My eyes blinked open as the light of the morning sun shined in through the window. Obviously, it was now morning, and that meant it was time to wake up. Although, that doesn't mean I can't spend a few moments doing what past me failed to accomplish.
You know, appraising that 'Pride' skill? Let's do that now.
Oh, that's... interesting, and also insanely broken. Pride does many things, apparently, first of which is increasing the amount of exp gained by three times of both me and anybody that is nearby I consider an ally.
Next, like the last effect, Pride increases the rate at which skills level up, by about the same rate as the last.
And finally, once per month, if my health reaches zero, my stats are raised by fifty percent, my hp and mana return to one hundred percent, and my stamina is fully recovered. This particular part of the skill is named 'Pride of the Pheonix.'
So, that's a lot to take in. I mean, I just got this super strong skill out of nowhere and seemingly for no reason... Sure, except for that last effect of the skill, which is still incredibly good, mind you, it's not especially useful in combat, but the fact alone this causes me to become much stronger at a much faster pace is amazing enough.
However, one of the most surprising parts of all of this, is that parts of the skill information were blocked. So, that means there are parts of this skill that I don't even know about.
Even so, the timing I got this skill was scarily good... it was almost like a gift from the gods, if there even are such a thing. Though, seeing how this world is, I wouldn't be surprised if gods do exist.
Okay, that's as well as dealt with. Now, what to do with the rest of the day? My weapon and armour are both in good shape... I believe they are, at least.
Huh, I fell asleep in my armour, with my sword at my side and everything.
Let's see here...
Oh. My sword is almost completely shattered. With that, my left shoulder armour plate is just completely gone, my chest piece is dented, and my right shoulder armour piece... is surprisingly fine.
Thinking about it, I didn't actually get hit during that entire time, so, how exactly is my armour in shambles? Strange... Perhaps it has something to do with the person the cultist called 'leader'?
Onto a different topic, both Akane and Togeshi are still asleep... I should probably go and get some new weapons and armour, but I have no way to notify them where I would go... Quite the dilemma.
Oh, no, wait, that gives me an idea of a spell, and also due to the effects of it, it would most likely level up skill if used for long enough.
"Light Magic: Light Writing." And with this new skill, in the air, I write, and I quote: 'I'm leaving to purchase some new equipment, don't be surprised if I'm gone.'
This spell should last for at least three hours, and despite its long duration, it barely uses any mana.
With that, I should be good to go. So, I open the door to the hall of the inn slowly, as to not wake the other two up.
Alright, let's head to the commercial area of Quendest.
...
I've been looking around for some sort of blacksmith's shop for about an hour now, but I'm completely lost. I'm not exactly bad with directions or anything, but the way Quendest is built, it's almost like a labyrinth...
Oh...? That place looks pretty blacksmithy. Let's see here, from the studying I've done of the common language, that's most definitely a blacksmith. 'Blacksmith Geran', and there seemed to be some sort of open sign right by it.
No reason just standing around, let's head in.
It seems to be just your standard place, with all sorts of weapons and armour around. And behind a table stood a large man, not overweight or anything, just tall and wide. He had short, brown, unkempt hair, and a beard that was just as short as his hair. He seemed to be in his forties, at least.
"Welcome." He had a low voice, one a bit coarse.
I simply nodded in response, proceeding to look around.
Hm, this stuff seems to be pretty good quality. The materials are all average, but it's obvious this man is incredibly talented. It's all just steel and iron, but its craftsmanship is beyond that. The weapons are all sharper than anything I've used before, and the armour looks incredibly durable, even with it being made of average materials.
Yet, this shop is completely empty... Yes, I guess it is morning, but even so... Although, I'm just as surprised that the shop's open at this time of day.
Wait, is that...? White Steel, the counterpart to Black Steel. White steel and black steel are both just steel filled to the brim with mana, but that makes them much more difficult to work with as a material. So, you don't actually see a lot of weapons made out of the stuff. You usually see only rich people with stuff like this...
With that said, in front of me is a sword made out of white steel, and a set of light armour made of the same thing. It's almost identical to my last stuff, too. Seriously, what's up with today? Things are really starting to go my way, all of a sudden.
