Maple High School Academy Year 1
The Dragon in Gingko Forest - I Want to See the Pink Strokes in the Sky!

I Want to See the Pink Strokes in the Sky!

VALFRED PLACED A KIND OF P3K box in front of Shalima saying, “Maybe you will get hurt on the way. Better bring this.”

Amara laughed mockingly, “Val, this is Shalima Shero, the Queen of Regeneration! Her body cells are better trained in providing first aid than everything in this box!”

“For Odin’s sake! I could forget!” the Werewolf man patted his forehead.

Finally, the Zoologists had already confirmed that there was a Dragon Porsisa in Gingko Forest who actually gave an invitation to pick up the moss on his skin. There is already a team formed to take the moss tomorrow and The Prof is included in it. The Herbology teacher generously took care of licensing so that Shal could become his personal assistant in picking up moss and observing the activity. Tomorrow, early in the morning, Shal and The Prof will go to Gingko Forest.

It's like a dream come true and the wait is finally over. Shal feels excited to meet the dragon and be in a work team. He could feel his pupils dilating when he had discussed it.

“You think too much of Elle, anyway, so dreamy dryness of focus.” Shal mocked Valfred while laughing amusedly.

“Again, this is an old version P3K box. The latest version is smaller and more compact. Updating information is important, wolf cub.” Amara advises Valfred who looks excited, then thrusts something to Shal.

“What is this?” Shal asked while taking some kind of horn from Amara's hand. There is a very fine carving on its surface.

“This elephant ivory. Spring Kingdom craftsmen make it a place of medicine as well as weapons. I think you need this more.”

“This is great!” shal said moved, “Thank you, Amara!” Shal hugged the Elf girl. Sometimes Amara likes to be condescending to others, arrogant, and unfriendly. However, Shal knew the girl was actually very kind and considerate.

“May everything go smoothly!” Valfred hugged the two girls on the soft sofa in the Fantasy Dormitory gathering room.

“I want to once again see the pink streaks of Maple Island sky before we return to our respective homes. So, after Shal finishes his task, we both go to the edge of the lake, yes!” pinta Amara that sounds like an order.

If the Elf Princess is already in service, who can refuse?

“Why can you think of the same thing simultaneously?” Amara grumbled after reading the thoughts of the two friends.

 Shal felt his knees suddenly tremble and his heart pounding very hard. This was the first time he had seen a dragon directly. Shal was both amazed and frightened. He with the dragon was his comparison like himself to the Maple Academy dormitory building. Only, the one in front of him right now could spurt out flames.

At this moment, the Dragons of Portessa seemed to be sleeping quietly. However, Shal was not sure the dragon was actually sleeping. It could suddenly open its mouth and scorch it with a breath of fire or tear its body with pointed teeth. Shal grimaced imagining it.

“Your head shrinks?” The Prof asked Shalima while wearing his gloves. “If you have no ill intentions, the dragon will not do evil to you.”

Ah yes, of course. Why was the important information he had gathered suddenly lost in his mind? The Dragons of Porsesa are not aggressive dragons that like to attack. He is also a spiritual dragon who tends to be calm, thoughtful, and not rash.

“That's what you should worry about.” With his eyes, The Prof pointed at the three dragon children playing at the end of the tree. They are the size of a male lion and have wings. “Small dragons are more aggressive and do not think long. Do not let you do something that makes them surprised or dislike.”

The three dragon children were a surprise to the entire team. Shal himself had never read the information about the sons of the dragons of Porsesa. It turns out they are more dangerous, even though they look adorable.

There were approximately twelve people on the moss retrieval team that day. They consist of licensed Herbologists and Zoologists, as well as security. During the briefing, it was informed that the Porsesa moss was spread within an area of 60x45 meters of the dragon's back, thought to have originated from a mutated type of Leucobryum glaucum, and was pink in color.

There were seven people, including Shal, who climbed onto the dragon's back.  The Prof and two other Herbologists scratched the moss with the same movement and simultaneously. This is done to make the dragon comfortable. Initially, they tried to use a moss cutting machine, but the sound made the dragon agitated when it was lit. Finally, they used comb rakes of soft but strong nylon. Three other Herbologists are responsible for sucking moss that has been removed with a kind of vacuum cleaner. Meanwhile, two Zoologists work to take samples from dragon body parts, one other Zoologist documents the entire series of activities, and security ensures everything goes well.

What about the excited young man, Shalima Shero? Initially, The Prof had him observe and document the workings of the team and the moss retrieval process. Then, The Prof gave him a small rake to pry and scratch the moss that was in the crevices of the dragon skin. Yeah, The Prof made it do the most exhausting thing.

