Time passed quickly as Kevin suddenly found himself incredibly busy. His days were jam-packed with work and training.

Most days he would leave the inn that had become his de facto home in Clearmine, heading for Potent Potions. Now that he had his routine down, Addison mostly ignored him. Kevin hadn’t had any potions rejected since his second day, and he was sure that had just been posturing by Addison. The money he made at this job was almost insulting now that he knew how little the potions cost to make and what they sold for. He’d sold his modified hair growth potion at his inn for slightly less than he saw them sold in Clearmine. None had sold for a few days until one customer bought one.

The next day, they were all sold out.

Addison’s transparent attempt to prevent his helpers from learning any potion recipes by using unlabeled ingredients might work on most others, but Kevin was being trained by Alarielle.

Every day after working at Addison’s shop, he ate, then went to Alarielle’s tower where he received instruction in Alchemy. Despite how the powerful mage continued to claim that she was not teaching him, she always managed to pass through his work area and give him tips or suggestions.

For Kevin, that was more than enough, not least of which because she’d left a huge tome simply labeled “potions” lying next to his work station, open. Every day it was open to a new step-by-step instruction of how to make a new potion, and Kevin was quick on the uptake. He couldn’t even imagine what such a precious book was worth, and he was always careful to never actually touch it. Every day, the potion it was open to was harder to create than the day before.

Kevin didn’t know why Alarielle was teaching him in such a roundabout way, but he wasn’t going to rock the boat.

He also had unrestricted access to what she called her “common ingredients room.” Located in the basement of the tower, the “room” was practically a small warehouse. Everything was very well organized and very clearly labeled, even the equipment! As for the ingredients, some of them were anything but common. Some of what Alariel apparently considered “common” ingredients were so scarce and expensive they didn’t even exist in Addison’s shop.

Kevin couldn’t even imagine what she might consider “rare.” He had no doubt they were kept somewhere else in the tower, likely much better guarded.

His education at Alarielle’s tower was highly irregular but worked well for him, especially with the inclusion of [Perfect Seasoning]. He’d altered the recipe he’d been working from several times so far.

At the end of each of his visits, the great mage herself would wander in again, take a look at what he’d made, and sometimes smile enigmatically. She didn’t let him keep the potions he’d made, but Kevin was fine with that. He was receiving free ingredients and a great workstation. Wanting to keep his creations to sell would be greedy.

After all, with what he’d already learned, he’d easily be able to make money in this world for the rest of his life. He’d learned he had a real talent for Alchemy, too, even without [Perfect Seasoning]. His experience had cemented that Addison was not only lazy, he wasn’t very talented, either.

Every day, after leaving Alarielle’s tower, he’d head to the yard behind the inn or to a quiet park and practice swordwork. He’d bought a nicely weighted wooden waster with a lead core, heavier than his steel sword, to really get a good workout without being harassed by any guards.

Kevin was getting better at integrating [Elvish Acuity] into his fighting style. Luckily, he had some experience with fighting while being super-powered in his second life–it helped. [Elvish Acuity] was different, though. Instead of making him faster or stronger, he felt like he kept getting more…fluid. His agility, flexibility, and physical precision just kept slowly improving.

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Because he enjoyed it, and because it seemed to help his [Elvish Acuity], he still worked in the Elf-owned Moonlit Leaf restaurant, too. He didn’t have much time for it, but whenever he had half a day and could justify working in the restaurant, the elves always welcomed him.

He received pay and free food for his troubles. Moonlit Leaf had been getting busier lately. The elves could always use the help.

Finally, after a few solid weeks of effort, he could feel himself improving rapidly with all of his disciplines.

Every other day, he visited Lydia for dinner where she stayed at her inn. It was part of their unspoken agreement–Kevin keeping touch with his cousin so she would know he was still in town. It ensured she knew she didn’t need to track him down again.

She always ate in her inn like a normal person, even though she’d have to leave town every few days, heading to the hills at night to hunt animals or monsters to feed her dragon-sized appetite. Lydia speared a piece of her steak and chewed thoughtfully. “You know that your Alchemy teacher is an amazing human, right?”

