Kurose opened his eyes slowly, a small yawn escaping him as he stared up at the ceiling. He had only one thought about that.
I don't recognise this ceiling…
It took another moment for the events of yesterday to come flooding back to him.
"Man… looks like it wasn't all a dream…" He spoke out loud to himself.
Kurose wasn't sure whether he was actually disappointed by that.
Sure, plenty of people wished to be transported to another world, to be its hero, but they didn't think about the loneliness of it all, or the pressure of people expecting you to save their world…
He let out another sigh, getting himself out of the bed and standing up. He wasn't sure when Amarita was supposed to come collect him, so he might as well do something productive.
He moved the pile of sleepwear that had been on the bed over to the desk, quickly sorting out the bed to the best of his abilities. Once he was satisfied with the bed, he changed back into his normal clothes. It always felt better wearing his casual clothing than anything formal.
He sat down on the chair at his desk, his leg bouncing slightly. It hadn't taken him as long as he had thought to sort himself and the bed out.
What else could he do? He thought about that for a minute before humming. There had been more in that help menu, where he had found out about weapon copying.
Would there be anything else that could help him out? He had already read about Equip Bonuses and Equip Effects last night. Was there really anything else that could be of use to him?
There wasn't a reason for him not to read it again. He had been half asleep, so he could have missed some critical information.
With that decided, Kurose opened his menu once more. He skimmed over the section on weapon copying once more, pausing for only a moment to think about what it meant by copying something that resembled it.
"What does it mean by 'resemble'?" He wondered out loud to himself. "I could copy that bracelet yesterday, so does it include all accessories? Does that mean I could get earrings?"
He put his thoughts on that to the side for now. He would undoubtedly find out eventually.
"Ah, here's something new." Kurose spoke with a small smile.
Holy Accessories Power-up Methods
"Huh. I guess this is probably going to help… Can't imagine not reading all four of them off the bat."
Collector (Core) - The more weapon forms that the hero collects, the stronger all of their weapon forms will become.
Lapidary - Each weapon form has a set amount of slots the hero can insert gems into. Doing so will increase the weapon forms stats. The type, quality and cut of the gemstones affect the bonuses given.
Item enchantment - By converting items and monster drops into energy, the hero can add a new enchantment to any given weapon form. Once applied, the enchantment can be upgraded but only has a percent chance of success in upgrading. If this upgrade process fails, the enchantment level falls to zero.
Magic Reinforcement - The Hero gains points on level-up that can be allocated to a known spell to boost its efficacy, and it applies a suffix ranging from I to X , depending on how many points are added. After a cooldown of 24 hours after applying the points, the points can be removed from the spell and reallocated. Costs vary depending on the power of the spell. Additionally, different tiers of the same spell are considered different spells.
All of the methods looked good to him, it was just a matter of actually using them. Item enchantment and Lapidary took resources, with Item Enchantment taking monsters whilst Lapidary took gems. They would be gotten over time.
Magic Reinforcement was based on levels and points available, so he would be getting them as he went as well. Though the bit on Tiers did interest him. It would likely have to wait to be answered though.
Kurose found it odd that none of those methods had shown up prior. He opted to pull the menu for the Starter Amulet up again just to make sure he hadn't missed it the day before, with everything going on.
Starter Amulet 0/5
(abilities unlocked) equip bonus: +3 magic attack
The weapons stats didn't look different from yesterday, but that was to be expected. The only other weapon form he had gotten was the Iron Bracelets from Amarita.
However, the fact that the extra stuff, such as Lapidary slots only showed up only after he read the methods made him think. Would it have never shown up if he didn't read them?
He assumed Item Enchantment wouldn't turn up until he actually applied it to a weapon form at least.
There was no point in him thinking over it. He had read them, and now they were there. That's all that mattered.
"Accessory Hero? Are you awake?" Amarita asked, her voice muffled by the door.
Kurose responded immediately. "Yeah, I am. Feel free to come in."
Amarita did just that, stepping into the room and looking it over, nodding slightly. "It seems as if you are ready to leave, then?"
"Yup, a bit nervous though." Kurose admitted with a small smile. "I was just reading through some more stuff in my menu."
He stood up, stretching his arm as Amarita spoke. "I see, may I ask what it was?"
"Sure." He didn't see any harm in telling her. "There's stuff we can do with our weapons to make them stronger, like what I did yesterday."
Amarita thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. "Ah, you mean when you copied my bracelet?"
Kurose nodded his head at that.
