“I have not asked anything,” Juler says with a calm demeanor. “I am here because you managed to complete a task I deemed impossible. You’ve brought new theories and methodologies to magic in a world that is currently reveling in a puddle while thinking it is sailing the ocean.”

Whatever this man is trying to say, it doesn’t make much sense. God, Lady Luck, why did you send me to this dude? He’s mental! Clearly! God, I’m going to fight a war or something, aren’t I? It’s not enough that I have to dive into a Dungeon with other freaks; now you want me to fight an entire war?

Why?

WHY?

“Let’s skip to the last Cantrip for the moment. I think it might help you make your peace with my intentions. I don’t intend to make you fight the war of my people unless you want to. And even then, I’d rather see a Vanedenis win than a traveler among worlds come to our rescue. There are still other dormant powers that have not resolved to act yet. And they might be enough on their own to put an end to the entire thing. Don’t let me go on about this topic, though. I’m being overly cryptic, and I believe that magic is all about clarity and simplicity. Only those stupid Hydras, the self-proclaimed best [Mages] in the world, could believe that complexity elevates the soul. But not even having more than one head helped them when we took the field, did it?”

This guy loves going on tangents – that much is clear. However, he seems to oscillate between magic discourse and the warring efforts of his people. But I agree on the point about magic and possibly any other discipline. Simple solutions always trump complex ones. The more steps you add to a process, the higher the chances of failing.

“The last question I wrote down does not have any wrong answer. At the same time, almost every answer can be wrong. The length of your trials made your foundational abilities more impressive than any other person below the [Archmage] level. In this era, your talents and skill may even trump the basic control of an [Archmage]. Mind you, if you go back in time by half a millennium or more, that wouldn’t be true anymore. But recently, we’ve hit a rough patch as a world. They did, to be precise. I’m not living; I’m simply a fading soul looking to teach a few of his tricks.”

“You talk a lot,” I say without even thinking about my words.

The middle-aged man’s face goes dark for a moment, and I feel a shiver go down to my guts.

“Few people ever dared to say it out loud. And I’m not one of those who appreciate honesty when talking to kids. Respect, Joey Luciani, is a skill everyone has to learn at some point. Your cheery and funny disposition is good – more than one great [Archmage] was like that.”

I feel like a very powerful ‘but’ is coming my way.

“But beware,” the man's voice is infused with raw power. Even if he’s a soul or whatever, I can still feel my imaginary body’s bones rattling. “I take offense to rude behavior in my presence. I’m not your disgraced warden of a [Druid]. I am a master of magic, greater than those masters of old the world seems to have forgotten. Dragons who met me bowed their heads to my passing. I hold the great secrets of this world and the keys to power that would corrupt the most pious of [Saints]. Therefore, Joey Luciani, be careful with your words.”

This man knows things about me; he just mentioned Stan. And he doesn’t like my uppity behavior. I’m stating the obvious, aren’t I?

“Master Juler,” I say while bowing my head a little. “I have great respect for and dedication to magic. I do hold endless respect for you too, for creating an artifact such as the Omnium Compendium. Thank you for your tutelage so far. I would love to hear more about your knowledge of magic and the world if you are still willing to teach me.”

Not knowing what mannerism goes with this guy, I cup my hands like in one of those cheesy Chinese martial arts movies. However, I have to bite my tongue not to add a ‘but you could really shorten your speeches.’

“That’s better,” the man standing in front of me relaxes his posture. “But be careful with the words you use. I’ve not yet decided to teach you anything. I have one last question, and I’ll not give you much to ponder, just a few minutes. If your answer is not good, you can go back to simply using the book. I’ll erase the knowledge of my presence from your mind, and you will never remember meeting me. If your answer is worthy, however, I will start teaching you as I would one of my descendants. Beware, not like I would a personal disciple of mine, though. I am a terrible judge of character, sadly. So far, you have been outstanding in your conduct, but so have many who then fell to the allure of being a [Hero] without paying its rightful price.”

“Could you clarify your last statement before starting, Master Juler?” I ask, trying to be as respectful as I can. This guy can probably teach me how to avoid getting mugged or killed in a Dungeon, plus a lot of cool magic. But he’s also a bit too self-referential and confuses me a whole lot when he randomly references the history of his people and whatnot.

“Shortcuts,” he says with a headshake. “The lazy ones and the cowards use shortcuts that will compromise your being. Shortcuts snowball, and the man who chooses the first shortcut is not the man who chooses the second one. Every compromise weighs heavy on our soul, Joey Luciani. You have done good so far, but you have only been here for a little while. You are lazy at times and an incredibly hard worker at others. I don’t know whether this mixed disposition will make you a degenerate and a twisted monster or the greatest of [Heroes]. Or maybe just a mediocre, in-between thing. But I’m interested in finding out the answer.”

He makes a small pause, and his multi-colored irises sparkle with what I can only call ‘great feats.’ There’s power in this man, great power. But there’s also great history. There’s something that transcends anything I have met so far: it’s a longing for a greater fate, a promise of something deeper in this shallow world, a meaning that I cannot grasp with a simple glance.

This man is everything I’ve always denied myself.

“Are you interested?” he asks with a smirk.

“Oh yeah, baby, you bet,” I reply with my signature wink.