Three days had passed since Armaros had decided to take the newbie adventurer as his sort of apprentice at the behest of the Guild and she has been okay for all things considered. But the fact that he is her teacher also kind of limits him as he doesn't have as much time as he used to, though it wasn't like he was about to say that to her.
Right now they are at the blacksmith's shop as she is following behind him as they entered the shop as he looked at the mage.
"Find some chain-mail that you like that you can use, it has to be something comfortable for you." Armaros said to her as he looked at the weapons.
"But I'm a mage you know." Shia said to him as she looked at the place.
"Doesn't mean that you shouldn't have defences in case your opponents get close to you. Mages don't have strong bodies so having light armor or anything similar would be beneficial to you." Armaros said to her as he turned to her.
"Um, so what kind of chain-mail do I need?" Shia asked him as he just shrugged.
"Buy one which is comfortable to put on and wouldn't wear you down when moving. The chain-mails should be there, go and take a look." Armaros said to her as she nodded.
"Alright." Shia said as she walked in the direction.
As she went that way, he went and looked at the short swords as he tried out a few of them during the time that she took to choose a chain-mail for herself. After a few minutes, he chose a light but adequate quality short sword as he gave it to the owner to buy it.
"You're buying that sword?" Shia asked him curiously as she came with a chain-mail in her hand.
He looked at the chain-mail as he can see that it is light and flexible chain-mail which has enough durability, at least from what he can see.
"Is that what you want?" Armaros asked her to be sure.
"Yes, this is light and wouldn't be too much of a problem, probably. I mean, I wore it but since I never use it before I don't know how it will be." Shia said as she gave him the chain-mail.
"Good. We'll be buying these two things." Armaros said as he gave the equipment to the man.
He then paid the money for the two pieces of equipment as the two left the place after Shia went and put on the chain-mail as they walked towards the Guild to get the quest for the day.
"Oh and here you go, I also bought a short sword for you. It's light so you shouldn't have too much of a problem with moving with it." Armaros said as he presented the sheathed short sword to her.
"Wh-What? Why?" Shia asked in surprise when she saw that.
"You're a mage, that is for sure, but it doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a melee weapon in your hands in case your enemies get too close, it's sort of a last resort weapon." Armaros said to her as he pushed it onto her hands.
"B-But you paid for it, didn't you? I can pay you back." Shia said to him as she fetched for money.
"There is no need for that. I am your teacher on how to be an adventurer, so consider this my gift to you, besides, I want to make sure that you have something to use in case of danger." Armaros said to her with a small smile.
Shia looked at him in surprise when she heard that, as she knew that Adventurers wouldn't just spend their own money for others, especially for people that they had met only a few days ago.
"Are you sure about this?" Shia asked him a bit unsure.
"I'm the one who is supposed to show you how to work as an adventurer, I think of it as my duty. Don't worry, you don't have to give me back the money, so just make sure that you survive, okay." Armaros said to her with a small smile.
Shia looked at him in shock as it was an usual behaviour for Adventurers as far as she was concerned. But she also noted the smile on his face and while it was only a small smile, it is a great smile and makes him more beautiful.
"Thank you, I will take good care of the sword." Shia said to him as she bowed.
"You do not need to bow to me for something like that. We are fellow Adventurers, it's normal to help each other from time to time." Armaros said to her as she stayed silent.
"Still, thank you. I will make sure that you won't have any problems with me being under your tutelage." Shia said to him as he chuckled lightly.
"Sure. Now come on let's go." Armaros said as he turned around and walked away.
Shia raised her head and looked at him as she followed after him. She glanced at the sword in her hand as she clenched her hand and jaw as she looked at it.
Timeskip
It was almost time for the end of this short term contract of teaching Shia about adventuring and Armaros can say that it was an okay experience. While it was something that he doesn't have much knowledge in, he can say that he had done a good job for a beginner as he gave her knowledge about what to do and not to do and others things.