"Yes, I can see how that may be information the Dagger hero needs to know, if she does not know already." She paused for a moment before speaking once more. "Though, I would not recommend telling her immediately. Perhaps when you are somewhere a bit more private?" She offered, causing Kurose to tilt his head in confusion.
"Information on the Holy Accessory and Lesser weapons is highly coveted, and there have been cases of people…fighting and even killing each other for the chance to wield a lesser weapon. Obviously there have not been people fighting over the Holy Accessory, due to only summoned heroes being able to wield it, but people have resorted to more… underhanded tactics, such as threats and the likes." She spoke politely, a small frown on her face.
"I…I see" Kurose took a moment to digest that information.
He guessed it was understandable as to why people might want to become heroes, The fame that came from it, but surely they wouldn't try to kill a hero during the waves, right? That just seemed like it was asking for issues.
Though, it did make him wonder, did he have to be concerned about being threatened?
With a sigh, he spoke once more, changing the subject.
"So what is the plan for today?"
"It's rather simple." Amarita spoke, immediately latching onto the subject change as if she had been waiting to be asked. "You and the Dagger Hero, along with a couple of people I have hand picked, will be going out. This is to both help you grow stronger and hopefully get the pair of you a beginners set of armor each. This will also hopefully give you the opportunity to get familiar with your weapons."
Kurose moved to open his mouth, but Amarita seemed to anticipate that.
"I am aware that you do not have a proper weapon, but this is more for you to get used to this sort of stuff. One of the people I have chosen is a magician, and I'm hoping he will be able to teach you some basics prior to anything happening."
Kurose nodded his head, seeming to accept that easily. "Will you be coming with us?" He asked her. He was met with a shake of her head.
"Unfortunately not. Once I have seen the four of you off, I will be going to see the King off, and then I have some tasks of my own to carry out. I am sorry if that's not what you wished to hear, Accessory Hero."
"No! Don't be sorry!" Kurose spoke quickly, shaking his head. "I was just curious, there's nothing you need to apologize for!"
"Thank you for your understanding then."
With that, the duo walked in silence for a bit longer, until Kurose broke it.
"So, who are me and Eorna going to be going out there with?"
"I believe you are already familiar with one of them. He was there for your summoning, and you seemed the most friendly with him, if his words were anything to go by." Amarita spoke with a smile.
Kurose racked his mind for only a moment before coming to an answer. "Orith?"
"Indeed, Accessory Hero. Though, he will not be the one responsible for teaching you. Whilst he is a decent mage, his specialty is in close quarters combat, in which I am hoping that he can give some knowledge to Dagger Hero. The other person going with you should be able to help with the basics of magic like I said earlier, provided he does not get distracted."
Kurose nodded his head at that. He couldn't help but be excited for the chance to learn magic. He wondered what it was going to be like. Would it have a chant? Would he need to get his affinity checked or something? That was something common in fantasy worlds, right?
It didn't take them much longer to reach Eorna's room, and with a quick knock on the door, it opened up, revealing Eorna.
"Heya! I'm ready to go whenever you are!" She spoke quickly, a wide smile on her face.
Amarita simply nodded at that. "Of course. Please follow along, Dagger Hero." She spoke before starting to walk, ignoring Eorna's telling her to refer to her by name.
The walk towards wherever they were going was a short, but quiet walk, with the exception of Eorna humming beside him and the tapping of their shoes on the floor.
They finally stopped in front of a set of giant doors, and Kurose couldn't help but wonder what was behind them.
Some sort of vault, maybe? The king did say he was giving them some funds, but wouldn't a vault be in a more secure place?
As if sensing Kurose's thoughts, Amarita spoke up. "The two you will be going out with for today are just through here. I would also like for the two of you to connect to the Dragon Hourglass in this room, if that is fine with the pair of you?"
"Hm? Oh sure! How do we do that though?" Eorna asked.
Whilst Eorna did that, Kurose had a frown on his lips. He could remember hearing Amarita speak about it, but he couldn't remember the context for it.
Amarita shot him a quick look, and upon seeing his frown, she spoke. "Accessory Hero, would you like for me to go over it once more?"
"...If you would, please." He spoke, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Amarita didn't seem to mind, quickly explaining what the hourglasses were for, refreshing Kurose's memory. He gave her a quick thanks before she moved on.
"As for your question, Dagger Hero, if the book I read is to be believed, then you must simply raise your weapon towards the Hourglass, and it will do the rest."
"So, just hold my Amulet and Eorna's Dagger up to the hourglass… got it." Kurose spoke with a nod.
Amarita nodded, giving him a small smile before nodding towards the guards stationed at the door. They bowed towards her before moving to open the doors, ushering them in.
