"What? I'm telling the truth!" Lukas said after seeing Claude's blank look, "Do you think a shoe store sells food? No, right? I'm an Artificer, I make gadgets and the likes. You should find a weapon store if you want a weapon."
"Alright, alright. There's no need to be so defensive about it." Claude waved his hands and snorted.
"Anyways... Thanks for your help." Lukas rubbed his nose and said shyly, "I-"
Upon seeing this, Claude didn't hesitate and made a run for it. He had seen these types of development in those BL dramas. Even though he wasn't against it, he doesn't want to be part of it.
"..."
Lukas was speechless when he saw Claude running as fast as he could away from him. He couldn't do anything, so he simply sighed and sat back on his chair.
"I just wanted to introduce myself and give him a gift as thanks for his help. Why did he have to act as though I was some creepy uncle about to do something bad to him." Lukas grumbled, "I guess I'll just give it to him in some other day."
...
Immediately after he left Lukas' store, Claude went ahead and bought a weapon for himself. Carrying a sword would be too much of a hassle, so Claude bought a small dagger.
Even though Mages are powerful on their own, they have a great flaw which is close combat. Once a powerful opponent closes the distance between him and a Mage, they basically won the battle.
This is as a flaw that most Mages acknowledge but can't do anything about. They already have their hands full in accumulating knowledge and experience to advance their rank. As such, they can't train the areas which they greatly lack in.
Claude is an exception.
With the System, he can simply pick up red orbs in order to strengthen his body. So when the time comes, he can at least put up a fight when a powerful opponent closes in on him.
"Okay, time to brush up on knowledge!" Claude smiled as he placed back the dagger in its sheath. After which, he headed to the direction of the library.
The library wasn't actually far from where he was now, and he was intending to go there at a later date anyways. So he made it his top priority for now.
After carefully choosing a handful of books, Claude sat by the corner and began reading earnestly. An unknown amount of time passed and he soon finished reading all of them.
Just as he was about to take another book from the bookshelf, a hand stretched out and also took the book.
"You... Let go!" The other party said in annoyance.
The voice was quite loud and nearly all of the people in the library heard it. Even the librarian coldly turned to look at them.
"Isn't that Rain?" A person in the crowd said in realization.
"Oh my god! It is him! I heard he got accepted in a rather famous Magic School last year. I didn't think he would come to our small library!"
"Now that I think of it, wasn't he accepted in Myriad Kingdom's Magic Academy? The requirements for entering that school is rather strict."
All sorts of discussion instantly started. But since they were in a library, they kept it relatively quiet. As a result, Claude didn't hear them at all.
Even if he did, he wouldn't really care.
"I took the book first." Claude stood his ground and said calmly.
"What are you going to do with it anyway?" Rain rebutted and shrugged his shoulders, "You don't even have any mana fluctuations, which only means that you're not a Mage. This book contains magic theories and the such, which won't be of any help to you at all!"
Apart from being able to wield divine Magic, Mages can also detect another Mage's presence through their mana fluctuations. Unless one of them completely overpowers the other, they cannot sense the other party's mana fluctuations no matter how much they tried.
Even though River City is the third largest city in Myriad Kingdom, such a thing happening is next to impossible. As such, this didn't cross Rain's mind and he instantly regarded the other party as a normal person.
"I, on the other hand, am an actual Mage. And it just so happens that I need this book." Rain added to further prove his point.
When these words landed, the crowd was sent in an uproar.
"What? Rain is already a Mage!?"
"Wasn't it just a year ago that he was admitted in Myriad Kingdom's Magic Academy?"
"In just a year... He went from an ordinary person to a Mage!"
Generally, Mages go through an Apprentice phase before they become actual Mages. This phase lasts for two to four years depending on the person.
During that phase, they try to learn as many things as they can, such as the aforementioned Three Steps, Mana Manipulation, and types of Runes.
Seeing Claude not reply, Rain sighed in resignation, "Okay, how about this then. Since we're fighting for a book regarding Magic, then we should also have a duel using magic."
"How about it, do you accept my challenge?"