The Path of Ascension

They started ordering drinks from the auction staff as item after item got brought out to the stage. They were all poor now, so watching new items come out was more a game for them than it was actual shopping. Matt hoped that this wasn’t the best the auction houses had to offer, because no one but the actual factions had earned any substantial amount of points at this point.

Besides the odd item or two, most things went to the Prince or Princess, who had access to the points generated by capturing and holding various forts and cities.

It made the auction boring; nothing was going to the little guys.

So, they drank.

They were ordering Tier 6 liquor and were thoroughly tipsy by the time the auction was coming to a close. None of them had to be told to not go overboard, but they were riding the edge of feeling good, and actually getting drunk.

Matt was trying to keep Aster out of the sour apple brandy that apparently smelled too good to resist, when an item brought on stage caught his attention.

While a small vial was displayed on stage, Javier called out, “Here, as one of our final items, we have a Tier 10 bottled Concept. Unlike most...”

Matt lost interest once he heard that it was a bottled Concept and said, “Psh. Who cares? It’s just a bottled Concept.”

Annie shushed him, as did her sister. Even Conor got up to watch the auctioneer, with only a slight wobble.

Seeing that he was outvoted, Matt quieted down and listened. “Even a Tier 6 can use this. Yes, truly a marvel of alchemy. This is a triple attribute Concept. Yes, Three. ”

After a slight pause to accommodate the murmurs of interest, Javier raised his arm, flexing his bicep as he continued. “Strength.”

He lightly rapped his knuckles against his chest and said, “Durability.”

He casually reached out with an open hand, demonstrably closing his fist as he finished, “And Regeneration. This is the ideal bottled Concept for anyone trying to build a more physical combat style. It can be used to bolster your defenses, or it can help you lean into the offensive a little more. Starting bid of 5000 war points!”

Matt’s new teammates all made sounds of disappointment when they heard the price and returned to their chairs. Matt felt Aster lurch out of his arms, but was distracted by Liz.

She scoffed at them and said, “Just make your own Concept.” She burped in the middle of her sentence while still holding her beer, but continued after a moment. “It’s waayy better.”

Annie flicked the condensation off her glass at Liz, who spluttered at the droplets' sneak attack. The twin said “It’s not that easy. You need...”

Liz threw up her hands. “I can teach you!”

Matt missed what was said next as he noticed the lack of his bond in his arms. He looked around to find her muzzle deep in his once half full glass of alcohol he had placed on the table.

He pulled her back to get a burp in the face, and a pushed thought of, “Apple!”

Oh, that’s not good.

Aster went into a tirade about apple-flavored hearts and ice cream, which Matt ignored while she started kicking slower and slower as the liquor took effect. He glared at everyone who could have seen Aster going hog wild on his glass, but sighed in defeat. After all, it was his own fault in the end.

He was brought back into the conversation by Emily, who kicked at his leg and yelled for him. “Maaatt!”

“What!?”

“I asked if it was that easy. I want my own Concept.”

Matt thought for a moment, until the topic of conversation came back to him. “It’s not that hard. Do you have your...?” He looked at her for a few blinks until the word came to him. “Phrase! That's the word. Do you have your phrase? Or at least an idea?”

Annie shrugged, “How would we know if you already need a Concept to tell?”

“Damn, that’s a good point. Shit! I don’t know...” Matt shrugged and joined everyone as they looked at Liz, who was now sitting primly. If her cheeks weren’t flushed so bright red, she would almost look authoritative.

“It’s easy. I’m telling you. I can get you a Concept. Fifteen minutes.”

Even Matt booed her, and she corrected herself. “Okay, okay fine!. Maybe not fifteen minutes, but before the war is over for sure. You guys fight well, and I’m betting that if we push you really hard, you can figure it out.”

Annie called out, “I want a stabby Concept!”

Everyone stopped to look at her, and she defended herself while holding her glass like a shield. “What? I can already do the sneaky part. I just need to do the stabby part better.”

She mimed stabbing someone, and when she sloshed her drink over her hand, she started trying to lick the alcohol off it. Matt failed to stop himself from laughing as Conor’s gaze was cemented on her actions. He slowly flushed while watching her probably unintentional display.

He made a note to tell her about it later. It was a good sign, but he was distracted by Emily loudly saying, “I want a Concept of power!”

Even Conor was drawn out of his staring when she said that. He countered, “That’s not a real Concept. It’s too vague. You need to start with spell damage or something.”

Emily glared at the other man and pouted into her drink when he didn’t seem to notice.

