Sythrak, my tuxedoed personal salesman, grinned widely when I appeared in his luxurious lounge, his scales turning a happy blue color. “Master Lucas, welcome back!”

  “Hello, Sythrak. I had a minute and wanted to check on my custom orders. I also need another dose of that Soul Slice enchantment for my claws.” I extended the silver Wolverine claws to emphasize the point.

  “Of course,” Sythrak said, and a pair of shining yellow crystals appeared in his hands. As I applied the enchantment to my claws, he added, “I am delighted to share 1 of your custom orders.”

  With another wave of his 3-fingered hand, Sixel Elaris’s gleaming suit of armor appeared, hanging in the air, resized to fit Ruby. Three more matching suits of armor appeared in a row next to hers.

  “Kaelor delivered everything?” I exclaimed. That was faster than I’d hoped.

  In addition to the gleaming silver plates over black leather, the armor included subtle blue highlights, making them even more epic-looking than ever. Identify triggered as I studied the first suit.

  “Inner-clan armor. Legendary. 1 of 4. Tier-3. Designed for an Elaris clan princess, re-worked specifically for Lady Ruby. Will auto-adjust to the current tier, and provide extreme defense against all attacks. Plus 10% to the wearer’s lowest primary stat. Auto-adjusts with the lady’s unique battle bio-morph ability and grants plus 5 levels to the spell. Self repair.”

  That was some totally boss, even better than I’d hoped. I scanned the other 3, and the descriptions were similar, each boosting one spell or ability of the designated wearer by 5 levels. Tomas’s boosted his Cyborg ability, Jane’s boosted Willpower, and Steve got a huge boost to his Echoing Doom clone spell.

  On the chest of each suit was a stylized metal emblem, diamond-shaped, with a sword crossed with a quill in front of something like an exploding star. Dots ringed the images.

  Sythrak noted my gaze and bowed low,and holding out an identical emblem formally. “The master emblem.”

  As soon as I touched it, a rush of power coursed through me, swelling my mind and body in a wonderful rush. As I fought the urge to race around the room or swing from the exposed beams, Identify triggered.

  “Master Sigil of the Boundless Horizon. Unique. This emblem, crafted by Kaelor Elaris, is the personalized emblem of the newest clan member, Lucas Altan Elaris. The sword represents conquest and victory, the quill runesmithing and strategic flexibility, while the diamond shape suggests unbreakable resolve and a convergence of possible fates. The dots suggest a multitude of paths and the gathering of allies into a mighty force for victory. Soulbound.”

  “Master emblem contains the “Skins” and “Force Multiplier” enchantment. Plus 10% to all primary stats, plus 5 levels to Swordsman ability, plus 5 levels to Runesmith ability.”

  “Each core-ally emblem contains the “Skins” enchantment and the “Force Multiplier” enchantment. Each outer-ally emblem includes the “Skin” and the “Quarter Force Multiplier” enchantments.”

  “Skins. Enchantment. Epic. Apply one of a myriad of illusory coatings to change the look of the armor, or to apply full camouflage Stealth.”

  “Skin. Enchantment. Rare. Apply a single illusory coating to change armor to the designated unit standard appearance.”

  “Force Multiplier. Enchantment. Epic. Plus 20% to Constitution and 10% to all resistances for every other core-ally paired sigil within 50 yards during a fight.”

  “Quarter Force Multiplier. Enchantment. Rare. One-quarter of the perks of Force Multiplier, applied to all outer-ally emblems in range.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I laughed. Each of the matched suits were amazing, and the sigils linked them like a unit insignia. The group boosts were no joke, and the benefits of the master sigil were breathtaking. I’d never imagined I might get something out of the armor. It was supposed to be for my team, and now the entire team would end up way stronger.

  Sythrak said, “A mighty gift indeed. Kaelor has a reputation for taking excellent care of his clan members, especially inner-clan members.” He handed me a small pouch containing a bunch more of the emblems. “The 4 emblems on the suits of armor designate them as core-allies. You can gift these additional emblems to others as outer allies.”

  I whistled softly. Unbelievable. I added the suits of armor to my inventory, then held the master emblem to my chest. It attached itself to my armor.

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  “Please thank Kaelor for this magnificent gift.”

  Sythrak bowed. “It will be my pleasure.”

  I wanted to see everyone in their armor, and was tempted to have Jeeves hand out the matching suits immediately, but resisted the urge. It would be better to see their reactions in person.

  Sythrak pulled me from my awed reverie. “I see you’ve accumulated an impressive number of VIP points. Would you like to inspect the VIP-only inventory?”

  Right. I’d forgotten all about the promised exclusive items. “Sure.”

  Sythrak waved his hand and with a trilling fanfare, items appeared hanging in long rows that stretched across the room. “VIP items include early-release epic-tiered equipment and weapons, along with unique memorabilia that contestants may wish to bring back to their home world.”

