While Asher did teleport the three of them back to the palace, after briefly Recalling to Talon’s penthouse to collect his fallen daggers and search for anything valuable, he and Samantha managed to convince Moxy that they needed a break and got out of her desired sparring match. In response, the warrior had merely shaken her head and wandered off, declaring that she’d just find her own partner to fight against if they weren’t up to the challenge. In desperate need of both a bath and a tailor, Asher decided to tackle those problems one at a time. First, he hit the shower in their private room. After spending way more time than he needed in there, content to let the warm water run off him and wash away the memory of blood and grime long after he was physically clean, he Recalled back over to Poltar and dropped off his damaged outfit with the tailor he’d gotten it from.

  Part of the initial agreement for having the two sets of outfits made for him and Samantha in exchange for all the sea serpent parts was that he could bring the light armor in for repairs whenever it was necessary. The tailor had reassured him that few things were capable of easily punching through sea serpent hide, but Asher had a feeling at the time that it wouldn’t be the last time he and the tailor saw one another. Sure enough, the man was completely flummoxed when Asher revealed the hole-filled outfit, but the tailor reassured him he’d have it patched up in no time and to come back the following day to pick it up.

  Clothing repairs taken care of, Asher Recalled back to the palace, choosing to pop in at their room rather than by Samantha. She’d chosen to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening wandering the capital in an attempt to grow more used to being surrounded by large crowds, and he didn’t want to interrupt her efforts toward self-improvement. Instead, he decided to go on a bit of a walk.

  In only the way he could.

  Recalling all the way over to Dormaul, Asher glanced around at the lifeless weapons shop. Other than the very first time he’d shown up, the shop had been closed each time he’d returned. He knew the woman who ran the shop, a living being of iron called a ferrum, was beyond busy. Not only did she forge her own weapons, she even mined the ores from the very mountain in order to do so. Because of that, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to find her shop empty more often than not.

  Slipping into the astral and walking out the front door, Asher wandered over to one of the elevators. While the identification papers he’d paid for upon arriving in Dormaul were going to expire before long, they were still good for a few more days, meaning he didn’t have any issues showing them to the guard. One quick elevator ride later, and he was on the second level once again.

  Dormaul’s second level was primarily for merchants and people of wealth who’d had the misfortune of not being born a noble. Money couldn’t buy one’s way into nobility living on the top level of the city, but apparently, it could get them access to their basement.

  Asher did a little window shopping as he made his way over to Opal’s shop. A few things caught his eye here and there, such as weapons out for display with gaudy hilts and cross-guards that were entirely impractical, or jewelry that was far too large to actually be worn out and about. Though there were a few pieces that weren’t quite so ridiculous as the rest. He actually found himself pausing and admiring an ornate comb in one shop window that he imagined would look beautiful going through the locks of Samantha’s hair, even if it would give her a heart attack if she ever learned how many shards it cost.

  Finally, he made it to Opal’s shop, and he smiled as the guard standing outside recognized him and gave him a curt nod before holding the door open for him. Just like before, Asher stepped into Opal’s artifact shop to find a small number of nobles and other wealthy patrons wandering around, speaking quietly to one another as they pointed at specific items that they simply had to have. Asher knew better than anyone that there were plenty of nobles who were fearsome warriors and devastating combatants, but it seemed the majority of the ones who spent their days wandering the shops of the second level were of a much softer sort.

  Whikoga’s head noble family might be known for their military might, but from what he’d heard, Dormaul’s was known for their smithing ability. He imagined any of the truly powerful nobles in the city either paid an enchanter to directly enchant something they themselves had created, or purchased such a piece directly from the smith themselves.

  “My, if it isn’t Asher!” Opal said, the woman drifting over from another corner of the room where she’d been entertaining two young women giggling at some sort of enchanted amulet. “It’s been far too long! Finally here to pick up that cloak you had your eyes on?”

  “Not quite,” he chuckled, remembering how Opal had been downcast when he hadn’t dropped four million shards on a cloak of invisibility. “Though I am in the market for something new. Any chance I could get another look at your… special wares?”

  He wasn’t certain how to go about asking Opal to show him the potentially less-than-legal artifacts she kept in the back, and he winced as he realized it would have sounded to anyone eavesdropping that he’d all but propositioned her for her body. Thankfully, Opal merely smiled, pretending to fan her face as she let out a soft laugh.

  “My, I do love a man who knows what he wants. Hogey, if you would?”

  The same guard who followed them into the backroom the last time he was here nodded, once again falling in line behind the two of them as Opal brought him to the really good stuff. Rather than combs enchanted to straighten hair without pulling or cups that would endlessly refill with tea, Opal’s backroom had artifacts far more useful for his own purposes. The last time he’d been here he’d picked up his Ring of False Death, a particularly useful artifact that synergized well with his Astral Dip skill. This time, however, he was looking for something a bit different.

  Slowly walking around the smaller room, Asher read through the many placards Opal had placed before each item. Due to the risk of people simply teleporting off with artifacts in hand, none were allowed to physically handle the artifacts until shards had already been exchanged. Seeing as that meant potential buyers weren’t able to see what the items did via their interface, Opal took it upon herself to list out just about as much detail as physically possible for every single item in her shop.

  After nearly completing a full loop, one particular item caught his eye, and Asher paused as he did a double take. It had been a few weeks since the last time he’d visited Opal’s shop, and while the majority of the artifacts were the same, there were a few new additions here and there.

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  One of these new additions stood out to him.

  [Circlet of Shard Detection] - Grants the user the Shard Sense skill (Tier 2).

  That’s just like what Rosh has! Though I thought that was the passive effect of the Shard element rather than a skill.

