PHANTASIA Read Online Free PDF Page A

discipline to properly control.
    “Yeah, and at the rate he’s growing, he’ll be stage 3 in just a few months. If he’s not tamed well enough by then, you’re gonna end up as his dinner one day,” Magnus laughed. Linx licked the top of Butz’s head more hungrily than lovingly right after the comment. Butz sighed in desperation, giving up any hope of freeing his head. “Well I guess I have a hat now,” he said optimistically as the other two howled with laughter again.
    “Oh, they’re already inside by the way,” Butz said, ushering Red and Magnus to follow him through the entrance. The height and design of the library’s doorway added a grandeur aura to its foyer. The heads of various critters lined the top of a long mantle that hung high above, representing the achievements students had championed at Crest. Two of their own were among the decorations — the heads of a boorish looking Danube, a four legged hairy beast that had nothing on its body besides an enormous mouth, and a much more prominent looking River Harpie, a creature that Red and Magnus had spent a week deep-diving into a freezing lake to find. River harpies were scaly humanoid creatures that looked like a cross between a Landshark and an elf, and were capable of hiding themselves in complete camouflage while underwater. It was rumored that once, long ago, before hunting Dragons was a breach of imperial code and a highly ostracized practice, the head of a Crimson Reaper lined the mantle as well, and overshadowed everything below it. There were twenty six types of dragons, each one identifiable by their distinct shade of color. Crimson Reapers, whose hides always glowed a blood red, were notable for their infinite resistance to heat and their radioactive vision.  
    They made their way inside, preparing for all the laughs Butz would get, but instead found almost everyone cluttered around the main screens in the lobby, their attention glued to a news report. From afar, Red could make out images of the desert, and what looked like footage of a search. They walked over hurriedly, attempting to piece together what the report was about from whatever they could gather.  
    They scanned the area and found Raven and S near the edge of the group. S was watching along nervously while Raven had her usual look of disinterest, only occasionally glancing at the screen to follow what was going on.  
    Red had grown up with Raven Maestro, the captain of their team, and the highest individually ranked student at Crest. Raven had jet black hair with strands of dark blue, lilac eyes, and an athletic build. She was the only student classified as Prometheus, a rare category reserved for people who were proficient in enough distinctions to avoid a single classification. She was generally a loner, save for a strong attachment to Red — with her sword being her second best friend. While her gear was mostly second and third-grade like Red’s, her blade was a remarkable work of art, an enormous weapon she had won from a dueling tournament that entertained contestants from all over Avalonia. Red had met her when they were both only seven, more than twelve years ago. Prior to that, she had grown up in a colony on an outer planet, but rarely spoke of that time. She had a line of admirers including most of the boys in their senior class, but always seemed overly disinterested in getting to know anyone. Her fighting style was precise and clean, but Red always noticed it had a touch of excessive brutality, an immaculate form corrupted with the slightest hint of a sadistic undertone.
    Their fifth and last member, S Nova, was an upbeat and sociable healer that loved fighting for a good cause. S took combat seriously, had a taste for sarcasm, which she would exercise on Butz regularly, and like Magnus, was extremely loyal. She came from a wealthier family outside of Avalonia, but had a natural talent for fitting in wherever she went. She was blue-eyed, slightly taller than Butz,