Chapter 82: CHAPTER 82(Shopping Trip)
Please read the author's notes. (Examples and explanation of moves and appearance+ Monster Sources)
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CHAPTER START---
"Please tell me your kidding Hephaestus," Yang says, rubbing a hand down his face as his goddess gives him a bored look.
It's only been a day since he's had his Falna updated and he's already sitting in her office at her request at 9 AM.
"Sorry but it's a tall order, and if you want it here in time for the next expedition then it'll cost extra. I told you they specialize in more subtle armor but they're the best at specified resistances, and you're probably gonna melt anything short of Valgang dragon scales," She explains with a shrug.
"If I went there would it be easier?"
"YOU are not going go Altena, the last thing I need is you showing off in the kingdom of magic, as far as I'm concerned you're on house arrest in Orario..." she says while giving him a harsh glare.
"Fine fine, but why does it cost so much anyway, I need actual ARMOR as much as just fire resistance."
"That's exactly why, it comes with inlaid plates under the outer cloth. The first layer takes the heat and the plates take the physical damage, Welf will be able to repair both since the material is a fine metal that's been enchanted to hell and back to deal with a certain prodigy and his flames."
"Alright alright, that sounds pretty cool, and better than waiting 3 months to get enough material from ole two heads down on floor 27."
"Exactly, but..."
"Oh gods," Yang gives an exaggerated sigh.
"It's designed by Elves," Hephaestus says, as if that means something to Yang.
"..."
"Oh, right, Elves tend to stick to more formal wear is that I'm getting at." She elaborates.
Taking a moment to process what she's talking about Yang lets out a sigh before speaking.
"If it's comfortable and not too flowery then I really don't care, but please don't make it too flashy, I'm trying to get things done not make people stare at me..." he says while awkwardly scratching his cheek.
"Alright, I'll send the request, that'll cost you almost 200 Million Valis..."
"Sigh, yeah yeah it's no problem, not like I can walk in naked anyway, well I could but that'd be weird."
"Not as weird as you'd think surprisingly," Hephaestus says with a shrug.
"I don't even wanna know."
"Well that's all I really wanted to ask about, your armor should get here within two weeks."
"Welf won't like this.."
"This armor requires the mystery development ability and a high-level mage, he'll understand. Besides we don't even have the ability to infuse the thread in Orario, he'll be able to repair it at least," She says with a shrug.
"Guess it can't be helped, anything else you need before I go?"
"The meeting with Loki familia to discuss their expedition is in 5 days, you and Tsubaki are expected to be there, you're my captain and expedition commander as well as one of my only first-class adventurers."
"Yeah got it, so meet you here then we go there right, just like last time?"
"Exactly, now get out of here so I can deal with all the paperwork your trip in the dungeon buried me in," Hephaestus says jovially.
"See ya Hephaestus," Yang calls out over his shoulder while leaving her office.
Walking down a few floors to Sarran's shop, Yang notices people giving him not-so-subtle looks.
From looks of amazement all the way to utter confusion and surprise.
Wearing the equivalent of simple black sweatpants and a grey T-shirt with his casual shoes, he looks a bit out of place among Hephaestus familia's market in Babel. But he truly couldn't care.
"Yo Sarran you in?" he calls out while entering the shop.
Immediately Sarran notices him, the man can be seen shining a bracer behind the counter of his quite fine shop.
"Well look who it is, the record-setter, here for more gear huh..." the older man says, almost laughing as he speaks.
"Uh, sorry Welf wants to make anything our team uses, no offense of course."
"Hahaha yeah I'm just teasing ya, that's how us smiths are when it comes to our party so I assumed as much, so watcha doing here?" He asks.
"Brought you something," he says while withdrawing an item from his inventory.
Holding a tooth the size of his hand out, he passes it to Sarran.
"What's this from?"
"We ran into some big Wyverns down on floor 36, that's a tooth," Yang says with a shrug.
"This..."
"It's a gift, for looking out for me when I just got here, that potion you got me saved my ass honestly..." Yang admits sheepishly.
"Oh, that... yeah, don't mention it. I'm just glad we've got talent like you watching our back. It's always nice to have strong people even if you're one of the two non-smiths in our familia." Sarran says with a smile.
"Hmm, I guess it really is just Thalie and I huh...damn"
"Yup, the expedition commander and Item hound, guess your positions don't really need crafting anyway," he says with a shrug while looking at the drop item in his hand.
"Well looks like your busy ogling that so I'll be on my way, gotta go see Medbae on the lower floors, see ya."
