I sigh as I follow Xiri and Zale from behind. I wish I could try going back to the inn and logging out for the day. But it seems like I don't have a chance to back out now. After my bad encounter with those strange mages and the players who allied with them, I doubt I can go home with those said players and mages possibly chasing me down for the book. While I’ve given the book to Xiri for safekeeping, he fears they will track me down so they can find it again. As much as I want to go home immediately, he has a point and I don't want to get abducted while Wind is still busy in real life.

  So here I am, following them back to my inn with Xiri and Zale wearing their hoods from their robes, which I guess is for hiding their identities from the public. I wish I could ask them about it along with their work. But I know better than to expose them by asking questions out loud and in public. Besides, I have a feeling they're not leading me back to my inn so soon.

  [Here we are!]

  I stopped walking and looked up at where we were. "A...bookstore?" I ask while I stare at the sign that says, . "Why here?"

  [You said you have a lot of questions about us and what better place to do that is stopping by at my favorite shop in the neighborhood,] Xiri answers. [Besides, high-quality homemade stationery is much better than buying those cheap mass-produced copies at those high-end boutiques on the central street.]

  We enter the establishment and to my surprise, the bookstore itself is not like I imagined. Rather than being an old dingy store with its rustic exterior, it's surprisingly spacious as I see wooden walls around us with several plant decorations hanging around the windows and several shelves of books as well as rows of tables displaying several pencils, quill pens, and inks available. At the counter itself is a young woman with long black hair and an old man with dark brown hair bowing to us with a smile, both wearing aprons over their green dress and white shirt and brown pants respectively.

  [Welcome to our shop, Mr. Tazoru!] The young woman greets. [I didn't expect some new customers with you today.]

  [The young man right here is Zale, one of the assistant teachers of the academy, and Mr. Kazu, the young mage who will be participating in the upcoming entrance exam,] Xiri then turned to us after our introductions. [This is and her father, . They're the owners of this store. If you need anything from them, don't hesitate to ask.]

  The woman nods to us next. [It's very nice to meet you. We mostly provide commissions related to [Magical Tools] and custom stationery. My father also provides any enchantments to your equipment if you want.]

  [Yep! Whether it's a ring, armor, or a simple dagger, I can give them any kind of enchantments you want,] Leslie declares. [It's a bit pricey, but it's worth every [Lapi]. We promised.]

  Whoa... So they're not only selling books, but also enchantments and [Magical Tools], too. I'm surprised the players haven't found this place yet. Then again, it's not much like every general store I visited so far in the game since they tend to be more spacious than this one.

  "I wish we could, but we can't be hasty with our purchases," Zale suddenly says. "Before we do though, can we speak to each other in private for a while?"

  [Sure. Just let us know if you need anything.]

  Both father and daughter leave us for Xiri who gets a few books from the shelf. I appreciate him for making me avoid choice paralysis, but I feel like there's something more to his actions and I have a guess what it is.

  "So... How long?" I ask after a few seconds of silence.

  "Huh?"

  "How did you get a job at so soon? It's barely been a few days since the expansion was released and you need to have about an in-game week to become a teacher or something."

  Zale then sighs while smirking at me. "For a naive kid, you're surprisingly perceptive. As you already guessed, it's not easy getting this gig. It took me about a month to finish or in RL timezone, about two weeks or so."

  I knew it. This gives me more questions than answers though. "Then I ask again. How in the world did you access the academy before the expansion was released? Sure, you're a beta tester like us. But you had to do something great or gain the faculty staff's trust to get it. I barely knew the teachers' work behind the scenes and I know it's not that easy even in a VRMMO fantasy setting like this."

  "Oh, I've been working a lot ever since the launch of the game," he answers with full confidence. "And no, I don't mean the official launch. I mean even before that."

  Before the launch...? Wait...

  "Are you saying you were a beta tester like my Dad?!"

