Grimoires & Masters - Chapter 28. (Patreon)

The first thing in the morning that Aoun and Elena noticed was Simca’s red face. 

Every time she looked at the two of them, her cheeks would bloom in a deep blush, and she would avert her eyes. By the time the breakfast finished, Elena could not bear her curiosity.

“Is everything okay?” Elena reached closer to Simca and asked.

The little girl blushed, but at the same time, she giggled, confusing Elena more. 

“You two should show some restrains at night… I could hear your…. Even in the morning.” Simca whispered in her ear.

It was now Elena’s turn to blush hard, but then she was suddenly worried. 

“How?!”

Rumi laughed when he saw how flustered Elena was. 

“It is her Rune,” He informed them, “She sometimes practices at night and the hour before dawn.”

“I did not mean to listen!” Simca apologetically lowered her head. “I stopped it as soon as I heard you… but then when I activated it three hours later, you were still…”

“Why would you use it at night?” Aoun sighed and shook his head. 

“I won’t use it now…” She nodded to them promisingly.

Elena hugged her and then smiled brightly. 

“It’s okay…” She said, “I wouldn’t mind if it is just you listening to us.” 

“No, thanks!” Simca had a scare at her words. 

Rumi burst out laughing, and Aoun and Elena could not help it either. 

“So, what is your Rune?” Elena asked curiously. 

“It is the Celestial Rune of Sounds; Echona,” Simca answered with pride. 

Celestial Runes were unique Runes in the sense that all 196 of these Runes, could not be found in any other Class of Runes. The same Celestial Rune could appear on several people at the same time, but unlike how most Primordial Runes had Immemorial variants, that was not the case with Celestial Runes. There was no Primal, Imperial, Immemorial, or Primordial Echona. 

“The best Rune of Sound for spying and stealth!” Elena called out in shock. 

“Yes,” Simca laughed lightly, “But it isn’t much helpful in battles.” She didn’t sound sad when she said that. 

“Yes, it does not have the destructive force, but it has its perks. It is best in Stealth, and of course, all sound Runes are one of the finest when it comes to making your opponent lose focus.” Aoun smiled at her. “If you have not learned how to use it properly yet, we will help you with it.” 

Simca gratefully nodded to both of them. She seldom associated with people. Both Rumi and she never had people to teach them battle tactics, and they were always reluctant to ask for help from strangers. Now things were different. They were a part of a Guild and having Royals as your captains had its perks. 

A prince and a princess were taught on the Arts of Battles and various other Arts since the day they learnt to speak and walk. Their education was never easy, but it was worth it as it provided them with immense knowledge and power when they grew up.

“Rumi…” Aoun was about to ask the little boy what his Rune was when Rumi displayed it for them.

In a matter of a couple of seconds, Rumi’s height increased, and his figure, features, and face changed to that of Aoun. He had become his mirror image, just dressed differently.

“Morphelia!” Elena called out in alarm.

“Yes,” Rumi nodded in Aoun’s voice, even the Aura he was emitting was similar to that of Aoun, just missing the density of an Empyrean. “But strangely, I can’t seem to imitate your Aura perfectly.” He curiously looked at Aoun and morphed back into his real appearance. 

Aoun was still a Novice, and Rumi was a Warrior, imitating his Aura should have been no problem for him. It was all thanks to his Empyrean Aura that was unique to him that no one in the world could impersonate him.

“You two are perfect spies!” Elena laughed brightly. “Celestial Echona and Celestial Morphelia.”

“We were blessed to have these Runes,” Rumi nodded to her words. “If we didn’t have them, surviving on our own would have been more troublesome.” Then he sighed. “Sadly, both are Runes are not great for Battles.”

“Well, we will find suitable battle Runes for you. One does need Battle Runes, but these Support Runes are precious as well. Every Master needs a perfect balance of Support and Battle Runes.” Elena assured him.

Her words made both Simca and Rumi smile, and they happily nodded to her.

