Ball of Nothing

Under the watchful eye and expertise of Hua Tuo and Merlin, Truen recovered quickly. As for the mysterious source that was absorbing all the magic from Endow Hill? They found it.

"Yes, I found a huge treasure at the end of the rainbow. However, I can't get it out of the lamp without Truen's help. The bell is way too high for me to reach."

After much convincing that Merlin could help with the bell's reconstruction, the rooms and the clock, Zero finally agreed to bring the wizard into the lamp. Hua Tuo was curious about the space-distorting lamp and asked for some photographs of the place. Merlin agreed and teleported away with Zero.

In the lamp, Zero couldn't quite decide what colour he wanted the bedsheets to be and Merlin ground his teeth in exasperation. It took Zero twenty minutes to finally decide on orange.

"Is this the treasure you found?"

Zero nodded. "It moves too! Actually, I have not seen it for a while so I don't know if it still moves."

Merlin placed a hand on the 'stone' and immediately, it moved vigorously. It was about time too.

"Zero. I need to tell you something important. Stay calm and listen alright?"

The brunet nodded and Merlin pointed to the 'rock' treasure, explaining that it was actually the egg of a powerful and terrifying creature that cannot be kept as a pet.

"You can't keep it in the lamp."

"Is it because it will be unhappy?"

Merlin nodded. "Yes. This creature needs a large space and a lot of food to hunt. You need to let it go."

Zero frowned. He didn't want to part with his treasure but if what Merlin said was true, he would need to. For the sake of the baby inside the egg, Zero needed to let it go.

"Can I visit it after I let it go?"

Merlin thought for a while. Was it a good idea to let a child visit a baby dragon who might sneeze fireballs and kill anything within a ten-mile radius with its cry? Absolutely not. Was it a good idea to deny Zero with such a hopeful expression? Yes, it was. Can he do that? Now that's a problem.

"Under one condition," Merlin sighed. He'd compromised and fallen for the boy's charm even though he only knew him for a few days.

Zero nodded vigorously like a woodpecker.

"You can only visit it when I'm with you. If I say no, you cannot sneak off to visit it. You must follow what I say when we are there. If I say not to touch something, you do not touch it."

Zero nodded immediately. "Yes, sir!"

"Don't 'yes sir' me! It's 'yes, teacher' to you, young man."

Zero grinned and stuck out a tongue. Merlin rolled his eyes at the childish behaviour. Both Hua Tuo and him were trying to get Zero to call them 'shifu' and 'teacher' respectively to no avail. Zero continued to call them 'sir' and 'grandpa' for some reason. Truen had only regained consciousness briefly earlier today but promptly fell back to sleep so there was no one capable of controlling this cute rascal.

Other than the failure to get Zero to call them their preferred terms, the boy had been surprisingly obedient. He was a fast learner and a bright student who absorbed everything they said like a sponge. This greatly pleased the Sage Gods and they decided to impart him more knowledge.

The first day of their lesson together, Zero had shocked both Sage Gods when he was tested for magic compatibility and capacity. In a nutshell, Zero was capable of using any kind of magic and could create unique magic of his own. That level of control wasn't something that could be trained, it was innate.

As for his capacity, it was directly proportional to the food he ate. Merlin nearly cried when all the restaurants they'd been to the day before hung their 'closed for business' signs. Zero was infamous in La Boutique and many places just couldn't afford to accommodate the big eater.

The desperate wizard resorted to finding food the traditional method after all the eateries at La Boutique rejected them.

Time for dungeon hunting.