Chapter 137 - A Tale of Tragedy

"Heh~ Is this the so-called staff that the Western Mage used in most fiction stories?"

"Well, you are not wrong. But it's not as amazing as them though, this staff here is merely something akin to flare gun where once it was activated, it will send mana wavelength that will alert any mages that were nearby for help. It would be a different case if one is knowledgable about magecraft as they could conjure offensive or escape spell when they are in a dangerous situation but, if that was truly the case, they would have already been using different staff than this one since it's more efficient to get a new one that is more proficient in handling the mystic power."

Angelica paused for a moment before continuing.

"After all, this staff is just merely for an apprentice mage, nothing more and nothing less. If someone has already remembered a few spells in magecraft, that would mean they have graduated from being an apprentice and most, if not all, would usually get a new staff. "

"...I'm amazed that you know all this."

Sheila widens her eyes in shock at Angelica who had just explained to her the tiny bits of the inner working in the Mage Association. She was amazed and wonders how did this red-haired girl know all this despite not being a mage, perhaps she had graduated? thought Sheila. Understanding the thought clearly shown on her face, Angelica shook her head before saying.

"This is simply a common-sense per se, at least to those like me and Mia. Although I am not a mage, that doesn't mean I don't know anything about them, in fact, it's not like the Mage Association went out of their way to hide it or something so it was only about time before it was spread everywhere except the public."

Mia nodded her head in response to Angelica's explanation. There are also awakened ones, but it's very rare. There are not many that awakened to the supernatural as most, if not all, only learn through the knowledge that has been preserved from their ancestor, such as the Mage Association. The awakened ones all have varied abilities, some can be very powerful whilst, on the other hand, can be useful in reality yet useless in an actual fight.

Perhaps, Sheila might have been an awakened one based on what I found on my investigation, thought Angelica but she didn't say anything about it since it's a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e topic to talk in public and only a few people knew about it. She came to know about it from an acquaintance, if not she would've never known about it. Perhaps her mother might know since she's pretty high in the hierarchy, after all.

"Can I try holding onto the staff?"

Mia hesitated for a moment before giving Sheila the permission, Angelica had already spoken everything so she must have been trustworthy at the very least. 

When Sheila got her hand onto the wooden staff, she could feel the mana within her stirred up in response to the runes. But as her control over her mana is quite exceptional, it only stirred for a moment before calming down by itself. 

Hmm, so I have to put quite an amount of mana into the staff to send out a certain wavelength where only the mage from Mage Association could tell and in response, they would come to rescue. As to whether the mage could arrive on time, that would depend entirely on your luck. If you suck, death will seek you. One could only blame it on their fate, thought Sheila while she was inspecting the staff personally. 

Though she had some general information regarding the staff from the Analyze skill, Sheila prefers inspecting with her own eyes and hands as only then would she believes the result. The skill level is pretty low, after all. And if she depends entirely on it, there might be a day she would be caught in a trap set by her enemy which somehow managed to trick her skill. It's not entirely impossible, so she didn't mind doing it personally. 

After having her fill inspecting the staff, Sheila put it back on the table before turning her head toward Angelica and said.

"So, what do you get out of this? I'm sure you're not doing this for free or whatnot."

Angelica smiled in response to her question. Although the smile appeared to be normal, Sheila couldn't help but feeling like she was going to be caught up in more trouble and it becomes even more solid when the former spoke.

"Just take it as a token of friendship. Or I don't mind having another favor from you, fufufu."

Well, I was going to bring her to my side, so it's fine I guess. The system's shop had quite a variety of items that can be purchased, there must be at least one in there that would attract this girl's interest, Sheila thought while shrugging her shoulders. 

If Ria were to know about what she was thinking, she would be beating her up as everything in the system's shop is like a heaven's treasury, all sorts of absurd things stored within the shop can be purchased at a cost depending on the worth of the said item. There's no way in hell that Angelica would ONLY be interested in one item if the latter came to know about it.

The three chat for a bit and when the time came, Angelica took a leave, leaving Mia behind as she understood that Sheila has something for the latter. 

Mia was left uncomfortable as though they had talked for a while now, it's less than a day since they get to know each other. She actually wanted to follow Angelica but the latter stopped her with a knowing look that she couldn't understand. When Sheila finally feel the presence away from her detection, she heaved a sigh before turning her head toward the trembling girl in her view.

Seeing the reaction from her, Sheila laughed before saying.

"You don't need to be that nervous, It's not like I'm going to eat you or anything."

"Y-Yesh!"

Mia's face turned red as she becomes embarrassed for accidentally biting her tongue right in front of someone due to being nervous. Sheila's laughter resounds in the private room and Mia's figure becomes even smaller as a result of it. 

When Sheila had enough of laughing, her face turned serious as if her previous action was merely acting. 

"I didn't ask this before but, since you have this staff, does it mean that you're really an apprentice mage?"

"...yes."

Sheila could feel a bit of feeling in that one word from her response and couldn't help but to ask another question.

"For how long?"

"..."

Seeing as the latter didn't respond, it seemed that her guess was right on the mark. Feeling the mood was right, Sheila took a couple of deep breaths before opening her mouth and said.

"If you become a real mage, what would you do?"

"Eh? Uhh..."

Perhaps, not expecting such a question, Mia took a moment to think for an answer. When she comes to her conclusion, a smile appeared on her face as she answered.

"I guess, I want to be helpful to someone."

"Hmm, really?"

"Yes. It was kind of embarrassing but the day before I was adopted to a new family, I love this single tale about a certain hero saving the world not because he was obliged to do so but more because wanting to be helpful to his loves one. It was for one simple and romantic reason, the hero would go as far as risking his life to get a rare flower from a dangerous region just so he could put a smile on her face."

"It was very idiotic yet romantic, in my personal impression. But the ending was pretty tragic, the girl he loves was assassinated by someone who he trusted his entire life. Overtaken by anger and despair of losing his loved one, the hero massacred the entire city in his rage and was eventually met his end at the hands of a group of retired heroes."