"Medbae?" Sarran mutters as he looks up, the door already closing behind Yang as he exits the shop.
Taking an elevator in Babel, Yang quickly descends to the Dian Cecht Familia floors, aka the adventurers' hospital facility.
As much as Yang would love to jump out of a window and fly down to the lower floors, he figured that would be rude as an entrance.
Quickly making his way over to the main item shop of Dian Cecht Familia he ignores the people tossing glances his way and makes a beeline to Airmid at the main counter.
Walking past the shelves of glass vials containing plants, liquids, and differently colored rocks. The entire shop looked like a high-end jewelry store when he gave it any real thought.
"Hi Med---Airmid, you doing ok?" He greets the doctor, quickly correcting himself from using her nickname in the presence of other customers.
"Goodmorning Yang, I hope you aren't here because you ignored my instructions and got yourself hurt," she says, casting a scrutinizing glance at him, noticing the bandages peeking out just over his collar and stopping just under his sleeves.
"Nah I'm fine, been taking it easy and enjoying the sun until my next dungeon delve. I'm here to resupply, your about to make some good Valis," he says with a smile, knowing just how many medical items he can store in his inventory, and now he had the funds to really stock up.
"Hmm, what exactly would you like?"
"Mmm, this..." he says while withdrawing a list from his storage and sliding it over to her.
The doctor delicately takes the list and looks at it, as her eyes scan the very first line they widen in surprise, not sure how to feel about his requested items.
"What exactly are you preparing for if I might ask?" She says while casting a wary look to him, not of fear or apprehension, but the concern that someone would put themself in such danger that dozens of items would be necessary.
"Relax, this is just me being over cautious, this should last me for a long long time and hopefully keep me out of your hospital for just as long..." he replies with a shrug before continuing, "I'll be sure to visit so you don't miss me at least."
"That won't be necessary...please follow me..." She instructs while making her way to a more private room to discuss his order.
As they walk to the backroom, Yang can't help but take in her features once more, long silver hair swaying down to her hips, a white and gold hat that would barely reach his chin when atop her tiny 4ft 11 figure compared to him being 6ft tall.
"Thanks for showing restraint, it would have been a bit embarrassing to be called... Medbae, in front of everyone." She mutters quietly as they enter what appears to be an office, a well-made desk, and two chairs in front of it for simple meetings.
"Don't sweat it Medbae, though when I had amnesia definitely wouldn't have been so tactful..." he admits awkwardly.
"Hmm, amnesia?"
"Nothing to worry about, so why all the backroom shenanigans for my order?" He asks, always one to get to the point.
"Your request is currently too much, I can't afford to give you that many items from our current supplies. The elixirs in particular. You requested the equivalent of an entire expedition's worth of medical supplies and with Loki buying up everything she can afford yours would have to be a special order, that will cost more..." the young doctor explains.
"Hmm, that's no problem. When can it be ready?"
"At least one week, I'll have it ready in time for your checkup, is there anything special you'd like to request?"
"Hmm," raising a hand to his chin Yang lets his thoughts wander while considering what he should ask for.
'Magic is real here so what can't I ask for is a better question right, maybe I should get something for THEM in case we get into a sticky situation huh...' he concludes while shifting his attention back to Airmid.
"Yeah, anything to deal with extreme heat, like my kind of heat?" He asks, a hopeful look on his face.
"Hmm, nothing of that level but I can have salamander wool prepared along with your consumable items..." she answers, her eyes looking away from him while admitting nothing they have can deal with his heat.
"Yeah that'll do, I'll take two coats with hoods if that's possible, so what's my total looking like?" Yang asks as he finishes his order.
"Almost 50 Million Vallis, are you sure about this?"
"Yeah don't worry, I've got the most cost-effective squad in Orario so the only thing we have to pay for is your items really," he replies with a shrug.
Taking a moment to look over his list, Airmid copies the list into a book before placing it into a draw in the desk.
"Alright, everything will be ready when you come for the checkup," she says with confidence.
"Gotcha, anything I can help you with, or should I just get out of your hair?" Yang asks as he stands up, ready to leave.
"Hmm, you made it to the 39th floor and are level 5, I'll have a quest ready for you when you pick up your items, that should also give you an excuse to enter the dungeon right," Airmid says as she walks to the door.
"Hmm, yeah sounds perfect, and it'll be my first real quest, all I've done so far is be an errand boy for Hephaestus," Yang says with a shrug.
