It struck her. The Key! How can I leave the key alone? She panicked. She jerked behind at her table. She dashed towards the table. She found Diato Following her. Diato was also running after her. As if he was following her to distract her for a little longer. Thank god she bought the story! I'm glad she kept something important in her drawer so she believed that I stole something, even though I didn't. He thought as he was running behind her with the book in his grasp.

She reached her table, and jerked the drawer open in a hurry, as Diato was after her. She didn't want to look back to confirm it: the sound of his footsteps was screaming in her ears. He was still after her. She picked up the large yellow envelopes. There it was. The gold key shimmered like glitter under raw sunlight, from the large window behind the table. The large bow of the key with the golden shine gave the key: a majestic look.

She was confused now. Diato said he was going to steal the key. Although she didn't know that the D-ranked members had no idea about the key. And the key wasn't stolen either. She jerked back at Diato. He wasn't behind her. She expected him to be behind her waiting for him to grab her any minute. But he was nowhere near her. She glanced at the door. She found Diato there: running out of the library with the dragonspine book under his arm.

"He Lied!?" She accidentally shouted aloud, How did he know I had that key in the first place? She questioned, as she locked her gaze at Diato: who was running out of the library with the book.

He went back to his room. "I want to make sure I win that hundred dollars. I don't wanna do small goofs and ruin the bet. I'll make sure I have the right book and then, I'll give it to Max" He decided, without realising that he was saying it all aloud. He started reading from the first page. It was the first chapter. No introduction, no 'before you read', no 'foreword' or 'author's note', no 'non-fictional', no nothing. Just chapter one from page one. Diato found it weird but It was What It was. He started reading.

The book talked about the Dragonspine Mountains, nestled in an isolated and uncharted region, captivate explorers and scholars with their imposing presence. Stretching for miles, these ancient peaks are a geological marvel, shrouded in mystery due to their remote location and challenging terrain. Accessible only through virgin forests and treacherous paths, the mountains boast granite and limestone cliffs, often veiled in mist and snow, exhibiting extreme weather shifts. The landscape, carved by nature's forces, hosts narrow valleys, and ancient trees, evoking a mythical ambiance. They hide the enigmatic Dragon Ruins and The Unknown Cave within their midst.

His Reading was disturbed, as he had just started developing interest in the book. He saw Max standing at his door: casting a long shadow over his lap. He shut the book in a hurry and buried it under the blanket before Max saw it. To his surprise - Max didn't notice the book at all. Perhaps something was waiting for him which was more interesting than this book... Than a hundred dollars... It was His First Mission.

As Diato noticed the long shadow casting over his lap, he panicked: is this the librarian? Will she take the book back? Will I lose a hundred dollars? Will she downgrade my rank? Or maybe take points from my house? Oh I remember I ain't at Hogwarts. I don't have houses. I can break the small rules. He thought as his neck did not seem to be in his control and his head jerked towards the shadowy figure's face.

It was none other than Max. In a hurry, he quickly slammed the book shut and shoved it under his pillow. He instantly grabbed his blanket without breaking the eye contact. He covered the pillow with the blanket and stood up with the movement to make it look more smoother. He finally got on his feet. As he blinked several times: he realised that it was not Max. It was John. His heart suddenly seemed to fade into tranquility. He wasn't in trouble.

"You've got your first mission" Said John gladly

"Really? I was waiting for it for almost eternity!" Diato rocked back and forth in the balls of his feet. He slowly made his way to John.

"Here. I'll come with you to ensure that you come back alive. And then you'll get your solo mission after that"

"Got it" Diato said as he snatched the yellowish envelope from John's hand before he extended it to hand it to Diato.

Diato jumped back on his bed and took a good look at the envelope. The envelope was yellowish brown, and felt like it was made of a rigid fiber. It was similar to the one that the librarian picked up from the drawer to make sure Diato didn't steal anything from the drawer. There was a purple seal that seemed to change its color depending on the angle you look at it. He quickly tore the seal apart and opened the envelope. It smelled just like the library's scent. The scent was a mixture of the smell of old books, new wooden furniture, stationary and tranquil golden dust in the sunlight.

He pulled out the thick page which felt like a parchment but he was sure it was just some quality paper. Or it could even be a parchment but Diato couldn't care less. He was more interested in the text written on it than the parchment itself.

"This is from the Librarian!" Diato said in shock, as he saw that it wasn't printed. It was handwritten. In beautiful handwriting.

"Yeah, she's the one who assigns us all missions."

"Doesn't James give it to us? And then Max decides whom to send?"

"I mean... Actually, The Librarian collects the information about the dragon, and then prepares an envelope of the Mission. Then she gives it to James and then you know the rest"

"Alright, but how does she singlehandedly handle all the thousands of missions of the organization?" Diato Raised an eyebrow.

"She doesn't" John replied with a smile, "she just handles missions for the teams which work under James. And I mean... James only handles Three teams"

"Okay I get it now" He added, "by the way, where Do I get my weapons? I lost them all during the final selection!"

"Don't worry" John said as he gestured, Come after me. Diato got up from his bed again, throwing the envelope cover on the bed, with the thick paper still in his hand. He followed John throughout the corridors to the weapon room.

John slid the glass door open and Diato entered the room just behind him. He saw the weapon room.

"You might've been here. I mean... This is where you might've chosen your first three weapons." John said, "If you'd like to change them, you can. Pick any three weapons to keep for the rest of your life... I mean... For hunting... I mean... You get it right?"

"Yes I got it" Diato said as he picked up the same weapons again. Bow and arrow, Metal club, and a butterfly knife. Then, John gave him the suit he needed to wear.

"Here, wear this thin fireproof suit under your clothes to protect yourself from the fire" John explained as he handed that black suit folded up in his hands.