Fifteen years ago.
"Hey, Black, what do you think I should do? I've clearly paved a new path, successfully applied to the school to establish a club, but why hasn't any dragon joined after all this time?"
A young silver dragon, now in her adolescence, complained as she lay in her single dragon dormitory, staring at a black-gold covered book in front of her.
"Because you're a dragon!" The book responded. A dark, ominous mist rose from the cursed tome, gradually forming into the shape of a demon from the deep abyss. The demon's red glowing eyes gazed at the little silver dragon with a look of helplessness.
"Do you think you'd be interested in curses if not for my influence?"
"No!" The silver dragon quickly shook her head in response to Black's question.
"Before meeting me, what was your impression of curses?"
"Dark, eerie, mysterious, ominous..." The young silver dragon, Luffy, thought for a moment and then listed a string of adjectives.
"You see, that's how you used to perceive curses. Now, if you want dragons to join your club, you must change their perception of curses."
"But those adjectives aren't wrong, right? Isn't that what curses are? They represent strangeness and misfortune."
"So, if you want to recruit dragons into your club, you must make them accept these traits of curses." Black eyed the silver dragon in front of him. When she first met him, her silver scales were still shiny and bright. But now, after a long period of practicing curse magic, her aura had grown somewhat sinister, and faint black lines had appeared on her silver scales.
From what Black knew, he couldn't tell if Luffy's transformation was good or bad. She had devoted most of her energy to studying curse magic, and that prolonged exposure had allowed a strange, mysterious power to infiltrate her body, altering its structure and subtly changing her form. She was no longer just a silver dragon but had become a cursed dragon.
Black couldn't predict how this change would affect Luffy's future. Perhaps she could surpass a normal silver dragon, or perhaps her achievements would fall short of what they might have been.
This is the risk of trying a path different from the traditional one—it could lead to great rewards, or it could result in significant losses, with the likelihood of loss being higher.
"How am I supposed to become a legion commander now?" As Black's gaze lingered on Luffy with subtle concern, the little silver dragon wailed, completely oblivious.
In Dragon Academy, there was a growing rumor that any dragon who discovered a cultivation path different from the traditional close-combat methods of dragons, and passed the school board's review, could form a club. After graduation, they could use the club as a foundation to establish a dragon legion and serve as its commander.
No dragon was foolish. After several dragon kings poured resources into the academy and sent their descendants as professors, every dragon wanted to develop a new training system to surpass the older generations.
... One day later, the little silver dragon flew back to her dormitory looking downcast, flopping onto her crystal bed.
"Sigh! It's so hard! It took me forever just to convince two calamity dragons to join my club, and now I have to give them part of my allowance every month."
"Uh..." Black condensed into form from the Book of the Dead, ready to offer some comfort, but then he saw the little silver dragon laughing carefree.
"Haha, even though I had to give up a lot, I'm no longer a one-dragon club! I finally have subordinates, and I'll become a legion commander! One dragon above all others!"
"..." Black silently stared at her, unsure what to say. Other clubs had dragons begging to join, while hers had to pay dragons to join. Such a stark contrast—where did she get the confidence to believe she could become a legion commander?
"Black, trust me. My club will grow bigger and bigger." Noticing Black's doubtful gaze, Luffy thumped her chest with confidence.
"Mm."
"What's with that look? You don't believe me, do you?" Luffy shouted when she noticed Black's somewhat disdainful expression.
"No."
"I'll tell you this: Synapse is currently touring the continent, gathering dragons from all over. Over a hundred dragons join the academy every day, and many are just younglings who've received a legacy. Those kinds of dragons are easy to fool. If I trick one dragon per day, I can trick over three hundred a year!"
"But they'll quit. It doesn't matter if you trick them for now. Besides, a dragon can join more than one club."
"So I need to come up with a way to keep them!" Luffy's large eyes spun mischievously, and suddenly, she turned her gaze toward Black.
"Black, I remember you said your first owner was a legendary mage, and your second owner was the evil dragon, right?"
