Surprisingly enough, there was very little competition for the ring. They sold the ring at 85 gold and I settled back into wait. There were two more options in the jewelry section that I managed to win. The first was for another ring, a “Ring of Magic”. The item would give me an overall magic point boost. The auctioneer didn’t reveal how high the boost would be, which made the item a bit of a wild card. It could be worthless or it could be amazing. The chance helped reduce the price. The second item was much more stable. The “Bracelet of Health” added to my maximum Health point value, which was clutch. Each of the purchases made it clear that I needed magic items. Zakia explained that most people had the same amount of maximum magical items.
Each person could wear five rings, two bracelets, One headpiece, one torso piece, one belt, two earrings, one leg piece, one footwear piece, and finally one outer garment. It was the same system as the RPGs I played back home with two additional ring slots. The fact that I could wear rings on my thumbs felt weird but made all the sense in the world. The image of Michael Jordan in my mind made me want to try wearing six rings. Regardless, the information was useful. I now knew what I needed to collect. Unfortunately, I wasn’t going to be getting anything new from the auction. The next section was for Food and Beverages which were both interesting and boring. The variety of pastries, meats, spices, and other products was immense. Unfortunately, they were all too expensive to justify buying. I had a settlement of an unknown number of people.
That didn’t stop me from buying a few casks of various alcohols, though. The price was less than ten gold a piece and it might help me make friends with future important people. I also really wanted it. Once the food section ended, the rest of the auction was uneventful. There was a part where furniture was sold but I decided to stay out of it. I chose not to add anything extra because I wasn't sure how we would be getting back. I wasn’t even sure if I could put furniture into the ring. I was considering leaving when they wheeled out the Chameleon Basilisk egg. The egg caused a hush to fall over the hall. It wasn’t as obvious as the spell books, but still noticeable.
“Here we have the egg of a Chameleon Basilisk. We received the item very recently. Despite its late arrival, two beast masters have assessed it. Both of which attest that the basilisk is both healthy and genuine. We will be starting the price at 500 gold coins.”
When I heard the price, I grinned. It looked like my luck was higher than I thought. As soon as the bidding began, it became clear, the majority of people had no way of joining in. Even the magician I had spoken with was forced to bow out once the price reached one thousand gold. The ultimate winner was a tall and broad-shouldered man. He wore a dark brown metal breastplate with a wickedly curved blade on his hip. Once they announced his victory, he grinned and sat back down on the hard stone. I made a mental note to hire him if I ever needed adventurers or mercenaries or whatever the hell he was.
“Well, I guess I have more gold to play with now.” I glanced over at Zakia, who rolled her eyes.
“What more could you possibly want?” She said with a groan.
“Hmm, who knows? The weapons and armor section is coming up. We might be able to get outfitted with many, many more things.”
“You don’t even wear armor, nor do you use weapons.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good sword.” I chuckled before turning my attention to the rest of the auction. Despite my words, the rest of the auction went by without much fanfare. The remaining items were either completely useless to me or they wouldn’t help me with anything. There was the opportunity to buy a variety of mounts, but they were all ground creatures. Altogether, the rest of the auction took three hours. When we finished, Zakia managed to find a pair of connected swords. They were short scimitars, with one enchanted for fire damage and the other for lightning. They looked pretty cool and part of me wanted to get one until I remembered that this wasn’t a movie and sword fights weren’t pleasant.
“I will go and obtain your items,” Asha spoke up as we exited the booth. I gave her a nod, and she left us.
“So now that this part is done, our time in the city is coming to its close. Is there anything else you want to get done?”
“Nope, I got everything I needed. I am ready to get back. This city is way too full for me.” Zakia had to step to the side to avoid a couple running into her.
“I kind of like it. It’s similar to being back home”
“So you grew up in the city?”
I nodded. “Yeah, though, it’s a lot bigger than here. There were millions of people and my home was considered relatively small. We had some cities that held tens of millions. Cities that took up miles of space.”
