289 More Problems
They went to a spring where the female teachers of the Ouroboros School often bathe. Nefion knew the time and place, as well as the locations to hide, with no one noticing it.
It was obvious it was not the first time Nefion did that. The two of them knew it was wrong, especially Arthur, who was now married.
“What? You have wives now? Alright, then there is more for this old man.”
“Are you sure your friend is still up to the task?” Arthur said, pointing downwards.
“Shut up, my grandson. Everything you know, this old man knows better.”
After Nefion was done with the spying, they returned to his room to talk more about the situation. Arthur explained to him about Odemore, which was not that far from the Ouroboros Island.
“Yeah, you guessed it right. There are no schools around the area because we don’t allow it. So, move Odemore to another place.”
“What?”
The room was silent for a few seconds, and then Nefion said, “I am just joking with you, brat. You can stay there, and Ouroboros will protect you if anything happens.”
He tapped Arthur on the shoulder, laughing after seeing his face.
“You actually believed in that. What an idiot.”
“Oh, shut up, old man. Now, what was that letter about? I am curious.”
“About that… Well, it seems there is a place called the Demon Continent in this world, and they want to take control of the Central Continent now.”
“What? Now we have to deal with dark mages, and also this Demon Continent?”
“Yep, we are screwed. Also, brat, are you a rank 1 mage already? Impressive.”
“I am awesome, right? What rank are you, old man?”
“Well, just like you, I have an incredible body, but I am already at the rank 2, and on my way to reach rank 3 soon!”
“Really? Pretty good for someone your age.”
“Shut up! Anyway, we have to end this war with the dark mages as soon as possible. This letter said there are only rumors, and the Demon Continent should only invade us in the future, but if this ongoing war lasts for too long, then we will not have the time to recover.”
Nefion was right. If they took too long to win this war, then the Demon Continent would attack them in their weakest state. Another thing to consider was that the dark mages were working together with the Demon Continent.
“Don’t you think it is strange for this Demon Continent to wage war against us suddenly? Just like the dark mages… Couldn’t they be working together old man?”
“Oh? Now that you say this, it makes sense. This might be even worse than we thought… Well, what do you think we should do?” Nefion said.
Arthur was someone good with fighting, but he did not have the knowledge of how to stop a war. The first thing that came to his mind was to kill the person behind the dark mages, but no one knew who it was.
“Kill those in charge would make the most sense, but we don’t know who it is.”
“The other schools don’t, but I do!”
“Really?”
“Of course, this is me we are talking about.” Nefion said, bragging.
“Right. Someone as old as this planet has a lot of experience.”
“Why can’t you appreciate how bad ass your grandfather is? Anyway, the person in charge is a rank 3 mage, and that is where the problem lays.”
“A rank 3 mage? But our side surely has someone with a similar level of power?”
Nefion did not answer him, which could only mean one thing.
“How can we not have a rank 3 mage?”
“As far as I know, everyone who reached the rank 3 would be expelled from the planet by the gods, but that was before when they were around here exploring the portal which appeared and bla bla bla. They aren’t here anymore, which means anyone who advances can stay here if they want to.”
After that explanation, it all made sense. The gods were there studying the portal through which Arthur came through. It seemed they were there studying that very portal for a long time, even before Arthur passed through it.
But now they left and this rank 3 mage behind the dark mages probably advanced to the rank 3 in that time frame.
“Why doesn’t he attack us then? If he is the only rank 3 mage in the Central Continent, then he can do whatever he wants.”
“The thing is, he does not know about the gods expelling the other rank 3 mages, which means he thinks there is more waiting for him to make his move. That is why he is acting in the shadows.”
“Oh, it makes sense. At least this will give us some time to prepare, but what will we do? I don’t see where I can help with my meager power.”
Arthur knew he was far surpassed the general rank 1 mages, and even killed a rank 2, though it was using a surprise attack.
A rank 3 mage? That was a force he could not go up against, and even he, a prideful person, knew it was impossible.
“I need you to enter the school that rank 3 mage is in charge of, and learn more about him for me. While you do that, I will reach the rank 3 to go up against him,”
“You probably have some essences already, right? I can help you with the Shadow Essence, as that is the element most of these dark mages use.”
“So you want me to enter a school filled with dark mages who will kill me if they discover my identity? The same place where a rank 3 mage is?”
“You can do it!” Nefion said, giving Arthur a thumbs up.
“But will they accept more students? Aren’t they in the middle of a war?”
“Yes. They are like us, just chilling with all the students going to class just like before. That man is behind the strongest school of the dark arts.”
“How long will it take?”
“Hum, a year maybe. The plan is for you to enter as a new student, and make your way through the school ranks, until reaching a point where that rank 3 mage trusts you. By that time, I will also be at the rank 3, and we can work together to end the war.”
“Okay, alright. Can you monitor Odemore for me, old man?”
“No problem. Come, follow me. We will have to prepare first.”
Everything was happening so fast Arthur could barely keep it up, but he knew it was something only he could do.
Nefion and he went to another room, which looked more like a dungeon.
“Sit.”
Arthur did as he was told, sitting on the ground cross-legged. Nefion then went behind him, placing the hand on his back.
He was not understanding at first, but then a strange energy entered inside his body. It was the Shadow Essence. Nefion was giving it to him, at least for the first part.
“Unfortunately, I cannot give you the complete essence. You will have to practice, but don’t worry, with this dragon meditation technique, it should not be a problem.” Nefion said, taking out an old scroll from his magical pouch.
“Void Dragon Meditation? Isn’t this for a Void Essence?”
“Correct. If you train with this, then your Shadow Essence will get stronger, turning into a Void Essence after its completion. That is my secret technique.”
Arthur was lost for words. Sure, both he and Nefion were dragons, most likely one of the last, but seeing Nefion give him his secret technique made his heart warmer.
Also, now that he remembered, he saw Nefion’s brother a long time ago! He never had the chance to speak with Nefion again, so that is why he had not told him yet.
“Old man, a long time ago I went inside the Dream Realm, and the gods had your brother trapped.”
“WHAT?” Nefion grabbed Arthur’s shoulder.
“Are you saying the truth? Arsin was there?”
Nefion could not believe what Arthur was saying. He had not seen his brother since a long, long time ago. He thought Arsin was dead, but now Arthur was saying he saw him inside the Dream Realm.
“Yes, that is right. Old man, I think this might be the best chance we have to save him. You said the gods are gone, right? So maybe they aren’t inside the Dream Realm anymore.”
“I don’t think it is that simple… Was he alright?”
“Yeah, he looked okay.”
“Okay. Let’s first focus on winning against the rank 3 mage, and then we will go after him. I don’t think we have enough strength to go inside the Dream Realm yet.”
Even though Nefion wanted to save his brother, he also knew they did not have the strength to do so.
“Now, I will tell you everything I know about the school you will go, as well as where and when they are getting new students.”