by Hiro Ainana
The boy and girl thanked us repeatedly as we said our farewells, and we headed for the inn that the people in the government office had told us was the best in town.
Since this was a pretty small town, we reached the inn quickly. I tried to get a room or two so everyone could rest, but we were informed that demi-humans weren’t allowed inside.
I probably could’ve gotten Arisa to use the ability she’d demonstrated in Kainona again, but that wouldn’t be necessary here; I handed the owner our letter of introduction from the government office.
The letter’s effect was immediate, and we got two four-person rooms, as requested.
After the owner politely folded it and handed it back to me, I tucked it into my breast pocket. It served no further purpose now, but I wasn’t about to throw away a letter from nobility.
We determined our room assignments by rock-paper-scissors, and I ended up sharing a room with Nana, Lulu, and Liza.
At first, I was worried that this would be a trial, but then I realized it was a moot point. That’s right, I was planning on investigating the blank area tonight.
It was nearly evening, but since we planned to leave early the next morning, I gave everyone shopping assignments.
Arisa and Nana would find the pepper and other spices. The others would restock the feed and the casket of water.
With Liza as my escort, I went to visit the only alchemy and magic shop in town. To avoid any trouble, I had Liza wear a hooded overcoat.
When we arrived at the shop, a man with a hood over his eyes burst out and nearly slammed the door right into me, but Liza quickly reached out and stopped it.
The door collided with the man’s face instead, and he protested in an imperious tone.
“Watch it! Who do you think you’re dealing with?! I am—”
“Sorry. Are you injured at all?”
Personally, I thought the situation was his fault to begin with, but I decided to be the bigger man and apologize. You’ll have to forgive me if my heart wasn’t really in it.
The man, his face obscured under his hood, noticed something and snapped his mouth shut before climbing into the carriage that was waiting nearby.
When his servant slowly emerged from the shop laden with a good deal of baggage, the man in the hood shouted at him.
“We’re going to the next shop! Come quickly, you stupid slave!”
The carriage took off before the slave could board it. Without a word of complaint, the slave shouldered the jingling bag and trailed after the carriage.
“Let’s go, Liza.”
I beckoned my companion, who was watching the departing carriage, and we entered the shop.
“Welcome. If you’re looking for male enhancement tonics, we have pills but not potions.”
The saleswoman, wearing what looked like strange magic eyeglasses, leaped to conclusions before I said a word. Do I look like that much of a lech to you?
I relied on my “Poker Face” skill to keep my displeasure from showing.
“Hello. I would like to buy some elixir for potion making. Do you have any in stock?”
“For stamina recovery potions, we can sell you three packages’ worth. They’re one silver coin each. There’s a bit of a core shortage right now, so don’t expect a discount. If you don’t like it, feel free to go.”
With three packages between her fingers, the saleswoman went about her supercilious sales pitch. They were small paper packets, like the kind for powdered medicine in a hospital.
They cost almost three times as much as the ones in the Seiryuu City alchemy shop, but my “Estimation” skill told me this was close to the actual market value, so she wasn’t overcharging me.
I don’t know why, but if they’re short on cores, I bet the stabilizer is cheaper.
I’d sold the rocket-wolf cores at the public office earlier, but I still had plenty of cores from the Cradle. All I needed was the stabilizer to make as much elixir as I’d like.
“Do you have stabilizer, then?”
“Yes, we have plenty of that. If you have cores of your own, in fact, I wonder if you could help us out a bit.”
What an abrupt move. Suddenly asking me to sell cores?
Actually, I suppose, since I had asked for the stabilizer to make elixir, it naturally followed that I would have the other main ingredient.
Still, wasn’t there a rule that cores acquired in a territory must be sold to a gatekeeper or public official of that region?
“I’m afraid I’ve just sold my cores at the public office.”
“Oh, come, now. If you’re an alchemist, surely you kept one or two on the sly?”
“I’m sorry to disappoint, but no.”
I sympathized with the plight of being short on ingredients, but this would still be breaking the law. Since my own safety was the top priority, I declined the transaction.
“Well, if you know anyone who’s got cores, send them our way, would you? We’ll buy them no matter how sketchy the seller.”
“I’ll talk to my acquaintances.”
Hmm. This seems like taking advantage of her weakness, but I wonder if she’d sell me Magic Scrolls in exchange for cores?
“I do have a friend who wants to get some Magic Scrolls…”
“If they can bring me at least this weight in red cores, grade three or above, I could certainly think about it.”
So cores had different grades? Out of curiosity, I had the saleswoman explain them to me. She showed me a color chart; I compared it to the cores that I had in Storage through the menu. I found cores that matched each color in the chart and used them as samples to make folders for each grade.
While I checked the samples, the saleswoman disappeared into the back of the store and returned with a twenty-pound bag.
The bag floated along lightly behind her, so typically magical that it almost looked like a trick instead.
“Is that magic?”
“It’s just Floating Board. You’ve really never seen something so common?”
Despite her claim, she seemed proud of herself. I did remember seeing a spell like that in a beginner’s guide to Practical Magic.