The four of them checked out of their Suite and officially set out on their first day as a Guild.

Their first destination was the Guild Hall, and there they were going to pick some suitable quests for themselves. However, the Quests available for Rank F were disappointing in both the tasks and the rewards.

A large, black, cubical stele had the list of F and E Rank Quest’s live-feed on it. Every minute, new Quests added to the list, and the completed Quests were marked. 

There were currently more than ten thousand F and E ranked Quests available in the Kingdom of Dreams. Aoun applied some filters, and they found nearly two thousand Quests that could be completed in a 500-mile Radius of Blossom City. Sadly, the Experience Points and Rank Points offered on these Quests were very poor. 

After a lot of thinking, and nearly two hours of search, they decided on five Quests. The Stele sent out their Quest Parchments, and the group first headed upstairs to discuss a few things before getting them approved at the reception.

“Which place should we head to first?” Aoun asked Simca and Rumi. 

“Red Canyon,” Simca replied without taking much time to think. “It is far away, and we can go to the Alps when we are done with the ones that can be completed inside the Kingdom.” 

The reason why the question was important was that the Alps were in the Wild North, and the Red Canyon was three hundred miles to the South-East of Blossom City, in the Kingdom of Dreams.

“Two of these Quests are for Red Canyon, and one in its surroundings,” Rumi reasoned it, “I too think we should complete these first.”

“Mhm…” Elena nodded to his words. “I want to hunt those wolves first, and then go fishing.” 

Her words made all of them smile. 

“We will have to make sure that we do not disturb the Alphas in the Canyon,” Simca warned them. “And then there are those Guilds who camp there to steal from people and other Guilds. These two are the reasons why I and Rumi never went to the Red Canyon. Finding those herbs wouldn’t take us a lot of time, so that isn’t a worry.” 

Aoun listened to them and then went downstairs to get the Quests approved under their Guild’s name.

The booth of Elna was not busy, and so he decided to have her assist him in the procedure.

“Have been to the Inner Lounge?” Elna asked as she registered the Quests under their Guild’s name.

“No,” Aoun frowned. 

“Always go there before choosing new quests. The News-Feed runs there.” 

“Has anything happened?” 

“Yes,” Elna nodded to him. “Two A-Ranked Guilds were killed yesterday, near the Black Valley. And last night, a B-ranked Guild was killed in the Alps. The Wild North is in Chaos, and it will take some time before it settles.”

“Which two A-Ranked Guilds?” 

“The Thousand Suns Guild, and Destinia Disaster,” Elna answered to him with a smile and handed him his approved Quest Parchments. “You can return the two Quests of the Alps within 10 days. If you decide to not do them after 10 days, returning them would cost you the number of Rank Points the Quests offered.”

“I will talk about it with my team,” Aoun nodded to her. “Thank you!”

“Be safe!” 

Elena, Simca, and Rumi were waiting for him by the exit. He informed them about what Elna had told them, and it was decided that they would make the call after returning from the Red Canyon.

“Destinia Disaster should be the Guild that was waiting outside with the Thousand Suns Guild…” Rumi recalled the people they had seen when they had left the Black Valley. “That means that the Black Lament survived.” 

“I hope that when we return from the Red Canyon, the Alps are safer.” Simca sighed. “Otherwise, we would have to stick to the main road in the Alps, where chances of finding the things we require are very low.”

“We don’t have to do those Quests.” Elena smiled at them. “If things do escalate in the coming days, we will drop these Quests and look for something else.”

They walked across the Square and entered the extravagantly elegant Bank, discussing the things that were happening in the Wild North. 

The great hall had lounges on the two sides, and at the center was an Aquarius fountain. Everything inside the Bank was white, even the dome-like ceiling was made of white marble. 

There were several cubical Steles set up, and people reached over to them to take out their tokens. 

Aoun and Elena had been to the Bank inside the Crystal City, and so they knew how things worked here. Elena reached over to a Stele that was vacant and took their Token.