Liz added another nail in her coffin. “Power isn’t a Concept, that’s an Aspect. I think I heard of someone using that, or at least something like it.”

She pursed her lips, and was suddenly distracted by a cheese wedge that Matt was in the middle of eating. She snatched the remaining half for herself with a devilish grin at her crestfallen partner, and added, “I think they started with bodily strength, then bodily control for their Intent, and finally used bodily power to round it out. There’s nothing stopping you from going for a spell version.”

Emily wiggled in her chair with a dreamy look on her face.

Conor shrugged and leaned back with a large sigh. “No clue what I want for my Concept. First, I need a way to take hits better. Reflection does nothing to me, but my Tier 3 Talent gives me a slight bit of sustainability. Do I lean into that, or go for more tanking? Maybe I can transition into more of a hybrid like you, Matt.”

Matt tossed out, “What do you see yourself doing? Do you like being on the front line?”

Conor chewed on an olive while he pondered the question. “I don’t know. I was given my skill by my sponsor when I joined The Path. They pretty much set me down the path towards my current build.” The large man paused to think about it for another moment, before finally adding, “I don’t mind it. But being defensive will only take me so far on my own. Rifts are slow fights for me most of the time. I need either more damage, or someone else on my team. I've gotten this far by choosing the rifts that I counter, but eventually, I'll run out of time. It’s so nice to fight with all of you, where I can just keep a defensive posture.”

Annie looked like she had a brilliant idea, but she was silenced by her sister, who swiftly lunged to cover her mouth. Annie struggled for a moment before starting to lick her sister's hand. Emily must have been used to that trick, as she maintained her muzzle on her sister and eventually persevered. Conor glanced at them with a puzzled look, but ignored their antics. He looked back to Liz, asking, “How do you intend to help us with our Concepts?”

Liz looked up from the near-empty tray of snacks and shrugged as she half leaned over Matt and Aster to get at the other plate of hors d'oeuvres.

“It’s not that hard. Matt and I... well really just Matt, as I have an internal Concept, can restrict you with his Concept while sparring. It’s not guaranteed to work or anything, but it’s a good start. You’ll start to resist it naturally, and that can give you a glimpse into your phrase.”

Emily, with her hands still covering her sister’s mouth, called out, “Yeah ok, how is that different from fighting in a rift that has monsters with Concepts?”

As if she had expected the rebuttal, Liz countered with, “How often do you actually fight monsters with Concepts? At Tier 5 and 6, rifts have like, what? A three or four percent chance to have monsters with Concepts? Faster to avoid them and fight the easier ones.”

That actually made sense to Matt, who nodded his agreement. During their rapid rift-making months, they had only fought a few rifts that contained monsters with Concepts. But they didn’t have that much issue with those monsters, since they had their own Concepts.

Liz had suggested something similar when they started training Matt for his Concept, letting him feel her own more than once during their training to get a grip on his phrase. Once Connor and the twins got their phrases, it was only a matter of time until they created their images. The hard part would be the first step.

Matt’s attention was brought to the stage as a copper bowl was brought out to be displayed.

“This little beauty will allow you see anything in a mile radius, at the cost of 200 mana per cast.” When people seemed disinterested, Javier added, “It’s better than you might think! It’s incredibly hard to spot by the observed party. If you have this, your scouts will be much more effective.”

For once, the item didn’t go to the Prince or the Princess. They actually let the bowl go for only 2000 points. Matt assumed that they didn’t care, as long as the other side didn’t directly get it. Anyone who spent that many points wouldn’t be willing to give it up, and would only use it for themselves, limiting its effect on the war.

Both sides' leaders had seemed to understand that they were the only ones with any appreciable amount of points, and they started letting the lower floors take an item if they started to bid. Their benevolence didn't extend to abstaining from raising the price of an item that they figured the other side wanted more.

Not long after, the end of the action came to an explosive end. Streams of fire and multi-colored light burst out from the stage. It startled them enough to stir them from their conversation.

Matt stretched as he stood. “About time for dinner. Ugh. All the snacking just made me hungrier. I heard they have a huge layout planned.”

Annie, finally freed from her sister’s clutches, asked, “What’s a layout?”

Matt was too buzzed to care and shrugged it off. “Layout of food... I can’t think of the word.”

Liz scooped up the still groggy Aster and said, “Who cares what it’s called? I want food.”

As they all stood, Conor muttered, “A menu. It's called a menu.”

