“I’m Murphy, a wandering mage,” said Murphy with a smile as he extended his hand. Melrose, in turn, stretched out his non-staff-holding, aged hand, and they shook firmly in the middle of the room.
Murphy raised an eyebrow as he felt the old man’s warmth and vigor in his grip. Near the brink of death, my foot! The geezer was full of zip and mischief, that's for certain.
With just a thought, Melrose’s status appeared before Murphy's eyes:
[Name: Melrose Norton
Level: 95
Age: 118
Race: Human
Occupation: Elemental Arcanist...
Skills Overview: Elemental Magic: Mastered, Divine Magic: Mastered...
Special Abilities: [Follower], [Darling of Fate], [Blood of Otherness], [Man of Two Hearts]...
Titles: Guardian of the Kingdom, Light of Humanity, Favored by the Source of Magic, Cherished by the Gods...]
Murphy was a tad taken aback. Though he had braced himself for it, the old man’s impressive stats still surprised him. Not the full picture either! Only two words echoed in Murphy's mind: dang impressive.
Fair's fair, for a native of this parallel world to have such chops was downright deserving of Murphy's respect. He had thought Raventa to be quite the tier 1.5, but next to old Mel's stats, they might as well toddle off to tier 2.
"Don’t zone out on me, lad," Melrose’s abrupt check pulled Murphy back to reality, and he realized they were still shaking hands. Smiling, Murphy gave another shake and said, “Sir, your hands are warm; a clear sign of robust health.”
“Then this old codger must thank you for the compliment,” Melrose replied with a smile, before turning and calling over his shoulder, “Connor, no need to come in.”
“Understood, teacher,” responded Connor, taut as a guitar string, always on high alert. He bowed swiftly and then stood by the door, vigilant as a security guard.
Murphy gestured for Melrose to enter, and the ancient mage ambled into the villa, leaning on his long staff. Pepe followed close behind, eyeing the old man’s unsteady gait, trying to discern the secrets of a top-tier mage’s footwork.
Because it was just the two of them, Murphy led the old man straight to the parlor to sit at the short end of the long table, leaving the head of the table empty.
That’s when the benefits of having a maid come into play. If there had been one around, Murphy and Melrose could have enjoyed a cup of perfectly temperatured tea by now, but alas...
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That's when a crew cut-sporting burly man walked into the parlor, wearing a gardener’s uniform but carrying a large tray with two cups and a kettle.
Murphy shot Lambert a side-eye and casually inquired, “Brewed yet?”
“Not yet, sir,” Lambert replied, humble in tone.
“Then I'll take care of it,” sighed Murphy in relief, picking up the kettle to brew the tea himself.
Somehow, this man had a peculiar knack for making any consumable disagreeable, even something as predetermined as brewing tea.
With a bow, Lambert retreated from the room.
Three-quarters of an hour later, Murphy and Melrose were approaching their third pot, with Melrose himself having refilled the water. Yet, they continued to top up each other’s cups without so much as hinting at discussing serious matters.
Could this be that strange competitive nature of men? Murphy pondered. The elder was probably waiting for him to ask first. But why should he, Murphy, initiate? Was Melrose thinking the same, hence the endless tea session?
After two more pots of tea, probably driven by a slew of pressing issues back in the capital, Melrose initiated the dialogue in a diplomatic tone:
“Don’t you want to offer an explanation?”
“What's there to explain?" Murphy replied, nonchalantly. "Even if I told you the teleportation circle to the demon realm was the result of a small drawing error on my part, would you believe me?”
“Even if you believed it, surely Connor has told you my apprentice can wield dark magic?”
“I do hold a lot of respect for you elders. Ask away, but the right to answer is still in my hands.”
Melrose looked at Murphy with a genuine, unadulterated smile and said, “Young man, you remind me of two I've met in my past. They had a way with words, just like you—respectful on the surface but always putting themselves first. There’s a term for that: wilful.”
“I see nothing wrong with that,” Murphy smiled back. “At the end of the day, how many are there who don't look out for themselves?”
“Ah, well said!” Melrose struck his beard thoughtfully. “Even the gods, perhaps, protect humanity for their own reasons.”
Surprised, Murphy glanced at Melrose, who seemed to be speaking in riddles. Murphy loathed two kinds of people: those who speak in enigmas, and those who would not let him do the same.
Holding back an eye roll, Murphy suggested, “Mr. Melrose, let's just have a straight talk, shall we?”
“Fine by me.” The old mage seemed to rally up, shedding the languid air and mused, “In this world, of the living mages who can set up long-distance teleportation circles, thirty percent are my disciples, sixty percent are disciples of my disciples, and the rest are old friends of mine.”
“But you," he continued, locking eyes with Murphy as a youthful blue glimmer shone through his dim eyes, “appear to fit into none of these categories. So who are you exactly?”
Before Murphy could reply, the old man added, “You stare into the void as though everything revolves around you, as if everything is under your control.”
“I’ve said I've met ‘people’ like you twice before—one called Helrista, the other, Raphael."
“By most, they are known as—the Hero and the Demon Lord.”
---
[Insert Murphy’s status panel (incomplete version)]
Name: Murphy Ferrers
Level: 100
Age: 18 (Constant)
Race: Unknown
Occupation: Demon Lord (Visitor from Another World)
Feature Overview: Strikingly handsome, black hair, black eyes, well-proportioned physique, lacks demonic traits, mannerly, somewhat of a hoarder.
Skills Overview: All warrior-class skills—Mastery, All magic-class skills—Mastery, All faith-based skills—Deactivated.
Exclusive Abilities: [Eyes of the Myriad], [Pride].
Little Secret: He’s currently longing for a human maid, preferably one that's quite human-like, and even better if female.
(p.s. Exclusive Ability: Unique top-tier ability that only heroes or demon lords can possess.
Special Ability: Extremely rare abilities that are hard to come by but can be replicated.)