Shopping, paint, and studies.

POV: Devas Asura.

It's been a few hours since I woke up; right now, I'm at the "market," or rather, the commercial part of the kingdom.

"I still don't understand why you don't want to use materials from home. If it's something about money, forget it. I won't charge anything," Dylan commented, his voice coming from the small mirror hanging from my earring...

... Yes, I put on an earring, on the left ear to be precise.

I considered the right ear, as it's the dominant side of my body. But the moment I mentioned it, Stark started sending "SUS" emoticons.

He wasn't the only one; Yang and Kazuma too.

With these three leading the "crew," the rest of the (CHAT) did the same, the whole (CHAT), even the general... even Dumbledore...

So I put it on the left ear to avoid stressing myself. I even thought about putting it on the right ear just because; it was just an earring, but it wasn't worth the stress.

Of course, if I found another useful earring like this, I wouldn't hesitate to wear it on the right ear, but for now, it was just this one.

When Dylan mentioned having some way to communicate with me since, well, the guy was bedridden.

I hesitated, thought about giving him a long-range radio I had, but I didn't need to since the guy had something for it, a mirror.

The moment I saw the mirror, I thought of Terraria's "Magic Mirror"...

It wasn't it, unfortunately. Dylan called it an "EcoMirror." It was basically the discounted version of a phone.

Basically, it was a special mirror made of platinum, silver, and others. Around the mirror, there were dozens of tiny Mystic Symbols drawn, which was what made the mirror work.

For the "phone call" to happen, it wasn't dialing a number or code, but rather, putting the two mirrors close to each other and "connecting" them and saying a word, which would be the "connection."

Basically, if I tapped the mirror twice with my finger, while sending mana to it and said out loud, "Dylan," my EcoMirror was connected to Dylan's.

It was damn useful since no one had a cellphone in Terraria for me to call. I had wondered why I hadn't heard of this before or seen someone use it on the street, the reason was simple.

It was damn expensive.

Seriously, I asked if this was rare since I hadn't seen anyone using it. Dylan, naturally, commented.

"Oh, it's because it costs about ten royal gold."

One royal gold, which is equivalent to a hundred gold coins... This thing on my ear basically cost a thousand gold coins!

A meal and a day at the inn basically cost fifty copper coins, or half a silver, two days being one silver.

One gold is literally a hundred silvers, a thousand gold being a hundred thousand silvers.

That's literally two hundred thousand days at the inn, or fucking five hundred and forty-seven years and one hundred and nine days!

That's for one of the mirrors, which alone was useless since you wouldn't have anyone to talk to.

Damn it! I, who had literally raided a post-apocalyptic world, found this expensive. Of course, I could sell more things to have that money, but still!

Damn nobility. The bedridden guide still had the audacity to find that normal, distorted common sense of misery!

All of this ignoring that the mirror on my earring was small and could only transmit voice, not an image. Dylan had one in his room that was the size of a normal mirror... I didn't even want to imagine the price.

I sighed, returning my attention to the paint stall, at the same time responding to the guide's voice coming from my ear.

"I don't want to abuse, I'll buy my materials. You're already going to teach me for free, I don't want to impose." A damn lie. I didn't care if he wanted to give me the materials, but I wouldn't stay another second in that house.

I don't know what that thing was, but it scares the hell out of me!

Funny thing too, now that I had this mirror on my ear, people looked at me as if I were rich, but that gave me the excuse to talk to myself without seeming crazy!

So it was much easier to talk to the (CHAT).

"Well... if you say so, but if you need anything, just come here and ask. I consider you a friend, so don't hesitate." Dylan's voice came from the EcoMirror, the guide accepting that I wouldn't take the materials in his house and fell silent.

I took the opportunity and went back to look at the paints. Seriously, there were so many.

Cactus-based paint, oak-based paint, scepter-based paint, lavender-based paint, sunflower-based paint, paint of everything!

I found out that, for Terraria, paints were important for a simple reason: Mystic Symbols.

I had clearly asked Dylan if he could teach me how to use the symbols. The guide didn't refuse, teaching me the basics and giving me a small guidebook before I practically fled from the mansion.

Unlike runes, which could be engraved or carved, Mystic Symbols were drawn.

That's where the paint, or rather, paints came in... Funny, I had thought that the game's paints were useless, just visual, but here, they were a serious matter.

A "Symbol User" or "Symbol Smith" had their preference, or rather, the paint that best suited their taste, personality, and mana.

Of course, most used the same thing, a "base" paint, so to speak, changing it a bit here, a material there. But the best, or as Dylan called them, the "Symbol Masters," the best symbol users in the kingdom, used a completely customized paint.

