Chapter 6: Buying a staff

 "That…" Lylia pointed at the perfectly halved boar lying on the road, her voice filled with awe. "That was sick. Like, beyond sick. And brutal"

It was like an anime sword move, ro from a movie. It shouldn't have been possible to do cut that wide with just a sword. Yet somehow, it just work. 

Slade simply wiped his blade with a cloth, his expression as calm and unreadable as always.

Lylia puffed her cheeks slightly, thinking. 'Y’know… maybe it wouldn’t have been that bad if I picked the red orb earlier. Strength like that? Imagine.'

But then, she flexed her thin, delicate arm for comparison.

"…well, nah. I’d probably break my own muscles with just one swing."

Besides, back on Earth, you could get stronger by hitting the gym or something. Magic on the other hand? It was totally restricted there.

Yeah. She made the right choice.

Slade’s voice broke her thoughts. "You’re a mage, right? You look like one."

"Uh, yeah, totally," she said quickly, hugging her book close. "Why?"

"Then clean it."

"…Huh?"

He gestured to the battlefield. It was a bloody mess, with guts and gore everywhere. Even the road was stained crimson.

Lylia’s face twisted. "... You want me to clean that?"

Slade gave her a flat look. "Use a spell for it or something."

Understanding clicked.

"Oooh, you meant to clean it with magic. Ok, gotcha."

With a flick of her hand and a quick chant, a soft, cold breeze swept over... herself.

"Oops." 

"What are you doing?" Slade looked disappointed.

"To be honest, I don't think I know any spells for that yet." She said as she made a whistling on the side face cutely. "Tehee."

She then skimmed through the beginner/daily magic section. Unfortunately, the closest spell that suited the situation was only cleanse. 

'It doesn't teach me how to cast it from anything other than myself...' she thought. 

Seeing that, she shyly does her "Tehee" again. 

They were left with no choice but to collect it as it is.

Slade, meanwhile, was busy slicing the boar into neat chunks while standing. All he moved was his sword, which moved so fast it was almost invisible. Each precise slash made a satisfying shwick sound, and each piece of meat flew straight to empty crates. It was like watching a high-level anime sword fight, except… it's right in front of her, live action.

"Woooahhh," Lylia whispered, her eyes sparkling. "So cool…"

Finally, Slade placed all the crates by himself back to the carriage with ease. Lylia raised a brow. "Won’t it spoil along the way?"

"We’re almost at our destination," The merchant said with a reassuring smile. "No worries."

Slade casually claimed his share of meat, and the merchant agreed.

A chunk was then thrown to Manu, the rainbow ostrich, who eagerly gobbled it up with a delighted honk-quack.

Lylia laughed and joined the feeding process. Feeding a rainbow ostrich with monster meat? It's like a field trip. 

Back on the carriage, their journey resumed.

As the wheels clattered along the rocky road, Slade suddenly spoke up.

"You don’t have a wand or staff?"

Lylia tilted her head. "Hmm?"

"You’re a mage, aren’t you?" His tone grew mildly scolding. "You plan to be an adventurer, yet you don’t even have basic equipment?"

She slowly shook her head. "Nooope."

Slade pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why?"

"Well… I haven't bought one yet?" she shrugged casually. "And I just figured, like, yeah, a staff or wand looks cool and all, but I can still cast spells without one, right? It’s not that serious."

"Not that serious?" His voice sharpened. "Unless you’ve mastered magic or are far older and experienced, you shouldn’t even think about going wandless. Even the top mages use them."

"Eh heh…" Lylia gave a sheepish laugh. "Guess I’ll need one then."

Though, truthfully, if she were to pick, she was already imagining herself with a staff. It was more aesthetic, cooler, and more noticeable than some tiny wand.

"But… what’s the actual difference?" she asked. "Like, what does it do?"

Slade’s eyes narrowed, disbelief flickering in his usually stoic face. "You… really didn’t go to any academy, did you?"

"I literally said that earlier," she deadpanned.

The merchant, hearing them, chuckled softly and decided to explain. "Most wands and staves increase your magic’s strength. But there are rare ones with unique effects."

"Unique effects?" Lylia’s curiosity spiked instantly.

"For example," he continued, "there’s a staff that automatically summons ice spears every time you cast. Another one lets you control a certain number of monsters. And one wand is simply… completely unbreakable, no matter what you do."

