Many thoughts rattled around inside of Scott's head while he searched through the Valkovian armory for a suitable item. His contribution after the mission was almost obscenely high compared to the tiny amount received during the invasion.

"What does a man do with over thirty-three hundred contribution?" he asked quietly. It was a chance to drastically upgrade his combat prowess, but the problem was that he did not know whether he wished to upgrade his sorcery or physical combat abilities.

Magic seemed like a no-brainer given the fact that most of the spells that he could use, the ones that would not kill him anyway, were quite weak. Yet, that was also the issue. Upgrading his raw power would help, but without a spell worth using in the first place the effect would still be weak.

Scott hefted a massive sword that made his arms quiver. Its blade was jet black with bright gold runes engraved on the side. The equally golden cross-guard separated the blade from its red leather handle and golden pommel. "In a different life, something like this would be perfect. Not that I'm overcompensating or anything..."

He was no heavy two-handed swordsman, however. A weapon of such power and wicked beauty would be wasted on him.

The armor, weapons, and even consumable items, found in the armory were all top-notch. Even the weakest items required a good amount of contribution and seemed well made. Purchasing a comparable item in the store would no doubt bankrupt him, and he doubted some of the better items that he could buy with contribution would be even remotely close to his price range if actual currency were involved.

Eventually he discovered a section more suited to mages and sorcerers. Scott rooted through the shelves looking for available items of interest. He became quickly aware of the fact that the truly good stuff did not start becoming until the ten thousand point range. However, at around the two to three thousand point range he could acquire items that were actually beyond his level by a large degree.

"Hey now, what's this?" asked Scott thoughtfully. Hidden behind a bolt of cloth, he chanced upon a small glittering item. It was a softly shining sapphire ring. "I can get lore crystals here?"

[Item]

Ring of the Frozen Wastes

Become the life of the party by providing ice for free! Freeze your enemies with an arctic blast of energy. It'll be so cool.

Level: 1

Type: Lore Crystal

Usage: Acquire the 'Freeze!' spell.

Class Restriction: Sorcerer

Value: 50000

Contribution Cost: 300

[--]

The small crystalline object in his hand was a lore crystal that taught a skill he was exceptionally well versed in due to his time in the casual server. "Only three hundred contribution, and proper for a sorcerer..."

"Start with one of the most basic spells once more?" he asked rhetorically. A moment later he grinned, "Sure, why not!"

Scott popped the lore crystal containing the freeze spell into his little bag then continued shopping. It did not take long before he found something else of interest. A mithril spear with a crystalline spear point radiating a prismatic light called out to him. Silvery in color, save for the golden serpent coiling gently upward along the haft and the equally golden spear cap. There were little flared wings near the point that flowed outward from the serpent to add a nice functional and decorative touch.

The spear practically screamed power and authority. Scott checked the price tag then nearly choked. His eyes even began to water at the thought of such a thing. "Over one hundred forty-seven thousand contribution? Seriously? How many freaking wars would I have to fight?"

The golden serpent spear was a weapon that drastically increased the power of all primordial spells, for one thing. It even doubled as a lore crystal item! If he were willing to lose the spear forever, he could gain the ability to summon a radiant prismatic dragon hatchling! Even more interesting was that the weapon was shown to be for sorcerers. Spears were not a natural weapon for his class, so he'd need to gain the spear-wielding skill as well, but the trade-off was probably immense.

"Yeah, that's a little—" said Scott before putting the weapon back into its holder with the greatest care. If he so much as scratched the thing, the repair cost would probably bankrupt him for life, "Out of my price range.

"Seriously though, if something like that is out in the general armory, what are the great treasures of the empire like?" asked Scott with a snort. "You know they have to have some super high-end weapons for the nobles and generals."

Scott turned away from the overpriced weapon fit only for sorcerers above level one hundred twenty, and began searching the shelves again. He spent hours rambling around the area while in search of a good deal.

During his loot searching he discovered that the most expensive item in the armory was not the golden serpent spear, it was a lore crystal necklace that offered a basic resurrection spell useable by anyone. "Level two hundred, and three hundred thousand contribution? Yeah, I'll wait on that..." he said before looking away quickly.

A loud voice called out to him from down the aisle, "Hey now!"

Scott turned toward the sound then his eyes lit-up. "Crankshaft? Greelak? You both made it through?"

"Better than you did, eh?" asked Greelak as the massive orc strolled up to him, a massive minigun slung over his shoulder like it weighed nothing.

"I do stupid things for fun and profit," said Scott with a laugh. "Life's boring otherwise."

