Shopping spree

“Sorcerer? YOU CHOSE SORCERER?!”

I scurried away, Gina hot on my tail.

Maybe keeping the class I chose as a secret from her wasn’t the best idea. I had a feeling she would react like this, which was why I kept it a secret in the first place. And it wasn’t like I was gonna keep it a secret for so long. I mean, I told her as soon as we left the guild hall. 

“Ow, ow, stop hitting me. Of course I chose it—ow—you were the one who told me—ow—that it was the most powerful class,” I said.

Miraculously she did stop hitting me, but then she went back to scolding me.

“Yes! And I also said it was the most complicated!” she yelled. “It’s a class that I barely understand and I’ve been here for years! We only have six days to do this thing!”

“Which is why I’ll do whatever it takes to save my Chouji. If it means being a sorcerer and having to do all this tricky stuff, so be it. All of this stuff is complicated for me anyways. I would’ve been confused no matter what.”

Gina shook her head.

“You’re hopeless.”

“No. I’m hopeful.”

She stared at me in silence, probably impressed by my wisdom. She side-stepped and walked past me.

“Hey, where are we going?”

She glanced back at me.

“Shopping.”

Despite the sun just touching the horizon, the market was still abuzz with merchants and customers alike. The entire marketplace stretched from one side of Tyro Town to the other, hugging the entirety of the western wall outlining the town’s perimeter. The guild hall was far denser and more claustrophobic, but the market beat it out in sheer numbers. 

I stepped through and admired all that was on sale. A rainbow assortment of cloaks that reminded me of sports jerseys. Orbs, crystals, and glowing objects of all geometric configurations. There were even a few food stands, selling grilled something on sticks. Before the savory scent of roasted mystery meat could tempt me, Gina tugged my sleeve and brought me to a larger yet emptier stall.

Under the overhang of purple fabric that hung higher than I could reach, this stall somehow seemed older than the others. Perhaps it was the candles that illuminated the various wares in an orange glow, or perhaps it was the wares themselves. 

All the objects for sale were wooden. 

Spread across many shelves and arranged to be displayed on tiered tables, each object was carved out of wood. That was the only unifying factor across all the products. One shelf boasted plates with intricate inlays, accompanied with smooth bowls and spoons and forks. Another turned its levels into a miniature forest, full of small, hand-card woodland creatures and detailed backgrounds. Yet another was overflowing with what looked like drumsticks. All of them were pointed towards the shopper, giving the cabinet the appearance of an iron maiden but with wood.

I only noticed the shopkeep while scanning shelves. I glanced around and realized I had walked halfway around the store without realizing, and now stood at the other end of the stall. The shopkeep had a shiny bald head with a ring of silver hair, like a European monk. His stately purple robes made it obvious he wasn’t one. He stood with a straight back and arms folded behind it, but even then only came up to my shoulder. On his face was a knowing smile, one that implied he had been watching my awestruck face the entire time.

“Admiring my wares, dear traveller?” he asked. His voice had a teasing lilt, like a grandfather.

“They’re all so beautiful,” I said in quiet tone. There was something about the shop that made me treat it all with reverence. Gina was caught up in browsing too, and walked over when she heard us talking.

“Good evening, Basil,” she said with a smile, which Basil returned.

“Good evening, dear Gina. What pray tell brings you to my shop at this hour?”

She gestured at me. “This is Daisuke. He’s a member of my party and we’re here to get equipped up before adventuring. He just chose a class today.”

“Yeah, I’m a Sorcerer,” I added. I had a proud smile on my face, which Basil did not return. Instead he tilted his head to the side with an eyebrow cocked.

He stroked his chin. “Really?”

“Something wrong with that?” I crossed my arms. 

His eyes widened. “Oh, I meant no offense! I was just surprised, that’s all. With your build, you look more like a fighter or a warrior. Maybe even a knight. But sorcerer is a fine class, a fine class indeed.” 

Basil behind one of the shelves, rifling through the detritus. “As you can see,” he said, “I am a woodcarver. My family has used our talents to help this town for countless generations. My father and his father before him—”

Gina coughed. “Basil, you offer a great service to this community, but we are in a bit of a pinch right now,” she said.

Basil laughed. “Always in a rush to go out, you young ones. But if you insist.” He pulled out a large piece of timber, about as tall as him. “As you know, sorcerers use staffs as weapons. And what makes them unique compared to other classes is that each staff is unique to each sorcerer. Unlike a thief, who can use any dagger she may come across, a sorcerer must have their staff tailor-made.” 