They trooped out of their box to mingle with the crowd. From the loud calls, it seemed that they weren’t the only group that had turned to alcohol when they ran out of points to spend.

As a mass, they trooped down the winding stairs, until they reached the standing room area. Unlike when they entered their boxes, it was now totally clear, with the previous occupants now seated on floating tables that lifted off once they were full.

They got a table for the six of them, which promptly took off into the air once they were all seated. Not long after that, the food was delivered. Everyone got a plate that suited their individual taste. No need for them to order it seemed, as Matt was given a honey roasted lamb haunch. Aster, who had only just now woken up, had a plate of rabbit legs lightly battered.

Liz was face first in a plate of something Matt thought was Alfredo, which was confirmed when he stole a forkful. The twins followed his lead, leaving Conor as the odd man out. Matt cut a few slices off his lamb and shoved it over to him, causing everyone to share choice bits of their plates.

After trying everyone’s food, he had to say that Conor had the best meal. He was served a pressure-cooked bird of some kind that he didn’t recognize, but wanted to try again.

All in all, the floating meal turned out amazing. Matt had no problem admitting it. The idea of eating on a flying table sounded cheesy, but it was more fun than he would have thought.

They floated up and down through light constructs that cut through their table as they drifted around. When they finished eating, they talked for a while longer. When the conversation wound down, the table gently lowered itself and landed, as if it knew they were ready to leave.

As a group, they moved to follow the crowd of other exiting diners who had finished their meals. Two bubble changes later, they found themselves in a bubble with recordings of the various fights playing on banners that streamed down from the ceiling.

One banner on a raised platform caught Matt’s eye. It was accompanied by a smiling young man, who couldn’t be more than seventeen, with dusky skin. He looked smug as a recording of his fight played on the banner behind him. On the recording, the young man attacked a city’s walls with blade’s of wind that cut down a number of people that tried to rush him. As the recording progressed, Matt saw more than four distinct wind spells being used. A quick spiritual glance revealed that the man next to the banner was Tier 5. It told Matt everything he needed to know after hearing Juni talk about a Tier 5 rushing a Queendom city.

Annie scoffed. “Idiot. He gave away everything he had on day one. Now, if anyone sees him, they’re gonna throw an [Earth Spear] at him, and he’ll be dead. Showing you only use one element is asking to be countered. Better to be subtle about your arsenal, so people can't counter you so easily.”

They walked around through the sea of banners, separating and rejoining each other as they saw banner recordings that caught their individual eyes. Matt, Emily, and Conor stopped by a woman in studded leather playing an upbeat chorus on her guitar, with an ever-growing crowd around her. She seemed to be able to read the mood of the people surrounding her, as she leaned in to sing to a particular section, which caused more cheers.

She cycled through three popular songs before they moved on to scan some of the other highlight banners.

One that caught Matt’s eye was of a woman who seemed to dance around long range attacks as she defended a fortress wall. As the wall was destroyed in an icy blast, she leapt down in a flash of lightning. She had tossed what looked like electrical grenades that caused sparks to fly across the ground that moved like living spiders as they exploded and spread.

Contrary to what he expected, she dove into the field of electricity and started to dismantle the charging opposition with a metal rod. It seemed to be used as a mix of cudgel and spell amplifier, and she shot what looked like [Bolts] out of it. In under a minute, she had taken out nine attackers on her own, and seemed to absorb the remaining lighting arcing along the ground.

Seeing that she was on the kingdom side, he made a note to try and seek her out. The grenades she used seemed effective, and he wanted a few for his own use. If they worked the way he expected, he could precharge them and use them as an area denial tactic while fighting.

Matt commented to Liz, who had joined them, “How do you even counter someone like that?”

“Range. But even then, she took a few hits that I think should have been fatal, so she might have something to counter that. Thankfully she's on our side.”

Liz pulled him over to a banner that showed a tattooed fourteen-year-old. “Watch this one. He looks young, but he's strong. Queendom’s side, so we should watch out for this one.”

They looked far too young to be more than a newly awakened Tier 1, but with only a recording, Matt had no way to tell their Tier. In the recording, the Queendom fighter seemed to flicker around in their battle with three people.

Matt watched as the man appeared in two spots, faster than he could blink. He said, “It has to be a short-range teleport.”

Liz asked, “A part of his Talent? I can't see an actual teleport skill being given out, as it is too valuable and strong for a starting skill gift. It seems to be limited in range as well. It feels like a Talent.”

