Shoba POV
Knock-knock-knock...
"Come in," spoke a raspy voice from the other side of the door. Shoba turned the rusty knob to clockwise before he gently pushed the door open.
He stepped inside with a curious glint nestled within his gaze, dutifully surprised to find himself inside of a homely-looking abode. From his initial look, this place seemed to blend an old aesthetic kind of decor, with a surreal mystical ambiance, reminding him of some kind of fabled cottage, just like the ones he used to read growing up.
'It's a strange feeling remembering all of that now.' He thought to himself, the more he observed the more intrigue started to bloom into wanderlust.
The medium-sized space was furnished with vintage tables and chairs, and a kitchen stove built into the stone wall. Seated against the reachable shelves and short-footed wooden table, an unusual amount of wicker fruit baskets, and lastly, the thing which caught his attention the most, an unmissable black iron cauldron placed at the far end of the room. His gaze brushed against the walls, noticing rows of shelves laden with books, jars of various liquids, salts, mishappen crystals, and even peculiar animal bones lined against them.
If Shoba hadn't been attentive, he might've believed he had somehow been transported into a mysterious fairy tale. The kind of which one might find the obvious cliches, castles, witches, and whimsical little animals running around. As Shoba took in his surroundings, his attention was swiftly drawn to the room's sole occupant. An elderly woman with a slight hunchback seated beside that large ominous cauldron he noticed beforehand.
Silver curls cascaded down her back, contrasting with her dark and linty robes. Sensing his presence, she casually twisted around on her stool, finally revealing her face to the inquisitively watching Shoba.
'Huh-what's up with her eye?' Was his first thought, His heart skipped a beat the moment he noticed the sight of her heterochromatic eyes, one a bright amber-brown colour, and the other an unmissable golden grey, that seemed to swirl with an otherworldly light. The moment their gazes met, a chilling sensation shot through Shoba's head, his body almost tensed up immediately, followed by a swell of pain against his forehead, and his limbs went cold, petrifying almost as if shards of ice wedged into his joints. This eerie feeling mirrored the daunting encounter with that fishbowl-headed guardian he remembered darkly. The more that golden eye beheld him the more terrible this callous feeling moved throughout his body, in a few minutes Shoba's entire body was covered in cold sweats.
He felt his knees buckling and was forced to swiftly adjust his footing by holding onto the nearest wooden stool he found not too far away from his left hand. Just when he thought his body was on the verge of failing him.
"Oh my...I completely forgot," the old lady murmured, quickly concealing her golden eye with a sweep of her silver hair. The oppressive force binding Shoba dissipated instantly, allowing him to catch mouthfuls of breath thankfully. Panting heavily, he stumbled backward in fright, lazily knocking over a few of the fruits on the way. Once he found his back pressed against the door, his eyes sat observantly wide filled with a mixture of fear and confusion.
"Wh-wh-what the hell was that!" He managed to heave between heavy breaths.
The old woman appeared unfazed by the dramatic effect her gaze had on Shoba, her demeanor remained as casual as if she had merely brushed against a flower by mistake.
"Oh don't be so dramatic Little Su, It wouldn't be the first nor the last time you mistakenly looked into my eye now would it fufufu" She made a sound between a peal of deep laughter and a cackle. The tiny hairs against his arm stood tall, but his nerves did settle the moment he was beginning to feel control returning to his body. His thoughts were filled with a slight bit of understanding.
'Li-little Su? She must be... Granny Baba? That little girl mentioned her before. And judging by her appearance and the overall decor of this place. My guess is...She's an Arcanist as well!' Excitement swiftly overcame his fearful thoughts upon making that connection The old woman swiftly moved her attention back to the large cauldron before her. Shoba held no time to steady himself from that previous attack as he was quickly summoned by the old woman once his breaths had quietened down.
Armed with shaky legs, he carefully approached her from an angle. A few steps away from the cauldron he was starting to pick up on an overpowering scent, it reminded him of burning mint only it was so rich it tickled his nostrils. It was an odd smell but it wasn't the worst thing he had smelt before. The old lady held her withered hand over the cauldron and sprinkled a blueish-white dust into it.
'Is she making a potion?' he thought with intrigue drawn across his serious face, he could still remember a few fictions detailing magic and potions. And the cauldron was the clearest give away he needed to make that connection
His cautious stare instantly changed into one of curiosity. With one hand propped against the lower side of his face, smoothing his chin. He stood there marveling at the brewing of the bubbling liquid inside of the heated cauldron.
"I'm guessing that sweet girl Briallah was taken by the Order then? How does that make you feel Little Su" the old woman suddenly asked him
'Briallah? Why's she bringing her up all of a sudden, hmm is this a test? Crap I hope not, how would Suta react?' Suta started going over what might be a reasonable response, but then he would second guess, and end up scrapping the vision of that.
