"Something custom like that would probably cost you a few more gold, are you sure you can afford that and the mask itself?"
"I’m sure," I said, meeting his uncertain gaze. That seemed to convince him, as he just shrugged.
"Suit yourself. You can probably find someone who can do that over on the west side of Locke. Not sure specifically about hardening, but there’s plenty of tinkerers there since that’s where the Hunters Guild and Mercenaries Guild are located."
I thanked the smith, bowing my head slightly and tipping my hat as I did. Then I walked down a few streets before I found the shop I wanted; there I bought two crystals of about the same size, light blue in color. It was cheap, costing only me only a few silver coins. Certainly not what you’d expect from a mana crystal that would permanently strengthen the hardness of an object.
And that was because it was not a mana crystal. I bought myself some cheap quartz.
While I appreciated the advice the smith gave me, there was one thing that he did not consider. And it was that I could do magic.
I had studied every single book I owned in the past few months, and practiced every spell that not only interested me, but could be done in the privacy of my own room; some of them I had extensively read on, but due to the nature of the spells, I was unable to actually cast them without alerting people of my ‘heretical’ nature.
Enchanting was one such school of magic I could practice without such a problem.
Temporary magical enchantments were easier to learn than permanent ones; it took me a while to learn— about three days— but I eventually mastered how to do a simple Hardness spell. It was one of the ‘intermediate’ Enchantment spells available in the generalist grimoire I had. Which also meant that it was one of the hardest spells in that book to learn, since it mostly covered the basics.
I learned the spell to permanently increase the durability of my clothing, even if it was less effective on softer materials. But I did not want my clothes to tear and get damaged over every little thing, considering that I spent good money on it. And that rationale luckily paid off now, since I did not have to pay extra for someone else to do something with mana crystals what I already could do for free and with magic.
So after a nice, hearty meal, I returned to the smith and waited there until my mask was ready. I gave him the quartz— telling him they were mana crystals— and had him insert them to fit nicely onto the front of the mask. With that final touch, it was finally finished.
I handed the smith his gold, and headed back to the inn where I quickly enchanted it. The two crystals were there to give the idea that my mask was tinkered with, so they would not question anything if they ever discovered that it was significantly tougher than it should have been. Plus, it also added a bit of flair to the otherwise dull gray object.
I picked up the mask, inspecting it for a moment: it was an oval about the size of my face, there were two holes where my eyes would be— obviously so I could see— and a thin slit lower down, probably to make it easier for me to breathe. The two crystals laid on the left and right sides, about where the edge of my cheekbone would have been located if the mask were my face.
I casted my spell, enchanting the face covering before I finally donned it. I quickly got changed to my hooded clothes, to maybe hide my hair at least. Then, wearing my mask over my face, I headed to the Hunters Guild.
It was not a long walk, but with the amount of time that passed, it was already evening when I arrived at the building. I walked past the evening crowd, walking straight into the branch without any hesitation.
I knew how things went; I was used to it, in fact. But this time, things were going to be different. So I approached the front desk, as the clerk stared inquisitively at me. I placed a hand on the table, leaning forwards and tip toeing slightly as I smiled underneath my mask.
"Hi, I’d like to register as a Hunter, please."
Well then, let’s see what you guys got for me.
Chapter 12: Rematch
To be perfectly honest, I had expected it; from the very beginning, I had known it would had made little difference. The mask served other purposes, of course. But for this? Well…
"I’m sorry, little Miss—"
"Miss," I interrupted the woman, emphasizing the word clearly for all to hear.
"Uh, right." The receptionist hesitantly nodded. She gave me an apologetic smile, and continued. "As I was saying, Miss. The Hunters Guild does not allow anyone under the age of 16 to register as a Hunter, so unless you can provide any documentation of your legal age, we can’t give you a license."
"So Goblins aren’t allowed to become a Hunter? Because I’m pretty sure they’re already old and dying at that age."
That was a lie. A blatant lie which anyone who knew even a little bit about Goblins would know; however I was hedging on the fact that this was a Human country. Maybe people here could have seen the occasional Goblin once in a while, but I doubted that they knew too much about their biology.
I was wrong.
"I understand what you’re trying to say, little— uh, Miss. But Goblins can live for more than 30 years," she said, the smile slowly slipping from her face.
Honestly, I should have realized that the spread of information in this world was not