I checked the stabilizer she’d brought over. The AR display called it Stabilizer/Ugi Leaf Powder. The market price was five gold coins.
“This is ugi leaf powder, correct?”
“Indeed. You have a sharp eye. It’s a rare product around these parts, but we received a large quantity from a merchant in exchange for some potions a while ago. Luckily, it hasn’t gone bad yet.”
“How much might you be willing to sell?”
“We just stocked up on Yarma grass for stabilizer, so I’d even be willing to part with all of it. If you buy the whole lot, it’ll be two gold coins.”
I was tempted to ask her for the newer stock instead, but since she was offering it at less than half the market price, I didn’t mind taking her up on the clearance sale. In fact, since the quality shouldn’t deteriorate while it was in Storage, this was a great bargain for me.
I purchased the whole bag, plus some other potion-making materials and things that could be troublesome to get ahold of myself.
Once I’d paid and was ready to leave the store, I realized I’d forgotten something.
“How much would it be to purchase some vials for potions?”
“Sorry. Someone just bought up our whole stock right before you came. He had a requisition warrant with the seal of the viceroy of Sedum City, so I couldn’t refuse.”
Why would someone forcibly collect a bunch of vials? Was the viceroy mass-producing potions or something?
Incidentally, a viceroy was in a position similar to a constable, in charge of governing the city.
Grumbling about it here wouldn’t do me any good. I decided to visit a pottery workshop to stock up instead. But thanks to the same man, they were sold out.
They made vials for alchemy only once a month there and asked me to wait until the next month. Since they had to mix the stabilizer into
the base, they couldn’t make them at the same time as other products.
I did just buy a large supply of stabilizer, so if the next town or city didn’t have any, either, I could try making the vials myself. Luckily enough, the scrap of paper I got from Hoze contained detailed instructions on the pottery process. I’d be able to figure it out.
Returning to the inn, I received a proud report from Arisa that she’d acquired the pepper.
Not only that, but they’d also obtained mustard and cayenne powder, garlic and leek oil, a few varieties of pickled cabbage, and what looked like pickled daikon radish.
They’d also stocked up on raw daikons and various cooking and pickling ingredients for them, so we’d be able to expand the range of our vegetarian dishes.
We had dinner brought to our rooms. It was better than the food in the Kainona inn, but I thought we could have gotten something tastier from a food cart.
I put the kids to bed early that night and stepped out into the town. All I told Liza and the others was that I was going out.
She and Nana wanted to come as my escorts, but since it would be faster to move on my own in this case, I told them to stay behind.
Right, wasn’t there something else I had to do before my investigation?
“I heard you’re in need of cores.”
I entered the alchemy shop and approached the saleswoman.
I’d wound cloth around my face and put on a tattered cloak with a hood over my eyes. I looked like such a suspicious character that even I would’ve reported me.
“Certainly, as long as they’re grade three and up.”
However, the saleswoman might have seen through my disguise, as she responded quite casually.
I took the cores out of my pocket and laid them on the counter. Since I’d gotten them from crimson needle bees, most of them were on the small side. The ones from the labyrinth were all at least grade 7, and the ones from the Cradle were only grades 1 or 2, so I didn’t have a lot of options.
“Listen, I know cores are pretty stable before they’re turned into powder, but I still wouldn’t carry them around in my pocket like that if I were you. What if they sucked up some magic and exploded while you were using a spell?”
Whoa, they explode? I guess the first magic tool I’d made exploded when I overloaded it, too.
I thanked her for her advice and laid out a total of twenty cores.
She placed the cores on something that looked like a small Transmutation Tablet and inspected them, taking some notes, probably estimating the price of the cores.
“Don’t you have anything a little higher quality? Ideally, I’d like some red grade fives or higher for use in middle-grade potions. Even a few would be fine.”
“How about this?”
I put on the table the cores from the shadow stalkers I’d defeated while rescuing Red Helmet. Though they were also rather small, they were grade 6.
“N-now, this is a quality stone.”
While the saleswoman appraised them, I asked her about the Magic Scrolls.
“Shopkeeper, I was told you would be able to provide me with Magic Scrolls in exchange for these cores…”
“Choose from any of these.”
She showed me three Scrolls: Shield, Sonar, and Signal. There were Scrolls like Magic Arrow and Short Stun in the back.
“Don’t you have any others?”
“We do, but I’d prefer not to sell Scrolls to a total stranger that have the potential to cause serious injury. What about this? A traveling explorer sold it to us.”
The salesperson produced a Scroll called Gust. It was stronger than the Everyday Magic spell Breeze but not enough to knock someone over. The Wind Magic spell’s original purpose was to aid in the sailing of ships.
I was curious what kind of eccentric person had made it, so I inquired. According to the seller, it had been unearthed in a labyrinth.
Honestly, they all seemed a bit underwhelming, but since I didn’t want to pass up a rare opportunity, I asked if I could buy all of them. They ranged in price from four to six silver coins, so it was a total value of nineteen silver coins for the four.
