I spoon some food into my mouth. It’s some meat stew that the Innkeeper raves about – he’s so proud his wife can make this meal. To be fair, it is pretty good. Almost excellent, I’d say. The one thing that ruins my foodie experience is the stares of my companions. I’m not sure they are happy to have left Marcus’s tower. Or maybe, they are upset for a different reason…

Yep, I spent three days since the first duels holed up in my room practicing magic. And I have not been practicing for future fights. Nope, I’m this close to finishing the guide for the radiation – that, instead, is done. Now, I can kind of shoot gamma rays with solid control. That earned me a lot of levels and a new class. But now, one of the most challenging parts of this journey is in front of me.

“Joey, are you ok?” Stan asks.

“Me? Sure, why do you ask… Stanimal?”

“Because you haven’t shown yourself in three days after decapitating a man.”

That’s Princess Laura for you.

“Stuff happens,” I shrug while putting more food into my mouth. “If you want me to be a good husband for the Princess, I need to buckle up and start cutting heads, no?”

I’m closer and closer to the bowl of stew, trying to fish out some weird veggies with this pathetically useless spoon. This spoon is flat; how can a person use such a thing to—

“You haven’t taught me anything these days,” I hear Domitilla say.

She followed us here, but I have not taught her much so far.

“Meh, did you figure out the first 23 Cantrips with the methods I taught you?”

She shakes her head.

“When you do, we can go ahead with the rest. Until then…”

I slurp the soup loudly from the flat spoon.

“The duels have been scheduled for tomorrow,” Lucillus says.

As usual, straight to the point. That’s what I like about the man.

“That’s good. I need to go back to Amorium to take care of Antoninus’s mother. I have the solution now.”

Also, I need some time to consolidate my classes into something else. So far, I’ve had [Researcher], [Teacher], and my upgraded class. But they are not becoming one thing yet. I need to progress my research on magic and my teaching Domitilla. Sadly, it will take time. A lot of time. And for now, I’m stuck with these idiotic duels. Although, I’m reticent to say I’m actually starting to regret my antics with Princess Laura, Stanimal, and this whole farce. The more time I spend in this world—

“Many are angry at you for killing that [Pyromancer]. Tomorrow, some will ask you to duel to the death, Joey,” Laura says.

I slowly exhale.

It is something I had considered.

“Not just Elves, I bet. Some other races too?”

“There’s a half-giant and a Foxman who are particularly angry with you – they are both first disciples of the [Archmages] here. Also, Adriana is technically part of your generation, even if she’s much older than you. You embarrassed her, and she’s going to gun for you as well. And considering your scorn for [Archmage] Marcus, that’s another bridge you burned.”

“Good.”

“Good?! Ancestor, can you tell him how good his decisions are?!”

I raise my head toward Stan, and when our gazes cross, even if it’s for just a second, I can see all the years that have gone over his body. He’s tired. Not like I am. We are two different breeds of tired. He has just done too much. I am simply not doing enough.

It’s different.

“Joey has to win the duels. That’s my one condition. If he believes that diplomacy with certain subjects is useless, let him be.”

“But Ancestor! Even the palace must respect [Archmages]!”

I’d like to say something mean, something angry. I’m really not in the mood to discuss what her royal family has been up to since they rose to power. And I’m not interested in hearing who’s doing what and who’s been doing what for how long. But I also know better. Laura’s worried, and she’s right. I’m making lots of enemies with my antics. But I’m also…

“Vespasianus used to say that great people shouldn’t take offense in small acts. Joey mocked Marcus, but he did it rightfully so. Marcus set him up and provided that [Pyromancer] with a powerful wand. He might have crafted that weapon himself, actually. And Joey confronted him.”

“It’s going to be tough,” Lucillus said.

“I’ll need to show these rascals some good ol’ discipline,” I smile at everyone else. “And if [Archmage] Marcus wants to mess with me – or Titus – they are welcome to try. But if Marcus believes that Adriana scares me just because she’s a Dragon, he’s wrong. Oh, by the way, how many [Archmages] are there at the academy, again?”

Everyone stops at my stream of words, pondering for a second what I’ve just said. I’m not boasting, to be honest. I’m pretty confident I can fry Adriana’s brain if I need to. Not that I want to. But I won’t let a bunch of bullies kill me just because, either. Sure, the prospect of slaughter is not the most ideal—

“Officially, seven [Archmages]. Two towers are still vacant. No one had managed to conquer them over the past centuries. They are famous for being [Archmage] killers. And that’s because, apparently, three [Archmages] tried to force their way up to one of the towers, even though it’s against the academy rules, and they all died.”

“Wait. There are two vacant towers?” I ask, confused. I’m pretty sure they already explained some of this stuff, but I have 100% forgotten.

“If you conquer a tower, you become an [Archmage] of the Nine Towers Academy,” Stan explains while stroking his silvery beard.

“Right, where did I hear this again?”

I told you.

Right.

Whatever.