Rise of the Weakest Summoner

“What are you scheming this time?” Jellal asked as he squinted at Althea, warily watching his companion.

“Nothing too complicated, so don’t worry, you will be able to follow without any problems,” she replied with a hint of a smirk, evoking a few giggles from the girls in Ast’s connection. “But it all depends on one important variable. Tell me, young one, do you think you would be able to be impartial and objective in your judgment no matter the result?”

Visenna kept her gaze on the older Dragon lady’s gentle face while carefully considering the question. Then, she glanced at the Nest Mother, the gathered, her mate, and finally threw one more look at the memory artifact next to her. The man was just about to say something, most likely telling her not to get roped into their devious ploy, but she beat him to it.

“Yes, Lady Althea, in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, it would not be beneficial to me to take sides and let my emotions and opinions cloud my assessment,” she stated firmly. “But, it all depends on the nature of your request. I can’t guarantee I’m qualified to produce a verdict for your query. Compared to many mentors gathered here, and yourself, I am still inexperienced.”

“Fret not, and ease on the Lady part. If you don’t consider me a mentor, simply treat me as equal.” Althea let out a delicate chuckle. “As for the nature of my request, it’s merely to witness my way of teaching and compare it with what you know. And for that, I think you are more than qualified.”

“Preposterous!” Jellal huffed. “Visenna is no longer a disciple. You can’t just steal her like that.”

“I think you are misunderstanding,” Asterios joined in, quickly gathering all the attention on himself as everyone was curious and anxious about what he would do next. “She isn’t trying to turn Visenna into a disciple again, but offering her a chance to observe how we teach others, isn’t that right?”

“It is.” His emerald-haired mate nodded. “You doubt my capabilities and would most likely not trust the ruling of a stranger, convinced that they have been compromised. Therefore, she is the perfect candidate to take this role, already intimately acquainted with your methods to the bone.”

“Keep in mind that it would be us taking the risk here,” he added after her, gesturing at the mated pair. “If she were to ignore her academic morality and choose to support you regardless of her experience, we would certainly lose. No offense, but that’s a much more likely scenario, isn’t it?”

Once again, Visenna managed to cut in before Jella said his piece. “Your words ring true. That would be a common assumption, and you would be starting from a losing position. Regardless, I can swear on my Heart to remain fair if you wish me to. I would never choose to disgrace myself when nurturing the knowledge of the next generations is involved. That said, your side should remember that it means I won’t be swayed by your approach either.”

Asterios and Althea exchanged glances, confident about their approach, especially with the studious female in front of them. Neither had any doubts that they were going to win. The only question was if Jellal would be willing to make this bet, depending on how much trust he could put on his mate and how loyal he expected her—

“Of course, you won’t. Everyone can see that they are just a sham, out to get me and my name smeared,” the person in question finally said. “I taught you way better than that dropout. And much longer too.”

Or maybe it wasn’t that big of a question in front of the man’s giant ego and superiority complex. Asterios briefly wondered if Althea’s ex-mentor really was so hard-headed or if she was just having such an effect on him. Perhaps he had never gotten over her dumping him and got defensive near her, losing sight of reality. There was only so much trouble his fame and renown would let him cause before people started questioning his authority.

“How would we even conduct this challenge, though?” Visenna tilted her head at the pair she was speaking with.

“Now, that brings us directly to the heart of the matter, and I think it’s time for me to start introducing myself, explaining things, and answering questions.” Asterios smirked softly, turning to the audience. “Firstly, I would like to thank you for staying behind even in the face of a rather terrifying unknown, listening to the request of my beloved mates to learn the whole story. It’s obvious that I’m a True Dragon from the earlier display, so that must have required a lot of courage. My mentor and current lover has stressed plenty of times how frightening just my presence might be for everyone, thus the reason why I have been hiding until now.”

He could see that plenty of spectators still seemed anxious and uncertain when he finally paid attention to them. Wherever his fierce eyes landed, people shifted, glanced aside, or actually moved out of the way. They might have been simply trying to avoid getting compelled by his gaze, aware of that particular ability the more powerful True Dragons possessed. So, he stopped peering so much at the younglings, trying to appear harmless and friendly.

