Physics The Greatest Magic 12 Chapter 12: Exploring The City

I wake up to the familiar sensation of weight on top of my right hand. After turning my head to see what it is, a soft smile is formed on my face.

"Good morning, Ariel" I quietly muttered

That being said, she was still asleep. Traces of her once expressionless face seemed to have completely disappeared as she slept with a comfortable and content expression.

I wouldn't mind staring at this cute sleeping face all morning if i had to... At least that would be the case, but after everything that happened yesterday, whenever i look at her, my heart beat starts to get faster..

Not to mention..

"U-uhm.. Ariel, it's morning already"

"Mnm.."

After letting out that satisfied sound, she wen't back to dozing off.

Under normal circ.u.mstances, I would've let her continue to sleep. I Would've.. But currently the circ.u.mstances are anything, but normal.

H-How did this happen? I could've sworn i gave her the pillow before i went to sleep. So why.. Why is my stretched out arm being used as a pillow and why does she look so comfortable.. What even happened to the pillow!?

C-calm down, all i need to do is wait it out.. Yes.. It's simple, just quietly go back to sleep then be woken up my ariel.. E-Easy right?

...

----------------------------------------------------------

"U-um, John.. Is everything fine? You look tired.. Were you not able to get enough rest?"

"Haha.. Everythings fine, i slept like a rock."

Lies.

"Really? I see.. I was curious because your eyes have looked like they've been dead since this morning.."

"Ah, really? Nah, It must be because my mana hasn't fully replenished itself after using it all up yesterday"

All lies..

"Ah.. Then we need to get you something to give you lots of energy!" She said with an excited expression

"Yes, yes.."

I feel a bit guilty for lying but there's no way i can tell her that i was tired because i spent most of the morning trying to calm my heart down.

I tried moving my hand but it felt like it was stuck on something, and i didn't want to forcibly wake her up so just decided to wait. Who knew it would take an entire hour.

"Hey isn't that john?" Said the familiar voice

I'm currently walking through the capital with Ariel, we're planning on buying new clothes and just going sightseeing. After all since I've came to this world all I've done was try to survive. I thought i should try to enjoy it more.

I turned my head to see who the familiar voice was and let out a bright smile

"Will!"

"Hey john, how have you been?"

"Great, What about you?"

"I've been managing" He said as he let out a laugh

WIll was a former adventurer, i met him after arriving at this world and he was a great help

"So aren't you going to introduce your girlfriend?" He asked with a smile on his face as looked at Ariel

"S-She's not my girlfriend.. She's my partner her name's Ariel" I replied with a surprised expression

Ariel who had remained quiet this whole time. Introduced herself with slightly reddened cheeks

"I-I'm Ariel. N-Nice to meet you!"

Hm.. I guess she's still shy around others.. Well it's to be expected of course.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. You can call me will" He replied

What a sociable guy, completely the opposite of what someone would expect by looking at him.

"So.. What happened to you? After these few days?" He asked after staring at my clothes

"Well.. I became an adventurer"

"Oh! I knew you had it in you!" He said with an amused expression before giving me a pat on the back.

"Yes, It was thanks to your help. If you hadn't given me those fruits and directions towards the guild, i might not have been in this position today. Thank you Will" I said as i bowed to him

Ariel looked as if she realised something after seeing me do this motion decided to join in.

"T-Thank you, the Appas were really good!" She said as she also bowed

Oh so those fruits were called appa.

"How much would 2 appas cost?" I asked

"25 Copper coins each" He replied with a smile on his face

"Right, then can i have 2 Please?"

"Sure, pick anyone you like"

"Right, thanks. Ariel, aren't you gonna pick one?" I asked after choosing a random one

"Huh? Ah, yes." She replied with a startled reaction

"Honestly.. Do you think i'm going to be able to eat 2 by myself? We're sharing." I said looking at her as if saying 'Isn't it obvious?'

"Mn, Thank you" She said as she smiled at me

"I-It's fine" I said as i turned my head in an attempt to hide my slightly reddened face

"Here's the payment" I said as i handed will 5 silver coins

"This is a lot more than i request john" He said with a confused expression

"Consider it as thanks for saving me. I know it's not much but i'd appreciate it if you could accept it."

