“Follow me; I know where our first destination should be. Ready to take a reverse dump, dwarf?” Lyra whispered the last part to Nedror, though I still managed to hear it anyway.

Nedror’s temple bulged with veins.

“Just get it over with so we can go and see a real smith!” he retorted.

While the two bickered as seemed to be their nature, I took the opportunity to take in the city as we walked.

From the guards to the pedestrians to the merchants, there was a large number of different races available. Lizardmen, orcs, goblins, kobolds, felinefolk, dwarves, elves, centaurs, gnomes, merfolk, nymphs, and much, much more. I didn’t know that this many sapient races existed, let alone that they can all be found in one city.

The city had absolutely no single architectural style, with wildly varying shapes and sizes to each building. One building could look like a rigid stone cube with square windows, while the building right next to it could be a winding wooden tower with naturally formed rooms, a shop built on a perch accessible only from the air, or even a dug up, flooded plot with rooms underwater for aquatic races. Despite the differences, it made for a surprisingly lively and vibrant scene.

The only constant that was common to all the buildings was that each non-residential building had doors within their doors, each escalating in size – probably to accommodate for each race’s size.

“Here we are. The Feyfolk’s Woodworks! Prepare to be blown away~” she said with a hint of pride as Nedror scoffed.

***

“The audacity to call that garbage ‘gear’ while disparaging Dwarven crafts… I’d tell you to grow a pair of eyes, but you’ve already got another pair to grow!” Nedror scoffed.

“That’s rich, coming from a dungeon rat! Can you even see your branch stick past your whale belly and massive ego?!” Lyra retorted.

While the elven store did have some gear made from the wood of their unique trees, nothing they had offered any unique advantage over what I already had. When Nedror found a Dwarven shop he was satisfied with, I ended up deciding that their metal gear wasn’t too different in quality either. While the two bickered over who ‘won’ their bet, I found my conundrum still unsolved.

‘I can cast as usual without a casting medium like a wand or a staff, but the cast speed and control a casting medium grants isn’t insignificant – not to mention the boosts that my former staff gave to my spells’ effects. Fighting and leveling up will be significantly harder without them.’

I sighed.

Even my ring of mana regeneration was gone, destroyed along with the rest of my gear by the Balor’s attack.

“Hmm?”

As the three of us turned the corner of the street, I noticed an adventurer’s equipment store at the end of the next one.

“Lyra, Nedror, I am going up ahead!” I said, forcefully walking towards the store to prevent the bickering pair from objecting.

Soon enough, I made it to the store and opened its third largest door – the human sized one, which automatically pushed the smaller ones along with it. Inside, I found a relatively ordinary shop not unlike anything I’d find on the surface. Standing at the counter was a tall, jade-skinned, seemingly older lizardman. Despite his frail hair and the slightly visible wrinkles on his face, he still had a straight posture and a large, healthy body that was still capable of great physical strength.

“Welcome to the Cold-Blooded Forge. How can I help you today?” He asked.

The lizardman’s eyes narrowed, though judging by the welcoming tone of his voice, it probably wasn’t a hostile expression for his race.

“Hi! I am a mage, and I am looking for solid armor, a casting medium, preferably a staff, and any magic accessories you have for sale.”

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The lizardman nodded.

“Then you’ve come to the right place, friend. Please, follow me.” He said.

Lyra and Nedror finally entered the store, the latter of which narrowed their eyes towards the lizardman.

“A snake with arms and legs…? That’s who has better gear than we do?! Really?!” He asked incredulously.

The Lizardman stopped and turned around. He then gave Nedror a smile showing his sharp teeth.

“Snakekin are a separate species from lizardmen, dwarf, and I don’t see what your issue with either race is. Any customers are welcome in my store so long as they are not disrespectful to me.”

Lyra elbowed Nedror before bowing lightly to the old lizardman.

“Apologies, shopkeeper. My dwarf friend is new to Akaross and is unaccustomed to its social norms.”

