Never Hurts to be Prepared

The chime of a bell announced Altair's entry into the shop, causing a shop girl with brown hair around nineteen at the counter to turn his way. She blinked in surprise upon seeing him, no doubt confused what a young child was doing in a shop like this. Seeing the predictable question coming his way, Altair sighed and decided to take the initiative. "I'm a student in the Academy" he stated simply, flashing her a wristband hidden under his sleeve that served as identification. Seeing it, the girl shut her mouth and nodded. "I'll be with you in a minute if you need help" she offered before going back to the papers on her desk.

Paying her no further mind, Altair began to explore the shop in earnest. He trailed his finger along the spines of the books and he wandered between the shelves, relying on his gut to pick the most interesting book. Well, that and the price tags attached at the bottom, which was steadily climbing higher the further along he went. After doing this for a bit, his intuition was pulled by a book with a soft blue cover, made from old but clean leather. Glancing at the price tag, Altair pulled it from the shelf and began flipping through it. A note was stuck behind the cover giving a brief explanation on the level and origins of the Grimoire, and Altair learnt it was built to accommodate a Grandmaster Tier that specialised in Water. 

Water Blade, Aqua Cannon, the ability to breath underwater and command sea creatures were the first spells recorded, though more powerful ones like drying out an area on touch and creating spheres to hold others were also included. There were fifteen spells recorded in total, each one 70% as powerful as they would be if a Grandmaster had cast them. From what Altair knew, this was quite good as far as Grimoires went, with the efficiency ranged from only 40% all the way to 99%, depending on the level of the creator and skills recorded. As he flipped through the pages, he heard someone come up behind him.

Turning around, he saw the young woman looking at the book in his hand. Without waiting for an invitation, she began to speak. "That book was created by Vitraxian Corcello, a famous artisan responsible for many discoveries in the mystical field, who was suspected to be a member of the Illuminative Ascetic Order. About three hundred years ago, he found a method to increase the creation of Grimoires, even if not to the point of mass production. Unfortunately, the Churches of Craftmanship and Astrology detained him on suspicion of being a heretic, and he hasn't been seen since."

Altair gave the woman a look before glancing at the Grimoire in his hands. Sure enough, the name "Vitraxian Corcello" was written in cursive on the front. "Was he ever officially convicted?" Altair asked the woman, and she shook her head. "He vanished completely, and people believe he's still chained dup in some basement being forced to create Grimoires. Heh, even though he was an Epic, living so long would be unlikely. Sigh, the relationship between the Goddess of Wisdom and the other two Gods soured severely because of that incident, and still hasn't recovered."

While Altair found the story very interesting, he didn't come here for it. Waving the book, he posed a question to the shopkeeper. "Do you have any books with similar quality, but scaled lower down and cheaper? I just need a Master level one."

Turning around, the woman beckoned Altair to follow her back towards the front of the shop. He followed her to a shelf to the far left of the entrance, where rows of smaller but shinier Grimoires were stacked. Picking one with a red cover, she presented it to him with a smile. "Judging by your hair, you should have a Fire Affinity right? Here, this one is the best for you. It has a few spells that are basic, but always good to have on hand. Plus, there's two spells that originate from a Grandmaster but can still be cast by a Master's mana pool."

Seeing her smile proudly for presenting the "perfect" match, Altair scratched his head awkwardly and corrected her. "Sorry, but I actually have an Air Affinity. Oh and a Darkness one too actually." The woman froze, her smile still plastered on her face, before coughing and quickly placing the red book back. "A Dual Air and Shadow Affinity huh? That's...not something I've ever seen before, but we have plenty of Air Grimoires in stock. Shadows less so, but I might be able to find something for you."

"My thanks."

Reaching over, the woman took out a lime green book and handed it to Altair to check himself. Flipping through, he saw multiple generic spells like Wind Cutter and Hasten but also more advanced ones like Deflection and even limited Levitation. At the very back, a spell that allows you to suck the oxygen from the atmosphere was inscribed, though the Mana cost would bankrupt a weaker Master. 

"it's 500 Credits" the woman informed him breezily, though Altair scrunched his face upon hearing the price tag. That was his entire monthly allowance, and he only had 300 credits remaining after buying various meals and books. He supposed he could borrow some from Sia, Elisabeth, Alexander and Jace if necessary, only taking 50 points from each. Seeing the little boy in front of her hesitate, the woman revealed a soft smile and spoke gently. "If you can't afford it, I can remove the last spell engraved and bring down the price. Alternatively, I can store it away for you until you can afford it."

Altair let out a sigh of relief and handed the book back to her with a smile that she found adorable. "Yes please. I'll come back next month after getting the Credits, is that alright?". The woman nodded her head and walked back to her desk with the book in arm. "That's fine by me, we often reserve Grimoires for students. Can I have your name please?" she took a pencil out from her desk and paused over a sheet of parchment. 

"Altair Atrazark."

The scribbling of a pencil filled the store for a few seconds before it stopped, the woman leaning back with a smile. "Alright Mr Atrazark, I'll put the book away now. Have a good day." Nodding goodbyes to the woman, Altair turned and walked out of the door, the ding of the bell ringing behind him. As he stepped out onto the street, he raised his hand to block the setting sun that was lined up just right to blind him. Cursing under his breath, he failed to notice someone walk up beside him until they spoke.

"Is that you Altair? What are you doing here?"

Jumping slightly, Altair looked to his side and saw a head of bright blonde hair fluttering in the gentle wind. Raising his head, he saw an oval face beautifully constructed and emerald green eyes looking at him. Recognition dawned on Altair as he momentarily forgot to respond. Standing in front of him was his classmate, the third Imperial Princess, Ophelia Augustus.