Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 32

I walked out of the bar with a rock solid plan in mind. Or at least what I thought was a rock-solid plan. By the time I’d sobered up, I’d already blown my remaining points renting a storefront in downtown Mucaria and buy supplies to put together something that looked professional.

Originally I’d intended to sell my power armor discretely, but Cyra’s recent actions had lit a fire under me. I wasn’t afraid to get my hands dirty, and now I was going to prove it.

By the time I realized what a dump I was in, I was already committed to the plan. The storefront I was renting was halfway to collapsing in on me with a leaking roof and a floor that had rotted enough to break at a touch. I’d probably gotten scammed.

Nonetheless, I alternated between fixing the place up and drinking water. It had only been a few hours, but the potency of alien alcohol had done me in once again. The only saving grace for me efforts was that telekinetic powers were a lot safer to work with drunkenly than power tools. If I’d been using a table saw, I would have sliced off at least one finger while fixing the place up.

But with a lot of effort, I fused wooden beams together with heat in mana, then did the same for the roof and floor. I could have done better if I’d been thinking straight, but I was still riding that feeling of angry drunken determination.

When I was finished, I flopped down on the floor of my new storefront, waking only when dawn came. My head pounded and my body hurt all over.

“Never drinking again...” I muttered, renewing my promise to myself once more.

I finished setting up my storefront, gingerly sipping on a cup of water the entire time. I had a few spare mannequins I was working on, and they were perfect for displaying my mark one power armor and the enchanted weapons that could be added to each set. Drunk and angry me had set everything up, but the hard part would be selling the armor.

In the center of the room was a target. I sighed when I realized the target was wearing Cyra’s old gear. The stuff I’d given her, and then she’d given back to me.

Truthfully, the set had been nothing special, just standard gear I was issuing to all my friends and allies. I just figured Cyra would appreciate the gift. Using this outdated gear as a target was a fine use for the old set, since what I could make now was leagues better.

And yet now, standing in the shop and thinking about some customer walking in and hitting it like he was hitting Cyra made my heart thump with anger. I tore the armor off the target and replaced it with a nearly identical set, except this one I’d never given to anyone.

I’d save Cyra’s old set. For strictly practical purposes, of course. The straps were adjusted to her size, which I didn’t have written down anywhere. While the old armor was adjustable to most sizes, the new power armor needed to be made to scale. When I had her back, I’d make a new set for her. One so good she wouldn’t dare replace it with anything else.

With the shop set up and taken care of, I made a sign to indicate the store was open and sat down at my desk waiting for my first customer. I sat back down, going through nearly a pitcher of water as I waited.

Eventually, someone walked through the door, and I was almost feeling normal again.

I looked up and saw three young women peering into the shop. All of them were D-Grades and student-aged. Maybe they were from the junior academy nearby and were out doing some shopping.

“Welcome to Doomblade’s Armory. Are you in the market for some power armor?” I asked. I’d taken the name from the pseudonym I’d made for my prototype armor. If things took off, maybe I could even use myself in that prototype armor as a mascot.

“Y-yeah. We want something we can take into battle. The Dragon Lodge is recruiting people to provide magical support to the Glacia royal army on a special mission to a nearby world. Our families told us to get the best enchanted armor we can get...” said the leader of the trio.

“Well, you’re in luck. I won’t claim to make the best armor out there, but I’ve walked up and down this street a hundred times, and this is the best armor up for sale.” I waved to the mark one power armor.

“What are its stats?” she asked.

I nodded my head to the suits. “Try one on and see for yourself.”

She did so, with her friends and I helping strap on the unfamiliar metal plate. The young woman clearly had no experience with armor or military equipment of any sort, which was probably why her family wanted her to have the best defensive equipment she could get.

“Wow. This thing added 300 stat points to my strength and vitality stats! I’ve never even heard of armor that can do that,” the young woman gushed.

I stood tall, more than a little proud of my creation. I hadn’t heard of any armor that could manage this sort of thing either, but mine could. And the stat increases were nothing to scoff at. A D-Grade pure mage shouldn’t be as tough and strong as a warrior of their same level, and yet my armor could make it happen.

Her friends soon asked to try on sets of their own, and I helped the three of them get suited up. All of them gushed at the massive stat increases, and two of the young wizardesses took to testing their new strength in a wrestling match. With the enchanted swords at their sides, they did some serious damage to the target dummy with each blow.

“Wow. Maybe we should go to the arena and test these things out,” said the leader of the trio.

“Weren’t you saying earlier that the arena is for barbaric lugheads who only know how to hit things?” asked one of her friends.

The leader of the trio giggled in a way that reminded me of Myrina. “That was before I could hit things really hard. Come on, let’s go!”