"That's right."
"Why did he leave you in the library?"
"Leave me? He entrusted the entire library to me to manage."
"Then why hasn't anyone come looking for you after I took you out of the library for so long?"
"..."
"It seems the headmaster has forgotten about you. To him, you're just a disposable tool."
"What are you trying to say?" Black's tone was as cold as ever, watching the little silver dragon speak her mind bluntly.
"Even if the headmaster doesn't care about you, I do. You're my best friend, after my parents."
"..."
"Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Black's tone softened without him realizing it.
"I remember you said your former master was immune to all your curses, right?"
"Correct."
"I know how to get dragons to join my club now."
"What are you planning?"
"You'll see."
...
"Sis, are there any benefits to joining the Mourners' Club?" A cloud dragon asked the strange silver dragon who blocked his way, trying to recruit him.
"Yes, come with me."
A short while later, a terrified scream echoed through a dimly lit chamber. "Curse the headmaster? Sis, are you crazy? I don't want to join anymore, I'm leaving."
"Don't rush, junior. I've already checked. The headmaster is immune to all curses. Our curses won't affect him at all, and I've already tried. Nothing happened."
"Really?"
"Do you want to try? It feels great after you curse him."
"... Okay, I'll try."
... Thanks to Luffy Pendragon's sudden, harebrained idea, her Mourners' Club grew rapidly. The heavy academic workload finally had a place for the dragons to vent their frustrations. They all knew their rigorous studies would benefit them in the future, but for now, it was unbearable!
However, Luffy's questionable method of expanding her club soon brought her some consequences.
...
"Ding dong!"
"Who is it?" Hearing the doorbell, the little silver dragon groggily opened her eyes.
"Open up, delivery!"
"A delivery?" Luffy was confused. She hadn't ordered anything recently, so why would there be a delivery?
She got up and opened the door, but the moment she did, two cloud giants rudely pushed their way in. They scanned the room before fixing their gaze on her.
"You're not delivery people! Who are you? Do you know the consequences of breaking into a Dragon Academy student's dormitory?"
"Consequences? I'm more aware than you are." The cloud giant in heavy armor sneered, pulling out a warrant. "This is a search order issued by the academy's board."
"A search order?" Seeing the token in the cloud giant's hand, Luffy shrank back. "Why? You can't search my dorm! I haven't done anything against school rules!"
"Whether or not you broke the rules isn't for you to decide. It's up to us." The other cloud giant glanced at the rectangular crystal in his hand, which projected a 3D image of a miniature silver dragon identical to Luffy.
"Are you Luffy Pendragon?"
"I am." Luffy took a few steps back, a bad feeling creeping up on her.
"Good. Luffy Pendragon, based on our monitoring data, you've recently gathered a large number of dragons and engaged in illegal club activities. You need to come with us for an investigation."
"No, I haven't done anything wrong! I'm not going with you! I want to see my teacher!" Luffy shook her head, panicking at the thought of following the cloud giants.
"Your teacher is already aware. Just come quietly and don't resist." The cloud giant's tone was flat and unyielding.
"I want to see the headmaster!"
"That's where we're taking you, to see His Highness Muria."
"No! I don't want to go!" Luffy panicked even more when she heard they were taking her to see Muria. "I'm innocent! Don't come any closer!"
In the end, the young silver dragon, still in her juvenile phase, was carried away by the two cloud giants, each holding one of her paws. They dragged her onto an airship and flew her to Central Cloud Island.
... The little silver dragon trembled as she looked up at the elegant young dragon humanoid sitting on the crystal throne, feeling a wave of guilt wash over her. She'd thought that cursing a figure immune to all negative spells would be no big deal. Clearly, she had underestimated the gravity of the situation—this powerful figure wasn't as forgiving as she'd hoped.
"Luffy Pendragon, correct?" The voice of the wicked dragon seated on the crystal throne echoed. His voice alone made Luffy shudder in fear.
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