Spearbound Ch. 63

Distinct boundaries separated the shops, and each looked to be in different worlds, which probably was the case.

Kade stared at the shop on his right. It looked like a rusted factory, with nearly broken automated arms endlessly dismantling old armor and rebuilding them into worn but functional sets. Sparks flew with every movement and steam vents hissed upon a set’s completion.

He wasn’t a fan.

Everything in the shop was heavy armor that covered his whole body, including his face. It was too restricting.

Kade intended to check if the benefits were worth the tradeoff. A blast of heat hit him as he entered the shop; surprising given his fire resistance.

He chose the armor that looked like lightest, which wasn’t saying much, and the interface provided him what he wanted to know.

Mark VII Embersteel Chassis (Light) (Refurbished) – A bulky exo-weave suit converted into an artifact.

Attributes:

+20 [Strength]

70% Damage Reduction (Up to Arcana Level 70)

-20 [Speed]

-20 [Dexterity]

Cost: 2,500 Points

Kade snatched his hand back, wanting no contact with the terrifying armor. Equipping it would force him to endure blows without the ability to dodge them.

He checked the other models available, and each was more expensive and more terrifying than the first. He would need to have plenty of [Speed] and [Dexterity] to spare to think about buying any of these.

Kade quickly exited the shop and checked out the other one. He felt a chill run through his body, not because of the cold, but from the sight of a massive loom suspended in the endless ceiling.

It was a quiet place, with only the soft sound of threads weaved into clothes, suits, and robes. And just like the other store, he was the only one inside.

“System, do these stores not get much traffic because of the low cost of the products?”

“Yes, that is correct. This shop only has 2,391,922 potential customers browsing through the selection at the moment.”

This shop didn’t look like it could hold over fifty before it was full.

“… How’s that even possible?”

“Each node of the Universal Shop has its own instance, allowing for a near unlimited foot traffic.”

Kade couldn’t really wrap his head around it. “Why don’t I see a shopkeeper? Or attendants?”

“Inhabitants of Earth are still on probation. Interactions with the greater collective are restricted.”

He dismissed the interface with a shake of his head. His curiosity was leading him to information he didn’t care for.

Kade touched the cloak-like fabric close to the entrance.

Nullweave Cloak (Poor Quality) – Absorbs one complete outfit (Provided by user). Qualifies as an artifact.

Attributes:

N/A

Cost: 500 Points

He liked it. The cost was basically nothing for him, but he didn’t need to penny pinch when he had a cushion of over ten thousand points.

Kade continued to check the other cloaks in the shop, which were all Nullweave Cloaks, with only the quality varying.

He paused at the tenth cloak he came across.

Nullweave Cloak (Good Quality) – Absorbs one complete outfit (Provided by user). Qualifies as an artifact.

Attributes:

Suppression (20 MP per minute) – Conceals mana presence when activated.

Cost: 9,500 Points

This solved the issue Kade had while among the weaklings, but the cost seemed excessive. He didn’t want to dump his points into something that only helped to make people comfortable around him.

Kade’s eyes flickered to the cheapest cloak of the lot. It accomplished the main reason he wanted to buy these cloaks for a fraction of the cost.

He eventually sighed as he splurged on it. While the cost was excessive, he was the leader of the organization that would control Chicago in the future.

It didn’t matter that the cloak would be pointless most times. He needed to be around others without making them feel there was a tiger in their midst.

You have purchased the Nullweave Cloak (Good Quality) for 9,500 points.

Remaining Ranking Points: 25,909 points

Would you like to allow the Nullweave Cloak (Good Quality) to absorb your current attire?

Kade obviously didn’t allow his barely there clothes to be absorbed. He held onto his new cloak with mixed emotions and left the store.

His fingers brushed past his Boarhide Belt.

“System, can this absorb other artifacts, or is it just normal clothes?” Kade asked. After a second of silence, he realized he would not get one.

I’ll have to test it myself, then.

He stepped to the exit, but stopped again. “Can I sell the Boarhide Belt here?”

“Yes. Displaying the expected sale range now.”

Boarhide Belt: 10,000-30,000 points

Kade gave his innocuous belt an impressed look. It made sense that it was so expensive when the cloak he bought was nearly ten thousand. The belt acted as a shot of chicken blood when his health was near depletion, which was more impressive than an overblown fashion item.

The revelation that he could sell the rare loot from rift zones gave him an idea. But first, he needed information he didn’t need to both with before.

“Is there a limit to the active artifacts that I can have?”

“That varies depending an individual’s Class. You may currently link a maximum of 3 artifacts.”

Kade patted himself on the back for thinking ahead. This could be a way for him to speed up the accumulation of ranking points.

“Show me storage devices,” Kade said, thinking of something that could act as his inventory.

Query Received.

2,828,221,029 shops matched your criteria. Narrow your query.

The shop misunderstood his request. There shouldn’t have been so many matches. “A storage device that can fit into my pocket, but carry over ten artifacts like my Boarhide Belt. Under thirty thousand points.”

Kade was thinking of selling the Boarhide Belt if he could get the storage device he was thinking of.

Query Received.

No shops match your criteria.

He almost expected that. “What is the cheapest match for my query?”

Grav-Sac (Poor Quality) – 340,000-500,000 points

Kade immediately walked to the revolving door and exited the Willis Tower. He had gotten too cocky, thinking that he had enough points to get a decent storage space.

He shuddered when he thought about how much a good quality Grav-Sac would cost. Owning something like that was out of the question until he was ready to take on much higher class rift zones.

“Mr. Beckett, should we allow them in now?” A young girl asked, who looked to be barely out of high school.

Kade faced an impatient crowd, eagerly awaiting his answer. Matt stood with Finn, backed up by a large contingent of organization members, keeping things in order.

“You’ve been waiting for me?” Kade asked rhetorically, frowning at the unneeded privilege given to him.

“Yes, sir!” She looked to be asking for praise.

“Let them in,” Kade said. “No need to restrict people next time.”

“I’ll let Mr. Finn know, sir,” she nodded eagerly.

Kade stepped aside to get out of the way. To avoid a stampede, his organization’s members made the crowd form an orderly line.

Finn and Matt looked just as eager as the crowd in entered the Universal Shop, and Kade would not stop them. He motioned for them to go to the entrance and returned to the hotel.

He should be there when Eliza woke up. It was the least he could do after the time they spent together.