"Thank ya!" She then began making her way through the shop, rummaging through some books. "Got it," she said as she walked back to us. "So, I cen enhance y'alls clothes, or I cen make a little charm to give ya heat resistance. But it won' be as affective."
"I'll take the charm. I'm not risking my armor being changed or messed up." I immediately made up my mind. My armor looked to cool, and I won't risk it being changed. I'd played to many games where I took that risk with some cool looking armor and then it ended up looking ugly after I enhanced it.
"Alright, and rest of ya want the armor change?" They all said yes.
The armor was handed over and they were given a space to change into temporary clothes while theirs was being enchanted. My charm was going to be made last, since it would be the fastest.
It took four hours for Ellie to finish enchanting the armor for everyone. They changed back into their armor and returned the temporary clothes. There were indeed some changes to their armor.
Han's armor looked less bulky, yet he was told it still had the same defensive stats. Rubellia's rob was a bit shorter. Instead of covering her legs, it stopped at her knees. The sleeves were also shorter, stopping at her forearm. Sora's armor looked about the same, but her sleeves were also shorter, stopping a few inches before reaching her wrist.
I was observing the girls figures when Ellie interrupted. "So, what kinda charm do ya want?" She asked.
"How do you mean? Just a charm," I said, not understanding what she meant.
"Ye, but an earring, a ring, a necklace," she was wiping soot off her face as she spoke.
"Oh, a earring will do."
"Alrig', I'll make the most beautiful earring ya ever will see." She smiled at me with that radiate smile.
She was done with it in thirty minutes, but it was indeed beautiful.
It was all black with a spiral with a red ruby that was encompassed inside it, which was the jewel that gave it heat resistance. It was a hanging earring, which I thought odd, yet I still loved the way it looked. I pierced it in my left ear . "It's neat," I said as it dangled from my ear with a glow.
"Ya think?" She squirmed slightly. "Cause I put my heart inta it. I made it just fer you." My face went red a little. She was making it sound like she made it as a wedding offering or something.
"I-I see," I scratched the back of my head. "Well, we should be going now. We gotta get those materials for you."
"See ya, Kichi," she waved us off as we began walking out and made our way to the mountain.
Mount Fiji was even worse than I had thought. Sure, I had the enchanted earring . But the heat was still intense. I could feel myself sweating and it felt like heat was coming from my shirt and blasting into my face like a dish washer planting you with it's heat as you open it.
There was no exact path for us to follow either. It was all rocky terrain with lava trail every once in a while that looked like a snail had made them. We had to climb everything just to get to our destination, which by the way, we were nowhere near.
To be honest, I don't know if I'm going to survive another minute here. I mean, it's not like a smoldering heat, it's like a very hot summer heat. The one where you want to stay inside and you can hear the crickets chirping all around. The worst part was the climbing. As if the heat wasn't enough, exercise too! Come on, I'm already sweating gallons hear. Hell, I think I could even fill a lake with all of it.
"Say, Kichi," Rubellia called to me. I had just climbed up a step rock and reached down to help her.
"Yeah?" I replied as I grabbed her hand and pulled her up.
"Do you remember how we first met?"
What a dumb question. That's something you ask after years of knowing each other, not a few weeks. Even with that thought racing through my mind, I replied. "Of course I do. I jumped into battle to save you all. You were crying like a baby too," I added some humor into it.
"I-I was not!" She retaliated but I ignored it.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, when I first saw you, it's like a chill was sent through my entire body," she put her hand to her chest.
Am I the main character in some Rom-Com Action Fantasy? Seriously.
"And I knew you were different from any one else I had ever met. Your bravery, your determination to save us, the aura you gave off. It was all so strange, alien even."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, so I have a question. Do you believe in love at first sight?"
That's a weird question to ask.
"Love at first sight?" I repeated as I climbed a steep hill of rocks and grabbed her hand again to help her.
"I know it sounds dumb, I thought it was fake, love at first sight I mean. Something from a fairy tale. But then you came, and you were like the knight in shining armor that saves the damsel in distress."
"That does sound dumb," I replied. She looked at me. "Love at first sight isn't real. It means you fell in love with an appearance, not who the person is. I don't believe in love at first sight, I never have, never will. But I do believe in seeing someone and immediately knowing they'll be important to you. After all, there's a click. And that's what I believe in, that click called recognition."
Rubellia laughed softly. "I don't know if you were being pessimistic or philosophical, but I won't question it." She walked next to me.
The entire conversation Han had been ahead of us with Sora, the two also seemed to be talking to each other, sometimes laughing and sometimes yelling because one of them said something stupid. I couldn't help but smile at the scene, and the warm feeling that was in my chest.
My new life was full of experiences, ones that made me happy. Maybe this was God's way of giving me the life I should have lived, but failed to achieve.
"Did you...did you have that click when you saw me?" Rubellia interrupted my thoughts.
"No," I answered honestly. "When I first saw all of you, I didn't think any of you would end up being important to me. To me, you were just some party I would save and then continue on my way."
"Oh," she sounded disappointed and her head lowered.
"But as time passed and I got to know all of you more, that click did happen."
The click happened on the second week since I had been in this world, and we decided to try and take on a B rank quest that was hard even amongst the higher B-ranks. We were to head into a cave east of the town and kill a group of Orcs who had been raiding a nearby village.
The cave had been dark and wet and we got ambushed out of the blue. I had ended up slipping in a puddle and was about to be cut open by an Orc when Sora saved me, once again just as she had with the goblin. My ankle was sprained so I couldn't stand, let alone fight, so Sora stayed by my side.
It was all to no avail though. The orcs just kept coming and coming. When all seemed hopeless, Sora embraced me tightly. I felt the her shaking and heard her cries. I sat there like an idiot, not knowing what to do, when Rubellia casted an explosion spell, cutting off the Orcs from getting any more help. Han fought off the remaining Orcs while Rubellia tended to my sprained ankle. Her eyes were filled with tears as she apologized, saying that she had frozen during the ambush.
I couldn't say anything to her either, but I felt a change in perspective to both the girls in that moment. Like I had seen them in a new light. It was the first time I realized how young they really are. They're not even fully developed mentally, risking their lives. It must be terrifying. Although who wouldn't be terrified to die in a horrible way
"Really?" She broke me free from my memories. I nodded a reply and a smile spread across her lips.
"I think we found the place," Han called back to us, ending the conversation. Rubellia and I heaved our way up the last steep slope and peered over the edge.
The area was crater like with solid ground. In the middle there was a giant stone that sparkled like no other. That must be the ore deposit.
"Well lets head down," I made my way down the slope by sliding. I reached the bottom and made my way to the deposit, Sora and Rubellia inspected the deposit with curious eyes.
"Hey, use that skill, Kichi," Sora said as she nudged my shoulder. She was referring to the observe skill. I used it as told and a window popped in my HUD.