Dark Magus Returns

Inside the inn, other than the bed, there was a desk and a single chair. As if the place were his own home, Dame pulled the table away from the wall and placed it toward the bed.

This way Raze could stay on the bed, and Dame could use the seat and the table between the two. Soon after, with a large grin on his face, he went into his robe and placed two books out right in front of him.

"Ta-da!" Dame said, pleased with himself. "What I have for you right here are two skill books that belong to my clan. Just to let you know, they aren't just any skill books. These books are usually reserved for only clan members.

"Which means, only those within the clan know how to use these skills. On top of that, I would say that our clan is the strongest clan in the entire Demonic Faction, and that the Demonic faction is the strongest faction. So if you think about it, I'm giving you two of the strongest skills!"

Hearing Dame speak, Raze was reminded of those damned spaceship salesmen. They wouldn't stop talking about the features of this and that. Then when one went to buy the thing, they would be bombarded with a load of extras.

It felt almost as if Dame was just trying too hard to say how precious these skills are.

"I can tell from the look on your face that you don't believe me," Dame continued and pushed the books forward. Just like before, some of the content of the books was scratched. Not only that, but the books didn't look old. They looked new, and even the ink was relatively new.

"Did you hand-copy these?" Raze asked.

Dame winked. "That just goes to show you how precious these skill books are. Honestly, your special drink you made turned out to be great for a certain client of mine, that's why I ordered ten more from you. So I brought you two of the books that were of equivalent value, no, you could say even more. One for the first drink, and the second for the new order."

Rather than wondering whether or not Dame was trying to pull a fast one on him, he thought he could really only tell after reading the contents of the book. Opening it up, he flicked through the first one's pages.

"Can you understand it okay?" Dame asked, peeking over, trying to gauge Raze's reaction.

Before answering, Raze looked at the second book. He had skimmed through them enough to gather what the two skill books were.

"It's a foot technique, and a sword technique?" Raze questioned, his tone dropping off slightly toward the end.

"You seem a bit disappointed," Dame said, sitting back down. "After completing your core, the next important step is foot techniques. They are the basis of nearly all martial arts.

"That foot technique is known as the Ten Descending Steps. With each step, there is more power that is placed into it, and each strike grows stronger. You can pull off most skills along with the steps, and the further you get through using the steps, the more powerful your strike will be.

"It's a foot technique that grows with the user as a Pagna warrior. Even I only know six of the ten steps!"

Raze still didn't know if it was a sales pitch or not, but his words were working.

"If I was to use this skill, would people know that it's a skill from your Clan or the Demonic Faction, same with this other skill?" Raze asked.

"At the moment, I doubt it," Dame explained. "You see, our clan members haven't fought against anyone for years, and there aren't many that know these skills. It's the same with any clans.

"Unless it's someone of age that has gone against the Demonic faction, I doubt they would know what either of these are."

In short, it meant although he could use these skills in front of students, it was likely that the academy principal and perhaps the examiners would know of these skills.

'Well, it's not like it's illegal to use other faction's skills, just frowned upon within factions,' Raze thought. 'A no-name like me using skills belonging to the Demonic faction shouldn't sound so surprising.'

"This next book, it's a sword skill, but I've never used a sword in my life?" Raze questioned.

"And had you ever really thrown a fist before?" Dame asked. He knew the answer after seeing Raze throw a fist with Qi from before. "Swords, spears, staffs, blades, gauntlets, and yada yada yada. They are frequently used in the world of Pagna, and the sword is the most common and for good reason. 

"It is one of the easiest to learn, but also one of the hardest to master. If mastered, you will be able to rule the world... some say. Just like with the steps, I have chosen a skill that will grow with you. Although not as impressive, there are three formations to the sword skill.

"However, combine it with the steps, and you will have a number of different combinations that you can use that your opponent won't be able to handle."

Raze wasn't just thinking that, if he combined it with his magic as well, possibly, he would be one of the strongest magic swordsmen that existed. He couldn't wait to give it all a try.

"And how many formations do you know of the sword technique?" Raze asked.

"Me!" Dame pointed to himself. "I don't use swords; swords are for wise people, and I'm not very wise, so I prefer to just use my fists."

Once again, Raze was getting an odd feeling that he might just be getting scammed, but for him, even simple techniques might be able to create something extremely powerful, just like his Dark Strike.

"I have something to show you as well," Raze said. He held out his hand and soon dropped onto the table one by one the dark blue-colored Qi pills, and they were ten in total. Seeing them, Dame tilted his head. He had never seen such colored Qi pills before, and he noticed the marking on them.

"This is the order that you asked for. I decided to make it in a style that is more suitable to this world's taste," Raze explained. "They're smaller and more compact as well, but they have the same effect."

Picking it up off the table, sparkles were coming out of Dame's eyes.

"This right here, is this your marking, is this so you know that it's your creation?"

Dame seemed to catch on quickly.

"There's more than just that," Raze said as he dropped three more Qi pills, each one of them a slightly different color, all with the DM marking on them. "All of these pills here each have a different effect that would be beneficial for a Pagna warrior.

"So what do you think, do you think these will sell, or do well here."

Raze hadn't even explained what each of the pills did, but Dame's imagination was already running wild, which was why he had come to the decision right there and then, as he blurted out his next words. "I want to go into business with you! And I want to spread the name of you and your product. So everyone will come to us in order to get the Dark Magus' products!"