'This old woman hasn't figured it out already, has she? No th-that's impossible...bu-but is it? She's an Arcanist maybe a strong one for that matter, damn it damn it what do I do.'
There was way too many possibilities and unknown paths which he held no real understanding of right now, unable to think of a single correct response in this situation, Shoba merely scratched the side of his head, wearing an ugly smile before a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
'Wait! I should just respond naturally, that girl and Suta were friends, so it only makes sense he would feel somewhat down, it wouldn't be a stretch that he missed her...maybe?'
Shoba massaged his temples gently a little more, he steadied himself and went over the question a few more times in his head. After another short few moments, he cleared his throat before a nervous chuckle broke free from his lips
"I felt regret deep down, b-but it was the right decision for her to leave" He replied as earnestly as he could.
The old woman removed her gaze away from the cauldron and stared at him deeply. Feeling her somewhat intense gaze piercing into his side caused Shoba to shift his eyes away cautiously.
'Crap! W-was that the wrong move? What else could I have said? Or is this Suta fellow the quiet and shy type?' There was no way he could accurately guess these things.
But after a tense few moments, a surprisingly warm smile creased against the old lady's aged features.
"Hm-mm, good-good. That's how a man should be Little Su. He should be honest with how he feels. Now then, hand me that jar of Dragon Snail dust over there, the one with the glowing dark root sticking out of it."
Suta followed the direction of her pointed finger, noticing a few jars placed on the nearest table to his right-hand side. With measured footsteps he gently moved towards the jars, scanning them over briefly before he noticed one in particular with a strange glowing stalk pulsing in and out. Also taking a closer look he noticed what looked somewhat like black sand layered at the bottom of the clear jar.
'Glowing roots? And I guess this is the dust? Dr-dragons Snail heh this world is quite intriguing, to say the least.'
He picked up the jar carefully before carrying it over to the Old woman seated by the cauldron. Granny Baba accepted the jar without so much as giving it a second glance before pouring it into the cauldron. Her gaze seemed so engrossed in the bubbling solution in front of her.
"This is my very own cognitive restoration potion, and it's as pure as one could find around here. Listen those merchant fogies will sell a small vial of this stuff for about 700 sails, pfft. Who in their right mind can afford that around here? I tell you, I sell these for a quarter of the price little Su, and towns folk always come back hehehe."
Suta's brow lifted, catching a clear insight into why she was excited about brewing a potion.
'Potion? So I was right, she was brewing a m-magic potion'
Shoba swallowed a nervous gulp whilst his mind began racing with possibilities.
"Granny...wh-what's a cognitive potion used for?" He couldn't help but ask, gradually he found himself being drawn to the realms of these mythical things like a moth was to a flame. Never in all his years could he have imagined witnessing such marvels.
The old woman raised a single finger before gently tapping it against her temple.
"To restore the mind Little Su. To normal people, it helps them cure most head pains and discomforts, especially the night curses and bad wards eating up at their dreams. But to an Arcanist...fufufu well, let's just say this is somewhat like liquid gold, especially to an arcanist trying to raise their mentality. One of the hardest things anyone could do by the way"
'Mentality ey, I see. I guess that must be some sort of mental energy. That does fit into some of the fictional tales I read about magic users. The mentality was usually the span of which one's mental prowess could operate.'
Suta remained half paying attention, whilst at the same time trying to formulate a clear understanding of what he was witnessing. Taking in every detail from Granny Baba and her very stereotypical workshop he was reminded again about this strange world he had awoken into.
A cloud of black smoke started to rise away from the pit of the cauldron, Shoba was alert and unconsciously took a step back but a little of the smoke fumes filtered into his nostrils, causing his brow to rise, catching a whiff of that familiar minty scent sent a noticeable change within his thoughts. He felt clarity restoring itself, his breathing noticeably became more measured. And those swirling thoughts had started to slow. He caught hold of a memory. He could see the world through a different set of eyes, a youthful boy with bright pink scruffy hair. Skin bronze and dark from the beating sun above. Wiping the sleep away from his eyes, the child stared at the open emerald sea. His world was rocking slowly, the smell of sea salts brushed through his nostrils. A woman bound in a dark robe beheld his little body. Half of her features were concealed beneath a stiff shroud of darkness. But her pink lips shone like fresh veal. The corners of her pretty mouth curved upwards. And she mouthed something, before creasing a toothy grin.
