"Welcome!" a hefty man walked up to us as soon as Lan Xiao Su and I entered the shop. He appeared to be one and only worker in this entire store. "My name is Ma Mu, and I am the owner of this store, Silverfang Smithery! Welcome, what can I do for you today?"

Huh...so not only the one and only worker, but also the founder...nice.

"Er...we have some friends in here already, we just came to meet up with them."

"Ah, I see, I see!" he chuckled loudly. "Then, I'll leave you two to it. Come find me or any of the other staff if you have any questions, haha!"

I laughed awkwardly. There are no other staff...

Then, suddenly, someone called out to me.

"Heya, Big Brother Xuan Kai!"

I looked to my left and spotted Qing Yue, running towards me with her arms open. She crashed into my body gently, and I caught her in my arms. I patted her head, and she snuggled against me happily. After a while, the other girls soon appeared as well, and Qing Yue looked up at me.

"X-Xuan Kai?" I heard Lan Xiao Su murmur quietly from behind me.

"So? Big Brother Xuan Kai, what did you need me for?"

Then, like an owl spotting its prey, she immediately noticed Lan Xiao Su, who had latched onto my shoulder and was cowering behind me fearfully.

"And...who is this?" Qing Yue asked, narrowing her gaze. "Big Brother Xuan Kai, did you go get another beautiful girl behind our back?"

Despite the fact that Lan Xiao Su was wearing a veil to hide her true appearance - since just hair color wouldn't be enough to cover her Su Ning persona, as any dedicated fan would be able to tell the resemblances between the two's faces - Qing Yue was still able to tell Lan Xiao Su was beautiful.

Huh...what a keen eye.

"This is Lan Xiao Su," I explained. "You know, the one I was talking about earlier."

"U-Um, hi! My name is Lan Xiao Su, and...u-um, i-it's nice to meet you!" she stuttered nervously.

I sighed. "There's no need to be so nervous. They aren't going to eat you..."

But then, after seeing the glare in Qing Yue's and the other girls' eyes...

"...Probably."

This only made Lan Xiao Su cower even more, and she hid behind me like a cute little kitten.

"Stop with the glaring," I said, annoyed. "Why are you being so hostile to someone you just met?"

After a while, the girls finally stopped looking at Lan Xiao Su with malice, and I let out a deep breath of relief.

"So? What did you bring her here for?" Feng Mian asked, setting down the twin daggers she had been looking at before I arrived.

After glancing around and making sure no one else was close by, I answered her question. "Put simply, I'm going to help Lan Xiao Su a bit."

Yu An Yan raised an eyebrow. "Help? What do you mean?"

"Her mother...only has three months left to live," I explained, lowering my tone. "A curse was placed on her...something known as the '1 Year Curse'. Any of you ever heard of it?"

Everyone shook their heads...with the exception of Qing Yue, who instead seemed to be deep in thought.

"1 Year Curse, hm..." she murmured quietly.

"Y-You know of it?" Lan Xiao Su asked nervously.

Qing Yue nodded slowly after a short pause. "...I've heard of it before, but that's about it. I remember reading about it somewhere in a textbook in the school library..."

"Do you think you can cure this curse with your Blessing Magic, Qing Yue?" I asked.

She fell into thought once more. "Hm...no, there aren't any Blessing Element spells that can just automatically cure any curse, especially one of the more powerful ones like the 1 Year Curse. But..."

"But?" I echoed, prompting her to continue.

"...From that book I read, there is an antidote for this curse, some kind of elixir. But the problem is...I remember the ingredients were all extremely hard to get."

I furrowed my brows. "Do you still remember all of the ingredients? Like their names, quantity, and things like that?"

Qing Yue nodded. "I only transferred to Shenzhen Magic High School fairly recently, so I read that book not long ago as well. I still remember which ingredients are needed for this particular antidote."

I was shocked. I honestly didn't expect her to still remember. Out of all the books she must've read from the library, she was able to remember this one recipe?

"Damn, Qing Yue...your memory is pretty good, huh?"