"Amarita! It's good to see you!" A person spoke up once the doors had fully opened.. "You never told me why I was here, are you going to tell me now?"
Kurose stepped out from behind Amarita, looking at the person who had just spoken.
The first thing Kurose noticed about him was the blue robe he was wearing, with small white splotches all over it. After a few moments, Kurose realized that they were supposed to be stars. His hands were also covered by a pair of white gloves.
He also had an insignia on his cloak, placed over his heart. It was different from the two other ones he had seen, and he actually had a clearer look at it. It was a small patch, embroidered onto his robe. It held a set of words at the bottom, which Kurose could not understand. Though if he had to take a guess, it was probably his rank with whatever group he was a part of.
"I will tell you in a moment, Woodrow." Amarita addressed him, earning a nod from a wizard.
"Of course, Of course." The newly identified Woodrow answered.
"Accessory Hero, Dagger Hero. if you would please step towards the hourglass and raise your weapons, i will explain the situation to these two." Amarita spoke, bowing towards Kurose and Eorna.
The pair looked at each other for a moment before nodding and walking towards the Hourglass. Looking towards it, he could see red sand flowing down into the bottom.
It was heavily decorated, with gold spiralling up the sides, eventually forming into twin dragons, each facing each other at the top.
Huh, I should have guessed this world probably had dragons. They're everywhere in fantasy worlds…
"Do you think we have to point our weapon towards that?" Eorna asked Kurose, taking him out of his thoughts.
He looked towards where Eorna pointed, humming as he did. It was a gemstone in the center of the Hourglass, in which all of the sand fell through.
"We might as well try, right? There's nothing to lose." Kurose spoke with a shrug. With that, he took another step forward, now standing in the center of the room.
He raised his amulet towards the hourglass, and a small beam of light shot towards it. His eyes widened at that, but as fast as the beam appeared, it disappeared. In the corner of his vision was a timer, which he assumed told him how long it was until the wave.
"Just slightly over three weeks, huh?" Kurose spoke just loud enough for Eorna to hear.
Once she was done linking with the hourglass, she nodded her head. "Yeah, it really isn't that far away, is it?" She spoke with a frown.
"And we need to link up to the other two hourglasses as well…" she added on.
"How many hourglasses are there? And are they just used to tell how long it is until the waves?"
"There's three hourglasses, as far as I'm aware! One here, obviously, one in Dajero, and one in Palinfa." Upon seeing Kurose's confused look, she added on to what she said. "Dajero is to the west, whilst Palinfa is to the east"
He could vaguely remember it from what Amarita had said last night, something about the Jewelry Tools hero being there? Either way, he still knew nothing about Dajero.
"And are we sure there's only three hourglasses?" Kurose asked. He didn't exactly want to be surprised by a fourth or even fifth wave.
"Nope! If there was, someone definitely would have tried to claim it." She answered..
Kurose nodded along, looking over to Amarita as he did. She was still speaking to Orith and the newly introduced Woodrow
"So…" Kurose spoke slowly, not willing to stand in silence.
Eorna seemed to think similarly to him, speaking before Kurose could continue. "What's your power-up method?" She asked with a smile.
So it seemed like she already knew about them. That made it easier for Kurose.
"Which one? I have four."
Eorna stared at him for a moment, shock showing on her face. Did he say something wrong? Before he could say anything, she began to pout at him, much to his confusion.
"That's unfair! I only have one method!"
"H-Hey!" It wasn't even his fault! He couldn't decide how many methods he had! Despite that, he still opted to try to give her a valid reason.
"Maybe it's just because it's the Holy Accessory? How about I tell you two of mine, then you tell me yours, and then I tell you my other two?" Kurose offered quickly, trying to get the girl to stop pouting.
If he had any thoughts about it being cute, that was information known only to himself.
That seemed to lift Eorna's spirits immediately, with her having a big smile on her face. "Sure! I'm fine with that!"
Kurose pulled up his menu, beginning to read them off. The first two he read out to her were Collector and Lapidary, telling her what each method did and how it worked.
Eorna nodded her head as she listened to him. Once he finished his explanation of both of them, she spoke.
"They both seem pretty cool! Your starting weapon form could probably be just as strong as my strongest dagger when you unlock more weapon forms! And Lapidary means you can specialise some weapon forms, right?"
"Exactly. I could probably get a pretty good magic based weapon form, and just feed it gems that increase my magic power. Though I'm not sure what gems do what…" Kurose spoke with a frown.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually!" Eorna spoke cheerfully. "But I guess it's my turn now! My method is called Skill and Magic Mastery! As I use skills, they become mastered, which makes them better in all sorts of ways! Same with magic! Pretty cool, isn't it?" She spoke, puffing out her chest.
