Mark asked Natasha why she was waiting for him outside the magic shop.
“I heard that you sold a magic item.”
“Wow, your informants are extensive!”
“No, all of us in the guard station are just conscious of you and the fact that your disguise is atrocious, and remember, all the guards know you since they consider you a hero and the fact that the Star Wars movies were from you, it’s a given that any information pertaining you will immediately be known to a lot of people.”
Mark was taken aback. He was not aware that he was famous, but Natasha did mention that he was known to the city soldiers only and not by regular people.
“I sold the magic item because I wanted to know what the process was and if I was going to be taken advantage of if I’m dressed like a country boy which spectacularly failed as you mentioned. Besides, the magic item was a low-quality one without any skill. It just adds to attack speed.”
“In that case, I will need to go back to the guard station. I have a lot of paperwork to do. I would like to meet you during the weekend though, is that all right?”
“Of course! Me and the twins will be expecting you then. I was actually informed by Nedertu that Lossa would come with you and were planning to continue playing the console game.”
“We were planning to complete the game before you leave the city. I wish you could stay longer but I won’t stop you. Even at the beginning, you said that you wanted to explore the world and I wouldn’t be that girl who would foolishly ask you to stop,” Natasha said while smiling.
“You could join me you know. We will explore the world and see all of its wonders.”
Natasha just continued smiling at him and left for the guard station to complete her paperwork. They talked before about duty, so Natasha didn’t want to repeat the pointless talk. They would enjoy each other's company up until he left the city. That was their understanding.
Mark returned to his RV, but he took his time. He kept traversing the different parts of the merchant’s quarter. On one of his excursions, he stumbled on a magic bookstore that sold spells. He went inside but brought to mind Monterra’s warning not to browse any spell book, not until they started with the basics of magic. She expounded on the possible repercussions of an untrained mind trying to read spell books like the mild ones like dizziness or fainting or the more dangerous ones like insanity although those could only be brought by high-level spell books.
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He found it curious, about the concept of spell books and memorizing spells. He was not unfamiliar with it since a lot of novels and games expounded on the idea that once a spell was memorized, a wizard would be able to cast it but once he did, the memorized spell would disappear and needed to be memorized again. One of his favorite games, Neverwinter Nights had that concept. Heck, all of his favorite novels by Wizards of the Coast like the Forgotten Realms series had that system so he couldn’t wait to experience it himself.
What worried him was if his system would interfere with the concept of memorized spells and if it did, in what way.
Inside the store, an actual mage was the shopkeeper. The books were inside a shelf with a glass cover, but the names of the spells could be read outside. What made Mark a bit glad was the shopkeeper looking at him but did not bother him. He went to one of the shelves labeled as cantrips, which were the spells before level one.
The cantrip spells were familiar to him. He could see Fire Bolt, Mage Hand, Produce Flames, and even his favorite cantrip spell Prestidigitation. He could see that the displayed spells on the cases were spells just up to level two.
He went to the shopkeeper who was reading a book on the counter.
“I can see the spells were just up to level two. Is there a way for me to view higher-tier spells?”
“You will need to have certification from the city’s guild of mages.”
Mark showed the badge that was given to him when he registered.
“That’s a badge for visiting wizards. You will need to apply for a higher tier certification or have someone with you who will authorize you to purchase a higher tier spell.”
Mark thanked the man and left. He went and explored the other parts of the merchant’s quarter. He saw a toy shop and entered it. He was amazed at the mechanical toys that were displayed. There were also regular toys like dolls and carriages but the mechanical toys that were powered by mana stones were astounding. There was a dragon toy that was powered by a Mana stone, and it could actually fly, although not very high. He guessed it was to prevent the toy from disappearing.
The dragon toy actually cost as much as a low-quality magic item like the magic dagger that he just sold but he still bought it. Mark thought that the price tag of twenty Mana stones was worth it. What intrigued him about the toy was that it had verbal commands that could be keyed in and then once the command was established, only the person who owned the toy could command it to fly and land and even give directions.
At first, he thought of keeping it for himself but then again, they could just all play with it. It was a good thing that the dragon toy could have up to three keyed-in persons so that meant that the twins and himself could command it. Mark paid for the toy and when the shopkeeper was not looking, he put it in his inventory to check if it could be replicated but unfortunately, the system tagged it as a magic item and could not be replicated.
Mark saw another toy that intrigued him which was a golem toy. It looked like a stone golem and could be controlled as well when a Mana stone was put in. It was cheaper than the dragon costing only ten Mana stones. He purchased it as well and after that, he immediately left the toy store since he didn’t want to spend any more Mana stones since he had a limited number of them.