It was the equivalent of a secret technique, something that was only passed on to their apprentice, who would, in the future, create their own or enhance the master's.

I was surprised that after this information, Dylan offered the recipe for his paint, since from what he had just said, it was something personal.

I declined but asked him to help me, giving me a list to create my own, or rather, helping me create one that would be compatible with me.

He accepted, of course, more than happy to help me, so here I was, buying three gallons of paint of each color in the store. It was expensive, especially the more exotic paints, but well, as I said, I had raided half of Japan, money wasn't an issue.

After putting everything I bought in the inventory, I went to the flower shop next door and bought basically everything there too, roses, marigolds, sunflowers, orchids, everything, especially Daybloom.

I had honestly forgotten about this little plant, but when I saw it, I remembered instantly, as it was basically a version of me, but in plant form.

It appeared in the sunlight and hid at night. Basically me.

After that, I bought a few more things, mainly random materials, and especially cauldrons and pans, since Dylan had said that the container material where you prepared the paint altered some things.

So I bought a cauldron of basically everything, iron, silver, gold, copper, tungsten, everything in the store.

These actions along with the EcoMirror on my ear made the owner of the store where I bought cauldrons practically kneel, thanking God that a "rich Noble" had come to his store.

Funny, I didn't even have a house, let alone being noble.

With my VoidBag full of everything I would need to make the paints, and my wallet much lighter, I headed towards the outskirts of the kingdom.

I wouldn't want to risk going to the inn to make the paints and end up blowing up the room, and even if they paid me, I wouldn't go back to Dylan's house.

So, since there wasn't a "Rentable room for paint making" in Terraria, my only options were to either buy a house myself or do it outside the kingdom.

I didn't want a house, so I ran towards the usual clearing, the same place where I appeared in Terraria.

With my current speed, I estimated that I would get there in half an hour, maybe less. I arrived in five minutes.

I practically shot off, running as fast as a Formula One car, almost tripped when I accelerated sharply, my first step throwing the earth under my feet far away.

It was only then that I noticed something. I had gotten much stronger, faster, and more resistant.

I hadn't expected this, but it seemed that the orb I had swallowed, as magical as it was, containing mana, acted like potions, or rather, its vitality acted on my body in the same way as potions.

So, while my body was torn apart from the inside and healed rapidly, I became stronger, every time my body was destroyed and rebuilt, I became stronger.

Knowing this information, the pain I had felt had almost, just almost, come close to being worth it.

Even so, if I never felt something like that again, it would still be too soon.

After my run to the clearing ended, I set up an improvised base and took the things out of the inventory, placing them neatly on the tables I had placed on the floor.

Funny that the moment I went to open the paint can, it exploded, my hand squeezing it with too much force... it had been damn lucky that I hadn't broken anything until now, hadn't it?

Cleaning the paint quickly, I went back to the ingredients, Dylan guiding me.

"First of all, grind some slime cores and put them in a separate pot." The guide's voice continued, tired. "Preferably green slime cores since they are the most neutral."

I didn't need to hunt slimes since I had dozens of green slime cores. They were the ones I saw the least, oddly enough, but still, I had many.

With that done, Dylan gave me the next instruction.

"Now, separate the paints and mix them with this core powder, a small pot for each paint should do. After that, pour your mana into this mixture." He hesitated, but I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Good luck finding which one you think is the best."

I blinked, looking at the dozens of paints, maybe more than a hundred... This was going to take a while... That's what I would say if I didn't have a damn potions master in my (CHAT).

[TohsakaHeiress]: Is that it? He literally lets everyone learn this kind of knowledge? Runes, Mystic Symbols, spells, and everything else... for free?!

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: It's not exactly free, as we help him by donating with SP... which is optional, so yes, it's basically free. (Iron Man yawning emote). Are you going to be making this "soup" for a while? I'll grab something to eat here, be right back!

[WiseWizardGleam]: Yes, Miss Tohsaka, but only what Devas wants to learn. If you want to see something or want him to see something, I would recommend donating SP, or ask for a mission from (MEMBERS), but it will need to have a fair price. (Emote of an old wizard jotting something down on paper).

[HalfBloodPrince]: Try willow and poplar paints, probably those two, then try mixing them with gray or red slime cores. (Emote of a green snake jotting something down on paper).

[YellowFlash]: These Mystic Symbols remind me a lot of Fuinjutsu, I hadn't thought of that, but would it be possible to change the ink of Fuinjutsu? What do you think, Jiraiya sensei? (Emote of a yellow frog scratching its chin).

