"Who can kill them?" Old Tony's hands trembled slightly as he held The Mystery of Magic.
"It's the people from Ainz Ooal Gown," Barrett answered for EeDechi.
"The king of the Sorcerer Kingdom, that demon god?" Old Tony seemed to have a sudden realization. "No wonder you believe in the existence of 10th and 11th Tier magic in the world. Even the myths spun by bards only dare to go up to 9th Tier magic."
He placed The Mystery of Magic on the oak tabletop, the heavy and ancient book sending ripples through the red tea in the porcelain cup on the table. The book compiled by the top elites among human mages, pooling all their wisdom, seemed as worthless as ass-wiping toilet paper when compared to Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Give it up. You'll never learn tenth-tier magic," Old Tony said in a low voice. "That's the realm of the gods—mortals can't touch it."
Once, plenty of mages, full of doubt, had gone out to investigate the ruins from the war between the Re-Estize and the Sorcerer Kingdom, along with all those half-true legends. After confirming that the terrifying magic unleashed by Ainz Ooal Gown was real, Ainz had become the god of magic in their eyes—a cruel, merciless god of magic.
"What makes you so sure I'm not a god?" EeDechi asked, leaning back in the woolen armchair.
"Don't kid around. You, a god? You're just a little more gifted, that's all," Old Tony teased. "Would a god sit in an armchair with us? Warm themselves by the fireplace? Drink red tea? And not even notice that the tea leaves expired two months ago?"
EeDechi was stunned for a second, while Barrett quickly spat the half-swallowed tea back into the porcelain cup.
"Why spit it out?" Old Tony grumbled. "I put a preservation spell on the tea canister. Barrett, do you believe your teammate is a god?"
"Me?" Barrett glanced at EeDechi beside him. The strength shown by this eccentric, unlikeable captain, in his eyes, had far surpassed the bounds of "human." Though EeDechi's appearance and daily habits were no different from a human's, Barrett leaned toward believing she was some ancient wyrm shapeshifted into human form.
Dragons posing as humans and moving about in humanoid towns—though rare—wasn't just some tall tale. Barrett had once teamed up with a dragonborn for an adventure.
That dragonborn teammate's backstory was downright tragic. His father was a young black dragon who'd taken human shape, wandering human cities out of curiosity. On the road, he got aroused at the sight of a pretty face and raped a tavern serving girl. She gave birth to the dragonborn after fifteen months of pregnancy, but died from complications in labor.
In adventurer circles, there's also this half-true, half-false yarn going around about a crew of orichalcum-rank adventurers banding together to slay a dragon. In a valley near the dragon's lair, they stumbled upon a cute little girl.
The girl claimed she'd been snatched from a nearby village by the wyrm and escaped while it slept, so the adventurers had her lead the way.
Who could've guessed that in the dead of night, under the full moon, the little girl spread her wings, turned into a massive dragon, and unleashed a scorching blast of dragon breath, burning the sleeping adventurers alive? Only one who'd stepped away from camp to take a piss at night survived the ordeal, passing down this horror story mouth-to-mouth among adventurers.
After spending this time with her, Barrett didn't buy that EeDechi was some savage dragonkin. Sure, she had plenty of draconic traits—like being quick-tempered, bossy, arrogant, full of herself... but she wasn't at the point of spewing fire from her mouth, which put Barrett somewhat at ease.
Barrett pondered for a second, then said to Old Tony, "I believe she has talents way beyond the norm. Who knows, maybe she's an ancient wyrm."
"I'm a bona fide human, not a dragon." EeDechi frowned.
Old Tony stroked his goatee beard and said, "The magic we use is divided into 1st Tier, 2nd Tier, 3rd Tier, and so on, based on its operating rules and power, which is why it's called Tier Magic. But before Tier Magic, it was the dragons' Wild Magic that ruled the world."
His voice suddenly grew long and drawn out, laced with a hint of world-weariness. "In my youth, I was obsessed with ancient legends, desperate to uncover lost magic spells. I even ventured into the ruins of the Eight Greed Kings' desert. Those secrets buried in ragged parchment scrolls had me hooked.
"Legend has it that over five hundred years ago, eight kings descended upon the world. With unmatched power, they rewrote the rules of magic. From then on, Tier Magic spread like wildfire, while Wild Magic vanished without a trace—leaving only the Dragon Lords able to wield the true Wild Magic.
"Unlike Tier Magic, which is powered by mana and mental energy, Wild Magic is driven directly by a dragon's soul—the so-called 'origin,' meaning control over the world's very essence. Rumors say the stronger the user's soul, the more potent the magic, even surpassing Tier Magic in power."
He looked at EeDechi and said, "If you want to learn tenth-tier magic, besides Ainz Ooal Gown, I doubt anyone can teach you. Why not go for Wild Magic instead? It's easier to pick up, and you see results fast, haha."
Old Tony chuckled. It seemed he still didn't really buy that EeDechi had the talent to study tenth-tier magic.
"Can I borrow this The Mystery of Magic to look over for a few days? I could write you a set of notes on some key parts of the book, and give you a few maps from my younger days exploring the Eight Greed Kings' desert. Who knows, you might find them handy."
