In the end, they ended up dividing the remaining potion allotment four ways. Everyone agreed to start carrying at least two healing potions on their person at all times, and of the twenty slots they had to fill, everyone got to pick five of whatever potion they thought would be useful. Asher thought it was pretty telling what each of them ended up focusing on.

  Moxy was straightforward as ever, ordering five identical potions of Sensitivity. A single one of them would dramatically increase her ability to detect minute changes in the air, allowing her to react faster in combat.

  Samantha split up her selection a bit, deciding to go with a few different kinds of potions. A potion of Eagle Sight, which would improve her vision by leaps and bounds for a short time and allow her to spot things far down on the ground while she was flying. A potion of Warmth, which would allow her to walk through a blizzard in shorts and a t-shirt without feeling so much as a chill. A splash potion of Flare, which would launch what was basically a firework that worked during the day as well, alerting everyone within a few miles of her presence. And two potions of Darkvision, which would give her an actual means of seeing in the darkness when they needed to sneak around.

  Rulfar went with his three top picks. Two potions of Steel Skin, which would improve his already impressive defenses. A potion of Haste, which would allow him to move faster. And two splash potions of Darkness, which would apparently suck the light out of any area they were thrown into. Asher thought that last one was an interesting choice, before realizing what the bloodhound probably had in mind. With his sensitive nose, Rulfar presumably didn’t need to rely on vision in a fight if he didn’t want to.

  Asher himself went with a variety. Another potion of Water Breathing, to replace the one he’d used previously. His potion of Bright Sight, as he still thought it would be critical to his eventual rematch against the Knuckles. A potion of Feather, to reduce his weight and actually give him a tool to survive falling to his death. A splash potion of Flare, because he liked Samantha’s idea and could think of a number of uses for such a thing. And a splash potion of Slickness, something to cause anyone without an ability like the surefooted-ness provided by the assassin class to fall to the ground.

  Unfortunately, Polly had told them that she only had the materials on hand to create two potions of Restoration. They’d snagged the two of course, and after some brief deliberation, they’d decided Samantha and Moxy would be the ones to keep them on their person. Samantha was the easiest of them all to kill, even with her Winged Savior skill, which made her an easy pick. And Moxy was their primary healer, which meant keeping her alive and functional would be the best move for all of them.

  All in all, the entire order had cost Asher a whopping two hundred and fifty-eight thousand shards, even after Polly’s promised discount. The vast majority of that had just been from the two potions of Restoration, which made it quite clear why Asher hadn’t seen them used all that frequently before now. While he was still rich enough that two hundred and fifty thousand shards wasn’t too bad, it was still a noticeable chunk taken from his total balance.

  Shards: 13,120,843

  Though that was nothing compared to the shopping trip he feared was coming.

  “What artifacts does everyone have on them?” Rulfar asked as they made their way toward Opal’s artifact shop on the second level. Asher had once again used Distortion and Astral Dip to sneak his way on top of one of the elevators, hitching a ride from the third level up to the second without the guards spotting him. Seeing as he didn’t have his identification papers, it was the only way up to the next level.

  He supposed he could have just walked back outside and dropped the two thousand shards needed to renew his papers, but this was far more fun. Not to mention the second-level elevators didn’t have a stop cap at the top, meaning he wasn’t at risk of splattering himself by hitching a ride.

  “I’ve got my Ring of False Death,” Asher said, tapping the ring on his finger inlaid with a jet-black gemstone. “I did pick up an Amulet of Perception a while back, but I never actually got around to trying it out. It grants the user the tier 1 domain skill.”

  “That’s actually really useful,” Rulfar said. “One of us should definitely take it. The area you can designate as your domain isn’t large, but it’s practically impossible to infiltrate the area without alerting the skill holder. Nothing shy of a tier 3 stealth skill will get past.”

  “I’d take it if you don’t want it,” Samantha volunteered, smiling and giving him a quick kiss as she took the offered amulet. “I like the idea of keeping our campsite safe without even trying.”

  “Alright, then Asher can hold two more artifacts if he just has his ring,” Rulfar said, looking at Samantha. “Do you have any others beyond the amulet?”

  “Other than my bow, I do have my Bracelet of Observation. But to be honest, I think I’d like to replace it,” Samantha said, tapping the armband on her wrist. “The skill is too easily beaten. All it takes is not looking directly at me and it’s worthless.”

  “Yes, it’s not a great skill at the first tier,” Rulfar nodded. “The domain skill is far more useful, and there’s enough overlap there that giving up the bracelet isn’t a bad idea. We can see about trading it into the shop.”

  “In that case, I have one more spot in my soul for artifacts,” Samantha said, pulling the Amulet of Perception over her head. “I am still only in the Stage of Honing.”

  “Moxy, what about you?” Rulfar asked, turning to the quietly whistling warrior.

  “Hmm? Oh, I don’t use artifacts.”

  Rulfar nearly tripped over his feet, frowning at the carefree warrior as she continued whistling. “Moxy… Why?”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I don’t like relying on anything in a fight beyond my own skills,” she shrugged. “I snagged the potions of Sensitivity because I thought they might help me find a way to improve my own fighting even after they wore off, sort of like a training aid. But I’m not interested in any sort of permanent artifact.”

  “Honestly, Moxy might have a point,” Asher admitted. “Audrey, the truthseeker who gave her life to help me escape the greater demon a while back, mentioned how artifacts struggle in the presence of a greater demon. They weigh so heavily on the fabric of reality that simple artifacts grow weaker, and more complex ones fail entirely.”

