Path to Transcendence

Turns out spending a lot of money meant the young woman became very friendly to him. The young man still seemed guarded, but became significantly more polite as well.

In the end, Julius chose a very plain but very expensive ring. It was probably one of the more expensive ones, but it was too nice to give up. After all, a storage ring was one of the few things he always used. Sure, he might have his dimensional space, but there was an obvious size limitation. At the moment, it was quite small, and until he could find other ways to increase it, he wanted additional storage options.

Cassandra had told him that improving his soul was one guaranteed way. Apparently, it would scale accordingly with his progression and eventual advancement to Tier 5. There were a number of special treasures he might get in the future that might also increase its size. But for now, he wanted to have another place to put his stuff.

It also seemed very suspicious if he didn’t have a storage ring. It wasn’t like he was a merchant or someone with an inventory skill, so having a storage ring would help hide his dimensional storage.

Speaking of the ring, it was a plain silver band. There was a simple black gem set in the middle of it. An astonishing amount of inscriptions were placed on the inside layer where his skin and ring met. He didn’t even know it was possible to create such delicate inscriptions without them interfering with each other.

It had to be some kind of skill crafters learned or something.

There were all of the enchantments that they talked about before, but in addition to them, this ring had a remote teleportation effect. So as long as the ring was within a few miles, he would be able to retrieve it whenever he wanted.

He forked over the money to pay for it, and only then could he connect it to his aura and blood. After he did that, he looked at other things around the shop.

“You looking for anything specific?” the woman, whose name he learned was Maril, asked him. She had become even warmer and more welcoming after he handed over such a large amount of money. She probably thought he was the kid of some rich parents and could get even more money out of him.

She wasn't that far off, but instead of rich parents, he had a rich friend who gave him more money than he knew what to do with it.

“What’s this?” Julius asked, pointing at a small object in the shape of a hexagonal pyramid sitting in one of the cases. It was clear but had a slight orange tint at the very point.

“That’s a special object my husband, Wexley, made. Its main purpose is to serve as a portable barrier, but it’s much more effective than most portable barriers. It should be able to withstand almost all Tier 5 attacks as long as it is being fed with enough energy. In addition to this, it has several other functions, including a diffusing array that should shroud any mana signatures inside, as well as any auras that could reveal one’s location. A basic sound array that allows you to hear sound, but any sound from inside the barrier won’t escape.”

“So it will be good for protecting a camp at night?” Julius asked.

She nodded. “That’s sort of its main purpose, but it can be used in a variety of ways. It also has an adjustable size, which will also increase or decrease the mana required to fuel it, depending on your needs.”

Julius nodded and smiled. “So how much?”

She winced. “That sort of item is somewhat of a rare and unique one. So the price isn’t in standard gold, but requires some form of trade.”

“Trade of what?”

“Equally rare materials, treasures, or powerful monster cores.”

Julius was tempted to pull out all of these materials to see if they would be good enough, but he understood that it would only look weird. He was only Tier 4 and taking out a bunch of Tier 5 cores might have looked suspicious. He could act like a rich kid who had a bunch of gold from mommy and daddy, but several Tier 5 cores that were loaded with corruption might have been a little too attention-seeking.

Instead, he sighed, a little sad that he probably wouldn’t be able to get something like this. Not that he really needed it all that much.

“What about showers and a portable kitchen?” he asked instead.

She brightened up when she heard that and gestured for him to follow her. “Come over, I have just the thing in mind.”

***

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When he finally left, his coin pouch was a lot lighter. Thankfully, Lily had given him way too much money, and with the extra he got from that Tier 5 crafter from before, he was very wealthy, so it wasn’t too bad.

He also made sure to stock up on more food. That was of the utmost importance. When the day of the new moon finally arrived, he believed he was decently well prepared and headed off for the vault with an eager grin.

When he arrived, he was greeted by a disappointingly small door. The only reason he was confident this was the entrance was that the door looked like obsidian and exuded a dangerous aura. The large crowd was also a good sign that he was in the right place.

Most of the people around were pretty young and at Tier 4 in strength, but there were a few old heads who were Tier 5.

While he said “old”, most of them didn’t look a day over thirty.