"Sure." EeDechi agreed, sinking her body into the fluffy woolen armchair, head bowed in silence as she began to carefully mull over Old Tony's words.
The flames in the fireplace danced silently, golden firelight flickering across the three faces. All three stayed quiet, not saying a word, and for a moment, the living room's atmosphere grew still.
Barrett couldn't stand the mood. With a few people lounging comfortably in chairs like this, a warm fireplace, sweetened red tea (even if the leaves were expired)—in true adventurer fashion, they ought to be shooting the breeze, chatting about everything from ancient history to current events, bullshitting and bragging. It'd be even better with a bottle of fine wine.
He tried to break the silence. "Old Tony, why are you so close with Princess Renner? Signing some medical fund contract with her, and agreeing to help Brain win the Warrior Captain spot. Have you forgotten? One of the adventurer codes: don't get tangled in the power games of the nobles. We're adventurers, not mercenaries."
Old Tony, hearing this, shifted his gaze from the open The Mystery of Magic. He glanced around the living room, confirming only the three of them were there, then asked in a low voice, "Guess what—is Eddie my real nephew?"
Barrett and EeDechi traded puzzled glances. Old Tony was already over sixty, while Eddie was probably only fourteen or fifteen. Age-wise, it didn't add up for a normal uncle-nephew relationship.
The two couldn't help but wonder to themselves: What does Old Tony signing a medical fund contract with Princess Renner have to do with Eddie? Could Eddie have royal blood? Is he the bastard son of some royal woman?
Could Eddie be a prince abandoned in the wilds as a baby due to palace intrigue? Then picked up by Old Tony and raised as his own.
The reason Old Tony only acknowledged Eddie as his nephew, rather than adopting him as a son, was to make Eddie remember that royal blood flowed through his veins, and one day he'd reclaim the power and status that were rightfully his! This plot is way too melodramatic, right?!
EeDechi and Barrett snapped their heads up in unison to stare at Old Tony. EeDechi rubbed her palms together, "Spill all the juicy secrets to us—we promise we won't blab. Is it a prince's revenge saga? I'm dying to hear it!"
Barrett chimed in earnestly, "Old Tony, when you hit the big time, don't forget your old pals. If you end up as the next king's mentor, or even the court's chief wizard, don't forget this buddy who once scrapped with you over wheat bran in the trough. Back when we lost the storage bag, I saw you were getting on in years and specially gave you an extra helping of bran."
"What on earth are you two imagining?" Old Tony facepalmed. "Eddie is my brother's son—of course, not a blood brother, just a real close hometown buddy, and my closest friend. He's an adventurer, same as you and me."
His tone turned grave, the smile vanishing from his face, replaced by a sad and mournful look. "Eight years ago, I was still traveling outside the Re-Estize when I suddenly got a message from another mage. It said my brother's adventurer team had been ambushed by a gnoll tribe while trekking through the savage rainforest. Only three survived, all critically wounded and barely hanging on.
"They limped into a town, desperate for healing. Every adventurer there, whether they knew the group or not, chipped in what they had to buy a bottle of mandrake activator from a traveling merchant. With that one bottle of mandrake activator, they could've saved my brother's life.
"But they were short by three gold coins—just three lousy gold coins. The merchant wouldn't budge on selling his potion, so the adventurers got into a heated argument with his guards." Old Tony let out a deep sigh. "In the fight, the mandrake activator got smashed by accident. That was the only bottle they had, so my brother didn't pull through.
"By the time I reached the town, my brother had already passed away from his injuries. His wife had been killed by the gnolls back in the forest. All I found was a little boy kneeling before the grave—he was only six, my brother's only son, Eddie Hill. Later, I took Eddie home with me and raised him as his uncle.
"Just three gold coins short, just three gold coins," Old Tony murmured, repeating it to himself. "I'd have sold my soul to the devil for those three coins if I could—but alas... there was no chance.
"From then on, I started thinking that we adventurers couldn't keep lurking on the fringes of mainstream society. I worked my way up to become guildmaster of the capital's Adventurer's Guild. Then, when the nobles and royals started their power struggles, I saw my opening—and Princess Renner came to me on her own initiative.
"The Golden Princess needs us, and we need her. I hope to use her influence to push through a medical fund in the Re-Estize. That way, adventurers will never be short those three coins again..."
The expressions on Barrett and EeDechi's faces grew solemn too. They'd wondered before why Old Tony had allied with Princess Renner, but they never imagined such a heartbreaking story lay behind it.
Old Tony's voice trailed off suddenly, then went silent, as if something had cut him off mid-stream.
Barrett and EeDechi followed Old Tony's gaze and spotted one of the tragic story's protagonists—Eddie—standing at the living room door, leaning against the frame, staring blankly at them.
"Eddie." Old Tony sighed, straightening up in the woolen armchair and opening his arms.
The light-brown-haired boy ran over, on the verge of tears, and buried himself in the embrace. Old Tony hugged him tight, pulling him into his warm hold.
EeDechi and Barrett felt a lump in their throats—this uncle-nephew bond was undeniably touching and sorrowful.
Then they watched as Old Tony flipped Eddie over his knee and raised his hand to spank his bottom. "That's for sneaking the red tea! How dare you touch expired stuff! What if you get a stomachache..."