CHAPTER 21: TWO FACED 

 

Alric, having four days before the start of classes, decided it was the perfect time for him to start setting up his board. 

Alric left the academy’s confines and placed his x-ray crystal at the center of his forehead and cloaked himself in a cloak of shadows. 

He headed towards the main shopping district of the city which was a fair distance from the academy’s grounds.  

He walked through the thick crowds of the shopping area, passing many tents and salesmen. 

The bustle of the shopping district was enough to leave anyone over-stimulated. From the noises made by each salesman trying hard to get some attention to the fragrances of meat, foods and potions. 

Seeing creatures of different races at first startled Alric. Afterall had spent the last few years with only his sister and Sigfreed with the occasional visit from magical beasts. 

Alric tugged the cloak he wore further down his face as he stepped into a tent to the farthest side of the marketplace. 

“Welcome kind guest.

It is only ten silver coins to appraise any item you may have.” 

The store owner was a tall elf. His pointed ears and unisex appearance were the most common traits of the elves. The elf bowed slightly as he met the young lad who had just entered. 

 

Alric nodded and took from his dimensional ring the three swords he had and laid them before the appraisal expert.

The elves who were always known to be sensitive to dark magic jumped a little feeling the dark energy that emitted from the young lad with a blurred face.

In his profession it was not uncommon for persons to steal items and carry them in to appraise while hiding their identities to circumvent the law.

He was by no means a law abiding citizen and only believed in the power of the almighty gold coin. So the identity of some random passerby was by no means relevant. 

He nodded his head and looked over at the items that laid on the floor. 

The elf placed his hand over the first sword and murmured a chant then a green light covered the sword.

When the light subsided the runes within the sword glowed and a colored network of veins seemed to cover the sword.

“A fine sword you have procured here. This sword is more suited to a paladin. Its ability allows it to speed up the regeneration of inner mana and allows it to be let out even more quickly.

Also there is a built-in function that allows it to heal the wielder by drinking the blood of its enemies.”

Alric nodded his head at the elf’s explanation. He was mystified by the magic of the elf.

For Alric himself to be able to cast the spell would have been easy, however to understand the lights it produced and the inner working of the spell would take another lifetime.

The elf, after admiring the craftsmanship of the weapon, moved on to the next.

“This one here is more straightforward, it's a poison type sword. It's filled with poison within every slash, and rots flesh as it slices through.”

The elf paused his explanation and screwed off the handle of the sword to reveal a vial filled with a blue liquid and continued.

“Its handle contains an antidote to its poison.” 

The elf, after understanding the rarity of the items the child possessed, tried to get a closer look at his identity.

Afterall magic items were one thing but the craftsmanship and abilities of these weapons were something that even arch knights would covet. 

 

The elf glanced at the child’s face while he was busy observing his magic. However the closer he looked the blurrier the boy’s face appeared. He thought that it must have been some form of darkness or shadow mage.

“This last one here is the most intriguing of the lot. 

It is a sword that adapts to the element that it absorbs the most, and right now it reeks of a fowl shadow magic. I would say this one is definitely your personal weapon.” 

 

It was normal for his customers to come with at least one item that they already knew the effect of to test the authenticity of the appraiser. Based on the similarities in mana the elf thought this was the red herring among the lot. 

The elf assumed as much seeing the same fowl shadow magic was already surrounding his customer. 

Alric made a slight agreeing nod and the elf smiled thinking his guess was on the mark. 

Contrary to his thoughts however the sword was last used almost two years ago and since then has been in a dimensional ring. 

The only reason the energy could still be felt was because the last enemy that it found was the powerful emperor kludde for almost a week straight. Furthermore It had been soaking in its own shadow magic for the past couple years inside a dimensional ring.

Ironically, since Alric had absorbed the Emperor Kludde he had that same mana within himself. But Alric was never about to explain this to a stranger.

the elf continued to explain the other sword that he held.

“It allows its wielder to have greater control over the designated element. There also seems to be a hidden concentration feature, 

meaning it can easily compress the designated element as well.”

The elf smirked proudly as he explained the features of each item.

Alric kept the dark sword at his waist and returned the others to his dimensional space and then threw two gold coins at the elf. 

“I was never here”

The elf nodded in agreement as he received the coins.

Alric was elated on the inside. He wanted to smile from ear to ear, this was a good haul. Each item was enchanted and could be sold for a chest of gold. The team that tried to kill an emperor beast certainly did come prepared.

Alric exited the shop and the night air surprised him. The appraisal had taken over an hour. 

He felt that the appraiser may have purposely taken long however he had no evidence. 

As Alric walked his kludde tattoo alerted him. Two men were following him. Alric heightened his senses. He could smell blood on them and see the slight grin on their faces. 

They followed him to the slumps.

Alric entered an alleyway that was dark and secluded. The two men came prancing in with daggers in hand grinning. 

“Okay kid, we know you have some rare treasures holding on to. 

You hand them over and we promise nothing will happen to that tiny little body.” 

The two oversized men's hackles were cut short when an unknown force pulled them to the unknown man and then pinned them to the wall. They tried to shout but the alleyway was already covered in shadow magic that canceled out all sound. 

“I have a few questions and you two will answer me.” The blurred face grinned as the darkness fully enveloped them. 

 

When the shadows fell from around the three the blurred man disappeared, one of the two men was already headless while the other was visibly shaking and pale with fright.