Chapter 13 - Materials Required

Basara was walking down the street, holding the list of materials his father had mentioned in his letter the day before.

"It's lucky I came early, because there are a lot more things than I thought," he commented aloud.

[List of Materials Required by the Ortigia Academy:

Magic Focus Crystals - Crystals that help channel different types of magic, such as healing, attack or defense.

Pegasus Feather - For note-taking.

Fairy Dust - Used for small enchantments and alchemical experiments.

Book of Summonings - Essential for Magical Family Relations classes.

Magic Cauldron - For alchemy classes. This item is available in various sizes and materials, from iron to gold, so the choice depends on the student.

Mystical Herbs and Ingredients - A collection of basic ingredients, such as Mandrake, Salamander's Eye and Ginseng Root.

Elemental Orb - An enchanted glass orb that students use to manipulate pure mana in controlled practices.

Ring of Focus - A magic ring that amplifies spells and protects against side effects.]

"Right... I've already got the Focus Crystals, the Feather and the Ink. Since I can apparently find the Fairy Dust in the same store as the Cauldron, the other ingredients and the Orb, I'll just have to look for a store that sells the Book of Summonings and the Ring of Focus." he said to himself, looking around. 'Besides, my father left some gold coins in the coin purse, but I'd better save the rest because the materials I bought were already expensive.'

While looking around the stores, Basara's attention was caught by an old store, nearly concealed between two more vibrant stores. The dust-covered simple shop window hinted that it had not received cleaning for months. However, if you rubbed the glass a little to remove the dust, you could see that it was a store selling mystical objects, because inside the store there were rows and rows of books.

"Can I buy my Book of Summonings here?"

He pushed open the heavy wooden door, which creaked with a hoarse sound, as if complaining about the lack of use. As soon as he crossed the threshold, the smell of the store's interior enveloped him. It smelled of burnt leather and something metallic, perhaps from a cauldron forgotten in some corner. The room was lit by magical, floating candles.

A bell rang as he entered, and Basara looked up at the small bell above the door.

The store looked even more decayed inside than out. Shelves overloaded with books and piles of mystical objects were scattered around chaotically, as if the owner had abandoned organizing them a long time ago.

"Hello?" called out Basara, taking his first steps into the silence.

For a few seconds, nothing could be heard apart from the creaking of the wooden planks under his hesitant feet. Suddenly, a rustle of fabrics caught his attention, and a figure appeared from behind a velvet curtain at the back of the store. It was an elderly man in a long, worn cloak. His small, piercing eyes analyzed Basara for a moment before he cracked a smile that revealed a single row of yellowed teeth.

The man advanced a few steps, leaning heavily on a carved stick. His gaze was sharp, but not hostile, just curious.

"Ah, new customer, eh? I see you've come in to look for something special."

"Yes, I'm looking for a Book of Summons. Do you have one?" Basara asked.

The man then pointed with his chin to the middle of the store. "There's a section at the back, on the right, just past the third aisle. In the old days, I would have shown you myself, but..." He patted his back lightly, letting out a tired sigh. "These backs aren't what they used to be."

"No problem, sir, I can go by myself," replied Basara with a polite smile.

Seeing him nod slightly, Basara started walking towards the indicated section. He counted three corridors and stopped at the room which, like the others, consisted of two shelves of dark books. Basara entered the corridor, trying to read the spines of the books. Most were too dusty for him to decipher anything. If still legible, the titles were written in archaic languages or runes.

It was then that he felt a slight movement next to him and then one book on the highest shelf came loose and fell to the floor, taking him slightly by surprise. He looked around to make sure no one was watching him and bent down to pick up the fallen book. It was thick, with a dark leather cover, but well preserved, as if it had been handled for generations.

Looking at the back cover, Basara's heart leapt a little.

'A pentagram? Could it be a demonic book?'

Basara pondered for a moment. His father had always warned him about invocations, especially those related to more dangerous entities. As such, Basara had never wanted to own a book of invocations because books like that could be fatal if they weren't treated with the proper respect. But before his mind started racing with a thousand possibilities, he turned the book back to the cover, looking for a title. And there was the title in aged gold letters:

"Compendium of Mystical and Familiar Invocations." He read it to himself.

It was exactly what he needed: a Book of Invocations. Basara let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"If it's on the list of materials, it should be safe for a sixteen-year-old to own one of these," he muttered to himself.

Then the same voice as before called out to him from the back of the store.

"I heard a sound just now, young man. Have you found what you're looking for?" It was the gentleman, the same as before, clearly struggling to see if Basara was all right, while his voice also struggled to reach a pitch that could be heard from afar.

"Yes, I think I've found it!" exclaimed Basara.

Basara held the book in one hand as he crossed the small corridor and turned the corner to go back to the store owner. When he finally reached the counter, the man looked at the book in his hands and arched a thin eyebrow.

"Ah, that one... That book has been in my family for many, many years. It's special."

"Special in a good way, right?" Basara asked, placing the book on the counter.

The man nuzzled it back towards him without even needing to leaf through it. "It depends on who's holding it," he said, with a half-smile that, if possible, seemed even more enigmatic than the store itself. "But, in my opinion, for you, it seems... appropriate."

Basara tried not to think too much about the meaning of these words. His goal was simple: to get his school supplies and prepare for classes so he could try to learn magic while also getting more Naughty Points. He didn't need to be distracted by anxious thoughts. So he pulled out the small coin purse his father had left him and started counting the gold coins.

"How much is it?" asked Basara, looking directly at the man.

The old man scratched his chin thoughtfully, as if pondering the value of the book, but then waved his hand, as if the price wasn't important. "One gold coin."

Basara handed over the coin, and the man took it with his bony fingers, analyzing it as if to make sure it was authentic. The moment he put the coin away, he said:

"I hope you make good use of this book."

Basara took the book and thanked him before turning to leave. The bell on the door jingled as he opened it again, this time to leave. So he carried on with his shopping as normal that day, with no idea that this book sealed something with far greater demonic power than Naruse Mio.

*

*

*

Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!

P-atreon.com/palmer1998

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)

In chapters R-18, there are original and exclusive images for the patreons!

Discord: https://discord.gg/2pn9Twxrng