Ch.2 The 'Invincible Trio' Part 2/3

"...It kind of looks like what I was expecting.." I said as I stared at the shop right in front of me. It is a simple building with a plain and a bit run down front with a sign that had 'Ancient Scrolls Workshop' written on it.

"Well.. let's not judge a book by it's cover" I sighed a little but still entered the store..

"Excuse me.." Inside it was.. spectacular as I see it. It was definitely unique.. inside it looked like a bookshop with tons of bookshelves. On those bookshelves were tidily stored scrolls that I presume is what they sell..

"We are not open for commission.." I then heard the voice of a lady that came from deeper inside the shop..

*TAP* *TAP* *TAP*

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I tried to search for the source of the sound but found nothing noteworthy.. I turned from rows of rows of bookshelves.. until..

*BRAK*

"Ugh.." I accidentally bumped into someone and bounced back a little causing me to hit the shelves..

*BRAK!*

"Be careful. Those things are expensive.." I then heard the same voice again right in front of me this time..

"What are you doing here, girlie?" I looked up to her face and realised she was tall.. very tall for asian standards..

"A-Ah! I'm sorry..!" I immediately stood up and apologized after realising that I almost made a mess of her workshop..

"It's fine, it's my fault anyway to not be on the front desk. So, what are you doing here, girlie?" She repeated the question earlier and eyed me with an interesting gaze.. it's as if she was gauging me.

"I w-was looking for a store to find my first [Skill] as a Mage and found this place..!" I told her about the map that I was given and explained my reasons coming here..

"Really..? Not many would come here as their first pick.. but sure.." She muttered something that I couldn't heard very clearly..

"Have you got your 'affinities' checked for your Magic?" She then asked me something that I never heard about..

"Affinities..?" I asked while tilting my head and she suddenly coughed hard as if she was choking on something..

*COUGH* *COUGH*

"Umm... Onee-san..?" I subconsciously called her that as she fits to be as one.. but right after I called her that.. her nose now started to bleed..

"Onee-san!! Are you okay?!" I panicked as I saw the blood dripping down from her nose as she stared blankly onto me like she was in her own world..

'And more..' It's such a realistic conversation.. I mean I knew that they said it would be such a different experience.. just like we are really inside of their *world*.. but I never expected for it to be this good..

"*cough* *cough* I am okay.. your cuteness are just too overwhelming.." She said as she muttered something in the end with a small voice..

"Okay..? So how do I check for my affinities..?" I asked her again and now she could answer..

"As you might already know, your affinity is predetermined and one usually have more than one affinities" She said as she leads me towards the front desk. Behind the frond desk is a door that leads possibly to her workshop..

"But there are rare cases, where one would have an unique affinities and that caused them to only have one singular affinity" She went to the back with that door and shortly after came out with something right on her hand..

"There are multiple ways to check for affinities.." She said as she laid down a piece of 30 x 30 paper that looks a little brownish. The paper looked like the one that is used to make the scrolls on the shelves.

"This is the fastest way.." She then wrote something unknown onto the paper and in a split second cut it and rolled it into a scroll.

"[Magic Craft: Identification Scroll]!" The scroll then began to glow brightly but dissipated also shortly after.. somehow the scroll felt different from the other ones.

"This is an [Identification Scroll] that will check you affinities and your current status.. but what's important is the affinities" She said as she opened the scroll once again and laid them flat on the table..

"Now.. please place your hand on this scroll" I followed her instructions and calmly placed my hands on the scroll slightly pressing it down.

"Now, channel your mana inside the scroll and chant {Identify}!" She said but I didn't know how to channel the 'mana' she was talking about or even if I had any..! But I silently closed my eyes and felt my own self..

I focused my thought to feel every inch of my body.. but still I didn't understand what she was talking about.. I concentrated more and more.. until suddenly I felt it.. my soul.

'This..' It felt like a sea of unknown.. it felt exactly like how I felt in my dream.. I could feel it pouring out of my soul..

"{Identify}!" Then.. the scroll started glowing brightly.. so bright that it hurts my eyes to keep on staring at it..

"..!!!" When I could open my eyes.. I could see the room around us covered with a mirage of the night sky..

"T-This..!!" The lady seemed quite surprised at what she is seeing.. well I also am quite surprised..

After a while, the effects dissipated and finally I could see the letters right in front of my eyes..

"I-Incredible!!!" The lady was dropping her jaw as she read through those letters..

[Status:

Name: Kiseki

Race: Human

Class: Mage (Rank: F)

Level: 1

Affinity: Cosmic

Skills: None

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Dexterity: 10

Resistance: 10

Defense: 10

Mind: 10

Spirit: 10

Title: None]

'It's..!' It is my very own.. status screen. I never realised this.. but I never tried to open my status screen myself..

'It seemed pretty average..' If I didn't include.. my affinity.. it seemed like it was an unusual affinity to have..

"U-Um.. so what is my 'Cosmic' affinity..?" I tried asking the obvious question trying to snap her out of her trance.

"A-Ah! Sorry!" She seemed to finally snapped out of her trance and is back to her previous demeanor.

"Your 'Cosmic' affinity.. is definitely an unique affinity. I had never seen it and it definitely felt much more different than any normal affinities" She said after faking a cough. It definitely is very different from the concept of Magic Affinities that I knew from anime or manga or even other games.. so is it possible for me to gain my first [Skill] here..?

