"Here we are, Gray." The Lizardling Druid smiles as both of them arrived at the door of his shop.

The shop's exteriors can be simply described as quaint but tall. Nothing particularly special is shown in its architectural structure as it can be mistaken as simply one of the houses in the Residential District, if not for its peculiar location in the Boscage as well as the wooden sign hanging on the top of the door with the words "Magus' Emporium" being inscribed in a blue text as well as a well-painted drawing of a red and blue potion being shown.

The two then entered the place, with Gray now marveling with his own two eyes in deep wonder at the fascinating spectacle being shown to him.

If the exterior is characterized as nothing special, then suffice to say that the interior is anything but ordinary, very much in contrast to its outside counterpart.

The inside of the shop is considerably big in fact, a sight to behold and Gray could not help but feel as if a magical vibe is being circulated all around the corners of the place, given that the owner is a Mage, and a Lizardling Druid if one might add.

He also notices how neat and tidy the place is. The floor is well swept, windows are all clean, free of dirt and dust, and everything is simply arranged in perfectly good order, marking how meticulous the Lizardling is when it comes to cleanliness.

There are a series of peculiar items of interest being displayed behind at the shop's counter as they are lined up orderly and placed on a shelf for it to be visible for the customers to browse.

Indeed, the popular saying of "Never judge a book by its cover" is very applicable in this situation.

But what Gray's attention caught the most are the two sentient magical constructs, muscular humanoid figures made out of rocks of some sort are that are witnessed to be roaming around the shop, kind of like a golem but smaller in size, no doubt serving as guardians and are on the lookout for anyone foolish enough to rob the place.

"What are those?" Gray could not help but ask as he stared at the said creatures in deep astonishment.

"Haven't seen a Sentinel before?" Rarsu stated with a smirk. "They're quite convenient to have, that I can tell you."

"Not really." Gray shook his head in response. "What are they exactly?"

"Hmm, you must be a new Mage then for asking a question like that." The Lizardling Druid said with a look of intrigue as he stared peculiarly at the Elf. "It's common knowledge for magic users like us to know things such as this, you know."

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Gray was suddenly unnerved by the sharp look of suspicion being given to him, his gut telling him that he should be careful and think attentively before speaking out his thoughts to this Lizardling.

'c.r.a.p, this guy is a lot smarter than he looks.' Gray thought as he thankfully managed to maintain his stoic expression despite being alarmed by the Lizardling's unsettling stare. 'Most probably because he's a Mage, with him having a high Intelligence stat. Now that I think about it, does having more Intelligence stats here in this world const.i.tutes to being also smart? Probably the reason why I can think more clearly than ever before."

"Yes." Gray merely nods at Rarsu's notion about him, thinking of a story for him to fabricate. "Believe it or not, I reached level 10 just hardly a few days ago near the village of Oakwood and chose the Arcanist cla.s.s, so I don't know much about Magic and its other applications. I only perform some Quests to raise my level and went with the flow, in the hopes of becoming more powerful in the process. I didn't even bother with all the intricacy of the knowledge about Magic, well until recently at least when I read about Arkanos University and got curious over the benefits that the place has to offer to a Mage like me."

SPEECH CHECK: 29

SPEECH REQUIREMENTS: 31

'f.u.c.k.' A cold sweat suddenly drops from Gray's face at seeing the seemingly inevitable failure of convincing the Lizardling, his current Speech Stat not satisfying the requirements as per dictated in the System. 'I guess, there's no convincing this guy. This going to be very troublesome in my part.'

But instead, a pleasant surprise suddenly materializes in his screen as Gray mentally became astonished at the next message.

RECEIVED 90 XP

Note: Even when your Speech does not fulfill the prerequisites needed to persuade or intimidate someone, some factors can help boost your chances of allowing a successful convincing. In this case, the increased 35% effectiveness in Persuasion of the

boosted your Speech attribute by the said percentage since the Speech skill that you specifically did is Persuasion.

'Woah, now that was a close one. The tunic sure did save my sorry a.s.s, haha.' Gray thought in utmost relief, mentally chuckling by the information given to him by the System. 'If I perform an Intimidation in this scenario, then no doubt that I'm going to fail. If what the system said is true, then my 29 Speech Attribute was boosted by 35%. Let's see, doing the Math, my Speech was increased by around 10 points, thus being able to meet the said requirement. Wow, the tunic sure did help my recent crazy situations, especially in the Encampment. Hmm, should I also focus on allocating my reserved Attribute points for Speech?'

Gray shook his head as he dismissed the thought. 'Maybe some other time, let's not dismiss the other attributes and their potential uses yet.'

The Lizardling rubs his scaly chin as he nods in response, showing to be convinced by the Elf's story.

"Your story indeed does sound plausible," Rarsu said as he grins. "Very well then. About the Sentinels though, as a matter of fact, the main reason why I ask you for a favor in the first place is that it involves the magical constructs that you are curious about."

"Oh?" Gray said as with a tone of concern as he crosses his arms. "What do these creatures have to do anything with me?"

"Hehe, you see." The Druid began explaining the circ.u.mstances that revolve around his favor. "Aside from being the Gardener of the Boscage and the shop owner of this humble magic shop of mine, I'm also one of the lead experts of Sentmaturgy."

"Sentmaturgy?" Gray's curiosity was definitely piqued at hearing a new terminology.

"The art of Sentinel creation." The Lizardling obliges the Elf's attention. "A Sentinel can be constructed and preferred in any of the multiple body models chosen to cater to the needs of its master. Among the following types of Sentinels are based on the elements of magic as we integrate it into their core or in simple terms, the heart, to keep them operational in good shape. There's the Fire Sentinel, Frost Sentinel, Lightning Sentinel, Stone Sentinel, Wind Sentinel, and the list goes on. There's one specific type of Sentinel that has not been unveiled to the public due to how unstable and dangerous it is. After years of my frustration being tested to its heights in repeated experimentation of this particular Sentinel and its structural mechanisms, I've finally achieved it, the creation of a Sentinel, unlike anything that has ever seen in the whole of Silverhart… the Arcane Sentinel."

"An Arcane Sentinel huh," Gray utters the words with regard. "And why do you need me for this?"

"I'm missing an important key ingredient that's necessary for powering up the Sentinel," Rarsu said with a smirk. "And that ingredient… is you, my dear Arcanist."

Gray tilted his head in confusion at the Lizardling's statement.

"So, you just require an Arcanist, correct?" Gray asks in clarification with a stoic look.

"Correct," Rarsa said as he nods happily in response.

"If that is the case, then why not find the time to look for other Arcanists then during your experiments?" The Elf questions him.

Rarsu answers him with an annoyed expression. "I can't exactly leave my duties here as the gardener of the Boscage as well as my business here in the shop. I've already sent a letter of request to the University in lending one of their Arcanist Mages, but the trip from here to the capital by carriage takes about 20 days, a month if by foot. Since you're already here, then I might as well make good use of such a wonderful opportunity!!"

"Makes sense." Gray merely shrugs his shoulders in response. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"It's better if I show you in my bas.e.m.e.nt instead," Rarsu said as he gestured Gray with an inviting motion. "Please, follow me."

Gray indeed does so, following the Lizardling and is also kind of intrigued at what this Arcane Sentinel looks like.

Hopefully something awesome and neat.