I had left Eden directly after Iago swindled me. Surprisingly, one wagon driver remained, having been on the late-night shift as of late. I didn't know what time it was when I returned to Mechanicsville, but it must have been almost morning. I didn't want to stay the night in Eden, so I found a small hotel in this city instead, where I fell asleep the instant I landed on the bed.
Morning came sooner than expected. I was still tired, but I didn't want to waste any more time, so I headed out of my room and walked over to the Adventurers Guild.
I was sick and tired of traveling back-and-forth between Mechanicsville and Eden, but I would have to take wagons for a while. Fast-traveling could only be used through the use of teleportation runes, but they were ludicrously expensive; I'm talking 30,000 Szerath a piece, which was over half of my savings right now. On top of that, each rune could only be used once.
Teleportation magic was the most complex in the world since it required the user to calculate the exact location of their destination while taking into account the planet's rotation and orbit around the sun. On top of that, the user had to concentrate the mana within every atom of their body to ensure they didn't teleport anything to the wrong location. Just one tiny mistake could cause someone to lose half of their head on the other side of the world.
As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of innovation. Mathematicians and mages came together to create teleportation runes that automatically utilized the calculus of orbital mechanics. Creating these runes took an immense amount of magical energy since the creator would have to weave complex magical equations. In the end, the result was a device that could allow the user to instantly transport themselves—as well as any object they were touching—across vast distances.
The only other major downside of teleportation runes was that you could only teleport yourself in certain predetermined locations, known as fast-travel points. For the most part, these points were only located inside Guild Hubs because runes could only calculate one destination at a time. You would need different magical equations for different locations, so the amount of fast-travel points was limited.
Even though I could buy a teleportation rune right now, I prefer saving up my Szerath for more important matters; namely, I needed to buy better gear. My end goal was to the Radiant Glory armor set, but that would take quite a while, so I had to settle for something much cheaper.
I visited the armor shop, which was adjacent to the Guild Hub. These types of shops (including weapons shops, magic shops, and item shops) were always around the Adventurers Guild, ensuring a steady stream of customers.
Upon entering the building, a soothing chamomile scent reached my nose. A bell was attached to the entrance, so it rang when I walk inside, notifying the cashier of a new customer's arrival.
"Welcome," the man behind the register said. "My name's Alan, and I'm the owner here. Can I help you with anything?
He was portly with a stubbly face, and he wore a sweaty sleeveless shirt with some black dust marks. He also had baggy black pants held up by a belt that contained dozens of pockets with various tools jutting out.
"Hello," I said. "Do you happen to have the Radiant Majesty armor set?"
"Oh? You must be a paladin," Alan said, opening a back door to the storage room. "I've got the Radiant Majesty in here."
Among the player base, the Radiant Majesty was colloquially known as the "Radiant Glory Lite," since it had a similar skill set to Radiant Glory, but it was much cheaper, serving as early-game gear for paladins. Later in the game, you could gather certain materials that allowed you to upgrade Radiant Majesty into Radiant Glory.
Different armor sets had different perks, abilities, and skills, so it was imperative that I chose the most optimal build. Usually, each set contained a helmet, a chest plate, arm armor, waist armor, and leg armor. The helmet, chest plate, and waist armor usually provided skills, while arm armor and leg armor usually provided perks or passive abilities (an exception was the default armor, which only had two skills—one for the helmet, and one for the chest plate). If you equipped a full armor set, you could also gain a bonus.
Alan pointed at a rack that contained what I wanted. The armor set was pearly white with gold around the edges of each metal piece. In terms of stylishness, the helmet was sleek in design, and a purple cape extended from the chest armor.
The armor set cost 30,000 Szerath, so I still had 10,495 to spare for later. Once Alan and I made the transaction, I put on the gear and checked my stats.
My defense was a solid thirty, compared to a measly five from the default armor. On top of that, I gained three new skills: Lightbringer, Angelic Blaze, and Cleansing Inferno.
Lightbringer was a status skill that converted my damage into holy damage and increased it by ten percent for ten seconds. Holy damage was super-effective against most demonic enemies.
