Jacob stepped onto the University of Oregon campus for the first time as an admitted student. The sun was high—it was just past one in the afternoon—and the place was buzzing with energy. Students crisscrossed the walkways, laughter echoed off the buildings, and the late summer air carried a sense of new beginnings.

  Dorm check-in wasn’t until 1:15, which left Jacob with a few minutes to explore. He wandered past ivy-covered halls and shiny glass buildings, trying to get a feel for the campus layout. The cafeteria was easier to spot than expected, and he mentally noted a few other buildings he’d probably forget the names of by morning.

  Building 14 was his assigned dorm—room 303.

  As the clock edged closer to check-in time, Jacob made his way over. Inside, the building was alive with chaos. Parents hovered protectively around their kids, students dragged carts stacked with boxes, and volunteers tried to direct the flow of bodies. There were girls. And guys. Jacob blinked.

  Coed? He thought.

  That hadn’t crossed his mind. He’d assumed he’d be in an all-male dorm, like most of the ones he’d read about online. Not that it bothered him… too much. It just caught him off guard.

  Oh great, Jacob muttered internally, hauling his duffel bag a little tighter over his shoulder.

  He headed toward the stairway, weaving between people and luggage. Room 303 was waiting. And so was the beginning of a life he thought would be normal.

  He had no Idea how wrong he was.

  He got to the room and realized it was a four-person setup.

  Wait a minute… Do you mean to tell me I’m going to have three roommates? Jacob muttered to himself.

  He stepped inside. He was the first one there.

  That was a relief—it meant he got first pick. Bed, side of the room, all the good stuff.

  He moved toward the bunk bed closest to the balcony. It had the best view—trees in the distance, rooftops, and the faint outline of the mountains. It was a bunk bed, unfortunately, but he was okay with that. Growing up as an only child, this was new territory anyway.

  He’ tossed his duffel bag on the bottom bunk he was claiming and pulled out a few things. A framed photo of his grandma—he placed that gently on his desk. He hung up a couple of shirts in the wardrobe provided for them, feeling the slow creep of reality sink in. This was his new space now.

  There was a corkboard on the wall, pinned with a laminated sheet. It was the dorm rules. Jacob glanced over it quickly, but didn’t pay much attention.

  That’s when the door opened.

  Another guy stepped in.

  Phew, Jacob thought. What a relief.

  “Oh man,” the guy said. “I’m not the first one here? What bed did you choose?”

  Jacob pointed toward his bunk.

  The new guy looked around. “Ah, okay. I guess I’ll take this one.”

  He dropped his stuff on the adjacent bunk—similar view, just slightly blocked by Jacob’s side. He looked like a cool guy. About six feet tall, a little bulky, definitely had some muscle to him. The kind of guy Jacob wouldn’t want to get into a fight with. Still, he seemed chill enough.

  Jacob offered a casual smile.

  “Hey, my name’s Jacob. What’s yours?”

  “Yeah, I’m Sam,” the guy replied, setting down a second bag. “What’s your major?”

  “Business Management and Computer Science,” Jacob answered. “What about you?”

  Sam grinned. “Oh, cool. We’re in the same program—only I didn’t take Business Management. I don’t think I’ve got the brains for that, ha.”

  He paused and added with a smirk, “You’re not, like, some super smart, nerdy kind of guy, are you?”

  Jacob laughed. “No, no. Not nerdy—at least not in the traditional sense. I mean, I am smart, don’t get me wrong. But I like to think I know how to be a good guy too.”

  They both grinned.

  Sam and Jacob sat and talked for a little bit, getting to know each other. They realized they had a hell of a lot more in common than either expected. They both liked playing video games. They both enjoyed drinking from time to time. I mean, what young college guy didn’t? They liked to hang out and check out girls. Pretty typical stuff.

  There were a few differences, though. Sam was all in on trying out for the basketball team. Jacob, on the other hand, had zero desire to play basketball. In fact, he had difficulty even dribbling.

  Jacob was more into sim racing—realistic race car simulations.

  Wow, Jacob thought to himself, this guy’s really cool. I could see us becoming good friends.

  Meanwhile, in Sam’s brain, all he could think was: I wonder how many cute girls are on this campus.

  Orientation was scheduled for 5:00 PM. It was already 4:15.

  “Well,” Jacob said, stretching, “not sure when the other roommates are going to get here, but we should probably start heading to the assembly hall.”

  Sam nodded. He had mentioned earlier that he was a bit of a foul-mouthed type—liked to curse a lot—but because of the rules of this program (he smirked and glanced at the fourth wall), he couldn’t really use that kind of language here.

