CHAPTER 6 - "Hero's New Clothes"
This web novel is a draft of the story. Please expect frequent changes and updates as I see fit. Enjoy! -Cloki
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-The party enters the guild house once more-
Daichi: "Welcome back, you two! How was your first night in Formai, Siegfried-dono?"
Siegfried: "Terrible. I was cursed by a shaman on my first night, and to make matters worse, I'm at risk of dying unless I can find the shaman who cursed me, and convince him to reverse the effects before sunrise tomorrow.."
Siegfried: "I'm also concerned for your daughter, and want to make sure she wasn't cursed as well. If she was, this party could be a total G A M E O V E R."
Azure: "We know his general location, we just came back here to update you on the unfortunate news. Do you have any suggestions for how to take on a shaman?"
Daichi: "The situation seems grim.. fortunately for you two, I have a spell tome that could aid you on your way. Allow me to retrieve it for you. Considering you, Siegfried, are adventuring with my daughter, I will let you borrow this spell tome at no cost."
-Spell Tomes, also called Spell Books, are texts that instruct people on how to cast very specific types of spells. Spell Tomes exist for each kind of magic, basic, elemental, electro, light, and dark magic. Spell Tomes make it easier for an inexperienced mage to cast unfamiliar spells and can be used as many times as their mana vat allows them to.
Daichi: "Behold, the Spell Tome of Aura Shifting. This is a spell tome that allows one to temporarily change their aura to anything they want. This can be used to change your aura to match anyone you're talking to, which could ease tensions between you two, and ultimately help you in achieving your goal."
-Everyone has an aura. Auras come in many different forms and colors, and represent the type of magic closest to them. For example, most fire wizards have either a dragon aura or a flaming aura. In the case of the Cloaked Figure, his aura was dark and represented a ghast flying about, which is representative of a typical Shaman's Aura.
Siegfried: "Thank you, Daichi-sama. I appreciate you letting us borrow this spell tome. How exactly do I use it though?"
Daichi: "I thought you might ask. Allow me to demonstrate the Aura Shifting spell first, then I will have you try it out yourself. This is a non-combative spell, so failing to cast it will cause no harm to you, though it might make your aura completely random. Watch closely now, Siegfried."
Daichi: "Sphaera!"
-Suddenly, the once fierce aura of a dragon residing around Daichi morphed into a gentle, waving aura of an angel, representative of a Light Mage. He had successfully changed his aura to his preference.
Siegfried: "Interesting... Azure, his aura changed."
Azure: "I can see that, perhaps you should try it next to see if you can change yours, right now, it's a little disheartening seeing your aura. It represents a shallow soul lost in misfortune.."
Siegfried: "Ouch."
-Azure winked at Siegfried and stuck her tongue out as if to signal that she's just messing with him in a playful manner. However, the curse set on Siegfried had indeed changed his aura from that of a god, to that of a much less fortunate soul...
Daichi: "Azure, be nice to Siegfried! I can see right through his emotions you know, he's gone nuts for you!
Siegfried: "OI OI OLD MAN WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY!?"
-Azure giggled at the two and returned to her usual, quasi-cheerful state. She borrowed the spell tome and cast the spell on herself.
Azure: "Sphaera!"
-Like Daichi's, Azure's aura shifted from an initial aura of a carp swimming in a pond to a more fierce aura of a lion roaring on the mountains, representative of an Earth-Fire Hybrid Mage.
Siegfried: "Whoa! that's really cool! Here, let me try it next."
Daichi: "Remember, Siegfried, focus your vat toward your aura, and repeat the text as written. Focus, and think about what you want your aura to be... focus now... focuuuus."
-Siegfried closed his eyes and focused his vat toward his aura, which currently was indeed representative of a lost child sulking in their own misfortune. He thought about Camriel, opened his eyes, and spoke the word-
Siegfried: "Sphaera!"
-Suddenly, Siegfried felt a wave of cold air rush past him, as his aura began to shift before everyone's eyes. His aura became one so unusual, it shocked both Daichi and Azure, as they had never seen anything like it before. His aura became the aura of a goddess.
Daichi: "Well I'll be....."
Azure: "A....goddess.."
Siegfried: "Eh? Do you like it? I thought of my mother!"
Daichi: "...hmm, very interesting, Siegfried-dono..."
Azure: "Well, it sure is incredible, Siegfried. But don't you think you should change it to something a little more somber when we actually meet up with the cloaked man?"
Siegfried: "Yeah, of course. When the time comes, I'll change it to something so terrifying, not even the cloaked man will want to mess with me! I'll practically force him to remove this curse!"
-Azure and Daichi sighed, cringing at the over-exaggerated confidence of Siegfried, and then Daichi began to speak-
Daichi: "I think it's time for you two to get moving, I don't want you two wasting time here, that's time off of your own lifespan you know! The curse is actively affecting you as we speak."
Siegfried: "Daichi-sama's right, Azure, let's get a move on. Besides, you said you had a way for us to get places faster right?"
Azure: "Ah yes, that is correct. Follow me, Seigi-kun. Father, we will check in later with an update!"
