Rexus Midnight

The First Step

Oliver walked down the road to the book store, wanting to check out what they had in stock before he decided what spell books to purchase. He knew spell books were expensive, but he came prepared. He had saved money for a long time, and now came confidently to the store with 5000 tangs (roughly $500 in this worlds currency). He arrived at the store 30 minutes or so after he left the house, and he walked through the door.

"Hello hello!" Called the shopkeeper as he entered "what can I help you with today?"

Oliver looked over at him. "Oh, I'm looking for some spells to learn. Some of the wind spells look kinda cool."

The shop keeper got his cane out and walked over to Oliver. "Ah, wind spells, ey? They're pretty expensive, can you afford them?"

Oliver chuckled. "I hope so! I've been saving for a long time to get these spells." He reached over and picked out a few books. "These are the ones I'm interested in, how much are they?"

"You have good taste" said the storekeeper as he looked the books over. "This first one is air slash, it causes the air to compress into a thin blade, and launches it in the direction of the slash. It's used for swords mostly, do you own a sword?"

"No, but I've been told you can use your body instead of a sword. Was my information wrong?" Oliver asked, feeling a little nervous.

"No, no. You can use your arms and legs as well, it's just not common. Well, this book is 2500 tangs. It's quite alright if you don't have that though." The storekeeper clearly doubted a boy as grubby looking as Oliver had that kind of money to throw around. He was wrong.

"No problem. Here you go," said Oliver, tossing the money into the counter. "Now, what about those other books?"

The store keeper was obviously shocked, but still managed to say "the other books cost a total of 3750 tangs."

"Oh. I'll pass on that book on the top. I don't need to know flame cloak I suppose." Oliver said, slightly sad at not being able to get all the spells he had wanted.

"Oh, then it's 2100 tangs for them." The store keeper responded.

"I'll take them." Oliver said, tossing the money on the table. "Now, what do I spend the last 400 tangs on?" Oliver wondered as he walked out of the store.

"Thank you sir, come again soon!" The storekeeper called to Oliver as he was on his way out.

"You got it!" Oliver called back. Oliver left the store, and started back towards his home. He began to read his first book on his way back. "Haha! I really got lucky this time, I got five books for just 4600 tangs!" Oliver thought as he read. At last, he walked through the door to the small shack that they called their home. "I'm back everyone!"

Cyan glanced over his shoulder at Oliver. "Oh, nice to see you again Oliver. You were out cold for weeks, you had us all so worried."

"Yeah, yeah. Let me read in peace would ya?" Oliver responded while laughing. He sat down on his mat, and continued to read the book on air slash. He read for a good 30 minutes or so, before stopping for awhile for a walk. He got some money together for buying a snack on the way, and set out. As he walked down the trail, he saw a peculiar shimmer between some of the bushes. "Wonder what that could be" Oliver wondered out loud. He walked over to check it out, and when he got to the bushes, he saw a shining copper tang, just up for grabs. "Well, waste not want not" Oliver said smiling.

"Hold up buddy" said a voice behind him. "You're not going any where fast, so just put your money on the ground, and I'll leave you alone. How's about it?"

Oliver was a little nervous, but he reached into his jacket pocket, and put a wallet down on the ground. "There, just leave me alone, ok? I don't want any trouble."

"Well, go ahead and run along now kid. And don't go telling people about this, or I'll kill you, and make your family watch." Said the robber as he went to pick up the wallet.

Oliver ran as fast as he could, turning around for a moment to send a blade of air towards the robber. "Haha, that idiot. I'm not stupid. Everyone carries a fake wallet in Comet City, don't you know that?" Oliver thought as he sprinted away. He looked behind him, and sure enough, the robber was chasing him, but Oliver had a headstart on him. As Oliver got near the city, the man had almost caught up. Oliver knew he couldn't outrun him, so he turned around and sent another blade of air towards the robber. This time, the robber didn't have time to dodge, and got hit in the stomach. As the robber bent double for a moment, Oliver ran to the safety of the city, not stopping until he was in a cafe nearly a half mile away.

As he ordered a milkshake, Oliver thought to himself, "whoa, that was close. How lucky that I was learning wind slash, that could have been bad otherwise," he glanced up as one of the employees brought over his milkshake. "I'll need to remember to work on it more at home". Oliver finished his milkshake, and then set off on his way back home.