Chapter 210. Mana Gauge.

“I’m sorry, I meant no offense. The information broker, Rhett, said you might have a rare item that I was looking for. I’m sorry for disturbing you, and I’m more than happy to let one of your employees handle the transaction,” I said apologetically. The glow in her eyes seemed to dim a bit beneath the veil.

“Perhaps I was a bit harsh in my response. As you can see, this is a rather large establishment, and I cannot personally attend to every customer that wanders in. What is it you’re looking for?” Zamly asked.

“I’m looking for a mana gauge, which is the main thing. I’d also like to find out if you have anything that might be compatible with my class, and any summoning figurines you might have in stock,” I said.

“A mana gauge is not something we sell a lot of, but I have one in stock. The price is reflective of its difficulty to obtain. I would need 100 gold upfront to part with it. The other items you requested can be found by Leena here,” Zamly said, indicating one of the shop clerks standing beside her.

“Ouch, 100 gold is going to hurt. Can we do 90?” I offered, deciding to try out my negotiation skills like Tzes’zod had suggested.

“No, the price is firm, but if you purchase the mana gauge, Leena can give you a small discount on any other purchases you might make today,” Zamly countered.

“It looks like we have a deal,” I replied, pulling out the requested gold and muttering to myself that the government better reimburse me for this.

“What is your name?” Zamly asked.

“Rico, thank you for asking,” I replied.

“Leena, see to Rico’s other purchases while I retrieve the mana gauge,” Zamly said before slithering off toward the back of the store.

“Sir, what types of items are you looking for,” the clerk, Leena, asked. She appeared to be a human, young, perhaps late teens, and seemed a bit nervous about helping me. I got distinct “I’m new at the job” vibes. Maybe that was why Zamly had the clerk following her, it must be her first day of training or something along those lines.

“First off, do you have any gear set pieces? I’m specifically looking for anything from the Summoner’s Resistance set. Like I mentioned before, I’m also looking for any summoning figurines you might have in stock and any magic items that would enhance a summoner class,” I explained.

“One moment sir, let me check our inventory,” she said, pulling a glowing scroll from a pouch at her waist. The magic in the scroll must have been as good as an inventory database back home, as even the new hire seemed to have little trouble sorting through things.

“I see we have one piece of the Summoner’s Resistance set, a shield. There are also a few items available that are compatible with the summoner class category, as well as a selection of summoning figurines for you to examine. Here, let me show you,” the girl said excitedly, tapping her finger on the scroll several times and then pulling at the top. The top of the scroll tore free, and she handed it to me.

Gear Set Pieces:

1. Summoner’s Barrier. The Summoner’s Barrier shield can be infused with mana to improve its defensive capabilities. Once per day, it can also be thrown to intercept a single attack that would otherwise strike one of your summoned minions. Once thrown, the shield will automatically return to you.

Up to 5 mana may be infused into the shield, increasing the diameter of the area it protects by 1 foot. The enhanced area is only as strong as the original shield and can be breached by sufficient force. As part of the Summoner’s Resistance set, the Summoner’s Barrier imparts a 5% resistance to piercing damage.

Part of a 5-piece set, an additional 5% piercing damage resistance is granted for each additional piece you have equipped. If the bearer has 3 or more pieces of the Summoner’s Resistance equipped, their summoned minions will be granted a lesser version of the resistances that the bearer enjoys from this set.

The cost for this item is 50 gold.

Magic Items.

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1. Ring of Final Sacrifice. This ring can infuse a minion with destructive energy, causing them to violently explode when killed, damaging everything within 10 feet of the minion. Only one minion can be targeted by this ring, and the target must be within sight of the bearer. Once used, the ring takes 24 hours to recharge before it can be used again. Use caution, the damage inflicted by the explosion does not discern between friend or foe. This item is offered at 25 gold.

2. Armsman’s gloves, minor dagger. When activated, these gloves allow the wearer to wield the indicated weapon type remotely. The weapon will hover within five feet of the wearer and will attack any designated enemy. The skill of the weapon’s attacks is designated as minor, regardless of the wearer’s current skill level with the weapon. This item is offered at 29 gold.