As they watched the young man use devastating kicks to dismantle a party creeping through a dense underbrush area, Matt had to agree on the Talent idea. If it was a skill, they seemed far too young to be that proficient in melee combat. They were a kicking monster, and Matt didn't even notice a skill being used. One missed kick dented a tree to the point that slowly toppled over.

What impressed Matt the most was when the fighter disarmed someone, and proceeded to use the sword with the same grace as when they used their legs. Matt wasn’t sure he could be as proficient if he split his focus to more than one fighting style.

“We can just have Conor fight him.”

Matt nodded at Liz’s suggestion. The Melee style would force the man to eventually take a hit from [Demon Zone], and that could allow Conor to finish the man if the blow stopped the teleporting.

Seeing their melee teammate, Matt split off from Liz and watched the banner Conor was trying to dissect. The fighter seemed ordinary enough, with the exception of violet hair and incredibly pale skin.

The recording started in the middle of an already ongoing fight, as the man moved through a pack of Kingdom embossed fighters like they were cheese. When an attack seemed to land on their uncovered back, a turtle shell of what looked like mana flashed to protect him. The shell seemed thinner than a normal skill’s density, so Matt speculated that it was a Talent. Suddenly, the fighter flashed forward with ghostly, tiger-like claws, and disemboweled the defenders’ leader in two brutal swipes.

Matt expected the recording to end there, but the fighter was attacked by a humanoid-looking tiger. They proceeded to exchange nearly a dozen blows with claws, before both retreated with deep cuts over their exposed arms and chests. Before the fight had a decisive end, the recording looped back around to the start.

When he saw his teammate standing next to him, Conor asked Matt, “How would you handle him? He seems to have a defensive form and an attacking one. Emily would probably be able to blast him, but he moves quickly. Might be hard to hold him off. Don't know if I could do it if he was determined to move around me.”

“I might be able to slow him with my ice spell, but even that wouldn't do much more than hold him off for a few seconds. Shit, there are a lot of strong people here.”

Conor nodded at that. “I thought I was hot shit, but apparently not. Average of the better fighters at best.”

Matt had to agree. He knew they were good, but just the people on his team all had the abilities needed to counter him. Annie would hit him from behind, and if she timed it right, she could penetrate [Cracked Phantom Armor] while it was weakened from defending another attack. If she got a dagger skill, she might not even have to wait for that. Emily could just pepper him at range until her skill got eight times stronger and blast him into ash.

Conor was an easier fight, but only because his main skill was countered by Matt's armor. He was still was a better melee fighter than Matt was. While Matt was better with his longsword, Conor had a much better understanding of more weapons and that gave him versatility.

The war was showing Matt that he wasn’t as special as he thought he was. It was sobering.

When the entirety of the team met back up, they agreed to move on. As they left, they passed each of their own banners. The first showed Liz tearing through the metal tree, and they paused to watch out of morbid curiosity.

The group of them all shifted awkwardly as the next banner showed the footage of Aster and Emily wiping out nearly a dozen people in as many seconds. To top it off, Annie was shown to stab two women from behind, but the video thankfully made her visible, which meant most of their trump cards were still hidden. Although, it made Matt wonder which of the other banners were similarly edited.

The three banners were in a row, andt they hurried past after watching each once. Matt grinned at Conor, who returned it as they realized that they hadn’t done anything to rate the banner treatment with their less flashy fighting styles. Matt didn't mind, and Conor didn't seem to be bothered about being out of the spotlight either.

It was a good reminder that people were always watching, and without anyone truly dying, there was no way to stop information from getting back to their enemies.

They sheepishly moved out of the bubble of banners after that, too embarrassed to remain.

The next area they wandered into was a casino, and Matt and the others got to watch as Liz won round after round of poker. Matt had heard how good she was, but seeing first hand was another thing altogether.

Annie asked, “How is she that good?”

Matt didn't have an answer, but felt a little background wouldn't be amiss. “I know she beat a Tier 24 in poker a few times. She’s just good.”

Emily and Annie loudly whispered to never play Liz, then started wondering if they could bring her to an actual casino.

The table made everyone wear an anti-AI bracelet to restrict things like card counting, but it didn’t seem to slow Liz down, and she continued to win. She didn’t win every hand, but if she raised the ante, she was more than likely to take it.

Matt had heard about her skill with cards, but seeing it first hand was both amusing and terrifying.

Sadly, they weren’t playing for points or mana stones, but instead various raffle prizes that she could try to win. Considering there was no buy-in, it was fair enough, but Matt wanted to see Liz at a real casino now, and wondered if the twins had the right idea.