Crankshaft laughed then shook his finger at him, "Don't go makin' that elf of yours cry now, brother."

Scott grinned at the other oversized orc in the room. "She might like it."

Crankshaft guffawed loudly and clapped Scott on the shoulder causing the smaller man to stagger a little, "Yeah, they often do."

Greelak and Crankshaft grinned at each other as memories of elf girls past flowed happily through their minds. Scott broke into their happy dreams by asking Crankshaft, "So, what happened to Trinity Station? I was sort of unconscious more the latter half of things."

"We ran the Storm Tyrant's toys out of town and cleaned up," said Crankshaft. His eyes narrowed a moment later, however, "Bastards wrecked my shop, though."

Scott winced, "Damn, sorry."

"It's fine. The crown'll pay to fix it, like always. I was a legal shop owner after all," said Crankshaft. He then grinned at Scott, "Might even thank the bastards, since I'd thought about tearing that wall out and expanding my vehicle bay."

All three laughed at the orc's little joke. It was obvious that he was angry about the damage to his business, but he did not want to act like that was the case.

"I'm guessing you two came in here looking for guns?" asked Scott.

Greelak grinned broadly then adjusted his position to show off his latest acquisition. "Now, why would you think that?"

"I wonder..." said Scott with a grin of his own.

"This oversized fool came looking for guns. I came looking for rare parts," said Crankshaft.

"Parts? All I've seen are weapons and normal items," said Scott.

"Eh, you're in the wrong place. If you have proper access you can go to the special armory on the other side of the building," said Crankshaft.

"Special armory? There's a second one?" asked Scott. "When I asked for directions, I was sent here."

"Ah, the special armory is restricted. Unless you did something to get that restriction lifted, you can only go here," said Crankshaft.

Greelak pointed to Crankshaft, "This oaf and me did some stuff a while back that got the restriction lifted. I'm surprised if you didn't."

"Well, they did ask me if I'd freelance as an Agent of the Realm," said Scott. "Captain Trace mentioned something about unrestricted access to the armory. I just didn't know that there was a second one."

Crankshaft let out a slow whistle. "Agent of the Realm? Nice." "You musta earned a good chunk of contribution in that little skirmish."

"Few thousand. I was unconscious for most of the—" began Scott only to be interrupted by Greelak. "A few thousand? In that pitiful fight? The rumors must have been true about you and the wind..."

"Ah, possibly. What are they saying?" asked Scott.

"You turned into a tornado and blew up a mountain," said Greelak, his eyes wide. There was a slight hint of drool hanging from the edge of his lip at the idea of exploding a mountain.

"It was just a reinforced hill..." said Scott.

The orcs looked at each other then back to Scott. They both shouted at the same time, "I wanna see!"

"Eh, I'd love to show you but if using that power didn't kill me, Rhea would. I just got out of the hospital," said Scott.

The orcs showed signs of disappointment, but quickly got over it. They dragged Scott toward the exit, and stopped only long enough for the contribution purchases to be paid at the checkout counter.

"That minigun was twenty-two thousand?" asked Scott, curiously.

"Yeah, I got points to burn and it looked like she wanted to come home with me," said Greelak.

Scott chuckled at the orc for a moment, only to outright laugh when Greelak started to pet the thing's barrels and whisper to it like a lover.

"There's rarely anything really good in the main municipal armory," said Crankshaft. "I mean, not unless you want to spend over a hundred thousand points."

"The special armory is different?" Scott followed his oversized friends as they turned a corner. He looked around curiously and noted that no one seemed particularly alarmed by a massive orc strolling casually down the street with a minigun slung over his shoulder.

"It's where they keep the good stuff, and they charge a little less for it. They want people worth a damn to have better access," said Crankshaft.

Scott looked to the orc and asked, "Why go into the main armory at all?"

Crankshaft shrugged, "Sometimes you find something worth getting," he chuckled briefly then jerked his thumb toward Greelak, "I mostly come for parts, but jug head over there likes to rescue innocent guns from obscurity."

"Mah babies need me," said Greelak in a strangely serious tone.

"Right," said Scott. Whatever else he was about to say died on his lips when Crankshaft announced that they had arrived. The special armory now stood before Scott in all its non-glory. It was little more than an ugly little square block building with a plain steel door on the front.

Crankshaft knocked on the door in a rhythmic pattern that sounded vaguely familiar to Scott. It was a single knock, followed by four rapid knocks, a brief pause, and then two more quick knocks.

