"Did you know this kingdom isn't at all like the others?" Mattheus -Eldrian and Ceph's guide in the capital- asked.
"How so?" Eldrian asked. They were currently on their way to the fifth shop. Eldrian wasn't going to rush into buying anything other than the Mov Crystal. His biggest fear was that they would simply break.
While he had the budget to afford one or two Tier 7 magic grade items, Eldrian didn't want to splurge so much money so soon after getting it. For now, he was mostly window shopping. He would return later to make custom orders, or he would buy something if he fell in love with it.
As his target wasn't a standard monster, but rather an ancient one. Eldrian doubted any normal piece of armor would be capable of withstanding more than a few strikes.
For this reason, he completely abandoned the idea of getting a shield. Besides, a shield didn't pair well with a dual headed spear.
Instead, Eldrian was looking for items that would boost his speed or attack power. Or something that could give him a magical barrier type of armor. Like his old breastplate, Chelona.
Ultimately, he was looking more for accessories more than armor. Items that would support his usual fighting style, rather than something that could survive a beating.
For the latter, he was planning to work with Solvi. Eldrian had learned the value of armor, but he was hesitant to use them as disposable equipment.
Thus, rather, depending on how the recovery of Crystoi went, Eldrian planned to use most of the remaining voidstone fragment for his armor. He hoped this might allow the armor to also escape destruction at critical times and save him money in the long run.
After all, a Mov Crystal would recharge over time as long as Eldrian prepared the proper storage for it. He could even recharge it with mana crystals or his own mana, though the latter would barely make a dent in the crystal's mana stores. But doing so daily would make all the difference.
"Yes, it is almost like nobility is simply symbolic." Mattheus continued, returning Eldrian's focus to the topic and away from what he was looking for. "With the exception of the royal and ducal families, that is."
Eldrian nodded. Indeed, nobility didn't have much power in the kingdom. Most cities were under direct management of the royal family. With a distant relative being sent to oversee them. Not a single city was in the hand of a noble family.
Nobles, at most, managed towns or villages, or the estates they owned inside the cities. This meant that no one had any considerable force except the royals. However, many nobles held a great deal of influence, regardless.
Some because of their heroic past wherein their ancestors had earned great merit in wars, expeditions, or magical breakthroughs—others because of their financial strength. Neither of which could be ignored, causing nobility to persist despite how little land any of them owned.
Luckily, not all nobles were bad. In fact, most were working with the king to overcome the invasion. But there would always be bad seeds, and it was these seeds Eldrian didn't want to deal with. Which was why he preferred to stay out of the authoritarian business.
'However, if things calm down and I actually get to claim the mine I am aiming for... plus the two forts we now have in our control. I doubt they will stay quiet. Though only if things calmed down, and Kynigo is quite well managed under Pelaros. I doubt it will be too hard to deal with.'
Eldrian only thought of this now that he was here. Making him realize he should perhaps rush the plans ahead a little quicker than planned. As fate would have it, there were presumably several ancient beasts within The Forsaken Caverns.
Not wishing to leave finding a target to Eldrian's machinations, who might postpone the quest definitely, Skepsi had added a guiding system to his quest.
However, Skepsi also didn't want him to know their precise location, so instead the information he got was more in line with "There are alicorns in Avgi", or in this case; "There are drakes in The Forsaken Caverns".
The information was useless outside of simply notifying you where one might find the species. Skepsi had even gone and hindered Eldrian's standard map, so he couldn't use that to track the beasts and set up traps for them.
While Eldrian wanted to complain, he didn't even know how. He could probably send her a message as he did with Ziraili, but Eldrian doubted she would care.
—
"You actually got one?" Solvi sounded more astonished than when Eldrian had told her he had met with Skepsi. Perhaps because she understood just how valuable and rare Mov Crystals were. While not as rare as magic crystals, they were only slightly behind them.
No smith would willingly hand over a Mov Crystal they had in store, and everyone would rush to procure one should a new vein be discovered.
After all, a dimensional storage was too valuable to ignore. It made daily life exponentially easier, and for merchants or anyone working with a large amount of materials, it was a lifesaver.
Yet, this was not what made them so rare. Their true rarity laid in that they were a strategic resource for the kingdom, much like magic crystals. One couldn't simply buy one when a new vein was found. Only a few of the mined crystals would make it into the market. Often only the defects or smaller crystals.
The majority would be used as the foundation for the arrays and formations for cities. Either forming a new city base, or extending the pervious formations. This was especially so now that the kingdom was facing incessant invasions from all sides.
"Apparently, it was a special occasion. The guild master guild came to deliver the crystal. I even got it for half price." Eldrian said, taking out the said crystal.
He had asked for something around medium-sized, but this was one closer to a large Mov Crystal. The dark purple crystal had a length equal to that of his palm, and it was about three fingers thick.
He could even see the familiar galaxy lights within the crystal if he used mana sense. Indicating that the crystal was on the verge of maturing. If left for a few more decades, it might have become a magic crystal.
Hearing Eldrian's reply, Solvi turned to look at the crater before the western gate of Elomir's inner walls. "I guess you did earn some special treatment." She mumbled. The last time she saw something this devastating was when Eldrian introduced cannons to them.
The damage before her reminded her of the strength of the annihilation class cannon. It gave her shivers, thinking that Eldrian, a welp in his twenties and only Tier 5, could produce such destruction.
She knew better than to classify Eldrian as normal, but this was still shocking. Sure, it had come at the cost of Crystoi disappearing, but they would see today whether the cost was simply a temporary loss of the spear or something more.
Despite knowing it was wrong, Solvi hoped Crystoi had contributed to the outcome more than Eldrian. She couldn't help it. The sight was simply too fearsome.
If Eldrian reached Tier 7, the next turning point in strength, what destruction would be brought forth then?
Along with her fear, however, Solvi also gained a new resolve and hope. She would do her utmost to provide Eldrian with the gear he needed to turn the tides of the invasion.
As soon as this idea popped into her head, it grew deep roots.
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