Shen found E'forion on the other side of the doorframe this time. The holin was looking at the portal with evident anxiety, which was quickly replaced by a flash of annoyance, then relief when he saw Shen. As much as he was upset at Shen's delay, he was gladder that the drow hadn't made it harder for him to obey his father's command to lead Shen whenever Shen wanted.
The Armory was a vast, flat platform floating on endless blue skies, like the place Shen had just visited. It was considerably wider, though, and the sky could only be seen through the millions of pieces of equipment floating around, which formed a massive dome. Every piece was held in place by the qi of a B-rank holin meditating mid-air in the dome's center. Unlike most sect members in the city, the B-rank was clad in dark gray armor and ready for battle.
No item stood before another, making it a perfect showcase of everything the Gardener Sect—or perhaps merely the local Garden City—had to offer. The dome was organized into tiers and equipment types. The lower the tier, the closer it was to the ground. Armor was kept close to other armor, grouped by the material it was made of; weapons floated close to weapons, grouped by both kind and materials; and so on. There were a few hundred B-tier pieces of equipment on the very top, but none were B+ or higher; no A-tier item was in sight, not to mention S-tier.
About half a hundred people were browsing the goods, from E- to C-rank, standing or flying around. Shen saw someone add a sword to the dome, and the nearby weapons gave way, automatically pushing everything beside them a little.
The sect members merely glanced his way before swiftly ignoring him. The B-rank cultivator was wearing a helmet, but Shen felt their focus on him for a moment when he arrived. The sensation soon disappeared. Like the others, they were just checking on the newcomer.
There were no attendees, so Shen guessed the Gardener Sect had its own system for purchasing and maybe selling stuff. E'forion's following words confirmed it to him.
"Stand a few yards before anything you like and focus on the item. The Armory will reveal its properties to you. But whatever you do, don't touch anything without asking permission first. Elder T'rael's fame reaches even headquarters. He isn't known for his mercy."
"So, this Armory belongs only to Flower City?" Shen asked.
"What? Of course not. How could a mere C-tier world have so many good items and a B-tier guarding its Armory? It belongs to all C-tier worlds in the World Tree's 108th Main Branch."
A few questions later, Shen learned that the World Tree had over 300 main branches coming straight from its trunk. They further split into what E'forion called subsidiary branches. The 108th Main Branch had 71 subsidiary branches, each with 3 to 15 "twigs." A twig could have anything from 1 to 40 leaves. There were thousands of leaves throughout each subsidiary branch, each leaf being a world with an ecosystem. Not every world had sapient life, but Shen still classified the World Tree as "impressive as hell."
When he asked how the Armory would reveal an item's properties, E'forion just said—with a wise-ass smile—that Shen would understand it when he did it. Shen disliked the mystery but could do nothing about it. However, he did note that refusing to answer a question for silly personal reasons wasn't considered politics. Good. The Gardener Sect wasn't that strict to prevent such simple interpersonal exchanges.
He was still not impressed with them, though; part of him was just waiting for the next asshole who would try to kill or use him.
But right now, the most important thing was that Armory's B-rank guardian was named T'rael. He belonged to the T'holin bloodline, the one that protected stuff. Shen immediately decided not to even think of stealing anything. He didn't want to mess with a B-rank's bloodline instincts.
He flew straight to the C-tier spears. He was on a timer, and the old lady had already wasted some of it. At least this Armory conveniently also had armor for him to purchase after he was done with picking up a weapon.
Shen found precisely five thousand forty C-tier spears. They came in all sizes, colors, and materials, from a small gray bone spear with a spearhead that looked like pure flames to a big, shining pink metal spear with a cracked, dark wooden spearhead. Few had tassels, which was a bit of a bummer as Shen liked his weapons with tassels. Then again, he supposed he could just tie a tassel himself.
Over half the C-tier spears were C-, and the remaining were evenly split between C and C+. He focused on the C+ first.
Shen could tell an item's tier by their qi but not their enchantments or possible core Laws. Some spears called more to him, which had to do with their Laws, but he couldn't just tell what they were at a glance.
So, he did as E'forion said and focused on a random spear to see what happened. His eyes rested on a spear with a dark wooden shaft and a dark green metal spearhead. Soon, small light dots materialized before his pupils. They became a superimposed image with a transparent white rectangle with a golden border containing the item's basic information.
