Popping the last bit of dragon finger into my mouth, I looked for a place to throw away the stick it had been served on. Rather than wander around or ask a random person like a clueless tourist, I observed the folks around me. It turned out there were several grated openings in the street that must have led to the sewers or something. People seemed to throw any trash they might have in there and nobody gave them a second glance.
Following suit, I felt a bit guilty for potentially littering, but the city must have had some magical means to process the waste. After all, the gnomish village had something like it to deal with sewage, and this city had to be more advanced than Fitzfazzle’s little hamlet. Thinking about my gnomish friend made me check my pocket to make sure all my figurines were still there.
I found the street that Tonpu had mentioned, Via Sorcere, and it was a wide throughfare that ran through the eastern side of the city. The street was paved and there were sidewalks on either side. Lots of foot traffic as well as carts and mounted travelers used it, and I got quite the show as I walked.
Just about every fantasy race would saunter by if I watched long enough, but I was smart enough not to stop and stare when something particularly interesting, such as the pair of heavily armored hill giants that walked by. Tonpu hadn’t led me astray, and I found the intersection with the guardhouse easily enough. The apothecary shop was in a building across the street and seemed to be doing a brisk business. Before I went to the apothecary, I wanted to collect my new gear.
The guardhouse was a stout looking stone building on the corner. Patrols came and went from there, and I was stopped as I approached. After explaining that I had an equipment requisition, they waved me past. In the dank basement of the building was the quartermaster, a one-legged orc, who grabbed my equipment requisition and grunted before moving along the shelves of the shop.
“This is what you get,” the orc rumbled as he started to lay out equipment on the counter. The first item was a large backpack that triggered a system prompt when I looked at it.
Pack of holding. This pack is enchanted to reduce the weight of any item placed inside by 90%. Larger on the inside, the pack can hold a surprising amount of gear and supplies.
Not bad, one of the best things you could get in a game, so I figured it would be more than helpful here in the real world. Next up, the orc handed me a scroll and a belt that had several pockets and loops on it. Stuffed into three of the loops were small vials, two red, and one blue. Again, system information appeared as I accepted the items.
Scroll of armor proficiency. Read this scroll to unlock proficiency in all types of light armor. Proficiency will allow you to move more naturally when armored and can help you identify the quality of any armor of this type. If you equip an armor of a type that you are proficient in, you will reduce its gear cost by 5.
Linked belt. This belt is linked to your mana core. When you reach into a pouch, you will be able to think about what item you wish to retrieve and will appear in your hand. Capacity is limited and once equipped, the belt will become bound to you. The belt comes standard with two minor healing, and one minor mana potion.
Perfect, just the type of gear I needed. I was worried that I was going to get another set of armor or a weapon that wasn’t as good as what I already had. When I tried on the belt, I could feel it link to my core, and after closing my eyes, I touched the belt while thinking about the mana potion. Suddenly, the potion appeared in my hand.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Yep, the belt was going to be very useful for my class, and I quickly added all my figurines to the various pouches. A quick test confirmed that I could summon the figurines as easily as I had done with the potions. I then took a moment to read the scroll. Knowledge drifted slowly into my mind, and once it was done, I knew where I had messed up when donning my armor earlier. A few tweaks to the adjustment straps and the whole set of padded leather felt lighter and I could move a bit easier.
The orc returned, dropping two more items on the table. One was a studded leather breastplate, and the other was a wooden torch. A system prompt told me the torch was something called an Ever Burn torch. I could ignite it on command, and it would never burn out. Contact with the torch had to be maintained for it to remain lit, and it required a single point of mana to activate each time.
My new breastplate was better than the padded one I currently wore, so I swapped it out and placed the old one in my new pack. The gear cost for my armor set didn’t change with the addition of the new piece, and instead was a bit lower overall because of my new proficiency.
“That’s it, get out,” the orc growled. Not one to argue with an orc that had just given me a bunch of free stuff, I thanked him for his time and left the guard house. My next stop was the apothecary, where I hoped to do a bit of shopping before I moved on.
The blue and white painted exterior of the apothecary shop housed large windows that let lots of natural light into the place. Several clerks worked behind the counter, filling customer orders. I looked around at several of the displays as I waited for my turn to come up. Most of what was out on display were things you find in a normal drug store, concoctions for heartburn, medicine for headaches, and a cream that dealt with itching and chafing seemed to be popular choices.
“Sir, how may I assist you today,” the clerk said as my turn came up.
“I have a writ for five mana pill things,” I said as I handed over the paper.
“Ah, yes, they’re called mana tabs, and I’ll have them bottled up for you shortly. Is there anything else you might be interested in?” the clerk asked.
“How much would it cost to purchase more of the mana tabs?” I asked, excited because these would supposedly work back on Earth.
“Ten silver each for the same ones you’ve entitled to on your writ, and I typically have a decent supply in stock. I take it that you’ve never used them before,” the clerk correctly assumed.
“Yeah, anything I should know about them?” I asked.
“As with most pills, potions, powders, and poultices, they have diminishing returns if used too often. Every twelve hours is the recommended standard before using a second mana tab. If you use one earlier, it will only have around half the normal efficacy. Using more than two in a twenty-four-hour period will cause damage to your internal organs. The ones you’re getting from your writ are the weakest version, granting ten to twenty mana when used,” the clerk explained.
“Thanks, that’s good to know. I assume the ones that give you more mana are more expensive?” I asked. The clerk confirmed it, and I decided to put off any purchases here until I had more time to shop around. Blowing all my cash in the first shop might make buying something important impossible later.
The five chewable tablets I was given were about the size of a quarter and had a powdery feel to them, like an antacid tablet. I didn’t waste one on a test, and trusted these would work as advertised. Placing them in my cool new pouch, I could grab them easily if I needed them.
Mana tabs were another thing I wanted to bring back with me when I returned home. They’d work well there, and I now had more things to spend my mana on other than just a Psionic Jolt or a Fail Weapons spell. The shop also offered more items like healing potions and mana potions of various strengths. I found out that the mana potion on my belt would restore fifteen mana and had the same diminishing returns as the mana tabs, though interestingly enough, the potions and tablets were different enough that one wouldn’t trigger diminishing returns on the other.
Potions were also much cheaper than the mana tabs, and for two silver each, I splurged on an extra pair of them. The mana potions couldn’t go back home with me, as unlike the mana tabs, they would be drained of their power. I had some great new gear and a way to refill my mana. Now, I needed to check out the summoned market for some new skills, and then see what the deal was with the arena.