"I had a little run-in with the raccoon that has been causing trouble in the town, it can use wind magic and well... That's how it all ended, is there any way to fix it?" Blake explained the reason for his shield being like this and expected a positive response from Gaius.
"Of course-"
"Really? great..."
"-Not." A silence that didn't last more than a few seconds was enough for Blake to have a strange face when listening to Gaius causing his hopes to be destroyed, but before he could say anything, the latter's voice returned to be heard. "You can see for yourself, it is literally cut in half, even if I fill the cut part or do a coating on it, in the end, it will not be as strong as before, it will not take long for it to break again."
"So..."
"It's best that you give up on it." Hearing Gaius's last words, Blake only gave a disappointed sigh when he saw again the shield that had accompanied him since the first day he had arrived in the town. "Don't get depressed, at least it did its job, but don't think that this shield would be enough to defend you from any other monster, this is the most basic that exists, it's time for an improvement, don't you think? You can take a walk around the store."
"There's no need. You're right about what you say, and actually, I had thought about it before, but I wasn't entirely sure... Give me a steel sword and a bronze shield, please." Blake was also aware that he needed a better one urgently, so he had already thought about those options.
"It's on its way." Before long, Gaius had returned after looking for Blake's request, he brought a short sword that wasn't too different from the one he already had, taking away the deeper dark color of it, as well as a shield with a larger shape and size compared to the small shield he used. Blake picked it up and wondered what information the system would display.
{Steel Sword. Level 1.
A short sword forged from the strongest steel. Its blade is longer to give a greater reach. It can still be used as a knife.
+10 ATK when equipped
Selling price: 210G.}
{Bronze Shield. Level 1.
A simple shield made of bronze. It has a better chance of parrying attacks, at least you won't have to use your body to do so...
+12 DEF when equipped
Selling price: 320G.}
'I get twice as many stats as before' Blake equipped them to test them, he didn't feel any discomfort other than he also realized that his stats increased according to the information from the items.
Saying thanks again and paying for the equipment, he was about to leave when a red-haired figure came into view of him slowly coming down the stairs.
"Looks like you slept long enough." Gaius also watched as Raven calmly walked down the stairs.
"Good morning, Raven." Blake was relieved that Raven looked much healthier than she had the day before.
"Hi..." It seemed that nothing had changed about her as she gave a typical monotone greeting, although her gaze was not as cold as before for some reason.
"I guess you're better now, but you can't go back to work yet." Gaius reminded her of that again.
"I understand, I just wanted to get out for a bit, besides I was going to give this."
"Is it a pendant?" Blake asked a very obvious question since what Raven had just shown was a small silver-colored pendant that was in her hands.
"Yes..."
"It's shaped like a flower... It looks really unique." Blake was still appreciative, but what Raven said next was unexpected.
"After all, it's for Shara... Today is her birthday."
"I see... Today is her birthday?!" The reason for Blake's reaction was because he had really forgotten, the memories came quickly to him and Shara's expression appeared in his mind, she had a serious look when she had told him exactly the day of his birthday, and that he should not forget it for any reason. After came the memory of her splitting a log in half with a simple spell, which made his nervousness increase several times more.
"You forgot it?" Raven noticed Blake's expression and she couldn't help but ask that question.
"W-What? No, j-just, I remembered that I forgot her present at home, hahaha! See ya!" Disappearing in a halo of light leaving everyone in the place somewhat confused, Blake appeared again at his house as he quickly approached the calendar on the wall. "That's right... It's even marked... Now, what do I do?"
It seemed like a very difficult decision, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, he quickly ran out of the tree until he arrived right in front of the leafy flower shop to be greeted by a little orange-haired girl who was looking at him with a hateful face for some reason.
"Hello, Monica…"
"What are you doing here? No monsters allowed." Monica had noticed Blake's arrival and she had gone on the defensive.
"So what are you doing in here?" A light line of lightning seemed to come out of both of their eyes once they stared at each other, again the same scene was repeating where they were going to start insulting each other, but this time it seemed that it was not going to be the case. "Forget it, let's leave our differences for today."
"Hmm... Well, I don't feel like lowering myself to your level either." A forced smile came out of Blake at the same time that a vein was marked on his forehead, he didn't understand why that little girl made him so angry, but he had to do what he did better not to be affected by her comments.
"Anyway, do you know where Shara is?"
"Why are you looking for her?! Are you trying to do something else perverted to her?!"
"Why do you say that?! I've never done anything like that to her!"
"Still!" The screams of both could be heard throughout the place, Blake had told himself that nothing of that would happen, but he was once again fighting verbally with the small version of Shara.