Chapter 38 - Crime

"My lady, young master," Merkin greeted mother and son when suddenly entered the bookstore. "It is a pleasure to receive you two in my humble store."

"It has been a while, how have you been, Merkin?" Lyra asked.

While they were talking, Zaos looked around the bookstore. While most of the magic books were copies, the variety wasn't half bad, considering that Merkin was the only one who wrote those after researching certain magic spells.

"I see, so you two want a magic book that teaches support-type spells," Merkin said. "How unusual for a kid of his age to be interested in supporting magic. Normally, boys are more interested in fire magic, they love to make things burn… like trees."

Zaos didn't understand that pause. In any case, it seemed that was a good chance for Zaos to learn more about things he had no idea that existed or was reality. After all, he had lived quite a sheltered life due to his focus on training and studying.

"You have a lot of magic books," Zaos said. "How do you know that they are not being resold somewhere else?"

"You can resell them, but it is a crime to resell them to other people aside from the writer himself," Merkin said. "If someone is caught doing that, they will spend a good five years in a dungeon."

So, it was a crime… now that Zaos thought about it. On the first and last page of most magic books, the writer's name was written. Unless someone can prove that they are the writer, they probably wouldn't try to sell. Besides, it would be pretty stupid to sell something that isn't yours in a store. Selling outside a store would be suspicious as well.

"Which types of spells are you interested in, young master?" Merkin asked.

"Spells that increase physical strength, speed, and endurance," Zaos replied.

Merkin blinked several times when he heard that. It didn't make any sense for a kid of that age to want to learn such advanced spells. Even knowing about their existence is already weird in itself. In the end, Zaos would do everything in his power to defeat his father in a spar. Laiex already gave him the permission to use magic, after all. So, there was no reason not to do it. Besides, trying to defeat an adult that was bigger, stronger, faster, and many times more durable than him directly was only stupid.

"I believe you are not at the level where you can learn them, young master," Merkin said. "Besides, your body can't handle the power up that those spells can grant you. I believe you are learning intermediate support spells, am I right? If that is the case, then you should try to learn first… these ones. You can learn by studying his magic book the spells: Mend Bones, Dispel, Protection, and Magic Barrier."

Zaos opened the magic book and then checked its contents. As expected, the symbols were fairly more complex in comparison to the ones he already knew. Still, Zaos couldn't see anyone that seemed beyond his current abilities.

"Once I learn these, can I learn the others I mentioned?" Zaos asked.

Merkin frowned and then looked at Lyra, but she just shrugged and then said, "He is always like that." In the end, Zaos learned that Merkin didn't even have those types of magic books. Only certain specialists had them.

"Your honorable father probably can contact those specialists, but I wouldn't recommend doing so," Merkin said. "Reaching that level in support magic would take too much of your time, these people have been studying and improving that type of magic for decades, after all."

"Can't I just focus on learning those spells instead of all others in between?" Zaos asked.

"Some people tried that in the past, but for some reason, you can't skip certain spells on your learning process if you want to learn more advanced ones," Merkin replied. "It is a rule that has existed since the beginning of our story that no one can explain."

That was really a pain in the ass, but in the end, Zaos decided to buy the book… even though Lyra was the one who paid. Regardless, Zaos knew that many things in that world still were a mystery. Still, if he keeps studying and trying hard, he was almost sure that one day he would find a discovery, or at least take a step on a path no one did before. After all, he still was young and had the mind necessary for that.

Zaos wanted to study the new magic book as soon as possible. Besides, he couldn't see the point of exploring the city and not buying anything if he finds something that picks his interest. Unfortunately, Zaos was too prideful to use the money of his family without a care. So, he and his mother returned to the carriage even though they barely spent a few minutes moving around the city. However, they had to stop on the way back because a massive crowd was gathering in a shop. Usually, the crowd would open the path to all carriages, but since a group of armored knights was also in the place, no one could pass that area yet.

"Go and check what is going on," The captain of the guards said to one of his subordinates.

Much to Zaos's surprise, even Lyra was curious about what might have happened. Through the window of the carriage, she could see that the guards were investigating a random store. It didn't look like the place had been robbed, and that would be weird in the middle of the day. After a while, the guard returned and told them what had happened.

"Apparently, the owner of the store and his wife were… killed," The guard whispered as Zaos was nearby. "The couple also had a newborn kid, but she is nowhere to be seen. The neighbors noticed the smell and notified the knights who were investigating the crime scene."