[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: Hey! Could you... you know... send me some money? or some useful item, like a sword? I'm kinda broke here, that useless goddess drinking all our money! (Generic emote of a guy asking for money).

[(MOD)WhiteHuntressLive]: What are you? A beggar? You said you were an adventurer, the equivalent of Terraria Guild contractors, take a mission and fend for yourself! (Indignant Snow White emote).

Ignoring the beggarzuma, Snape had given me the answer.

Following his advice, I mixed the cores with the willow and poplar paints I had, two willow and one poplar, the three, when I put my mana into them, reacted in me.

Nothing flashy like an explosion or a glow, they just seemed... "right." I didn't know why, but I felt like these three would be the best.

Even so, I tested some others, just to make sure, all of them seemed "empty" and dull for some reason.

It was these, and of these three, the two willow ones seemed inferior to the poplar one, so I ended up sticking with it.

"I'm done here, Dylan, what's the next step?" Two taps on the mirror later, I was listening to the guide again.

It was funny to hear his voice literally deflate when it took me less than five minutes to find the right paint.

"That was five minutes... Are you sure this is it? Or are you just messing with me?" The tired voice of the guide came from the EcoMirror.

"I'm just built different, my friend, what's the next step." Clearly my merit, I was the streamer, Snape gave me the tip because he liked me, obviously!

Ignoring the exclamations from the (CHAT) about my narcissism, I continued, listening to the guide.

It was basically now, a game of mixing, just like before, but now it was to find out which "ingredient" would be better with this paint and my mana.

Dylan told me that most people used some plants or even slime gel, changing the slime color depending on the person.

But one thing he told me not to do is.

"Don't put your blood in the paint, understood?!." His voice seemed serious, even as his fatigue lessened with the warning. "I don't even want to explain how many hundreds of thousands of ways that can go wrong, just... don't put it."

I won't lie, when I found out about this thing of mixing ingredients, I thought about putting my blood, for resonance and everything else, since I would be the one using the weapons and armor with these Mystic Symbols.

But after the guide's warning, and the dozens of warnings from the (CHAT), especially Dumbledore, Snape, Minerva, and Rin, saying it was a shitty idea.

The best example was.

[HalfBloodPrince]: Go ahead, put your blood, if any part of your armor or weapon ever breaks, and someone picks up that part with your blood and curses it, I'll laugh a little when you explode out of nowhere. (Emote of a green snake mocking).

A perfect example if I ever saw one, exploding in blood and guts wasn't ideal, so I ended up not putting the blood... Yet.

Wait until I have some form of resistance to curses and such, then yes, I'll try.

With the examples of why putting blood in the paint was a dumb idea finished, I turned my attention back to the preparation.

First, I stored the other paints and left only the aspen ones and the "ingredients." Before that, I wondered why this specific paint seemed "right." Snape gave me a brief summary, which I'll summarize even more:

Poplar, or at least Earth's aspen (I didn't know if Terraria's was the same), was commonly associated with renewal and regeneration due to its rapid growth rate. It could also be linked to symbolism of lightness and flexibility.

Snape's words, not mine. I didn't even remember that this tree existed, actually.

With that, it wasn't hard to figure out why, after all, regeneration, flexibility, high growth rate, and regeneration...

With this mini lesson finished, I went back to testing the ingredients. The first one I thought of was the Daybloom.

Interestingly, when I mixed the paint with the plant's petal pieces and poured my mana into the mixture, it seemed even more right than just the paint.

I knew that this little plant was like a version of me, but as a plant!

I continued like this for a few hours, with Snape helping me with many things, Dumbledore and McGonagall giving some suggestions here and there.

Rin gave some ideas too, like using gem powder, like ruby, opal, and other stones. Some worked, some didn't, but it was a good idea overall.

Of course, the rest of the (CHAT) also had their share in this "soup," most of it just guesses or jokes.

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Monkey blood and bones? Human and everything else... (Iron Man laughing emote).

[JackSon]: Blue paint? Everything is better with blue! (Wise seahorse emote waving).

[Alice-Chan]: Pink paint! Just like my hair and Saya-nee's hair!!!

[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: Can I send you some hair strands from that useless goddess next to me! 1 hair strand for 1 gold bar! How about that? A fair deal in my view! (Generic guy emote with dollar signs in the eyes).

[(MOD)RedHuntressLive]: Try ruby powder again! It will work this time, trust me!! (Sad Little Red Riding Hood emote).

[YellowHuntressLive]: Strands of hair from a lady with a broken heart work? I can send you some strands from Ruby's little head if you want. (Golden box emote laughing).

