“Are you sure this was all you wanted?” John asked as he looked over at Ariel and Serena.

“Yes!” They simultaneously replied.

Their request or order was for John to take them around the city for sightseeing and to one of the best restaurants in Atlas.

And as asked, they did, they went to the nicest looking restaurant they could see and went sightseeing.

“You look disappointed, were you expecting something more?” Said Serena with a smug look

“Not really,” John replied.

“Well, since we weren’t able to beat you. We agreed that we’ll hold back our original requests until we can.” Said Ariel.

“Alright? Anyway, we’ve gone sightseeing and to the restaurant, meaning there’s still one more thing left.” John said as he stretched out his hands to each of them.

“We’ve already done everything though?” Said Ariel as she grabbed on to it.

“He’s probably planning something again, let’s just go along with it.” Said Serena as she also held on.

“Haha… Levite, Furtim.” John said as they held his hand.

The moment he cast Levite, the 3 of them began slowly ascending into the air.

“Eh?! Wha- Wait!” Said Serena while startled.

“J-John!” Said, Ariel.

“Relax… Make sure you don’t let go of my hands” John said as they continued to ascend to the air.

“W-What do you mean relax! We’r-“

The breath-taking scenery which could only be seen by them as they floated above the kingdom left Serena who was complaining speechless. Ariel’s eyes sparkled as she also stared at this stunning scene.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? We can see the whole kingdom from here, with the sun setting in the background it really is astonishing.” John said.

His words didn’t even reach the two girls who were captivated and only focused on what they were looking at.

John thought that he should teach them how to fly so that they can see scenes like these more often.

“Man, today felt like it was a date.” John unintentionally said out loud.

“Da-te?” Said, Ariel.

“What’s a date?” Asked Serena.

“Uhh…”

“Go on?” Said Ariel

“A date is… When a guy and a girl go out and have fun…” He muttered.

“Ah, I had a lot of fun today… It was a nice date.” Said Ariel.

“Me too, We should go on a date again.” Said Serena

“Y-Yes…” John responded.

He felt guilty. John didn’t say that it’s something between lovers, but that was fine. They probably don’t think of it as that way either. Besides, he was not even sure of how he felt towards them.

Ariel is a cute and quiet girl who’s able to socialise when she tries. Serena is a more open girl who speaks whatever’s on her mind.

Still, John wondered if he’d end up falling for one of them. Maybe he already had. He didn’t know since he’d never had the chance to fall in love in his previous life.

“John?” Said Ariel.

“Why do you keep staring at us without saying anything?” Asked Serena.

“Ah, sorry, I was distracted. Anyway, we still have a few hours left. Why don’t we fly around?” John asked.

“E-Eh?! I-I don’t think I’m ready-“

“Velox,” John said as he interrupted Serena.

The instant he said that, they were propelled higher and higher until they reached the clouds. The two girls clung on to him in fear, and John could feel them trembling through their warmth.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you two fall. Open your eyes, this scene looks a lot nicer than the kingdom’s one,” John said.

The two girls’ eyes sparkled as once they opened them. They could see the clouds and the sky as they felt the smooth, calming breeze of the wind. The two remained speechless as they soared around in the skies.

The fear which was in their face had completely disappeared, and they were no longer trembling. They looked as if they were enjoying it. The closer John looked, the more he’d notice just how beautiful these two girls were.

“It looks nice, doesn’t it?” John asked.

“Yes…” They quietly muttered as they nodded.

They continued to fly around for another 5 minutes before they headed back down.

“Well, let’s go get something to eat,” John said after they landed.

“Um… John.” Said Ariel.

“Yeah?” John asked.

“I enjoyed the date, thank you.” Said Ariel with a bright smile on her face.

…

“Yeah, It also enjoyed it, you should bring us on another date soon. Once a month, no week!” Said Serena who also had a bright smile on her face.

…

“John, what’s wrong? Do you have a fever? Your face is bright red.” Said Ariel as she placed her hand on his head.

“I-I’m fine! I’m glad you enjoyed it!” John said as he faced the other direction to hide his expression.

‘Huh? Why am I getting so flustered?’ He wondered.

“Oh? John, could you be getting flustered? Well, you are a boy after all. Spending a day accompanying 2 beautiful girls.” Said Serena as she teased him

“I’m not…” He muttered.

“Wait, you actually are? That’s unexpected, and here I thought that you didn’t swing this way.” Said Serena.

“Why would you think that!?” John asked.

“I was joking. Besides, you’re awfully passive today. Normally, we would’ve started arguing by now.” Said Serena.

“It’s your reward, and I want you to enjoy today, so I’m holding back…” John spoke.

‘It’s really hard, though.’ He thought.

“Hmm…” She said as she stared at John.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked.

“Nothing…” She said.