Gina tapped her foot. Though she was antsy, it was clear I needed to know this stuff, so she bit her tongue. But as Basil explained a few more things, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the plank of wood seemed familiar.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I said, “but what kind of wood is that?”

Basil knocked against the plank. “Maple. Freshly hewn.”

I knew it. Before I could stop it, an idea flourished within my mind. A wonderful idea, a horrible idea. My poker face must have been terrible, because Gina side-eyed me and I swear she had bags.

I described my idea for the staff. It was a miracle that Gina stayed silent.
“How long will that take to make?” I asked.

“Since your design is so simple, you can shop around for other adventuring supplies and it’ll be done when you come back.”

“Thank you so much, Basil! We’ll be back soon.”

Gina and I spent the rest of sunset going around buying adventuring supplies. Everything went smoothly thanks to Gina’s knowledge of adventuring in this world. By the time the sun was completely gone, we returned to Basil’s stall.

“Here you are, Daisuke. Specially made for you” he said, handing me my staff.

I felt the smoothness of the polished surface and sniffed the fresh smell of lacquer. It’s amazing what can be accomplished in such little time with magic. I gripped it tight in both hands to see how it felt. It could have been my imagination, but I felt power flowing through me even just standing there.

“This is incredible,” I breathed out. “How could I ever repay you?”

“Perhaps by giving me twenty gold pieces,” he said.

I had nearly forgotten that this was still a marketplace stall. I looked over at Gina, who had covered all of the other adventuring expenses.

“Gina, do you mind…” I nodded over to Basil, my staff still in both hands.

“Sorry,” she said. “You commissioned it, so you have to pay for it.”

I shrugged, paid him well, and then bade him well.

The moon hung low in the sky as Gina and I walked towards the way out of Tyro Town.

“Do you realize that most sorcerers use their staffs as walking sticks?” she asked.

“Do you realize that I’m not most sorcerers? Besides, I’m young and spry, I don’t need a walking stick,” I said. Then I paused, realizing I had zero clue what the terrain we would encounter would look like, “Do I?”

Gina shook her head. “The walk to Lumino City, while a bit long, is quite flat and straight. Starting now, we should arrive in the city a little past midday. I have some connections there. That may give us enough of a chance to defeat the Demon King.”

I nodded. Gina’s voice was dead serious, even though she had nothing on the line. I guess that’s simply the nature of tutorial NPCs. I’m just making my way through one hell of a tutorial. My eyes narrowed as we approached the town exit.

“Isn’t this the front gate?” I asked.

“Yes,” Gina said. “It’s the only gate, in fact. Don’t worry, Knockback Woods is actually on the way to Lumino City.”

The gates opened for us and we stepped right through. It felt like only yesterday that I entered Tyro Town. Probably because it was. But so much has changed since then. And if things could change this much in a single day, what about a whole week?

We were many paces from the gates when they closed. I turned back and waved till my arm was sore.

“Bye Sheila! Bye Ford!” I yelled

“Don’t be a stranger!” Sheila yelled back. The two were waving with equal vigor. That small gesture lifted my spirits greatly. I turned back to the footpath with a smile on my face.

But if I had higher observation stats, I wouldn’t have been smiling. Because I would have noticed a hooded figure hiding in the trees observing us. But I didn’t. Hindsight is 20/20. 

We soldiered on. 

An hour passed before I needed to start a conversation.

“Every single minute of this adventure is precious,” I said. “Is there anything we can do while travelling to help improve ourselves?”

Gina tapped her chin. “I’m not sure about sorcerers specifically, but just being aware of things can help. It’s easy for goblins and bandits to launch sneak attacks on unwitting adventurers, especially new ones.”
She snapped her fingers.

“Actually, random encounters would be good for you!” she said. “It’s an easy way to level up. Whenever we stop to have a rest, you should explore the area and grind out some monsters.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “I should what on some monsters?!”

“Grind. It means mindlessly kill a lot of them.” Gina laughed. “Sometimes I forgot how inexperienced you are with these sorts of things. Your brother would know all about it.”

I blushed and stammered. “My little brother should not be doing any sort of grinding. He’s young and innocent.”

“He’s already in high school.”

“Shut up.”

We continued to talk about various strategies to eke out that extra bit of experience, as well as other general things I should know about this world. But throughout the night, my thoughts kept drifting to Chouji. He was alive. Somehow, he was alive.

I wondered how he was doing.