And so it went. It was funny some of the ingredients, others silly, and some that really made me take a step back.

Ignoring Ruby, who wanted me to test ruby powder again, since I felt it wasn't "right," Stark's ideas had some merit, even if he said it jokingly. Maybe it would work... Too bad I didn't have anything like that with me. I'll check the market later.

And Kazuma's offer was frankly good, so much so that Rin was practically having a seizure in the (CHAT) asking me to accept and sell some to her.

The hair of a water goddess... Aqua had some extra domains too, something involving "sacred" or something like that...

Honestly, it was tempting, even though I had the [Divine Anathema] and frankly, didn't like gods in general, I wasn't foolish enough to ignore something like weapons and armor forged by them... or with them as materials...

But unfortunately, I felt that it wouldn't be something that would fit, well, the ink was supposed to be something that resonated with me, the divine was anything but that.

But I asked the panty thief to get some for me. I'll trade with him, even if it's just to keep them stored.

Overall, it took me about two hours, but I ended up "finishing" the ink. I say finish because I felt it could be improved, but for now, that would be enough.

The last step was to mix everything in the right way using "magic fire."

Or basically the fire created by slime gel mixed with slime core powder.

I was really hoping for a blue, purple, or colorful fire... it was normal, like, normal fire color... I felt deceived.

"Put the materials slowly, try to find the right measure for them, it should improve a bit in the final result." Dylan's tired voice came from the mirror on my ear.

"Try using a pure gold or silver cauldron, it should help. If you need one, I have some in my workshop, just come here and get it." No, thanks, I won't go back there for a good reason.

I also had a silver and a gold cauldron, not entirely pure, but still, it would be enough. For now, I was fine with my current cauldrons... Or not, since I ended up mixing and making the ink in a pure iron cauldron.

For some reason, the final result in the iron cauldron was the best, the materials along with my mana blending in a more "fluid" way... I think?

But I felt it wasn't ideal... The same thing with the ink... Something was missing.

After almost five hours, the sun was nearly setting in the sky, and I had my ink. I ended up jotting down everything on paper so as not to forget, saving it on my phone as well, just to be safe.

-//-

[Symbol Ink - Model: Devas]

Base ink: Poplar-based ink (3-year-old tree).

Materials:

Green slime gel (92 ml per cauldron)

Gray slime gel (92 ml per cauldron)

Daybloom petals (2 flowers per cauldron)

Green slime core powder (28 g per cauldron)

Gray slime core (37 g per cauldron)

Iron powder (8 g per cauldron)

Blue sapphire powder (3 g per cauldron)

[...]

-//-

There were more ingredients; I removed and added some whenever I tested a new "formula," but the main ones were basically these.

Honestly, I had no idea how all of this had mixed, probably the mana, magic as well.

In the end, I had a cauldron of almost ten liters of ink with a metallic gray color with subtle blue tones.

It wasn't a color that I particularly found attractive, but if it worked, I couldn't care less!

Funny how I had managed to finish this ink in less than a day when Dylan had said it could take weeks.

Having a potions master, teachers, the "second coming of Merlin," and various opinions, with just a glance at the (CHAT), really helped.

I quickly stored everything, putting the items back into the inventory, and started to prepare to leave. After all, it had already become night, with the moon in the sky making me restless again.

A quick run, and I was back within the kingdom walls, already at Geralt's inn.

"Well... good night, I'm going to turn off here, I don't want you guys watching me sleep again, you weirdos!" I joked with the (CHAT) before turning off the stream...

"Haaa..." I sighed, my body practically giving in to the bed, my hands shaking slightly, not from fatigue or pain, but something else...

"I really did this... Didn't I...?" I murmured, my restless brain, unable to easily fall asleep like other times.

I fell asleep after a few minutes, forcing myself to stay still, ignoring my restless state, my sleep was light, not peaceful... but still, without dreams.

I woke up at three in the morning fully armed; before I realized it, I had the halberd in my hand, making the wooden floor creak under the weight of the weapon, and weapons pointed at the door, where I had heard footsteps, coming from the hallway.

"... Fuck it..."

[...]

I couldn't go back to sleep, my body fully recharged, both physically and mentally.

I lay in bed, doing nothing for a few seconds before remembering the mission; I hadn't seen it yesterday.

"I don't have anything better to do anyway..." I murmured, pulling up the mission in front of me and checking the rewards.

-//-

[Emergency Mission (World) - (Chain Mission)]

Mission Name: What's happening in Jille Village?

[NEW!] Grongir, a goblin sorcerer, is using the matrix known as CrimsonBind (Prototype) to control the minds of the people in Jille Village, and stealing their vitality and mana with a matrix drawn on the village walls!

