We had a week and some change left before the next Wave, and I decided, rather than continuing north, we would head…anywhere else honestly. I didn't care where. More importantly, the first 'Royal Entourage' from Melromarc decided to visit Sanctuary, with a knight commander I recognized as the one to visit us at the end of the fight with the chimera, looking quite put out.
Ben met him, and when he pulled out a royal decree that spoke of not allowing Demi-Human or Beastman adventurers to operate on Melromarc soil, he was told, in no uncertain words, to buzz off. This soil is technically not under royal decree, and when he threatened Ben, I came up behind him, along with my party, as did most of the former slaves, and a lot of adventurers.
The knight captain made a face, as he realized his odds were worse than he might have assumed, and so he quickly said he'd take this up with his majesty, but I told him myself that this was my land, these were my people, and if he wants them, he'd better be willing to fight for them, as I had. That got a nice, rousing cheer from all around me, and the knights decided discretion was the better part of valor, and quickly retreated.
Beyond that, I asked Ben about how much credit I had with the Guild, and was told that it was, at this point, essentially unlimited. So long as I didn't do something crazy, like try to hire every adventurer in Melromarc for something, I'd be living pretty with them for a lifetime or more. And even crazy would only probably half their debts to me, with all the bounties, rewards, and just payouts from the stuff I'd been bringing in.
With that in mind, I brought the others over, and started brainstorming on things to get. Sadly, if I wanted to use (Up Scale Arrow), they couldn't be wearing anything too tight or not easily slipped off, Lucia's suggestions of magic thread being shot down simply because it had a limit to how far it could shift, and growing to ten times your height was a bit outside that limit…a lot outside that limit.
Still, that just meant nothing tight. I soon proposed things, piecemeal armor and the like, things that could be dropped at a moment's notice. The three brothers already wore cloaks and cowls for that, but we could get better, right? I was asked what I wanted, and began to lay out strategies and things, proposing gear that could cover things my own boosts couldn't, either ever, or at least not at the moment.
We took most of a day planning that out, drafting ideas, and scrapping them when either they proved unworkable, or just not feasible at the moment for whatever reason. Luckily, we had a load of smiths willing and able to help, and my party was always up for adding their own two coppers, so soon, we had a few designs, some newish, some classics, ready to go into production, with Ben promising they'd be ready just before the Wave struck.
From there, we adventured around a bit. Heading south-west proved to be the most lucrative, away from the direction of the capital itself, and more towards the border. This was, as I found out, the route Naofumi had taken at first, though he'd been spiraling and moving all around, he'd done his first few bits along this road. Made me wonder how good a hero he was honestly.
After all, we had monsters aplenty on this road, and while I knew Naofumi was trying to ply the merchant trade, he'd passed through here, and I'd have expected him to be dedicated to hitting the dens as much as he was able, to help himself level if nothing else. Not that he seemed focused on that. According to the Guild he'd been all but extorting money from some towns that had caught bad fortune, taking them for every copper they had, though at least living up to his promises and fixing their problems.
I wanted to judge him for it, Heroes should be helping people because it was the right thing to do, after all. But I wasn't much better. I was accepting money aplenty, even a Lordship at this point, and the Guild was giving jobs to Ren too, and passing the young man info on monsters he could hunt. He'd killed a host of them, including a Goblin Lord, which had apparently been a hard fought battle.
Oddly, he'd never claimed the bounty on the dragon he'd been hunting when I'd last heard of him, and the village had been odd about who or what had happened. The adventurers had said he'd fulfilled the request, but the village claimed he'd only made things worse somehow, and the Hall in that area was still trying to sort out what had happened, so it would be a few weeks before we heard anything.
Motoyasu…well the less said about the himbo the better. There were rumors he'd released a long sealed plant monster, burned a field of crops to the ground to kill some animated scarecrow thing, shut down a 'witch of the wild' who had actually been a local healer, and on and on. The idiot was apparently being labeled a menace by the Guild, who openly believed he was taking his orders from Myne, who was leading him to do things that would be of benefit to the crown at some later date, but hurt everyone now.
We, meanwhile, killed hundreds more balloons, as the things spawned so fast there wasn't really an end to them, as well as hunting some giant snake thing, which was like two snakes joined together at the tail, the two heads spitting out light and dark magic, which not only did damage but caused some nasty status effects, along with the whole, being a ten meter long tube of muscles and venom.
After felling it, not easily, but it was surprising what a ten times size boost would do for a lion against a giant snake, we then encountered a lake worm, and killed it, having to take most of the remaining day to haul its body out of the water, as it would otherwise pollute the entire ecosystem around it. The fact that it was worth a load of money, thanks to the sheer size of it, didn't really make up for the effort it took.
Still, as the final day before the Wave dawned, and we returned to Sanctuary after killing a giant(which came up to Strong's knees when I grew him to maximum size), we found our gear waiting for us. The armorers had done their best, and even a few merchants had gotten involved, the absolute best when it came to accessories being the most prominent, and he was quick with assuring us his goods were top quality stuff.
The armor for me was shiny, which was nice, and silver. It looked like silk, with how soft and the way it flowed, almost like mercury, but in reality it was made of some kind of crystal thread. Slipping it on, I felt the building power with each piece, as my stats went up, and up. Boots, pants, an undershirt, a jacket, a short cape, and finally some gloves, all of which made me look like a fantasy ranger out of some scifi b-movie.
The moment I was fully dressed, I felt…powerful. To be fair, the overall defense rating of it was slightly worse than my old one. Not a lot worse, but still, slightly. But the moonsilk it was woven from had a particular quirk of its nature, reducing the cost of certain skills, and as I flexed with it, and scrolled through my skill list, I smiled, as the numbers attached to each one for use, began to plummet.
