2:03 p.m.
Female Dormitory, Temple of Priests Private Compound, Luxen City.
Vivian's eyes suddenly opened and she found herself lying on her bed inside the dorm room. And as usual, she was all alone.
She raised her right hand in front of her face and did a close and open motion.
Her lips slowly curled up into a smile.
I'm not sick…
Her gaze turned over to the windows.
And thank God there's still light…
She got up and did her morning routine.
***
Vivian entered the Blacksmith Shop and was wearing her usual attire.
She wore her Brown cloak, a gold necklace that had a vertically stretched-out sun pendant along, and her Copper I rank pendant. Underneath her cloak was a leather armor with a black fitting and stretchable long-sleeve shirt and pants, a pair of fingerless gloves, and also a pair of worn-out leather boots with a metal plate covering its tips. There was also a water pouch and a small sack on her waist. Meanwhile, for her weapons, she was carrying a poleaxe which she used like a walking staff and had a kitchen knife hidden inside her left boot.
"Hello, sister. How may we help you?" a White Cloak Priest asked.
Inside the shop were the usual clerks -- a Priest in his early 30s and a Priestess in her mid-20s, both of which were White Cloaks. And if Vivian was paying attention the last time she came here with Marie, the male's name was Sike while the female's name was Grace.
"Hi, brother, I wanted to ask if you're selling magic items here, something that can boost mana recovery."
"Just mana recovery?"
Vivian nodded.
"Yes."
"We do sell such items. What type of equipment do you want and what metal grade?"
"What's the lowest or cheapest?"
"The cheapest is Mithril. And for equipment, we have rings, amulets, earrings and whatnot."
"Which is the best and how much is it?"
"It depends on the wearer."
"But if you were to choose, what type of equipment would you use?"
"Personally, I'd choose a necklace or an earring. You just have to make sure it doesn't get pulled by your opponent."
"What about a ring?"
Sike nodded.
"Ring is fine. However, the issue lies when you try to block skills with your hand that has the ring. But if you can make sure that you don't block attacks with your hand, it's fine."
Eh...?
People block attacks with their hand...?
What kind of idiot does that...?
I would understand slapping it away...
Well...
I guess slapping and blocking are the same...?
"How much is it?"
"A Mithril-grade item with only a mana boost recovery costs 50 gold coins."
Vivian's face twitched a bit.
"Can I buy it with a loan?" she asked as she dangled the pendant of her necklace.
"Of course, but it will cost you 60 gold coins."
Vivian's face twitched a bit once again.
An additional 10 gold coins…?!
She suddenly remembered what Lance from the Vault Room told her regarding the bank of the Temple of Priests.
There are no monthly interests in keeping coins and items…
There won't be any loan sharks to hound me about loan...
And the loan can only be paid from the rewards of the Holy Missions…
However...
I don't remember him mentioning about this additional pays when buying things through a loan…
That motherfucker tricked me…!
She shook her head mentally.
No use of crying over spilled me…
At least I now know…
However…
I have no choice…
I really need this mana recovery boost if I want to quicken my training…
"Can I ask one more question?"
"Of course," Sike said with a smile.
"This mana recovery, how much boost do I get? Or how much mana can I recover?"
Sike thought about it for a moment.
"According to the research done by Scholars, after casting, like, let's say the [Heal] spell, it takes around 40 minutes to recover the mana used in casting that spell. But if one were to equip a mana recovery item, it would be reduced to around 30 minutes."
"And if I equip 2 mana recovery items it would be 20 minutes?"
"Unfortunately, a person can't equip 2 Magic Items with the same Magic Effect, only 1 would work. However, there is our Class Magic skill [Halo] which also boosts mana recovery. Combined with that, it will only take a Priest 20 minutes to recover the mana used in the [Heal] spell."
"Are there no other options aside from equipment and [Halo] to boost mana recovery?"
Sike thought for a moment once again.
"As far as I know, there's a Class Magic spell called [Hymn] from the Bard Class which boosts mana recovery. But it is an active skill, not a passive one. There's also [Magic Spirit] from the Wizard Class and it's a passive one."
"Is [Halo] a passive skill?"
"The mana recovery is passive, but it has an active skill that acts like a charm effect --"
"A charm effect?!"
Sike and the Priestess beside him were startled by Vivian's unexpected reaction. In their eyes, although Vivian was a Brown Cloak, [Halo] was a widely known spell. On top of that, she appears to be in her mid-20s.
Sike cleared his throat.
"Yes, sister. However, it's not like it can mind-control anyone. It only makes the owner a little more trustworthy and it only works on targets with lower magic power compared to the caster."
"Do you have the [Halo] spell?"
"Yes."
"Can you show it to me?"
Hesitation appeared on Sike's face.
"Sister, you see, the active skill of [Halo] has a complicated social issue. Due to its charm-like effect, we're only allowed to use it unless the situation calls for it."
Vivian's brows knitted together.
It's that dangerous...?
Now I want to see it even more...!
"Please, brother. I want to see it so that I can understand Magic Items more."
After a moment of hesitation, Sike finally gave in.
"Okay."
He activated [Halo] and a golden ring halo appeared on his back.
The light in Vivian's eyes dulled and she felt this closeness towards him inside her chest as if she could depend on him and tell him anything.
"It can also be used as a light source, great for navigating in dark spaces, like caves," Sike said.
Hearing Sike's voice, it sounded quite soothing and comforting on her ears.