The man showed a troubled expression as he thought about whether or not to take it

"Alright, i'll take you up on that. Thanks john. make sure you keep working hard and became famous. that way i'll be able to use knowing you as an advertis.e.m.e.nt" He jokingly said with a smile on his face

"Yeah. Well then, We're going to continue to look around the city. See you later will!" I said

"Stay safe." He replied

Shortly after, me and Ariel continued to walk along as we waved at him

"He's a nice person" Ariel said as we continued to walk along the roads

"Yeah.. He is.." I replied

Throughout the day, me and Ariel just continued to walk around the city. We bought new clothes, ate delicious meals in restaurants and just had fun. Just the two of us.. Wait, isn't this a date? No, i'm just imagining things. It's just 2 party members walking through the capital and having a great time.

Right there's no need to overthink it.

"John.. John, are you listening?"

"Wh What's up?"

"I was asking what you wanted to do now.."

"Oh! Well.. i'm guessing we could get better weapons? Daggers are a dual-handed weapon but since we were only given 1 pair we only have one. I'd like to get another pair"

"Okay." She replied

We headed towards the smithy we had been to previously and like before, there were iron clanking noises coming from the back room and there was no one behind the counter

"Um, excuse me." I said loud enough to be heard.

Shortly after, a dwarf came out of the room.

"Oh it's the two kids. Was the armour useful? What can i get ya?"

"Yes. I'm looking for strong, light and sharp daggers and i'd like a wand for Ariel"

After hearing my words Ariel let out a surprised "Eh?!"

"Yep, i'm planning on getting you a wand. I feel like you'd do well as a support mage while i go on the offensive. However if you don't want to then we don't have to get you a wand"

"I-it's not that, I was just that i was surprised. I also think being a mage would suit me!" She replied with an excited look

"Well then, i guess we're getting the wands"

"What's your budget?" The Blacksmith asked

"2 gold coins" I replied

Ariel gave me a surprised look but didn't say anything

"Right, follow me" He said

He led us to one of his dagger displays.

"This is?" I curiously asked

"These are mythril daggers. They're quite common amongst adventurers due to how durable and sharp they are. They're also fairly light." He said as he stroked his beared

"How much are they?" I asked

"50 Silver Coins."

"Hmm.. What about this one?"

I pointed at the dagger which was next to the Mythril ones

"This dagger is quite unique.. It's made by a special ore which gets harder and lighter as you give it magical power. If you give it enough, it could easily surpa.s.s the mythril one."

"That's pretty good.." Ariel quietly said

"So what are the drawbacks?" i asked

"You're pretty sharp kid. To use it, you need to constantly supply it with magic, most people don't have enough magic power to last long and it turns into a useless peace of metal when they run out."

"How much is it?"

The man gave me a look as if planning something and replied "Hm.. Usually it would've been 4 Gold coins but i can make it 1 since you look like you'll become a regular"

"1 Gold coin for a dagger which looks as if it can't be sold due to how hard it is to use. Aren't you being a little cold?" I asked as i stared at him

"The ore is rare.. You won't find others selling these kind of daggers."

"Isn't that mainly because of it's drawbacks?"

The man clicked his tongue and appeared to have given up. "Alright, i'll sell it to you for the same price as the mythril. There are no refunds."

"Understood."

The man opened the display and handed the daggers to me after paying him

"Is there anywhere i can test this on?" I asked

"Yeah, follow me"

The man led us to his backroom. Inside it looked just like you'd expect. It was full of weapons and tools blacksmiths would use to craft swords. the room was also moderately warmer compared to outside.

"Here use this."

The man handed me an iron sword. The quality looked like it had deteriorated a bit but it still felt st.u.r.dy and the handle seemed broken.

"How?" I asked

The man placed the sword on top of a wooden table

"Take a shot." He said

"What? I asked

"Try cutting the sword."

"Are you sure?" I hesitantly asked

"It's fine, it's just junk and besides, you wouldn't be able to break it even if you tried."

"If you say so.."

Both ariel and the man stared intently as i, in a swift motion, swung my new dagger at the sword on the table. After it hit, a scratched was formed on the sword.

"See what did i tell you? The dagger is only good if you have enough magic po-"

Before the man had finished speaking. As my dagger began to slightly glow, I took another swing at the sword, only this time, i added kept a constant supply of magic power flowing through it.

On the swing, both the sword and the table was cut in half. Both Ariel and the man stared motionlessly at me with dumbfounded expressions.