"Ehehe," she giggled happily at my praise. "Maybe so. But this antidote left a pretty big impression on me since it was so hard to concoct. That's why I remember. We need Hydra Fangs, Basilisk Dust-"

"H-Hang on," I interrupted. "Hydra Fangs, and Basilisk Dust, you say?"

She nodded. "Yep! I did say that the ingredients were all very rare, didn't I?"

I laughed awkwardly. "Y-You did, but...I didn't expect them to be this extreme."

Hydras and Basilisks were two of the most powerful Magic Beasts in the world. It would take several Ancestral Mages along with a Golden Monarch leading them at the very least to take down just one of these things. The idea of having to kill both a Hydra and a Basilisk...and very possibly something more, is a scary one indeed.

"Well, this is the only way to cure this curse," Qing Yue said with a shrug.

"U-Um...if it's too hard...you don't have to do this for me..." Lan Xiao Su murmured quietly from behind my back. Her voice was clearly dejected, and despite what she said, deep down she undoubtedly still wanted me to help.

I sighed. "I already said I would help you, so I'm not going to go back on my word now."

Hearing this, her expression immediately turned hopeful again. "R-Really?"

"Yeah. Besides...this is a good opportunity for me to get stronger as well. We'll definitely gather all the materials and make the antidote before your mother's time runs out."

"T-Thank you!" Lan Xiao Su exclaimed, bowing down repeatedly over and over again.

I quickly stopped her. "What are you doing?"

"E-Eh? Ah...sorry, I just wanted to show my gratitude..."

I facepalmed. "Even so, don't just randomly start bowing out of nowhere."

"S-Sorry..." she murmured in apology.

Then, turning to Qing Yue, I continued. "Qing Yue, make a list of all the ingredients needed. What they are, how much we need, and if possible, where to obtain it. Send it to me when you're done."

"Kay~" she replied casually, before pulling out her phone and began maneuvering it skillfully.

I sighed, then sat down on a nearby chair. "So? What were you guys all doing in a weapons shop anyway?"

"Looking for...weapons, obviously," Feng Mian said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why? Yu An Yan, Yu An Xue, you two both already have weapons, and Qing Yue doesn't really need one. Only Feng Mian actually needs a new weapon, so...why are you all here?"

Yu An Yan sighed. "Sure, we have weapons already, but sometimes, when we need to blend in, it'll be a better idea to not reveal the fact that we have two of the Six Divine Weapons."

Huh, that's true. I didn't think that far...

"Mm...Qing Yue just...tagged along..." Yu An Xue added.

I nodded. "I see. So? Did you guys pick out any good ones?"

Feng Mian picked up the twin daggers she had been looking at. "Yeah, these ones are pretty good, the weight and shape all feel right to me."

Yu An Yan looked over at the axe aisle. "Since my Divine Weapon is an axe, I might as well buy another axe."

Yu An Xue nodded in agreement. "I'll...pick out a sword."

With this, the two headed off into their own respective aisles, leaving Feng Mian, Mei Gui, Lan Xiao Su, Qing Yue, and I. Flaria, after shooting me a silent glare full of anger, followed Yu An Yan. Then, remembering something, I spoke up.

"Oh, right, Mei Gui...I need to talk to you about something," I said, and Mei Gui tilted her head.

"Yes, Master?"

"It's about the spear..."

She blinked. "I see."

With that brisk reply, she materialized a beautiful yet terrifying silver spear, clad in black flames with a spherical red jewel embedded in the head of the spear. The sudden appearance of this weapon caused Feng Mian to leap away in surprise, and Lan Xiao Su did the same by hiding behind me once more. Qing Yue was too engrossed in her research on her phone to even notice.

"Master, here it is. I am able to materialize it since Feng Mian provided me with some mana," Mei Gui said.

"Wow..." I mused in awe. "So, what exactly is this thing?"

"It is a weapon forged with the power of Chaos, Master," she explained. "I am not sure why it exists or how it came to be exactly, since my memories are still fragmented."