“Long-lasting damage and only a few materials can block it, among which lead,” [Archmage] Marcus mumbles my words back at me. “Mutagenic properties in the body and mostly invisible light.”

“Where did you hear about this?” he asks.

“Huh,” well, I can’t really tell. “Knowledge passed down among my people, [Archmage]. I’d rather keep the exact source secret. I hope you understand.”

The golden humanoid creature slowly nods. The more I look at it, the more his head looks like a serpent’s.

“I have records, ancient knowledge of what you are talking about,” the Dragon says. “But they are in Draconic script.”

I know that. Take it. If they are in Draconic script, they are the real deal.

“It’s fine, [Archmage]. I’ll take them.”

“The value of our exchange…” the Dragon stops and raises a hand, gesturing for me to wait. I look at the clawed fingers that could probably shred me to pieces without much effort.

The value of our exchange is tough to quantify. On the one hand, the Dragon probably knows that my knowledge is invaluable. On the other hand, we don’t know how much those records he’s speaking of are worth. Plus, I’m not even sure this is not just a ruse to hike the price. Acting is not below [Archmages] if it means getting a good deal. Lord Juler has explained that to me.

Joey Luciani, if he’s talking about manuals from time immemorial, then it’s going to be a good exchange. And even if he wants to incorporate your spellcasting into his, he will need to come back to learn more. You will make him dependent on your knowledge. That shall open a wealth of resources to you. Before we can return to Kome and retrieve my relics from that idiot Dragon, we’ll have to make it work with these idiot’s scraps.

What?

Lord Juler, are you suggesting we fight a Golden Dragon?

Golden? Who said Golden? The calamity we’ll face is a Black Dragon and one of the strongest. She could actually be one of the strongest creatures in existence, as far as I know. Not just among Dragons. Even though her class is not geared for fighting directly, she’s still old enough to be above mere classes and levels. She could be the oldest being—

I have to say, Lord Juler, you are not making a good case here.

Luciani, preparations trump everything else. I’ll have you walk in her lair more than prepared. It will be like stealing cake from Hydras.

Which didn’t strike me as particularly easy, considering that the race had almost won a world-domination war, but…

“Follow me,” [Archmage] Marcus suddenly says.

…

So, they do have elevators. But they are exclusively available to the [Archmage] and other important figures only.

“This is one of my personal archives,” the Dragon says.

I have to admit, compared to the rest of this tower, especially the sanctum of Lauridiana, this place is very plain. It’s just plain white marble all around. But, considering that the tower exterior is more black than rock-brown, this room contrasts nicely with the whole creepy mage atmosphere.

“I had this place built myself. What you are seeing is Dragon architecture. For our diminutive forms, yes, but still.”

“Yeah, it looks cool.”

There’s no real sign of magic—just your standard libraries. By standard, I mean so powerfully enchanted that my skin itches.

“No magic is allowed here. Usually, I ask people to leave their artifacts behind too. I’m making an exception for you. These records are not something that can be easily replicated. Dragons have a particular way of inscribing their knowledge. They are very hard to destroy, but more than one rogue [Mage] has tried erasing our ancient knowledge out of spite.”

At least there’s no church burning books, you know.

“And the religious fanatics who believe that knowledge is intrinsic to classes and skills always produce one or two high-level individuals every century. Those are the worst. This entire archive had to be warded specifically against [Holy Fire].”

Well, we really lack for nothing, don’t we?

“So, do I have access to your archive?” I say with a smile.

“Under my supervision, yes. I come here to conduct research myself. I’ll fetch you the manuals after your duels. In the meantime, you should rest. You are going to duel some powerful [Mages] tomorrow.”

“What? No! I’m getting the studying done now. Tomorrow is a problem for future Joey, not me. So, let’s pop out those cursed manuscripts. Come on, let’s go!”

“Oh, why do you want to peruse the [Cursed] ones?”

“It’s just… an expression?”

“It has never reached my ears in all the centuries I have lived,” the Dragon scoffs.

“It’s new, don’t worry. It’s just millennial slang. Wait, what year are we in? Are millennials even a thing?”

“Following the most popular calendar, this is the year 2934.”

“Oh, what is the calendar based on?” I ask, curious.

Our calendar is based on Jesus Christ, so what’s their equivalent?

“The [Calendarist] first edition,” the Dragon sighs. “Some have forgotten, but it’s just academic notation taken to the extreme. A famous [Researcher] and [Historian] needed a reference point. He was sick of referring to years as ‘fifty years since the last intercontinental war.’ So, he made up a random starting point and added a negative for anything before then. In a way, it’s useful. Most races don’t keep records older than three millennia. Those who tried still suffered wars and destruction. Or they simply forgot the importance of such a practice. But Dragons, well…”

He gives me the first toothy smile since I met him.

“Dragons don’t forget.”