A week passed in a blink.
Melisa, armed with a small pouch of suns her father had managed to save, marched into the old man's shop, humming a little song.
The shopkeeper looked up as she entered, his eyebrows raising in recognition.
"Ah, the young inventor returns!" he exclaimed, a hint of mirth in his voice. "Have you come to share any new groundbreaking discoveries with me?"
Melisa snorted, shaking her head.
"Not this time, sir. I'm here on a different mission today."
She leaned on the counter, fixing the man with a serious gaze.
"I need spells. The good stuff, no nightlight stuff. I'm talking fireballs, lightning bolts, anything like that!"
The old man chuckled, stroking his beard.
"Ambitious, eh? Well, I might have a few scrolls that could help you out. Let me just-"
The tinkling of the shop's bell interrupted him.
A new customer arrived.
Melisa glanced over her shoulder, and her jaw nearly hit the floor.
Standing in the doorway was a radiant young woman, likely in her early 20s, with light orange hair tied into two braids. Her eyes were a mesmerizing shade of green, slightly darker than Isabella's but no less striking.
[Holy shit, she's gorgeous!] Melisa thought, her heart skipping a beat. [But... A human? What's she doing here?]
But it wasn't just the woman's beauty that caught Melisa's attention. It was her outfit, a practical set of leather armor and trousers that hugged her curves in all the right places.
[Dressed for travel. Probably not planning on staying for too long.]
Melisa shook her head then.
[Focus, Melisa! You're here for spells, not sexy adventurers!... Yet.]
But even as she turned back to the shopkeeper, she couldn't help but steal glances at the woman.
[I wonder what her deal is. Is she a mercenary? A treasure hunter? Surely, this world has to have those types of people.]
That was all it took for Melisa's imagination to run wild.
[Man, once I'm a sorceress, this is exactly the kind of woman I want to run around with, getting into trouble and having adventures together...]
She sighed dreamily, momentarily lost in her fantasies.
[Ahh... Late nights by the campfire, sharing stories and secrets... tongue kissing under the stars~]
The shopkeeper's pointed cough snapped Melisa back to reality.
"Your spells, young lady?"
Melisa blushed, realizing she'd been caught staring.
"Right, yes, spells! That's what I'm here for, yes."
She laughed nervously.
Melisa turned to the shopkeeper, trying to ignore the gorgeous woman's presence.
"So, where are those, uh, scrolls you mentioned?"
The old man pointed to a corner of the shop, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Third shelf from the bottom, on the left. Take your time, I'm sure you'll find something suitable for your... needs."
Melisa nodded, making her way over to the shelf.
As she rummaged through the scrolls, she couldn't help but feel the weight of the woman's gaze on her back.
She tried to focus on the scrolls, but the sound of the woman's voice drifted over, causing her ears to perk up.
"The Black Road is still inaccessible?"
"Same as ever, I'm afraid," the woman replied. "Been that way since I left Syux."
[Syux? I saw that name in dad's books. Isn't that the human nation? What's she doing all the way out here?]
"And, with any luck, it'll be that way once you head back, Javir," the old man said.
[Javir,] Melisa said. [Odd name. Maybe common in this world, though.]
"I'd be plenty shocked, since that's not happening anytime soon."
"Eh, give it another two weeks. They'll be begging to have you back in no time."
"Somehow, I doubt that."
Melisa's hand landed on a scroll labeled "Ice Storm," and her eyes widened with excitement.
[Ohhhh this sounds perfect! Flashy, powerful!]
She grabbed the scroll, turning to head back to the counter. But as she approached, Javir's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Forgive my curiosity, little one, but why is a nim buying a spell scroll? Your kind can't use magic."
[Hehe, she makes an incorrect statement so confidently. How adorable,] Melisa thought feeling pretty smug.
Before she could say anything, though, the old man answered for her.
"Ah, but young Melisa here is a special case! She's discovered a way for nim to cast spells, though she's keeping the details close to her chest."
Javir's eyebrows shot up, and she turned to Melisa with a look of impressed surprise.
That was probably the most confused "what?" she'd ever heard. It wasn't even loud but so damn genuine.
"I did," Melisa said, proudly.
Javir just looked at her for a moment.
"Is that so? How in the world did you manage that?"
Melisa grinned, trying to look mysterious and alluring.
"It's a secret," she said, tapping the side of her nose. "But, if you want to see..."
Using a small amount of her stockpiled Essence wouldn't hurt, right?
First, she raised her hands, showing she wasn't using a rune. Then, she drew her Essence (charged through hugs and kisses as per usual) and slowly began drawing the spellsign for Illuminate.
She'd figured out what happened a week ago after more experimentation, which was why she was going so slowly now.
At first glance, the magic in this world seemed very simple. Say a few words, move your hand around in a predetermined pattern, and boom! Magic.
But, no. One thing complicated the matter, and that was misfiring.
If you drew the spell wrong, or spoke the words incorrectly, then not only would you not cast the spell, but twice the Essence that you would have used to cast it will be spent.
What really made this so punishing was just how unforgiving magic could be when it came to what constituted "making a mistake".
Speak one syllable with the wrong tone? Misfire.
Draw one, single line incorrectly? Misfire.
And, if Melisa's assumption was right, there were probably other reasons why the streets weren't crawling with mages with a magic system so, at first glance, simple. But, misfiring was a pretty big demotivator on its own.
With that in mind, Melisa had been practicing the ones she knew very intensely, and she made sure to draw the spellsign in the air very slowly right now.
[This, this, and... Speak the words... Voila!]
"You... You did it," she said softly.
[Nailed it! Come on, I'm the coolest 9-year-old you've ever seen, admit it!]
"So, yeah," Melisa said. "I can do that."
And, with that, she resumed her business and went to buy the scroll.
But as Melisa reached for her coin purse, Javir spoke again, her words sending a jolt of shock through Melisa's system.
"Say, if you're looking to learn more about magic, I could show you a thing or two."
Melisa did a double-take.
Javir leaned over Melisa's shoulder, looking at the scroll she was about to buy.
"Ice Storm. Perfectly reliable ability. I've cast it many times myself. How about it?" She asked. "Shall I tutor you?"
Melisa couldn't comprehend what was happening.
[... Is she serious? Did she just offer to teach me? Like, one-on-one, private lessons? Seriously?]
She tried to play it cool, but her voice came out as a squeaky mess.
"R-Really? You'd do that? For me?"
Javir shrugged with a little smile.
"Why not? Or, do you already have a teacher?"
"So, what do you say?" Javir squatted, placing herself at eye level with Melisa. "Want to learn a thing or two?"
Melisa's heart soared.
[This is it! This is my chance to learn from a real mage! I- Has my luck turned around? Am I becoming a protagonist!?]
She nodded vigorously, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Yes! Yes, I'd love that! When can we start? Where should we go? Do I need to pack anything? Oh, I should probably tell my parents, they might worry if I just disappear, but I'm sure they'll understand, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and-"
Javir laughed, holding up her hands to stem the tide of Melisa's babbling.
"Whoa, slow down there, kid! One step at a time. Let's start with introductions and go from there, okay?"
Melisa blushed, realizing she'd gotten ahead of herself.
"Right, sorry. I'm Melisa. Melisa Blackflame. And I'm ready to learn everything you have to teach me!"
She stuck out her hand, grinning from ear to ear.
"I'm Javir of House Folden. It's a pleasure."