Overthinking

Spatial Magic is considered to be the most difficult magic to learn in the entire world. To the point that the only people who have access to it are hermits that have spent their entire lives in seclusion, dedicated to the study of said magic. Even then, after a lifetime of study they would only have access to the tier one spells. For magic fanatics, it was an amazing and beautiful art to be strived for, but among literally everyone else it was a waste of time.

"Impossible, it's seriously supposed to be impossible..." Naina said, her head flat on the table.

"You said that already..." Keidi said, awkwardly looking at Naina.

"I think it's kinda funny she said it again." Mia said with a smirk as she ate a second order of steamed mushrooms.

Naina ignored them though and instead sighed, pulling the rim of her witches hat over her face. Only she, Keidi, Mia, and the princess were left inside the tavern. The other half of the group had gone off equipment shopping. Naina had held herself together for the rest of the meal, but once they were gone, her energy had completely deflated from her body.

'They just don't get it...' she thought to herself as she looked at the other two women.

That man, Gorum, was something straight out of an ancient legend. Warrior mage was already an incredibly rare combo, but one of this magnitude was as singular as the sun. How could someone have achieved such a thing in a human lifetime?

'Or wait...' she thought. Gorum clearly hadn't experienced a normal human lifetime. Yes his face was young, but his soul clearly wasn't and he even eluded that he was staying young with magic. Perhaps that was it, he had already long outlived his normal lifespan in order to become a war machine perhaps? That was what made sense to Naina, at least.

"Maybe I should ask him to make me his disciple..." Naina whispered to herself in quiet contemplation. She wasn't going to get any younger and she clearly didn't have nearly the magical aptitude she thought she did. Naina was considered middle aged at this point, 35 was enough for young adults to refer to her as 'Auntie' instead of 'Miss'. It was degrading for her, she had poured all of her life into the pursuit of magic for the sake of not bringing shame to her household and despite all her qualifications she never landed a man. And it's not as if she could take over the house herself, even if she was the first born. That was because she was the first born daughter, not first born son.

'Maybe I should try and seduce him... he's odd but he's handsome and he's clearly capable..' Naina thought, her train of thought wandering as it usually did.

It's not as if Naina was a bad marriage candidate, although she was past the marrying age. She was accomplished in her own right and she wasn't ugly, a bit chubby under her robes perhaps. But there were plenty of men who wouldn't mind such a thing, especially military men. From research she had read in tabloids, such men preferred heftier women due to their softness. She couldn't remember the full article, but it was something about chubbier women having a more comforting presence.

'I wish I paid more attention to that article now.' She chuffed to herself.

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Garbage. That's all he could see when he looked at the gear in every damned store they went into. Currently, Gorum was searching for better equipment for the party, but he couldn't find anything satisfactory. It was all so low quality he could barely tell the difference between them all. Infact, he accidentally insulted a blacksmiths magnum opus by referring to it as a 'simple arming sword with a bit of engraving on it.'

But it wasn't as if he could just give them equipment from his inventory, he didn't want to over equip them and ruin the balance of this world by handing over low tier equipment that these people would consider national treasures.

"Come ooooon! Just let us buy something already!" Evan whined.

"Yeah, this is damn boring." Lana added on.

"I agree, I'd rather get back to the princess now anyway..." Olivia muttered.

"Gorum...perhaps they're right, I think your standards are too high." Ceidi said in an attempt to persuade him.

"I suppose you may be right...but it's truly astounding..." Gorum responded, putting his hand to the chin of his helm.

"Oi, if you're such a connoisseur then you should try the Cave of Trials." Spoke up a gruff voice. It was the dwarven shop keep that owned the current store they stood in. Well, the others stood, Gorum crouched.

"Cave of Trials?" Gorum inquired.

"Aye, long time ago some olden demon made a bet with some faeries. Lost the bet, had to give up his servants and his power to the faeries. And the faeries being faeries, made some elaborate prank in the form of a cave dungeon. If ye make it to the end, the demon blacksmith at the end makes ye a weapon. Should be good enough for your standards, eh?" The dwarf explained, lazily scratching himself as he spoke.

"I see, thank y-" Gorum said, but was cut off sharply.

"Hold on! How exactly do we know you're telling us the truth, hm? Dwarf?" Olivia said, with a bit of venom put into the word 'dwarf'.

"Cuz I said words ya damn hag!" The dwarf immediately rebuked.

"Hag!? How dare y-" Olivia started to argue back.

"Quiet."

And as if time stopped, both Olivia and the Dwarf shut their mouths and stared at each other with a mix of fear and surprise in their eyes. Whatever beef was between them had made them forget, there was a man who could slaughter them both standing right beside them.

"I've no patience for squabbling. Dwarf, is there anything else we should know?" Gorum asked, taking on a more authoritative tone for the first half of his speech. Gorum never liked listening to arguments, debates perhaps, but not arguments.

"Ah....aye, it'd be better if you didn't try to brute force your way if you fail the trial. The last guy who did that got cursed so bad he can't even speak without biting his tounge nor shittin' himself...y'know how faeries be..." The Dwarf said in a rather muted tone, rubbing the back of his neck as he averted his gaze from Gorum.

"Thank you, here. For your help." Gorum said, putting 5 gold coins on the counter.

"O-Oi!" Olivia tried to say something but got shut down, Gorum putting his hand up in front of her face.

"Er... you sure mate? I mean...nah, you're a good feller so I'll accept it." The Dwarf said in confusion as he slid the coins off the counter into his hand.

"Of course." Gorum said, giving the Dwarf a slight bow of his head. After that, he signaled to the others to follow him out.

"What the hell was all that!? Don't seriously tell me you trust a Dwarf!" Olivia barked at Gorum as they began walking back to the tavern. Obviously, her self-preservation shut off the moment the left the store since she was speaking so disrespectfully.

"It's because he's a Dwarf that I trust him. Allow me to tell you a stor-" Gorum said, turning around to lecture Olivia. But, something caught his eye and made him go silent. To the side of him, in an alleyway, was a young ratkin girl dressed in dirty burlap. Perhaps 6 or 7 years old, shuddering in fear as she looked up at him.

"..." Gorum merely said nothing and stared back.

Blip!

[Basic Info]

Name: Kiibiki

Race: Ratkin

Skills: [Fledgling Dark Magic]

Talents: [Appraisal]

Class: N/A

Sub-Class: N/A

[Stat Info]

Level 9

HP: 40/57

Stamina: 23/23

Mana: 309/309

Power: 4

Vitality: 12

Dexterity: 50

Intellect: 80

'Ahhh, she saw something she shouldn't have...' Gorum thought to himself. The girl clearly used appraisal and saw Gorum's devastatingly terrifying stats. This was no good, the girl could say something, so he had to act fast. But he wasn't good with children...

"Ahem...cheesed to meet you, young lady." Gorum said, with his hand outstretched for handshake as he crouched.