“Why the rush? I bet I can get you much better spells than what’s offered on the tenth floor,” Fintan commented as he followed Cal up the stairs. “The best are usually found in the stores on the Main Street. They only come here when they can’t be sold at higher prices.”
That’s precisely why I came here.
“Price is the most important factor for me,” Cal replied as they approached the tenth floor. The stairs abruptly ended even though there were floors higher than this. It wasn’t a surprise since he had seen this before, but still, the same thought appeared in his head.
How do you get to the higher floors?
“Money is an issue? But the custard…” Fintan sounded like he couldn’t fathom what he was hearing. “How about I treat you to whatever spells you want as a gift?”
Cal turned back to give him a strange look. “Why are you so insistent on paying for me?”
“You are a guest to my city. It’s only right that I treat you so you have a good impression,” Fintan said innocently.
Cal shifted slightly to let others pass by as weak connections were made in his mind. He had cared little about the hierarchy within Lumina, which was a given since he barely cared about that in the core guild itself.
“You wouldn’t happen to be Fintan Gane, would you?”
Fintan blinked. “How did you know?”
“… I had a hunch,” Cal said dryly. “Again, I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to pass.” When Fintan’s expression fell, he added, “You can treat me to lunch the next time I come to the city.”
The Gane Family owned so much of Lumina that their members had started calling it ‘theirs.’ It must have been with the blessing of the Celestial Order since it had been the status quo long before Cal had entered the guild.
Cal had never heard of Fintan, but that was expected if the man had always been stationed in the Registry Office. He never went near a place like that in his first life and never had a reason to. However, a member of the Gane Family in a dead-end station still had some sway.
It made some vague ideas form in his mind.
“Great! I have a restaurant that I’m trialing, and it meets almost all of my requirements! The only thing that is lacking is the drink options, but I’ll tell the—”
His eyes almost glazed over, listening to Fintan’s excited rambling.
Why do I get the feeling Fintan is starved for acquaintances?
“—are you coming to the city again?”
Cal snapped back to the present. “I have no concrete time planned yet, but I’ll drop by your office when I visit again.”
“Well, you have to since you need to fill out the form on arrival, but I get what you’re saying. It’s a plan, Farming Initiate—er, Cal,” Fintan changed how he addressed Cal at the pointed look aimed at him.
“It’s a plan,” Cal repeated back to him with a nod. “Now, I really do need to buy these spells and leave as quickly as possible. I shouldn’t be away from my station for too long.”
“Ah, I see. Understood,” a knowing look appeared in Fintan’s eyes.
Cal had no clue what Fintan ‘knew,’ but he wasn’t about to question if it stopped with the interruptions. He gave Fintan a slight nod and turned to scan the options on the tenth floor.
There were no stalls to be seen due to the nature of what was sold here. The guild mandated that any place that sold spells and included simulacra be required to have private, separated rooms.
Attempting to absorb a simulacrum was a private matter for most. Cal personally didn’t care—in his past life or the current one—but he would use it to his advantage. He wanted to absorb two simulacra today, and doing so successfully in public would attract even more attention than he already had from the guild.
It took me days to acclimate to the lightning element when I was a [Mage]. If it’s known that I casually absorbed both lightning and water simulacrum today, the guild might decide to groom me as its next leader.
Cal shook his head slightly as he ignored the stores displaying their services proudly. Fintan wasn’t wrong when he said that the best spells were found in individual boutiques. Still, there were different levels of quality to be found even on this floor.
The spells with the most useful base effects were found at the storefronts closest to the entrance to the tenth floor. The further one ventured into the depths, the worse the base effects of the spells generally were. It also meant the spells were cheaper.
I have enough experience to manipulate an element to my needs without a quality spell manual. The guild provides the simulacra for free, and thankfully, they are the same no matter the quality of the spell.
He started to make his way down the narrow street. The nature of the services on this floor meant there wouldn’t be many customers. Only guild Initiates could purchase something here, and such people weren’t plentiful in the first place.
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Other than Cal and Fintan, only a few stragglers could be seen as they hunted for cheap deals.
“I can’t believe I’m actually on this floor,” Fintan muttered behind him, disgust easily recognizable.
Cal turned his head to see him looking around with anger. “Is it below you to be here, Fintan?”
“They take money from me to keep their unprofitable businesses alive,” Fintan glared at a confused shopkeeper. “So yes, it’s below me, especially when they look at me like they’re innocent.”
Cal stopped in his tracks, turning fully to stare at him. “Sorry, but you are paying for all of this?”
Fintan’s face flushed as he glanced away. “Well, technically, yes. My family is funding it, so it’s basically the same thing.”
That answers how this place never closed with such a small customer base.
“Right,” Cal drawled. It started to make sense why the guild let the Gane Family gather such power. It was likely a reward for family taking care of the mundane administration that comes with a city of this size.