She nodded slowly at that. “I don’t know how large a mile is, but it sounds impressive. Do you want to go back?”
I shook my head. “That is over now. Things didn’t go how I wanted them to and I thought I would have more time, but that ended. I also don’t know if there is anything for me to go back to. Things happened.” Part of me wanted to explain further, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t be sure that doing so wouldn’t cause problems. That those beings weren’t still watching me and wouldn’t erase me from space or something. The last thing I needed was to lose my second life because I had a big mouth. We settled into a comfortable silence that wasn’t broken until Asha returned. She had two people with her. Both of which looked human, with ebony skin and ornate-looking robes. Between them was a cart covered with a white tarp.
“Here is everything. I was instructed to tell you that you may pick up the remainder of your gold in the morning. It will take some time to convert it into hard currency for you.” Asha gave a slight bow at the waist.
“Of course, thank you for your hard work. Have them pay you an extra five gold from what I have left. I doubt today would have gone as well without you.” The woman’s smile was bright enough to blind. I chuckled before gathering my items. Each one provided a prompt that I minimized. I would review them all once I was somewhere I could take my time. I glanced over at Zakia, who was in the middle of drawing both of her blades. Each one crackled, one with the dying embers of a fire and the other like a thunderstorm. The smell of ozone and ashes filled the hallway.
“I think you should sheathe those before we start getting complaints.” I flashed her a smile as she re-sheathed both blades. “Are we splitting up here?”
She nodded. “Yeah, we should. I am going to head back now. I will stop by your place before the dinner.”
“Sounds good.” I checked over everything one last time before nodding to the group. “I thank you all for your service. I hope the rest of your day is pleasant.” I gave a polite smile and then made my way out of the hall. Once we were a block away, Tenebris and Sanaa pushed off from my shoulders and flew into the air. I chuckled as the pair flew higher and higher.
Stolen story; please report.
“I take it you both weren’t happy about being inside for so long?”
The only answer they gave was a wave of irritation that hit me a like wave. I stumbled forward a step before I got control of myself. I looked up, but could no longer see the two dragons. “Well, I guess that means I will be walking back alone,” I spoke out loud as I headed further into the city. When I arrived at the lodge, I sent a call to both dragons. It took several minutes for them to arrive. Instead of landing like normal, they chose to circle above my head. The pair looked a bit like the fusion Yugioh card. I shook my head before making my way inside. Once the door closed, I let out a sigh and took a seat. It was time to review all of my new toys.
You have found: Bracelet of Health Details: Provides an additional 24 Health Points
Durability: 8/8
Item Quality: High
Item Rarity: Uncommon
Item Weight: .2 lbs
You have found: Ring of Mind Shielding Details: While wearing this ring, you are immune to magic that allows other creatures to read your thoughts, determine whether you are lying, know your alignment, or know your creature type. Creatures can telepathically communicate with you only if you allow it. You can choose to make this ring invisible.
Durability: 10/10
Item Quality: High
Item Rarity: Uncommon
Item Weight: .2 lbs
You have found: Book of Lesser Swiftness Details: Teaches the spell "Lesser Swiftness". This spell will increase the target's speed by 10%
Durability: 8/8
Item Quality: Above Average
Item Rarity: common
Item Weight: .7 lbs
You have found: Ring of Magic
Details: Provides an additional 51 Magic Points
Durability: 10/10
Item Quality: High
Item Rarity: Rare
Item Weight: .2 lbs
You have found: Cloak of Charisma Defense: 6
Details: Provides +3 to the Charisma
Durability: 19/19
Item Quality: Above Average
Item Rarity: Uncommon
Item Weight: 2 lbs
I let out a whistle of excitement. Each of these items had one hundred percent been worth it. Hell, the Cloak of Charisma was even more useful than I thought. When I slipped the rings onto my fingers, a swell of power flowed through me. I watched in confusion when I saw my health and magic bars turn a slightly deeper shade of blue. The meters didn’t get any bigger, but the numbers did. I placed everything on my right hand and wrist, which felt a bit lopsided, but it would also act as an obvious reminder to find more magic items. Even bad magic items would probably be worth it since even a small boost would be better than no boost. Now that I had dealt the items with, it was time to deal with the spell.
