6 Magic

'30,000?! What the hell!? I charged Fatty for a measly fifty gold yet the true price for Face Manipulating is 30,000 gold!? So that's why he had a face that HE profited from me!'

Claude wanted to bawl his eyes out. However, the deed was already done. It's not like he could ask Jack for more money at this point in time. And should he do so, that would just be shameless.

"I overheard from my father that Face Manipulators have a three day rule. If three days have already passed, then you're not allowed to take your money back..." Jack followed up.

Face Manipulators do indeed have that rule. The three day time span serves as a type of leeway for customers. So should they change their mind within the three day time span, they could get their money back.

Gus could only heave a dejected sigh after hearing Jack's words.

After lamenting some more, Gus checked the mechanical clock above Claude's head and stood up from his seat.

"Since you guys are ready, let's go. It's already seven and the guards are about to wake up from their half-awake state."

Disguising Claude as a criminal was only his back-up plan. Besides, considering the weak security in the walls, it would be easy for a toddler to cross the border.

The duo nodded.

...

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the gate leading to Mystica Kingdom. There was a massive wall on both sides of the gate for added security.

Glancing at his back, Gus saw Fatty breathless as he try to keep up with them.

"Uncle, let's take a rest." Jack exclaimed as he tried to catch his breath.

Claude, on the other hand, felt energized. He was a lazy bum and a shut-in in his previous life, so he never experienced having a strong body like this.

"Claude, carry him," Gus ordered.

He knew for a fact that Claude had been working odd-jobs for a couple of years; most of which are hard labor. So carrying Jack should be a piece of cake for him.

With a little bit of hesitance, Claude begrudgingly nodded. He, too, wanted to know the capability of his new body. That's two birds in one stone.

With a huff and a puff, Claude carried Jack behind his back as they 'discreetly' walked through the gate leading towards Mystica Kingdom.

'Huh, who would've thought that my body has this amount of strength,' Claude thought. Even with Jack on his back, he felt like he was only carrying a pale of water.

As they walked passed the gate, Claude saw the guards sleeping soundly in their positions. When they finally crossed the border, Claude couldn't help but ask, "Hey Fatty, I overheard something along the lines of Magic from your conversation with Gus earlier, mind telling me more about it?"

In the previous owner's memories, Magic does seem to exists, however, the previous owner's knowledge about Magic is basically next to none. In fact, the previous owner seems to hate the notion of magic as a whole. Instead, the previous owner focused on 'Essence Arts'. A type of combat art that will boosts the user's combat strength the longer the usage.

Naturally, Claude knew what magic was. The reason he asked was so that he could learn more about this world.

"Huh? I thought you were an Essence Arts fanatic? Why did you suddenly have interest in magic?" Jack asked, perplexed as he wiped off the sweat forming on his forehead.

From what he knew about his friend, Claude practiced Essence Arts and seemed to have a disgusts towards magic users. Of course, Alice was an exception to that, but still.

"Hey, although your new face is waterproof, don't just wipe it willy nilly; it will disfigure your new face!" Claude warned when he saw Jack wiping his face with his bare hands, "Anyways, when I heard the power that magic users boasted, I became interested."

"But-"

"Just tell me," Claude interrupted.

Knowing that he couldn't change Claude's mind, Jack sighed in resignation as he explained, "Magic users, or Mages as we call them, are ranked from one to ten stars with ten being the pinnacle. Every mages are capable of using all of the elements, however, some have high affinity on one element than the other. Take Alice as an example, she has high affinity on the fire element, therefore whenever she casts a spell, her spell packs more firepower and she is able to chant it faster, as opposed to someone who has normal affinity on the fire element."

"You're quite knowledgeable, huh?" Claude remarked with a chuckle.

"Of course I'm knowledgeabl-"

Before Jack could boast about his knowledge even further, Gus swooped in their conversation, "That's because his father is training him to become a scholar. So of course he would be knowledgeable, because if he isn't, he would get disowned by his family."

Pffffft.

Claude almost fell to the ground because of the sudden revelation.

Gus saw Claude's reaction, so he continued, "I don't know what King was thinking when he signed up this brat to become a scholar instead of a Warrior. Look at my daughter, she's acing tests left and right in Mystica's School of Magic. I wouldn't even be surprised if she's the next Balthazar!"

"Hmph, stop boasting old man," Jack said with a pout, "One day, I'll be able to choose my own destiny!"

"Oh shut up. And stop reusing Balthazar's lines."

***

After walking for another two minutes or so, they finally arrived at Gus' house. Throughout their journey, Jack wouldn't shut his trap and kept blabbering about how being a scholar is not a bad thing. Hence, Gus ordered Claude to leave fatty behind due to how annoying he was.

As they waited, Gus lighted another roll of cigar as he blankly stared at the house opposite to his.

On the other hand, Claude stared at Gus' house with incredulity. His house was built in a way that benefitted his blacksmith occupation. As a result, the whole ground floor became his forge while the second floor is their living area.