The Bookstore Mage

Later that night, Lucien closed the bookstore and made his way to Estrea's place. He was lucky to stumble upon a cab driver that didn't mind driving him to that part of town.

By the time he reached her house, it was already 9:10 pm. He thanked the driver and handed him his fare before he stepped out of the car and adjusted his clothes. After making sure everything was alright, Lucien straightened his back almost subconsciously and walked to the door.

He didn't need to wait long before Estrea opened it and greeted him with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

Lucien grinned mischievously and asked:

"I thought we moved on from the cheek kisses?"

Estrea who wore a light blue winter dress lightly slapped his hand and answered:

"Oh, I guess that means no more kisses for you." She smiled and closed the door behind them.

Lucien shook his head and replied, "No, that's not what I meant." He then held her by one hand, the other gently caressed her face as he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

Estrea didn't move away and returned his kiss before she asked with a teasing smile:

"And who told you, you can do that?"

Lucien raised his brows, his lips lightly curved upwards, and replied:

"I don't see you moving away, Ms. Estrea."

Estrea rolled her eyes, her smile not quite leaving her face.

"Well, come along then Mr. Lucien. As much as I'd love to keep you company, I'm afraid I still have a few matters to attend to."

"That's a bummer."

"Indeed, it is. Then again, if you wanted to see me, you could have taken me out on that date you promised but forgot about." Estrea casually added, causing Lucien to shift his gaze away awkwardly.

"Ah, I didn't forget. I'm just trying to plan something special. Can't have anything less for a special lady such as yourself."

His attempt at salvaging the situation seemed to work slightly as Estrea rolled her eyes once again with a faint smile before she replied:

"Sure. Something special you say? I'll look forward to it then."

The duo continued with their light-hearted conversation as Estrea led Lucien to the underground training area. After going down a long flight of stairs, the duo finally reached a large open area with an elevated arena right in the middle.

To the sides, a few old-school weapons were placed. Swords, axes, maces, and spears. Lucien even spotted a few bows. He turned to glance at Estrea and asked:

"I don't recall those being there last time?"

Estrea shook her head and answered with a shrug:

"They weren't. I don't pick the changes, the house spirit does."

The house spirit, as Lucien came to understand was what Estrea called the entity that controlled the house. It was different than a house fairy, as a house spirit was in a sense the house itself; and not an independent living creature.

"Well, it does have an interesting taste, that's for sure."

"Yes, tell me about it. At least it doesn't change my room, so that's good." Estrea paused for a second as she scanned the training area before she added:

"Well, I guess I'll just leave you to it."

Lucien nodded:

"Thank you, Estrea."

"Don't mention it." She waved him off and then made her way upstairs.

With her gone, Lucien first made his way to the 'weapons' area. His curiosity got the best of him as he grabbed a long sword, only to be surprised by its heavy weight.

He used both hands to hold the blade and carefully studied the exquisitely made runes on its hilt.

"Pretty," Lucien remarked before he gently placed the sword back in its place. He then moved to study the axes and then the maces, and then the spears, before finally the bows.

All the weapons had a few things in common. Firstly, their extraordinary workmanship, and the runes on their hilts. None of them, however, felt quite right in his hand so Lucien ended up putting them all back in their place.

He quickly glanced at the stairs where Estrea disappeared off before he moved to the middle of the arena and sat down on the ground. Lucien then carefully removed the bracelet from his hand and held it in his palms.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and steadied his breathing. The mana strands were almost visible to him even with his eyes closed. Lucien sensed the various location of the mana strands, which gave him a weird but interesting feeling.

Lucien first started by storing two Tajajiht; since the fireball spell proved itself to be quite useful once. Then he cast one Tadawsa spell on the spell, which effectively stored it as well. Lucien still needed some time to cast the healing spell, so having the advantage of an instantaneous health spell in the middle of a battle was sure to be useful.

This left him with two spell slots, both of which Lucien used to store Usem; the lightning bolt spell. This one was his most dangerous, and unstable spell, but it was also his trump card. Its downside, however, was the long chant time and the complicated hand gestures.

As he used Usem, the air in the underground training area turned heavy. Strands of Lucien's hair suddenly stood up as his eyes turned serious. The moment the spell was cast, he instantly closed his eyes as a bright flash of lightning flickered in the arena, momentarily dyeing the entire place in bright white light. An ear-deafening thunderclap quickly followed, yet Lucien as the caster was still somewhat protected so it did not affect him as much.

He felt as if the entire underground area was shaking. Lucien then hastily glanced at his bracelet, only to pause in shock. A small crack was now clearly visible on its surface.

"It's damaged..." He mumbled with a dumbfounded expression. Lucien was sure that if he was to add another Usem spell, the bracelet would simply break.

"What the f*ck? Isn't this supposed to be a treasure? Did he scam me?" In his surprise, Lucien could not help but curse as he stared at the now cracked golden bracelet.

"At least it's not that obvious." He muttered in an attempt to console himself.

With a sigh, Lucien slowly stood up and dusted himself before he made his way upstairs. His initial excitement turned into disappointment.

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