Shal was amazed by the dragon skin of Porsesa. The dragon skin was like a pitch-black stone. While on the dragon's back, Shal is like standing on a rocky and split ground that moves up and down along with regular dragon breaths. The girl was very careful when cleaning the moss in the gap of the dragon skin. In addition to some parts of the dragon skin is quite sharp, he is also afraid to gouge the dermis or deeper skin tissue. If he made the dragon in pain, it could be that his back turned into a sea of lava. Yeah, Shal's just imagining. However, when one was on top of the dragon's back, he would definitely think of the worst things that could happen.

While prying and scratching, Shal had the opportunity to observe the moss of Porsesa up close. He even had a chance to sniff it stealthily and hallucinate that he was inside the crater of the volcano. Fortunately Shal immediately regained his senses and continued his work. He feared that the Portessa mosses could have hallucinatory effects like some of the poisonous mushrooms The Prof described.

While resting, Shal remained eager to listen to the discussions conveyed by Herbologists and Zoologists. How nice it is to be on a professional team because he can learn so many things.

The moss retrieval part two will begin. The time had already shown at 11 noon and they hoped that another hour the dragon's back was clean. If according to the initial plan, at the latest at 2 pm they have left Gingko Forest. The Prof and the other Herbologists had already climbed onto the dragon's back with their respective flyboards. Shal was about to take his flyboard which was placed near a large tube containing moss that was already filled. He saw someone opening the moss tube, probably one of the Zoologists.

“For Apollo!”

Shal hears the Zoologist expressing his surprise when Shal suddenly appears to pick up the flyboard. Shal snickered inwardly, but suddenly felt something strange. Shal knew that voice!

“Thann?” Shal braved the mask the man was wearing. How surprised he was once his suspicions were completely proven. The tall man before him was truly Thann!

“You! Wh why? Bu—”

Shal's speech was interrupted as Thann's wide hand immediately smothered his mouth.  A medicine tube fell to the ground and Shal saw the moss of Porsesa strewn from it.

You want to steal some Porsesa moss?

Shal widened his eyes.

“Good day, all. Sorry, I'm late!”

Shal, Thann, as well as all the team members turned to the source of the voice. There was a man behind the trees and a security man immediately confronted him.

“I Dami, Zoologist assigned to research the dragons of Portessa in Gingko Forest. I was late because there were some accidents on the road. There are also roads that are closed by security because there are lions roaming. I don't know why I was so fucking unlucky today. Luckily I was able to sneak in and head over here.”

At the briefing, all team members were complete. If anyone claims to be a member of the team who is late, it means ….

Shal used the opportunity to push Thann. The boy was plunged to the ground and his hand accidentally touched the tail of the dragon. Along with that, someone shouted, “There's an intruder!” and the dragon Porsche suddenly moved its body. The Prof and Herbologist who was on his back tried not to fall to the ground. Shal could see there was a reddish glow from within the dragon's body, making it look like a huge lump of magma was moving.

There was the cry of the angry dragon children. They flew low and spewed fire in all directions. Everyone tried to take cover from the flames. Although it was still small, the fire breaths of the dragon children turned out to be quite strong.

Shal grabs the flyboard and tries to fly. However, Thann went to pull the flyboard so they fell to the ground simultaneously. Shal's flyboard was thrown out of nowhere.

“Seriously? Fly?” whispered Thann annoyed as the two of them lay on the ground. “Don't do something that makes them shocked!”

“Oh, right, genius!” Shal stood up straight. He unconsciously caught the attention of the dragon boy who immediately growled furiously towards them.

“Moron! ” swear Thann while standing. “Running!” she warned Shal.

Without a second thought, Shal followed Thann running as fast as he could.

“Jump!” Thann exclaimed again as they were already far enough away to run.

Nowadays, running is the most sensible option. Now, Thann instead told him to jump. His confusion was answered as he saw Thann actually jump into the abyss that was in front of him. It felt like Shal wanted to cry from panic, but there was no time for that. I don't want him to follow in Than's footsteps because he has no other choice.

“I hate you!” shal screams while jumping. A few seconds later, he felt a warm burst of fire above his head. Shortly after, Shal felt Thann embrace him and enclose his body with sparkling black wings. Shal was stunned when he saw a pair of angel wings protecting Thann. However, it did not last long because the next burst of fire made them fall into the river.

Shall felt cold water hugging his entire body. Shal knew he was in the river and was swept away by the torrent. He can only resign and hope to see the pink streaks of Maple Island sky with Amara and Valfred is not just a dream.