Johannes’ eyes flickered as he seemed to reminisce on something.

  In Liam’s mind, that made sense. It would have been millennia since someone actually asked him for a wand of his. It certainly didn’t look like this shop got many customers at all, and for good reason.

  But Johannes’ tone changed as soon as he heard Liam’s words. It became more sly and gruff at the same time, somehow. The wings on the fat loaf of a man’s back perked up, flushing with blood and color.

  “A wand for him… so you’ve taken another disciple?”

  Liam simply nodded.

  But he thought back to what Vivana said about getting to know people, and figured that he should add something else to the conversation. In the end, he decided: “I am not here to judge you for the choices you’ve made in the millennia past. We all change, and we all deserve retribution. If you make the wand for the boy, I can help you get back on your feet. Does that sound alright?”

  To Johannes, it must have seemed as if a golden egg had plopped onto his lap.

  His addiction was truly terrible. But here, the greatest archmage to have ever lived, was saying that he could fix that problem.

  Even Bob had a smile painted on his face.

  Finally, Johannes spoke. “How long do I have to make the wand?” He managed.

  “About three minutes.”

  “What?! Shit!” Johannes erupted from the ground, snatching Noah, who was currently playing with Bob. Noah didn’t get scared at this—well, he looked as if he was about to cry, but then he noticed that Liam had no worry in his eyes at all. So he simply looked up at the big man with wide eyes and began to laugh.

  Johannes pumped mana into his veins, which promptly exploded into flames. Liquid magma streamed across his body as he chanted several things in an ancient language, lighting up spots on Noah’s hand.

  The way he worked was a thing of beauty, even when the surroundings were not so beautiful.

  [Silent Investigation].

  Results of Silent Investigate - Harpy-Human, Level 3917

  Liam frowned. Had the man actually gotten weaker? Back when he was actively defeating the Chaosborn, Johannes Baxter was a Level 6000 powerhouse. But now he’d fallen to this. He supposed that alcohol really did kill, no matter how much of a beast you were.

  Still, even though the man’s techniques had worsened, he was proven wrong once again.

  He was still a far greater master at the art of crafting than anyone else to ever live.

  Within a minute, the fire and steam had cooled, and there was a small wand in front of Noah. But it didn’t exactly look like a wand. Liam warped forward with [Flash Step], letting his robes billow out as he knelt and glanced at the wand.

  “It’s in the form of a ring,” he remarked. “Is that what fits the boy’s soul the most?”

  Johannes nodded gruffly, his beard swaying. The rest of his hair seemed bristly. He gulped while looking down at the [Archmage Devourer], who gazed upon him with such a calm expression.

  About fifteen seconds left, he thought in his mind.

  “Noah, why don’t you inject mana into it?” Liam asked.

  The boy cocked his head. “Inject…”

  Liam facepalmed. “Put mana in the ring.”

  Noah smiled wide. “I can do that, Mister Liam!”

  And he did. The ring transformed into a small winged scepter. It seemed almost alive, pulsing with Noah’s power.

  Yes, this was a fit wand for the boy.

  “What will you call it, Noah? That thing is your child from now on.”

  “Make sure to give it a name you won’t cringe at in the future!” Vivana called from the corner of the room. She seemed to be giving the ghost a bit of a makeover.

  “Name…” Noah looked down at the scepter with wide, soft eyes. “I want to get to know it better before I give it a name, Mister Noah.”

  At this, Liam grinned. A bit wider than usual.

  “Good choice!”

  BOOM.

  The sound of screams erupted from outside the shop.

  It was a telling sign; the [Solar Eclipse] had arrived.

  * * *

  Liam had promised Johannes that he would come back, and that the [Solar Eclipse] was his own doing. What he didn’t want to do was exit the store and join the masses who were probably praying for their own salvation, thinking Judgement Day was upon them. Who wouldn’t? This veil was a lot darker than a true solar eclipse, in truth. Of course, they believed that the Chaosborn might have come back.