  Zale quickly covers my mouth and shushes at me. "Not so loud, kid. Not all testers wanted to be known in public. But yeah... I got an invite from pops and had a lot of adventures here including ones from the academy. Thanks to that, I got my [Role Player] gig while enjoying my time as a regular player on off-days."

  My eyes widen when I hear a familiar term. That's the same role Dad has right now after the beta test. I didn't know there were more of them, let alone a guy in Wind's age acting as one of the teachers in a magic academy in .

  "Well, don't think that I'm going to snitch on you out of spite. As much as I want to, it's not what I want and I’d rather play the game however I want without hurting other players' feelings," I say. "You got your own thing and I have mine. I would prefer keeping it that way for our sake."

  "Hmph... They say most minors playing online games can be gullible enough to fall to scams and cyberbullying, and ignore the stranger danger rule. Yet you're the first who isn't stupid enough to avoid all of them in a few months now." Zale smirks at me with his arms behind his head. "Your parents must have taught you real good about internet safety."

  Well, it's also because my Dad always goes online as part of his job researching AI. But he's right. I'm not stupid to tell him that in an online environment that screams "unsafe" to me. "Don't forget my brother. He was my [Guardian Player] and protected me whenever we play [Isekai] as a team."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "Right..." Zale hums and turns away from my glance. "Back on topic, if you think I'm gonna give you good graces because we're both beta testers, you're out of luck. My job in the exam is to make sure the participants are playing fair. So don't expect me to give you hints."

  "Hey! Who says I'm gonna ask you for some?!" I shout. But I quickly cover my mouth once I notice the owners are staring at me from my outburst. "Besides, I want to pass the exam on my terms. It doesn't matter if I'm facing a high-level player or a tough NPC opponent. As long as I know my basics and improve my magic [Masteries], I won't give up until I'm confident in my skills both as a player and an adventurer!"

  The older player smirks again. I don't know if my words were enough to convince him, but I know I need to prove myself instead of simply boasting about my skills before the exam. I already saw how Wind was improving in battles and I don't want to get left behind because of my weakness!

  "Alright, I get it. Stop shouting," Zale groans. "Xiri is right. I shouldn't tease you like that. Still, you have a lot of competition coming for you. If you lower your guard by a second, I assure you it's a one-way ticket to failure. Not everyone in the exam has good intentions for both the game and story after all."

  "Both the game and story"... I'm a bit terrified at his warnings, but I know all of them weren't mere jokes to me. I already saw those players teaming up with those strange NPCs who wanted that memoir. If that's the case, I can't rely on Wind and everyone else alone if I want to be ready.

  [Thank you for waiting, you two.]

  Just in time... I turned to see Xiri with a paper bag full of books and inks in his arm while Leslie and Epone followed behind.

  [It looks like you two had an interesting conversation while I was busy, correct?]

  "Yep! Just adventurer stuff, that's all!" I can tell that's a lie, but I'm not correcting it for the story's sake. "Are you done with your purchases, sir?"

  [Yeah. But that brings me to another question: Do you two have an interest in their wares and commissions?]

  Zale nods. "Yeah. Can you guys enchant my robe to increase my defense and my earrings to decrease my casting time? Knowing from my superior's recommendations, I knew I couldn't pass up this chance." He then hands them his said equipment to them, much to Epona's delight.

  [You got it, young man!] Leslie then turns to me next. [What about you, kid? I can grant you those same enchants as your friend. Or if you like to get up close in case those pesky monsters get to you, I can also enchant your grimoire or staff to deal enough strength to push them back. Whatever we enchant, we'll give it to you for about 10,000 [Lapi].]

  Pricey... But a good point. There is a lot of high-quality stuff not available outside this shop and I want to try their great enchantments on my equipment despite how pricey they are. But...

  "Nah, I'm not interested. Sorry..."

  Yeah, that's going to be a surprise to Epona and Leslie, but I thought it was true and this is the best option for me.

