8: Shopping

Eva and Asher were walking down a bustling street in the capital. Different aromas filled their noses and their mouths were watering. 

Asher's ears on his head caught attention but Eva flared a bit of her mana aura while flashing a smug smile at Asher and the bullies backed off.

Eva was in a blue dress with pink flower drawing while Asher wore a grey turtleneck sweater with black trousers and hands in his pocket. 

He looked tall enough to be a fifteen year old and his muscles showed through his clothes. 

"So, how does it feel to be a mage. You know, having an extra organ in your body." Asher asked.

"I never really stopped to think about it. It just came so naturally." Eva replied.

"What are we meant to buy again?" Asher changed the topic as he was feeling a little sour about it.

"Hm, let's see..." Eva brought out a shopping list from the purse she was holding. 

"Fire, Original Lightning and Darkness cultivation techniques and a bow and arrow manual, greatsword manual." 

"Where can we get these things? Knowing your father, he wants the best of the best." Asher sighed, remembering the day Robert tore up one his mother's books saying that it was trash and the poor guy ended in the hospital for half a year. 

"Let's go to Mac'belton. They have everything. By the way, I never saw you use a weapon. Which one did you choose on that day?"

"That's a surprise for later."

"Tsk, you're no fun. I hate suspense."

Soon, they reached the middle of the city where there was a large fountains in the middle of the clearing with some trees and flowers surrounding it, there was a crowd and Asher could hear the pleasant screeching sound of swords in the middle. 

"Hey, excuse me, what's happening here?" Asher asked a random person on in the crowd. 

"It's the children of one of the generals and one of the dukes. They're going at each other with swords!"

Asher immediately facepalmed and Eva started to walk away. 

"Hey, don't you look like one of them, purple eyes, four ears and white hair?" the person asked but Asher and Eva had already disappeared.

"Remind me to never go near a large crowd again." Eva spoke. 

"Agreed."

——— 

Eva and Asher walked into a little shop but the whole place expanded to the size of two football pitches when they walked in. 

There were rows and rows of books, scrolls and weapons and even monster cores! 

The reached the old man at the counter and he gave them a smile worthy of a businessman.

"Welcome to Mac'belton, what can I help you with?"

"Cultivation manuals for fire, original lightning and darkness elements and weapon manuals for archery and a greatsword." Eva spoke as she walked up to the counter.

As Eva was purchasing the techniques, Asher walked around looking at the books and everything useful. The whole place looked endless, the more he walked and sure enough, he found himself back at the counter. 

Asher knew why; Space and Time magic. The users of these type of magic were heavily looked down upon because they consumed too much mana just trying to alter reality and they never made it far in life. Building this place must have taken at least a hundred space-time mages and thousands of gold coins.

"Thanks for the purchase!" The old man spoke and Asher and Eva walked out. 

"Ha, I was right. Time was actually slowed down." Asher spoke.

The same birds were still flying at the position he left them, one green haired elf was still tripping over a stone. 

"Hm?" Eva noticed this too. "Space-time magic?"

"Yes, you finally noticed. Anyways, how about we buy some suya?"

"Suya? What's that?" Eva wondered. 

"It's a popular grilled meat they're selling on this street. Everyone loves it."

"You've been eating street food?! It's bad for your health. I'll tell–"

"Shh... Try it and you'll change your mind."

After a few minutes, Asher found a stall selling suya and he bought two. He gave Eva one and when she tasted it, her tongue danced for joy. 

"What is thisssss? H-how do the commonerssss keep thisss for themselvessss??" 

Eva was unable to say the letter 's' properly.

"It's not even spiritual meat!"

*Spiritual meat :- meat enhanced with mana and cooked with fire magic. It can help to regain mana in little quantities. Usually eaten by mages when relaxing.*

"Haha, I had a similar reaction too when I first ate it." Asher laughed.

For the next few hours, they kept trying out different meals and games in the city until it was evening. The moon had come out and sunlight was receding to the west.

"I guess it's time to go home." Eva sighed as shops and stall were closing up.

"...but... let's have some fun before we go, shall we?" Asher spoke with a dark, sinister smile. 

"I'll take 3, you take two." Eva smiled back. 

"No, whoever gets to him first gets him. Now... shall we dance, gentlemen?"

Asher turned around looking at the 5 men that had been following them around for a while now. They were all humans and judging from the knives in their hands and clothes they wore, they were bandits.

"I told you, boss! Elven women are the most beautiful."

"Capture her and kill the weird four ears boy." The one in the middle spoke, looking at Asher's ears.

"Eva... on the other hand. How about I deal with all these fools."

Asher's pupils were a very intense purple, something Eva hadn't seen since Evan and Ethan tried to court her and they were showing hints of red. 

A dark purple aura spread out from his body making the bandits' faces twitch in fear. A giant scythe appeared in his hands and in a few seconds, four of the bandits' were laying on the floor, never to wake up again. 

"M-m-monster." The man slowly muttered. The last conversation he had with his old man was argument over who ate the last loaf of bread in the house.

He stood rooted in place. His legs were shaking and he wanted to run but... he couldn't. 

"Say hi to the Hades, fool." 

~SLASH!~