I cleared my throat. “I’m glad you’re excited. There is the small matter of payment. These suits aren’t cheap.”

The leader of the trio slapped a card of shiny black glass-like plastic on the counter. “How about ten thousand contribution points for the trio? We should get a discount for buying three at a time, right?”

I blinked in surprise. Dane Delverson’s sexy maid golems sold for a thousand contribution points, and those were considered extravagantly expensive. Was my armor worth ten times that?

The leader of the trio must have thought I was unhappy with the offer, so she quickly increased it. “You drive a hard bargain, mister. Fine, fifteen thousand contribution points. That’s five thousand each. Don’t worry, I’m good for it. See the family name on this card? I’m from the Limstave family.”

I recognized the prominent family name front and center on the card for once.

“Ah, a Limstave? I’m acquainted with a Borelius Limstave. I suppose since you’re related to him, I can give you a bit of a discount.” The young Limstave girl’s eyes lit up, and we shook hands. Everybody liked to hear they’d gotten a special deal.

The three left my shop in their new armor, and it was nearly an hour before someone else came in. I spent the time meditating. That proficiency took a long time to level, but putting time into it helped ease the pounding in my head from last night’s indulgence.

“Hello, you’re new in town, aren’t you?” asked the newcomer. He was a D-Grade too, though unlike the trio who’d walked through earlier he seemed at the very peak of the D-Grade. I didn’t check for his exact level, but he seemed strong.

“Yeah. We just opened today, actually. Everything is discounted for our opening day!”

After getting a feel for the price thanks to my last group of buyers, I made a few signs. I listed the stock price as ten thousand contribution points each, then had that crossed off and the words ‘half off today only!’ listed beneath that. Nothing got people to make an impulse buy like the feeling of a time limit.

I let the customer try on the armor, and once again I had a deal. A thousand contribution points was supposed to be a small fortune, and in just a few hours I’d already made twenty thousand. This whole armor-selling project seemed pretty good for me.

I changed the discount to only thirty percent off instead of fifty, and the armor kept selling. By the time the day was half over, I’d sold all ten sets.

I closed shop for the day, satisfied that I’d turned my last five hundred Dragon Lodge contribution points into sixty two thousand. And I planned to spend them all before I returned home.

Acquiring funding was just step one in a lengthy plan. Cyra mentioned filling out her levels, which probably included potions or other magical items to bolster the stats she wasn’t actively putting stat points into as she leveled up. I would have to do the same.

Thankfully, there was a market for such items here on Mucaria. Buying them cost a pretty penny, but I had more than enough for a few armfuls. I consumed them all straight away.

You have consumed a Iron-Bull Apple! Your Strength stat has increased by 5.

You have consumed an elixir of the Golden-Eyed eagle. Your Perception stat has increased by 8.

You have consumed a Fateflutter Butterfly’s wing. Your Luck stat has increased by 3.

You have consumed a Dragonheart. Your Charisma stat has increased by 6.

I had myself a little feast on those and a dozen other minor stat-increasing items. Truthfully, none of it tasted all that good, but between this stuff and what Bridget had been feeding me, I quickly started hitting diminishing returns. Still, I pressed on. Contribution points weren’t all that hard to earn, and if I needed more I’d get more. Soon, I’d packed on another hundred stat points.

At C-Grade, that was only a little more than a single level for me, so it wasn’t world-changing by any stretch, but many of those stats were in Luck and Charisma, which I couldn’t level up with stat points anyway. Charisma definitely had an immediate effect, and I caught a lot more stares and glances just walking the streets to my next destination.

“Welcome to the Mucaria Official Skillbook Store! These skill books are restricted to active students only, and the best ones require--“ the clerk in front stopped mid-sentence when I flashed my jade token ID medallion.

“R-right this way, sir!” she said, and she swiftly escorted me up a winding staircase up to the highest floor. “These skillbooks are only available to someone of your potential. You are of course welcome to anything from the lower floors as well, but I’m sure this is what you came for. Bring down the titles you’re looking for and you can pay for them at the front.”

The books on the shelf were merely placeholders with names titles, and descriptions, not the actual skill book. I saw the three Dragon-themed spells I’d picked up for my class, thanks to Galbatorix. I was right to guess that these things had been worth a fortune.

I went through the whole library and picked out a handful of high-rarity spells. These would fill out my remaining skill slots. I still had the lists of recommended spells from my last theory-crafting sessions, and I found higher-rarity variants of a few of them on the top floor.

I picked all of them, then bought and paid for them.