GARDENER SECT — ARMORY IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
Item: World Subduer
Tier: C+
Type: Weapon
Sub-Type: Spear
Primary Materials: Emanov's Willow Bark (C+), Quenched Quasi-Varsov High-Density Alloy (C+)
Origin: 72th Branch – Gostov World (C)
Artisan: Von – Master Ethereal Harmonization Realm
Primary Crafting Technique: Em-Van Refining
Core Law: Space's Unshakable Stability
Enchantments: Sharpness (C+), Resistance (C+), Piercingness (C+), Self-Repair (C+)
That was a lot of information. Shen felt that it wasn't common to receive so much knowledge about a weapon he wanted to buy.
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He wasn't familiar with the materials or the crafting technique, but he knew that C-tier items should have five enchantments unless they had a core Law, which took an enchantment slot. A core Law also meant the weapon was only as good as a D- one unless its wielder's Path also contained the core Law. When wielded by someone with a similar Law, the weapon became as good as one a grade higher; in this case, going from C+ to C++.
That spear was alright, but its core Law wasn't compatible with Shen's Path. He checked the one beside it and mostly confirmed that any weapon he didn't feel connected to was unlikely to have a compatible core Law.
Just to make sure he didn't miss a hidden gem, Shen spent a third of his available time inspecting every single C+ spear. Three had no core Laws, so he could pick them if the thirteen with compatible Laws didn't fit him.
After he was done, he turned to the B-rank with cupped hands and bowed. "May I hold this weapon, Exalted Senior?" He pointed to the first spear he wanted to check, which had the Spear's Law of Extremity at its core.
The man didn't answer, but the weapon floated to Shen. He bowed again, thanked the man, and then grabbed the weapon.
Shen instantly knew that spear wasn't for him. The core Law was fitting, but the balance was atrocious. Not atrocious by itself, but it didn't fit his fighting style.
One's Path was oneself, and Shen's Path had seven Laws assembled in a specific way. If someone wanted to craft a more generic spear, its materials and weight had to be evenly distributed. However, if the crafter meant to make the spear more fitting for a certain kind of Path, wielding it became annoying even if the core Law matched. Sometimes, the crafter just sucked and couldn't help but impart part of their Path's part particularities into what they were making.
Thinking about generic weapons tugged at Shen's mind. Something about a place with mass-produced armaments that were mostly neutral and easy to purchase. That was all he got before the Heavenly Lightning blocked the memory.
He returned the weapon to its place and asked permission to hold the others. He discarded them one by one. In the end, only three spears were tolerable, two with a core Law and one without a Law. One had Spear's Shaft at its core, and another had Lightning's Conductivity; those Laws spoke dearly to him, making him more willing to overlook the weapons' imbalance. The A-rank old lady definitely hadn't picked those two Laws randomly when she suggested them to Shen.
Shen silently swore at the A-rank old lady for being so good at her job yet being a sneaky asshole. He wished she could have a spear made just for him.
"That's still possible," a young, genderless voice said behind him.
Shen turned to find what looked like a drownoid shadow standing a few yards away.
Shen could see and hear the creature but not detect it with any other sense. It was eerie. He also hadn't felt it arriving, and almost everyone was ignoring it, except the B-rank, who had turned their head this way. Either the shadow was a common sight or, more likely, only Elder T'rael could detect it.
Considering even a B-rank paid attention to the creature—and Shen thought the Elder's head had very slightly tilted toward it in greeting for a split instant—Shen decided to play it safe. He cupped his hands before himself and nodded. Not a bow; he wouldn't bow to someone who admitted to having analyzed him almost to the point they had read his thoughts.
In fact, Shen even did that much mainly because T'rael was infamous for bringing pain to those who disrespected his Armory's rules, and maybe he would be equally protective of this shadow whom he greeted. T'orin had become irrational when protecting E'livia—or perhaps the E'holin bloodline—and Shen didn't want to experience anything similar from a B-rank. He wouldn't even have the opportunity to explain himself if T'rael decided to act.
"That was rude of you, Esteemed Senior," Shen said.
