The first thing Nick did after waking up the next morning was to visit Ogden. He'd been forced to use some of his stock on the last trip, and with the hunt he was planning, he wanted to be prepared for just about anything.

"Well, well, well. Our mighty overlord has finally decided to bless us poor folks with his presence," Rhea exclaimed as soon as he stepped into the shop.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Weren't you the one who told me I was a country bumpkin and that my grade of nobility didn't even qualify me to be worth remembering?"

She gasped theatrically, "Why, I would never! I am a loyal servant of House Crowley!"

"Alright, enough flirting, you two," Ogden growled as he came in from the back rooms. "Kid, I hope you don't expect me to bow."

"I would wonder if an impostor had replaced you if you did," Nick replied cheerfully. Ogden had never confirmed his suspicions, but the mere thought of a mighty dragon, considered a calamity by the dwarves, bowing to him because of some human social standard, was hilarious.

Things would be different if Ogden ever went out of his way to undermine House Crowley, but since he seemed to enjoy his reclusive lifestyle, Nick wasn't worried about that.

"Hm, so you still have some sense left in you," came the quick comment.

Taking his grumpy attitude in stride, Nick pulled his potion kit from his backpack and plopped it on the counter. "I want a refill, and a little extra."

"You used a health potion. I thought this was supposed to be a diplomatic mission?" Rhea asked, peering into the box.

"Yeah, it was," Nick shrugged. "But you know me."

Somehow, that was enough of an explanation, so both the master and apprentice set about seeing to his order.

"I don't imagine you'll be here much longer, will you?" Ogden asked shrewdly. "Any more dangerous plans in mind?"

"Yeah, I was planning to hunt down some thunderhooves to sell in Alluria. I will be leaving within the week, since the tower examinations are in less than a month, and I want to spend at least a few days in the grassland," he replied. If he were anyone else, such a claim would have been met with scoffs of derision, but both Ogden and Rhea were well aware of what he was capable of.

"I see. Do you need the money to buy something specific, then?" Rhea asked as she placed a few vials on the counter. "I'm giving you a little bit of everything, by the way."

"Yeah, that's fine. I doubt I'll be able to find anything of the same quality in Alluria anyway. And yes, I managed to get a ticket for the auction happening in three months, so I'm starting to save up."

"The auction?" Ogden looked up, poison-yellow eyes peering at him. "You'll need much more coin than what a few thunderhooves can bring you, kid. I'm surprised you managed to get a ticket. You didn't spend everything I gave you, did you?"

"I didn't. I'm responsible, you know," Nick whined, which was met with two unimpressed stares. Sometimes, Rhea could be way too much like her mentor. "I really didn't. I have a guy who sold it to me for six gold coins."

"Hmmm," Ogden nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Well, that is a good price. But again, I have to tell you that the kind of people who buy the high-end stuff at these events don't hesitate to spend thousands of gold coins. For high nobles, the equivalent of Floria's yearly output is just pocket change."

"I know. That's why I'm starting to save up now," Nick replied. Then, he looked at the old alchemist. "You wouldn't happen to have a spatial pouch I can borrow, would you?"

"I can see you are still the same arrogant brat that first came here wanting to buy illegal ingredients," Ogden chuckled. Notably, he didn't immediately reject him.

Once Rhea finished stocking his box, she began ringing him up, but Ogden stopped her. "I do have something you could use. But I want a promise in exchange."

Nick's eyebrows rose in surprise. His request had been more of a shot in the dark than a serious demand. Spatial pouches were extremely costly, rivaling the price of the orichalcum ingot he wanted to buy. His father owned one, but he'd likely rely on it heavily to transport supplies north once he started moving, so he hadn't really expected to get one here. "What promise?"

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He'd already played this song and dance once with Wulla. While he'd managed to get away with it then, he was more cautious about making such open-ended deals now.

Ogden looked between him and Rhea, and Nick started to understand where he was going with this. "My idiot apprentice seems to have gotten it in her head that she should throw her life away in a fruitless pursuit of revenge," he began.

Rhea stiffened, but tellingly, she didn't complain. It must have been quite the talk. I wonder how she managed to avoid being thrown out.

"Now, I already know you promised her your support, so you won't get away with making it a double deal," Ogden continued, and Nick sighed. He'd kind of hoped for that.

"What I want you to do is promise that you will do your absolute best not only to help her, but also to see her returned to me."

Nick met his eyes, and he knew this wasn't the kind of promise he could wiggle out of. There was a weight in the air pressing down on him that had nothing to do with elemental control.

Ogden's very existence unfurled, revealing a hint of the immense power he concealed. With [Empyrean Intuition], Nick could perceive more than the alchemist probably intended to show, and he had to resist the urge to run.

I was more right than I could have thought.

Even just the glimpse he caught was enough to understand why the dark dwarves believed waking the dragon would be enough to destroy Western Berea.