"Yeah, it is pretty cool. But stronger in what ways?" He asked her. If it was just a simple increase to the damage they dealt, then it was still good, but if it upgraded them in any other way…
"Oh! It can range from decreased SP costs, new effects, more damage or even making the cooldowns for them shorter! But it does cap out eventually, so I can't go on forever."
She seemed pretty happy with her method, and Kurose wouldn't exactly say it wasn't deserved. Skill and Magic Mastery definitely seemed good. He just wished he could use it as well. It seemed odd to him that the Dagger held something to assist with magic when it seemed more attack based, but he shrugged it off, continuing on.
"Well, I guess it's now time for my last two methods, I suppose. My last two methods are Item Enchantment and Magic Reinforcement."
He explained them to her quickly, and once he was done, she nodded her head.
"They both sound interesting, but the magic one sounds so vague!" She spoke with a frown. "How many points do you get per level? How much stronger do the spells get? How-"
Eorna was cut off by another voice cutting into the conversation.
"So, You're the Accessory hero, huh?" The voice of Woodrow spoke. "Say, you came from another world. Know any interesting magic?"
He leaned forward slightly, causing Kurose to wonder just when he had gotten so close to him. Surely he should have heard the man, right?
"Woodrow, please! Respect the Accessory Hero's personal space!" Orith shouted from behind him, and he found himself mentally thanking the elderly man as Woodrow responded.
"Yeah, yeah. I will, I just want an answer first!"
"N-No, I can't say I do?" Kurose spoke weakly, looking towards the wizard.
Woodrow clicked his tongue, but shook his head. "Can't win them all, I suppose. I'm lucky enough to even know other magic systems exist. Still, you seem decent enough."
"Thank you?" Kurose spoke. He was confused about what was going on. Should he take what he said as a compliment? And what was he saying about other magic systems?
"Polite as well. I'll take you!" He declared as he stepped beside Kurose, putting an arm around his shoulders.
Kurose looked towards Amarita, both for answers and a cry for help. Amarita's response was to sigh, shaking her head slightly.
"Woodrow, please let go of the Accessory Hero. It's usually best to ask for permission before doing anything like that. And you never actually said what you were 'taking him' for, as you put it." She spoke, chastising the wizard.
Woodrow simply lifted his hands up in surrender, seemingly knowing not to argue with Amarita. A smart decision from what little Kurose knew about her.
"Accessory Hero, Dagger Hero." She spoke, getting the pair's attention. "As I mentioned before, Orith and Woodrow will be going out alongside you to supervise you, as well as teach you some basics that may assist you in your travels outside the capital for the time being."
Woodrow took over from there. "Yup! Hopefully we can get at least a couple of things through to the both of you, though I probably won't be going over anything super intensive out there. Just enough to get you up and running. Say, when am I having the pair of them?" He directed towards Amarita.
"You will have all day with them tomorrow, as I will be busy sorting out some stuff." Amarita answered Woodrow, getting a smile in return. "I just ask that you don't slack off today and help the heroes level as much as you can."
"Fantastic! There's our plan then. We are going to get you both to a decent level, then tomorrow I can teach you all about the joys of Charmes!"
Orith let out a sigh at that. "Woodrow, you can't just make plans without consulting me first. We are both supposed to be assisting them!"
"Oh come on. As if you were going to disagree. You just want a chance to get away from the prince." He teased the elderly man.
"What? No!" Orith declared, shaking his head. "Prince Kabir is a nice person! He's just… a bit…" It seemed like Orith was struggling to describe him, which to Kurose, didn't bode well for his actual personality.
"I'm sure he just needs some more positive influences in his life!" Orith finally spoke.
Woodrow rolled his eyes at that, but did not comment further.
Kurose looked towards Eorna, who simply shrugged her shoulders. It seemed like she had no idea what that was about either.
"Is there anything else I missed?" Amarita spoke to herself, seeming to have ignored what Woodrow and Orith had said. Before she could say anything else, Woodrow caught her attention.
"Go on. You have other stuff to do right? I'm sure me and Orith here can do everything we need. The heroes will be safe with us! We won't let you down"
Amarita looked him over before turning her gaze to Kurose and Eorna. The both of them nodded quickly at that.
"We'll be fine, right Kurose?" Eorna spoke with a grin, throwing a hand around Kurose's neck, bringing him down to her height.
