The hamlet near the front portal was not very alive—most merchants had closed up and the locals went about their day. Surprisingly, there were a few academy students chatting as they prepared for the upcoming semester. Leo walked down the path leading to the hamlet, pretending that he had been walking it since the academy.
Professor Eury had told him to wait, and considering he wasn't entirely sure he could leave Arcadia without her, waiting was his only real option.
'Might as well make the most of it.'
Leo's mismatched eyes scanned the various shops lining the cobbled streets. Food stalls, a clothing vendor, an alchemy supplier—then, something caught his attention.
A wooden sign hung above a small storefront, depicting a carved wand wrapped in lightning bolts.
"Eldren's Wands & Arcane Implements."
Leo had never used a wand before. Never even touched one. His training had revolved around swords, bows, and raw elemental magic. Wand users? They were always dismissed as fragile glass cannons, incapable of taking a real hit.
But he had also seen them in action.
He had seen them dart around battlefields, throwing up shields, striking with bursts of magic so fast that even seasoned warriors in close-quarter combat struggled to block up. He knew they weren't weak—he learned why but he had never learned the how.
'Might as well start now.'
Leo pushed open the door and a soft chime rang above him. The shop had the cozy, organized clutter of a craftsman's space. Shelves lined the walls, displaying wands of all shapes and sizes—sleek, polished ones with silver inlays, gnarled wooden ones wrapped in enchanted threads, even short, dagger-like wands with crystal tips. Behind the counter, a grizzled man with dark brown skin, salt-and-pepper hair, and a pair of small spectacles perched on his nose looked up from his workbench.
'Must be the wandmaker. I can feel the scent around him, it's heavy with mana.'
"Ah," the wandmaker said, setting down a half-finished wand. "A new face. What can I do for you, lad?"
Leo's eyes Darted across the wands on display. "Just looking. I, uh… don't know much about wands."
The wandmaker—Eldren, presumably—grinned. "Then you came to the right place."
Eldren stretched his back before waving Leo over to a glass case. Inside were a dozen wands, each labeled with its specifications.
"Most people assume wands are just miniature staffs," Eldren said. "That is entirely wrong. I could go on and on about the differences but the ultimate difference is in how they function." He tapped on the glass. "Staffs are built for power. You charge spells through them, make massive shields, shape large-scale magic. That's why you see them in the hands of battle-mages. They're slower, but when they hit, they hit."
Leo nodded. That much made sense.
Eldren then pointed to the wands. "Wands, on the other hand, are built for speed. A good wand user can cast spells with almost no delay, using small or even invisible magic circles. They're designed for mobility—quick dashes, rapid-fire spells, short-lived shields. Have you ever heard of Blitz Casting? That's what you get when a wand user hits peak. He can Blitz Cast."
"Blitz Casting?"
"Aye," Eldren said, amused by his reaction. "It's a technique where you spam spells—minimum, ten spells a second. A crazy, insane burst of spells that relies on overwhelming an opponent. Sure, they're weaker than a full-powered spell, but when you fire off twenty spells in the time it takes for one? That's a problem for anyone."
Leo folded his arms, considering. His old trainers had always dismissed wand users as fragile nuisances. But this? This sounded impressive.
"I've seen wands in action before," Leo admitted, "but I was never taught why they worked. I was just told wand users weren't much of a threat."
Eldren let out a loud, hearty laugh. "Lad, who in the world trained you?"
Leo just laughed back, shaking his head.
Still, this changed things. If Blitz Casters could move like that and attack in rapid succession… he needed to start thinking about how to deal with them properly. Actually, wait, not deal with them, learn to use them. After all, he was here to learn and get a job after all. Make money. That was his ultimate goal here.
He nodded to himself before glancing back at Eldren. "How much do these go…for…?"
The price tags had been there from the start. He didn't notice, until now. 'Damn, the cheapest is ten whole gold coins. No wonder people say magic is expensive.'
The highest-end wands were worth more than his entire living situation. The cheaper ones were still pricey, but at least they weren't completely impossible.
Eldren must've noticed his reaction because he grinned. "Relax, kid. You don't need to buy one right now. You'll have time to pick up a wand if you ever decide to use one."
"Next time I come here, I'll definitely buy something."
Eldren chuckled, leaning against the counter. "By your fourth year, you'll have to build your own wand. That'll be fun."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "We make them?"
"Oh yes," Eldren said with a knowing smirk. "Not easy. Every student who goes through it always walks away with a newfound respect for wandmakers. Specifically, me." He laughed. "They always beg me to give them advice."
"You don't give it to them, do you?"
"Nope. Not when they take me for granted."
Leo chuckled. "I was raised in a place where blacksmiths and weapon makers were respected to the utmost degree. The idea of not respecting them is a shock."
"You'd be surprised. A lot of Arcadia students are talented and spoiled. Respect doesn't come easy for some."
Leo thought about that for a moment. He had met his fair share of arrogant warriors—people who thought they were untouchable just because of their natural talent. He wondered how many of those people would crack the moment they were asked to create something from scratch.
With that thought, he turned to Eldren and extended a hand. "Thanks for the lesson. I'll be back."
Eldren shook his hand firmly. "I'll be here."
With that, Leo stepped out of the shop and back into the bustling hamlet, a new understanding of wands—and their users—firmly in his mind.