  [Well, I'm not surprised. I get it's not a cheap price for everyone and I get it's not fair for them, but I assure you our enchantments...]

  "No, it's not that," I interrupt while shaking my head. "I understand why you give a high price with your enchantments considering you have connections with one of the professors. But I didn't reject it because of the price or the competition."

  [Then why did you reject it?] Leslie asked.

  I take a deep breath, knowing this answer might be strange for them. "Because I'm also dabbling in [Magecrafting], too. I haven't learned about the enchantment side of things, but it's better if I can create [Magical Tools] with my own hands. It's not only cheap, but it's a way for me to create whatever I want without being limited by everyone else. Not only that..." I feel through the star-shaped belt buckle on my waist. "I don't want to demean my clothes' original creators with another. Especially when one of them is created with me in her mind."

  [Her?] Leslie stares at me weirdly for a while. But then, he starts laughing. [I see! It seems like that certain someone you mentioned must have given your equipment more than enchants, my good boy.]

  "...Huh?" What does that even mean?

  [Dad! Stop teasing the kid!] Epona smacks her father's back with a frown. [If what he said is true, then we shouldn't pry into his relationship with the belt buckle's creator! Plus, it's rude to take it without his permission.]

  Okay? I don't know what Epona is saying, but at least she understands my reasoning.

  [Okay, I get it.] Leslie then turns to me and bows. [Sorry about that, kid. I didn't mean to demean the value of that belt's creator like that. I can tell it's rough, but they put a lot of love into it. Whoever they were, I can tell from the buckle's sheen that they managed to create some unique enchantments meant for a growing mage like you, kid.]

  Really? If Alice was here right now, she would be blushing at his compliments. "She would be happy to hear that, sir. Of course, I can't downplay my efforts with the craft."

  [You did say you also dabbled in [Magecrafting], correct? Mind showing me your wares?]

  I don't see why not. "I can't call them my "wares". Rather, they're the extension of myself during my battles." I take out my [Plasma Staff] from the inventory and show it to them. "Besides, if it wasn't for the first staff I made, I wouldn't have started my adventuring journey in earnest."

  I look at the NPCs again and notice Leslie raising his eyebrow while Epona and Xiri froze with their eyes widening. [Hold up. You made that staff with your own two hands?]

  "Uh... Yes? Along with my [Crystal Staff]," I answer while taking out my second staff. "To be honest, the plasma one was made with some side effects I didn't expect."

  Just then, I heard Zale snort and say under his breath. "Didn't expect, huh?"

  I glare at him before he can say anything stupid. "Don't...say it."

  Zale shrugs. "Right... Right... Shutting up."

  Just as I turn my attention back to the shop owners, Xiri suddenly approaches me and takes a closer look at my staves. [Interesting. This [Plasma Staff] has gone through many improvements, yet the [Crystal Staff's] quality is better than the first. It's as if you use a homemade spell to imbue all of the elements in at the same time, correct?"

  ...Eh? What did he say? I didn't mention anything about how I made them, yet he managed to guess just by looking at them. Unless...

  I quickly glare at Zale, knowing he has something to do with this.

  [Imbued...elements...]

  As soon as I hear those words, someone places his hand on my shoulder. I look up and to my shock, see Epona with her eyes widened like a crazy person.

  [But that's impossible! You need to be an archmage or a mage to make that attempt!] She shouts. [An inexperienced mage would have been killed if they did!]

  I turn to see Xiri again. Only this time, he's smirking the moment our eyes meet. [Well, it seems like Zale's far-fetched story might have some weight in it. Would you mind giving us some clarifications, Mr. Kazu?]

  I look around at the store, seeing all of the NPCs staring at me like I'm a statue. I turn to look at Zale, trying to get some answers. But to my shock, he seems to have disappeared from the shop or rather, ran into a room nearby.

  I knew that guy had something to do with this and now, I don't know how to escape this awkward situation...

  Darn you, Zale!