Ch 246 - Good Things Come From Epic Loot

Sythrak’s scales brightened again and he spoke without having to reference any notes. “The consortium, known as Aurion Verge, is headquartered on the tier-4 world of Caelthys. For the purchase of the Threxil Vein mining rights, they offer 5,000 tier-9 mana crystals up-front, plus 10% of the gross mining income over the next 2 years, plus huge discounts on products from any of their partner companies on any consortium world you might visit in the next 10 years.”

I blinked in shock, but Sythrak wasn’t finished. “In addition, the sale of the claim will confirm that Velexis had indeed illegally transferred the rights. They pledge to file corporate sabotage lawsuits against Velexis’s remaining estate and the Shadrael faction leadership. On top of other legal issues already brewing, the clan should remain quite distracted for some time.”

All good news for me. I barely resisted laughing out loud. Whoa! What an offer. How much was mining worth? Even on Earth, lucrative mines could make billions, but this was insane. Sure, from a tier-4 world, offering tier-9 mana crystals was really like offering tier-5, so it wasn’t nearly as huge, but 5000 was a ton. Down on a tier-0 world, it was a gigantic fortune. Plus another 10% of the income could add up to another fortune entirely.

The demons might end up hating me, but I couldn’t live in fear, especially now that I was securing another powerful ally that Earth might desperately need all too soon. That thought gave me an idea.

“Sythrak, what kind of products does this consortium make, or are they only a mining business?”

“Oh, no. Mining is a vital cornerstone of the original business that founded the consortium, but it has grown to a vast organization spanning hundreds of worlds. They make many of the very items you see for sale in my shop.” He hesitated, then leaned forward a bit and added, “And in the VIP shop.”

Perfect.

“Tell them they’ve got a deal if they also sponsor 1 sapphire loot box to include at minimum one item identical or similar to those VIP items I’m interested in for improving planetary systems back on Earth. Medicine or clean energy preferred.”

“A most excellent counter offer, sir. I will share it with their representative.” Sythrak looked like he was going to swoon with excitement. “I do have several other lucrative offers you may wish to consider.”

“Let’s hold off for now, but please sort them for the next best deal.”

“It would be my honor.”

“Do you know if we’ll still have access to your store after we defeat Queen Marisara?”

“I am confident you will have access for a period of time sufficient to transact all the business we need to.”

“Good. That’s perfect. At minimum, I’ll want to get more of those VIP items.”

I was perhaps the person with the most of the highly-sought-after VIP points. With more crazy death battles and boss fights than anyone, I was racking up points at an insane rate. Even better than the restricted list of cool items I could purchase with the points, they could also be used to purchase some fantastic items that could help improve Earth in general once we returned home. I had my eye on a couple of those, but was waiting to see how high my VIP points grew before making purchases.

“I will ensure a suitable variety is available at your convenience.” Then his smile brightened again. “On another positive note, I have some of your special orders ready.”

“Really? Which ones?”

With a wide grin and a snap of his stubby fingers, 3 items popped into view, hovering in the air nearby. Two huge, wooden platforms and 1 large tower shield. “Your Ironwood orders, built by teams of some of the best crafters from a high-tiered world.”

“How high?”

“I am not at liberty to say.”

“Really? We talk about world tiers all the time.”

“Not this one. I am sorry, but please, the quality of the items speaks for themselves.”

It was a strange mystery, but he was right. No reason to get distracted from loot I’d been anxious to get my hands on. First, I checked out the big shield, which was my personal order.

“Verdant Bastion. Legendary. Crafted from living ironwood and 82 alloys specifically blended to reinforce the ironwood properties and maximize defense, this adaptive shield is worthy of a king. Impervious to all but the most powerful attacks, it can rapidly resize from a small, round buckler, to a full-body tower shield, all the way to a full half dome 8 feet in diameter. Front face can be altered at will. Plus 10% to Constitution. Once per hour, may activate Anchor of the Grove. Includes Inner Sight, Strength of Roots, and Crushing Charge. Self-heal. Soulbound. Auto-tier.”

“Anchor of the Grove. When planted against the ground in tower shield or half-dome size, becomes immovable for 5 seconds, plus 5 seconds times current tier.”

“Inner Sight. You are one with the grove so Verdant Bastion will not impair your sight.”

“Strength of Roots. Your roots are deep. Immune to knockback. Verdant Bastion weighs nearly nothing to you, but vastly heavier to your enemies.”

“Crushing Charge. Unleash all the weight and momentum of a falling patriarch of the grove in a fast charge up to 50 yards, doubling Strength, weight, and force. 75% chance of causing Knockback on enemies.”

“Self-heal. Verdant Bastion will repair damage over time. Repair is accelerated while stored in inventory.”

“Soulbound. This item cannot be lost or stolen. If destroyed, will return to your inventory and fully repair over 3 days.”

“Auto-tier. Defenses will adjust to fit the maximum allowed in the given tier.”

Wow. I paced around the shield, marveling at the smooth, clean lines. In tower shield form, the 6 feet of dark wood looked truly epic, banded with a wave-patterned metal that was clearly a blend of many allows. A symbol of one of the Ironwood trees, made from the same metal alloy blend, was embedded in the slightly curving front face.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, and when I touched the shield, a ripple of magic flowed up my arm, binding it to me. When I hefted the shield, it felt far too light and thrummed with immense power.

“The master of the crafting team responsible for creating this masterpiece thanked you for the privilege of working on such a singular project. He’d never seen living Ironwood used in this way and admitted at first he felt such a mundane purpose was a terrible insult to the wood.”

“There’s nothing mundane about this shield.”