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  As they left the room, a girl came running down the hallway in their direction.

  “Whoa,” Sam whispered. “She’s cute.”

  And sure enough, she stopped right at their door and walked into the same room they’d just come from.

  “No way,” Sam said, eyes wide. Jacob and Sam exchanged glances—both surprised.

  Moments later, another figure bolted down the hallway like his shoes were on fire. Another guy.

  And he, too, entered their room.

  Sam shook his head. “Well, looks like it’s three guys, one girl in our room. Why’d she have to be so cute? That’s gonna make things complicated.”

  The door slammed shut behind her with a flick of her wrist. The girl—Skye—dropped her backpack with a thud and exhaled sharply, her ponytail bouncing as she scanned the room.

  “Room 303, huh?” she muttered. “Figures. Top floor. No elevator.”

  She peeled off her sweatshirt in one motion, revealing a black tank top and toned arms that practically screamed varsity athlete. Volleyball? Soccer? Either way, she moved with that confident, no-nonsense energy.

  She tossed the sweatshirt onto the bed nearest the window—Jacob’s bunk—and gave a short nod, claiming the space without hesitation.

  “Of course,” came a voice from the hallway. “You’d get here before me. You always do.”

  A tall guy strode in next. His curly brown hair was a bit wild from running, and he was still catching his breath.

  “Corey,” Skye said, not even turning around. “Still slow. Some things never change.”

  “Oh, come on,” Corey groaned. “You literally ran here, didn’t you?”

  “I walked. Briskly,” she smirked, finally looking at him.

  Corey rolled his eyes and flopped onto the remaining bunk like it was a couch. “Yeah, well, I took a wrong turn because some genius told me Building 14 was behind the cafeteria.”

  Skye raised an eyebrow. “It is behind the cafeteria. If you don’t walk like a lost puppy.”

  The two of them shared a brief look—friendly, familiar. Years of shared classes, team practices, and hallway run-ins back in high school. No romantic tension, but plenty of easy banter.

  Corey pointed toward the bunk beds. “Guess we’re roommates now. Weird, huh?”

  “Could be worse,” Skye said, grabbing her phone from her back pocket. “At least I already know you don’t snore.”

  Corey laughed. “Yet.”

  They both laughed, and the room briefly fell into a companionable silence as they unpacked. The buzz of campus life drifted through the open balcony door, and neither of them realized the other two had just seen them dash past moments earlier.

  Neither Jacob nor Sam bothered introducing themselves just yet. There’d be time for that later. For now, they kept walking, heading toward the assembly hall.

  As they walked, they talked more about their pasts, their dreams, and what they hoped to get out of college.

  Jacob seems like a really good guy, Sam thought. I can definitely see us being best friends.

  Both of them had grown up in the same city but went to different high schools. Didn’t matter much. They didn’t care much for school spirit or all that rah-rah stuff either. High school, for them, was just a stepping stone to get here.

  The walk to the assembly hall was a bit of a hike, but they took their time. By the time they arrived, it was exactly 5:00.

  They found two empty seats and sat down next to each other. Jacob faced the stage attentively, while Sam kept glancing around the room, scanning for girls. He was on the hunt, mentally taking inventory of the “potential pool.”

  He poked Jacob. “Look at that one over there. Oof. That girl in the front row? Beautiful.”

  Jacob chuckled and shook his head. “Man, I hope you don’t focus the whole time on girls. Girls don’t really like dumb guys, you know.”

  Sam turned toward him with a fake-serious face. “Hey, not funny.”

  Then he burst into laughter. He didn’t take the jab personally.

  Moments later, a man stepped up to the podium onstage. He wore a crisp gray suit and had a clean-shaven face. His voice echoed across the hall as he spoke:

  “Good evening, freshmen,” he began. “Welcome to the University of Oregon. This is your orientation.”

  He paused and glanced around.

  “You’ll be spending the next few years here. We expect you to present yourselves as young, outstanding adults. We are a university that strives for excellence and—”

  BANG!

  The doors swung open with a loud thud, startling everyone.

  Two students burst in—panting, red-faced, and clearly late.

  Jacob and Sam looked at each other in disbelief.

  “Wow,” Sam whispered. “Are these guys always running late?”

  The man at the podium gave the two newcomers a cold glance… then continued his speech.

  Becoming a Dragon Prince! This is a slow-burn story that starts grounded in everyday life, but the deeper fantasy elements — dragons, cultivation, and soul-bonded chaos — begin building momentum around Chapter 3.

  – Greg Ackerman