The meeting drew to a close with the backing of "righteous men" represented by Cassius.
"Embers" and "Grey Hawk" held cordial and friendly talks, thoroughly exchanging views and enhancing mutual understanding. His Excellency "Embers" expressed grave concern for the safety of the people of Northwind Keep, offered to provide humanitarian aid within his power, and agreed to carry out relevant initiatives at the second gathering of the Arcane Hermitage a few months later.
The spellcasters departed one after another—some through teleportation items, some on foot, and others by means of transportation prepared well in advance, such as the horse that could levitate, its floating horseshoes having failed to find a buyer.
Stravburg was one of the most bustling cities in Anzeta and the capital of the Principality of Bosque. Naturally, its streets were packed with horses, carriages, and surging crowds, with non-human races even making an occasional appearance.
The spellcasters drew no special notice from the locals, quickly blending into the throng and vanishing from sight.
After leaving the bounds of Trafalanlo's Magnificent Mansion, Cassius did not depart immediately. Instead, he waited quietly in a city alley.
"Three, two, one."
He counted down silently.
The space before Cassius suddenly twisted, and a rift opened in the air.
First emerged a slender, fair leg, followed by a body draped in a silver-white gown.
The dress was slit very high, running all the way to the root of her thigh, faintly revealing magical tattoos inscribed on her smooth skin.
Seeing the arrival he had fully expected, Cassius offered a polite smile. "Long time no see, Miss Stars."
Olivia looked puzzled. "We literally just saw each other."
Still smiling, Cassius slipped into bard mode. "A poem from my homeland says that a day apart feels like three autumns. Your beauty makes me—"
Hearing the praise, Olivia felt her cheeks flush slightly, but she quickly caught herself and cut him off. "Lord Embers, do not try to distract me with poetry. I did not come here to listen to your sweet talk. How on earth did you discover my identity?"
Cassius feigned confusion. "Which identity do you mean?"
"I mean... my identity as a silver dragon."
There was a trace of gritted teeth in her tone, though she still retained her basic composure.
Only then did Cassius reply with an expression of sudden realization: "Ah, so you meant being a silver dragon..."
"That was quite simple."
"Who wouldn't know Olivia, the titled 'Silver Stars' and the finest talent of the Melvold clan's younger generation?"
"The very one who could cast Crown of Stars while still a young dragon and personally shattered a plot by the Cult of the Dragon."
He paused for a beat.
A look of astonishment instantly washed over Olivia's pretty face. She had assumed there was a flaw in her Polymorph spell, never imagining that he would know so much about her—not just her true name and clan, but even her past deeds.
Cassius continued, "Besides, your temperament and way of speaking are far too typical of an inexperienced young silver dragon. You are terrible at hiding your thoughts."
"Who on earth are you?"
"How could you know all of this?"
Olivia pressed him relentlessly with questions.
Cassius answered unhurriedly, "I am under no obligation to answer you, Miss Olivia. You only need to know that my codename is 'Embers.' That is enough."
His tone shifted, and a teasing glint entered his expression.
"Besides... if you'll pardon my bluntness, while I may be far inferior to you in the arcane arts, I am far more adept at disguise than you will ever be."
"You—"
Olivia bit her lip.
She soon realized he was right; members of the Arcane Hermitage had no obligation to reveal their true identities. Yet this feeling of being led by the nose left a knot of frustration stifling her chest.
Cassius smiled and said, "Miss Olivia, let us meet again at the next Arcane Hermitage."
With that, he lightly touched the pendant on his chest, opened a Dimension Door, and stepped through the spatial rift alongside the "iron golem" behind him.
"Wait—"
Left standing in place, Olivia stomped her foot in vexation, her face flushed red as she could only watch the spatial rift slowly close.
Soon, however, she noticed a subtle detail. Right before leaving, the faint shimmer of golden scales had appeared at the back of "Embers's" neck.
She murmured to herself with a hint of smug satisfaction:
"You aren't as clever at disguising yourself as you thought..."
"At least to my eyes, your Polymorph is full of holes, Embers—or should I say, Lord Gold Dragon?"
She pieced together how Embers had mentioned both gold and silver dragons while rebutting Grey Hawk earlier, his uncompromising stance against evil factions, and those golden scales that had been "inadvertently" revealed just now.
The silver dragon mage naturally assumed she had uncovered this "Embers's" true form—a pureblooded gold dragon.
She muttered under her breath, "Arrogant, conceited, know-it-all fellow."
"I will find out your name."
"Hmph... I'll go ask Grandfather. There can't be many gold dragons in Anzeta; they don't like the environment here."
This silver dragon mage had never held a particularly good impression of gold dragons to begin with. In her memory, as the naturally strongest among metallic dragons, those gold dragons always acted high and mighty, looking down their noses at everyone and presuming to lead everything, constantly taking it upon themselves to "dispense justice."
Now Olivia's stereotypes about gold dragons deepened even further, acquiring new negative labels like "self-righteous" and "frivolous."
Yet Olivia had no idea that everything she had seen was merely what Cassius wanted her to see.
***
Stepping out of the Dimension Door, Cassius returned to his warm cave. He could hardly wait to shed his disguise and revert to his red dragon form.
Langpu followed close behind, transforming back into a massive dragon-blooded ogre.
Cassius could not help exhaling a plume of sulfurous heat.
"That silver dragon is remarkably easy to fool. It seems all her high intelligence went into arcane research."
"Let's see if I can trick Crown of Stars out of her."
Dealing with the Good alignment was indeed much more comfortable. While conflicts of interest were still inevitable, their actions were at least free of deliberate malice and deceit.
Langpu, meanwhile, delighted in rummaging through the bag of holding to pull out the Alchemical Compendium.
"Master, this is wonderful stuff! That human truly didn't know what he had. We made a massive profit!"
This volume could serve not only as a spellbook containing several spells, but also as a magical focus that aided in attuning magical power.
Cassius said, "Since gold coins were spent, you make sure to learn those spells. I'm very interested in Haste—demonstrate it for me as soon as possible."
Langpu replied hurriedly, "Yes, Master!"
Sorcerers could learn spells, but rather than studying runes from spell scrolls, they relied more on sensing the flow and execution of magic, then releasing it by instinct.
For players, the probability of learning a spell this way was infinitesimally small.
Cassius, however, had already learned Wall of Fire through Langpu's repeated demonstrations. After all, he was naturally suited for such evocation spells of fire.
Chapter 85