“Secondly, before I begin, I have to note that no matter what I say, do, or provide, it won’t have any impact if you agree with the notion that this is all my grand scheme to take control of this nest. And unfortunately, there’s not much I can do to prove that it’s completely off the mark. Therefore, if you think you won’t be able to get rid of your doubts, simply leave. I’m not going to chase after anyone. Go back to your homes, families, maybe even move out of the nest for a while if you are that distressed, and come back later to see if everything is alright. Please, decide now as I would like to present my case to those truly willing to listen,” Asterios added, giving the gathered time to ponder.

Jellal wanted to interrupt, but Miria was already after him, growling at the man from the side as all of the currently not busy ladies glared at him. A few individuals stood up and left, but the majority that had stayed after the initial revelation remained.

“Good. Since you have already heard about our project during the previous meeting, I’m not going to repeat the same things Althea told you. You know we are looking for disciples to receive teachings under her and Phatru while gaining experience in my realm. It’s a fresh concept, but one we believe is going to produce great results,” he continued. “But, there’s one major problem, which is me. Or rather, my race and origins. You’ll have to pardon me if I don’t get some nuances existing between our kind but I have not been raised inside a nest, growing up on my own as an orphan. It wasn’t until Althea began mentoring me on our respective people that I could understand some parts of the enmity.”

“How come?” someone asked, evoking shocked reactions from their vicinity as others wondered how that guy dared to speak up in front of a True Dragon unasked.

“Beats me.” Asterios shrugged. “You would have to ask my parents why they dropped me off at some random spot shortly after birth with my Heart sealed. Maybe I wasn’t what they expected but couldn’t bring themselves to simply murder me.”

“Why do you have a Lesser Dragon as a True Mate?” Another spectator pushed past their fear.

“Well, because I think I fell for her? Why else do you bond with someone this deeply? After seeing past the differences between our people and my bloodline, she showed genuine interest in me. I guess that kindness and courage appeared quite attractive.” He directed a cordial smile at the Dragon lady, spotting the faintest trace of a blush on her smooth cheeks.

“If what you said is true, how did you manage to become so strong to easily scare away another True Dragon who isn’t part of your lineage?” A curious girl raised her hand as the crowd slowly realized they could get bolder, the mentors above watching everything with stressed expressions.

“It’s all thanks to them.” Asterios pointed behind his back. “When you have someone you care about to protect, you never stop striving to become more powerful for their sake. Plus, they keep supporting me with their everything too. I am a True Dragon in the end, and my people benefit from bonding with others greatly, even though the majority if not all abuse that connection. It just seems that it’s way better when the entourage actually consists of voluntary members.”

Some murmurs passed throughout the auditorium as the present mentors began discussing something related to this declaration. It might not have been the entire truth, but he couldn’t really drop such a huge revelation like him inheriting the power from both Red and Black out of nowhere. At that, he was certain everyone would run. That was if they didn’t think he was joking.

“But, we are losing ourselves here a little,” Althea commented from the side. “I’m sure Rusilthea and Phatru will gladly share the whole story of my amazing mate with you at a later date. Let’s focus on the mentorship.”

“Right. Of course.” He nodded appreciatively. “So, my identity is a great wall that worries people, I get that, but it’s something I can’t change, unfortunately. I am who I am. However, while I can’t reassure you with my own words and maybe even memories, I’m hoping being vouched for by your peers will help, starting with your wise Nest Mother.”

Rhufija directed a respectful bow his way, and albeit reluctantly, her mates followed.

“She was wary and careful in the beginning too, putting your safety in the first place, and I was even courageously confronted by one of her mates, but in the end, she listened to my request and decided to be the only person taking the risk of traveling with me to my city,” Asterios shared. “She saw enough there to grant us permission for the proposal we have brought to your nest. I’m very grateful for that.”

“It’s my pleasure. I can’t say I have ever believed I would be able to meet and casually converse with a True Dragon, but I’m honored to have been proven wrong,” she responded.

“Then we have Rusilthea.” He turned to the stormy girl. “She spent almost the entire last week scouting our place and experiencing the first taste of our mentorship program. From what I heard, many of you approached her with questions and she generously shared her thoughts on everything. It must have been exhausting.”