[NEW!] Main Objective: Defend Jille Village from the goblin army and survive!

Reward: Life Crystal (1), Mana Crystal (1), Rainbow Mission Ticket (1), Emergency Ticket (Automatic) (3), Random Prefix Ticket (Good) (3), 1000000 SP! (Completed!)

[…]

[If it's war they want, it's war they'll get!]

Secondary Objective: Kill the goblins yourself!

First mark: 1182/10 (Completed!)

Second mark: 1182/50 (Completed!)

Third mark: 1182/100 (Completed!)

Fourth mark: 1182/500 (Completed!)

Fifth mark: 1182/1000 (Completed!)

Sixth mark: 1182/1239 (Failure!)

Reward: Fractured Fragment of the first Shadowflame (Weakened - Lesser - Spark)

[…]

[I'll protect you! Stay behind me!]

Secondary Objective: Don't let the Terrarians die!

First mark: 548/10 (Completed!)

Second mark: 548/50 (Completed!)

Third mark: 548/100 (Completed!)

Fourth mark: 548/500 (Completed!)

Fifth mark: 548/548 (Completed!)

Reward: Invitation Ticket (5)

[…]

[Eye for an eye, life for a life!]

Secondary Objective: Kill Grongir yourself! Avenge the Terrarians (1/1) (Completed!)

Reward: Mystic Symbols Manual (Goblin) (Incomplete - Copy)

[…]

[Good Samaritan / Thief who steals from a thief!]

Secondary Objective: Return the stolen vitality and mana to the villagers of Jille Village! (Failure!)

Reward: Life Crystal (1), Mana Crystal (1) (Failure!)

Secondary Objective: Use the stolen vitality and mana for yourself! (Completed!)

Reward: Life Potion (Lesser - 5)

[…]

[Untouchable! They didn't even touch me! / Not untouchable! But immortal!]

Secondary Objective: Kill the goblin army without receiving a single attack! (Failure!)

Reward: Hermes Boots (Failure!)

Secondary Objective: Kill the goblin army as you are injured by it!

First mark: 348/10 (Completed!)

Second mark: 348/50 (Completed!)

Third mark: 348/100 (Completed!)

Fourth mark: 348/500 (Failure!)

Reward: Band of Regeneration

-//-

I had to stifle a scream to avoid waking up the entire inn.

Ignoring the Life Crystal, Mana Crystal, and SP, which were excellent rewards in themselves, the rest was much more than I expected.

I didn't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. I thought it would be just some potions or something; I was even prepared to receive a harpoon or spike balls, items that goblins dropped in the game... but this?...

I grabbed the first ticket I saw in my hand, checking its use:

-//-

[Rainbow Mission Ticket]

Type: ConsumableRarity: Amber

Use: When torn, generates a random rarity (Rainbow) mission in the global mission system.

The Rainbow mission world is chosen randomly, being a world judged by the "Stream" as complete entertainment, where "The Streamer" can grow in all possible ways.

Note: The world of the (Rainbow) mission is a world of extreme potential and extreme danger!

Note: (Return system) After a week in the Rainbow mission world, "The Streamer" will be able to return to Terraria normally and go to the Rainbow mission world after a month in Terraria (Time can be shortened at the cost of SP).

Note: If "The Streamer" returns to Terraria, he can choose to finish the main mission or leave it "paused," restarting it when he returns to the Rainbow mission world.

Note: If "The Streamer" chooses to finish the mission, it will be possible to return to the Rainbow mission world only by spending SP.

Note: Smaller missions may be randomly generated in the Rainbow mission world even after the main mission is completed.

Note: "The Streamer" can choose the "Landing" location in the world or leave it randomly in exchange for an immediate reward.

-//-

...This was ridiculously good!

No, more than that, damn! This was absurdly wonderful!

It was basically a connection to a completely different world. Of course, I would still have to pay SP to return, probably a lot since the stream focused on Terraria.

I seriously doubted it would be as simple as me leaving and ignoring Terraria.

Obviously, I saved the Ticket; I had just come out of a battle and had spent weapons, armor, practically all my bullets, and potions. I wasn't crazy enough to go on a mission now.

I'll leave that for later, when I have my battle resources back. Throwing tables at enemies might be funny, but it still wasn't as powerful... Well, it depended on the table.

Funny how the item that created a "Rainbow" mission wasn't Rainbow but Amber.

I ignored the little voice in my head saying I had gained all this by tearing a thousand lives and looked at the next ticket:

-//-

[Emergency Mission Ticket (Automatic)]

Type: ConsumableRarity: Amber

Use: An emergency ticket that is automatically used if something happens.