“It’s true!” Fintan blustered.
“I believe you,” Cal nodded with false sympathy. He imagined some elder of the Gane Family speaking to a young and even more naive Fintan about how their family are the generous benefactors of Lumina.
It’s always best to start the indoctrination when people are young… I know this intimately.
“How about you return to your office?” Cal offered graciously as if he wouldn’t prefer that too. “There’s nothing interesting for you here, and I wouldn’t want to cause you more distress by making you wait here while I look at the available spells.”
Fintan hesitated, but that only lasted until he took another look at the surroundings. “As you say. Don’t forget to stop by before you leave the city, Farming Initiate Cal!”
Cal had no chance to correct the way he was addressed since Fintan rushed back to the exit like he would be cursed if he stayed any longer.
Strange man. But a good one to know in the future for my farm.
He put the brief encounter out of his mind and returned to his purpose here. There were finally no more interruptions.
Cal went directly to the end of the floor. He didn’t know if it had the cheapest spells, but it was a good bet that it did.
He walked into the store on his right. It couldn’t be called dinky—none of the stores on the floor could—but the effort to attract customers was severely lacking compared to the stores around it, let alone the ones near the entrance.
Cal was met with neat shelves lined with small booklets—the spells. They were sectioned into elements, but that didn’t mean all were present. The standard ones—ice and wind—were missing since the guild didn’t produce simulacra of those types.
“Welcome,” a bored voice droned from the counter. “Select the spells you desire and fulfill your dreams.”
He turned to see a half-asleep girl with her head propped up by her hand, elbow on the counter, and looking as uninterested as can be in her current situation. She couldn’t have been more than twelve years of age.
“… You’re the only one here?” Cal asked with confusion.
The girl looked around at the empty store before locking eyes with him. She just stared.
“Alright then,” Cal muttered as he looked away. It wasn’t any of his business, and he wouldn’t allow himself to get pulled into another thing that might delay him.
He scanned the section for lightning spells and selected the cheapest one without looking at the spell's effects. He would absorb the lightning simulacrum and relearn [Lightning Strike] from memory.
The cost doesn’t matter for this. Let’s see if there’s anything useful in the water spells.
Cal moved to the water section and actually read the descriptions below each stack of booklets. Some should be ashamed to be called water spells, especially one called ‘Water Sparkle.’
Water Sparkle
Description: Makes water shimmer with a faint light.
Effect: Causes water to glow softly, providing dim illumination for a short period.
Warning: Overloading the spell will cause water to catch fire.
He could think of good uses for this spell, but having this in the fire element section would be more fitting. He shook his head and looked at the three options that would work rather well for his situation.
Water Stream
Description: Conjures a steady stream of water from the caster's hand.
Effect: Projects a continuous stream of water using the caster’s mana.
Warning: A low water element affinity will exhaust mana quickly.
Dewdrop
Description: Produces tiny droplets of water on a surface.
Effect: Moistens a small area with droplets of water, useful for nurturing plants or cooling down hot surfaces.
Warning: Expanding the spell area will require high water element affinity.
Rainfall
Description: Summons a localized rain shower.
Effect: Causes a gentle rain to fall in a small area, useful for watering a garden or creating a soothing ambiance.
Warning: Requires a high water element affinity to use.
None of these were what Cal would call perfect, but he could modify the spells to his needs. The choice wasn’t all that important in the end.
Low-level spells like these could be easily learned by trial and error. The spell booklets just allowed for faster learning, cutting the time from weeks to days.
The most important thing was to discover his affinity for the water element. That would decide how much trouble he would have with water spells in the future.
Cal grabbed ‘Rainfall’ off the shelf and walked to the counter with the two spell booklets in hand. He could feel some jitters from knowing what was coming next.
I will be happy even if I have low water element affinity. I can work around any limitation as long as I can absorb the water simulacrum.
“Rainfall and Lightning Snap,” the girl said after glancing at the booklets. “That will be sixty silver.”
Cal handed her the money without a word, refusing to get pulled into a possible conversation.
“I’ll hold onto this while you try the simulacra. You only get charged for the one you can use.” She pointed behind her at a hallway with her thumb.
How does someone so young know—NO. It doesn’t concern me.
“Thanks,” Cal gave her a short nod and walked past the counter. He entered the hallway and picked the closest of the six rooms available.
It was empty. A simple, pale blue rug in the middle of the floor added much-needed color to the mostly white space. The only thing that looked out of place was why these rooms existed.
One wall had four cutouts, and a small symbol above each one represented the element for which the guild produced simulacra.
Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning.
Cal didn’t hesitate to walk to the cutout with the lightning symbol. He would absorb this simulacra quickly before attempting to do the same with the water simulacra.