"This is the place." Standing at the entrance of a three-story building spanning a few hundred meters in width, Valyr let out a faint sigh of relief as he thought back to the reason why he came. "This is that skill book shop that man had recommended to me earlier."
While he was roaming around the streets of Algerie City on the lookout for Shadow Serpent Essence, he also decided to ask some of the passerby as to which shop had the most complete collection of skill books he could get his hands on. Naturally, people recommended the skill book shops they frequented, which Valyr went to, only to become somewhat disappointed by the lack of options.
However, at some point in his sightseeing, he obtained a recommendation from one of the passerby he had stopped of a skill book shop that was well-known by almost everyone throughout the city, touting it as the skill book shop with the most comprehensive collection of skill books.
Of course, from the sheer size of the building in front of him alone, Valyr was inclined to believe that the man's words were correct. After all, only a building of great size would be able to handle such a large collection of books. Though, there was still a small part of him that doubted the man's claims, the reason for which he didn't know why.
"Well, I sure hope that man's recommendation was right." Taking in a deep breath, Valyr then walked into the building, being swiftly greeted by a space that was far larger than what it appeared to be from the outside.
With his mouth wide agape from the disbelief he felt, it took a while for him to collect his bearings as he took a look at what the building offered, instantly seeing multiple skill books on pedestals as far as his eyes could see. He also noticed quite a few people here and there being attended to by people in uniforms as they stood before some of the pedestals, making him wonder if the skill book shop was popular or not.
'Then again, the space inside this building is far larger than what it makes it out to be from the outside.' In the end, Valyr felt that he had no business to find the answer to that kind of question, instead shifting his curiosity towards how the space inside the building was far larger than what it seemed to be from the outside.
'I could probably ask about it after I finish buying some skills.' Then again, Valyr already knew the answer to that question, which was spatial expansion magic. However, what he wanted to know was the figure who had cast that spatial expansion magic within the building, wanting to get in touch with the person aside from the mage Arcenne had recommended to him before he left Clossbay.
After all, if a mage was proficient in expanding space, then there was a high chance they were proficient in compressing space.
"Welcome to the Boundless Skill Emporium, sir." As he continued to stand in place for a bit, wondering where he should start heading to get the skills he wanted, one of the people in uniforms eventually came up to him, being a woman in her early twenties. "How may I help you today?"
"I was planning to pick up a few skills actually," said Valyr in response. "Do you know where I could get [Mana Affinity]?"
"The basics of magic, I presume?" Bringing out a thin tablet before infusing it with her mana, the young woman eventually looked at Valyr with a nod. "Follow me, sir."
"Alright." Nodding back, Valyr went ahead and followed the woman as they walked through the various sections of the building, allowing him to come across some skills that he thought would be a good addition to his skill repertoire. Nevertheless, as the faint clanging of his armor reverberated throughout the building, he decided to place that at the back of his head and focus on what was important for now.
"Here we are, sir." After walking through the building for a while, Valyr and the young woman eventually arrived at the northeast portion of the building's first floor, prompting the young woman to stand in front of the skills before the two of them as she opened her mouth. "Before you are all skill books that will allow you to learn [Mana Affinity]. However, all of these books differ in rarity."
"The skill book you see to your left will allow you to pick up [Basic Mana Affinity], the lowest grade possible for the skill," she explained to Valyr. "To its right would be [Intermediate Mana Affinity], which is considered an Uncommon grade affinity skill."
"The Boundless Skill Emporium only has [Mana Affinity] skill books up to [Expert Mana Affinity] available for sale within the first floor. However, if sir wants to buy a [Mana Affinity] skill book of a grade higher than Epic, we would be able to do that."
"There's no need. Just [Basic Mana Affinity] would do." Listening to the woman's explanation, Valyr swiftly shook his head in refusal. Sure, obtaining [Expert Mana Affinity] or a [Mana Affinity] skill of a higher rarity would allow his control of mana to be far greater than what the lowest grade of the skill could offer, but he had no plans to focus too much on magic in the meantime, just the bare minimum to be able to roam the streets without having to rely on armor.
Plus, why would he waste a ton of money on a skill that he could get as long as he had enough XP?
"Understood, sir." With that, the young woman could only follow Valyr's wishes, inwardly lamenting the fact that she was not able to persuade the customer she was attending to spend more money on skill books. Nevertheless, she grabbed the skill book she was asked to grab as a thought soon popped up into her mind. "Since you're buying [Basic Mana Affinity], would you also like to buy [Basic Mana Manipulation], sir?"
"Hmm… I suppose I also need that skill." In response, Valyr faintly nodded, causing the flames of ambition to fire up within the young woman as she felt like she had a high chance she could make Valyr spend more.
And with that, they continued roaming through the store.