-"Seigi-kun"? What was this random nickname Azure just gave Siegfried...?
Daichi: "Good luck, you two! Please return safely! I will have a fine reward for you if you manage to take down that shaman! It counts as a quest you know!"
•• •• QUEST STARTED - Take down a Shaman - REWARD: 125,000 Provi •• ••
-The pair leave the guild house and make their way through the town. Before going to the Aqua Trail, Azure has an idea-
Azure: "Siegfried-kun, those clothes just look absolutely horrendous on you. They remind me of the dark mage cults. I think it would be best if we found an outfit more suitable for you. Follow me, I know a vanity shop in town that would have what we're looking for.
Siegfried: "Azure-san, you know you could be nicer to me, right? These clothes cost me a lot of money!"
Azure: "I'm not sure which goddess-forsaken shop would even sell clothes with that color scheme anywhere in Provincia! You're coming with me, we're changing."
-The pair walk through Formai, until they arrive at the vanity shop. The sign above the shop reads in big letters "Vade's Vanity". The pair walk in and begin to look around at the different clothes that are available.
Azure: "Siegfried, I should probably mention to you that clothing in Provincia is more than it seems. Clothing is enchanted with magical heightening abilities depending on things such as material and color. If I were you, I'd try to find something that screams "Vitality". I'm not so sure how much HP you have, but I'd assume it's probably low.
Siegfried: "My HP is just fine, thank you very much. But if you're that concerned for my safety, then I will find myself a fresh new pair of clothes that scream "vitality"."
-Siegfried looks around the store, and comes across a dark green and black tracksuit, similar in style to his current attire, and tries it on. Upon doing so, he feels instantly refreshed, and almost as if he's gotten a bit stronger. Azure was right, clothing does have an effect on your stats!
Siegfried: "Azure-san, how is this?"
Azure: "The top looks decent, and the vitality stats are above average, which is also good. You just need to find some pants now. Don't worry about the cost either, new adventurers like you and me get our first pair of clothes for free."
-Siegfried searched for a pair of pants to match the top and stumbled across a pair of black pants with a green stripe down each side. It matched the attire perfectly, and Siegfried felt even more refreshed as he put the pants on. He displayed his new outfit to Azure.
Siegfried: "Well, Azure, what do you think?"
-Azure looked at Siegfried, analyzing his new clothes, and gave a response-
Azure: "They're....acceptable. I wouldn't say they look good on you, but it's what they have. Let's show the clerk our new profiles so that they can confirm our first-time free clothing purchase, and let's get on to the aqua trail ASAP."
-The pair walked up to the counter and displayed their newly acquired Adventurer's Profiles. The clerk smiled at them and confirmed their first purchase. Siegfried had officially acquired his first set of "armor". His new clothes gave a slight boost to his HP and Vitality. It also provided slight Health-Regeneration, an ability that allows for the quicker healing of wounds.
Azure: "Thank you!"
Siegfried: "Thank you!"
-The pair left the Vanity Store and made their way toward the Aqua Trail. Upon arriving, Azure decided to show Siegfried that fast travel method she had prepared.
Azure: "Siegfried, I mentioned earlier that I was able to fast travel. Allow me to demonstrate exactly what I mean by that. You see, I am proficient in not just water magic, but also air magic. This allows me to run quicker than normal, in fact, I can run INCREDIBLY quickly given enough mana is flowing from my vat. Watch this!
-Like a gust of wind, Azure took off and cleared a lap around the town of Formai in a little under 40 seconds, a feat that would normally take upwards of 2 minutes were you to run regularly.
Azure: "See? Now, obviously, you aren't skilled enough to run that fast by yourself, so I've proposed the idea that I will run ahead of you, and carry you through my slipstream. By doing this, you should be able to generally keep up, despite moving at a quicker than normal pace. Trust me, it sounds crazy on paper, but I can use some extra air magic to give you that extra push toward terminal velocity.
Siegfried: "You think that would really work? What if I trip and fall? If I'm moving that fast, I'll surely di-"
-Azure put her fingers to Siegfried's lips and pinched them shut.
Azure: "Just trust me, Siegfried."
Siegfried: "Ugh, fine. Let's go then! We have the entire day to search for this cloaked man, my curse will kill me in about 20 hours."
Azure: "Follow me!"
-Like a gust of wind, the pair took off on foot down the Aqua Trail. Azure was right, her slipstream, combined with her extra air magic, was making it relatively easy for Siegfried to keep up, and what's more, he barely has to move his legs, she's practically suspending him in the air! He's flying!
Azure: "Oh, one more thing Siegfried, watch out for debris. Using mana at speeds like this can sometimes cause shards of mana to crystalize and flow from my body. If they hit you, it could cause a few cuts!
Siegfried: "It's a little bit late to tell me that! But I'll keep that in mind! Let's just hurry up and find this cloaked figure before it's too late!"
Azure: "Yeah!"
-The pair, moving with the wind, was now in hot pursuit of the cloaked figure who had put a curse on Siegfried...
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