Old Jon

But things had come to this, and Green silently forced down his self-pity.

"At least I only have to gather more Psychic Energy!" Green consoled himself. The Magic Key was already in his hands; gaining the Mage Tower was only a matter of time.

Green left the basement and returned to the surface. He composed himself and turned his attention back to finding the Xignos Giant Python's corpse. He had gained plenty from Cristiano this time, but his original goal in coming to Rhine City remained unfulfilled. The corpse was still nowhere to be found.

Green had long hoped to obtain the Xignos Giant Python's corpse and give the Six-Headed Snake Woman a physical body as a Corpse Witch. As a mythical creature, she would surely surge in strength once she had a body, reaching at least the peak of the Formal Rank, perhaps even advancing straight to the Archmage level.

But good things never came easy. The last time he found the corpse, Cristiano had beaten him to it. This time, when he came to Rhine City, the Nature Church had taken it. He was always one step behind.

Green was frustrated, but he refused to give up. He prepared himself for a long fight. As long as the Xignos Giant Python's corpse remained in Rhine City, he would find it...

Meanwhile, beside a garden in northern Rhine City, Old Jon stood at his window, staring outside in stunned disbelief.

Old Jon lived on the third floor of a fairly new apartment building. His window faced the garden, and since retiring, he had loved sitting by the little table there, drinking tea and looking out at it. The small garden lay between several apartment buildings. Though it was not large, it was well tended; almost every day, people in