“Yo,” Adam called out, noting a familiar face. “How’s it going, Elder Zijin?”

“Well,” Zijin replied. “Have you come to make more trouble?”

“Trouble? Me?” Adam reached up to his chest in shock. “In the Iyr?”

Zijin shook his head, sighing. “You have brought me so much trouble, I sometimes wonder if I should regret allowing you in.”

“You can’t say you’ve been bored with me around.”

Elder Zijin let out another one of his boisterous laughs. “I certainly cannot! What are you here for this day, Adam?”

“I need some ink,” Adam said. “About a thousand gold’s worth.”

“For those scrolls?” Zijin said.

“You know it.” Adam held out two Black Pearls.

Elder Zijin shook his head. “It was not that long ago that you traded for those Black Pearls.”

“I’ll miss them, but having access to those spells is far more important,” Adam said, simply.

“You are a curious young man,” Elder Zijin said. “We have taken a great interest in you.”

Adam blinked at the Elder, raising his brows. He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. He thought his status as a Nephew would protect him, especially with Sonarot’s backing.

“It is not a terrible thing,” Zijin said, noting the look in Adam’s eyes.

“Just letting you know, but I’m not going to strip for you,” Adam said.

‘Damn,’ Zijin frowned. “Very well.”

Adam stared at the Elder with shock in his eyes. ‘That was only meant to be a joke!’

Zijin smirked.

“Anyway. What do you mean by special interest?”

“We are still keeping an eye on you, Adam,” Zijin informed. “We do not believe you will bring disaster to us, but you have not committed yourself to the Iyr, and there are some secrets which have been revealed to you.”

“I’ve committed myself to the Rot family,” Adam stated, firmly. “If the Iyr is in danger, doesn’t that mean they’ll be in danger too? I’ll do anything to protect my little sister. Anything.”

Zijin noted the stern look on Adam’s face.

“If you’re worried about whether or not I’ll help the Iyr, you shouldn’t worry about it.”

Zijin nodded. “Your relationship within the Iyr is not unique. There are many who are welcomed into our families as Nieces and Nephews, but you are so much more than that. Not quite a full Son of the Iyr, but you are certainly such in the eyes of Sonarot.”

Adam couldn’t help but smile. “That works well for us, right? You get access to me, and I get access to you. However, if you need to, you can cut me off. Plus, I’m not suited to be an Iyrman. I’m too…”

“Queer.”

Adam nodded.

“There are times I wonder about you, Adam,” Zijin said. “You joke more than you should. You say queer things which paint you as a coward, but you are one of the most terrifying individuals I have ever met.”

Adam was surprised to hear himself being called as terrifying. “Terrifying?”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“In the history of the Iyr, the amount of people who hold the same talent as you can be counted on a single hand.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m far more cowardly than you think I am,” Adam chuckled. “It’s just that sometimes it’ll lead to regrets, so I need to get over it.”

“We trust in Sonarot’s judgement, Adam,” Zijin said, placing a hand on the Half Elf’s shoulder. “The moment you became her Nephew, there was a certain level of trust afforded to you within the Iyr. There are times your words aim to betray that trust, but words are just words, and your actions speak louder than them.”

“Are you talking about Phantom?” Adam asked.

“That is one example,” Zijin said. “It was alarming, yes, but Sonarot did not press the matter, and we will not either.”

“Yeah,” Adam said, letting out a stressful sigh. “If I had known how angry you guys were going to get over that axe, I wouldn’t have made it. It’s like any other weapon I’ve made, I didn’t realise that the damage type was going to annoy you all.”

“Considering your company, we have to be careful,” Zijin said. “It was an obvious threat.”

“I do take my jokes too far sometimes, but even I’m not that stupid,” Adam said. “That old man could beat me any day of the week, even with that axe.”

“I would not be so certain, son of Fate.”

Adam slowly bowed his head, understanding Zijin’s point. “Perhaps not on the weekends, but every other day, for sure.”

Zijin snorted. “Even now, you keep joking?”

“What can I say?” Adam shrugged his shoulders. “You’re getting all serious and tense.”

“When it comes to the Iyr, I must be. I am an Elder, it is expected of me.”

“I don’t want to know about the secrets of the Iyr. That’s way too much pressure for little old me. And, I know that I’m a troublemaker, but you should be used to it, considering Jaygak.”

“She is a different kind of trouble,” Zijin said.

“I’m going to impose on the Iyr a lot, perhaps too much. However, I won’t ever threaten the Iyr. I don’t know half the stuff you have hidden in this place, and I don’t want to find out, especially not while pointing my axe at this place.” Adam flashed a sweet smile. “Plus, you’re all taking such good care of my sister, and I’m sure she’ll be angry if I’m a danger to the Iyr.”

“There are some Iyrmen who wish their children were like you in that regard,” Zijin said.

“A weirdo?” Adam asked.

“Our youth usually find it difficult to relate to their younger siblings. Seeing you act so tenderly with your sister, it’s bringing quite the change in the Iyr. It’s not the only change you’ve brought.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Yes,” Zijin replied.

“Everyone’s resistant to change,” Adam said. “But we need to evolve to survive.”

“You need to temper the change,” Zijin said. “Too much change too quickly is unstable. There needs to be a stable foundation for change to be built upon, and it must become a stable foundation before further change is brought.”

“I just hope my bones don’t become that foundation any time soon,” Adam said.

“In a few days, those who will want you gone may become quiet,” Zijin said.

“There are people who want me gone?” Adam asked.

“There are some Iyrmen who speak as though you are someone who will bring disaster to us, though they know their place.”

“Why will they become quiet?” Adam furrowed his brows.

“Pizza,” Zijin said.

“What?”

“The festival will remind them of a change you’ve brought,” Zijin said. “That, and the eagerness within the youth to fight.”

“You’re talking about that thing, aren’t you?”

“Unrivalled Under The Heavens.”

Adam sighed. He had to accept that this was going to be something he was going to be known for. “It’s not even a part of this genre.” He shook his head.

“I will watch you fight,” Zijin said, his eyes filled with an eagerness.

“Make sure you bet a lot on me,” Adam said. “Make all the coin you can while people haven’t learnt how powerful I can truly be.”

“I will do just that.”

Adam left, sighing.

‘I really should stop joking so much.’ Adam rubbed his forehead. ‘Sonarot keeps shielding me without me knowing. Damn it, Adam. Are you really going to keep bothering her so much?’

He understood he was flying too close to the sun. He’d need to do something which would appease the Iyrmen, in order to get the suspicion off of him.

Adam returned back to the estate, where he found Jurot and the others were currently relaxing, though the adults had left to work, save for Sonarot, who was teaching the children that day, with Lanarot nearby, playing with her cubes.

“Did you get your ink?” Jaygak asked.

“I did,” he said. “I should go and spend some time copying a spell or two into my book.”

“You can use a secondary room,” Jurot said, nodding his head a room on the floor above the main room, which would give him peace and quiet to copy his spells.

“Alright,” Adam said. “I’ll get to it.”

Adam left them be, heading to the room, which was full of boxes of stuff. Adam decided against peeking inside any of them, instead grabbing a stool from nearby and he placed his spellbook against a crate, taking out his ink.

XP: 5500 -> 4000

Gained Third Gate spells!

Two spells gained!

‘I didn’t expect to have so much XP at the end of that,’ Adam thought, staring down at his book. “I guess it’s time.

Adam spent three hours that day copying a spell from his spell scroll, feeling the magic invade his mind, settling within it as though he had know it forever.

He stared down at his fingers, feeling the tingle of magic. He clenched his fists tight.

“I am become death, destroyer of worlds.”