The Magic Guild has to be the most ritualistic of all the guilds.

The guild’s highest governing body is the Council, made up of a dozen or so elders.

Whenever the Council convenes, they sit around a circular table, clad in long robes, hoods, and masks.

Even though they all know who’s who, they insist on playing the part of mysterious strangers.

A bunch of wannabe Voldemorts, every last one of them.

Each seat is marked by a Legendary creature. Soron’s, for example, is the Griffin.

And the one now living in Songmu Town was Xiao Xiong.

I have to say, the Guild’s method for choosing symbols was no different from picking them blindly.

Take Soron, a guy who does nothing but spam shields all day. To say he has anything to do with a Griffin would be a stretch. In fact, you could say there’s no connection whatsoever.

Master Xiao Xiong was the same. He’d made his name with Spatial Magic, yet he preferred to stay cooped up in his hometown of Songmu Town.

He was a famously nice old man who would always help his neighbors and fellow townsfolk, completely lacking the airs of one of the Continent’s top Mages.

He wasn’t much of an Owlbear, and he certainly wasn’t overbearing.

My humble offering of a terrible pun.

Flying through the sky, Zog sighed. ’Maybe I should introduce the Chinese language here. Then I’d have someone to share my puns with.’

Speaking of which, none of the Shadows of Evil or TV series released so far had subtitles.

It wasn’t that the dialogue in the common tongue was free of ambiguity, but that subtitles would simply be too long. A massive string of letters like that would spill right off the screen.

Songmu Town wasn’t too far from Twin Tower City; it was a flight of just over half a day. The town was a well-known tourist and holiday destination in the southern region.

Zog didn’t revert to his true form, lest he cause a panic in the towns along his route.

He also chose not to teleport via clone. He’d never been to Songmu Town before; his previous ventures had all been to major cities, leaving him largely unfamiliar with small towns.

He decided to go in person and treat it as a trip. After all, the experiences relayed back from a clone weren’t the same as being there yourself.

He brought Doudou along for the ride. Doudou had established the Magic Vision broadcast system in Twin Tower City, so naturally, he needed to be present for its expansion.

Doudou was extremely reluctant to come out. Today was the book signing for the second volume of the *Mechanical Warrior* series.

He had carved out time from his busy schedule to attend the event in person and buy some merchandise.

As for *why* he was so busy, upon hearing that a *Mechanical Warrior* TV series was about to start filming, he had dispatched a horde of clones to help build the sets.

A single dragon was worth several squads of Beastman laborers.

For free.

Only after Zog promised to get Robben and Ribery to give him a personal signing session upon their return did Doudou agree to accompany him.

Doudou, however, said he didn’t need a ton of autographs; just one would be fine. What if it delayed next week’s release, after all?

The rest of the journey passed without incident.

By afternoon, as the weather began to cool, the two dragons arrived in Songmu Town.

The little town certainly had the feel of a tourist hotspot. Seen from the outskirts, it looked like an oil painting, its buildings painted in a palette of lively, charming colors.

It was very much like the homeland of the Hobbits, only they didn’t live in holes in the ground.

But more than the scenery, it was the people who really made the place feel like a tourist trap.

"Hello, sir. Need a tour guide?"

Zog and Doudou had just set foot in town when someone sidled up to them.

"A one-day tour of Songmu Town’s seven greatest attractions! Lunch included, Ten Copper Coins per person. Pet meals are Three Copper Coins."

"Besides admiring the wonderful scenery, you’ll get to experience the same introductory magic class Grand Mage Xiao Xiong took as a child and sample his favorite delicacies."

"Let me tell you, if you want to see Master Xiao Xiong’s residence, nobody else can get you as close as I can. And why’s that? Because I know the old man personally!"

"No, thank you," Doudou replied politely.

The guide, completely undeterred, switched to hawking his merchandise.

"Since you’ve come all this way to Songmu Town, you have to buy a souvenir, right? I’ll bet you the shops in town can’t beat my prices. If you find anyone selling for less, I’ll give you One Silver Coin!"

"We’ve got Master Xiao Xiong’s signature Mage Hat, his Mage Robe, and even replicas of every Magic Staff he’s ever used, from childhood to today! Hey, don’t rush off! Buy the whole set and get a thirty percent discount..."

Zog decided that beating a hasty retreat was the best course of action.

’Looks like the town’s entire core industry is Master Xiao Xiong,’ Zog thought.