Lylia's eyes and brow looked impressed. "That’s… awesome. Do you have any for sale?"

He shook his head apologetically. "Ah, unfortunately, the only one I have is a basic beginner’s staff."

Her shoulders slumped. "Aww…"

He quickly added, "But remember, unique features don’t automatically make you strong. Take Madam Haralda, the mayor of the town we’re headed to as an example. she uses a simple wooden staff, yet she’s one of the strongest mages alive."

His chest puffed with pride as he spoke. "She’s not only an S-rank adventurer but also a Grand Magister from the Magic Tower Association!"

Slade’s expression darkened slightly. He glared daggers at the merchant, though his face didn’t change much from his usual stoic glare.

The merchant noticed, laughed awkwardly, and quickly shut up.

Lylia, completely oblivious, just nodded along. "Wow, S-rank sounds pretty high."

She assumed that it was the typical F-rank to S-rank rankings.

She tilted her head. "Though, Grand Magister? Magic Tower association? What’s that?”

The merchant blinked. "You… don’t know them? Even though you seem to be a mage? Just where did you come from?"

"Uh…" Lylia panicked. "W-Well, you see, I’ve been training on a secluded mountain with my master! Waking up super early every day, training under freezing waterfalls, the whole thing." She even mimed dramatic martial arts poses.

Both him and Slade gave her matching, doubting stares.

Time for the ultimate move.

Her eyes widened, lips trembled, and she unleashed the most genuine, innocent puppy-eyed face in her arsenal. "Nooo lying here, promise…"

"…Fine," The merchant muttered, completely defeated. Even Slade sighed and looked away.

The merchant then cleared his throat and explained, "The Magic Tower Association is a strict organization for mages. They provide benefits, resources, and most importantly licenses that increases your value as a mage. Passing their exam is incredibly difficult. Even the lowest rank, Novice, holds significant value.”

He began listing the ranks:

"Novice, Adept, Magister, Grand Magister… and finally, Archmagus. There are currently only six Archmagi in the entire world."

Lylia whistled. "Woah. Just below Archmagus? So that Haralda lady is amazing."

Then she grinned mischievously.

"Well, guess that makes my goal clear! I’ll just become the seventh Archmagus!"

The merchant chuckled warmly. "Dream big, young lady."

Even Slade gave a subtle nod of support.

"Oh, by the way," Lylia said, snapping her fingers. "What’s your name, Mr. Merchant?"

“Eduart,” he replied.

"Woahh. Well again, nice to meet you mr Eduart."

As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward a cloth-wrapped bundle among the boxes. 

"That's the beginner staff I was talking about." Eduart noticed her eyes and waved a hand. "Go ahead, take a look."

"Really? Well, ok." 

Unwrapping it carefully, she revealed a wooden staff taller than herself.

The top was shaped into a simple spiral, and the wood was naturally dark and smooth.

Although it looked basic, like something from a starter chest in a game, Lylia’s heart skipped a beat.

"This is… actually kind of cool."

"You like it?" Eduart asked.

"Yeah! Totally!" Her eyes gleamed. "How much?"

Eduart rubbed his chin. "Depends. What do you have?"

Lylia proudly presented a single slime core.

"…That’s not enough."

"…Okay, what about five slime cores?" she tried again.

Still not enough.

With a dramatic sigh, she finally pulled out the rabbit horn as well.

Eduart hesitated, then chuckled. "Alright, alright. Since you helped with the boar earlier, I’ll give you a discount."

"Yay!" She hugged the staff like a precious treasure.

Lifting it above her head, she struck what she thought was a cool pose.

"From this day forth, you are my first partner! The most beautiful staff ever!"

Slade’s voice cut in flatly.

"Don’t you dare cast anything inside the carriage."

"Geez, I won't? What made you think I'll cast a spell." she replied. She then double-checked. 

"This is really mine now, right?"

Eduart nodded. "Yours."

"Great." She carefully wrapped the staff back up, feeling like a proud collector. "I can... keep the cloth too, right?”

Eduart laughed. "Sure."

Lylia leaned back with a content sigh.

Now that she made her first purchase, something else came to her thoughts. 

'Though, how much is this staff, really? I don't know how the currency works here' she thought. 

'Well, I'll just ask later. There's no need to make myself look even more suspicious by not knowing the currency too.' She decided.

The carriage continued rolling through the road. The sun began to set, painting the sky orange and pink. 

Then, from a distance, there were walls.