer, covering her eyes.

“Don’t look.”

Eryx’s cheeks went red as he slowly crouched down to pick up his copper coins from the ground and he walked away quickly.

“Yes, leave here! Your kind is so disgusting!”

Eryx sped up, his grip tightening on the two copper coins until they dug into his palms almost drawing it out blood. He kept his head lowered, pretending not to hear the laughing that followed him as he walked down the street.

At that moment, a loud cheer erupted from people around. A huge shadow was cast upon the ground. Eryx looked up.

A dragon swept across the sky, its golden scales catching the afternoon sun. Upon its back rode a rider clothed in the crimson uniform of Aetherion Academy. The dragon circled once before disappearing beyond the rooftops.

Everywhere around him, people had stopped what they were doing.

“Look, that’s an Academy rider!”

“I heard that graduates and their families never had to worry about food again.”

“If only my son can be conscripted…”

Eryx lingered for a little while before looking away. The world of the Academy can never belong to people like him who can’t even conquer the lower factor.

By the time he reached the narrow alley leading to his home, the knot in his stomach had tightened, not from hunger but from dread.

The small wooden house stood alongside others, leaning slightly to one side. The roof sagged beneath patched sheets of rusted metal and the fence surrounding the yard had long collapsed.

Before he reached the front door, familiar voices drifted through the cracked windows.

“… I’m telling you, he’s useless.”

Eryx’s stopped dead in his tracks. That was his oldest brother, Caleb.

“You keep feeding him, and for what?” another voice scoffed. “Twenty-five rejections. Twenty-five!”

That was Leo.

His comment was followed by a round of endless laughter which stung more than Eryx had expected.

Then came their mother’s voice.

“So…” the room instantly fell silent. “Did he get the job?”

“No,” Leo answered with a snort. “Do you even need to ask?”

A long sigh escaped her.

“I knew it.”

Those words twisted the knife in Eryx’s heart as he reached out to twist the doorknob, he hesitated for a moment. He considered turning around, running away but where would he go?

No one would employ a teenager with a defect.

Inhaling sharply, he pushed the door open and the conversation and laughter stopped.

Four pairs of eyes turned towards Eryx. His mother stood over the small stove, stirring a pot of broth. Caleb lounged against the wall with his arms folded while Leo sat at the table, lazily peeling an apple.

“So?” Caleb finally asked with a crooked brow, breaking the silence in the room. “Did the miracle happen?”

Eryx lowered his gaze and shook his head negatively.

“I told you!” Leo let out a loud laugh, slapping the table. “Twenty-five! Twenty five factories and every single one of them threw him out!”

Caleb walked over to Eryx and stared down at him with malice in his eyes. “What did I say this morning?”

Eryx remained silent, his gaze fixed to the floor.

“I asked a question!”

“You… you said I shouldn’t come back here if I don’t find a job.”

“And yet, here you are.”

Eryx looked up meekly, meeting his brother’s gaze. “I tried…”

“You tried?” Leo chipped in. “Can we eat ‘tired’? Can mother cook ‘tired’?!”

Caleb joined in the laughter making Eryx clench his fists.

“I really did my best.”

The mother immediately stopped stirring the pot. She turned around, anger and rage blazing.

“Your best? We have heard those words for years, Eryx! Every month, every rejection. How long are we supposed to survive on your best! Your brother work loading ore, your father repairs machinery whenever he is hired and even your sister Neri earns a few coins helping around the neighborhood.”

“Everyone is contributing to the growth of this family, everyone except you!” She looked at him from head to toe, disgust in her tone. “I should have accepted reality sooner. You are just another weight for us to carry—”

“Not for too long,” Caleb interrupted, dropping a sealed envelope on the table.

Eryx felt his breath get caught in his throat as he stared at the seal, recognition flashing in his eyes. His body trembled slightly as he read the words written beneath it.

AETHERION ACADEMY CONSCRIPTION APPLICATION.

“I think it’s finally time you started being useful.”

Eryx looked up at him, his lips quivered. “Con… conscription?”

Caleb smiled gleefully.

“Congratulations. You’re finally worth more dead than alive.”