  Liam’s greatest worry was not them right now. It was Noah. The boy had already told him that he was afraid of the dark.

  “Noah is afraid of the dark,” he’d told Vivana before casting the [Teleport] spell to lead them to the forest.

  Vivana had responded by illuminating her blood and veins, creating an almost transparent, star-like figure. That seemed to satisfy Noah. Not confident in his ability to appease the boy, he’d asked Vivana to carry the boy—which she happily did.

  As of now, they were in the middle of the forest from which they had emerged when Liam had cast the first [Teleport] spell to reach Havensberg. It was incredibly dark, with the only source of light being the bioluminescent spotted mushrooms and Vivana herself.

  Noah snuggled against Vivana, whimpering as Liam cast [Third Eye], looking into the underground root network. If there was indeed a dragon here, then the flow of natural mana should, in theory, be directed toward the tomb itself in order to keep it functional.

  Basically, all the trees here were producing power for the tomb. Which was why they looked all shriveled up and scraggly.

  Liam closed his eyes, focusing on the storm of mana underneath the ground and the path it was taking. It was like following the path of water as it traveled throughout rivers, and eventually to the ocean. His consciousness itself separated from his body like velcro straps coming undone.

  There… Northwest. I feel a clump of energy.

  Liam prepared to cast another [Teleport] spell, but Vivana stopped him with a hand in front of his face.

  “What?” He asked.

  “Do you really want to keep using [Teleport]? Where’s the fun in that? If you want Noah to lose his fear of the dark, then you have to show him that being in the dark can be fun.”

  “Is this one of your tips?”

  “All of the words that come out of my mouth are valuable.” Vivana chuckled. “Anyway—I have something amazing in mind. Come here, I’ll whisper it into your ear so Noah can’t hear.” Upon hearing the last couple words, Noah perked up, struggling and straining his body to try and listen.

  “I’m going to make a slingshot. You clear the path, and we’ll shoot directly to the tomb,” Vivana whispered.

  That sounded like a horrible plan.

  But Liam supposed it was interesting, and moving places quickly was something Noah enjoyed.

  “Close your eyes, Noah!” Vivana said enthusiastically as Liam pointed his outward-facing palm in the direction of the tomb.

  “[Switch Mode: Caster. Target: Hawfield Masser].”

  Liam could just use something like a [Light Beam] or [Fire Beam] to have the desired effect, but then the trees wouldn’t grow back. And he wasn’t fond of destroying the environment, since he himself had lived as long as some of these trees. It felt like killing his own kin… he was part tree, being a [Perfect Human].

  Hawfield Masser was an [Archmage] who specialized in destructive restoration magic. They were two terms juxtaposed together, but they did indeed have a meaning. He was a deviant mage—his attacks were incredibly powerful, but their effect reversed after a couple seconds. Which meant he couldn’t cause any permanent damage.

  With a slight smile on his face that nobody else but Vivana could see, he incanted the spell:

  “[The Beauty of Destruction].”

  The spell blossomed into a brilliant beam of light that charged in his palm. It was intermixed with as many colors as there were stars in the sky, and as it shot forward, it gave off but a low hum. There was no chaotic explosion. It was just controlled magnificence.

  The aftermath of the beam was a completely cleared out pathway that led directly to the tomb. Liam could see a bloodred crystal beaming far in the distance.

  In the meantime, Vivana had created the slingshot out of some very elastic roots and vines. There were at least a thousand of them all bunched up together.

  “Open your eyes, Noah!”

  It wasn’t Vivana who spoke, but Liam.

  Noah opened his eyes, confused for a moment. But then he laid his eyes on the slingshot.

  His face instantly flushed with joy.

  “I want to try!” He shouted. “Me, me! Miss Vivana! Please!”

  So, heeding the boy’s commands, Vivana brought the slingshot back and placed Noah within it. She also buckled herself up to the contraption. Albeit reluctantly, Liam did the exact same thing, finding that he was uncomfortably close to the two of them.