  “Something catch your eye?” Opal asked, leaning forward in her continued attempts to get him to glance down at her cleavage rather than at the price tags listed beside each of her artifacts.

  “Maybe. What is the Shard Sense skill? I thought the ability to detect the number of shards a person had was the passive effect of the Shard element?”

  “My, it’s not often I get customers who are so well informed about the forbidden elements,” she said, grinning at him as her eyes sparkled. “Never you worry, whatever secrets you may have are safe with me. The passive effect of the Shard element allows people to get a feel for the number of shards someone has just by looking at them. The Shard Sense skill is something else entirely. It allows its user to sense the presence of shards around them, bypassing many forms of stealth and alerting them to potential ambushes. As monsters are also filled with shards, it works with people and monsters alike. The only way to sneak up on someone with the Shard Sense skill is to either have zero shards on your person, or to have a powerful, universal concealment skill.”

  “How does it work against those concealment skills?” Asher asked even as he read the placard of information. “I’d imagine you either sense the shards or you don’t.”

  “Due to it being a second tier skill and a powerful one at that, it’s an issue of proximity,” she explained. “A concealment skill in the third tier will absolutely best the skill, but one that is only in the second will only be mildly effective. From my efforts at testing the artifact, it appeared that the skill would even pick up on the shards contained within a person holding a second tier concealment skill, but not until they were about a few feet away as opposed to the rough two dozen feet of the skill’s base range.”

  “I could see how that might be useful,” he muttered, thinking back to how he’d been completely worthless after Talon had vanished into thin air. With how many assassins he fought against, he’d been lucky enough to not run into many stealth experts up until now, but he felt as though coming up with a solution to that problem before he did run into any more probably wouldn’t be the worst idea. There had been plenty of times he would have loved to have a detection skill like this one active, such as when he was stomping through Eight’s workshop looking for him, or when Owl had been hiding in the shadows of a room without him even realizing it. Deciding it would be the perfect skill to use Permanence on, Asher turned to Opal and tapped the glass. “I know I can't actually try the artifact out until I actually purchase it. What’s your policy on returns again?”

  “If you’re dissatisfied with an artifact, you can bring it back fully charged within twenty four hours for fifty percent of what you paid,” she said, giving him her award-winning smile. Unlike the Ring of False Death he’d picked up for a hundred and twenty thousand shards, the Circlet of Shard Detection was priced at a jaw-dropping eight hundred and forty thousand shards. He didn’t know if that was because it was a tier two skill, or just far more useful than a ring that let one pretend to be a corpse, but either way, it was a lot.

  “What if I don’t even make it out of the shop?” he asked, causing Opal to blink at him in surprise. “A circlet isn’t exactly as easy to hide as a ring, and it contains a skill from a forbidden element. If I try it on and don’t absolutely love how the skill feels, I’m probably going to want to return it immediately.”

  “If you truly think you can come to a decision that quickly… I suppose I’d be willing to give you back seventy five percent of what you paid,” she said, giving him a curious look. “I will admit, not once in my entire career have I witnessed anyone experience buyers remorse to such an extent. I get the occasional noble bringing back an artifact only an hour or two after leaving my shop, but never have I had anyone change their mind quite as quickly as you claim.”

  “I’m pretty decisive,” Asher shrugged, manifesting eight hundred and forty thousand shards into his hand. “The circlet?”

  Taking the shards from his hand, Opal gave him one last look before her charming fa?ade snapped back into place. “Of course. Why don’t you go wait upstairs with Hogey while I get your artifact ready for you?”

  Doing just that, Asher followed Hogey back into the main shop and wandered around a bit as he waited. He didn’t have to wait long, however, as Opal soon came out and handed him a long and flat wooden box.

  “Your purchase,” she smiled, watching him as he took it from her.

  “Thank you. One moment.” Popping open the lid, Asher pulled out the silver circlet studded with glowing violet gems the same color as shards. Without hesitation, he placed the gaudy artifact on his head.

  Shard Sense (Tier 2) - Detect the presence of shards in your immediate surroundings, regardless of their vessel.

  Just as he’d hoped, a handful of lights suddenly ignited within his mind the moment the metal band touched his head. It took him a moment to parse through the brand-new information, but the skill held his hand the entire time, showing him precisely what each one meant. Each light corresponded perfectly to one of the people standing within Opal’s shop, and he was even able to detect the presence of the guard standing outside. Just as Opal had said, all of the lights felt identical to him. He couldn’t tell how many shards any one person held within them, but he could now sense their presence even if they were completely out of sight.

  Oh yeah, this skill is perfect.

  “Not for me,” he said, shaking his head as he used Permanence on the circlet. Getting rid of the water breathing effect he still had from the potion he downed back in Poltar, he locked this new skill into place right before pulling the circlet off his head.

  Permanence - Lvl 18

  “Are you sure? I’ll admit, I thought you were teasing me when you said all that,” Opal said, even as she took the circlet back from him.

  “I’m sure,” he said, nodding as he held out his hand. “My shards?”

  With a shrug, Opal manifested six hundred and thirty thousand shards, placing them into his hand as she handed the circlet off to Hogey. As the guard vanished into the back of the shop, Opal gave him a thin smile.

  “I have a feeling I’m getting the worse of this deal somehow… and I can’t say I like it.”

  “Really?” Asher grinned, absorbing his shards. Functionally, he’d just spent two hundred and ten thousand shards for the second tier skill of a forbidden element that would hopefully allow him to better face off against the assassin-type opponents he seemed to go against so frequently. It certainly hadn’t been cheap, but he didn’t regret the purchase for a moment.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

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