Politely greeting a stranger to avoid getting attacked was one thing, but ignoring the blatant disrespect was another. Shen had just told an A-rank to "shove" their poisoned gift, though one might argue it hadn't been wise. He didn't care. He had given up on most of his unearned pride, but he already hated politics, and if this place was against it, they wouldn't blame him for just being himself.
In fact, he was realizing that despite his feelings for the Gardener Sect, he felt legitimately free to be himself in this place. It was nice. He was almost starting to feel he might belong in the Myriad Worlds one day—as long as the Gardener left, so he could stop looking over his shoulder all the time.
"I suppose it was rude," the shadow said with an amused voice. They lacked any features, including a mouth. It just released sound, as far as Shen could tell. "I apologize; it's an old habit of mine. The Gardener forbids politics, but his sect was allowed to form a hidden internal police arm—after the previous Grand Elder begged for a long while, of course. It's one of the very few exceptions the Gardener has ever made to his rule, and only because of three regulations he demanded of the Grand Elder: every sect member knows of the Shadow Corps, we are forbidden from lying or hiding our intentions if questioned, and we report directly to him, and only him, to avoid our talents and information from being used for politics."
"Only if questioned, is it?" Shen pointed knowingly.
The shadow's voice became even more amused. "Ah, you believe you've seen through us. Indeed, we can make ourselves invisible to almost everyone, but it's not a loophole to abuse our power. We're the hidden internal police. Naturally, we must investigate in the shadows. And believe me, the Gardener punishes us heavily whenever we abuse our power."
Suddenly, Shen felt the creature's soul. They were a living being, not just sort of protection or artificial spirit. Their soul also had a scab, which Shen had never seen before.
The shadow hid their soul and continued, "The Gardener is the least patient toward us among all creatures in the Myriad Worlds—a truth we accept before joining the Secret Corps, and we can leave at any time unless while being punished for something we did. As for you... Don't worry; none of us can spy on you. What I did by analyzing your thoughts was already close to breaking the rules. We only deal with sect members, who must agree to be investigated by us when they join."
So, everyone had to accept the terms of service before joining anything related to the Gardener Sect...
Shen frowned. He couldn't tell where that thought had come from. He had no memory of it. Was it some kind of saying? It didn't feel like it.
Anyway, he moved on. "You do seem to be obeying the rules. You are answering my questions. To the best of your ability, too, as far as I can tell."
"Of course," the shadow replied as if it was par for the course.
Well, Shen would be damned if he didn't use that to try to find more about the one thing that worried him more than anything else. "If you're needed to police the sect, the Gardener isn't omniscient in the Myriad Worlds, right?"
The shadow chuckled. "He probably is, but he is kind and keeps his hands off of most businesses. That is the beauty of his decision to allow the Shadow Corps to be formed. The former Grand Elder wanted to use us for his nefarious agenda, but the Gardener turned the tables on him. Whenever we report to the Gardener, he decides exactly what we're allowed to say to the sect, word by word. The mere knowledge that the words came from the Gardener and that he is unquestionably aware of the situation and expects his rules to be obeyed are enough to thwart almost every attempt to use the information we acquire for personal gain. The former Grand Elder abused it once." He paused, then repeated with a different emphasis. "The former Grand Elder abused it once."
Shen didn't like that answer at all. Oh, sure, it was nice that the big guy was holding the hand in the shadows in check. What bothered him was the possibility of the Gardener knowing about his request to the Void Overmind?
If that was the case, why was Shen alive?
Suddenly, the shadow turned their head to the B-rank. They stood like that for a moment, then returned to looking in Shen's direction. "Elder T'rael believes the more I interact with an outsider, the closer I become to breaking the rules of only investigating sect members—thus, my own oaths. He hates oath breakers the most and has declared I must conclude my business here and stop talking to you. I obey. I was sent to deliver this to you." They waved their hand, and the most wondrous spear Shen had ever seen materialized before him. "Elder E'vania has crafted this spear as an apology for her offense, of which I know nothing about. It was personally cleared of her influence by the Gardener. If you doubt the Gardener's words or fear his influence, you might as well stop breathing, for the very air in the Myriad Worlds is his. You're not required to accept this apology gift, but I honestly see nothing good coming out of refusing it."
The shadow disappeared after those words, but Shen barely noticed it. His eyes were glued to the spear that seemed like a part of himself outside his own body and soul.
It called to him.