They ignored more than a dozen tour guides on their way, every single one of whom claimed they could get you closer to Master Xiao Xiong’s house than anyone else.

Every shop along the street had a magical recording on display, documenting a time the Master had visited.

At the center of town stood a statue of the Master, posed like a street performer doffing his hat after a performance.

Because he had, in fact, started out as a street performer.

Runes were carved into the tip of the Magic Staff and inside the hat, creating a pair of linked, miniature Teleportation Gates.

A crowd of tourists was gathered at the barrier around the statue, tossing coins.

If you could toss a coin into the hat and have it emerge from the Teleportation Gate at the staff’s tip, good fortune would smile upon you, blessing your children with a talent for magic.

’Blessing, my ass,’ Zog scoffed internally. ’Master Xiao Xiong is from the Spellcasting School, not the Enchantment School. He doesn’t even study Blessing Techniques.’

Zog offered a moment of profound respect for the Mage in his heart. ’To not move away despite all this... his love for his hometown must run truly deep.’

They found Master Xiao Xiong’s residence with ease.

There was no need to ask for directions; every street sign, regardless of its primary purpose, included a pointer toward Master Xiao Xiong’s residence.

The residence itself, however, was unremarkable.

It was a crooked, three-story wooden house squeezed between two other buildings, painted entirely in black.

It looked like one of those ugly-cute haunted houses you see at a carnival.

The two buildings flanking it were, on the left, the Master Xiao Xiong Souvenir Shop, and on the right, a costume rental and magical photography studio.

The standard tourist procedure was to rent a Mage Robe, pose for a magical recording outside the Master’s house, and finally go on a shopping spree in the souvenir shop.

Zog had to give the townsfolk credit for their money-making prowess.

An owlbear stood guard outside the Master’s front door, keeping ordinary tourists from getting too close.

But Zog was no ordinary tourist, and neither was Doudou.

They had suppressed their Dragon Mighty to a level unnoticeable by ordinary people, but unfortunately, an animal’s Perception was a bit more sensitive.

"AIIIIEE—"

With a pathetic shriek, the poor owlbear, shaking like a leaf, scrambled and tumbled its way into the house.

A moment later, there was a flash of light.

And Master Xiao Xiong materialized.

Followed by a flurry of flashing lights.

The flashes from the tourists’ cameras.

"Who dares disturb my meditation!" the Master’s voice boomed with authority.

’Zog was deeply moved. Finally, a Mage who actually looked the part—the Dumbledore and Gandalf type.’

’Those guys from the Illusion School spend so much time writing Inscriptions they’re starting to look more like research engineers.’

’And as for Soron... the less said, the better.’

"Greetings," Zog said, producing the letter. "I’m a representative from the Zog Group."

"Oh?" The Master’s demeanor changed in a flash. "Excellent, excellent! Please, follow me inside."

Master Xiao Xiong’s house was a complete mess. Several Magic Vision Devices were set up in the living room, and a few of them had been taken apart.

Zog guessed the reassembly process hadn’t gone very smoothly. ’Not everyone has the knack for tinkering that goblins do.’

"Coffee, tea, or wine?"

"Just water, thank you."

Zog could feel the floor vibrating; the owlbear was still trembling uncontrollably in the corner.

"Forgive him," Master Xiao Xiong said. "He’s never seen an Ancient Dragon before. That stuff on the Magic Vision Device... that’s the Dragon Race’s Clone Magic, isn’t it? Which would make you Master Doudou?"

Doudou had a rather good reputation among Mages. His unique cloning ability was highly recognizable, and Metal Dragons were generally known for their good tempers.

Doudou, in particular, could be described as having no temper whatsoever.

"And you are...?"

"Just call me Zog."

"Ah, a sense of humor, I see." Master Xiao Xiong handed him a document. "This is the proposal regarding the transmission of Magic Crystal Stone clones. Please have a look. If you don’t mind, I’m in the middle of something rather urgent. I can explain the details to you shortly."

"Of course, I don’t mind."

With that, Master Xiao Xiong activated Illusion Mimicry, a spell that had by now become the single most popular one among Mages.

He expertly activated the Red Middle Rune, and the screen of a fighting game appeared, currently paused.

"Final round. I’ll just be a moment," the Master said with a grin.

Zog’s eye twitched. ’So *this* is what he calls "meditation," huh?!’