Chapter 113: Commission Complete
Coop claimed a set of armor along with a weapon to keep for himself. He couldn't really imagine a situation where his active abilities were disabled and his spatial storage ability continued to be available, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some security. It wasn’t like he didn’t already have massive quantities of other items occupying the seemingly unlimited space, including weapons he looted from various Chosen, but the matching gear was too nice to pass up.
“Alright, Champion. Now that you’ve helped yourself to my hard work, what is it that you actually came here for?” Garod jested. “Something about a mana well? If you’re here about a special order to aid you in a delve, I’m ‘fraid I lack even the basic resources to improve upon your summons.”
Coop hadn’t really been interested in replacing his ethereal equipment anyway, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to find something to do with upgraded gear. “Well, first, I’d like you to tell me what to keep an eye out for inside the well. As I understand it, there should be treasures to find.”
“That’s right.” Garod emphatically agreed. “Mana wells produce the best jewels for arrays. You remember the garbage dagger you had the first time you visited?” Coop nodded in response, pulling the Empire’s assassin weapon out of his storage once again.
Garod pointed at the hilt where decorative bead-like stones were arranged in a simple geometric pattern, in this case, a diamond. “The tiny stones from that thing should be all over the place, even in a basic well. They just pop up wherever free mana collects. A mana well is exactly the type of place to have such pockets. The more mana the greater the jewel.”
Coop wondered if he would be doing more foraging than fighting, like the mana well would be a magical egg hunt instead of a grinding zone. Coop stared intently at the hilt of the jeweled dagger and frowned. The tiny beads would be hard to find without paying special attention for them, but he didn’t intend for his trip to be a scavenger hunt.
Garod dispelled Coop’s minor concern, “Ah, but you can ignore those little ones. It would take a master Artisan to make them even remotely useful beyond decoration. Not that there isn't a market for them, I just get the impression you’re lookin’ for somethin’ more utilitarian and those are the lowest quality. Keep an eye out for any that are actually glowing with their own light, those can have real power, and of course bigger ones.” Garod spread his hands like he was holding a basketball. “If you find somethin’ this big, feel free to retire!”
“If only.” Coop laughed, thinking retirement would be a good excuse to vacation on the beach. Coop would keep an eye out for the pearl-like jewels and hedge his bets. He moved on to his next question, pulling out a [Rage Core (Rare)], one of the crafting materials that dropped during the siege event. These came from the Enraged Defenders.
Before he could ask his question, Garod interrupted him. “Well, I’ll be damned!” Garod hopped into the air and snatched the golf ball sized metallic sphere out of Coop’s hand and stared directly at it with an intensity that went beyond admiration. “Master Champion, this is a fine treasure.”
Coop’s sly grin gave away the extent of his stash and Garod looked up at him with a combination of fear and astonishment. “Don’t tell me...” Garod backed away, still holding the Rage Core. “But I won’t be able to produce anything of better quality without matching materials. If I used this on the standard issue armor, it wouldn’t improve, it would merely save on material efficiency.”
“What else would you need?” Coop asked, noting that even though the equipment was Rare, it had only used the Uncommon materials that he had left with the crafters, even if they were masters and had been generous with the quantity of materials.
“To keep it simple, these materials are reagents for preparing the metal to be further reinforced by mana. Shaping metal and magically reinforcing it is the absolute basic process. The next level would require a magic catalyst, but they are Legendary materials, the sort of thing a hero would have to adventure for. And at that point, not having a high-quality array as well would be an insult to the final product.” Garod looked annoyed at not being able to effectively use the materials that were becoming available to him. “Your stonemason has a full set of armor with a greathammer of that level.”