“Indeed not. The same master crafter admitted that as the work progressed, he came to understand the brilliance of the request. A shield allows the Ironwood to fulfill its core purpose of protecting life and withstanding all forces attempting to rip it from the earth.”

That was a poetic was to describe it. I’d seen firsthand how tough the Ironwood trees and the Colossus in charge of the grove had been. I’d had to resort to blowing a volcano in its face, and even then it nearly killed me.

The two wooden platforms hovering nearby were for Steve and Ruby, blending living Ironwood and epic Ironwood. Steve’s had a host of enchantments to allow it to hover like my observation platform, but also propel itself forward, camouflage itself, raise side walls for protection, and other features for comfort. Ruby’s was similar in a lot of ways, but focused even more on defense to keep her safe while she healed. It also included enchantments to bolster regeneration rates.

“They’re all incredible. Please share my deepest gratitude with the crafting teams who made these master works.” Ruby and Steve were going to burst when they saw the prizes. I was tempted to send them directly through Jeeves so they could get them sooner, but I wanted to see their faces when they glimpsed the legendary items for the first time.

“I will do so, my lord,” Sythrak said. “They too expressed gratitude for the chance to work on unique projects. You are becoming known among master crafters as one who provides challenges that can help them level up more in days than some have advanced in decades.”

“Glad I can help. Speaking of fun projects, can you have someone alter this armor so it auto-tiers or something so Lana can wear it?”

I produced one set of the legendary Blacktide Carapace armor from Tydrion’s vault.

“A fine piece,” Sythrak said, his eyes flashing gold as he examined the armor. “I doubt anyone outside of house Blacktide has ever worn it. That will make it nearly unique. A worthy challenge for sure.”

“I plan to have Jeeves extract another set tomorrow, and one the day after. I’ll need one sized for Andy, and the other for Ed. I can only pull one per day from the vault. With those Boundless Horizon emblems, we can make them all look like a matched set.”

“An excellent plan. These suits will provide far better protection than anything else they could purchase,” Sythrak said.

The armor disappeared, and I produced Scalebiter. “Also, do you have any other blades with similar enchantments to this one?” The slightly-curved, single-edged blade had proven itself many times in battle. Its stacking penetration and damage could turn the tide of the most difficult battles, given a bit of time.

“I’m afraid not,” Sythrak said without missing a beat. “That blade might be only rated uncommon, but that ability is very rare. Other weapons have similar, but far weaker variants.”

“Is there a way to upgrade Scalebiter to at least Rare grade?”

Sythrak bowed slightly. “Indeed, there are ways. This challenge will likely not be considered as unique as some of your other custom orders, but I have no doubt I can find a master crafter willing to upgrade it.”

“I appreciate it. Tell them I’ll keep my eyes out for more worthy material.”

“Please do. Each unique, challenging project wins more good will. Being declared a friend of powerful master guilds can open many doors and reap benefits beyond just acquiring more legendary items.”

My blade disappeared, and I stored my amazing new shield, already considering when and how to work it into my existing fighting style. I wasn’t usually a shield guy, but trusted in my armor, my pain tolerance, and my fast regeneration. There had been times when a shield would have been extremely helpful, though.

A moment later, Ed finished shopping. He chose a full set of plate armor, boosted with extra defense from his elemental abilities, along with a massive greatsword with bonus durability and piercing damage.

“Need anything else?”

“I can use my spells at least a little now, so I don’t need ranged weapons. With my golem helping, this should be perfect. Thanks again, Lucas.”

“I’m glad we figured out how to help.”

I also topped off my Stiletto Quiver blade quantities. I was tempted to buy more gear or items to help me defend against Countess Syvelis and her psychic mind powers, but I wasn’t sure what I might need yet. That pendant I just got for Jane made her the perfect secret weapon to help against the wily countess. Once I got a better sense of what kind of trap I wanted to set up, I’d know what I might need.

“I do want to look at that final defense ring I checked out last week. It had the Step Into the Light ability.”

“Ah, of course,” Sythrak said and snapped his stubby fingers. The plain platinum ring appeared on a little pedestal on top of a hovering platform covered in a black, velvet cloth. “One of the best life-saving items in stock.”

“Reversal of Fortunes Ring. Epic. When any single attack would deal a mortal wound to the wearer, this ring will absorb the attack and trigger Step Into the Light.”

“Surround the wearer in a column of light, providing 100% regeneration, the Impervious condition for 4 seconds, and grant a level-10 new ability designed to help the wearer defeat an attack similar to the one that nearly killed them.”

Ed whistled when he read the description and I said, “Amazing, right? I’ve had my eye on this one ever since I saw it. Thankfully, my fortune has grown a lot since then.”

“I don’t think you should get me anything like that. It’s too much,” Ed said.

I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a couple Death Catcher Waffles with your name on them. Sythrak, how many of these rings do you have?”

Sythrak’s grin widened. “I only had 1 last time you browsed this collection, but a second has become available.”

“I’ll take them both. I got Ruby a saving item last time, so I think I’ll give these to Tomas and Steve. Any other options like this?”

“Not anything you did not inspect last time. I am happy to show them again.”

I shook my head. “Not this time, but let me know when you get special items like these rings again.”

“Of course.” If Krysanthymus could drool, I bet Sythrak would be.

Jane would get the next life-saving artifact, followed by other members of the team, but most of the other items Sythrak had showed me last time were more expensive versions of the Death Catcher Waffles. With any luck, we’d all have at least 1 more life-saving item before we had to face Marisara and her court. Possessing a vast fortune wouldn’t help if we died before we could use it.

I paid the seven tier-7 mana crystals for our purchases, Ed collected all his new gear with a spring in his step, and we headed out. With any luck, Ruby would get to tease Steve about me giving him a ring this time.