The whole of my new outfit, every individual piece was modded to reduce the cost of bow skills. The ring had given me the idea that since it didn't say MP or SP, and affected both, then perhaps something like that would work even if it was made by others. So I'd commissioned this, and as my skills bottomed out, several going down to 1SP per use, I couldn't help but feel the same sense of accomplishment as when I found a new vulnerability in a boss monster.
My accessories were next, and they included three new rings, and a circlet. The rings were the sort that shone with power, which they should given each one was fifteen gold or more, but the merchant, by the name Hickwaal, was confident in his dealings and work, and to be fair, he proved to be right, as I took off my gloves, and leaving my telescopic vision and bow skill cost reduction rings on, I slipped each new one on in turn.
The first not only eliminated the delay between spell use and my MP regenerating, but almost doubled the amount I regenerated, a one-two punch as far as that resource went, helping me to keep going even in the face of a protracted battle. I could even use it to rapidly use (Blink) to move through the world…though it still cost enough that I could exhaust myself, moreso when bringing others with me
The second was a basic upgrade, but one I'd been asking after for a while, an EXP boost. It was a known passive buff, but a rare one, but with a bit of finagling, we'd been able to get a ring with a minor boosting effect. That would not only help me balance my own level with the others, but I'd have the skill points to waste…not that I didn't, given I had almost thirty saved at the moment, but still, it never hurts to have more just in case.
The third was the most interesting. SP was only for Heroes, and so most items didn't have an effect on that, save a few potions that had it as an additional effect on top of a primary. But, there were stones that could store power, and that was what this one did, allowing me to channel SP into it for later use. It wasn't as good as adding to the regeneration rate, but it was sort of like extending my bar out a bit, which was good enough.
The final bit of kit was a circlet that was probably the most important. It doubled the effects of all the others, and was a real prize. The thing cost almost as much as the rest combined, but the moment it was on I felt…I wasn't sure how to describe it, but as it was placed on my head, I was more than I had been. This was an amazing thing, and I thanked the merchant for finding it for me.
For the others, the new items weren't quite so extensive, but they were powerful in their own right, and they gratefully took their own gear and proceeded to put it on. The ladies went out of sight to do so, given they would have to strip, but the three brothers, given their own lack of clothing, and the point of their kit was to allow them to take it off at a moment's notice so I could hit them with the growth ray.
Still, that wasn't to say it wasn't good. A cape and cowl for Strong, for instance. The cape, longer than his old one, could actually double as a kind of robe, especially with his cowl as a hood. Better, where his old one had been almost completely defensive, this was all about the offense. The so called 'Falcon Cloak' would, when the hood was up, cause any blows he landed to be multiplied thanks to a kind of 'afterimage' effect it provided, which made him look like he had a shadowy version of himself following behind him, with it all mounted on pauldrons on his shoulders, that he could ditch with a single twist, to leave him free of it.
For Fast, the item was a replacement for his shoes, which had proven difficult to both get off, and back on in the midst of heated battle. The replacement was a charm bracelet of sorts, which not only did the same thing, but he was able to wear two of them, doubling the doubling, as it were, and giving him speeds that allowed him to outrace an arrow in flight, which we tested thanks to a few bow using adventurers.
Shadow, meanwhile, was given a necklace, something that hung tight on his neck, and with a bit of a tug, he would vanish, like legit go invisible for a few seconds. Sadly, it meant he couldn't wear anything else, as we found out when he tried to use it, and he vanished from sight…but his cape and cowl did not. That wasn't a big deal, of course, as he could still see himself, and with his ninja skills, he was now able to be silent, unseen, and thus more deadly than ever.
Souka was, surprisingly, the first one out from the ladies changing room, despite her armor being the heavy plate kind. It had a bronze look to it, but it boasted not only a high amount of protection for the rogue/blacksmith, but also an enchantment that could store items in seals on the outside, single item rather than spatial distortion, allowing her to carry a huge amount of things on her at once, including not only her forge, but she had plans for more weapons that her rogue skills would make use of.
Ray was next out, and she looked great. Her tabard of white and silver had been traded in for lighter armor, like my jerkin, but gold in color. It enhanced her healing abilities she got as a paladin, but more importantly, boosted them as well, turning her into both our tank and healer in one thanks to the defensive bonuses that let her 'overheal' herself, creating an HP buffer of sorts, which she could gift to anyone else through one of her other skills.
Lucia finally came out and she was a sight to behold. Her black and white smock with red belt and cords had been traded in for a more flattering affair. A jumpsuit of sorts, looking like an emerald green power rangers outfit with black and gold lining that clung to her body, and gave her a sort of 'dazzling' effect. It actually had a number of effects, to go with her new rings, but the chief amongst all of them was she could now transfer her (Consecutive Cast) between spells, allowing her to rapidly go up in firepower as the battle went on.
Beyond the jumpsuit, which she insisted on still wearing her hat with, she also had her ring of the elements, but also a few new ones, including some that straight increased her MP, and its regeneration rate, but also one that would, if she were running on empty, allow her to cast a stored spell within it. Her cape gave her upped defense, both types, and topped off with a necklace, the most expensive thing in anyone else's kit at one-hundred gold, she was a lean, mean, casting machine, able to take a hit, and blast back.
"Truly, a formidable sight, Lord Bowman," said the merchant with a smile, as we admired each other, and ourselves in a large mirror set out for us. In truth, we did look pretty cool, despite some clashing colors in the looks. Still, looking at the battle potential of us, and knowing Souka could up all of this with time and effort, I felt we were ready to take on anything the Wave…heck, anything the WORLD wanted to throw at us.
