Nexus Runner [EPIC Progression Fantasy litRPG]

Crystal started pulling items from her inventory. They made an impressive pile. All the items were made of various metals from those huge pallets of rare minerals I'd gotten from the Colossus.

I still hadn't gotten all the stuff I probably should have from the other piles of non-metallic loot I'd shared. Either people were slow, they didn't plan to actually make anything for me, or they'd died already.

The items included a set of 5 platinum-looking rings. The identical bands were each enchanted with a plus-5 boost to a different base stat. That was impressive and beautiful work, but they only boosted tier-0 stats, which wouldn't help me at all.

Another pure white ring passively gathered light that could be released later in a blinding pulse, kind of like my diamond bracers, except my bracers wouldn't also blind me. Still, pretty cool.

Several items were pieces of armor, including 3 different sets of chest armor. One added extra defense against piercing and blunt damage, another helped against magic, and the final rebounded a percentage of damage. I'd have to test them out later.

Next, I hefted a pair of heavy, reinforced gauntlets that had to weigh 50 lbs each. Back on Earth, they would have been a chore just to lift. Wielding them would have been impossible. Now, with my high Strength, that wasn't an issue. The dark metal was really menacing, while the knobby spikes lining the knuckles would spell Bad Day to anyone unlucky enough to catch one across the face.

"Rock 'n Roll Gauntlets of Punishment. Uncommon. Strap on these babies and wade into unarmed battle with confidence of victory. Crafted from an alloy blend of several ultra dense metals, they can withstand nearly any impacts while crushing all targets with absolute final judgment. Minor chance of playing appropriate hard rock battle songs."

"I love these!" I laughed, willing them on right over my other gloves. They fit perfectly and I had to fight the urge to slam them down on the table and see if I could shatter it.

"You look like you could punch you way right through the castle with those monsters," Crystal said with an appreciative nod.

"I want a pair," Burns said.

She smiled. "I can take a custom order."

"Do it. Those are boss."

Even more interesting were the armored plates that attached over my pants for additional physical and magical defense. Someone had made grieves for my calves out of a dull golden metal, and another made set of cuisses for my thighs. They were jet black, possibly made from the same metal Tony had been so interested in when I first showed the council one of the pallets.

"Heavyweight Grieves. Rare. Made of a rare metal that elevates the creation far above the grade the crafter could normally achieve, these grieves allow the wearer to alter their weight real-time. Go light for extra-long jumps or faster running, or go heavy to unleash crushing stomps and weight-powered swings that magnify force up to 400%."

"Shadow Cuisses. Uncommon. Incredibly rare, voidmetal armor is much sought after across the multiverse. Even though most crafting guilds would execute the bumbling fool who created these for wasting potential, even a blind hog can find an acorn in the woods once in a while. Adds extreme defense for the legs by absorbing force and nullifying attacks. Increase stealth by 15%."

"Note: Synergy unlocked with your Treads of the Luscaan Explorer boots. Any force absorbed by Shadow Cuisses will be added to that kinetic force charge."

"These are both amazing," I exclaimed as I tossed them into my inventory, then willed them to appear over my Phantomstep Breeches. They popped right into place and I tried walking around, bending, crouching, then sitting again to test them out. They fit perfectly and impeded movement far less than I had feared.

The dull gold over my calves and black over my thighs actually complemented each other well and seamlessly blended across my knees. The crafters must have collaborated.

"I'll be happy to share your feedback," Crystal said with a happy smile.

The next item was a helmet made out of a beautiful rose-colored metal, fashioned to give the impression of a motorcycle helmet with flowing lines. It promised excellent defense, and the snap-down visor included an enchantment to improve night vision. With my goggles and ethereal Embersteel battle helm, I didn't need another helmet, but it was beautiful.

I also received a couple items that seemed tailor-made for Tomas and Jane instead of crafted for me. Tomas would get the magical multi-tool that morphed into different shapes, as needed. Jane would be thrilled with the simple necklace that boosted mental focus while reducing mana cost for any psychic spells.