The ticket will then be spent, generating an emergency mission, where "The Streamer" can accept it or ignore it.

Note: If "The Streamer" rejects the mission, the ticket will not be refunded.

Note: Emergency missions may occur outside the world of Terraria; if they do, "The Streamer" will have a time limit of 1 month before being teleported back to Terraria.

Note: Emergency missions will have an unknown difficulty, caution is recommended!.

-//-

Other Amber rarity tickets, this one more confusing than the previous, but still useful.

I didn't know what the stream cataloged as an emergency.

Since the previous mission was only activated when I realized something was happening in Jille Village.

So what was the minimum knowledge limit? Or could it be distance too?

If I didn't know that something was happening, would the tickets not activate? Or would they still activate, with a "clairvoyance" fence?

Especially the fact that missions could occur outside of Terraria, how would I know if something was happening literally in another universe?

Unless it counts the worlds of the viewers... then yes, these tickets had gained even more value for me than the (Rainbow) ticket...

Well, these were questions I didn't know the answer to, but even with all that, the tickets were still extremely useful, even if I couldn't use them myself.

I stored the three tickets in the inventory and went to the next one.

-//-

[Random Prefix Ticket (Good)]

Type: ConsumableRarity: Amber

Use: When torn, generates a random prefix on the Weapon/Armor/Accessory that was used.

Note: Good prefixes may have some disadvantages.

Note: If the perfect prefix occurs on the item that the ticket was used on, the prefix will be "sealed," unable to be changed, only improved with other tickets.

-//-

Basically, three uses of the Terraria goblin NPC.

I didn't know how good the received prefixes would be with these tickets, especially on items considered accessories.

The prefixes for weapons and accessories in the game were very different, with weapon prefixes being absolutely stronger and accessory prefixes being much simpler.

And even the armor, which in the game couldn't receive prefixes, here, apparently could.

Well, I had nothing to use these tickets on now, besides the halberd, which I still needed to check, so again, all into the inventory.

Now, the rewards from the secondary missions.

-//-

[Invitation Ticket]

Type: ConsumableRarity: Amber

Use: When torn, it is possible to invite a person from the world in which the ticket user is to watch the stream.

Note: The user must have known the person or been with them at least once to invite them.

Note: If the invitee declines the invitation, the ticket will not be refunded

-//-

Also useful, especially since I still couldn't invite people myself.

I'll keep them stored too, since I had only received five, I'll save them for when I go on a mission.

The next one, something that frankly, I really wanted Hermes Boots. Even though they bore the name of a god, it was still an accessory that in the game was ridiculously useful, translated to reality it should only get better.

Too bad, as it was impossible for me to achieve this objective; defeating the army was already an insanely exhausting struggle, winning without receiving a single injury? Impossible, at least for my current level.

-//-

[Band of Regeneration]

Type: Accessory (Bracelet)Rarity: Blue

Prefix: NoneDefense: 200Durability: 650/650

Use: A bracelet made entirely of tempered Life Crystal and enchanted with runes. Increases the body's natural regeneration using ambient mana.

Note: In the absence of ambient mana, the Band of Regeneration can use the user's mana.

Note: The user of the Band of Regeneration can supply the Band of Regeneration with mana, making the regeneration increase even more at the cost of the item's durability.

-//-

Okay… that was good.

Although the boots might be better in a certain sense, as I highly doubted they wouldn't be absurdly strong, especially bearing the name of a god.

This Band was absurdly good, especially combined with my current regeneration, which was already somewhat superhuman.

Anyway, it was a shame that the reward wasn't the boots, but the Band of Regeneration was just as good for my current self.

I could use it as a last resort defense too, since its durability was high and its defense too, use it to deflect a sword blow, perhaps.

I didn't hesitate to put it on my left wrist, as the hook was on the right.

A red bracelet on the left wrist, the blue hook on the right wrist, an earring that was a silver mirror on the left ear. What was missing now? A necklace, and I would have almost a complete set of the most common accessories.

I didn't even look at the next rewards before tossing them into the inventory, as I knew the potions well, and I could study this goblin manual later.

Finally, the last reward… a necklace.

Had my life become some kind of twisted entertainment by chance?… Oh, well....

I sighed and looked at the necklace more closely.

First, the chains of the necklace.

They were black, intertwining like two snakes, and in each link of the chains, there were dozens, maybe hundreds of tiny golden runes that glowed faintly.

In the center, held by the chains, a small black cube, completely closed, except for a single hole in the front of the cube.

