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Petra took a breath, scanning me up and down. Not that I was wearing my usual armor, just civilian clothing today. Simple linen clothing, which was a little itchy but not too bad since it was second-hand stuff, worn down after many years of use. Mostly muted coloring, not because this world didn’t have dyes but again, because it was second hand.

“You said you have new armor. If it’s not too far enhanced.” I shook my head and she smirked, knowingly. Yes, yes, I’m poor. “We can also apply our own enhancements to it. Increased durability, cleaning, repair enchantments. Resizing ones, to give greater movement. If it’s metal, we could lighten them.”

I shook my head again, rejecting them all, and she nodded.

“Moving on. Resource gathering – we could make your life easier on that.”

“You have shard collectors?” I said, surprised. “I thought those were restricted to actual delvers?”

“Oh, nothing like that. We have equipment for other forms of collection. Mining picks, shovels, lichen, moss and plant collection tools, skinning and butchering equipment. All of it enchanted. I can actually provide full sets of those.”

“Better than what a specialist would have?”

“Initially, yes. But they are likely to outstrip you.”

“Then let’s forget that.” I shrugged. “I’m not too proud to say I hired another to do their job.”

“Returning to utility items…” With Kira having moved on from that section, Petra led me that way as she spoke. “We do have a small variety of lifestyle enhancement items for delving.” She tapped the table, gesturing at the items within. “While most would not be worth spending your prize on, you should consider purchasing a few with your earnings. Shard torches, trap wards and alarms, enhanced bedding and water flasks and the like.”

“On the list, now that I have a few more cores to my name and can take my time farming.” While the others had been recovering, I had taken myself down the dungeon itself to farm the levels that I could reach within a day. One of the advantages of being older – spiritually – was that my mental landscape was scarred enough that death and loss was less troublesome. The weight was the same, but I had built up the emotional muscles to shift them, unlike the kids. “If you have a list of what I’ll require…”

“Of course.”

“But back to our prize.”

She turned her head a little, taking in what Brand and Yorrick were doing. Yorrick was holding up one hand, a paired bracer with inset gemstones within. I was surprised as he started punching his own hand, again and again and again, a grin wide on his face as Brand carefully took a step away, a bottle of aqua blue swirling liquid clutched in his hand.

“What is that?”

“Potion of Recovery,” Petra murmured. “Not what I’d expected.”

“Why?” I said, curious.

“It’s not particularly useful for Climbers. Our normal healing potions will fix the majority of our issues, especially as we descend and the energies permeate our bodies.” I nodded, recalling how this world’s energies helped with the healing process. It was one of the reasons why such a dangerous and destructive occupation like delver was even viable.

“What does that do, then?”

“Gives the equivalent of a true delver’s healing to an individual, temporarily. It’ll bring most mortals to peak health, for their age and body.”

“Huh.” Now I was curious what he might want with the bottle, and why he was holding it so close to his body like it was something truly precious. Not that healing wasn’t – I was still Earth-born enough and old enough to remember a world without magic and how much growing old sucked. Still… “Wasn’t what I was asking.”

“Was it not?” Petra replied with a smile and I realized the damn woman had been teasing me. Seeing the mock glare I sent her way, she let out a little laugh before replying. “That’s a Bracer of the Patient Fighter.”

“The what?” I frowned.

“It reserves energy, as imparted through an individual’s aura. Can only be released when it’s fully charged and requires a significant amount of energy, but it can deal significant damage.”

“And you charge it by punching?” I said, amused. After all, Yorrick was more the stabby kind of fighter, what with his knives. I didn’t mind him shifting to a more punching style, but it did seem foolish since the kid had been training with knives – both in his pre-Academy life and now – for ages.

“Interacting with the surrounding individual’s aura. Even close proximity with something that is highly charged would work as well. The closer it comes to the wearer’s core, the faster it charges.” Petra sniffed. “Obviously, the same with the synchronicity of the individual as well.”

“I see.” I grunted, made sure to stay away from Yorrick for a bit till he got over his desire to play with the damn toy. “How much harder will he be able to hit?”

“The energy output will change depending on how it was charged. If your friend left her wisps next to him, he would explode outwards. Or lightning would arrive.”

“Oooooh…” I nodded, understanding why Yorrick was more interested in this. It gave him more options in terms of damage type. “But how much?”

“You’re asking an unanswerable question, Lin,” Petra grumbled. “It’ll vary depending on his synchronicity and the charge, but at least three to four times his initial strength. It’ll strengthen over time, but there is a limit, based off the gemstones utilized and the materials.”

“That limit…?”

“Will be in the thirtieth floor or so.” She tapped the table, bringing my attention back to the present and myself. “Now, we were talking about utility items. There are two that you might consider. The first is this brooch of enhanced senses and its sister, a brooch of dark sight. The first increases your overall senses by a significant amount, but can be difficult to manage as you grow more synchronized to the brooch. Being an apprentice’s work, there are no limiters on it, and as such, it can grow too strong.”

“Huh.” I could see how that could be a detriment. The same way flashbangs or spotlights turning on for early generation night vision blinded their users, before the more advanced systems started auto-dampening above certain levels. “But it doesn’t reach that immediately.” I could also see how enhanced hearing might be really useful. Though maybe enhanced feeling, especially for the skin and getting hit…

“No.”

“Mmm, I take it it enhances even physical sensations.” I tapped the brooch, then let my eyes slide down and up, giving her a slightly cocky grin. “That might be fun.”

“There are better works for such things. Potions and specific enchantments. They can be rented for a night. Much cheaper and more economical.” My eyes widened a little, and Petra smirked, obviously happy to catch me by surprise. “Oh, good. I was wondering if you were a skinwalker or something, but you are still a boy.”

“Man.” I sniffed. “Just because I haven’t explored everything this world has to offer doesn’t mean I don’t have tricks of my own.”

“Oh, really now?” An eyebrow arched.

“Very much so.” I noted how she leaned in a little, her voice dropping a couple of notes as she spoke. I leaned in as well, keeping my voice low. “Shouldn’t judge how much experience a man has by his looks.”

“And how should I judge.”

“By experience, of course.”

“Such an invitation… a woman might take one up, at some point.”

“A man might be willing.”