They had to wait nearly half an hour until their number was displayed outside an office, and Aoun and Elena entered it. 

Inside the room was a booth, where a Skyian politely greeted them.

“My name is Venus. How may I help you?” 

“We would like to open an Account under our Guild’s name.” Elena smiled at the lady. 

Venus nodded to her and then took out a large book from her Blood Ring.

“Do you have existing accounts?” Venus asked. 

“Yes,” Aoun nodded and reached over to the counter together with Elena. 

Venus made them place their hands on an Astral Orb and confirmed their identities. 

“Aoun Zaryven, alias Erebus, and Elena Zaryven, alias Lunastasia.” Venus nodded at them. “Would you be using your Real names or Aliases for the Guild’s account?” 

“Register them both,” Elena told her. 

The Banks never leaked anyone’s information. It was the Cardinal Oath that every Banker took. And that was the reason why the Skyians were the only Bankers in the World. The Skyian were the most trusted out of any other race because of their pure hearts. 

Venus took some time to prepare things, and then she made then both place their hands on a Book that invoked the Runic Badges on their hands, registering their information. 

“Your Guild’s Account will be active all over the World after 72 Hours.” Venus smiled at them as she finished the process. “Anything else you would like me to help you with?”

“Yes,” Aoun smiled at her. “We would like these exchanged into Platinum Coins of the Kingdom of Dreams.” He handed their remaining four Royal Coins on them to her and additionally paid her 20 Silver coins as the exchange fee. Exchanging a Royal Coin cost 200 Kyrls in the Banks. 

After getting the Coins exchanged, they both thanked Venus and exited her office.

Blossom City looked more mesmerizing in the day. The vibrant colors of Blossom Trees and the contrast the wooden buildings provided was spectacular. They decided to not take the Teleportation Portal, and travelled through the City to the Southern Gate on their horses. 

Simca and Rumi climbed on Rulo, and the magnificent Akhel neighed happily, ready for the day’s journey. His call turned a lot of curious gazes toward their group, some welcoming, and some envious.

Ray stretched out lazily and got some love from Elena before the siblings climbed on it. Aoun could feel that Ray had not fully recovered from the fatigue of yesterday’s journey, and so he decided against pushing the horse to his limits. They cantered their way to the Southern Gate on the cobblestone roads.

The inner-most layer of the City was the Central District. It was where the City Lord’s Palace, the Blank, the Guild Hall, and the Military Headquarter and Court was. In their surroundings were the Super-Luxurious Hotels, and after that came the second layer of the City that was the Inner-Residential District. They had taken the Portal yesterday, and so they had never seen these Mansions before. Every single mansion was unique in architecture and was at a suitable distance away from the other. 

The roads here were wider, quieter, and the atmosphere was heart-warmingly serene.

Blossom City might be the only city in the World that was situated a few miles away from the border and remained this peaceful. Occasionally, chariots would go past them, and they even saw Maids and Butlers heading along the road, on their way to the Inner Market.

After the Inner Residential District, came the third layer of the City, it was the Inner Market. The streets of the market were bustling with customers. 

Aoun decided to stop at an Alchemy House that had a few Adventurer customers inside. 

“What do you want to buy?” Rumi asked curiously. 

“Healing Potions, and some Aura and Mana potions.” Aoun smiled at him and asked them all to wait outside. 

He reached the counter where a middle-aged woman was wearing a uniform and greeted him. 

“What would you like, Sir?” She asked politely. 

“Show me your best Elementary Potions for Mana and Aura recovery. And I would like to see some Superior Potions for Healing.”

The lady in a green uniform happily nodded and entered the door that was right behind her. She came out a few moments later, carrying three different Potion Boxes and set them on the table before him.

“These, Sir,” She opened one box that was colored Green, “Are the different Elementary Mana Potions that we sell here. All these Elementary Potions are made by our Alchemists.”

