Volume 2 Chapter 5: Part 5: Reminisce Of Her

 

"..." Gus doesn't know what to say. He eyes down Onyx again. Did this kid really take down a chimera? He couldn't believe it. To help him out, Oliver adds, 

 

"The kid did take out a group of blood kongs, a variant thunder bear, a goblin king, and others. A chimera wouldn't be far-out." Oliver rubs his chin. There were a lot of monsters Onyx took down in a short time. 

 

"..." Why didn't you say that first?! Gus's expression turns dark, knowing Oliver kept silent about this on purpose to piss him off. But then he looks back at Onyx. A few seconds later, 

 

"You bastard! You really brought in a monster here today!" He laughs as he says this. 

 

"I told you that before." Oliver sighs. It's not my fault you didn't believe me. 

 

"Charles, you're not going to be able to fix the armor with those tools. I'll be the one to do maintenance on it." He knows his disciple won't be able to put a dent into it. He might be the only one who can do maintenance on the armor. 

 

"And half-pint."

 

"Onyx."

 

"Huh?"

 

"My name isn't half-pint. It's Onyx."

 

"..." Gus just stares at him. But then he laughs even more, "Oliver, you brought a kid in with nerves of steel." Never did he meet somebody that would talk back to him. 

 

When Stewart and Lyle came to his store, they wouldn't dare talk back to him. They were too afraid or didn't want to go against the best blacksmith. 

 

This is a first. And Gus respects Onyx for that. 

 

"Alright then, Onyx. You can pick out any weapon you think you'll need for your journey." Gus doesn't say anything else as he takes the armor to the back to work on it. 

 

Oliver nudges Onyx, "Nice job! I didn't think the stubborn old dwarf would change his heart so quickly." Even he was surprised when he heard Gus change how he called Onyx.

 

But that meant Gus acknowledged Onyx. 

 

That is good.

 

"Anyways, Onyx. You should pick out another sword. You might need a spare if something happens to the other one."

 

Onyx nods. The only spare weapon Onyx has is a knife. And that's used to take out materials and demon crystal from the corpse. It's not for fighting. 

 

"Understood." Looking at the swords, Onyx has his hand on his chin, lost in thought. 

 

All the swords look strong. But the price is the same as well. One sword costs around 5 platinum coins! Buying something like that will cut his budget in half!

 

Onyx looks around a bit more and sees some swords that cost in the 5 gold coin range and under. These look good. 

 

A particular one that catches his eye is a pair of short swords. It's a one-sided-edged blade. 

 

He swings it around, getting a grasp of the weight. This is good. Onyx smiles as he does it a bit more. The price is reasonable, and the weapon has a good balance. 

 

"I'll take this." Onyx places the swords onto the table and hands the gold coins to him.

 

"Thank you for the purchase." 

 

"How long will Gus take to patch up my armor?"

 

"It will take the master at least 6 hours for him to fix it up."

 

"I see. Then here's the money for the maintenance as well." He turns over to Oliver, "Where are we going now?"

 

"How many potions do you have right now?"

 

"2-3" Potions are a must-have for adventuring. For adventurers who can't use magic, potions are a great substitute.

 

"Yeah, that's not enough. That's why we'll go to a magic shop, and there's something else you need there too."

 

Hmm? What else do I need? Onyx thought about what he meant. The two arrive in front of the shop. Oh, it's this one. 

 

It's the shop Lucia had introduced to him.

 

"What are you doing right now, Oliver?" Onyx tilts his head. Why are you combing your head? The man was using his hand to freshen up his hair. 

 

"I just need to look presentable. I'm still the guild master!" His voice is so uneven as he says this.

 

"...Ok then." Onyx stays silent about that. But it's too wrong. 

 

When the two walk into the store, Onyx sees many weird things. There are so many different items hanging down from the ceiling. Woah! Onyx gets spoked when he sees some eyeballs floating in a jar. 

 

"Oh, if it isn't Oliver. So why have you come here today." A woman calls out. Her eyes are slightly droopy, showing off sleepiness.

 

Her head sways back and forth, looking like she might knock out any second. She's like a sleeping beauty. 

 

SO BIG!!! But that's not what Onyx is focused on. Her chest is the most eye-catching thing. It's indescribable for anyone to say anything. 

 

"Yeah, I came back today." What the? Behind him, Onyx hears a runny and dreamy voice. He turns to look at Oliver. 

 

The man has googly eyes. Onyx snaps his hand in front of his face, but no reaction.

 

Oliver is smitten to the teeth! For a second, Onyx thought he saw hearts in Oliver's eyes. 

 

Guild master, can you not stare at her chest so much?! You're making it so obvious. 

 

The woman gives a small smile, "Aww, and who's this little fella with you today?" 

 

"Yes-ughh!" Keep it together! Onyx elbows Oliver on the side to get his act together. 

 

"He's our new adventurer. His name is Onyx, and he recently got promoted to D-rank!!!"