The cube, like the chains, was completely covered in small golden runes, but even more, among the runes, there were tiny Mystic Symbols, surrounding each of the runes.

Finally, inside the only hole in the cube, I could see a small purple flame, swaying gently, even without wind.

-//-

[Fragmented Shard of the first Shadowflame (Weakened - Lesser - Spark)]

Type: Accessory (Necklace)Rarity: Blue (Previously Red) (Absurdly weakened) (Evolutionary)Prefix: None

Damage (Shadowflame): 2 ~ ??? (Absurdly weakened) (Evolutionary)Defense (Necklace): 3000Durability (Necklace): 3000/3000 (Regenerable)

Current Maximum Temperature: 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) (Evolutionary)

Use (Unlinked): Pour mana into the necklace, creating a small Shadowflame in the form of a small fireball that flies towards the target.

The Shadowflame will stick to the target, like small purple tentacles, and burn it, consuming everything until nothing is left.

Note: Shadowflame does not distinguish ally from enemy; it will consume anything it touches until it is extinguished.

Use (Linked): When linked, recognizing the user, the Shadowflame becomes totally obedient, burning only what the user wants, distinguishing enemies from allies.

Link: Make the Shadowflame recognize you as the master.

(Tip: Feed it with mana-rich materials)

[..]

Description: It is said in myth that Prometheus descended from the heavens and gave the first flame to humans.

But what if there was no Prometheus? What if there were no humans?

Little is known about how the first flame appeared in the hands of the Terrarians, whether it was a god or goddess who helped them, or if it was a coincidence...

But with goblins, the story was a bit different... They remembered...

After all, before being goblins, they were a race that hadn't even emerged from the fertile soil of Terraria, embraced by the sunlight.

A race that chose to help the Terrarians in a time of need, help the world in a moment of weakness, overcoming their nature.

After all, if it wasn't any god or accident that helped them, if it wasn't from above, the help must have come from below.

For, if Prometheus in the myth helped, coming from the heavens...

... What would stop the Demons from rising from below?

~ Shadowflame, a flame from hell ~

-//-

To say that I wasn't surprised would be a complete lie; I even carefully placed the necklace on the table, turning the cube to the side.

First of all, goblins were descendants of demons or demons themselves after losing contact with hell… That was totally new, information I was completely unaware of.

Second. HOLY SHIT! A FLAME FROM HELL!

I knew hell existed in Terraria; that was obvious, after all, in the game, we would go there, but a flame from hell other than the Living Flame?

Especially one that had the title of "first."

I had no idea how complete Shadowflame was, as the one I currently had was in an almost dead state.

But still, just by having the (Evolutionary) next to it, it was reason enough for me to dance with happiness.

The only disappointing thing was that the stream didn't say how I could link to Shadowflame.

What the hell should it be, "Make the Shadowflame recognize you as the master."

How do I do that? Pouring mana into it? Feeding it with rare materials? Doing a "T" pose in front of the necklace?

None of the three worked, I tried.

When I poured my mana into Shadowflame, it ate my mana, like a black hole, I had to stop since I was almost running out of mana.

But its damage increased to an incredible three!...

I feel like I've been deceived, I just don't know why...

Feeding it didn't work either, as it just consumed everything without any change.

The "T" pose didn't work either, unfortunately.

I thought about dripping a few drops of blood on the necklace or directly on Shadowflame, but after the scolding I had received yesterday about using blood in ink was stupid, I hesitated.

I ended up just putting the necklace in the inventory, where it stood in a corner, Shadowflame floating slowly inside the cube, ignoring the temporal "pause" that the Voidbag had.

I'll ask Dylan if he knows any kind of linking item or something similar; if I don't find anything, I'll risk seeing if blood works.

If not even that worked, then I was lost.

I stayed at the inn for some more time; when it was four in the morning, I turned on the stream and started the day.

[...]

Three days after I received the mission rewards, I had figured out more or less how the Mystic Symbols matrix worked.

It was much simpler than the runes since the Mystic Symbols were a language; you just needed to know what all the symbols meant and their "words" and "phrases."

I had learned programming, C#, C++, Java, JavaScript, and even more. Compared to that, these Mystic Symbols were cute.

It didn't take me long to get the hang of it and create my first matrix.

It was a simple matrix but quite useful; I made it my first test because even if it exploded, not much would happen.

It didn't explode, which was a wonder; I almost cried with happiness when that happened, or rather, didn't happen... Damn explosive runes!

