Chapter 207 - Vol. 4 - 6

Ash

She didn't know how much time she spent standing there, looking at the man who had just walked into the room, but she couldn't help it. 

Level 21

MP: 150/150

A half-demon who owned a store. It was hard for her to believe, but it was real. 

"Excuse me?" He asked, crossing his legs as he sat down behind a nearby desk. "Can I help you with something?" 

As he asked that, Ash shook her head, focusing up again. 

"Right, yeah, uh, I was wondering if you sold any Dark or Light spells. Strong ones. Advanced or intermediate or whatever," Ash said as she got a little closer, almost as though she wanted to get a better look at him. 

The man appeared to be in good health, somewhat older than she was. The store they were currently in didn't seem like anything special, but then again, Ash didn't know if this place, perhaps, was considered special in any way by Amber's standards. The more she looked at him, the more questions came to her mind. 

"Dark or Light spells..." The man internalized her question. "Well, I've got a few of those, but if you're looking for anything of significant power... Which, going off that level of yours, I'm sure you're looking for the best, you'll have to go somewhere else for that." 

"Where?" 

"Let's see... You could head to the Arcane's Manor and ask for help there. I doubt the Arcane himself would come out to speak to you, but with some luck, maybe you could get a scholar or two to assist you. Aside from that," he gestured vaguely, "There is this one lady who'd come here some time ago. Vermia, I believe her name was. She was the one I got the idea for this little outfit from. She was a Dark mage, but I believe she passed away recently. Still, again, the Arcane probably had people sort out her things, all the more reason to head over there and check. As for Light though, well, not many Light mages in Amber." 

"Why?" 

"Most people just learn some basic healing spells and move on to more practical abilities," he shrugged, "things that would prevent your family from getting devoured by a sand reaver, for instance. So, yes, unfortunately, I don't know where you could go for that. Still, I've got a couple of Light spellbooks lying around here. You could see if there are any you like." 

He pointed at the shelf just next to her and Ash nodded. 

"... Okay, thanks," she muttered as she moved over to it and tried to find the Light spellbooks he was talking about. However, she couldn't keep her thoughts on the current task, as every couple of seconds, she'd find herself glancing back at the man, her curiosity getting the better of her. 

She took one book, opened it up to see some spell called  Projected Healing  but before she could read what it did, she turned back towards him. 

"Actually, can I ask you something?" 

"Hm? Of course, customer," he said. "What do you need?" 

"... Who are you?" She asked. 

"Oh? Why do you wish to know that?" He asked. Ash closed the book she was holding and took a few steps closer to him. 

"I mean, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're both half-demons..." 

"Yes, I suppose we are." 

"And, well, I don't know how things work around here, but up in Jade, I never saw any half-demon living this comfortably. So... Yeah, I just... I have questions." 

"... I see. Are half-demons particularly mistreated in Jade?" 

"That's understating it," Ash told him. "If you don't get five people spitting on you in the span of 24 hours then that's called a 'good day'. And, as far as I could tell, it's the same in every other city. So, yeah. I-I guess I'm just wondering... Are you an exception, or are things different here?" 

He took these words in and nodded. Then, he leaned back in his chair, kicking his feet up on the desk and sighing deeply. 

"I'd say so," he told her. "But, not in some... rose-colored fantasy land kind of way, I guess. I mean in that, here, well, I've never been up north so I can't really compare it but listening to what you told me, no. People didn't really spit on me, it was more like a general mistrust."

"What does that mean?" Ash asked. 

"Simple. It means that whenever I'd walk into school, back when I was a kid, every other kid would give me the side-eye, you know?" He chuckled. "But... That was mostly as far as they took it. They'd call me 'half-demon', instead of my name, they'd start sweating a little anytime I was nearby, but that was it. I can't say I or, any other half-demon I've met had things any worse than that." 

Hearing that, Ash nodded, but the man hadn't quite finished. 

"See, people are too busy trying not to die to a terrible, ravenous monster, or trying not to get robbed every time they walk out of their homes to worry about stuff like that, down here. Everyone's mostly the same in Amber, well..." 

He glanced up at her. 

"... So long as your level isn't that much higher than anyone else's." 

... Well, shit.

Hearing that, Ash raised a brow, and quickly, she felt conflicted. 

