Reborn With a Magic System

The tram came to a halt at a station, letting Damion and Elicia step out and walk up the stairway to the sidewalk. After a quick look in either direction along the sidewalk, Elicia motioned the direction they needed to go.

The pair walked past a few store fronts before stopping in front of Calm Sea. The windows of the store had been enchanted to make it seem you were looking out at over the ocean from the shoreline with gentle waves rolling onto the beach. As Damion watched the waves roll in he could not help but think of his time in the labyrinth. The floor in the labyrinth that had an ocean seemed so real, but here looking at the enchanted window Damion realized that most likely neither fake representation captured the true vastness of the ocean.

"Why does the ocean fascinate you?" Elicia asked Damion as he continued to stare at the enchanted windows.

"When you look across, doesn't it leave you with the desire to find out what is on the other side?"

"Not really."

"What do you feel then?"

"Fear," Elicia answered. When Damion gave her a questioning look she elaborated. "There are supposedly a number of dungeons that have opened at the bottom of the ocean. Because of that, the oceans are the source of numerous beast waves. Luckly, most water beasts can't survive on land, but that does not help the people who try to make their living by the water."

"I see your point," Damion said feeling a little disappointed in Elicia's lack of vision.

Damion's desire to explore was only driven stronger by the existence of an ocean that no one had explored. Or more precisely, returned from exploring. Elicia was correct that the oceans were treacherous, only fishermen braved the waves and even then, never more than a few hundred meters from the shore. There were no merchant ships traveling between ports, even the rivers of Nerotath were dangerous since Ferocious Beasts and Demonic Beasts often traveled up rivers from the ocean.

These dangers made the waters of the world the most dangerous and least explored places. Which made Damion want to explore them first.

Having daydreamed enough, Damion entered Calm Sea and began looking around at the displays of artifacts. Few artifacts were below C Rank and those few that were below C Rank appeared to be artifacts for specialized functions, like smokeless firepits for campfires.

Damion gravitated towards the armor section and began looking for a set of armor that suited his fighting style. Since he only had Ice Shard and Ice Sword as spells he could attack with from range, Damion felt it was best to stay with a set of armor like he had been wearing for years.

After the Magic System unlocked and Damion gained Ice Shard, his fighting style had changed a bit. However, now he had Ice Sword, and he felt like his style should be more of a hybrid style. Close fighting but having the ability to do ranged strikes as well.

When Damion stopped in front of a mannequin wearing a B Rank white leather cuirass a female store clerk with long black hair appeared seemingly from nowhere to offer her assistance.

Stolen story; please report.

"This is quite a nice set of armor. Made from the leather of a Snow Bull of the southern plains. It excels at protecting the wearer from the cold and has a strong resistance to Fire affinity attacks as well. My name is Afifa, would you like to see the rest of the set?"

"I'm not sure I can afford an entire set of B Rank armor. And while my Ice affinity seems to draw me to this armor, the white coloring stands out far too much."

"It is a bold armor choice, but memorable. Think of how everyone will remember your white armor as you move through the wilds. And when they see you fight, they will always remember the armor."

"I'm fairly memorable myself," Damion said as he resisted the urge to point at his light blue hair. "What C Rank armors do you have for a mage that fights at close range?"

"We have quite the selection of armor for spellswords. Most mages prefer just a chest piece or an enchanted robe to throw over their whole body. Since spellswords like to fight close, most knight armor is acceptable for them. Do you have a color preference?"

Damion ignored the clerk's thinly veiled mockery and carefully considered what kind of armor he was looking for. Having used the fire attack glyph on his sword for many years and seen its effect on people, Damion felt having protection against fire was one of his main priorities. However, since he had Ice Shield and now Ice Wall, he felt it might not be as necessary.

"What do you have in the way of C Rank armor that will offer protection against direct blows from Demonic Beasts?"

"We have a wide array of armors crafted from magic metals such as Aurichalcum, Mithril and Adamantine. Would you prefer something solid, plated, studded or woven?"

Thinking back to what Ethan had once told him, the more armor you wore the more it would slow you down. Damion had never worn metal armor, it had always been leather and fairly flexible. It did not offer the most protection, but with his ample mana capacity and regeneration, keeping the wards on the armor fully charged had never been an issue.

"I would prefer leather reinforced with either Blue Steel or Adamantine," Damion told the clerk. "I like being as flexible as possible and want to avoid adding too much weight."

"In that case, let me suggest a cuirass made from layered Deinosuchus leather," Afifa said as she led Damion to another mannequin which was wearing a dark red leather cuirass. "There are two layers of Deinosuchus leather, the outer possesses protection glyphs while the inner has comfort glyphs, so the armor always fits just right. Between the layers is a mesh of Mithril. More costly than Adamantine or Blue Steel, but since the Mithril can be refined into thin threads without losing strength, it provides greater protection for much less weight."

"Are the other pieces in the set made in the same manner?" Damion asked as he examined the chest piece carefully.

"Yes. Each piece features the same construction and has the same enchantments."

"How many pieces in the set?"

"This set comes with the cuirass, boots, vambraces, and greaves. If you would like pauldrons or any additional pieces we can create them, but they would come at an additional fee."

"How much for the four pieces?"

"12 platinum coins."

Damion wanted to cry when he heard the cost. He could afford it, but it would eat up most of his savings. He thought briefly about asking to look at another set. Then he considered haggling, but despite the noble families having a near monopoly on the best artifacts, it was a reasonable price. In the end Damion pulled his payment card out of one of the spatial stretching pouches on his belt.

"How long will it take to resize them to fit me?" Damion asked as he tapped his payment card on the clerk's tablet to complete his purchase.

"Just channel mana into the inner glyphs and the pieces will resize themselves. Is there anything else I can help you with today? Armor for your attendant perhaps?"

"No. I think this is all I need today," as Damion spoke the clerk began taking the pieces of the armor and helping Damion load them into his bag.