While his mind whirled with thousands of thoughts, he hadn't immediately caught on to the blank stare the old Lady was beholding him with. After a brief silence, Granny Baba's voice broke through the empty air.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
"Little Su? Is something wrong?" she asked slightly strangely
"Huh ah…n-no everything is fine." He cleared his throat after being brought back to reality. He shook his head from side to side and leaned over the cauldron in a bid to conceal his internal surprise. The minty scent was growing more potent and he started to see small orange sparks igniting in the black cauldron.
"Wh-whats it doing" he asked her slightly timidly
"Oh, the potion's almost done. The cartilage from the harpy's bones is being burned from the inside out. Give it a little more time and the bone will be completely dissolved into a mucky paste.
We can use that paste it leaves behind to brew black ice which works well to control the fiery blossom plants we grow. Remember what I always tell you Little Su, there is no piece of ingredient that isn't useful. Especially to people like myself."
Shoba noticed an ugly smile creased against her wrinkled features. Like an evil villain devising a world-ending plot.
'I see where the little girl gets her mischievous nature from. He thought to himself reminded of that same kind of smirk on the blue-haired girl.
"Oh right, tell me all about the trip to the Order's temple...how did it go? Considering you're back here my guess is not too well?"
Shoba held a pondering silence for a short while until flashes of the time he spent within that temple came rushing back to his thoughts.
'At that point, I hadn't remembered most of what I knew now, so I don't remember a great deal of everything that took place. Although how could I forget that asshole kid who was an S rank, and that G-goddess.'
He shivered recalling that shining light and that being with a pale horn shaped like a mythical ram. But her scarlet blood soaked eyes were by far the most intriguing and dangerous-looking thing about her.
"Oh...ah, it was...interesting to say the least. I-err...this is my badge-look"
Taking the initiative this time around he held out his hand and summoned the floating dark badge into existence again. The small area around his open palm filled with tiny pops of static before the dark particles conjured the badge.
As expected, the old woman held a questioning stare whilst she observed his dark badge.
"Hm...how intriguing," She mumbled finally removing her attention away from the cauldron. "Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. I've never seen one with a color devoid of that...unless..." Granny's voice trailed off into a deep thought, with deep-set brows in place she studied the badge closer with a strange coldness in her glare. Shoba sucked in his doubts, dreading even thinking showing her this was somewhat a good idea.
"Is...something wrong?" Shoba eventually asked slightly brokenly, despite really trying to avoid causing anything that might give away his true identity. Suta wanted to take this chance to attempt to find out a little more about this badge, and perhaps some of the origins of this Raito Suta fellow.
"Hard to say Little Su, but your badge color changed from bronze to...well to that. And then there are those weird characters around your skillset and affinity. Suppose I wasn't 100% certain that the spell breaker ward I've placed around this farm wasn't considered one of my strongest incantations. I might've suspected you weren't Little Su, and someone in disguise buahaha!"
Shoba smiled crookedly, trying to hide just how startled he was inside by hearing her say that.
'My God!' He inwardly screamed hoping his fast-beating heart couldn't be heard.
"Never mind, I did suspect those damned priests would do something strange... sigh . Don't worry Little Su, the nature of these so-called Adventure Badges is a farce anyway. They're more like some kind of strange attachment, like a way of branding their so-called favorites."
Hearing that drew Suta's curiosity, considering he internalized similar thoughts
"Wh-what do you mean Gr-Granny." He forced himself to say a little awkwardly, which in turn drew a strange look from the old woman in return.
"You've heard what they say about the origin of skills right? Or have you already forgotten those years you spent training underneath one of those poxy starter guilds? Little Su"
'Hm? Starter Guilds did she say, and did she mention my badge used to be bronze?'
Suta wore a look of deep confusion in silence, failing to multi-task his outward appearance from the thoughts he juggled internally.
"Hmm, did you fall from the top of the oak tree again Little Su? Dear oh dear, you need to learn how to tell that mischievous girl no. sigh, where was I. Oh right, Before Arcanists took a liking to the particular intricacies of the awakening ceremonies. It was widely believed one couldn't learn special skills without going through the first baptism (First awakening- takes place between ages 5-12). But turns out it's not the be-all and end-all. Although it makes it twice as hard to learn skills without going through the initial baptism, it's not impossible. All you need is an Arcanist who's versed in the principle of Enchantment. Heh-heh, that's all their oh-so-benevolent Golden Goddess is anyway when you dig deep enough. Just one eternal enchantress."
Suta tried to steel his nerves and contain the strange things being told to him about that Goddess.
"Don't be fooled by all the Gold you saw...that 'thing' is as pure as I am young buahaha." The old lady cackled again, her high-pitched voice splintering into his ears. There was a sudden stillness within Shoba, a crackled fragment of another memory slowly repairing itself before it gently fitted into a missing puzzle that had somehow gone lost for far too long.