He turned off his [Halo] spell and the light on Vivian's eyes returned to normal.
"But sister, please be warned that not everyone, especially those who are aware of this spell's effect, would not take it kindly if you use [Halo] in front of them. They will see it as a provocation. So be careful. I only used it in front of you because you asked me to."
An image of Joshua with a golden ring halo at his back during the time she went to the Temple of Priests to inquire and ended up joining flashed inside her head.
Was I duped by that bastard…?!
She gritted her teeth. But after remembering that there were people in front of her, she immediately wiped the expression away and put on a calm and friendly demeanor.
Holy shit…!
I really have to get as strong as fast as possible no matter what…!
"Thank you, brother, but how do you learn [Halo]?"
"By easing the pain and suffering of others."
Huh….?
"I see. By the way, do you have Magic Items that allow you to see at night, or carry more things, or to fly?"
"We have items with the Vision Magic Effect that allows the wearer to see at night or in low-light conditions. There's a passive one and an active one. Each costs 50 gold coins."
"And if I buy it with a loan, how much will it cost me?"
"It would be 60 gold coins."
So there really is an interest in buying things with a loan...
Hold on…
As far as I can remember…
A Brown Cloak can only loan up to 100 gold coins…
So I would only be able to buy one…
"And the others?"
"You mean an item that allows you to carry more weight and fly?"
"When it comes to carrying more weight, we have items that can boost physical stamina"
"No, what I'm talking about is something that allows the owner or wearer to carry many items in a small bag."
Sike shook his head.
"I'm sorry, sister, we don't have such an item."
"What about flying?"
"As far as I know, Scholars are still doing research about flying magic. For now, we only have the Glide Magic Effect which allows the owner to glide through the air to lessen the impact when they land."
"Huh? That's it? Not even something like a double jump or stepping on air?"
"Now that you mention that, I believe there's also a Magic Effect called Air Step. However, they're not that popular."
"What do you mean?"
"There aren't that many situations to use it with.
"If you're on the ground, instead of using Air Step, a person can simply use [Power Leg] to increase their vertical leap.
"Meanwhile, if it's air battles, you will be riding a Draghorn or Rhonea. And if your ride gets severely injured that you find yourself falling down from the sky, you would use Glide."
"Wait, hold on," Vivian said. "You can use [Power Leg] to increase your vertical leap?"
Sike and the Priestess beside him blinked a couple of times. In their minds, that was basic knowledge. But after remembering that Vivian's Physical Force was only Silver, she was a Brown Cloak, and she had a Copper I Rank pendant around her neck despite already being in her mid-20s, the confusion they initially felt turned into understanding.
Sike nodded.
"Yes. Not only that, it can only help you charge or run away from an enemy faster."
"Oh…"
"However, be careful in using it because it requires mana and it can also destroy your footwear. So only use it when necessary. Don't forget, as Priests, our biggest advantage is our healing spells."
"I see..."
Sike nodded once again.
"I'm glad you understand, sister. Please do not forget about that. It's truly an important battle tactic."
"I won't. By the way, do you sell used items here, specifically with magic effects?"
Sike shook his head.
"We don't. But you can try to buy or borrow from our brothers and sisters. I can lend you some items if you want."
Vivian quickly waved her hand.
"Thank you for the offer, brother, but I would like to respectfully decline the offer. And it's not because it's you. I just prefer to have my own items."
Nope…
I don't want to owe people…
A good example would be Marie...
She found out about my [Nemesis of Beast] so now I have to pretend to be extra nice to her…
I can't afford for people to learn about my secrets until I become very powerful…
"I understand, sister," Sike said with a smile.
"Anyhow, the price for an earring with a mana boost recovery is 60 gold coins, right?"
"Yes, for Mithril-grade and through loan."
"One last question: Let's say I equipped the ring with a Magic Effect on my right hand and I used a Physical Art like [Power Fist] with my right hand. Would it damage the ring?"
"To be specific, assuming that your Physical Force is around or greater than the Metal Grade of the item, the quicker it will break. Meanwhile, even if your Physical Force is lower, although it won't break right away, it will still eventually break."
"What about earrings?"
"What do you mean?"
"Is there a Physical Art like [Power Head] or something that uses the head?"
"Not that I know of."
"Okay, I want to buy the earrings, Mithril-Grade, mana boost recovery."
"Any particular design you want?"
"Design?"
Sike pulled out a box underneath the counter and placed it on top.
"Since a lot of people buy Magic Item earrings, Blacksmiths have added some aesthetic designs for both men and women with an extra blank earring to partner it with."
There were 8 earrings in front of Vivian and sported different colors, designs and gems. However, each one had tiny red symbols or rune-like words on them.
"What are these words?"
Vivian already learned the Zonian alphabet but these words looked nothing like it so she couldn't read it.
"Those are Runes crafted by the Temple of Blacksmiths."
"Oh... So it's a Class Magic skill that only Blacksmiths can do?"
"Not necessarily. But they have a Class Magic skill called [Rune Crafting] which boosts their success rate in making Magic Items. And the higher the Metal Grade and number of Magic Effects bestowed on the item, the lower the chance of success."
"Oh…" Vivian said and then thought about it for a moment before pointing. "I want this."
The earring she pointed had a gold-colored body with a tiny red gem and red runes on it. It also had a screw-like lock to prevent it from falling off.
So they were really serious about people pulling out earrings, huh…