  “So when are you going to—” Liam began.

  BOOM!

  Vivana released the slingshot suddenly. It flung the group at incredible speeds through the pathway Liam had just created. His gums flapped, though the rest of his body stayed still and calm. This wasn’t amusing, he told himself. This wasn’t fun at all. Really!

  He couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t fun any longer, actually.

  Along with the others, he whooped as they shot through the air.

  Then they finally reached the tomb—a large black box in the middle of the forest. The walls should have been solid, but the red crystal was glowing, and Liam figured that it was the solar eclipse that caused the walls to become like liquid.

  Unable to react, they all shot straight through.

  * * *

  Liam groaned, not prepared for the surprise. He didn’t think the slingshot idea was all too bad, and it did look like Vivana was having fun—and more importantly Noah as well—but if that was at the expense of his enjoyment, he preferred they do something else.

  His absolute sense noted the trees returning back to their normal shape behind him. He chanted [Deactive Mode] in his mind, giving way to a stream of nausea, and then silence.

  Finally.

  Although that silence was soon broken by the annoying voice of a child.

  “Look, Mister Liam!” Noah shouted. “We found a baby dragon! It went just as Miss Vivana said it would!”

  … What?

  11

  Chapter 11: Bonding with a Baby Dragon / Godslayer Soup!

  Liam was convinced that Noah was seeing hallucinations. After all, he still felt the giant presence of the dragon corpse. So he simply got to his feet and looked around. The tomb was simple—the only striking thing was the deep black color of the walls and floor. In fact, there was nothing else here. Just the blackness. No torches or anything of the sort.

  It reminded Liam of a famous architect of long past… Mike Yawaski.

  His mouth twitched as he remembered the man.

  But his thoughts quickly moved from that, back to Noah himself.

  “What?” He asked. “What did Vivana say? Where’s the dragon?”

  “Here!” Noah said enthusiastically, shifting aside to reveal what was in fact… a baby dragon. The little thing was sleeping, though its eyes were open. Liam looked to his left to see the gigantic scaly mound which was in fact the corpse of the dragon. So what was this little bugger doing here?

  The little creature seemed less like a dragon and more like a cat. Sure, it had the back scales, but there was also fur growing on its body. Its eyes had slits, and while it did have tiny stub-wings… it looked a lot cuter than a dragon should be.

  “Vivana?” He tilted his head questioningly as the elf girl laughed, leaning backward and patting Noah on the shoulder.

  “You really didn’t notice? Have your senses dulled?” She blew a raspberry while trickling healing mana into the baby dragon’s body and Noah watched it with wide eyes, probably afraid of the thing. But he was also attracted to it.

  Liam frowned, raising his eyebrows.

  “You… concealed it. I wasn’t expecting that. Why?”

  “Ah! You saw right through me, huh?” Vivana chuckled and then sighed, the glint in her eyes never leaving. “I guess I just wanted to see if I could surprise you. I told little Noah a while back, while we were talking to the spirit in the wand shop.”

  The silver ring on Noah’s fingers pulsated upon mention of the shop.

  As much as Liam didn’t want to admit it, Vivana had fooled him.

  It was definitely a surprise. But only because he’d let his guard down near… wait. He had let his guard down near these two? Was he really that close to the both of them?

  The answer was yes. And he could not argue against that.

  “[Illuminate],” Liam muttered. His hair flashed with bright lights, instantly filling the room up. The black walls didn’t get any softer, though.

  The baby dragon twitched.

  And then, his real eyes opened. He saw the world for the first time.

  It was a slow moment, where Liam felt time had slowed to a crawl. He didn’t know exactly what to do. So he just watched and waited.

  * * *

  From Noah’s point of view.

  When he saw the baby dragon, it felt like he’d eaten a pile of strawberries! That was one of his favorite foods after all, and it made him feel really good. It was the same when he saw the baby dragon open its eyes.