As they walk out to the store's main room, Yang quickly exits, making his way toward the elevator to exit babel.
"Damn reckless..." Airmid mutters as she watches him leave.
An hour later, Yang finds himself outside an enchanters shop in the magic district of Orario.
'It looks more like someone's house honestly,' he thinks to himself while looking at the small two-story building.
Pushing open the door and stepping inside, he's greeted with the cluttered interior. Magic components of all kinds and items within glass cases that shimmer with magical energy meant to seal the displays from sticky fingers.
At the end of the room is what can best be described as a CLASSIC witch, long nose with warts and even the cliche hat on her head while stirring a cauldron of blue bubbling liquid.
"Uh, hi. This IS the Magic Circle Shop right?" Yang asks while giving a small wave.
"Oh, yes I'm Leona, how can I help you?" She responds, keeping to formalities as it's his first time here.
"Yeah I asked around for enchanters and magic stuff, people said Riveria comes here so now I'm here, I need some help with magic..." he says with some embarrassment, his own magic has been giving him a bit of trouble lately.
"Oh, alright then come this way," she says while waving him to a stool a few feet from her cauldron, her arm never leaving the ladle she was stirring with.
Making his way over to her, Yang cautiously takes a set, a bit apprehensive of the large cauldron in front of the woman.
"So, what kind of service do you want exactly?" She asks directly, no beating around the bush.
"Something to channel my magic maybe," he answers with an unsure tone.
"Oh, well I have staves that will amplify magic when used for a reasonable price o---"
"No, not make stronger, just, better control it. I had what I thought was perfect control until I leveled up this week, it's been bugging me honestly..." he says with a sigh.
"Hmm, it's possible to make a charm for that, what kind of spells do you need to control?" She says while rubbing her chin with a long crooked finger.
"Uh, elemental... spells?... not really sure if you can call it a spell... it's weird," he says.
Seeing the perplexed look on the old witch's face, he lifts a hand up and summons a flame, then lifts his other hand and conjures up a tornado in his palm.
"Maybe you've heard of me, I'm the Elementalist..." he says with a lopsided smirk.
"Oh..." she says, eyes wide as she stares at his magic.
After almost a minute of her ogling his magic, she finally speaks.
"Your magic seems perfectly controlled, what's the problem?"
"Yeah like this and flying around it's fine but, when I try more intricate things it's not been going well. I tried to use my Seismic Sense, uh, Earth Magic to sense things around me basically. And almost shook my apartment apart, my control is slipping. Feels like I can't regulate my magic anymore, the more I release the more tries to rush out on the wave of energy..." he says with a defeated sigh.
A long silence follows his explanation, him staring at the floor as Leona stares a hole through his body, taking in as many details as possible.
"This isn't something anyone can help you with, your magic is unique, not in the way each person has unique magic but yours is literally one of a kind. Freely formed elemental magic is absurd to imagine but controlling is another story. My best guess would have to be...hmmm, since you lack chants your magic lacks structure. Chants control the magic power of a spell depending on the length, but your magic always wants to rush out, and stopping it is a bigger issue than using it, am I right?" She hypothesizes.
"Yeah, I had to work pretty hard to stop it from always permeating the environment around me," Yang admits.
"You also managed all this within a few months, that's likely where the problem is. Adventurers have to take time to get used to their bodies, the same goes for magic. Your magic is absurd and the amount of magic energy you have is also just as ridiculous to match. All the constant level-ups haven't given your mind enough time to properly adapt to the sudden changes and it's all catching up to you now. Your mind is essentially trying to cause mind down, this is why new magic users tend to go into mind down when they discover magic, their mind can't stop the power once it's flowing and release too much, they have chants to limit the power but YOU don't, so you'll have to work harder than anyone else."
Taking a minute to let all of that sink in, Yang falls into a deep silence as he stares at the floor.
"So, I'm losing control because my mind can't keep up with my magic essentially... but you said I can practice getting used to it right so I just need time?"
"Exactly, now what else do you need?"
"Uh... that's it basically," he says with a shrug.
"You've gotta buy something for taking my time, have a look around..." Leona orders while turning back to the cauldron and stirring once more.
'Hmm, normally I'd not like the attitude, but, MAGIC shop...' he thinks to himself while looking at all the shelves.
'Some of these things cost millions huh,'
"Hey Leona, what's a spell stone, like for storing spells?" He asks while looking at a contained with what appears to be a blue crystal cut in the shape of a diamond.
"No, those are used in making magic staves, they amplify the magic..." she says without even looking up.