 

"Ahh, so he's the person who beat Galven? I've heard a lot about you. My name is Alicia Cohens." She extends her hand over the counter to shake his hand. When she did that, her chest lay on the table. 

 

Onyx sweats a bit when he sees that. But he kept his cool through all of this. On the other hand, Oliver's mouth is gaping like no tomorrow. It looks like he might even have a nosebleed any second. 

 

"What's wrong, Oliver?" His expression is so blatant that Alicia notices it too. She tilts her head, wondering what's wrong with him. 

 

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong with me!" Oliver turns red when he hears that. 

 

"I see. That's good. Also, Madelyn came by the store and told me if you ever come here to tell you to go back to work."

 

".." Is she a demon?! How can she destroy my oasis! This is the only time I can escape from my work! Madelyn, how could you!

 

Oliver's expression makes it seem like the world is about to end.

 

"Heh." Seeing how Oliver acted, Onyx chuckles. I get it now. He understands why Oliver acted so weird. The combing of his hair. The googly eyes. Yeah, that's the case of being love-struck.

 

"..." Oliver's expression turns blank when he hears him laugh. But then, he slaps Onyx's back.

 

"Alicia, you see. This boy here needs some potions and a magic item for his next adventure. 

 

"I see." A smile forms on Alicia's face, "My store sells many different potions. I have different quantities and effects." 

 

"Can I get 10 vials of healing potions first?" That's the first thing he needs right now. 

 

"Alright." Alicia nods. She snaps her finger. 10 vials of red liquid float toward the counter. 

 

"For the other potions, what are their effects?" Having some of them would be helpful. 

 

"There are different effects to each potion; a low grade is the cheapest, which will increase your abilities by 20%. It'll cost a gold coin each."

 

"I see." Hearing that, Onyx begins to think about it for a bit. Hmm, increased strength will help me out when dealing with larger monsters. Agility also seems to be good too. 

 

"Can I get five vials of low-grade agility and strength potions then?" And like that, 5 vials of crimson and light blue potions fell onto the counter. 

 

"The effects of each potion will last around 10 minutes. What's more, there will also be drawbacks." 

 

"Drawbacks? What kind of drawbacks?!" Why didn't she say something like that sooner?!

 

Alicia nods, "Once the potion's effect wears off, your body will feel more fatigued than normal." 

 

"Oh." Onyx calms down a bit. The disadvantages sound more than reasonable. However, in a life-and-death battle, it'll be fatal. With his body fatigued when fighting a monster would put him at a disadvantage.

 

I'll use these as a last-ditch effort then. Onyx continues to think about how to work around the fatigue. Thinking about it more makes sense for him to get it. 

 

"Is that all you need?"

 

"Mmhmm." Onyx nods. That's all the magic potion he needs.

 

"And are you interested in magic items?"

 

"Magic items?" Onyx looks at Oliver. So this is the thing he wanted me to buy.

 

"There's one you will need to buy, Onyx."

 

"Which one."

 

"Alicia, can you bring a magical bag out? One that should hold around 60 metres."

 

"Understood." Alicia opens up a drawer and pulls out a small bag. It was the size of Onyx's palm. It looks like a regular coin purse. The only thing different about it is the marking engraved on the front of the bag. 

 

"So, what does it do?" Onyx's confused about why Oliver wanted him to buy this bag. 

 

"I'll show you," Oliver says as he picks up one of the potions. He opens the bag, and instantly, the potion gets sucked into it! Onyx's eyes went wide, 

 

What the?

 

He rubs his eyes, not believing something like that is possible.  

 

"Yeah, this basically sucks up the materials you place in front of it. What's more, you can store a lot in this bag. 

 

If I get this, then collecting more monsters will be simple. Onyx remembers how he had to give up some monster materials because it was too big to bring back with him.

 

"How much does this bag cost?" Onyx knows he needs this bag. 

 

"It's 7 platinum coins," Alicia says with a smile. 

 

STAB!

 

Onyx just felt something piercing his chest.

 

"How much is it again?"

 

"7 platinum coins"

 

STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB

 

Onyx felt his body get stabbed by so many arrows. 7 platinum coins. That's just...damn.

 

That'll destroy his wallet. He'll be back to the starting point, having to get 20 platinum coins. 

 

"Onyx, getting this bag is worth it. You can hold more than what you brought last time. You can get the money back quickly."

 

"...Yeah." Onyx's voice is dull as he says this. But in the end, he decides, 

 

"I'll take it." Oliver is right. A bag like that will help him in the future, and he could get back the money much quicker. 

 

Alicia's smile grew wider, "Thank you for the purchase. The total cost for everything is 9 platinum coins."

 

"...Understood," Onyx says as he takes out the platinum coins. 

 

"..." "..." Are you going to drop the coins? 

 

The two thought as they saw Onyx still holding onto the coins. He was not letting them go. 

 

Dammit. Onyx can feel his heart stab even more as he hands the coins to Alicia.