The others eventually left, but Matt was interested enough to stay and watch as the game progressed. He was only able to pull her away when the table bled off its remaining players, as they ran out of tickets and had to move on. No one was interested in taking their places, with Liz reigning supreme.

Liz came up from the table with fistfuls of tickets, and she danced around to their congratulations as she cheered. “Let’s go see what we can get!”

The ticket counter was staffed by half a dozen people, but they were still swamped as they tried to process people's purchases. In the end, Liz threw all her tickets on the lottery for what was called the ‘Mundane Living In Rough Conditions Skillset’. It had six skills in total, intended to make life easier when delving for long times or away from amenities. It had [Create Water] for its obvious usage, and [Cleanse], which would remove dirt or contaminants from something at the caster's discretion. It didn’t destroy the contaminants, just moved them away, but it was a skill that Matt still wanted. They hadn’t been able to find one during their own delving.

[Alarm] would wake the caster if anything passed over a set area. It was a niche skill with a function that could be handled by technology, but being too careful never killed anyone. Hee didn’t think it was a bad skill to eventually get. [Perk Up] was a skill he had never heard of, but after reading its description, he made a note to get it. It was apparently like caffeine, but without any of the side effects. It was much cheaper than [Endurance] and could last for hours.

[Cook] and [Chill] were a pair of food-related skills that he had heard about, but no prideful chef was allowed near them. [Cook] simply heated food until it was safe to eat for the casters biology while killing any parasites or viruses in the meat. No finesse or care for taste. [Chill] had its usage for preserving food or cooling down drinks, but most used it with [Cook], giving it a bad reputation.

Matt’s cooking instructor had spent nearly an entire class lecturing why the skills were a mockery to the culinary art, and not to be used. He didn’t have any use for those skills, but the rest were useful enough to warrant picking up.

They wouldn't know the results of the raffle until the end of the week, so they ended their walk around after finding one of the smaller auctions and sitting down to enjoy the bidding. They were selling various small arms, but Annie said that her dagger was fine for her Tier. So, they only lingered long enough to watch a few items get sold before they moved on to the nearby duel arenas. There various people fought in what appeared to be some entertaining bouts, judging by the crowd.

It only took a quick search to see that the prize for any duel was a flat 100 war points for the winner, and 25 for the losers. Also, winners would get 30% of all points bets, while losers would get 10%. It was profitable enough. Matt looked to his teammates and asked if they wanted to try their luck.

Emily looked interested enough, but shook her head. “No. I want to keep what I can do under wraps for as long as possible. The early points are nice, I’m sure. But I don’t think the vassals are dumb enough not to have people watching the fights to compile builds and such.”

Conor nodded and agreed. “Shame, though. I could always use more points.”

They did stay to watch a few more fights, but only one caught Matt’s eye. There was a massively overweight man who slung spell after spell as he gradually grew thinner and thinner. Eventually, he ended the fight with some type of AOE skill. It sent his opponent flying into a barrier that encompassed the fighting arena. The payout for his fight was massive, as he had been given horrible odds by the watching crowds. Being that overweight usually meant that they were sedentary, but it was clearly a skill or Talent. If Matt had to guess, the man stored mana as extra weight. It was interesting, and from the number of skills he used during the fight, pretty effective.

The prize of nearly four thousand war points was almost enough to make Matt take the stage, but he kept walking with his friends as they moved to finally leave. They had wandered through most of the bubbles that they wanted to see.

With no points to spend, and not willing to give up more information about themselves by dueling, they boarded a platform and exited the underground leisure land. As they left, there was a banner that offered special Tier 5 and Tier 6 rifts to delve for 1000 war points apiece. Matt didn’t put two and two together until the banner changed, and an ad for a newly discovered Tier 7 was advertised for 4000 points a delve slot.

He and Liz met each other’s gaze and smiled. They knew that the rifts they left would be of great interest, but he hadn’t expected the army to camp on them and control their access. It made sense when he thought it over. A rift a Tier higher than the planet was an asset for the faster Tiering up of the world. While he wasn’t upset that they were selling access, he wished he could get his hands on a list of the rewards that people got from them.

They tried to delve the rifts a good bit, but they were nowhere close to completing a true rift drop table by the time they had left.

Matt rode the platform back through the sea and to the city with a busy mind. After a day of sparring and high emotions followed by a long night, Matt was exhausted. By the time they arrived back home, he flopped into bed with Liz and Aster. None of them even bothered to undress, and they just fell asleep in a pile.