3. Troll’s belt, minor. This belt grants minor health regeneration to the wearer, allowing them to recover more quickly from any injury. This item is offered for 18 gold.

4. Beads of the Feast (5). Each bead may be infused with 1 point of mana to create a small feast that will provide hearty portions of food and drink for up to 5 people. Consuming the feast will increase the constitution stat by 1 for a period of 24-hours. The beads are consumed upon use. These items are offered at 1 gold each.

Summoning Figurines:

Tier 2, Rank 0.

1. Sea Horse.

2. Giant Crab.

3. Panther.

4. Skeletal Hounds.

5. Ogre Zombie (Veteran).

I wanted everything, and after a bit of negotiation with Leena, and the small discount offered by Zamly, I ended up paying 125 gold and 55 silver for the lot. That price was in addition to the 100 gold for the mana gauge. It was a big dent in my available funds, but I could only shop here every five ranks and everything I passed on would probably not be found again. Most of the big cost items would remain effective for some time, and though there were a few less desirable items, like the sea horse figurine and the food beads, I could see them being useful in some situations.

You have unlocked the skill, Negotiation, minor.

I was happy to see that I’d unlocked the minor negotiation skill. Maybe it would help me save some coin in the future. As an added bonus, since it was a simple skill, and not mana related, it should follow me back to Earth.

It took Leena some time to track everything down, and by the time she was done, Zamly returned with the mana gauge. Her attitude seemed a lot more positive than when we first met and I suppose that spending as much gold as I just had, I was no longer on her turn to stone list.

“Here is the mana gauge, shall I show you how to use it?”

“Please, I’ve never seen anything like this before,” I said looking over the item. It appeared to be a long thermometer mounted on a wooden plaque. There were markings on the glass that indicated the mana level. Currently, the gauge was about ¾ full, and I knew that Somhagen had an ample supply of mana, so it gave me a point of reference.

“You can see where we are now on the mana gauge. Am I safe to assume you intend to use this on a mana starved world?” She asked.

“Yes, I’m trying to anticipate when the system integration will occur,” I replied.

“In that case, you’ll want to make note of these markings,” Zamly indicated some hash marks near the bottom ¼ of the gauge. “Once the ambient mana reaches the first mark, you’ll begin to see a lessening of the mana drain on yourself and the items you bring to the mana starved world. When it reaches the second hash mark, your world will be mana neutral, neither recharging, nor draining mana from you.

“It is in that mana neutral state when system integration normally occurs, though there can be delays. Occasionally it happens a bit before you reach this mark. The system does things in its own time, but the gauge will give you an idea of how quickly the world is progressing,” Zamly explained.

“Thank you, do you have any information on what exactly will happen when the integration occurs?” I asked.

“Just from some secondhand accounts. Reading about new world integration is of interest to some customers. I can suggest a few books, but keep in mind that there is no way to verify if their accounts are accurate, and I suspect much of what happens in the books happened only in the mind of the writer. It seems, based on the information I do believe to be accurate, each world experiences things a bit differently. Here, I’ll offer you a few of these books for a silver each,” Zamly said, pointing out the texts on her scroll that she wanted Leena to gather.

“Thank you, I’ll take them. You seem to be rather knowledgeable on the subject, I take it you’re an avid reader of these types of accounts?” I asked, making conversation while Leena gathered my books from around the shop.

“They are interesting, though my personal preference is fiction. I’m especially interested in stories of worlds where mana is suddenly removed and they must learn to survive in a world without magic,” Zamly said.

“Welcome to my life, I come from a place that uses technology to pretty much copy a lot of what mana can do,” I replied.

“Intriguing, perhaps we can speak more on the subject at a later time?” she offered.

“I’d love to, but I do have some other things I have to take care of today. Perhaps when I’m back in Somhagen again we can set aside some time to chat,” I replied. It would be intriguing to spend time talking with a mythical creature like Zamly, but I had to focus on the tasks at hand for this trip.

“I look forward to it, until we meet again, Rico, stay safe,” Zamly said as Leena passed me the books she’d found and collected my payment.

Who knows, maybe my first real friend in Somhagen was going to be a Medusa, though I should figure out what they actually call themselves so I don’t offend a being that can probably turn me into stone.