I took a deep breath and opened the book. My eyes slowly went down the page as the information flowed into my mind. Unlike the very first time I learned a spell, this wasn’t painful. Arcane symbols imprinted themselves in my mind. After what felt like several minutes, the process faded and then stopped. The momentary feeling of information overload abated, and I pulled up my new notification.
Attention! You have learned the spell: Lesser Swiftness. This spell will increase the speed of the target by 10% This is a Spira spell of the first level. 30mp Duration: 15 minutes Range: 30ft. Cast Time: 1 second. Cool down: N/a
I wonder if this spell will make me cast faster? I made a mental note to compare the two later for now, though I turned my attention to the large set of books I purchased. Touching each one made it clear they weren’t magical. That wasn’t surprising, but it was a little disappointing. I sat down, grabbed the first book, and began reading. The book was written in a language I had never seen before. The words were pictures that reminded me of Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Thankfully, my ability could translate the images into words I could understand. A Sage named “Msizi” wrote the book. The story was a historical account of a king named “Ajaka”. The book detailed how he became the leader of his village after an attack by raiders and managed to transform the small settlement into a city and then into a large nation. The writer detailed an event where Ajaka was forced to mediate a problem between two of his people. The situation was the “One baby two mothers” situation that faced King Solomon. It was solved the same way, which made me wonder if something related to the two events. Either way, it wasn’t that important. What was important was what happened once I finished the first book.
Notice! You have learned the skill Governance. The ability to conquer isn’t the same as the ability to rule. The authority and power of a ruler is a chain, as much as it is a reward. You have shown the judgment necessary to bear the weight of the crown. Continue to walk the path and improve for the good of your people. Increasing this skill will affect every facet of your civilization. +1% to Morale, Loyalty, and Production for your village.
I pulled up my status screen on instinct. When I found the new skill, I nearly did a small dance. I had 100% affinity for the skill. It wasn’t even a part of my magic skill ability. Part of me wondered what that meant exactly. Did it reflect the fact that I had a place of power and a settlement, or did it reflect something about myself? I considered it for several long minutes before shaking my head. Either way, I had no way of knowing, and it didn’t matter. I made a mental note to level that skill as quickly as I could. I dog-eared the page and placed the book with the rest of the group. The night had fully fallen now, which meant it was time for bed. I made my way up to the bath. The fact that this was going to be one of the last baths I would be able to take for a while was painful, but roughing it could be fun. I said it again, hoping to convince myself it was true. It didn’t work.
After my bath, I settled in for the night. I decided to do something I really should have done a while ago. I went through my ring, removed everything, and then placed each item in order. Most of the items had been taken care of already, but the various metals, arbor heart, arcane matrix, and some scrap weapons were reorganized. The reason for this was two parts. First, I hated seeing items just wherever in the ring. Everything was arranged in a grid, but weapons and metals were everywhere. I arranged everything in alphabetical order, which was more comfortable. The second reason was that it would be easier to go through when I sat down. I could pull everything out of the ring by thinking about it, but it was easy to lose track of what was what when going through it. Especially since clothing items didn’t stack. My assumption was only completely identical items would stack, which was kind of useless in this situation. I wasn’t going to go around and collect ten copies of the “Black and White” shirt. Right now it wasn’t as big a deal because I wasn’t working with too many items, but later it would be a pain in the ass. Inventory management was the worst part of RPGs. Especially when your strength score determined what you could carry. Thankfully, the ring didn’t have that.
Another cool thing about the ring was that the clothes inside of it didn’t wrinkle or anything. Everything entered and exited in the exact condition they were in at the time. Even the Sasaki balls were still hot. I wasn’t sure how that could be useful, but I was sure there would be a way. Now that my work was done, I climbed into the bed. It was time to get ready for tomorrow.