“Of course I do.” Kevin ate his pork chop and vegetables with impeccable table manners. He caught glimpses of people watching him eat with apparent fascination. Not for the first time, he wondered how normal goblins acted for other people to be so surprised by how he conducted himself. He’d thought Rock and his crew had been a little rough around the edges, but now he knew they weren’t exactly normal goblins.

“I don’t think you really appreciate or understand how incredible she is.”

Kevin frowned. “Yes I do. She’s one of the strongest mortal mages in the world, and quite old too, especially for a human. Over three hundred years old. Well-traveled, considered a master in magic, magical engineering, Alchemy, and she’s been studying rune-work. Working to ensure that the mines of Clearmine are protected is her official reason for being here, but I think it’s more likely she just likes to get away from the capital.”

Lydia pointed her fork at him. “Alright, with all that said, we can probably both agree that she’s too good to be teaching you, at least if you have any shame. So how did you con her into it?”

“What are you even talking about?”

She frowned and pointed a fork at him again. “What do you mean, ‘what are you talking about?’ You are being taught Alchemy by the Alariel, one of the most overall accomplished human mages who has lived for the last thousand years.”

Kevin made a face. “So? Have you forgotten who my parents are? Or who your parents are? I mean, Alariel is amazing, and I really like her. She’s obviously very powerful, too. But how does that compare to the Paxdraconis?” He chuckled a bit, thinking Lydia would join him, but she didn’t.

Instead, she tapped a finger on the table in annoyance and said, “That is an unfair comparison.”

“Of course it’s unfair. That’s kind of the point. After living with two of the most powerful beings in the entire world, upon meeting one of the most powerful and accomplished human mages, it is still very respectable but not quite as awe-inspiring as it would be for others.”

“I’m glad that Alarielle can’t hear you right now. Whatever you did to trick her into letting you into her tower, much less teaching you, I’m sure she’d take it back in a heartbeat if she heard how ungrateful you are. In truth, you should feel lucky just to speak with her, much less even see the inside of her tower!”

He almost retorted something about his parents’ cave being even more exclusive to most of the entire world, but he stopped before the words came out. A wild, outlandish possibility had just occurred to him, but as he rolled it around in his mind, he realized it was probably true. “Wait a second.” Kevin’s jaw dropped. “Are you a human mage fan!?”

“No, I just respect her. That’s all.” Lydia suddenly seemed absorbed in her food.

Kevin stared at his cousin. This was a side of her he’d never seen. Even though Kevin didn’t spend as much time with the other young dragons in his large, extended family as Lydia did, he was well aware of some of peculiarities of hatchlings. One was a strange tendency for young dragons to be fascinated by or even idolize human mages. Kevin thought it was bizarre, since even most dragon hatchlings had superior magical power and control compared to any human mage. But young dragons were often inexplicably fond of studying human magic, and befriending human mages.

This phenomenon was why so many cities were aware of the fact dragons could polymorph in the first place. There were fewer problems over the last thousand years, but it was still possible for a dragon in human form to get into trouble, or maybe get mixed up into a fight and accidentally kill a mortal with a simple slap, or push.

Kevin eyed his cousin with equal parts amusement and irritation. “If I get you her autograph, does that mean I can go a week or two without meeting you for dinner?” It was the first time he’d openly talked about his regular meetings with her.

“Do you want to stay away from me so badly?”

“No, you already caught me, remember? There is nowhere I can run. I’m just really, really busy. If I could go a few weeks without coming here, I could get more sword practice in.”

“I don’t understand why you keep practicing with that thing. It’s just sharpened metal. What is such a thing compared to claws and teeth?”

Kevin held up his hand and wiggled his fingers. “My claws are…somewhat lacking. But you’re dodging the question. Do you want her autograph?”

Lydia physically squirmed in her chair, obviously at war with herself. Finally, still not making eye contact with Kevin, she coughed into her fist before saying, “One week if you can get her to sign something and make it out to me. I’ll owe you a favor if you can get it done on a copy of one of her books I just happen to have in my room here at the inn. It’s a coincidence.”

“Done.”