"It's pretty sharp." I said

That being said, this dagger barely took any energy from me. In fact, it was just slightly more than magic strengthening and i didn't really need to keep it active the whole time so the drawbacks weren't really that bad. I feel like i just made a huge profit.

"Oi kid.. You never told me you could use magic." He said

"You never asked?" I replied with a smile on my face

The man put his palm on his face and let out a sigh as he realised he made a huge loss before taking us back to the entrance.

"What about the wand?" I asked

"John, about that-"

Before Ariel could explain, the man interrupted. "Wands contain a magic stone as a mana store. They improve the amount of magic you have and the power of your spells. Do you get it kid? They're quite expensive, and would cost at least 10 Gold Coins."

"I see.. Then looks like we're going to have to make more money.." I quietly said

Ariel who looked as if she had something to say, decided to keep it to herself.

"Well then, we'll be back for a wand later"

Ariel who had remained quiet finally decided to say what she was holding back "Are you sure we should get a wand.. Isn't it too expensive..?"

"Don't worry about that. What kind of mage doesn't have a wand? Besides, we're still training right now, so it's best if you don't rely on one too much. But after you're good enough, I'll get you one."

"Yes!" She said with a slightly relieved expression

I payed an extra 5 silver for dagger sheathes and then we left. I feel sorry for the blacksmith, but at least he learned something new.

On our way back, I thought about getting Ariel a gift to remember this day.

"Ariel, wait here for a moment, i remembered something."

She hesitantly nodded

I felt bad for leaving her here but we were near the inn and i wanted to make the gift a surprise.

I activated magic strengthening and rushed to one of the jewelry shops i had seen while we walked around the city. There was something that had caught my eye.

After a minute i arrived at the shop. I had been quite fast for my size so the shop workers. Had a perplexed expression.

"Um.. i'd like to buy this pendant."

It was a pendant in shaped in the form of a moon connected to a pendant shaped in the form of a sun. The main function that attracted me was that it could be connected, and once that happened, it would look whole.

I'm getting it because i think it would suit us

"Y-Yes, that's 2 silver coins"

I handed the coins to her and placed pendant in my pocket.

Excited to see Ariels reaction i rushed back to where i had left her.. As i got nearby i noticed something was off.

After i finally arrived, I saw the 3 Guys who tried to rob us yesterday standing behind a guy who held a dagger at his hand. I also saw Ariel with both of her arms stretched out. A position she usually uses when she's about to cast her spell.

I rushed to Ariel's side before asking "What's going on?"

"I-It's him!" Shouted out the guy who's arm i nearly broke

"This kid? You got beaten up by a kid?" Asked the man who was holding the dagger

The man who held the dagger looked like he was in his twenties, he didn't look as buff as the dwarf blacksmith or will but his body looked trained. He had short brown hair and a piercing on his ear

The one on the ground with bandages all over his body nodded in response without saying anything else

"Oi, kid. Why'd you beat up on of my guys?" He asked

"I didn't beat him up, i simply warned him."

"Then how did he get these injuries?"

"I don't know, ask hi-"

Before i could finish, In an instant, the guy leapt towards me giving me a kick which i managed to block with my hands. The kick was so strong that it managed to push me back around 2 meters. My arms felt numb, i'm sure that if i didn't have magic strengthening on they would have broken

He let out a whistle before saying "Not bad. Follow me. You know what will happen if you don't" as he looked at Ariel.

Ariel who had kept quiet glared at him as she spoke "Don't worry about me John.. I'll be fine."

"No. That guy is probably an adventurer, which is why he didn't do anything to you, There are people watching us so if he did anything he'd be in trouble. I replied

"Hoh.. You're quite smart aren't you. Kids like you p.i.s.s me off." He said

"Then!" She said

"It won't work. Even if we get away today, he'll most likely try again where there aren't any people watching. It's better to deal with this now."

"But! He's dangerous.."

"Don't worry, i'll be fine, he got me by surprise."

Or so i said, but i could tell, he was a lot stronger than me. He's probably reinforcing his body with magic, just like me.

"She's coming too." He said

"She has nothing to do with this."

"I'm going to need something to stop you from running." He said with a grin on his face

"I Was planning on going either way." She said

"But-"

Before i could finish i was interrupted by Ariel. "We're partners aren't we? How could i leave you by yourself when you're in danger?!" She said with an annoyed expression as she looked at me

"Fine, we'll go." I replied

"Good, i was getting tired of waiting."