Angelic Blaze coated my weapon in white light, turning my next attack into a wave of energy that extended outward, dealing damage to anything in its wake.
Cleansing Inferno was a massive AoE attack that bathed everything around me in a sea of holy fire. It was one of the most powerful skills, but it reduced the user's health by twenty-five percent of their maximum hp.
As for passive abilities, I gained Seraphic Ascent, which decreased my fall damage by fifty percent, and Seraphic Caster, which increased my holy magic proficiency by ten percent.
Since I also had the entire armor set, I gained the bonus perk Golden Blossom, which made me immune to critical hits.
While Radiant Majesty didn't have the highest defense, it provided some of the most useful skills and passives in the game.
Before leaving, I considered buying a new weapon, but the default sword was good enough for now. I wanted to save up my Szerath so that I could pay the blacksmith to craft a certain weapon to replace the Frigid Edge that I lost.
Content with my purchases, I thanked Alan and exited the weapons shop. I then pressed an option in my console that automatically hid my helmet when I wasn't in combat.
That was when a young girl went flying, landing next to my feet.
"Screw you!" the girl yelled, waving around a magical staff. "I'm stronger than all of you combined!"
She had the same familiar red hair and maroon eyes, just like Ayame. The girl also wore a mage's robe and a hat. It was none other than Sakimi.
"Yeah, yeah," a bored young man said. He wore no shirt, revealing his body-builder physique. "The Guild doesn't have room for arrogant littles kids like you."
"Take that back!"
"No."
"I said to take that back! Or else!"
"What are you gonna do, little miss? Wave around your itty-bitty wand?"
The man's entourage threw back their heads in laughter.
"I'll kill you!"
I grabbed Sakimi by the back of her robe and dragged her away. It was strange seeing the girl get so hot-headed earlier. She seemed so calm when I saw her before, so I didn't know she had this sort of side. It seemed that she was just as prideful and strong-willed as her sister. Maybe Sakimi was hiding her emotions when she was in front of her parents.
"Sorry for the trouble," I said to the adventurers with a cordial smile. "I'll take care of her for you."
"Hmph," said the shirtless man as he headed back into the Guild Hub.
Sakimi squirmed, yelling, "Hey! Let go of me! Just who do you think you are!"
Her screaming abruptly stopped when she saw my face.
"Ares? What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," I replied.
"As you can see, I'm an adventurer now."
My eyes grew wide, and I sucked in a sharp breath. "Why?"
"Because I want to help stop the demons, of course."
I grabbed Sakimi by the shoulders. "Are you crazy?!"
"What do you mean?"
"It's dangerous!"
"I know. My parents already told me that. I don't want to go through the same argument all over again. Why does everyone treat me like a child?"
I sighed. "You're not a child...I know that...but..."
Memories of Ayame's death flashed through my head, and I clenched my eyes shut to hold back the anguish.
"Dammit," I muttered. "It looks like I can't stop you."
Sakimi nodded. "Though, it seems like the Adventurers Guild is trying their hardest to stop me. I came to Mechanicsville to look for jobs, but they wouldn't let me challenge any of the A-rank quests!"
"When did you join the Guild?"
"Earlier this morning, back in Eden."
"That makes you a D-rank."
"That's right."
"You can only accept jobs that are one rank higher than yours. In this case, you can only partake in quests which are C-rank or lower."
"That's such a stupid rule!" Sakimi said, stomping her foot.
I let out a resigned sigh. "Come with me. I'm sure we can find a quest that we can do."
"Wait, are you saying that we're gonna be partners now?"
I had unconsciously invited her to do a quest with me. In truth, I still objected to her becoming an adventurer, but I didn't want to deny her dreams.
In this case, the only option was to protect Sakimi with my life. No matter the costs, and no matter how terrible the situation becomes, I won't let Sakimi get hurt like Ayame.
I won't make another mistake.
I didn't say my thoughts out loud, though. It would have been embarrassing.
Instead, I replied to the girl's question by saying, "Sure. We'll be partners.