He woke up the next morning with a dry mouth. Seeing that everyone else was still asleep, he started cooking. He still had some monster meat from their time spent delving, and it was going to go bad sooner rather than later, as he only had a basic mana powered fridge in his spatial bag.

Going all out, he cooked a massive breakfast and moved around the little kitchen like a man possessed, determined to wow with his breakfast feast. Annie and Emily came out of their rooms at nearly the same time, just to argue who would use the bathroom first. They ended it with a round of rock paper scissors, which left Annie bouncing from foot to foot as her sister took her time in the bathroom.

Liz and Aster were the last to arrive, after Conor, Annie, Emily, and he had already finished their plates and then seconds.

Now that Aster was awake, he pushed laughter at her as she was experiencing her first hangover. She was not enjoying it. She yowled at him until it exacerbated her headache, causing her to curl into a miserable ball. Picking up his bond, he fed her a pain killer and waved bacon under her nose until she ate it, before setting her down in her personal freezer bed.

Liz wasn’t in nearly as much pain since she used [Endurance], but she was eating slowly at breakfast.While she finished eating, Matt went to the gym with Conor. The two of them only lifted weights and avoided sparring. They were only there to do some strength training.

Their rewards for the selling of Liz’s potions arrived, along with Emily's skill shard. They earned a whopping 5603 war points after the auction house’s cut. Matt rubbed his hands together at the influx of points, and immediately put up a bounty for anyone with mana aspects that he didn’t already have, or different variants.

He posted it as a crafter looking to aspect rechargeable mana stones. It was true enough, even though he wanted to use his growth item instead.

With a look at Conor, he asked, “Hey, is your mana aspected?”.

Conor looked confused for a second and responded, “No. I’ve thought about getting mine metal or earth aspected, but I couldn’t afford the potion. Why? Are you thinking about getting yours aspected?”

Matt didn’t want to lie, but didn’t want to give away his Talent or growth item either, so he told him part of the truth. “No, I dabble in enchanting. My sword requires me to do the enchanting work myself, and for other work, the books recommend getting as many mana aspects as possible to create synergies.”

With a casual shrug, he added, “The aspected mana stones cost an arm and a leg for even the common aspects. With how many millions of people are here, someone with a rarer variant has to be here, and it costs them nothing to inject a little mana for me.”

“I’ve been thinking about getting a gauntlet that I saw up for sale at a shop. I was wondering if you could give it a look. I don’t know enough to know if it’s a good deal.”

“Happy to help. What’s the item?”

“A bracer that acts as a kinetic energy storage, which can be blasted out as a short-range attack.”

Matt was surprised and said as much. “I expected you to want a longer range spell. I know I did.”

Conor shrugged the comment off. “I don’t see it as that important anymore. At least not for the next year. We’ll be fighting in teams, and while it would be nice to round out my damage in a rift, I don’t see it as a good way to spend my money right now. Better to be a more capable front liner and earn my team, and therefore myself, more points.”

Matt liked the man’s approach. If he still had [Copper Skin], and knew it didn't have side effects, he would’ve given it to the man on the spot. He was right, and the better he was as a defensive shield for their mages, the more Matt could go on the attack as a melee damage dealer. Right now, he was a hybrid, which he didn’t mind, but focusing on the attack would allow his abilities to shine.

They reached the store in question, and Matt inspected the gauntlet Conor was interested in. It was made by a Tier 7 crafter who obscured his work, so while Matt wasn’t able to get a perfect look at the item’s runes, he was able to get a feel for its general craftsmanship.

He was honestly impressed with the item. It was good, solid work that seemed to have the runes completely integrated with the metal, but not in the way he was used to seeing.After checking the price, Matt understood why Conor was hesitating.

At a Tier 8 mana stone for the Tier 7 item, it was expensive. Matt could only give his opinion and leave it up to the other man to decide.

“I think the price is worth it. It’s well made and will last you a while. It’s also a great defensive item if it does as it says, and absorbs attacks that land on your off arm. The price, though...”

Matt let himself trail off, and after another few minutes of Conor pacing, he finally bought the item.

As they walked back to their headquarters, Conor offered an explanation. “I had a lucky rift before I came here, but that was most of my liquid assets. Hard to jump off the ledge like that.”

“I understand. Look at the bright side. It should last you well after this war, and with its durability and repair enchantments, it should last a good while longer with minimal spending. I think it was worth it. Oh, by the way, we should probably get the girls together and do some sparring when we get back.”

They were nearly back to their rooms when their AIs were pinged. Their party had a mission in three hours.