"Yeah. We will. Go sort out what you need to. We'll speak to you later." He spoke, doing his best to reassure Amarita.
With a sigh, Amarita nodded her head.
"If that is what you want. Here are your funds…" She pulled out two pouches, handing them to Eorna and Kurose before stepping back. " I am aware there is not much in there, but we are in a dire situation as of now. My apologies, both for there not being much and for not handing them to you prior."
She seemed to hesitate for a moment before bowing. "I wish you luck in your endeavours, i will speak to you at a later point."
With one last look back, Amarita walked away, leaving Kurose and Eorna with Woodrow and Orith. Woodrow flashed the two heroes a smile before speaking.
"Well then, let's get going! We got plenty of things to do! Getting you some basic armor, levelling you up, there's so much to be done! Come on!"
He put his arms around both Kurose and Eorna, forcing them forward with him, Orith trailing behind.
"Hold on! You can't just drag people everywhere! You need to make plans before going anywhere!" Orith called out.
The wizard did pause at that, stopping just before the doors of the room that the Hourglass was in. He turned to Kurose, asking a simple question.
"So, you know anything about using your Mana?"
Kurose's answer was a simple shake of his head, and the wizard hummed, seeming to have expected it.
He guided the group towards another part of the castle, quickly ducking into a room. The door slammed shut behind him, and they could hear the sound of stuff being shifted, as well as the wizard muttering out loud.
"Hmm… Where is it… under here?"
It continued for a short time until they heard a cheer, with Woodrow having found whatever it was he was looking for. A few moments later, and the door opened, with the wizard walking out with a pouch at his side.
When Kurose asked him what was in the pouch, he got a simple response.
"You'll find out soon."
In Kurose's opinion, that definitely was not ominous, and he was going to pretend to not be concerned about it in the slightest.
Their first stop was a blacksmith. The wizard and Orith had said they wouldn't go any further until the pair had at least some basic armor being prepared for them, so in the end, both Kurose and Eorna had to concede.
"I still don't know why I have to!" Eorna spoke with a frown as they entered the shop, a small bell announcing their entrance.
"I can just dodge everything! My speed is good enough for that."
"That may be true, Dagger-" Orith began, only to be cut off by Eorna.
"It's Eorna! I don't know why you keep calling me that, it's not like my weapon is my whole personality!"
That was another thing that Orith had to deal with.
Despite having it impressed upon him, by both Kurose and Eorna as they walked that they wanted to be called by their names, the man still slipped up from time to time.
Kurose was content to let it happen, he would probably slip up himself if he was in Orith's position, but Eorna had taken to interrupting him each time he slipped up, whether it was her name or his.
"Eorna," he spoke with a sigh, correcting himself. "Be it as it may, there will be times where you simply cannot dodge. And if such a situation were to arise and you were not wearing armor, what do you think may happen?" He posed to her.
Eorna grumbled at that, but nodded her head with a sigh, entering the store first. Kurose entered shortly after, hearing a small bell signal their entrance into the shop.
"Yo. Haven't seen any of you here before." A man spoke from behind a counter. He waved them over, taking a look at the crest on Woodrow's cloak before whistling.
"An Inscriber, coming to my store. Why I'm honoured." The man spoke, sitting up straighter.
Kurose had no idea what an Inscriber was, but for the man to sit up made it seem pretty important. Even Eorna had a curious look in her eyes, looking towards Woodrow.
"Don't worry about my ranking right now." He spoke, waving his hand. "Right now, I'm just looking for a set of basic armor for these two, if you would.". He gestured towards Kurose and Eorna, with the man's attention shifting to them.
"Armour for you two huh? What are your levels first off? Gotta make sure you get the proper equipment."
"I'm level one." Kurose spoke quickly.
"I'm level five!" Eorna answered moments later.
"I see. So you are definitely gonna want some pretty basic armor then. Just give me a moment, think I might have something for the pair of you."
With that, the man went into the back of the shop, the sound of stuff being moved out of the way echoing through to the front of the store, and Kurose turned to Woodrow.
"What did he mean by Inscriber? Is it something important?"
"You could say that." Woodrow spoke with a nod. He didn't seem bothered by Kurose's questions. In fact, he even seemed pleased by it.
"What do you do as an inscriber?" Kurose asked.
"Oh that's simple. I manage the castle's stock of Charmes. From making the guards Charmes to assist with temperature regulation, to preparing siege Charmes if required. It's not hard work, just tedious. Though you need to have a certain level of understanding with Charmes to begin making your own."
"How does everyone else use Charmes then, if they have to understand it all better?"
