Chapter 25: Magic Item Shop

The Himlir Calendar has 360 days in a year.

This year is divided into the Twelve Months, with each month further split into several weeks, and each week consists of seven days.

These seven days are named in order after the six deities.

The first day, Day of Origin, is dedicated to the Earth Mother, Traya, who is rumored to have created this world.

The second day, Day of Order, is for the god of Order, Taita, who governs and maintains worldly order.

The third day, Day of Renewal, belongs to the goddess of Life, Helim, who brings vitality and vigor to the world.

The fourth day, Day of Harvest, is for Michester, the god of the Hunt, who symbolizes freedom and the chase.

The fifth day, Day of Baptism, is overseen by Soto, the god of War, who rules over forging and the flames of battle.

The sixth day, Day of Enlightenment, is for Weisoth, the god of Wisdom, who stands for mysteries and intellect.

As for the seventh day, it is the day of rest for all the gods—the Day of Rest.

Ment Town.

On Day of Enlightenment (Saturday).

There are no classes at the Preparatory School on this day.

Though some places only take breaks on the Day of Rest, many treat both Day of Enlightenment and Day of Rest as holidays; the Preparatory School, for instance, operates on a five-days-on, two-days-off schedule.

Taking advantage of the break, Helim and Kelitte arrived at their appointed meeting place.

Ment Town’s only magic tool shop—the Longtail Grass Magic Tool Shop.

“Helim, you’re here so early~ There’s still quite a bit of time until our appointment, isn’t there?”

Today, Kelitte had changed into her regular clothes, looking just like an ordinary woman out shopping, except she still carried her magic staff as usual.

“Hello, Miss Kelitte. I only arrived early because my house is rather far from here, so I left early. Also, thank you for helping me today.”

Helim answered politely.

As mentioned before, the Hayeyar family lived at the southeastern edge of Ment Town, while this, the only magic tool shop in town, was at the northwest edge. In other words, for Helim to come here, she had to cross the entire town.

Although the Preparatory School was also in the northwest, it was more or less near the center of town, so Helim usually only had to walk about half as far as today.

“All right, let’s not waste time—let’s head inside!”

With that, Kelitte took the lead and walked toward the magic tool shop.

Ding ling~!

The bell by the door rang out crisply.

“Welcome! Is there anything the two guests need?”

As soon as they entered, a young woman greeted them with a warm smile.

Helim glanced around.

The shop was spacious and bright, clean and tidy, and the shop assistant was friendly and enthusiastic. It was hard to believe that in such a small town, there could be shops with such vastly different atmospheres. No wonder that stingy old man never had any customers.

While Helim was thinking this, Kelitte had already started a conversation with the shop assistant.

“We’d like to buy a magic staff—do you have any available?”

“Looking for a magic staff? Of course, we have them. Please, follow me.”

The shop assistant led the two of them to the back of the shop.

Before they even approached, Helim could already sense a variety of magical auras coming from nearby.

“All of these are…”

Helim’s eyes sparkled. In the deepest part of the magic tool shop, behind a transparent counter backed against the wall, lay an array of magic staffs in different shapes and sizes.

“Oh~ Not bad! This shop really has some fine staffs!”

Kelitte praised. She had been worried whether a small town like this would have decent magic staffs for sale.

“Thank you for your praise, guest. Our shop was established when Ment Mine was developed. Back then, we handled many security tasks for the mine, which attracted lots of adventurers and created a strong demand for magic staffs. Compared to an average town, the quantity and quality of our staffs are both superior.”

“Although the resources at Ment Mine were depleted in recent years and demand has dropped, for various reasons, we’ve managed to retain a fair number of staffs. While I can’t guarantee we have your dream staff, we certainly have suitable ones.”

“Oh~, quite confident, aren’t you? Then show us a staff suitable for a Tier Two or Tier Three mage, will you?”

Seeing the assistant’s confidence, Kelitte proposed that they try out some staffs.

“Certainly.”

The shop assistant nodded with a smile.

“What type of staff do you need, guest?” she asked. “Helim, what kind of staff would you like?”

Kelitte turned to Helim.

Helim thought for a moment, then looked up and said, “I’m not very familiar with magic staffs… Miss Kelitte, do you have any recommendations?”

“Let me think… Right now, you have the Fire, Light, and Non-Attribute elements… In that case, I recommend a Fire Attribute staff.”

“Mm…”

Kelitte’s direct recommendation for a Fire Attribute staff wasn’t because she wanted Helim to focus solely on fire magic, but rather because it related to the nature of staffs themselves.

Among the seven great elements in Himlir, Non-Attribute is usually considered exclusive to the Warrior profession. Those with this element do not use staffs, but swords and other physical weapons.

Aside from Non-Attribute, Light and Dark Attributes are also quite special—users of these elements are exceedingly rare, almost never seen in daily life!

It’s also worth noting that after reaching Tier Three, Light Attribute magic acquires healing abilities, so Light Attribute is seen as healing magic. Most people with a Light Attribute talent of C rank or above are recruited by the Seven-day Church to become Clergy.

The staffs they use differ from those of the four elemental branches; they are basically Holy Staffs that enhance healing abilities, and almost all such staffs are controlled by the Church, making them difficult to find in private hands.

As for Dark Attribute, although there is no organization as centralized as the Church, Dark Attribute magic at C rank or above similarly acquires curse abilities—Curse Magic. Moreover, Dark Attribute spells lean toward stealth, so Dark Attribute mages usually act in secrecy.

In this case, the obvious, large staffs of the four main elements are unsuitable. Dark Attribute staffs are almost always small, small enough to hide on one’s person. Often, by the time a Dark Attribute user draws their staff from inside their cloak, it is too late for their opponent to react.

“A Fire Attribute staff, then… Shop assistant, may I see one?”

Helim considered for a moment, then looked at the assistant, deciding to try it firsthand before making a decision.

“Certainly, guest. Please wait a moment!”

The shop assistant replied with a smile, then turned and retrieved a staff from behind the counter, its tip set with a red crystal.

“Here you are.”

She handed the staff to Helim.

Helim took the staff, feeling its slight weight and the warmth emanating from the grip. It was a bit long for her current height, but in two years, it would fit just right.

“May I try it?”

Helim looked up at the assistant.

“Of course. There’s a vacant yard behind the shop. If you’d like to test it, please follow me.”

The shop assistant led Helim and Kelitte to the shop’s backyard.

Glancing around, Helim found the space sufficient and raised the staff, looking to Kelitte for guidance.

Kelitte instructed, “Just cast magic as you usually do, but imagine the spell shooting out from the tip of the staff.”

“I understand, Miss Kelitte.”

Helim nodded and focused on the staff in her hand.

Should I use a Tier Two spell? …No, let’s start with a Tier One spell here; I can try the higher tier later.

With that thought, Helim quickly recited the spell.

The moment she began chanting, she immediately noticed the difference compared to casting without a staff—her mind felt clearer, her concentration sharper, even her thinking seemed faster.

“【ドPタ < nMonFMXPX”oA< 】”

“Ignite!”

Whoosh!

A ball of flame burst from the tip of the staff, at least a third faster than usual.

Looking at the spell, Helim noticed other differences as well. First, the mana cost—though Tier One spells barely used any of her mana now, she could still tell that the consumption was even lower than normal.

Second, the power. The size of this flame was clearly bigger than when cast bare-handed. If her previous Tier One Ignite hovered somewhere between a spark and a fireball, now it could be called a true fireball.

The effects of a staff… really are astounding.