The catalyst did not react to Pareth’s invoked weapon. Sofia thought that it was a letdown, but when she tried to use the catalyst on her staff, it did not react either, and only when she tried putting it back in the dagger again and saw it work that she understood what was going on. She pulled up the catalyst’s description again.

“Must be primed before use… It just works with the dagger because they have the same essence it looks like… How much?”

[Tournament Master’s Mana Mirror Catalyst] : Must be primed before use (0 / 1 000 000 000 000 mana).

“Oh… That’s… 415 days of mana in constant sunlight? Around that?” Sofia sighed, “well, not too bad. It’s only a thousand times what my scepter to prime was back then. A bit annoying that I don’t get to play with it now… But with how high my mana regeneration will be after the trial… Logically it should go down to at most a hundred days. Wait, the earring has to be primed too! Hopefully it’ll be cheaper, it would strengthen my regeneration a lot. Is your shield expensive to prime?”

Pareth shared a system window.

[Tournament Dopple’s Master Shield] : Must be primed before use (42655 / 100 000 000 mana).

“Hmm. Not nearly as bad. You’ll be done in just forty hours if you start now. Well, I’ll just leave the catalyst in the dagger for now. The double facilitate mana control is quite noticeable, actually. I’ll probably have to use that whenever I try to mess with my imprint, will probably help making fusions smoother. Would still be better in the staff, though. Scepter? You know it kinda bothers me how I’ve been using both. The name says scepter but my mind’s been corrupted by reading about necromancers’ staves I think.”

Pareth shrugged, pointing at the crown still on Sofia’s head and Sorrow’s shroud hanging like a royal cape draped over her shoulders.

“Yeah I know. Scepter if more correct eh, I guess I can call myself royalty when I have my own city running. It’s a bit early still. Speaking of which, what do we call you then? If I call myself the queen we can’t have you be the king, people are bound to misunderstand… Chancellor maybe?”

Pareth seemed fine with the idea.

“But that makes it should like you’re my subordinate… I know it started like that but still… I don’t really like that…”

Seeming to silently laugh, Pareth took a few steps and picked up Sofia’s crown to ruffle her hair.

“This is not over!” Sofia told him, having to look up as Pareth was currently at his regular non-shruken size. “And we really need to get you a more human-shaped skeleton now… So much to do when we get back…”

Sofia continued her ramblings for a bit until the scenery just changed back to room 1 on the Ark. The source of thɪs content is novel✦fire.net

The only other person in the room was a certain blonde elf, tightly hugging a sword on her bed, with bloodshot eyes, and not one drop of mana remaining in her body.

“Uwa!” Mornn yelped, sitting back up on the bed, “Sofia! Pareth! WHAT THE FUCK!!!”

“I see you’re enjoying our gift,” Sofia answered with a smirk.

“HOW! WH?! DID YOU SPEND YOUR POINTS ON THIS?!”

“No, that’s the best part. We got the right to gift five master items for free thanks to this,” Sofia explained, pointing at the eleventh start pinned on her chest.

“FIVE?!”

“Have you not seen Kuli around? I sent her the boots.”

“Wh- What about the other three?” Mornn asked, shock still written all over her face.

“Well, Pareth got the shield and I got the catalyst, and since there was one left and it’s one per person, I gave Ezerid the Necklace.” Someone banged on the room’s door right at that moment. “Ah, speaking of the fishman.” Sofia summoned a bone hand from her storage to open the door with from a distance. “Hey hey. Do you like the gift?”

“If I like it?!” Ezerid answered, “Are you cr-”

He was interrupted by a rabbit-eared beastwoman shoving into him from behind to force her way into the room, “SOFIA!”

“Oh boy.”

“And that’s where we are right now. So we’d appreciate if you guys want to help with searching for leftover master items for Pareth to have more choice since he can still buy two, but no pressure. We don’t expect anything in return for the items. A gift’s a gift!”

“I’ll start searching right away!” Ezerid exclaimed, running out of the room.

Mornn also jumped out of her bed, “Time to get to work then.”

“Nnnnn, we know the Ark well now, and it’ll be easier to search with the fakes gone. I’m sure if there are any left we’ll find them.”

“Ahah… We appreciate the enthusiasm, but don’t neglect your own things right? You still have your own points to spend.”