"That's simple. There's a rather big market for Charmes. Books filled with Charmes you can simply pop out of the pages, with premade spells on them. You are told what each Charme does in the book. Total rip offs, in my opinion, but I can't argue against their effectiveness. Which is why my job exists, to cut down on the expenses used by mass purchasing them."
"Is that how I will be getting Charmes then?" Kurose asked him, earning a shake of the wizard's head.
"No no. I'll be trying my best to teach you the ins and outs. At least then you will be able to custom make your own Charmes for whatever situation you plan to head into. Though I'm not sure how long it will take…" He trailed off, seeming to think to himself.
Kurose could understand that. He didn't exactly want to be wasting money on buying Charmes, especially if they were rip offs like Woodrow had said. And the Idea of being able to make his own Charmes, whatever they were, did interest him.
Before anything else could be said, the shopkeeper came back, carrying two sets of armor.
"Right, this should be fine for you. Sorry for taking a bit, I didn't realize just how much I had piled back there." He shook his head before continuing. "This should be good for both of you. I would have given you some stronger armor, but you're probably not strong enough for it, plus it isn't a Lumisteel set." He shook his head at that, but continued before Kurose could ask about it. "But if you two wanna try them on, go ahead. There's a few changing rooms just over there."
He pointed to the changing rooms, they both picked up a set, moving over to the changing rooms.
Once he was in there, Kurose actually looked it over. It looked like some basic leather armor, like something you might get as your first set of gear in an MMO. He supposed it wasn't inaccurate to say that, considering he was just starting out.
He did wonder about why it wasn't chainmail, but the thought disappeared quickly. He would probably replace this armor set pretty soon.
He managed to get the armor on after a bit of struggling. He thought he did pretty well considering he had never done this sort of thing before. He stepped out of the changing rooms, earning a nod from Orith and Woodrow.
"Looks good on you. Though we will have to work on getting you something custom at a later point. Maybe after the wave. I'm sure the monsters from that could probably provide something decent for your armor." Orith spoke with a nod, seemingly already thinking of the future.
"Custom armor?" Kurose asked in confusion.
"Ah, I'll explain that for you." The shop keep spoke up. "Custom armor can be pretty expensive, but I would personally say the pros outweigh the cons of it. You can use stuff you get from monsters, like feathers from giant owls and all that to get bonuses. You can also use bones to add magical effects to it, but it doesn't have to be done immediately." He explained.
"Plus, as time goes on, you can always get it upgraded. Saves you from having to buy a new set of armor each time your old one gets destroyed or you outgrow it." He spoke with a smile.
"Huh, I'll… have to keep it in mind." Kurose spoke with a nod.
"Whatcha talking about?" Eorna spoke, seeming to pop up out of nowhere.
"What?" Kurose spoke quickly, jumping. He calmed down almost immediately after realizing it was just Eorna.
"Eorna, don't scare me like that! And how are you so quiet?"
Eorna laughed at that, with Kurose sighing.
"Sorry, Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. The armor fits fine, by the way, thank you!" Eorna spoke with a grin.
"No need to thank me. Still need to go over the price for it." The man spoke with a grin.
"I'll take over from here Accessory Hero, Da-" Eorna glared at him, and he corrected himself. "Kurose, Eorna."
"Eh? What do you mean by Ac-" He was silenced by Orith, who began to speak.
"How much is the armor? Surely it can't cost that much since it was out back. Based on what you said before, it was probably under quite a bit of stuff, meaning it's not that important, right?"
"Oi! You can't just try to distract me like that! I want to know what you meant by calling the kid a hero. You're joking me right?"
"I'll explain it once you have given me your price." Orith responded calmly, looking up to the taller man.
The shopkeeper grumbled but nodded his head, and Kurose finally turned his attention away, looking towards Eorna. Her armor was similar to his, a basic leather set. It seemed good enough for them right now, so he wasn't going to complain. He just hoped it wasn't super expensive.
"So, you never did answer. What were you talking about?" Eorna asked curiously.
"Oh, that. It was just about custom armor, you know? He said it would probably be a good idea for the future. Said something about it being able to be upgraded as we go?"
"Huh, yeah that would definitely be useful. But isn't that stuff super expensive?"
"He did say that, but said the pros of it outweighed the price. Though, I'm still not sure how it would help us out."
"Oh that's simple." Woodrow spoke with a grin, joining their conversation. "You can enchant armor. Give it plenty of bonuses, such as Mana recovery and all that. Could even have it auto repair over a period of time. Saves you from having to get it repaired after every large battle. Especially so since you will be fighting in the waves."
