Chapter 223: Real

'That's it?'

Reiji decided to use his Appraisal Skill on the ground where the stone disk was buried.

[ Three-Layered Elemental Barrier Core 

Effects: Only the things and people permitted by the creator are allowed to enter or leave the specified barrier. Any intruders will be attacked by the installed Arcane Magic until the energy runs out.

Integrity: 100% 

Spiritual Energy: 600 Units

Creator: Rufus Magnolia ]

'Whoa~ This is actually quite decent… So you have this ready, huh…'

Reiji was a bit intrigued about the device that Rufus used. He had seen them displayed in one of the facilities within the Tower. However, this is the first time he had seen them being used. 

'Yes, Master… It's not very effective against strong Arcanists but it can at least kill or restrain any normal burglars…'

'Mhmm… Yes. Anyway, even if we're attacked by strong Arcanists we would at least have the time to respond with this barrier to take the first strike for us. You did great.'

'You're correct, Master. Thank you…'

Rufus smiled widely after being praised by his master. Although Barriers aren't his forte, he was still aware of the most basic things since he knows that he'll be needing this someday.

'Master, I'm not quite tired yet… I'll be looking around the city as you suggested before.'

'I'll go with you'

'How about them?' 

Rufus asked referring to the five slaves.

'Well, they can't get too far from me… They'll follow behind… Anyway, seven hundred fifty meters is more than enough…'

Due to their Slave Marker, they can't get too far from their master or they will die. Nevertheless, with that distance, Reiji was not too worried whether they can't follow or not… They'll just walk around the city anyway…

The young man changed his clothes to a cleaner one and removed any sign that he's an Arcanist from the tower… Right now, with his jacket and scarf, he looks just like any other people living in this cold city.

'We will be looking for visiting the hunting ground or any place we can use to train you tomorrow… For now, you can try to scout their places or do whatever you want.'

'Mhmm… Yes, Master… I'm planning to see their shops here for now. I heard that they have unique products here in the north and I wanted to see them.'

Then, Rufus brought his master to Merlin's Magic Shop.

It is a popular shop in the city and Rufus seems to be wanting to visit this place for a long time. 

'Although they aren't popular with their Magic Crafting, this region has a rare stone called Ammolite.'

'Ammolite? What they can do? Are they better than the Prehnite?'

'Prehnite? Yes, Master… As you know, Prehnite is popular for Enhanced Weapons but Ammolite is a medium used to cast a special protection Arcane Magic… This is a popular gift that can be given to anyone you care for…' 

Rufus smiled as he glanced around the shop filled with various colorful gemstones.

'Oh… Protection magic, huh.' 

'Un, since I can be a bit too aggressive in some battles, I wouldn't have time to use Shell Protection and this would also help me use more daring moves in Kendo… Well, I want to sometimes sacrifice my defensive stance, and just deal a critical blow to my opponent without taking a concern on my body… Hehe…'

Rufus chuckled a little and seem to be quite scary… He actually wanted to be a bit hardcore in his offensive sword skills.

Anyway, Reiji wouldn't stop the young man and just let him decide his own battle style.

If he ever made a mistake, he can just learn from it and create a new fighting style… As long as he's here to cover for his student's mistake, he'll just let him be… However, once Reiji has to leave him for some reason, he would of course advise him to try to stick in his trained art and be careful with his experiments.

"Sir… What is your best protection gem here?"

There's currently no one in the shop since they were still quite early. The man working at the shop can also be seen cleaning the shelves where most of the gems are placed.

"You can check here, come…"

The man in his thirties stopped what he was doing and led Rufus to a shelf with only 5 types of gemstones were placed… Each of them has about 10 copies and it appears that these are all the items they have.

The gems were also embedded in silver plates with an exquisite design like a good luck charm.

Reiji checked the price and found out that they were at the same price as some outstanding Magic Items that he had seen before. 

The highest price of the gemstone is 2,950 gold coins!

It is similar to the price of the Holy Sword Replica that he saw before. It means that this is equal to Class A-minus which is quite impressive if the skill is really that effective. 

On the other hand, the lowest price that he can see is 1,500 gold coins!

The man truly brought Rufus to the expensive ones since he was looking for the best ones. Although Reiji knows that they are not lacking money, he still felt that they are quite expensive… 

Nevertheless, he kept quiet about it since this is for the enjoyment of his student.

"I'd like to buy six of these Timeless Guardian… Are you accepting gold plates?"

When Rufus said that, the man who was about to return cleaning quickly turned his face and had a doubting look on his face… 

The Timeless Guardian is their most expensive gemstone and no one really bothers buying them these days since there is already a lot of inexpensive protection Arcana Magic.

Not only that, the Arcane Magic can only be used 7 times before the gem will become useless…

"Are you sure, young man? You can't return them once you bought them." 

"Yes, I have enough money. Even if I disliked them after purchasing, I won't return here…"

Rufus smiled after seeing them. He has a lot of these gold plates because of his great performance against the Sun Fire Knights and because he sold his rights for the poison cloud and fire cloud generator to the Tower… 

Since he no longer has the time to develop the technology due to a couple of months of training in Kendo, he might as well give them to someone who can continue developing them.

He was given a huge sum of money because of that and he was only spending his today…

Reiji smiled wryly at this impulsive kid. Anyway, it is his money and he could just work hard if he wanted to earn more…

Nevertheless, he glanced at the description of the Timeless Guardian, he was too focused on their prices that he forgot to check the Arcane Magic infused with them.

[ Timeless Guardian Amulet ] 

[ Effect: Summons the Shield Deity's Aura to protect the wielder when they are in danger.

Note: This Arcane Magic is copied from an Epic Rank Arcana's ability ]

[ Price: 2,950 gold coins ]

'Whoa… A deity? Seriously?'

Reiji felt that it was a scam. How could a deity's presence be summoned by spending 3 thousand gold?

He then decided to use his Appraisal skill to learn the truth about the Amulet… He wouldn't believe its power just because it was written by the shop owner.

He can still recall Neri, from the Mind Collection. She's a Blessed Arcana of Naomi the Shield Deity.

Aside from that, he felt that Neri has already advanced to a Mythical Rank for a long time since the shield has an impressive presence amongst the Sentient Arcana before.

So he felt that the Shield Deity would not permit this kind of selling his or her aura.

[ Timeless Guardian Amulet ]

[ Type: Magic Item ] 

[ A mass-produced amulet with Special Ammolite embedded on Fake Mythril to amplify the infused Arcane Magic. It also passively creates a powerful sphere that protects its wielder from any danger due to the unique compatibility of the Fake Mythril and Ammolite. ] 

[ Skill: Ammolite's Aura 

Usage: 0/7 ] 

[ Durability: 50/50 ]

[ Class: B+ ] 

[ Creator: Unknown ] 

Reiji finally has detailed information about the Magic Item. It wasn't that bad but as he expected, the Deity's Aura is just a scam. Anyway, it was still quite effective so he doesn't really mind. Of course, he still has to let Rufus know.

'Kid, it's written here that it has the Shield Deity's aura… You're not believing it, are you?'

'Master? Well, I know that it's not really the Shield Deity's aura but it is the name they came up with… It's not like there's really a Shield Deity… If that's true, then it means that there would also be Spear or Sword Deity…'

'Well, these Deities are actually real, Rufus…'

'Eh?'

'Un…'

Reiji watched Rufus change his expressions a couple of times. It seems that it was such a big deal for the young man.