Volume 13 Chapter 2 The Strange Happenings At Open Air Market
Disappointed with regular shops, Al headed to the Open-air Market in the slums of border city Parker. The place was crowded and lively but didn't seem very safe, with people shouting and arguing. Still, Al, who had trained as a scout in the capital's slums while in middle school, was used to it. Following Madoc's advice, he searched for promising shops using a magic-sensing spell, as he had for Lara's shop in border city Lester.
After nearly two hours, he finally spotted a narrow alley past a crumbling arch, where an old man ran a stall with various junk and magic tools on display.
"Hello, uncle."
Al cheerfully greeted the old shopkeeper who was arranging his items. Selling spellbooks without approval from the magician's guild isn't illegal, but it's not something you can do openly. Just like Lara's shop, if he asked directly if they were for sale, the old man probably wouldn't admit it right away.
"Hey there! Looking for something special?"
"Yeah. I'm looking for interesting magic tools."
Al picked up one of the items on display. Among the many products laid out by the magic tool shop, only 3 were real magic tools. The rest were just junk that looked like magic tools. One of the 3 was a light magic tool, and another was a writing magic tool that Al had seen at Lara's shop. The one Al picked up was a magic tool he didn't know much about.
Seeing what Al had picked up, the old man squinted a bit and looked at him.
"You figured it out well. You look like that, but can you use magic?"
The magic sensing spell is one of the easier spells that beginners often learn. The old man probably thought Al used the spell to tell that it was a magic tool.
"Well, yeah."
As Al said this, he glanced at the magic circuit drawn on the magic tool. The first thing he noticed was the 'weight' symbol. It was even upside down. However, the arrangement was different from the 'Fly' spell that Al remembered. Now that he thought about it, it reminded him of the magic tool Orson had.
'Falling Control magic tool.'
Al's guess matched what Glee whispered. Her memory was definitely reliable. Al placed the magic tool back on the cloth. Since Al had already learned the 'Fly' spell, he didn't really want that magic tool.
"Hey, old man, what else do you have?"
The shopkeeper looked at Al with a puzzled expression.
"Did you figure it out without asking anything?"
"I've trained with magic tools in another town before."
Al pointed at each magic tool and explained what they were. The shopkeeper looked surprised and asked how he knew. Al had only studied under Lara for about 2 or 3 months, but he had learned a lot about identifying magic tools, so he rarely made mistakes.
"That's correct... So, can you tell me about this one?"
The old man, looking a bit flustered, showed Al a round, flat magic tool about 5cm in diameter. Al took it, flipping it over to examine it closely. There was a lid on the back, and when he opened it, he saw a magic stone and a magic circuit drawn inside.
"The magic circuit is small. But, with this size..."
'Sensory Boost'──Enhanced Vision
Al stared at the magic circuit excitedly. The symbols lined up there were all familiar to him. Feeling a bit disappointed, he handed the magic tool back to the old man. Then, he twisted his palm and used the 'Telepathy' spell.
'This is a magic tool for "Open Lock"... You shouldn't have something like this; it's dangerous!'
The shopkeeper's eyes widened as he stared at Al.
"R-Really? Haha, I wanted to see your skills, but it seems you really know your stuff!"
The voice echoed hollowly. It seemed the shopkeeper didn't know what this magic tool was. But with this, anyone could break into a locked room. If caught by the guards, they could be treated as a thief. The shopkeeper quickly put away the magic tool.
"Hey, do you have a spellbook?"
Al asked the suspicious shopkeeper. Surely, if he had any spellbooks, he would show them now.
"Uh, I only have... this one..."
The shopkeeper handed over a large cloth bag that had about ten spellbooks crammed inside. They were clearly in bad condition. With these, the chances of learning anything were low. Al sighed in disappointment.
"How much is it?"
"E-each one... just one silver coin, so..."
Al kept quiet about the Open Lock magic tool, sold here for only a few gold coins, unlike the official store's high prices. Since he already knew the spell, he didn't plan to tell anyone about it. He also thought one silver coin was fair for these worn-out spellbooks──gold coins would be too much. Here, haggling was different; it was more about mutual understanding than the overpriced official stores, so there was no need to get upset.
He checks the titles of the spellbooks inside. There are many he already know, like 'Magic Missile' and 'Light.' The ones he haven't learned yet are 2 volumes of the 'Sleep' spell and one volume of the telekinesis spell.
"I'll take these 3 volumes."
Al hands 3 silver coins to the shopkeeper and returns the bag with the other spellbooks.
These 3 volumes are in worse condition than the 'Fly' spellbook he bought from Lara before. However, since he had analyzed it to some extent back then, he was able to learn the official 'Fly' spell quickly when I got it later. He doesn't expect to learn these spells easily, but getting the official spellbook later might help him learn them faster.
"I heard there are some stalls in this bazaar that sell magic tools. Do you know anything about them?"
The shopkeeper looks a bit scared and stares up at Al. After thinking for a moment, he shakes his head in a hurry.
'He definitely seems to know something, right?'
Glee thinks so too, but Al feels something dangerous in the air. It might be about turf wars in the slums. Still curious, Al uses the 'Telepathy' spell on the shopkeeper again.
'Hey, just tell me what you know.'
The shopkeeper's eyes widen for a moment, and he looks away from Al. Then he starts to pack up the items he had displayed.
'Hey... you can answer 'Telepathy' just by thinking. No one around can hear us, so you can answer safely.'
Al kept asking the shopkeeper several times. The shopkeeper stopped what he was doing and stared back at Al.
"It's Alder Tree Street. Some strange people came and got kicked out. There were some who stayed and resisted, but I don't know what happened to them. That's all I know. I'm closing the shop for today. Please go home."
With that, the shopkeeper replied with 'Telepathy,' gathered all the items from his stall, and stood up with them on his back. Without saying a word, he left the place. Al thought for a moment about what to do, but he realized that calling out to him more wouldn't help.
'I'm Al, the adventurer. If you want to talk about something, I'm staying at the Rabbit Hunter Inn in the craftsman street, so feel free to visit.'
He wasn't sure what could happen, but he wanted to let the shopkeeper know. He might have gotten into a dangerous situation right after arriving. Al hoped nothing would happen as he watched the shopkeeper walk away quickly.
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