Kurose could see where he was coming from. It would probably save a ton of money, but if he was being honest, he probably wouldn't bother with anything custom for a while. He would need to gather the materials and all that first, which would probably take a decent time, as well as finding someone who could actually make it all into something decent.
"It's all paid for!" Orith spoke with a smile, walking over to the trio. Kurose took a look behind him, noticing the shopkeep glaring at Orith as he lay slumped against the counter.
Just what had happened over there?
"It will not come out of your funds, so I do believe we are ready to move on. Amarita said we are to try and get you both to as high of a level as possible, whilst letting you learn about your weapons, correct?"
"She did Orith." Woodrow confirmed with a nod. "I suppose it's time for us to go out into the forest. There should be plenty of things to get these two used to it, so let's get moving! Time is counting down, and I would much rather be back in the castle at a reasonable time than face Amaritas wrath."
As the group of four left, and the sound of the door closed, the blacksmith realized something.
"He never told me what he meant!" He let his head rest against the table, his hands covering his mouth as he let out a muffled shout.
They were quickly shuffled out of the city with Kurose barely having the time to look at the surroundings before he found himself in the forest. Hopefully he would have time to look at the city when they went back.
"So… what am I actually supposed to do?" Kurose asked with a frown. "Do I just… punch stuff until it's defeated or something?"
"I'm not sure." Eorna spoke with a shrug.
"Hm, that's a good question." Orith spoke, thinking about it. "Woodrow, any solutions?"
Woodrow seemed prepared for that, already holding a small disc in his hand.
"Yeah, take this." He said moments before launching the disc towards Kurose.
It sailed through the air, hitting his head before falling to the floor, with Woodrow earning a small glare from Kurose. He at least looked sheepish, with Kurose shaking his head.
"Could have done with a bit more of a warning…" He grumbled.
Despite that, he reached down, picking up the small wooden disc. He felt like he had seen something like this before, but his mind just wasn't cooperating.
"What is this?"
"It's a Charme." Woodrow answered easily. "A basic Charme with a simple spell on it. Should be easy enough for you to activate it, just try and channel your mana into it."
So this is what those wooden discs were, from when he was summoned… Now that he had a closer look at them, they didn't look like much.
"...And how do I do that?" Kurose asked, feeling pretty stupid.
"Ah, forgot you're not from here. Just push your mana into it."
"...And how do I do that?" He asked once more. Did he just have to focus on the Charme super hard or something?
"Hm… Well no point holding out on it. Might as well help you get started. Just give me a moment, should be in here somewhere…" He dug around the pouch, seeming to shift stuff around inside of it.
After a few more moments, he took out a small, glowing stone, showing it to Kurose.
"Found it! Now, before I give it to you, please don't absorb it into your weapon. It's rather expensive, and I need it to assist others."
"What is it?" Kurose asked curiously, looking at the stone.
"Something to help people feel their mana better. Mainly used for helping people feel mana for making enchanted accessories."
Kurose nodded his head, and Woodrow placed the glowing stone into Kurose's hand. Once it touched his hand, it seemed to glow brighter, almost blinding Kurose.
That wasn't the only thing though. Something felt off to Kurose, but he couldn't say what it was
"Seems like it's working." Woodrow spoke with a nod as the glowing stone's light began to fade. Kurose handed it back to him, and Woodrow continued on. "Did you feel anything?"
"Yeah, I did." He confirmed. "Im… I'm not sure how to describe it." He spoke honestly.
"No need to. As long as you actually felt something then it's all good. Now try grabbing that feeling again, and push it into the Charme."
Kurose nodded his head, taking a breath. It took a few moments for him to capture that feeling again, but once he got it, he did as Woodrow said, pushing it into the Charme.
As Kurose was doing that, Woodrow spoke once more. "Now, whilst normally any mage would be started off with a simple spell, primarily one to make a small source of light, considering your status, and your need to be able to fight immediately, I have elected to… skip ahead a few steps."
Kurose nodded his head slightly, and watched as the bar labelled Mana stopped, draining to about three quarters before stopping.
Woodrow held out his hand, and Kurose passed the Charme back to him. The wizard inspected it for a moment, seeming happy with its current state before passing it back.
"Good job. Looks like you've got it down." He spoke with a grin. "Now, just point the Charme at a tree and focus on it. Some words should appear in your mind. Just repeat them, yeah? And be careful with the Charme. Don't want to snap it or anything."
Kurose nodded his head slowly, making sure he was focusing on the Charme in his hand. As he took a breath, some words appeared in his mind, which he spoke out loud.
