It took only until the first stop before Oliver made a quick change of carriage. Not only that but Theron also decided to borrow a horse for a part of the travel as sitting inside a carriage did not suit his massive size. Everyone was more than happy to accommodate the beastkin, especially considering that all of them had some expectation of how he would be treated inside the Empire for his race alone.
Left with only Anna, Lexi and their guard Ajax found himself picking Anna’s brain about the Alchemy market, he was trying to find the best way to progress while also obtaining recipes for on demand potions and elixirs.
With the advantage of comfortable carriages and a trip mainly funded by the royal family on account of the crown prince tagging along, the first stop they made was three days later at a Viscount’s home.
Seeing how they would only be staying for the evening and morning, Ajax wasn’t surprised to see that the Viscount in question had taken the opportunity to throw a party in honor of their visit.
What did take Ajax by surprise was the number of people who knew about him. Despite being a new Baron it was clear that even the nobles that weren’t staying in the capital had learnt of him and his apparent rising star as a potential powerhouse of the kingdom.
Even more shocking was the number of women that were interested in him. It took him all of an hour before he realized what was going on after about five dances and decided to stick together with Anna and Lexi just to get a reprieve.
“What is going on?” Ajax muttered as he finally caught a break just by being in Anna’s and Lexi’s presence.
“What do you mean?” Anna asked.
“It wasn’t like this in the capital.” Ajax said. “There were a few families who approached with an offer but nothing this direct.” He had already gotten at least four proposals from the women themselves.
“That’s because you never go to social events.” Lexi explained while she giggled. “You are already a Baron, over 80% of nobles never even get close to having the title in leadership. You not only have the title but you are very young and single.”
“Couldn’t the same be said for Anna?” Ajax asked. “Sure she doesn’t have the title yet but from what I hear her father is looking to pass it to her in the near future.”
“The difference is that my father will have to approve any marriage offer for it to count as legitimate.” Anna answered. “As far as your position is concerned so long as you give the go ahead the deal is as good as struck.”
“Even now the only reason they aren’t approaching you is because they don’t want to offend our families in case either of us are in the running.” Lexi said.
Following the revelation Ajax began to look at the dance invitations a little differently. Sure he was tempted by more than one or two of the women but he knew better than to make a decision that would have such far reaching consequences based only on a few minutes of talking.
Ajax was sure to officially meet and thank the Viscount that was hosting them before he made an early retreat to bed. Going to bed early after a day of not doing much more than sitting in a carriage however also meant that Ajax had gotten up early the next morning.
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“You’re already awake, your Lordship.” one of the three Goldmancer guards greeted him as he walked outside.
It took Ajax a moment to realize he was being addressed, despite Theron also making a point of always using his title with respect when talking to him Ajax still had a hard time getting his head around actually being a noble. Ajax simply gave the guard a nod in response.
“I hope it isn’t presumptuous of me but with you being awake already this would be a great opportunity.” the guard said as he took a careful look around them. “The royal family has provided some equipment that they are willing to let you borrow. Would you like to go over it now?”
“I thought the whole point of me using my old equipment was so that they wouldn’t be able to tell just how powerful I really was.” Ajax answered. “They will obviously be checking any spacial ring or bag I take with me.”
“This equipment isn’t for the Empire’s main dungeon.” the guard explained. “ It was given in the hopes that you can use it to clear an extra floor in their secondary dungeon, nobody would question a spare set of equipment that is carried inside that dungeon since the level ranges of people going there is much wider.”
Ajax’s eyes widened at the news. With the secondary dungeon’s first floor having enemies from level 29-34 and a floor level jump of ten levels Ajax had fully expected to only be able to clear four floors, even with the extra stats from the main dungeon killing a level seventy-four by himself would be too much even with a good match-up. Some stronger gear however might just be enough to push him over the edge and get him an extra floor.
“Why go over it now?” Ajax asked. “Wouldn’t that risk it being discovered?”
“There are a few crafters at our next two stops before we get to the Empire where we could take the items you select for some last minute fittings.” the guard said.
As Ajax and the guard moved to an out of the way room and the guard ensured their privacy he quickly produced a much more ornate spacial ring than the one Ajax himself had. It was there that Ajax found himself shocked with the amount of gear that the royal family had decided to loan him. There were five different longswords each made with a differently attuned metal that would not only better handle a specific Elemental augmentation but it would actually further empower it. They had also provided an assortment of axes, hammer, shields, spears and daggers. There were only two bows however there were more than a few arrows present each having a specially made shaft and tip to further enhance an element that was channeled through it.
When it came to armor Ajax was surprised to find that the royal family had provided everything from light mage robes to a full paladin plate set-up, though there were only three different sets of each and all of them were defensively enchanted.
“Wouldn’t bringing all this gear bring too much attention?” Ajax asked as he evaluated the gear to be extremely high level equipment for somebody between the levels fifty to sixty.
“The royal family has basically loaned the gear out to the entire team delving the secondary dungeon, it is common with boosting groups to bring specialized gear like this in hopes of encountering a favorable match-up that might push the boostie one floor higher.” the guard explained.
Seeing how this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to enter another nations secondary dungeon Ajax should have guessed that high end nobles wouldn’t even blink at spending a ridiculous amount of gold just to push their hopefuls even one floor higher, after all these were extra stats with no downside or cap.
The first thing Ajax checked were the sets of leather armor. It greatly pleased him to find that unlike most of the gear he had seen when window shopping more than a one or two of the defensive enchantments placed on this gear weren’t simple barriers but actual bursts of speed that could be activated by the wearer at a moments notice, though with a hefty recharge time.
“Is there any way that these leather sets can be made with a little more flexibility in mind?” Ajax asked.
Because of consistently using the same set of unenchanted gear Ajax had gotten used a set of armor that had not only been regularly used but also pushed by somebody for whom it had long been time to upgrade. This meant that his gear had a lot more give and that made these higher quality sets feel a lot more restrictive.
“I’ll definitely have to look into changing my armor once I get back as I now see that my is in need of an upgrade but mobility is more important when for a leather wearer when facing something on the level I will be up against and I’d rather not be adjusting to a more restrictive set.” Ajax explained.
“I’ll see what can be done at our next two stops.” the guard nodded as he made notes of not only Ajax’s requests but also certain measurements where the gear had been restricting his movement.
Ajax had only had the time to test out the two bows before the rest of the convoy had woken up and their absence would be felt. Both of them had felt a little heavy on the draw even with [Mana Syphon] at full power. The guard assured him that this was something they could adjust at least a little and he would get a chance to fine tune it as the crafters at both stops were skilled enough to handle it.