Although, I can't say I can even afford this... But, there's no reason not to check. So, I pick up the armour and sword and put them down on the counter.
"How much would it be for the two of these?"
"You've got a keen eye..." The man who I could only assume was called Geran thought before continuing to speak. "Ten gold for the armour, twenty for the sword."
Huh...? He's not joking, right? Sure, white steel is a bit rarer than normal steel, but that's fifty times the market price for the sword. And why would the sword be more expensive than the armour, anyway?
However, before I could respond, I heard a voice from directly above me.
"Old man!" It was obviously a woman's voice... wait, no, I think I've heard that voice before.
Followed by the voice, I heard several steps, followed by the sight of a person running down the stairs.
"Stop trying to scam customers!" Oh, so it is her, the knight from the other day. Her name was Geris, right?
Geez, she just threw her sword at him, and it only took a quarter of a quarter of a second to reach him. Oh, and Geran just easily dodged it by stepping out of the way. The sword ended up getting stuck in the wall behind him, by the way.
"The only people who deserve to use my weapons and armour are people who understand their worth!" And after yelling that, Geran took it out of the wall and threw it right back.
However, this time, Geris easily caught it out of the air and put it in its sheath.
"Who cares? If it wasn't for me, we'd both be homeless by now!" She pointed at him, frowning.
Geran groaned, "I wasn't planning on selling it to 'em at that price either way... after all, I haven't been able to sell that thing for years."
Hm? So he's had this made for years? I wonder why he hasn't been able to sell it, then.
"Of course you can't sell it! No one can even wear the armour and nobody can use the sword!" She finally decided to look at me, and our eyes met, "Hm...? Oh, I know you! You're the kid from the other day!
Well, thank you for answering my question, but why can no one use the sword or armour? This is starting to get a bit unsettling...
"Hm? You know this guy?"
"Yeah! We had him in for questioning along with two others at the guard station near aunt's restaurant!"
"For questioning? is this kid some sort of criminal?"
"No, or at least I don't believe he is!"
Oh, I don't exactly enjoy being accused of being a criminal, I'd rather just buy this armour and get out of here...
"Alright... anyway, kid, I'll sell the armour to you for one gold, and the sword for three."
Oh, that price is much more acceptable, but I still have a few things to ask.
"Could I ask some questions before I decide?"
"Oh, fine." He answered after a sigh.
Great, then what to ask first? I should probably ask what's with the whole, nobody being able to use either equipment.
"Why could nobody use them?"
"Well... I made these two hunks of junk two years ago when I got my hands on some white steel along with the two mana cores of an A-rank monster with the light attribute... but the thing is, because of that, the thing practically had a mind of its own. I'd say the only people who could wear this would be someone stronger than the beast, or with the same attribute. So, kid, do you fall under one of those categories?"
Well, that's quite something. So, what kind of luck do I have having the light attribute?
"I might tell you if you give me a discount." I probably won't actually get anything from this, but it's worth a try.
"Hah, good try."
Yeah, of course, it didn't work, but who cares, let's just ask the next question.
"Right... were there any effects that came with the cores?"
"Hm? Yeah, I think so. On the armour, it increases the defence of your entire body to something more akin to metal than skin. Of course, it doesn't actually affect the texture of the skin, however. Oh, and the sword, other than being even more sharp than usual, can shoot some rays of light or something. Although, if you do perchance have the light attribute, that probably wouldn't be too much of use."
Considering that the armour doesn't cover my entire body, that affect that the armour has could prove very effective... but the sword, on the other hand, is even better. Sure, since I have the light attribute, I could do the same thing by using a spell. However, spells need a small chant in order to be cast. In combat, wasting even a few seconds could be dangerous, so, if I could use something akin to a spell but much faster, I could catch some people off guard.
Hm? Looking around, it seems that Geris has already left. She's probably in a pretty high position of the knights in Quendest, so I guess she must be busy.
Really, I don't have a choice in the matter, it's too much of a good deal.
"I'll buy it."
>Chapter Y.9, end.<