Kuli waved off Sofia’s concerns, “One week is plenty of time to just buy a few items and fiddle with the skill machine.”

“I suggest trying the master courses on the second level if you haven’t,” Sofia said, following Mornn and Kuli out of the room, Pareth right behind her.

…

“Huh you got two new unique potions?” Sofia noticed, checking back on ‘Poya’s potions’ store she had gone to at the very beginning of the trial.

Poya scratched her rabbit ears, hesitating to say something, “Ah… It has to be fine to say it since it’s you. Since one admin has come back, he’s started to restock some of the shops with new uniques. Those two new ones are made by master Fairy Hands, worth their price for sure!”

“Fairy Hands again? Lepo wouldn’t tell me anything about her.”

“Eheh… The identity of the higher level craftsmen is kept private to avoid anyone getting any ideas, most of the very high levels are good at some trade or another, but the true masters have to stay hidden and carefully pick their clientele.”

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“Really?” Grandma and Richard didn’t seem to want to hide at all?

“Yes. Their creations are so powerful they could throw off the power balance between the major factions if one of them were to join one, so they’re in a dangerous position always. Only the crazy ones nobody wants to mess with would openly advertise their craft.”

Ah… Well. That sounds about right, then.

“You know a lot for a fourth trial potion maker,” Sofia noted.

“Eh, getting a job here isn’t easy, you know? You need talent and connections. Even the baker opposite of my shop had to fight hard to get his place on the Ark. Many of us come from strong families or clans. We even have a Dragon come in to take over the noodle shop on the other side every so often, though he won’t tell us his real name.”

“Guess I should take my last week to get to know the shopkeepers then?”

“As long as you don’t forget to spend your points,” Poya said with a shrug, “So, interested in master Fairy Hands’ potions?”

[ ★ Permanent buff potions ★ (Sold out products hidden) :

-You currently enjoy a 10% discount on the shown prices!-

★★U - Recessed ego potion - Permanently grants + 3 000 000 Stamina - 1 000 000 TP

★★U - Lord’s touch potion - Permanently grants + 1 000 000 Mana - 1 000 000 TP

★★★U - Fae concoction - Permanently widens the range of your aura - 10 000 000 TP

★★★U - Kleptran concoction - Permanently grants immunity to all poisons - 10 000 000 TP

★★★U - Gorgon’s blood - Permanently grants resistance to all curses - 10 000 000 TP

★★★★★★U - Prismatic juice - Permanently grants immunity to your highest-affinity damage type at the time of consumption - 100 000 000 TP]

“Hmm… I’m thinking about it. I have six hundred million points to spend, so that’s not the issue, but I can only get three more uniques… How good is the Fae concoction, can you tell? Is it a static buff or a multiplier?”

“Ah, it’s, uh. A twenty-five percent range increase of whatever it is right now, If I remember correctly. It doesn’t give you more of the stat, just the range. Honestly I would only recommend it for someone who already knows they’re going to use aura a lot later, and even then, it’s better to wait until you aura is already large to drink it, since it’s a one time upgrade.”

“Oh… It’s worse than I thought,” Sofia honestly commented.

“If you have an aura class and you hold out until level 400+ to drink it, it has potential to be great… But yeah.”

“Well, thanks for the information Poya. I’ll go check out every shop and if I can’t find anything better I’ll probably come back to grab the Gorgon’s blood.”

“Curse resistance is very good to have,” Poya said with a nod, “I’ll leave you to it then, thanks for checking back in, and congrats on the win, I can’t wait to watch the recording!”

“Thanks! I hope you’ll enjoy the show.”

Sofia left the friendly shopkeeper, and walked right into the store right next to it, this, she had decided, would be her first day. While Pareth was searching for Lepo to buy Sofia’s earring, she was scouting all the shops for both Uniques and regular items to buy.

…

“Hmm… So these would be the best choices for me. Now I need to select three.”

Sofia stared at a list she had made of all the Uniques she considered buying, going over each of them.

‘Poya’s potions - Gorgon’s blood - Permanently grants resistance to all curses

10 000 000 TP’

Not all curses are negative status, really what this does is giving me resistance to foreign mana entering my body. Might even make me slightly more resistant to enemy aura. It’s not bad and quite cheap.

Fire mountain jewelry - Ring of the thousand-lived - This ring redirects the wearer’s lost energy upon death to create a strong magic barrier around their body. Must be primed before use.