“It was.” Rusi sighed heavily. “But it was worth it. I can’t wait to get back there. Being able to freely fly wherever I want without having to worry about True Dragons is like a dream. I’ve never felt so free, even with the contract.”

“And that brings us to the final reassurance I can offer you,” Asterios said right after her. “To make sure you can always come back here whenever you want instead of being forced to go through me, we are basing this mentorship on a Summoning Contract supervised by one of my beloved mates.”

Gesturing at Tina, he invited the blue-haired girl closer and she smiled charmingly at the gathering.

“As he says, you will be connected to me and my subordinates, not him, greatly in part on your own set of rules, and some of ours. The pact will provide additional protection and a way to use the interdimensional gates. You won’t have to interact with Asterios almost ever if you don’t wish to. This is also to allow us to come to your aid in case you would find yourself in trouble in our world. Out there, you will be considered the apex predator and might scare a person or two.” She chuckled daintily.

That was something that had already been mentioned before to some extent, and it still caused part of the audience to perk up. Asterios did hope that it would be one of the major selling points. The young ones definitely let themselves be at least slightly moved by the prospect, but the old ones remained somewhat vigilant.

For their success, Ast’s group might need only the prospective disciples to be on their side, but for the future, it would be great to gain the trust of other mentors too, who would then spread the story into other realms.

“And here’s that. If you have any questions for me, my mates, the Nest Mother, or the others, we can take care of them right now.” He put his fists on his hips. “With Lady Rhufija’s blessing, we will accept only a small number of volunteers for the first batch. You’ll get to learn all the little details before making the final decision, of course.”

“How did you travel to our realm? Your mate emphasized that it was easy for you to transport yourself and others. Unless she is under a pact with you too?” one of the male mentors began.

“I would gladly show you, but even if I have more than decent control over this technique, it still would have been a bad idea to play with it while the other Dragon might still be somewhere near,” Asterios answered. “In simple words, I’m one of the individuals capable of tearing through the fabric of dimensions and slipping through those breaches. I’ve been told it’s not that common even amongst my kin.”

The man’s eyes widened to the brim and the lounge of mentors got chatty again. Judging by the glances they directed at him, his threat level had just gone up by quite a bit after this admission.

“Can you… turn back?” Another female spoke through the buzz, a bit uncertainly.

“Excuse me?” He raised a confused brow at her.

“Your true form,” she clarified. “Just to see it from up close.”

Her close neighbors shot her looks of disbelief and a number of people began calling her crazy. But, Asterios and his group were going to focus on those more favorable towards their offer, so he decided to grant the lady’s wish, hoping to win over similar individuals. He went through his transformation slowly and stood in front of the spectators in all of his glory once more, giving Jellal a lazy glance and a strong huff just for the sake of it.

“Think about this,” he addressed them again, unhurriedly swinging his fierce head around. “Sure, if you want, you might just avoid me. But, on the other hand, I’ll often keep myself around to be approached too, maybe even brought in for some of the lessons on True Dragons. There is no better example than a living one, is there? In the future, you will be known as adults or even mentors with actual real-life experience related to my kind. That’s going to be worth a bit, won’t it? I’m not going to keep much of it a secret as it would be counterproductive. You have to learn how to deal with True Dragons, in the end.”

“And one more thing,” Althea joined in, resting her palm on his muscular, scale-covered leg. “We aren’t going to hold a monopoly on this perfect world forever. It’s not our intention. After its inhabitants get a bit more used to the presence of Lesser Dragons, we’ll open it to everyone, including mentors. You’ll be able to begin your journey in the capital of our friendly nation and depart on a great adventure over the neighboring lands with your disciples.”

The conversation in the upper back rows died down immediately as the addressed demographic processed her words. One by one, many mentors started convincing themselves that the whole initiative might not be that bad of an idea. Just one more push and the vast majority would be in their pocket.

And that was when Phatru re-entered the game. “Plus, if things suddenly go to shit here, we’ll have a verified and inspected realm to escape to, the entire nest if necessary. To me, that sounds like a connection worth making. A safe haven far away from the claws of the greedy lizards with its own powerful guardian. To you?”