Inside the box were four different vials, with different designs on them, but each contained an Orange Potion, shimmering brightly. 

“The one with the Tiger Design would help you recover your lost mana at a rate of 1.6x and costs 1,000 Kyrls. The one with the Unicorn design has a rate of 1.5x and costs 1,500 Kyrls. The one with the Dragon design has a rate of 1.75x and costs 2,500 Kyrls. Lastly, the Phoenix design has a rate of 1.8x  and costs 5,000 Kyrls.” She informed him of their prices and attributes.

In the World of Aurora, the Quality of Potions was divided into Seven Ranks. Elementary Potions were Red and Orange colored. Red Potions usually had a rate of recovery between 1.1x to 1.4x. The Orange Potions had a recovery rate of 1.45x to 1.9x. 

The Quality also depended on the side-effects, and that was why even in the same Rank, the potions still varied in quality. The vial with the Phoenix design was the brightest and was of an intense orange shade. The intensity of the color represented the effectiveness, and the shimmering brightness represented the presence or absence of side-effects. The brighter the liquid, the lesser its side-effects would be.

“What are the side-effects?” Aoun smiled at her. 

“The Pheonix design has near to no side effects, but it might vary from person to person. The Dragon design could cause a loss of hunger, little nausea, if you are not used to drinking potions, and any Mana potion you use after it for a day would see a loss in effects. The Unicorn design has the least rate of recovery, but just like the Phoenix design, it has the least side-effects, near to none. The Tiger design has the same side-effects to that of the Dragon design, but a lower rate of recovery.”

“And the Aura Potions?” 

The lady nodded to him and opened the aquamarine box.

The Aura Potions inside were in similar Vials, and of the same Orange Rank. The differences between the Aura and Mana potions were their viscosity. Aura potions were visibly less viscous than the Mana potions.

“Their attributes and side-effects are the same. The Price of the Tiger is 800 Kyrls. The Unicorn design costs 1,200 Kyrls. The Dragon costs 2,000 Kyrls, and the Phoenix costs 4,000 Kyrls.” She smiled at him. 

“I would take a box of each in Phoenix design.”

The smile on the lady’s face bloomed brightly when she heard that he would be taking entire boxes. 

“Each box of Aura and Mana potions contains 12 Potions.” She reminded him. 

“Yes,” Aoun nodded to her. “The Healing potions?” he looked at the Red box. 

The Lady opened the box and it only contained two designs in it. One was Unicorn, and the other was the Phoenix design. The liquid inside was Green, more viscous than the Mana Potion, and it shined brightly.

“These two products have near to no side-effects, but they might cause a little loss of hunger depending on the person that drinks them or applies them.” She informed him. 

“The attributes?”

“As long as your immune system is not harmed, the Phoenix potion would raise your rate of recovery from internal injuries by 2.5x. The Unicorn potion would increase it by 2x. And if you choose to directly apply them on a wound…”

“It would depend on its severity.” Aoun nodded to her.

“Yes,” She smiled. “The Phoenix Potion costs 20,000 Kyrls. The Unicorn Potion costs 15,000 Kyrls.”

Aoun sighed in his heart when he heard that. The Healing Potions were quite expensive. He could decide to ask for Elementary class Healing potions, but he did not want to be stingy when it came to their safety.

“A box of Phoenix.”

The lady happily nodded and immediately packed the samples and rushed back inside the room. She came out not long after, holding three boxes of Potions. She opened each of them before him, allowing him to check what he was buying. 

The box of Healing Potion contained six vials, and the boxes of Aura and Mana potions contained twelve Potions each.

“Your total is 228,000 Kyrls.” The smile on her face showed that he had made her day.

Aoun paid her 22 Platinum and 8 Gold Coins, closed the three boxes after checking all potions and stored them inside his Blood Ring.

“Thank you!” He smiled at the lady. 

“Have a prosperous Adventure!” She excitedly wished him the best.