"Ah..! Don't be too down, girlie!" She suddenly seemed a little panicked.. Do I really look like I am disappointed..? Well I guess I am a little..

"The first [Skill] could be gained through the [Starter Scroll]! So it doesn't matter what magic affinities you have, you could still gain a starter skill based on your affinity!" She quickly explained to me.. guess she was trying to lift my spirits up.

"T-Thanks..!" I thanked her with a big smile on my face.. she seemed to be a nice person.

"Kuh! Precious..!" But she suddenly coughed out blood from her mouth..

"O-Onee-san!" It was worrying but she lifted her head and looked at me and just said..

"I'm fine!" While giving me a thumbs up..

...

"Here is the [Starter Scroll], it's great that I still has some.." She brought a plain looking scroll. It seemed similar to the previous scroll so I was a bit curious of what is inside of it.

"I'll teach you how to use scrolls now" She said and I nodded to her in confirmation that I am ready.

"When using a scroll, one of the first things that you need to know is, Is the scroll safe?" She said while picking up another scroll up from under her desk.

"Especially getting one from a dungeon or after killing a strong monster, sometimes a scroll can hold a curse which is hard to remove or even holds an active spell.. like this" She then opened the newly grabbed scroll and suddenly..

*BANG* *FLASH*

A sudden flash of bright light appeared and forces me to close my eyes.. it is so bright it felt like I was looking at the sun after I dwelled inside of my room for 2 days straight..

"Ugh.." I groaned a little after getting my eyes to successfully open..

"Sorry about that, girlie" The lady said after also able to open her eyes.

"That's why don't ever buy a scroll from a sketchy dealer.. and if you ever found a random scroll, please bring it to me first as I would like to examine them first" She said with hints of protectiveness in her tone..

"Better be safe than worried.." She muttered silently under her breath.

"To use a scroll you need to have an appropriate amount of mana. And to gain the [Skills] from the scrolls you just need to open them. Simple right?" She concluded her explanations. I mean.. it is pretty simple. Gain [Skills] from scrolls.. by opening those scrolls.

"It is simple, I guess..?" I said with a questioning tone myself.. because I never really thought it'll be that simple.

"Of course the only way to gain [Skills] is not only from scrolls that you bought, but also from repetitive training and specific maneuvers that are hidden. But those depended again on you 'talent' and of course 'luck'." She said while plastering a smile on her face. It seems that she is quite happy about something but I do not know what is it. But I'll try to ignore them.

"Here try it for yourself!" She handed me the [Starter Scroll]. It felt really fragile like it could crumble any minute..

"Let your mana flow to the scroll and open it" She directed me and once again.. I tried to reach for that feeling.. The feeling of the vast unknown sea.. it is flowing gently out of my soul and into the scroll..

With that I could feel the scroll shaking and shining a bit once I saw it. And so without a que I opened the [Starter Scroll]..

*FLASH*

[Player 'Kiseki' Has Successfully Obtained Skill The Skill: Magic Bullet (Rank: F)]

I could read the panel of message right in front of my eyes. It seemed that I learned the basic skill [Magic Bullet] which is still ranked 'F'.

*WHOOOSHHH*

"For a Mage, the most basic skill you can obtain is [Magic Bullet]. It is the easiest skill to use and the most suitable for all beginners." She explained after the [Starter Scroll] was burned away into nothing..

"To use the skill, you only need to say the name of the skill while imagining your mana into it." She said as I was deep in my thought.

"Then, how can I gain skills related to my affinity, Onee-san?" I asked her about something that has been bugging my mind.

"For affinity related [Skill].. you need to gain them as your level increases and your job rank increases or outside information such as a teacher or a.. [Grimoire]" She said something at the end which is quite intriguing. A [Grimoire] huh.. well it's all interesting!

"I see.. thank you, Onee-san! I don't know how I can repay you!" I said to her with a big smile.

"Hahahaha! It's fine, I'll let is slide for now! Just watching you is enough for the payments!" She laughed while smiling brightly as she patted my head.

"I- I see.." I was quite flustered.. after all I still haven't been able to get quite used with my new identity..

"Then, you should go back to the [Wayfarer's Association]'s building again.. after all you came here to get a [Skill] to pass the inspection right?" She definitely hits the right mark. I also now just remembered about Shoichi and Ichiro.. they should already be done with their own things..

"I guess you're right, Onee-san. I should head there again.." I said to her while dismissing the previous announcement panel in front of my face.

"I am gonna be going here again later!" I headed towards the exit of the workshop.. but before that.. I turned back to look at her and finally introduced myself..

"My name is Kiseki! Do not forget it, Onee-san~" I said with a playful tone.. but she seemed to be struck with a painful heartache as she clutches her chest tightly.. but after a second returned back to her previous demeanor and said..

"My name is Aine Grafon. Just call me Aine or whatever you like. I'll be waiting her as always" She also introduced herself while she smiled brightly just like a sun was shining behind her.. seeing this I myself couldn't help but smile.

"Then.. I'll see you again! Bye! Thank you for everything!" With that I exited the store with excitement. An excitement to discover.. to explore what this world has in store for us!

"Have a safe trip!" I could hear Aine-san's voice as I left and with that I cheerfully ran to the [Wayfarer Association]'s building.

...