"Magic is unpredictable, incantations are immeasurable, and the wonders of magic are endless."
Around 8 o'clock at night, in a semicircular living room, EeDechi and Barrett leaned back in soft chairs. Across from them, Old Tony was sunk deep into a woolen armchair, striking a comfortable pose as he talked at length.
"Magic released through excellent conductors can gain several times the amplification—for example, unicorn horns, pseudodragon tail feathers, gleaming gold crystals, even fire salamander genitals... Humans don't have a high affinity for magic, so we create wands, staffs, holy symbols, and the like..."
Barrett had visited Old Tony's home before and knew the address like the back of his hand. He led EeDechi there, knocked on the door, and explained their purpose: EeDechi wanted to ask about some basic knowledge of magic.
The adventurer captain could cast a few 5th-tier attack spells, which, by the standards of humans in this world, already placed her in the so-called 'hero' realm.
But in her heart, she knew she could absolutely master higher-tier spells—and she had to. Compared to Ainz Ooal Gown's 11th-tier Super-Tier Magic, 5th-tier spells were like trying to pierce a knight's adamantite plate armor with a goblin's crude bow and arrow.
To fight the demon lord, she needed power strong enough to match him. EeDechi had exceptional talent in magic, but talent that wasn't turned into strength was just empty words.
Snap! Old Tony snapped his fingers, and flames suddenly burst to life in the empty fireplace on one side of the living room. The dancing flames licked at the dry, cold stone brick walls, with heat and light spilling out from the hearth, warming the entire room.
"Save on candles." Old Tony waved his finger, and several white candles on the copper candlestick suddenly went out, white smoke curling from the charred wicks.
He then wiggled his right index finger, and in the living room, an oak round table seemed pushed by some invisible hand, spinning as it shifted position and stopping right between the three of them.
Old Tony snapped his fingers again with a snap, and three porcelain cups on saucers appeared out of thin air, clinking onto the table.
EeDechi and Barrett watched Old Tony cast spells with keen interest. The old mage hadn't budged his ass an inch from the woolen chair, but everything around him seemed to follow his commands.
"Tea time!" Old Tony clapped lightly and said leisurely, "On a cold winter night, even without snow outside the window, sipping red tea from the Bogat Highlands is a truly wonderful treat."
Barrett and EeDechi widened their eyes, staring at the three white porcelain teacups on the table. The cups were empty inside, but the two of them were full of anticipation.
Footsteps came trotting over. "Coming, coming." It was a boy's voice. The boy carried a heavy green gold-rimmed teapot, running in from outside the door, and filled their cups with light red tea.
EeDechi and Barrett both looked up at Old Tony, their faces blank.
Old Tony stroked his goatee, smiling a bit sheepishly. "Food can't be conjured from nothing with magic, just like how spatial rings can't hold living things—it's one of the few dull rules in the mysterious world of magic."
"Let me introduce you—this is my nephew, Eddie Hill. You've met at the dogfighting arena. He picked the spot for the magic combat class himself; I don't have the soft heart to go around saving puppies." Old Tony patted Eddie's shoulder.
The boy was about fourteen or fifteen years old, with light brown hair and a few freckles on his face. Facing EeDechi and Barrett, two strangers, he seemed a bit uneasy. Barrett remembered that during the high-tier adventurer meeting, the kid had used a sonic boom spell to "warm up" the crowd for Old Tony's entrance.
Old Tony said to Eddie, "Use a summoning spell to fetch a cup. If you can pull it off, you can have a cup of red tea too."
Eddie pursed his lips and shook his head. "I already drank some when I was brewing the tea. It doesn't taste good at all—bitter as hell!"
"I've told you a million times, don't sneak sips of the snacks, especially the tea for guests!" Old Tony huffed and glared, looking like he was about to blow up, but his ass didn't budge an inch from the soft chair cushion.
Eddie, still holding the big teapot, bolted out of there and vanished in a flash.
"Kids these days are a real handful." Old Tony stroked his beard and sighed. "So, next I'll explain the basic patterns that make up magic circles. I wonder, what's the highest tier of magic you've used?" He asked EeDechi.
"5th-tier magic," EeDechi said calmly.
"5TH TIER? Don't mess with me!" This time, Old Tony's eyes went wide. "You know Baharuth's strongest court mage, Fluder Paradyne, who's lived over 200 years—he only masters 6th-tier magic?"
"You don't believe me?" EeDechi extended her palm, magic rippling out as rings of gorgeous colors spun around her wrist. A magic disk woven with red and green bloomed in front of her hand.
"5th-tier magic · Earthqua..." EeDechi was about to recite the full spell.
Barrett and Old Tony leaped from their woolen armchairs, grabbing her arm and shaking it hard, interrupting EeDechi's spell chant.
"I believe you! I believe you! No need to prove it!" Old Tony nodded frantically. "If you prove it here for me, my house will be gone!"
He was a seasoned mage and a well-traveled elite adventurer. From the magic aura and the twisting of mana, he could tell that EeDechi could indeed cast a 5th-tier spell.
Old Tony let out a breath and sat back in the armchair. "You're already someone who's stepped into the 'hero' realm. What do you want with an old guy like me who only knows 4th-tier magic?"
"I want to find the basic rules of mana flow," EeDechi lowered her voice, "to learn 10th-tier, even 11th-tier magic."
"10th tier? 11th tier?" Old Tony's eyes widened in shock. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Where did you learn your 5th-tier magic?"
EeDechi pulled a thick book bound in hard cowhide from her spatial ring, The Mystery of Magic, and tossed it onto the table. "Learned it from this book, but there are parts I don't understand."
Old Tony picked up The Mystery of Magic, flipped through a few pages, and exclaimed, "This is an unpublished secret tome." He slowly stroked the authors' names on the title page with his fingertip, murmuring to himself, "The compilers are all famous high-tier mages from Baharuth—legendary figures in our mage circles."
He asked EeDechi, "I've admired them for a long time. Can you introduce me?"
"They're all dead."
EeDechi picked up her teacup, took a sip of red tea, and said no more. The Mystery of Magic was a book she found in a luxurious manor while on an adventure quest in Baharuth.
And that adventure quest was a trap set specifically for her by the Great Tomb of Nazarick. From the scene in the manor, it looked like the mages had been discussing revisions to The Mystery of Magic when they were all slaughtered by Ainz Ooal Gown's subordinates.