It took me a while to realize how absurd a Dragon named ‘Marcus’ was. Usually, you would expect something very cringe. Or some of those idiotic names full of air commas. Something like If’you’are’an’idiot’-put’another’air’comma. Jokes aside, I’m glad I wasn’t burnt to a crisp after Lord Juler’s umpteenth outburst.

We are now walking to one of the majestic and massive towers – basically, magical skyscrapers. Some of them are taller than the academy proper. And while Stan and his [Archmage] friend are talking, I’m trying to take care of future problems.

Lord Juler, can’t I be left to deal with these problems on my own? I don’t really need to make people even angrier. I’d like it if you stopped taking control of my body.

Taking control? Joey Luciani, I’m no [Possession], child. You come from a soft world. Here, at the Nine Towers Academy, real magic is present. Wonders of a magnitude you can’t even start to comprehend. Your magical theories are incredibly elegant, but they are not complicated rituals. Magic, Joey Luciani, can change – has changed – the world. You still don’t know how to command respect. That Marcus was a young uppity [Mage] when I was still alive. Do you know how old that makes him? No? Well, I’d suggest you open a history book. If you let these people take a whiff of your weakness, they will pounce. I scared him to death, instead. Nothing terrifies a Dragon more than a threat of future demise. They are born more powerful than Humans, but their longer life spans make them lazier, complacent. Humans and other species are always racing against the clock – and that means we have to face more adversities. If you face more adversities, you gain more levels. If you gain more levels, your expertise goes up. And if your expertise goes up, Joey Luciani, you can learn how to be an even better [Mage].

Yeah, ok, I’m not initiating a discussion with Lord Juler ever again. If there’s anything I learned from what he just said, it’s this: never bother an old man with too much time on his hands. It’s like when random old people stop you in the park and start talking about their life while they comfortably sit at their benches. Then, you are faced with a choice. Do you go away, knowing that you will cross their path again – they are there all day, goddammit – or will you sit at the bench and see how deep the rabbit hole is?

“What’s the little Human’s specialization, Tiberius?” I hear [Archmage] Marcus ask Stan.

“Light Magic.”

“Another fool?” [Archmage] Marcus shakes his head.

“Leave him be, Marcus,” Stan sighs and puts one of his old, wizened hands on the humanoid Dragon’s shoulder. “New generations need to be a bit arrogant, and you know it better than me.”

“When I was young, every other [Mage] tried to become the [Light Mage], Tiberius. I have to say that few remember the importance of such a class. But your little student is either the biggest idiot in this world or an arrogant fool.”

What?

Lord Juler, what are they talking about?

No response from the Vanedeni illegally inhabiting my soul.

Yo, Lord Juler? Please, I need an explanation.

Joey Luciani, I must inform you I was in the middle of very important mathematical feats.

Did he get offended because I always tell him that he talks too much?

Please, Lord Juler. I know that you know. Would you mind telling me what they are talking about? I’d rather ask you than that stupid Dragon.

I suppose… Yes. But stop being a [Sycophant], Joey Luciani. I, as your master and teacher, shall recount a story—

I slowly breathe in and out, hoping that I won’t pop a vein in my head.

They are talking about legends. Even I only found fragments of this. But the story goes that there’s a great Evil in the world. Mind you, there are many great Evils… but there is one specific legend saying that one of these is the greatest yet. Again, I only found posthumous fragments to corroborate the story; that means we don’t have any assurances that this is actually the case. Plus, the Dragons are very sketchy with their own history.

The story goes that a Dragon, a master of magic beyond imagination, led a charge against the greatest Evil in the world. What this Evil was, or is, is a mystery. Monsters, Canti themselves, or whatever. The point is that such an enemy was clad in darkness and could… I don’t know how to put it. I still remember the fragments I found on… whatever. These – let’s call them ‘monsters’ – could heal from almost any wound. The only magic that could negate their regenerative capabilities was Light Magic. This is why countless [Mages] throughout history have tried to uncover the secrets of the [Light Mage] class.

It is interesting to note that you naturally gravitated toward the class. You stumbled upon it. Anyway, one of the greatest masters of the Nine Towers Academy was a [Light Mage]. It’s been millennia, though. He disappeared without leaving a trace. Dragons had something to do with that. But even then, records of his existence were hidden or burned. However, all the Light Magic you will witness inside the academy is his legacy.

But going back to the legends—When I found some of the records, there was indeed an ominous energy surrounding—

“Joey?”

Huh?

Turning to my left, I see Lucinda tugging at Augustus’s arm, trying to pull him away. Instead, the big Elf smiles at me with the intensity of a thousand suns.

Yeah.

Fuck.

In a second, I feel like I’ve been repeatedly stabbed in the guts. But I can also see that Lucinda is probably much more uncomfortable than me. I mean, she did stab me in the back after I showed her the basics of my magic.

So, there’s only one thing to do now.

“Yo! Augustus! Lucinda!” I wave at them as loudly as possible.

I’m not a person who carries grudges.

But sometimes…

It’s not a bad idea to embarrass someone to death.