Her observation caused Rhufija to nod along. “I agree. Especially in our current situation. Our discovery has always been uncertain, but currently, the chance is far greater. Personally, I hope we will be able to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship throughout this partnership. Their home realm might be our safest escape route. Any other operation is not without risk of losing someone along the way. And I do not want that.”

“We will see what kind of information I can gather from spying on that Dragon, but I’m not sure I’m at the level where I can handle an entire lair with my mates,” Asterios pondered out loud. “Even if you didn’t help us with our recruitment, I would offer your people a sanctuary in our lands, at least for a time being. In the end, Rusilthea and Phatru call many of your proteges friends. And friends of my friends are my friends too.”

He noticed some movement ahead, and glancing down, he spotted a familiar woman. The girl who had asked him to shift was anxiously approaching him, clearly tense and doubtful. Yet, she was pushing through her instinctual fear so he remained as still as possible. The others watched her with rapt attention, waiting to see if anything happened the moment she reached him. He wasn’t sure what they were expecting him to do. Eat her? Stomp on her? Swat her away while insulting her race?

Maybe the audience still didn’t fully believe he truly had no evil intentions towards them. She was the final test. And when her smooth palm tentatively rested atop his crimson scales, nothing happened. She almost flinched back, but realizing that she was fine, she grew bolder, her eyes wide as her fingers roamed over Ast’s scaly chest.

Suddenly, something broke in the spectators and multiple people charged forward like a wave. In a flash, Asterios was surrounded by a group of young Lesser Dragons all itching to catch a feel of him. Even a few mentors were trying to hide themselves in the commotion, just as fascinated as the others.

Perhaps True Dragons were objects of pure terror for Lesser Dragons, but on the other hand, that aspect and the general stance of those winged lizards towards the flying snakes created this… empty void of real-life experience. There was no doubt that everyone was curious about the unapproachable after centuries of fear. When faced with a chance to satisfy this curiosity safely, they would not think twice. Just like with an explosion in sales for a famous product that previously was restricted only to a select few.

Letting the fascinated younglings examine him from all around, even allowing some to climb onto his back or study his fierce snout, Asterios turned to look at Jellal.

“Well, I believe we will be able to find our disciples. Are you going to be able to find it in yourself to take this bet and permit your mate to observe our teachings from up close or are you afraid?” he asked with an intense draconic glare.

“Under one condition.” The man tried not to show how scared he was.

“We are listening,” Althea said, putting herself between Asterios and him, right under her shifted mate’s chin, directing her past mentor an equally cold glare.

The contrast between their undivided attention and the joyful bunch of children having the field day of their life over Ast’s mighty frame was rather overwhelming.

“I’m going to watch too,” Jellal demanded.

The duo’s eyes met, one looking up, the other down. 

After a few seconds of consideration, the emerald-haired lady shrugged. “Sure. As long as you don’t interfere directly with the classes.”

“Great.” He managed a slightly victorious smirk. “But, since it’s a bet, what are the stakes?”

At that, Asterios and Althea once more looked at each other. They weren’t really aiming for any, but since he had so kindly asked, they couldn’t just pass on this opportunity, could they?

“What do you have in mind?” Asterios asked.

“Since it’s about teaching qualifications, the loser will admit that the winner is a true example of a respected mentor and step down, publicly admitting that they were in the wrong and the other side was right,” Jellal suggested.

And he had provided them with just what they needed.

But, it still could be better.

“We agree.” Asterios nodded. “As long as we add to it that the loser will truthfully admit their wrongdoings towards the winner, clearing up all the misunderstandings and misinformation hanging in the air. I’m sure both of you have something to clarify, don’t you?”

“Deal.” The man accepted confidently. “Don’t you dare go back on your word, Dragon.”

Asterios was itching to ask him what would he do, but he held himself back. That wouldn’t help the image he was trying to create. Even if this guy was playing on his nerves the longer he was in their general vicinity.

Unfortunately, he would have to bear with it for the foreseeable future.

But, the payout would definitely be worth it.

For Althea’s sake.