  With high hopes, I started down the long rows to inspect the items. It took only a moment to realize 1 side of the room held the items meant for combat, or even to improve our home world. The other side was crowded with a surprising assortment of gag gifts and keepsakes, like the multiverse’s equivalent to a tourist trap.

  I focused on the good items and paced slowly down the line, studying everything from suits of armor to spell scrolls to weapons. There wasn’t as much as I’d hoped, but some of it was really impressive.

  Several epic-quality weapons looked fantastic, but none would be great fits for me. I didn’t use a naginata or a bow or a two-handed greatsword. There were a couple of heavy weapons, but they were extremely expensive, and honestly, none of them tempted me to replace my Titanbreaker Warhammer or Earthshaker Maul. I’d have to discuss them with my team and see if anyone wanted one.

  The epic spell scrolls were more interesting. Each cost 25 million VIP points, a full quarter of my total points. I’d get more, but that was a lot. At the moment, my quiver of temporary spells was really full, so I passed on most of them, although I did linger on 1.

  “Tome of Forgotten Spells. Epic. Contains a single-use epic spell from a random world across the multiverse, customized for user.”

  That sounded really good, especially since my class perk should increase that epic spell to 4 remaining uses. I marked it as a possibility, then moved on to non-weapon items. There were some good ones, but the one that drew my attention the most was an unusual little stone wheel.

  “Millstone of the Lame. Epic. When an enemy is struck with this stone, it will chain itself to their neck reduce the target’s movement speed by a minimum of 50%. Resists most spells of dispersion or unlocking. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour.”

  It cost 30 million VIP points, but might be worth it. How would Thalorian look with a millstone dragging him down and cutting his movement speed?

  A huge section included items designed to help Earth make massive strides in things like agriculture, medicine, and clean energy. Those could revolutionize life on Earth as we knew it once we returned, and I wanted every last one of them. I could only afford a couple so far, though. Each cost a full 50 million VIP points.

  “Will all of these items remain available?”

  Sythrak nodded. “While supplies last, right up until the end of the game.”

  Hmm. Would I have time to return to the store and buy up everything I could after we defeated Queen Marisara? I very nearly asked Cyrus, but he was still not engaging as much, and I doubted he’d give me a clear answer.

  Very tempting, but I didn’t have to decide immediately. I’d have to discuss the options with my team. Together we could come up with a plan to acquire as many as possible between us.

  I did stride along the opposite side of the room, shaking my head at the ridiculous items. The gag gifts included things like plushy toy imitations of some of the monsters we’d faced, moving photo frames that could be populated by taking snapshots of life on Arasha, and even the Sentient Mug of Endless Coffee. Sounded good, but it would start grumbling loudly if one drank more than it considered appropriate. I actually laughed out loud when I saw the next item.

  “Soulrend Replica. Own this collector’s edition one-fifth scale size replica of the ethereal blade Soulrend, made famous by Lucas Altan before he foolishly lost it. Sharp enough to cut toast in a single slice.”

  The tiny weapon was a wonderful replica of my beloved short sword, with a blade made out of some kind of composite wood, painted a faintly glowing blue. For a mere 10 million VIP points, I could get a keepsake of my blade. It was more tempting than I liked to admit.

  Moving down the line, the Potion of Spectacular Failure actually intrigued me. It guaranteed the next action taken by the person who drank the potion would fail in the most ridiculous way possible.

  “Will this work if the bottle is smashed over someone’s head?” I could imagine hitting Queen Marisara with it as a surprise trump card to help me defeat her.

  “Unfortunately, it must be taken voluntarily,” Sythrak said.

  Lame. For a moment my mind raced with absurd ideas about how to trick the queen into drinking the potion, but chances of success were slimmer than none. The next item was even sillier.

  “Pocket-sized Black Hole. Wow your friends with this realistic replica of a tiny black hole. Note: Will not actually bend reality or produce any visible effects, but it’ll make you the star of the party. Might be enough to get that girl who’s been ignoring you all night to give you a chance.”

  “Who comes up with these?”

  “All users who pay for at least 10 VIP experiences can submit suggestions. Final prizes are approved by the tier-4 Dimensional Curator’s Council. The DCC is a distinguished body made up of celebrity guests from a dozen randomly selected worlds,” Sythrak explained.

  I didn’t want to waste my VIP points. I still had time, but decided to get the Tome of the Forgotten Spells and the Millstone of the Lame for a whopping total of 55 million VIP points. That left me just shy of being able to buy a single Earth-revolutionizing item, but I could start buying those the next time I visited the store.

  “Will additional items be added to the store?”

  “Of course,” Sythrak said. “Every day, the inventory is refreshed and expanded.”

  I decided to wait until I ran lower on temporary spells, or if I ran into a bind before I activated the Tome of the Forgotten Spells. One more trump card for when things got really serious.