“That’ll be... t-twenty-five thousand contribution points,” the clerk stuttered, clearly in awe of how much wealth I was throwing around all at once. But she took one last glance at the jade medallion on my chest and shrugged to herself. No doubt she thought I was the son of an extremely important and influential family who could throw around wealth like water. I’d seen more than a few of that type buying my armor that very morning.

I returned to my rented shop and laid out the skill books before me. It would be best to learn them here, under the effects of the Mucaria pocket realm’s time dilation. Back home, I still hadn’t even spent a full day away.

I shut the door and locked it, then sat cross-legged and focused. I had six slots left, two from my class and four from my race abilities. Before me, I laid out the six books I’d picked up.

For my class, I’d picked up two books that fit in with my other abilities from the Dragon Lodge

Destined Death (Mythic)

• Enemies who have recently taken damage from you take increased damage. This effect scales with damage done. This ability is passive.

Aegis of the Void (Mythic)

• Cast a portal to a localized spatial anomaly known as an event horizon. This momentary defensive spell can swallow all incoming offensive attacks so long as they do not destroy the portal.

Destined Death was a passive ability that had been at the top of the list of abilities recommended by my theorycrafter. I had the distinct impression she thought I wouldn’t be able to obtain it, and yet here it was. Taking it wouldn’t change my fighting style, but it meant wearing down big and tough enemies would get a lot easier. My Corrupting Marks would now deal multiplicative damage instead of linear damage, even when I wasn’t throwing down more of them.

Aegis of the Void was my answer to shield spells. I didn’t like the barriers every mage seemed to cast, since putting a spell like that on a sword or staff was easy enough for me. But when I read the description of this spell had, I knew I had to have it. If the description was correct, it summoned a portal to an actual black hole!

If anything could tank a spell from an Chaos God, it would be a black hole. I wanted a spell like this in my arsenal. The initial spell created quite a small portal, but I hoped that the effects of Mania would enhance it to the point I could cover my entire body with the shield.

As for my racial abilities, I’d picked a few abilities that could keep me alive and hopefully come in handy with the next stage of my plan, which would involve resurrecting my prototype armor and the mysterious warrior known as Doomblade, though that was for later.

Living Paradox (Mythic)

• Upon taking fatal damage, swap fates with an alternate version of yourself that successfully survived the lethal attack. Can activate once per day.

Mana Overload (Mythic)

• Supercharge your enchantments, talismans, and equipment with a sudden surge of power, allowing you to use them to greater effect at the cost of damaging the item.

Multipurpose Glyphs (Epic)

• With preparation, you may store enchanted items and talismans within the extremities of your soul as glyphs. These glyphs will appear as markings on your skin, which will be destroyed on use of the corresponding item.

Machine Spirit Awakening (Rare)

• Stir the will of unborn steel elementals, allowing for the easier manipulation of complex mechanical components. Complex machines will function better and longer in your presence, and basic repairs will occur spontaneously.

Living Paradox was another ability my theorycrafter likely never imagined I’d get my hands on. It was a luck-based survivability spell. Considering my high luck stat, picking it up seemed like one of the best options to keep me from dying. I had a lot of people counting on me, and I couldn’t afford to die. Having a backup plan like this would make doing things like the trick I pulled against the Lich King a lot safer. And, more immediately, if any B-Grade assassins actually got the drop on me, I’d still be able to slip away in one piece.

The Multipurpose Glyphs were an obvious choice as well. I had plenty of enchanted items, and making more was no issue to me. I even had a stockpile of talismans thanks to Morgathor, and when those ran out I could trade with Reluna for more or try my hand at them myself. I would have no trouble filling the glyphs with items, which was the most tedious part of the spell.

Sure, all it really did was make it easier to activate enchanted items, but I’d been caught without Doomseeker in hand more than once. And other times, I’d wanted to reach for a Mana Bomb but didn’t have the time. This would solve those issues in one swoop. Besides, I had a few ideas about hiding my power armor in the glyphs. If things worked as planned, I would finally solve my back door hinge issue.

The real gamble of the lot was Machine Spirit Awakening. I had to go down a level to find it, since it wasn’t as rare an ability as the others. Most people probably saw little use in it. But there were a lot of mechanical components in my power armor, and giving them the power to self-repair would mean it would keep ticking that much longer in a fight. And if I could evolve the skill in the right direction in the future, there were a lot of ways it could go.


<Note>
That should fill up Carter's skill slots at C-Grade. I think we're roughly at the upper limit of distinct abilities he can have, since we're at the point it's probably hard to remember what he does and doesn't have access too for most readers.

I think by B-Grade, I'm going to steer us toward a slightly modified progression system with more cultivation elements. Cultivation systems tend to handle high powerlevels better, which is why a lot of litrpg series' tend to turn into cultivation novels in their later books if they go long enough.