“Are you drinking any tonics before the duels?” the Dragon asks.

Not Marcus. No, the other Dragon.

“Nope, just coffee,” I yawn. “By the way, I’m Joey. I’m not sure I caught your name.”

“I’m Adriana, the first disciple of [Archmage] Marcus.”

Huh.

A female Dragon.

Now, I don’t mess with DnD or anything like that. But I have heard about bards doing stuff with Dragons. Is it very speciesist if the thought of having such an experience under my belt makes me flush a little?

“Mh, nice name,” I say while sipping on my coffee and yawning again.

“What’s the function of that liquid?” Adriana cranes her serpentine head above my shoulder – yeah, she’s a giant – and takes a good sniff. Creepy? I don’t know. A little hot too.

I look at her chest, and I’m disappointed. No badonkers on Dragons? Shouldn’t the ‘supreme race,’ the ‘apex predator,’ and whatnot, be very gifted in every aspect?

Well, no one’s perfect, it seems.

“It keeps you awake. I’m not sure it would affect a Dragon, though.”

“Why not?” she suddenly looks offended.

“Hm, because Dragons are big?”

“Excuse you,” she recoils, “I’ll let you know that even Dragons watch their weight very carefully. Fat is a disgrace! And having a humanoid form that, by the way, we’d only assumed to offset the amount of food we need to ingest, means that we have slow physiology. Therefore, we don’t need much more than your common Human to get drunk or—”

Man, what the—

Lord Juler, are all Dragons like this?

Very Mercurial, as your world would say, yes. Arrogant and shallow. They usually deny the last part, but it’s what happens when your whole history tells you you are superior to every other species.

Isn’t that the same mindset the Vanedenis have?

I snort.

Shallow Vanedenis get beaten up. If anyone shows misplaced pride, they get beaten up. You shall carry your head high with pride if you are a Vanedenis, but not—

Man, I’m too tired to listen to these two.

I tune out the sounds until we reach the tower's exit, and we enter a wide street. The citadel around the Nine Towers Academy looks like one of those places that were built on paper more than in reality. By that, I mean that the urban planning is perfect. It’s too perfect. If you ever went to any historical city that was not bombed by the Nazis, you would understand what I mean. Those places were built out of necessity, not planning. Therefore, those streets and buildings were an architect’s nightmare and a restorer’s dream.

As we start moving, I take in the landscape. It’s mostly gray because it’s very early in the morning. The sun is not out yet. And even though this is a city of magic, clouds decorate the sky, gifting the great [Mages] a gloomy atmosphere.

Many shops are opening, and bright, magical orange lights diffuse through the thick glass windows. The light then jumps onto the street, glistening on the slight dew gathered on the perfectly paved white road. It’s like walking on small golden blades of fire.

“Is the arena not inside the academy?” I ask Adriana as we move further away from the towers.

“There are multiple arenas inside the academy, but no one would allow a random Human just to enter there. The fact that [Archmage] Marcus was kind enough to vouch for you—”

“Dude,” I say to no one, really. I get out more bottled coffee from my bag of holding. God bless Claudius and me asking him to put a warming rune on these coffee containers.

So, I need to work my way up from the bottom of the ladder. Man, I’m getting major ‘Dragonball Tournament’ vibes here. Do I really have to go through dozens of idiots? Are my adversaries going to talk smack like one of those cheap villains in Japanese cartoons?

By the way, Lord Juler? Hello? Lord Juler?

—ejecting the most rebellious people as we—

Yo. Lord Juler!

He was still talking.

I am not done explaining how my people deal with dissidents, Joey Luciani.

Yeah, I know. But I just got an idea. Since we basically discovered super-fantastic magic, can’t we just revive you or something? I mean, you’ve helped a lot so far. Sure, you also almost killed me with some very disrespectful statements aimed at the wrong people. But, overall, I can say I’m here only thanks to you and the book. Can’t we build a homunculus or something? Get you inside a body while we snatch away another soul?

Liches deal in that magic, not [Archmages]. Only the craziest [Necromancers] mess with souls, Joey Luciani. I’m not exactly sure when, or even whether it will happen, but I’m bound to disappear at some point. I have already dodged death long enough. If we tried to give me a new body, we would risk twisting my remaining sanity. And a new body doesn’t come with all my past levels. I would be a half-empty husk of who I used to be.

I mean, we could have fun together, Lord Juler.

Joey Luciani, are you being emotional? You don’t need me. And I need to rest, at last. This is your era, not mine. I’ll be here with you as long as time permits. And I doubt I will leave you lazy around in the near future – it’s going to take time before you get rid of me.

A distinct note of paternalism came through his voice, like a father speaking to his only son. It saddens me, honestly.

“Are you crying? Oh, you must be scared,” I hear Adriana say.

“Oh, shut up! You are crying!” I say, wiping my eyes.