13. From today onwards, you shall use magic

"But sis… I don't even know where I should go. I've never visited a city." Luz commented with a sigh before putting both the coin-filled pouch and the medallion into a different pocket each.

"That's even better, hehehe. Go and explore the place by yourself. I will find you later via the medallion," Liv commented casually before grabbing Luz's wrist and dragging the boy to the exit.

A few minutes later, Luz stood outside the mansion in the streets, scratching the back of his head as he wondered: 'WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO HERE!?'

As one might expect, a man standing in the middle of the street was not well received by other passersby. After a few people bumped into him and spewed slurs unbeknownst to humanity at him, Luz went with the flow. 'Damn, these people ain't nice. If words could kill, these bastards would have been mass murders.'

And so Luz roamed through the street and soon reached the local market.

That place was full of people and stuff he had never seen before in his life.

People around him tried negotiating with the various vendors, and rough curses got thrown at everyone whenever another negotiation failed. 'Damn, these peoples are quite misery,' thought Luz, and he soon reached a stand smelling like shit as he heard the squeaking noises coming from animals.

Curiously what some of these creatures might be, Luz walked closer to the booth to get a closer look at the caged animals.

"A piglet for 100 bronze coins, a chicken for half a silver coin," shouted an elderly woman, the booth's owner, with dark bags under her eyes while swinging a bell.

And there he saw it, a colorful bird caged in a rusting cage, as it sat there melancholy and emaciated with rancid wings.

"Such a beautiful creature shouldn't be rotting in such a tiny cage," Luz sighed loudly, and the owner who overheard his words laughed at him before stating: "Boy, I know that you are broke, so get the fuck away from my stand."

His eyes immediately narrowed down upon hearing her comment, and after taking a deep breath, he pointed towards the bird while stating. "That bird. Name a price."

The granny immediately got angry upon hearing his words, thinking that the brat was wasting her time with mere jokes. But before she could swing her stick, a man in his thirty patted her shoulder gently, stating: "Ay, Ay. Let me take care of your shift and that boy, mother."

"Finally, I can have some peace," groaned the granny before leaving the front. But as she turned her back to her son, she remarked: "Son, you shouldn't bother with that brat, as he will only waste your time."

But the man ignored her words. With a smile, he asked Luz in amusement. "I'm in a good mood, so are you willing to make a deal? I'm willing to offer you the bird for cheaper than it would originally sell."

Luz nodded. "Fine by me." If it weren't for the rude granny calling him broke, Luz would have reconsidered buying it, but now he was eager to buy it just out of spite.

The grin on the vendor's face grew wider as the man was ready to bleed Luz dry for his confidence. "Let's call the guards so that they can be the witness of the deal."

Two guards in rusting armor immediately approached the vendor. "We will beat both of you if you called us for nothing," stated one of them as he took down his helmet.

Only then did the vendor state the deal. "I'll offer you the bird for a cheaper than it would sell. If you can still afford it, it shall be yours. But if you cannot afford it, you shall lose every cent you have, and I'll be taking 50% while these two will be taking the rest. Are you still confident?"

The two guards glanced at each other with a smile since who would say no to basically free money. "Oi. You better accept the deal, brat," added one of them to the conservation.

"Don't worry. I'll take the deal?" Luz replied with a smile, ready to prove everyone wrong here.

"Fifty silver coins," stated the vendor, and even the two witnesses gulped at these words. After all, that is more than a week's salary for them. Even they couldn't afford such a hefty price.

However, to the surprise of the three, Luz took out five ten-silver coins from his pouch before placing them on the table. But as he took out the coins, one of the guards got a glimpse into the purse, and at that moment, their choice was clear. 'We will be getting the money no matter what.'

The smile on the vendor's face immediately evaporated and got replaced by dread.

Luz stared with a wide grin into the man's scarred pupils while his hand rested on the handle of his small dagger, which he carried with him from the adventures. "I held my part of the bargain, and now it's time that you hold up your part."

Shocked by this, the man gulped before glancing at the two guards with narrowed eyes. These two immediately understood what he meant and nodded.

The grin on Luz's face immediately vanished as he realized what was about to happen. Furious by everyone's betrayal of the deal, Luz yanked out his dagger, ready to strike at the vendor.

"OY, OY," shouted the guards as they immediately grabbed Luz by his arms, hindering the attack.

Luz resisted as much as he could, swinging his dagger at the guards. Unfortunally for him, their armor wasn't just for show, and the sound of clirring metal echoed as the passersby saw the spectacle.

In his enraged state, Luz shouted: "YOU FUCKING COWARD. BE A MAN AND HOLD UP YOUR PART OF THE DEAL," as the two guards dragged him out of the street into an alley.

One passerby shook his head, sighing: "Some people are truly naive," before continuing with whatever he was doing.

In the alley, the two guards threw the screaming Luz onto the ground, and he crashed into a puddle of water that smelled like piss before they kicked onto his face and beat him up.

As the guards kicked against Luz's head and stomach, one thought repeatedly shot through his head in a loop while their curses and demands for his money faded into the background.

「From today onwards, you shall never use magic again till we've taken care of your mana core.」

As Luz got beaten, his knife fell out of his hands while he tried protecting his head against the oncoming kicks. But the two didn't stop after beating him. No, that was just the beginning. Now is the time for humiliation.

Shortly after, they grabbed Luz by the back of his collar before pressing his face into the piss water, soaking him in piss as he coughed it up.

But the thought continued shooting in a loop through his mind.

「From today onwards, you shall never use magic again till we've taken care of…」

After the guards were done humiliating Luz, they lifted his unconscious body by his collar. "Give us everything you have, and never reappear again," a guard roughly remarked as he tightened his grip on Luz's collar.

「From today onwards, you shall never use magic…」

However, Luz merely grinned as he opened his bloody red eyes.

"Why are you grinning!?" asked a furious guard before Luz spat a mixture of blood and piss right into his face.

「From today onwards, you shall use magic」