'That night...When Ringo was being taken away...n-no, when she chose to leave! That being beside her, the one with the horns...it was her! It was that Goddess I saw in the temple.'
Shoba felt a terrible wave of nausea rushing through him, his breaths started to rise and fall loudly. Sweat beaded against his forehead, as he felt his fingertips stiffen with a mixture of sadness and anger forming a flash of white fire deep in his bosom. Thankfully, the fumes from the potion brewing were still filtering into his nostrils, and without choice his mind was being freed from its shackles of anger.
'Goddess...Go-ddess...'
His mind suddenly felt vacant, how could he have not seen it before? It was staring him right in the face. 'That's why I felt so opposed to that being in the church? But if that is the same goddess...where is Ringo?'
"H-h-how do I find the God-dess?"
His mouth moved before his mind had enough time to process what he was saying.
Oh crap!
Granny Baba gave him a confused look, her head slightly tilted before asking him.
"Why would you want to find the Goddess for Little Su?"
Struggling to formulate a coherent response, Shoba found himself grappling with a tumult of half-formed excuses. "I understand the confusion you must be feeling," Granny interjected with a hint of empathy tinged against her voice.
"But heed my advice—steer clear of the Golden Dawn's Laws! Little Su, their deities, and the fervent disciples are fellows you want no business with. If you heed anything from what I'm yapping about then heed this. Avoid those who pledge their allegiance to the Golden Dawn of Gold.
The declarations on your badge hold no weight to your future; it's the purity of your heart that truly matters. If I had known those damned priests were up to no good, I might've advised against you spending as much time as you did when you were younger...sigh...but alas it was the will of your... Anyway Should you ever consider aligning with a faith, I'd suggest the Towers of Annihilation over any other."
'Towers of annihilation? That name in itself doesn't fill me with any positives, to be honest.'
"Ah, let me tell you about the days of my youth Little Su, scaling the tower of Ugos, Ah! what a time Little Su what a time. It was such a marvelous place for young hopefuls in those days, especially if you were daring enough to climb each level that made your life harder the higher you climbed. Ahhh-How times have evolved."
Relieved that the old woman hadn't detected his true origin, Shoba's thoughts shifted towards leveraging her knowledge of the arcane to strengthen his abilities, he quickly understood this was another opportunity for him. One that could've possibly been set up from the beginning by that fishbowl-head alien.
'She's my best chance at understanding not just Arcane, but this entire wide world. I wonder just how much influence that whatever guardian has in all of this. And judging by what Granny said about that Goddess. They aren't as pure as what you'd expect' Shoba studied what he could do at this point, and the obvious answer was simple. Listen...and learn.
'She'll no doubt be the key to becoming stronger, so I just need to make sure I'm not being too weird.'
A newfound determination welled up within him and with renewed confidence, he began to scrutinize the room a bright set of eyes, particularly drawn to the myriad of books lining the shelves.
Realizing Grannys connection to the magical realm of Arcane, he speculated that these books might hold the foundational knowledge of magic and Arcane that he sought. The challenge, however, lay in broaching the subject without arousing further suspicion, especially considering the peculiar glances he'd already received from both Demoria and the old woman when he showed a small interest into Arcane.
' This tells me that either this Raito Suta boy held no real interest in the subject matter or...he couldn't learn or understand it somehow?"
Shoba steadied his nerves, adjusted his attire, and cleared his throat soundly.
"Granny Baba, I...I wish to delve deeper into the arcane arts," he announced abruptly.
Baba paused suddenly, her stare seemed to contain a lot of things, one of which Shoba soon discovered was...amusement. Soft heckles filtered from her mouth into a hearty laughter breaking the tense silence around the room.
"You want to learn the Art Little Su? Buahaha-oh dear- Have you been tampering with my toxic berries again? I told you already those things can erode your memories over time. I thought you had outgrown that habit of eating whatever you want you little scoundrel.
I recall that brat Demoria calls them Forgetme Berries for that very reason."
Suta's brow furrowed a little, he couldn't help the growing annoyance festering within. ' I mean, it cant be that funny can it?'
Her jovial tone shifted as she continued,
"Most important of all, don't tell me you've forgotten the frailties plaguing your body, Little Su?"
Upon hearing that Shoba's mind started to race.
'Wait what.. D-d-did she just say infirmities…as in diseases? What the heck is wrong with this boy's body!'
He felt a small panic repeatedly blinking before he stared into the old lady's almond-shaped eye for answers.
The sympathetic look in Baba's eyes did little to reassure him, suggesting that his physical condition 'was far from trivial.
'Damn it Suta what the hell is wrong now?'