The door opened of its own accord and allowed the trio entry. Inside the building appeared far larger than it did from the outside. Crankshaft made an imperious gesture, "Here's your special armory. Not as much variety but you can probably find something good here."

The orcs immediately rushed off of their own accord, without speaking. Crankshaft ran toward an open door in the back, while Greelak rushed off to a display case on the far side of the room. Light accentuated large firearms set on immaculately kept shelves.

Scott smiled at the antics of his orcish associates for a moment then began to wander around the armory. The first room mostly held weapons and armor suited to those who used firearms, or who wore heavy armor. Useful for some, less useful for him. The prices were interesting, however. The most expensive item that he saw in the armor section was forty-thousand contribution and designed for a level one hundred thirty warrior.

"Prices are definitely better," said Scott.

He wandered over to the nearest open doorway and entered a room filled with light armor. Bows and boomerangs lined the walls. "Weird. The gun section was paired with heavy armor, but bows and boomerangs are in the medium weight and lighter armor section."

Scott shrugged after a moment and inspected the armor. He found a few interesting items in his price range but did not commit. Curious, he moved on.

The next room held magical items and accessories specifically for the magic user classes. A spear inside of a display case caught his attention. Scott went over to it and read the little plaque on the front of the case. "Golden serpent spear, ninety-six thousand five hundred contribution. If out of stock, I can order one for an additional five hundred contribution."

His eyes lit up. He could get that spear at a discount if he shopped in the special armory. It was good to know.

The various magical items ranged even higher in price than the spear, however. The most expensive weapon was the Kaelworth's Infernal Staff of Ultimate Violence worth over six hundred thousand, and suited to people level two hundred eighty or higher. It was for mages only, however. As a sorcerer, Scott would need to learn the arcane staff skill first. At such a high level, he could not help but think that there had to be a sorcerer item of equal of greater usefulness in the world.

He stopped daydreaming about his delusions of power and sought out something that he might actually be able to afford. In the accessories section of the room, he discovered something interesting that he might want to put on his future purchase list once a few missions were completed. "Vilkara's Frozen Tear, eh?"

The item in question was a mithril necklace with a heavy pendant made of light blue lore crystal shaped like a tear drop. It would grant him the ability to severely overcharge a single cast of an elemental ice spell. It could only be used once every twenty-four hours, but the resulting spell's power would be doubled, and the chance to freeze an opponent would be increased by a factor of seven.

The value of the item increased a little when it became obvious that he could learn the skill Frozen Tears of Vilkara permanently at the cost of losing the item.

"Six thousand, two hundred contribution... I'll be back for you," said Scott before moving on.

It was not until he came across a familiar type of weapon that his lip quirked upward. "How did I miss, you?"

[Weapon]

Fabian's Burning Hatred [Proof-Tested]

Claws forged in the pits of hate and despair by the diabolical sorcerer Fabian Farzein, a master craftsman of the Valkovian region. These claws are of medium quality and fineness, perfect for cutting through random shrubbery or foolish flammable opponents.

Item Type: Weapon (Unarmed/Claw)

Material: Metal (High-Grade Steel)

Level: 20

Restriction: Sorcerer, Monk

Durability: 32/32

Quality: Medium

Fineness: Medium

Attack: 36-45

Defense: 22-36

Value: 32000

Special Option[1]: Burning Rage

Special Option[2]: Elemental Fire Damage Boost +5%

Contribution Cost: 1185

[--]

Unfortunately, there were no ice, wind, or celestial version to purchase immediately. However, he could order a set of the claws for an additional one hundred contribution points. His attack and defense would increase dramatically.

"Dual weapon wielding is a specialty of the class, at least when it comes to unarmed combat," said Scott thoughtfully. There would not be much else that he could get with his current contribution that would be worth it after such a purchase, but the remainder would be a good start on saving for the Vilkara's Tear item.

"I wonder if that fire damage boost will stack?" he asked curiously. He wanted a paired set of those gloves, either way. His raw attack power was decent due to fighting unarmed, but with weapons that counted the same as being unarmed he could finally do serious damage.

Briefly he considered searching them out using his Crystacom, but he fought down the urge. Even if he could find them at one of the stores that offered him a discount, the cost would still be over five gold. Without the discount, he might be out six or seven gold for the same items. He was not exactly swimming in money at the moment.

Decision made, he turned and headed off to find the guy he had to pay. It would no doubt take a while to acquire his new gear, but he needed to stay in town and perform light duty work anyway while he finished healing. As things stood, it was the perfect time to order something awesome.