1 000 000 TP

The dwarf at the jewelry couldn’t tell me how strong the barrier is exactly so it’s a bit of a gamble, but that could give me some breathing room after being brought back by the runes, so it’s worth considering.

Forbidden antiques - The golden tortol jar - Placed at the center of a shielding ritual circle, the golden tortol jar strengthens the shielding ritual up to +100% depending on the quantity of gold it contains. The equivalent of one gold coin is consumed per day per sapient being within the confines of the shielding ritual.

10 000 000 TP

Great for the city once I get a proper shielding ritual schematic like the one in Hooasow. I wonder if Valeur would let me copy it… The upkeep could be a bit high if the city gets too big, but I suppose this is why land taxes are a thing…

Forbidden antiques - Cursed blood ring of Gomeroth - This ring of great power bears a strong curse, inflicting its wearer with [Toxic blood], [Insanity], [Blood Rage], [Gomeroth’s fury] and [Higher decay]. It doubles casting speed and halves all cooldowns.

500 000 000 TP

I didn’t even consider it before because of the horrendous debuffs, but with the philosopher’s stone it’s just an incredible ring. 450 million TP is still very expensive, though. If it had been cheaper I might have just bought it right away.

Boron’s Grill & Drinks - Ukum the immortal Jukumn - While not truly immortal, this pesky 422 years old Jukkumn is completely immune to pain and will regrow any lost limb in a matter of seconds if the environment contains sufficient mana. Does not need to be fed. Will try to escape and peck your eyes out if given the chance. An excellent source of near-unlimited premium quality meat that only occasionally spontaneously combusts!

1 000 000 TP

Who knew even the food stands have uniques to sell… Infinite poultry for the city. If I want it to be a good place for lower level people this would lessen the logistical burden a lot, no need to have huge animal farms, though we’d still need regular fields for grain.

Half-cut ribbon - Premium adaptive stretch suit ‘Priestess’ - Mana fibre clothing in the ‘Priestess’ design, imbued with some of the strongest self-repair magic, it will survive almost anything as long as its enchantment core is kept safe. Its color will change to coordinate with your other wearables. Grants the wearer +10% Charisma.

10 000 000 TP

Would be pretty nice this one, I like the design, and my old clothes don’t work too well anymore with all the things I have to wear on the daily now. And 10% of any stat can’t be bad, right? Feels a bit wasteful to buy clothes though…

Charms, trinkets, and baubles - Mana Storm Amulet - Break to enhance the damage of your next attack using all nearby ambient mana. Single use.

10 000 000 TP

Expensive for a single-use item, so I’m assuming the damage boost is quite strong, even if the shopkeep couldn’t give me an estimate. I could see that saving my ass with a bolt much stronger than what I should be able to make. Not the most exciting purchase but a potential lifesaver…

Charms, trinkets, and baubles - Strange old feather - A strange feather found in a ruin of the lost epoch. The magic formations within are in a constant shift.

50 000 TP

This one is quite the find. A very cheap lost epoch relic, I wouldn’t be surprised if nobody had ever found it before since it was used as a bookmark in that quirky messy shop without an item catalogue. I wouldn’t even had noticed it contained so much mana if I didn’t touch it when I opened the book. I’m sure grandma could make an interesting item out of it, but it is a bit of a gamble.

Supporter’s Sanctuary - Bard’s music box +2 - Autonomous catalyst. Amplifies musical skills, granting them mildly strengthened effects, and letting you adjust their range.

5 000 000 TP

I can’t really see myself using this huge thing in battle, but I could blast Remia’s music far and wide with this. Or make sure I’m not annoying the monsters of the spirit forest next to the city. But is it really worth the unique slot…

And the last one…

Ella’s hellfire forge - Perfect chaos enhancement stone - The refined core of a level 427 Ruin Mimic, slam it hard enough into another magical item, and it will fuse with it, permanently altering it in a chaotic way. While the result is usually positive, hence the name ‘enhancement’ stone, there is a chance that it alters your item in a negative way instead. This perfect chaos enhancement stone has significantly reduced chances of a negative outcome happening.

100 000 000 TP

I would use it on my scepter. Whatever benefits it gains would be doubled by the catalyst! The chance of negative outcome is a bit scary is the only issue…

Hmm… What do I buy…