The average value of the crimson needle bee cores was one silver coin, while the shadow stalkers’ were worth six—both almost three times the market price, inflated like the elixirs’.
I received the rest of my reimbursement in cash. I’d really hoped to buy some intermediate spell books or magic tools, but they didn’t have anything I wanted, and I gave up.
After leaving the alchemy shop, I leaped over the outer wall of the town and zipped alone along the main road at the speed of a car.
Of course, it would’ve been a pain if anyone discovered my identity, so I blanked out my name field and wore a hooded black cloak over my eyes.
Within a half hour, I reached the point in the road closest to my destination and walked into the forest. Between my “Night Vision” and “Off-Road Running” skills, it was no different from an afternoon stroll.
Occasionally dodging the small nocturnal animals darting out from within the bushes and hopping over a small mountain stream from time to time, I made my way deeper into the woods.
About halfway to my destination, I stopped for a moment.
I had no idea what might be waiting for me in the blank area. It would probably be best to be as prepared as possible.
I picked a random spot to use my Scrolls and learned the spells Shield, Sonar, Signal, and Gust. I also gained the skills “Practical Magic” and “Wind Magic.”
This “Practical Magic” skill was different from the “Practical Magic: Other World” skill I’d gotten when I first used Meteor Shower. I wondered if it was actually an all-inclusive skill like “Analyze.”
Even when I selected Shield from the magic menu and used it, it was no different from the one Nana made with Foundation Magic. I’d have to compare and contrast them some other time.
Next, I selected Sonar from the magic menu. Information regarding the distribution of every living creature in a four-hundred-foot radius zapped into my mind. That would take some getting used to.
On top of that, its effect range was smaller than my radar, and the wild animals in range scattered as if they’d sensed that I’d detected them. I guess it was like active sonar, then. Probably best to just stow it away.
Next, I tried using Signal, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem usable on its own. Its original purpose was for communication between sorcerers, so it might be fun to see if I could combine it with a magic tool to make a simple communication device.
Finally, I tried out Gust. A gale at the level of a wind tunnel swept through and knocked over a few slim trees, but it was still nothing compared to Fire Shot. Clearly, its destructive capacity wasn’t meant to be as high as spells intended for combat. With the destruction of my magic field test complete, I returned to my original purpose.
I’d gained several more skills on my way to the blank area: “Zoology,” “Tracking,” “Presence Perception,” “Tiptoe,” “Concealment,” and “Invisibility.”
It had probably happened when I snuck up on one of the small animals along my way so I could try touching its fluffy fur.
I also received the titles Forest Seeker and Unseen Pursuer. I wasn’t so fond of the latter, since it made me sound like a stalker.
The moment I entered the empty area of the map, a feeling like vertigo washed over me.
The discomfort vanished almost immediately, but when I checked the log, I saw the line Disorienting Charm magic resisted. I didn’t acquire any new resistance skills.
There weren’t any magic users nearby. I quickly selected Search Entire Map from the menu to fill in the blanks.
This place was called the “Forest of Illusions.” It appeared to be a pretty normal forest to me, so I wasn’t sure how it lived up to that name.
The only people in the area were two female humanfolk in a far-off tower. One was a witch, and the other was her apprentice. Other than that, there were some
magical creatures called “constructors” and other cryptids. Of course, there were plenty of ordinary animals as well.
As I stared absentmindedly at the place where I’d gotten dizzy a moment ago, an AR display appeared that read Disorienting Charm Barrier. It was probably there to peacefully turn away intruders.
Apparently, news of my passage through the structure had reached the witch’s tower, because her apprentice was now heading my way.
I had already finished my business here, but I figured I’d better apologize for trespassing.
If they didn’t know who had intruded on their territory or why, it’d cause them undue concern, right?
Now, the welcoming party should be here any moment.
“… Toss Stone Sekijun!”
The witch’s apprentice, a little girl in a robe, hid behind some nearby trees and used a magic spell.
Three stone spears sprouted from the ground at my feet like stalagmites. The attack surrounded me from all sides, but the intention seemed to be to trap me, not to stab me with them.
I didn’t move from the spot, letting the stones encircle me—until one of them misfired and shot right toward my heart, so I kicked it lightly in the center and broke it.
> Skill Acquired: “Earth Magic”
> Skill Acquired: “Earth Resistance”
Maybe they weren’t as sturdy as they looked.
Even if one had hit my body, chances were good it would’ve hurt only slightly, without even wounding me.
“Feh, to think someone would break one of my stones with a kick…how absurd.”
The witch’s apprentice muttered tearfully. She was a timid-looking kid around Arisa’s age. Curly red hair poked out from under her hood.
She was riding a steel panther about three feet tall and was protected by four servants called “living armors.” The panther, a constructor, appeared to be the same kind of synthetic creature.
“Nnngh… Get ’im, guys!”
Half crying, the witch’s apprentice shouted ambiguous directions at the living armor.
Two of them stayed back to protect the girl with round shields and two-handed hatchets, while the other two came after me.