The matrix was simple; it consisted of twenty-two Mystic Symbols arranged in a larger and a smaller circle, where the larger circle absorbed ambient mana, converting it to the smaller circle, which gathered water from the environment and condensed it into a small ball that fell into the container I placed in the middle of all this.

It was simple, just something that collected water from the air, but it was self-sustaining since it took mana from the environment, making me only need to "turn it on" once.

Of course, this only worked precisely because the matrix was simple; anything more complex or "stronger" than that would cost a lot of mana to sustain.

Here came something funny; Dylan was my "teacher," teaching me the basics and guiding me.

So I took the opportunity to ask some things I had in mind, like mana stones. I knew they existed and had seen Dylan using them, but why were they so expensive?

I went to check their price at the Guild, and it was like a bean-sized mana stone costing two gold.

Dylan looked at me confused, or rather, his voice came out sounding confused, from the EcoMirror, as if I had asked something extremely obvious, but he still answered me.

Basically, mana stones, contrary to what I thought, weren't something artificially made, no.

They were fucking ore!

And not just any ore, but a rare as hell ore and very difficult to extract, from what Dylan told me.

Basically, they were the crystallization of the planet's own mana. Dylan couldn't explain to me why this happened, but when it did, a reserve of mana stones was created.

This description was something unpleasant to hear, sounding too much like something I had read somewhere else... I just hoped I was thinking too much...

Right after that, Dylan asked me why I was asking this; then I said I wanted to use mana stones to sustain a matrix without needing my own mana.

He then, again, said in a tone that basically said "Have you lived under a rock since you were born?"

And asked me why the hell I didn't buy the "Artificial Sapphires."

"What the hell are Artificial Sapphires, Dylan?" I swear, this planet seemed to do it on purpose just to annoy me...

After a few seconds, while I drew a small matrix of symbols on paper, the less tired but still exhausted voice of the guide came from the EcoMirror.

"They're basically artificial mana stones, a creation of my mother, to be more precise." He seemed proud of this fact, as if he himself had created them.

I was obviously starting to get annoyed.

"Why the hell are they called Artificial Sapphires and not literally Artificial Mana Stones?!"

I expected a good reason. It wasn't.

"It's my mother's title, Duchess of Sapphire Symbols. In her youth, she was a gemstone ranking contractor." He began to tell, summarizing the story.

"Basically, she is a mage specializing in water spells and Mystic Symbols, so when she rose to the gemstone ranking, she chose blue sapphire as the stone representing her status."

It was amazing to know that the woman I had met was basically one of the strongest people in the kingdom. Should I feel like I had met a celebrity? Maybe, but all of this was overshadowed by the stress and anger I was feeling.

Basically, I had been training miserably for about three months, using only my mana to fuel the runes because I asked about "stones" and not "sapphires"...

I didn't even blame Dylan's mother; she could name things as she pleased, especially something that seemed to be a revolutionary creation.

But the damn Guild vendor didn't recommend this shit, even when I asked if there was a cheaper alternative to buy...

This son of a bitch better walk with company, because if I catch him in some alley alone...

Dylan continued, explaining why they were cheaper, as an Artificial Sapphire the same size as a mana stone, containing the same amount of mana, cost about one silver, much cheaper than the two gold that mana stones cost.

It was because they couldn't be digested, like a mana stone.

Basically, the matrix that Dylan's mother, Helena, had invented couldn't do something a hundred percent perfect, so Artificial Sapphires came with many impurities, preventing people from consuming them themselves.

It seems that Dylan's mother had thought the same thing I did. They were literally made for what I had thought, energizing matrices, serving as fuel.

I felt a little better now, knowing that even if I had bought them, I couldn't use them myself, but still, if I found that guy, he was going to get beaten up, a lot...

Speaking of getting beaten up, I was kind of getting beaten up by Shadowflame.

Nothing I tried worked; it seemed to totally ignore me.

Dylan didn't know anything either; Binding items were incredibly rare, to the point where the guide had only heard of them in legends.

So, after a lot of conversation with the (CHAT) and Dylan, I ended up putting a few drops of blood on the necklace and on Shadowflame.

Nothing happened... Actually, something did happen; the little thing seemed to laugh at me, the purple flame of Shadowflame swaying rapidly as it trembled, as if it were laughing.

I threw water on it, which only made it shake even more, as the water literally did nothing to it.

In the end, I left the necklace locked in the inventory after giving a few slime cores for the flame to eat, ignoring it for now.

Now... the guide had said that his mother created these "Artificial Sapphires," and from what he told me, she probably used a matrix...

"Hey, Dylan, how much would your mother charge me to make a matrix that creates these Artificial Sapphires?"

If I could get that, it was one less worry...