They have also spend some time with each other when he is teaching her and he can say that he felt quite pleasant with her, perhaps even to the point of forming a party with her in the future after some time.
Right now the two of them were on their way to take care of a C rank commision of killing a few orcs. It was a bit far but the payment is good and it is a good learning experience for her as well so he took the quest.
"We will soon reach the area where the orcs were said to have been spotted. Be ready to fight." Armaros said to her as she nodded at his words silently.
They soon reached the place which was in the forest, unfortunately there wasn't any sort of clearing as the orcs, which he noted to be numbered at 8, were huddled together as he wondered if they were hiding or perhaps they had just decided to stay there for sometime.
'Hmm, it isn't much of a clearing, but it has some space but it also limits movement. On the other hand, this is the perfect place for Shia to attack them.' Armaros thought to himself as he hid with the mage.
"This is a pretty tight space, you should take care of them quickly, they probably won't all be killed by the surprise attack, but you can definitely deal a lot of damage." Armaros said to her as she nodded at that.
"Okay." Shia said as she got ready with her staff.
She gathered her mana in front of her staff and then after making sure that she had gathered enough, she shot the mana in the form of flames right towards the gathered orcs. The attack came quickly and they barely had the time to react as they cried out in pain from the roaring flames as it also caused the forest around the area catch fire.
"Don't stop." Armaros said to her as she nodded.
'This is a good chance for her to take out the orcs quickly and effectively.' Armaros thought to himself as he watched while staying vigilant.
Shia conjured wind magic and sent wind straight towards the burning and screaming orcs and manipulated the wind to circle around them as the wind also strengthened the flames as Armaros smiled at the sight.
While it is no doubt gruesome, he didn't have much of a problem with such a sight and the noise of the orcs was something that didn't bother him as he had little to no care for the barbaric species.
"Come on!" Shia shouted as she pointed her staff at the orcs.
The fire and wind coalesced and burner the orcs and also the trees around it as Armaros had to take a step back to make sure that he didn't get burned from the fire that she had created. She then screamed a bit and fire erupted upwards as he had to cover his face using his hand.
And then she quelled the flames as the fire disappeared, save for the ones left on trees and on the ground as the ground is charred as some of the remains of the orcs were left on the ground as it was smoking as Shia was panting a bit.
"I didn't burn down the forest." Shia said with a smile when she heard that.
"It probably took a lot to have such control over your magic huh." Armaros said as he looked at her.
"Yes." Shia said with a nod at that as he hummed to himself.
"Well, you managed to take care of those orcs on your own, granted the environment was of help but a good adventurer is someone who is willing to take advantage of the things around themselves, so it is good." Armaros said as he went forward to collect the materials needed to show that the quest has been completed.
He walked into the burned and charred ground as he wasn't worried about the heat and burned ground as he was sure that his armor would be more than enough to protect him.
But then he suddenly felt a change around him, especially in the manner of Mana as his eyes widened before he felt his body forcefully pulled back and onto the ground as he was slammed onto the ground as his back hit the ground as he gasped from the force as the ground cracked.
"What's happening!?" Armaros shouted in shock as he tried to get up before the earth covered his arms and legs, trapping him on the ground as he hissed from the feeling of the hot ground.
He looked at Shia and his eyes widened when he saw her looking away from him while gripping her staff. In response his mana flared as he tried to get out of this trap as he grit his teeth.
But suddenly he felt more force over him like gravity had increased as he gasped from the force and he saw a magic circle fall on top of him as he felt his mana being tied down or constricted as his eyes widened.
"Well, I have to say that you are more troublesome than I thought you to be for someone of your status." A man's voice said as Armaros's eyes widened.
He turned his head to the right and saw a man wearing noble clothes looked at him and smiled as the former Dawnbringer's eyes widened at the sight of the man.
'Wh-What is this feeling that I am getting from him...' Armaros thought to himself as he looked at the man.