These older people didn’t seem like they were here to enter the vault, though. Based on their robes, he suspected these people were representatives of various sects and clans here to watch or oversee the process.

Julius, on the other hand, put his head down and lifted his hood over his face. He'd taken a trick out of Drasil's playbook and covered himself with a cloak.

It worked surprisingly well. He was able to make his way all the way through the front until he was met with a group of guards who didn’t look like they were from any of the other sects. Rather, they had a symbol of a golden cauldron on their chests.

The Golden Cauldron Sect. He knew they were the ruler of Goldmere, but this was the first time he’d seen any of their members. And truthfully, he was quite impressed by what he saw.

Each of these guards seemed competent. Just the way they confidently stood hinted they were pretty skilled. Their auras were another sign. They were well controlled, but they were releasing just enough to deter anyone who might want to start trouble.

The guard at the front was glaring at everyone who got close. His face was stern, with a thick, burnt scar over his cheek. That, along with his large stature, made him an intimidating person to look at. That being said, Julius remained undeterred and walked up to the man.

“Is there a queue I need to sign up for?” he asked softly, keeping his head down.

The guard stared at Julius for a few long and awkward seconds. “Do you have an access badge?” the guard finally asked.

Julius nodded and handed it over swiftly.

The guard gave it a quick inspection and scanned it with an item he had taken from his storage space before handing it back to Julius. “The vault will open in an hour. You are free to wait here or to go back to your group and wait there.”

Julius looked back at the bustling groups and noticed small arguments and scuffles already breaking out. “I’ll stay here if you don’t mind.”

The guard simply nodded and ignored Julius, going back to watching everyone around.

As for Julius, he sat down on a rock close to the entrance, taking out his lunchbox and some snacks he’d gotten the other day. He was lucky today, and his lunchbox had several meat pies in it. They were piping hot, and the aroma of their buttery crust wafted into the air.

He picked one up and gave it a nibble. He let out a surprised grunt when the taste hit his tongue. The meat itself was unbelievably tender. The slight crisp of the crust added another layer of texture. It was so buttery and warm, making him shiver in glee.

The meat seemed to be some kind of poultry. It was always hard to know what kind of meat the lunchbox used, though.

Then the thick gravy coated his mouth. The savoryness and slight sweetness went amazingly with the meat and crust. There was a slightly earthy flavor in the background, one that reminded him of truffles.

He looked at the meat pie with a loving gaze. The food inside his lunchbox was always delicious, no matter what it was, but this was definitely one of the better meals it had ever provided.

However, the aroma must have been wafting over to the guards, because Julius felt their gazes shift slightly in his direction. He could have sworn he saw one of them wipe some drool from the corner of his mouth.

He looked at the lunchbox and noticed that there were three more meat pies inside. Just enough for each of the guards to have one.

Was it a coincidence? He already knew the lunchbox gave food based on his circumstances. For example, if he needed something warm or comforting, he often got soup. But if he needed something fast, he got sandwiches. Was it trying to tell him something?

He frowned and looked down at the meat pies again. The only thing preventing him from offering them right away was how delicious the meat pie was. He kind of wanted to keep them for himself to enjoy later.

But he had a bleeding heart, and with a heavy sigh, he stood up and walked over to the guards, meat pies in hand. They tried to pretend they weren’t paying attention, but he could feel their senses swarming the pies.

“Would you guys like to have one?” he asked them.

The two other guards looked at the person who appeared to be their boss. Slightly begging expressions on both of their faces. However, the head guard was captivated by the smell as well, and though he hid his excitement, he nodded to his men.

“Yes, but quickly, understood?”

The two other guards saluted and quickly snatched a meat pie from Julius. Each of them bowed deeply to him, their noses almost touching the ground.

The two of them moaned the second they bit into the pie.

“Oh lord!” he heard the youngest of them exclaim, wiping the crumbs from his lips.

Their leader had more restraint, but he still took a pie of his own, a small, excited glint in his eyes. And when he took a bite, he let out a soft grunt.

“Damn.”

“I know, right? It's freaking delicious,” One of the other guards said enthusiastically.

Food was indeed the secret weapon of mankind, and just because of these pies, it was like the four of them had suddenly become best friends as they sat together and enjoyed their respective pies.