"Anything in here to store or give more magic?" Yang asks as he passes by a shelf of vials, each containing a different mineral of some kind.
"Over here," he hears Leona call out.
Turning around, the woman is now standing by an ornate glass cabinet close to the counter.
Walking up to the cabinet, Yang looks inside to see three books, two in the color of a deep blue with ornate runes carved into them, each having price tagged stacked on top of each other, the most recent tags reading 143 Million Vallis and 132 Million Vallis respectively.
The third book, however, white and gold with no runes carved into it, boasting a price of 74 Million Vallis.
"Uh, what're these?" He asks, eyes wide at the prices but completely confused.
"These are Grimoires, read one and your Falna will awaken a magic that your soul matches, assuming you have a magic slot available of course," Leona explains with a wide smile.
"You made books that give people magic, damn..." he mutters thoroughly impressed.
"No, I can't make these, a friend in Altena sent me these before Rakia bought most of his stock."
"Rakia?" he asks, remembering that this is where his friend Welf is from.
"Yeah, they're planning something big apparently, buying up everything they can for the army..." she says with a disinterested tone.
"Why's the last one so much cheaper than those two?" Yang asks, eyes narrowing at the last book.
"Doesn't give a permanent spell like the others, it's set to one spell and can't be added to a Falna, you channel magic into it to use the spell. The amount of magic is too much for anyone who isn't a full-blown mage and not worth it for people with their own magic because of how many spells they could cast for the same cost. Not to mention the time it takes to channel the magic, it's a dud that he gave me as a gift, can't be advertising your duds in Altena, you'd get ridiculed..." she explains with a frown.
"Any idea what kind of magic?" Yang asks, his curiosity piqued.
"Area healing spell, the most magic intensive kind of spell, even worse for this kind of item..."
"Well, I've got some space on my bookshelf and a full wallet from that expedition, how much do you think each of those first two will get up to?"
"Hmm, 200 Million, bidding closes this weekend," Leona says with a shrug.
"500 Million for all three, but it's gotta be right now," he says with a smirk.
Hearing the offer, the woman can't help but stare wide-eyed at the young man. That's more money than any adventurer she knew has, from her experience the cost of equipment and to employ supporters alone would prevent anyone from hitting that figure, but here was essentially a child with that much money.
"Uh, deal?" she agrees, unsure of how serious he is.
"Great, if you get any more be sure to send me a message through the guild, I'd like to get my hands on as many of these as possible..." Yang says with a wistful look in his eyes.
"You came in here worried because you had too much magic, and now you want more?"
"I'm not gonna use it, I've got a lot of stuff I need to master before I add any more, but it's good to have it just in case."
"Hmm, wise words, now time for me to get paid..." she says with a wide grin.
---Babel Tower, Yang's apartment...
After having a nice dinner with Tibor's family; the man that brought him to Orario. Yang entered his apartment and placed his takeout from the restaurant into his fridge.
"Thank the gods I got put into a world where magic covers for appliances, still miss cars though," he mutters while looking at his effectively modern apartment, even the temperature was regulated via magic stones.
Walking over to his bookshelf, he withdraws the Grimoires from his inventory and places them on an empty shelf, the first steps in his new collection have been added.
---Babel Tower, Top Floor Penthouse...
Freya sits with her legs crossed, reading over papers in her hand. Her familia captain Ottar, Orarios' king stands behind her as stoic as ever.
"You really think he has what it takes, I took advantage of the guild asking us to inspect those floors to get him out of the city but if you believe that he only cares about adventure, then I suppose separating him via reputation won't work, he simply won't care..." Freya ponders as she takes a sip of red wine.
"He seeks to become his strongest self, he aims for Udeaus Black Sword..." Ottar says, giving his goddess all she needs.
"I see, and we have some Ingots still, yes?"
"Yes."
"Hmm, a small price to pay to test his character, after I spend some time with him I'll see if he's worth dealing with Hephaestus, I'd rather not lose the best smiths. That would cause trouble with Loki so close on our tail..." Freya says, an elegant smile on her face as she recalls his soul. A shattered planet, floating aloft by its weak gravity, a million pieces held in place.
END CHAPTER---
No, I didn't nerf him he just needs time to get used to his new powers, getting new superpowers every week would be difficult to get used to for anyone.
Yang Currently has 216M Vallis after paying for all Welf's materials plus everything he bought in this chapter.
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---Slice of life chapter, adventurer style.
---Freya really out here plotting, damn.
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