Once, Nick thought of dragons as just more powerful wyverns. Just like Marthas was one rank above Arthur, he had placed Ogden at the top of the monster pyramid.

What he was seeing now bore little resemblance to anything he knew. Beneath the layers of iron-tight control, Ogden was a force of nature. Just the slightest expression of his essence was enough to show that he'd underestimated his power.

In fact, the closest thing Nick could compare it to was that one instant when he felt Sashara descend, when his senses were completely overloaded.

And then, it was gone, just like that.

"I am talking about making use of your every ability, no matter how much you might wish to hide them. If you want my ring, you will have to agree to that." Suddenly, a seemingly plain iron ring appeared in his hand.

Nick was still trying to process what he'd just seen, but he still had the presence of mind to scan the artifact.

At first, it looked like little more than a piece of metal, nothing that would require such a significant promise. However, a closer look revealed that several instances of the ring were overlaid on its image.

Nick couldn't tell where it started or ended, but he knew this unremarkable ring was probably a much larger spatial artifact than what his father or Rhea had.

"I want you to swear to see to Rhea's safety, even if it requires abandoning the destruction of House Ultimer, letting a city be burnt down, or risking ten of thousands of lives," Ogden concluded.

Though he was tempted to agree immediately, since he had already promised to help Rhea just weeks earlier, Nick hesitated. The intensity with which Ogden spoke made him realize this wouldn't be a simple oath.

"Why?" He managed to croak out. He has to know something if he's going this far.

He had no trouble helping Rhea seek her revenge, but Ogden wasn't asking him to get involved; hell, it didn't even seem like he cared about this whole revenge.

Ogden looked at him for a moment, and Nick felt as if he was being judged for everything he had ever done. When the alchemist closed his eyes, he nearly sagged in relief. "I have contacts all over the continent. No matter how big this kingdom might seem to you, it's just a medium-level player in the grand scheme of things. And I can tell you that the situation in the north is more complicated than it appears at first glance. The dwarves aren't the only ones making moves, and things that are better left alone are being disturbed."

Suddenly, this promise shifted from Rhea's revenge to something completely different. Nick's eyes flicked to his friend, but she just looked back grimly.

"I have it on good authority that House Ultimer is among those disturbing the balance. It's purely coincidental that they are also my apprentice's enemies."

Nick was tempted to ask why he wasn't handling this himself, but he held back. The polite fiction that he didn't know about Ogden's true self would be exposed, and he could come up with a few reasons of his own.

To do such a thing, Ogden probably would need to shed his mortal coil. And that would attract attention and retaliation from great powers.

If my mind isn't playing tricks on me, Ogden must be on a higher level than even Marthas. That… if he were to actually move, that would probably provoke a divine response.

The implications of that were frankly staggering. But Nick set aside his shock for the moment and furiously thought through the actual consequences.

He's saying that if House Ultimer is allowed to do whatever it's attempting, they will bring about a disaster comparable to the fae-controlled dungeon. And even then, all he cares about is Rhea's survival. He won't stop her, but he's pulling me in to make sure she gets out.

If two kids could solve the problem, claiming it was just revenge for a serious feud, then Ogden's peers, whoever they were, wouldn't have a reason to step in. And if they couldn't, the alchemist wouldn't care either way as long as Rhea was alive. It was callous, but Nick hadn't expected anything different.

"How much time do we have?" He asked instead of the myriad of things he wanted to know.

That seemed to do the trick, because the atmosphere lightened considerably. "A little more than a year. Perhaps two, if they take their time, but I wouldn't cut it that close."

Nick thought it over for a while. He still wanted to know more about whatever the Ultimers were cooking up, especially if it could cause someone like Ogden to be so worried.

However, in the end, there was no alternative but to accept. He wouldn't have let Rhea go on her own when it was a personal desire for revenge. The added threat of grave danger upon Berea only made that decision easier.

"Very well. I will accept, but I expect more support than just this ring."

Ogden grinned, showing off dangerously sharp teeth. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

And the deal was sealed.

Saying Nick felt dazed as he walked home would be an understatement. He was pretty sure he made the right choice, but, as was happening far too often for his liking, a single conversation had drastically changed his view of the world.

Sure, he had at least a year to prepare, and Ogden had made it clear he would need that entire time, considering who they were up against. He now had an unlimited line of credit with the shop and an iron ring that probably cost more than he could imagine, but he also faced a looming deadline to prevent a catastrophe of unknown nature.

Apparently, the Ultimer clan recently received the blessing of an unknown god, making it impossible to spy on them without using either very blunt or very subtle methods.

Nick was good at both.

I guess I'll have to speed up my plans. I was planning to spend the next few years exploring the tower's magical knowledge, but now I need to do it all in just one year while also keeping up with my training.