“Huh? Hey Ariel, what did she mean by that?” John asked as he turned to her.

“I don’t know either…” Said Ariel with a teasing tone as she looked away from him.

“Not you too…” John muttered.

‘I had a lot of fun today… However, I wish they wouldn’t tease me as much’ John thought.

——————————————

The next morning they went straight to the smithy.

“Um, excuse me, Is Frank here?” John asked as he walked in.

“That voice, If it isn’t John. How have you been?” Asked Frank as he left the backroom.

“Frank, I’ve been good, what about you?” John asked.

“Haha, the business has been going well. I take it you’re here for your staff and gloves?” He said.

“Yes, is it ready?” John asked.

“Of course, who do you think you’re talking to.” He replied as he pulled out 2 boxes from the backroom.

He opened the boxes, and inside was a wooden staff with a green crystal ball as the core. And two leather gloves with Green round magic stones in the middle.

“Why don’t you two try it out?” Said Frank.

John grabbed the gloves and put them on, while Ariel grabbed the staff.

“This!” He unintentionally let out.

“That’s right. It works just like a staff, you can feel the amount of power you have available increasing right? To be honest, the stones you had contained a lot of power in them, so you should be able to notice.” He said.

“Yeah… It feels amazing. I feel like I can cast Magnum Ignis with it.” John said.

‘I can’t wait to test these out.’ John thought with excitement.

“mag-? What’s that? Anyway, unlike most magic stones which break, this stone has been refined so when it runs out of magic energy, you can just recharge it by adding your magic power or wait for it to recharge on its own. The stone has a lot of magic power but it’s not unlimited, don’t needlessly waste it.” Said Frank.

“Yes, I won’t. Ariel, how does it feel?” John asked.

“It feels like I’m flowing with power. I should be able to use Ventus Tormentum and Ignis a lot more times now.” Said Ariel with an excited expression.

“I’m glad you like it. I must say, you forgot to give me your hand measurements, so I was worried that I’d get the wrong size. Luckily, my guess was right.” Said Frank.

“Ah, that’s right, sorry. But to be fair, you also forgot to ask.” John said.

“Haha, that’s right. But take good care of those gloves. It was quite hard to write the runes on it.” Said Frank.

“Where are the runes? I can’t see them.” John asked.

“They can’t be seen by the naked eye, they’re drawn in a spell ink which allows for magic to be easily conducted. That is how a magician can conduct magic through his wooden staff.” Said Serena.

“You’re quite knowledgeable aren’t you?” Asked Frank.

“I was taught by my master after all.” She said.

“Hey Serena, I’ve been wondering. This master of yours, how strong is he?” John asked.

“Very Strong. 20% of the people in the world can use magic, a portion of those become mages, but only a select few within the thousands can match master’s level. At least that’s what he said.” Serena explained.

“Thousands… I wonder where I would rank.” He muttered out loud.

“Probably in the thousands as well, but it’ll be uncommon to meet a magician stronger than you. They’re spread out, we’ve met a few but you might not have realised. Oliver, for example, He’s stronger than you.” Said Serena.

“Is that so…” John muttered.

“Yeah, I noticed when we were conquering the dungeon. He was easily taking out the 9th and 8th-floor monsters while providing back up to Rose. He’s also quick with his chants.” Serena continued.

“I see…”

“What’s wrong? Just because you’re weaker now doesn’t mean you’ll always be weaker. In my opinion, you have more potential, and in a fight, you’d most likely win. You can use chantless magic and you’re physically strong.” Said Serena.

“Ah, don’t worry, I’m fine. I was just getting excited thinking how much stronger I could get.” John replied.

“So that’s what it was? Don’t worry, when it comes to magic, there are mages that can beat you in the blink of an eye. They are rare but they exist, so make sure you don’t aggro them.” Said Serena with a smile on her face.

“You kid sure are reckless. Anyway, here’s your refined stone, I didn’t compress it since you still haven’t decided what you want to do with it.” Said Frank as he pulled out another box and handed it to Serena.

After confirming it, Serena said “Thank you.” as she handed it to John to put it in the toolbox.

“Don’t sweat it. It’s my job after all.”

“We received everything as requested. Here’s the payment, “John said as he pulled out 10 gold coins from the magic toolbox and handed them to him.

Nonetheless, for all of this, they were able to save up quite a lot. John guessed that it’s because they were able to get the most expensive factor, which was a good magic stone.

“Thank you for your patronage. Make sure you guys come back again.” Said Frank as they left.

“Yeah,” John replied.

“We’ve gone through training and received better equipment. Let’s see how well we’ll do in the dungeon.” John said as they headed to it.

“Yeah. This time, the three of us will easily beat that spider.” Said Ariel.

“Damn right.” Added Serena.

And so they began their second round.