  The dragon looked at him. And he looked at the dragon. All the fear he had vanished completely, like dust in the wind. Mister Liam was looking at him expectantly—at least that’s what he assumed—and Miss Vivana was doing the same, only with a softer and more cheery look. In Noah’s eyes, the two were cut from the same cloth.

  They adored him and cared for him, but they were so far above him that he just couldn’t see them as parents.

  Only caretakers.

  But this dragon…

  It felt like he’d just met a long lost brother. Without any regard for his surroundings, Noah activated both of the cores inside his body. The human one and the other one he mysteriously had and couldn’t identify properly.

  The dragon cooed and purred, just like a kitten. Only with a bit of a deeper undertone.

  It inched forward, and Noah did as well, crawling.

  The two got close enough to touch noses.

  And they did. Just a little boop.

  An electric shock ran between the two and they burst into an excited frenzy. Noah widened his arms, picked the baby dragon up, and hugged him. The baby dragon shrieked for a moment, and then melted into Noah’s arms.

  Was it that easy to make friends with a dragon? Noah’s mother had warned him that dragons were terrifying creatures and that he must always stay away from them.

  But this wasn’t so bad.

  The baby dragon snorted fire, curling around his shoulders. Noah responded with a bit of his own silver flame. The two fires mixed together, and the dragon let out something like a snort. Soot and ash rained from his nose for a moment.

  Noah sneezed.

  The dragon laughed.

  That was when a notification popped up in front of Noah’s eyes.

  The baby dragon wants to forge an eternal bond with you! If you accept, the two of you will be bound by blood, body, and soul, vowing never to leave each other as companions and friends. The dragon will grow up with you, and as long as he is alive, you cannot die.

  However if one of you dies, the other will as well.

  Noah couldn’t understand all the words, so the System translated it into pictures and animations directly implanted into his mind so he could figure it out.

  Yes!

  Yes, he wanted to do this. He thought Mister Liam and Miss Vivana would definitely love it as well! And then they could all be a happy family together… if only they could find his mother for him. Wherever she was.

  Noah didn’t want to linger on the somber note.

  “Yes, Mister System!” He shouted happily.

  Mister Liam instantly perked up.

  A golden string of chains clawed at Noah’s heart, attaching itself to him. It did the same for the dragon as well. The dragon did its best impression of a smile as the chains bound together tightly.

  What would you like to name your companion? Your companion will name you as well.

  “Flame,” Noah said the first word that came to his mind. It felt right.

  You have named your companion “Flame”.

  Your companion has named you “Silver.”

  Well, that made sense to Noah. His flames were silver, after all.

  Flame and Silver… happy… All the good marshmallow-like terms had Noah thinking of hot cocoa by the fireplace and warm pastries as well.

  He hugged the dragon once more.

  And that was how they became the best of friends.

  * * *

  Back in the Wand Shop, after Liam Ordenar dissipated the [Solar Eclipse]. One day later.

  Light was brought back to the quiet little town of Havensberg, though things were far from returning to normal. Liam didn’t care, however, since he didn’t plan on staying here long.

  Right now, they had chosen to take a day’s rest at the Wand Shop while helping clean it up. Vivana had made good friends with the sheepish spirit Bob. But she did prefer to stay away from Johannes… and Liam could understand why.

  Still, he had sworn to help Johannes with his alcohol problem. The first thing he’d done was remove all the bottles of alcohol in the house, and the several levels of underground cellars underneath. That took but a snap of a finger.

  Johannes was murmuring depressing things in the corner of the room while Vivana and Bob were doing some sort of gymnastics… or yoga, or whatever the hell it was. Liam himself was sipping a cup of coffee near the makeshift counter and kitchen he’d just built. And instead of watching the others, he was watching Noah play with his new dragon.

  Yes.

  He never thought he’d lay his eyes on such a thing.

  But the two looked like brothers.

  They were wrestling, play fighting—although the dragon overpowered Noah most of the time—and just innocently playing as well. On a more technical level, Liam was surprised that the dragon had actually wanted to bond with Noah.