  “Even if that is the case, we will be fighting plenty more things beyond just the greater demons,” Rulfar argued, his frown deepening. “If this is just another one of your attempts to goad me into fighting with you later-”

  “No ploy, just being honest,” Moxy said. “Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself.”

  “Fine,” Rulfar said, shaking his head. “I myself already have three artifacts on hand, if you include the weapon you’ve given me. But as I’m in the Stage of Bleed, I could still use one more.”

  “You have three?” Asher asked, looking at the bloodhound curiously. He knew about the enchanted weapon of course, seeing as he’d been the one to give it to him. But he didn’t know what the other two artifacts were. “What are they?”

  “A ring that removes my need to eat and drink, and a belt that hides me from sensory skills,” Rulfar explained. “That way, if I am ever wounded or need to hide, I can bury myself and use Hibernate, restoring my body at my leisure. The skill makes it so I don’t even need to breathe, so that’s one thing I don’t have to worry about at least.”

  “That’s a pretty interesting combination,” Asher admitted, scratching his head as he realized there was just one flaw with that idea. “Wait, don’t you need to keep feeding your artifacts shards to keep them functional?”

  “You can train your soul to continuously feed shards to an equipped artifact even while you are unconscious,” Rulfar explained as Opal’s shop finally came into sight. “That way, so long as you have enough shards on you, the artifact will continue running indefinitely.”

  “I had no idea,” Asher said, nodding his thanks as Rulfar opened the door for them. The interior of Opal’s artifact shop was just as he’d remembered it, filled with magically reinforced glass cases and countless artifacts on display. Seeing Samantha’s eyes widen as she looked around, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Remember, this is just one artifact shop. We can check the ones in the capital as well, and even hit the Grand Auction if need be. So don’t go settling for something mediocre just because you don’t see anything better.”

  “I’m not sure if I would call anything in my shop mediocre,” Opal said, walking up to them and flashing them her dazzling smile. “It is wonderful to see you again, Asher, and even more wonderful to see you brought some fellow customers with you.”

  “Hi, Opal,” Asher replied, unsurprised to see her wearing yet another skin-tight dress that was only a few centimeters from being improper. “This is Samantha, Moxy, and Rulfar.”

  After one look at Opal and her deep neckline, Samantha took a step closer to Asher and grabbed his hand, frowning at the shop owner. Opal didn’t even seem to notice, however, instead stepping right up to Rulfar and smiling up at him.

  “My, you are quite the strong one, aren’t you? Perhaps you’d be interested in an enchanted battleaxe, or something similar?”

  “I’ve got that covered,” Rulfar grunted, not fazed in the slightest by the sudden proximity. “What have you got that’s effective against demons? Barring that, effective against undead.”

  “Demons and the undead?” Opal asked, blinking as her flirting was ignored completely. Taking a small step back, she hummed, tapping her chin as she thought. “If you’re not in the market for an enchanted weapon, that makes this trickier. What category are we talking about, here? Imps or lesser demons?”

  “Try greater,” Rulfar said.

  “You don’t need to try and impress me, I already think you look plenty manly,” Opal said, smiling until she realized none of them were laughing. “Wait, you’re serious?” Turning to look at Asher, Opal’s smile quickly morphed into a frown. “Are you actually an elite slayer on a mission from the capital? I’m supposed to be notified if my artifacts are being sold to agents of the crown.”

  “No, we’re not slayers,” Asher said, deciding not to mention the fact that he technically held the title of ‘national asset.’ That functionally put him above many of the kingdom’s laws, but at the moment, only the High Prince, his wizard Richard, and the truthseekers were aware of that. Originally, it had been kept secret to try and limit the spread of knowledge about his existence, but now that the cat was out of the bag and other countries were even sending dignitaries to try and convince him to emigrate to them, Asher figured it wouldn’t be long before Donvath made his status public.

  “If you’re not elite slayers, then what purpose would you have going up against a greater demon?” Opal asked, narrowing her eyes.

  “Call us a team of concerned citizens,” Moxy butted in, raising an eyebrow at the enchanter. “Can you help us or not? Because if you don’t have anything that can help, I’m sure we can find the same level of company at a brothel down on the fourth level.”

  Opal gave her a hard stare, but after a few seconds of Moxy’s unimpressed face looking back at her, she seemed to decide better than to quip back. Instead, she nodded.

  “There’s really only one artifact that slayers use when going up against greater demons. Luckily for you, as I’m one of the few enchanters who supply the capital with their artifacts, I happen to have the skills to make it. It’s an artifact that will allow you to partially see into the realm of ages. To view where the flows of time are weakest and pick out where to battle the greater demon.”

  “So that’s how people normally fight them!” Asher said, snapping his fingers. He knew greater demons used the realm of ages to speed up their own frame of time and kill people before they even knew what hit them. To everyone else, the demons looked like they were practically teleporting. To the greater demons, everyone else was all but frozen in place. “Yes, we need some of those.”

  “Unless you want to wait a couple of months, I only have the supplies on hand to make two of them,” she explained. “Gemstones for Spatial skills aren’t exactly common goods.”

  “Oh yeah, artifacts are just specially prepared items that hold skills imbued into them, right?” Asher asked, realizing the problem. “How are you going to find someone with a skill to see into the realm of ages?”

  “Well, seeing as there are a grand total of two people with Spatial elements on our entire continent… or three, if you count the new rumors… there’s really only one solution,” she said, flashing them her award-winning smile. “You need the help of a wizard.”

  Patreon

  Discord