So, apparently, she had stumbled into the one city in the world where half-demons weren't treated like absolute crap. However, on the other hand, because of her level, she was still an outsider. 

Figures,  she scoffed. 

"Can I buy one or two of these?" 

"You got the crowns to pay for 'em?" 

"Yeah." 

"Then you can buy however many you want." 

With that out of the way, Ash checked out all of the shelves, looking for as many useful Light and Dark spells as she could find. There weren't many, but she did find three solid-looking spellbooks and went with those. 

Within them were the spells:  Projected Healing, which placed a white orb in a small area, healing anything that walked into it, Languish, which launched a black beam that weakened whatever it hit for a very short time, and finally, a Blessing called Lumina's Gaze, which boosted the physical stats of nearby people.

Projected Healing - MP Cost: 30

Languish - MP Cost: 50

Lumina's Gaze - MP Cost: 150 (Scales based on connection with deities)

By the time Ash had decided on these, she tossed over a single royal white crown at the man and turned around. 

"W-Wait, your change," he called out. 

"... Keep it," Ash said, sighing as she moved out of the store before he could get another word in. 

But, just as she did that, she nearly ran over a pair of individuals who had been about to enter the shop. 

For the second time in the last ten minutes, Ash was frozen. Standing in front of her was a woman with chestnut-colored, short hair and a cute face, but next to her was a short boy with white hair, just like Ash's, and a pair of black horns on his head. 

It didn't take much time for Ash to put two and two together. 

The woman cleared her throat. 

"Um... Excuse me," she said meekly, bowing her head a little. 

Ash blinked and then stepped aside. 

"Right... Sorry." 

She said as they walked in, but her eyes followed them until the door closed on its own. Ash stood there, feeling something in her heart that she couldn't quite understand. She even turned around, putting her hand on the doorknob, as though she wanted to walk in and ask the man, and his family, other questions, but what would she say? 

In the end, she simply stood there, breathing slowly as her heart ached a little before she finally walked away. 

She went into the store that Metsumi had previously gone into, and she found the strong woman sitting at a bench inside of it, with multiple bags by her sides. The store was spacious, filled with all sorts of things, but what Metsumi had bought was mostly just food and ingredients. 

Ash walked over to her and Metsumi noticed, smiling and standing up. 

"Oh, how did it go?" She asked. 

Ash just raised her one bag, showing off the books she'd bought wordlessly. 

"Nice. Well, we should probably go get these things back to everyone," Metsumi said as she bent over to pick one of the bags up, but Ash stopped her. 

"Nah, I'll get it," Ash said, taking every one of the bags Metsumi had and carrying them easily. 

"Oh. Thanks," Metsumi said gratefully and Ash nodded, looking away. 

With that, the two of them walked out and went into the street, hurrying a little to move all the way back to the camp, especially since it had been made so clear to Ash that they could get robbed at any moment. 

"Hey... Did anything happen?" Metsumi suddenly asked. 

"Hm?" What do you mean?" 

"You seem... Off." 

"... Nah, I'm fine, I just... I wanna get out-" 

Before she could finish that sentence, two kids ran up to her and tried to take a couple of her bags. 

"W-What the-!?" Metsumi yelped, flinching. 

However, Ash was having none of that. She yanked her hands back, ripping the bags away from them, and, as she'd put more strength into that than she'd expected, she launched one of those kids a few meters up into the air. He ended up falling just a bit ahead, and his friend, a little girl, ran up to him. 

"You okay!?" She asked. 

"Y-Yeah... hurt my leg though," he responded. 

Ash took a sharp breath. The boy was just a teenage-looking kid who was missing a tooth and seemed like he hadn't showered in weeks. The girl, though, was a half-demon, wearing sandals and ripped-up clothes. 

The way she was helping him up, checking on him, they seemed like good friends. The type she never had, at this age.

A couple of the nearby guards saw this happen, of course. 

"You two, stop!" One of them said and both kids quickly got up and started running away.

All the while, the citizens around them were watching Ash with great interest, almost like they wanted to see what her reaction would be. Maybe they expected her to drop those bags and chase after the kids too. 

Instead, she lowered her gaze and kept walking, with Metsumi following closely behind her.