"Piercing Ray: Mega"
A small bolt shot out of the Charme, hitting into the tree before disappearing almost immediately.
Kurose looked at the tree. Before taking a closer look at the tree. A small amount of smoke came from where the bolt had hit, but it didn't seem to have done much else.
"So much for it being a piercing ray…" Kurose complained to himself quietly.
"Eh, it's probably due to your level." Woodrow answered, obviously having heard his complaint. "If you raise your level, it will probably be more effective. Plus you're using the lowest tier, it's to be expected."
"Lowest tier?" He remembered different tiers being mentioned in Magic Reinforcement, so he continued on. "Is that what the Mega part was about?" Kurose asked him, earning a nod in response.
"Yeah, it is. Good to see you picked up on that." He spoke with a grin. "I'll talk about it some more tomorrow, when I've got you both. But for now, just focus on using that and getting a feel for your mana, alright?"
Kurose could live with that. Whilst it wasn't like most spellcasting systems he had read or heard about, it still seemed pretty interesting. He was feeling pretty excited about tomorrow, being able to learn more about magic.
Though that would likely change when he was actually doing it.
"Alright, that's fine with-" Kurose cut himself off as he felt something bump into his shoe.
He quickly looked down, noticing that a round, spinning top looking thing was what had caused it. It bumped into him again, and Kurose noticed his health drop slightly. It wasn't a concerning amount by any means, but it was still damaging him.
"Huh, thought it would have taken a little bit longer before anything actually appeared." Woodrow spoke.
Kurose looked towards the wizard, but he didn't seem inclined to do anything about the creature attacking him, instead watching him intently.
With a sigh, he lifted his leg before bringing it down towards the creature as it moved towards him once again. His shoe connected with it, and with a slightly satisfying sound, it was sent flying back a small distance.
It wobbled for a moment, seeming to regain its balance before locking its eyes onto Kurose, which he found weird. It seemed almost annoyed that Kurose had kicked it, which he found a bit ridiculous. It had attacked him first!
He pointed his Charme towards the overgrown spinning top, speaking as he did.
"Piercing Ray: Mega" The Charme activated, and it shot into the center of it. It continued moving for a few more moments before coming to a stop directly in front of Kurose.
He turned towards Woodrow, who had an amused look on his face, but did not seem inclined to explain why. With a sigh, he lowered himself down and picked up the creature. He moved it towards his amulet,
Spinling Parasol 0/5
(Abilities Locked) Equip Bonus: +2 Agility
So that's what it was called, a Spinling? He thought to himself before shaking his head, focusing on the weapon.
It hadn't really struck Kurose up until now just what constituted as an Accessory, but looking at the pop up made him think.
There really are quite a few things that count as an Accessory… Amulets, bracelets, rings, even parasols…
Whilst he was thinking, another pop up appeared.
Exp 1
Kurose's own experience bar read two. It seemed like it was going to be pretty easy to level up, during the early levels at least. He could imagine the later levels requiring a ton more experience, kind of similar to any sort of MMO.
He looked over to Eorna, who had a dead Spinling in front of her. That was likely where the other bit of experience had come from.
"Hey Kurose!" Eorna spoke with a smile. "How about we see who can take out the most Spinlings?"
Kurose wanted to reject it, seeing as Eorna had a proper weapon, whilst he had a Charme which he would likely run out of Mana for if he kept using it. But he didn't exactly want to disappoint her.
Plus he would level up a bit out of this, so he might as well take part.
"Sure, don't complain when I win though." He responded, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Oh you're on! I'll definitely beat you!" She spoke happily.
Beside them, a bush rustled. The pair looked at each other for a moment, before Eorna dived towards the bush, whilst Kurose pointed his Charme at it, a smile on his face.
[Accessory World Info]
Today's Info will be focused on the Holy Accessory. The other two weapons will have their information posted at a later date, when they become more relevant.
The Holy Accessory, much like any other Holy Weapon, has four power up methods as shown in the chapter. As with any other legendary Weapon, it can also use the methods of its vassal, or in this case Lesser, weapons. If only Kurose believed that he could use Skill and Magic Mastery a bit more…
As for what the Holy Accessory can turn into, that would be anything that falls under the definition of Accessory. This ranges from Parasols to Amulets. Whilst a majority of these forms are not really made for fighting, that is where the Holy Accessories stats come into play.
Its primary focus is magic, however the Accessory has plenty of skills to buff its allies, as well as disrupt its foes, which will be revealed as we continue further through the story..
[End of Accessory World Info]