The lizardman stared at the two for a few moments then nodded and continued ahead.

“While lizardman armor and gear isn’t as resilient to physical damage as dwarven metal ones are and isn’t as capable of holding the same number and variety of enchantments as elven wood ones can hold, I think you may find that some of the unique enchantments lizardman crafts are created with may suit your purposes.”

As we walked down one of the aisles holding up magic accessories, the lizardman spoke again.

“Normally, when shopping for gear, most people select a weapon first, then select armor and accessories to fit that weapon. A weapon is often the central piece of an adventurer’s kit, after all. However,” he said, stopping before a particular shelf with magic rings, necklaces, earrings, and such, “Those shopping for lizardman gear tend to purchase their accessories first, and then build a kit around it after. Why not take a look at some of these pieces and see why that is?” He suggested.

I stepped forward and held one of the nearby necklaces as I analyzed it.

[Black Vulture Bone Necklace]

Made from the bones of a rank S Black Wing Vulture native to the Lizardmen swamp of the 25th Layer, this necklace grants its user the ability to gain 21% of a dead creature’s physical attributes for eight minutes by sacrificing its flesh to the necklace, as long as the target creature was killed using a mace. The sacrifice must be offered within ten minutes of the target creature’s death, or the necklace’s boon will not take effect. Boons do not stack, and only the latest boon is the one that maintains its effect.

My eyes widened in surprise.

“It’s a powerful effect, isn’t it?” the lizardman said.

I nodded absentmindedly.

“Yeah, this is definitely something you should build around, alright.”

With just this necklace, an adventurer can go on a rampage, starting with weak monsters and fighting their way up to the tougher monsters. Given that monsters get far more in the way of physical attributes to make up for their lack of sapience and classes, even the 21% being offered is a game-changer for monster hunters.

“Do keep in mind that you can only wear one enchanted accessory at a time, since their enchantments would interfere with each other otherwise.” The lizardman said, answering the unasked question on my lips.

“What about armor and weapon enchantments? Don’t they interfere with the accessories as well?”

“Not particularly; enchantments on weapons and armor typically apply to the items themselves rather than your body, so they don’t conflict.”

Seeing no more questions from me, the lizardman continued with his explanation on lizardmen gear.

“Authentic traditional lizardmen enchantments are a trade secret well kept by our people. So much so, that any who venture out of the lizardmen swamps must lock away their own memories of our methods. Even these I had crafted back home before I carried them here.”

“Huh. That’s cool.”

I slowly looked over the available accessories one by one, hoping to find something that could be useful to me personally. Many of them offered unique effects, from life steal and backup stamina pools to specific weapon boosts and even the activation of unique spells. They came with restrictions that were just as varied as the boons they granted, and some even applied negative effects on the user. In the end, one particular item on that shelf caught my eye.

[Ring of Overcasting]

Made from bones of a Great Arcane Drake and topped with its refined, compressed, and enchanted mana core, this ring allows casters to double spell output for eight times the original mana cost. Repeated use of this effect in quick succession can cause strain on the user’s mana core, potentially leading to serious injury or death.

I whistled.

As an elemental, this ring was just too good to pass up.

“Found something you like?”

“Yeah, I did. I think I’d like to get th-” I said, only to stop in my tracks.

“Oh. Right. Things cost money.”

***

After the lizardman politely kicked us out of his shop, he subtly suggested that we find employment in the local adventurer’s guild before we come back to his shop.

“Well, what now?” I asked.

“I still need to find the Kobolds who killed my sister, so I was going to head for the guild to commission a tracker anyway.” Lyra said.

“I’d happily hire you as a mage in the party – you’re clearly capable of handling yourself and I can use your help. You’re in need of coin and experience anyways, so what do you say?”

“Hey, what about me?! I was also hunting monsters not too long ago!” Nedror objected.

Before I could respond to Lyra’s offer, the two had already started bickering.

Again.