After about 30 minutes of soaring through the sky, we finally decide to come to the ground.
I activate my Enemy Detection skill to scope out the dungeon and thankfully pick up on the other Titan's reading at the far back point of the Great Plains. I think to myself it would probably be best not to mess with it. Destroying the one I just left is enough to frighten them already.
I Dungeon Walk to a lower level E Class dungeon and use the exit portal while putting my ring of concealment on and activating my own conceal skill.
I step out and make my way through the underground dungeon hub's pathways before making my way to the surface and taking in a few deep breaths of fresh air, along with letting the morning sun hit my skin.
However, the sun is higher up from the horizon than I remember leaving it.
I specifically wrote down in a journal that the starting time of my training session was [06:11].
As I walk by a clock on a nearby shop, I see [07:17] in bold black digital lettering.
I'm positive I spent no more than half an hour in the sky with Ember, and hardly wasted any time getting up to the surface. If my guess is correct, it seems another 30 minutes went by in the world outside... Time doesn't come to a full halt; it's just incredibly slow.
I nod, coming to terms with it and ducking into an alley before activating stealth and walk even further away before crushing one of the transport crystals in my hand.
Once I make it to the Galeheart Tower, a glint of fear shows in the two lobby men's eyes as I appear, but thanks to my new increase in mana control it's become even easier to suppress my intimidation skill's passive trait.
The veil of mana shielding I keep around my body at all times is thinner and denser than the one I used before, allowing even level 1 hunters to walk by me as if I'm a normal person. This comes as natural to me as walking, and is just a perk I picked up while using my buffs at a constant rate for so long.
I walk up to the two men with a smile.
"I'll be out for a while. If the two women I usually come with teleport in before I leave, could you please tell them I'll meet them at our usual training spot? I have a few errands to run."
They both nod willingly, and I waste no time in using the teleport platform to take the usual route back to town to re-enter the city walls like a normal citizen would. Once I re-enter, I load up my wristband with 40 Platinum bars. This leaves 350 remaining in my item storage.
Even this early in the morning, there are some wandering eyes, and even the two guards outside are pretty surprised at such a high balance for a random visitor they have never seen before, but they don't bother to ask questions.
This is one of my favorite things about Valor City.
Once I make it inside, I immediately make my way to the Gold District and start window shopping.
With golden entrances to dozens of shops, all sporting high ceilings and display cases full of glimmering gems and hunter's gear, this portion of the city certainly knows how to put on a show. Every wall is decked with paintings and hand-sculpted artwork, setting the tone for a specific type of customer.
The top items on the main display cases were far too pricey when I first entered this city, but now seem like they're almost free with the budget I'm working with. However, I'm not here to clear out every store. The real reason I'm shopping right now is to buy two items good enough to fill up my free slots. Along with that, any stones or gear that look like interesting crafting materials will be perfect.
I walk around for about 3 hours, ducking in and out of shops. The streets aren't too crowded to begin with, but by the time the sun comes fully up overhead, and the time passes about 11am, the shops become overly crowded with people.
However, I get exactly what I need from two of the highest-end shops in the city.
[Cloak of Total Darkness][+120% Mental Strength][+105% Agility][+50% Perception]
[Enchanted Lightweight Gauntlets][+125% Defense][+90% Strength]
I put both items on immediately, and their effects take place instantly. I even take off my ring of concealment to see how they both look in a mirror on a shop's wall. However, I still keep my face disguised.
The Cloak was 3 Platinum after haggling down the shopkeeper because it was their most expensive item in the shop. Along with it, I spent an extra 1.5 Platinum on dozens of stones, gems, and miscellaneous items with buffs ranging from 30-80% in all categories.
Nothing stood out extraordinarily, but they'll be interesting things I can test out using my crafting skill in the future.
The cloak makes me feel lighter on my feet and more nimble, and its jet-black sleekness matches my other gear very well. The perception increase is a very interesting unique stat boost. It feels similar to adding an additional greater demon's core to just my perception. Or, in simpler terms, activating my all-seeing eye at a very low frequency at all times without using any excess mana.
I purchased the gauntlets from another shop.
They were just under 2 platinum in total, and have pretty basic high-level defense and strength-boosting stats, but they are made of a lightweight shiny silver metal that fits over my hands and forearms so smoothly it feels like I'm wearing silk gloves.
It even has a form-fitting hidden ability that avoids my rings and allows the gauntlets to fit skin tight, making the jewelry sit outside of the shimmering metal.
The urge to blood bond and craft unique attributes into these two extremely unique high-grade items is very strong, but if the last 6 months taught me anything; patience is key. I smile at the final shopkeeper after cleaning out his entire miscellaneous section of gems and interesting-looking crafting materials for another 2 full platinum before walking out the door.
Buying some of the highest-grade items in the city available for public purchase was actually much easier and far cheaper than I imagined they'd be. I'm sure if I used Lith's name, or visited the auction at the right time I could find different items at better prices to suit my taste. But, for what I'm looking for right now, I got exactly what I needed.
I leave the gold district and make my way into the platinum walls.
In a matter of minutes, I made my way through the towering skyscrapers and finally find myself near the black stone pyramid.
With a smile, I enter, walking past the two robed men in the dark entrance hallway without them even batting an eye. Surprisingly, Monk didn't immediately come out to greet me this time. However, he did say to come by the monastery anytime I'd like. I place my hand on the back wall and channel a small amount of Qi into my palm without thinking much of it.
The door glows much brighter white than it ever did previously, but opens in the same manner. I walk through and make my way down the spiral steps to the main dining hall.
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