Chapter 344: The "Gagawaah" Tavern

"As long as the conditions are met, anything is possible, Lord," the Elf Grand Mage replied slowly. "And by the way, I must correct your choice of words. I merely paid a high price back in the day, which is why I’m not in my peak state. I’m not crippled, and certainly not useless. Even now, I am confident I am one of the most powerful Mages in the entire world."

"However, if I could recover my old implements and my Mage Tower, I could even drop the ’one of’."

"As for the entity shrouded in black mist, I’m inclined to believe it has transcended the narrow definition of ’mortal’ to become a Witch Demon. Countless years have granted it unparalleled knowledge and power, and the entirety of Delusional Land is territory under its direct control, with every rising power merely its plaything. If that’s the case, then provided we can uncover its secrets, it would not be impossible to defeat it by marshaling the forces you currently possess."

"But if we were to speculate on a more dangerous possibility..."

Jilannis hesitated. "After such a long time, it might have already turned the entire Delusional Land into one giant ’Mage Tower.’ Or, perhaps it’s no longer concerned with mortal affairs and is dealing with devils and demons with only one goal in mind—it is trying to become a God."

"If that’s the case, we definitely can’t fight it with our current strength. If it decides to make a move directly, we’d be lucky to escape with our lives."

’That was an outrageous, but very possibly true, speculation. For a Witch Demon that had lived for who knows how long, it would be stranger if it *didn’t* have such ambitions. But becoming a god isn’t something one can achieve just by living a long time. It would definitely require thorough preparation.’

"Then it won’t move against us immediately," Ron said. "Obviously, we’re nowhere near the level of being a worthy ’meal’ for it yet."

"Regarding this matter, once I’ve reached a stopping point in my current work, I’ll go look for some of my old friends," Jilannis offered as a final piece of advice. "That might give you some leads. My required payment is that you must join my experiment next time. For the next phase, I must have a volunteer such as yourself."

Ron agreed. After confirming that neither the fungus nor the entity posed an immediate threat to him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But some people weren’t about to give Ron any time to relax.

"Ron, what’s the deal with that thing?" As Ron came out of Jilannis’s research lab, he ran right into Sera, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. The barbarian was currently walking down the street, her face flushed. When Ron and Delaford got close to her, they could clearly smell alcohol.

Sera, being from the north, had a high tolerance for alcohol; it was rare to see her so drunk she was swaying on her feet. But today, she was clearly over her limit. It was impressive that even in this state, she hadn’t forgotten to worry about Ron’s affairs.

"It doesn’t seem too dangerous for now," Ron said as he and Delaford moved to support Sera, who looked like she could collapse in the street at any moment. "How much did you drink? It’s still a long time until dinner. Are you even going to be able to eat later?"

They had just gotten back today, and there was a banquet planned for the evening. If Sera was this drunk now, what was she going to do tonight?

"Of course I’m still... eating tonight!" The barbarian flashed a silly grin, pushed her two companions away, and slid down the pillar outside the lab to the ground. "Ron, let me tell you, I met my match today!"

"Not even Rurik can out-drink me, but some pretty boy from out of town... he actually managed to... drink more!"

"An out-of-town pretty boy?" Ron blinked. "Where did you two have this drinking contest?"

"’Gagawaah’!" Sera burst out laughing. "That’s the name! It’s a tavern run by those Kobolds under Aiksuuri. The ale they brew is ’interesting.’ While you guys were gone, I went there for a drink every afternoon I was free!"

"But today, that pretty boy took my seat! He said I could only have it back if I out-drank him. You think I could stand for that? I immediately—"

Watching Sera’s head loll back as she passed out unceremoniously on the side of the road, Ron was momentarily at a loss for words. "Delaford, could you do me a favor and carry her home? It’s almost dinnertime; we can’t just leave her sleeping here."

"You expect *me* to carry her?" Delaford pointed at himself in shock. "Ron, the two of us together might not be able to move her! A drunk, sleeping person is way heavier than a conscious one!"

"Just find a few people to help," Ron said with a wave of his hand. "Anyone who can drink Sera under the table... I have to go see for myself what kind of person we’re dealing with. Excuse me," he said, stopping a passerby, "where is the ’Gagawaah’ tavern?"

"You don’t even know ’Gagawaah’? How did you even get to New Green Swamp—" The passerby Ron had stopped was very reluctant at first, but as soon as he saw it was Ron, his face immediately broke into a smile. "Oh, my Lord!"

"Those Kobolds opened the tavern while you were away. It’s just over there, around the corner. I heard Lady Constance gave them special permission! Didn’t she tell you?"

Ron had just returned, so Constance hadn’t had the chance to report such minor details to him yet. Naturally, he was unaware. However, the tavern seemed to be quite famous here. With the resident personally guiding him, Ron effortlessly found the establishment run by the Kobolds. The moment he stepped through the main entrance, a mural of a ferocious Black Dragon’s head with prominent horns loomed right in his face.

"Hey! Fellas, look who’s here!" The Kobold at the door recognized Ron and immediately shouted inside in broken Common Language, "The Lord! The Lord is here to have a drink!"

The Kobold’s cry was shrill, and that single shout sent the entire tavern into an uproar. Diners, lodging travelers, and more Kobolds poked their heads out from every corner, wanting to get a look at the young Lord with their own eyes. Ron even saw the lid of a barrel pop up, revealing half of a dripping Kobold’s head.

"Welcome, Lord, to ’Gagawaah’!" the Kobolds shouted in unison in a jumble of languages. But they soon discovered that this Lord didn’t seem very interested in their tavern itself; instead, he was scanning the room for something.

Soon, Ron locked onto his target. At a table in the corner, a huge number of empty bottles were piled haphazardly on and under the table, but there were only two people sitting there. One was a middle-aged man in his fifties or sixties, and the other was younger, looking to be about Ron’s own age.

Listening to their accented Common Language, which sounded somewhat similar to Levi Bengsen’s, Ron figured they were the ones he was looking for. The only problem was, no matter how he looked at him, the young man was nothing like the "pretty boy" Sera had described. If Ron hadn’t become so worldly over the past several months, seeing that crisscrossed, scarred face would have definitely given him nightmares.

While Ron was hesitating about whether to approach, the two at the table seemed to notice him as well. They stood up. The young man let out a drunken hiccup and flashed a ghastly smile, one terrifying enough to make a baby stop crying.

"Uncle Mark, I told you this plan would work. See? Mr. Ron is here now—Lord, please, come over here!"