The final 3 items were all made for Switchblade. One was a glass jar filled with a clear liquid. Not water, but a magical paint that would help Switchblade blend into background colors for better camouflage. Another was a pair of armored panels for the rear farings with concealed spikes that would spring out when struck. The last item was the best of all.

"Hover Bike Booster Pack. Uncommon. Built from a mixture of zombie rifle power cores and a lot of engineering know-how, these miniature rocket boosters can launch one hover bike up to 500 feet into the air. Recharge period: 1 hour."

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"I honestly don't know what to say," I told the smiling group when I finished my initial survey of the items.

"They are barely a token compared to what you shared with everyone," Crystal said.

"I'm still floored. I had no idea people were producing such advanced items."

"Most of the time, they're still not," Paul admitted. "Without the high-quality metals and materials you shared, they'd be months away from anything approaching the quality you saw here, even on the most optimistic timeframe."

Crystal added, "From what folks have gathered, more experienced crafters should have been able to make epic or even legendary items from that metal. They learned so much and gained many levels just by working on those projects. I'm glad you appreciate the gear, but they gained far more than you from the experience."

"Then I'm happy to accept their gifts."

Tony said, "Christmas isn't over. You gave me more metals than anyone else, and I've built something in return as a token of my appreciation. Like Crystal said, I too benefited from the crafting experience."

With a flourish, Tony produced an armored jacket on an actual armor stand. For a moment, all I could do was stare. Crystal whistled appreciatively and Burns laughed. "So this is what you've been spending your nights on."

"It's kind of consumed every waking moment I could spare," Tony agreed with obvious pride. "I hadn't expected to produce anything so, ah, involved, but the journey was amazing."

How he'd found time to work on anything besides his own already-famous Iron-man-esque power suite, I couldn't imagine, but wow. The armored jacket was made out of several types of metal, worked into panels that locked into a core framework that was made out of gold, or something that looked a lot like it. The metals ranged from blue to green to black, with some yellow and orange wrapping the sides and along the forearms.

All together, it formed a truly epic design as if the suit contained a crashing wave, reflecting the setting sun. The metal wasn't shiny, though, but more a matte finish that added a gritty, battle-ready look instead of a polished, showpiece feel. The inside was lined with soft, black leather. Simply put, it was the most epic set of armor I'd ever seen. Identify kicked in and shed more light on it.

"Colossus Mantle. Rare. Crafted by a brilliant mind with a rare class and a hunger for perfection, this armored jacket melds the powers of 6 of the most perfect metals for defense available on Arasha. Built with the express purpose of empowering Earth's mightiest warrior to plunge into battle against the strongest monsters, this Mantle provides extreme defense against all types of physical attacks and excellent defense against elemental and magical attacks. Includes self-repair and Adaptive Defense."

"Adaptive Defense. This rare ability, the product of melding 4 extremely rare metals into one suit, allows this armor to adapt to repeated strikes from the same enemy, improving defense for each subsequent blow."

Tony tried to watch my undisguised wonder with a nonchalant air, but his own smile kept growing. "The best reward for a crafter is when their work is appreciated."

"It is!" I laughed and grabbed his hand, shaking vigorously. Tony had been a major pain in my neck down on stage 1, we'd grown to respect each other on stage 2, but now I was nearly ready to jump into the Tony appreciation club with both feet.

I picked up the armor to examine the metal plates more closely. The workmanship was exquisite, and the solid weight bolstered my confidence when I thought about going after the stage bosses. I loved my Crash Test Dummy jacket, but it often got so shredded, an upgrade was probably long overdue. I'd still keep my old jacket around, but I didn't hesitate to will the change.

The Colossus Mantle settled around my torso and arms with tailor-made perfection. Earth crafter-made items lacked system-generated items' abilities to auto-resize, but Earth crafters seemed to inherently understand how to size things better than any tailor on Earth ever could. Moving was effortless, the armored jacket flowing with me without impingement.

"You look totally epic," Crystal said with an appreciative smile. I couldn't wait to show it to Ruby, and the others.

Despite me wanting to test out my armor's defenses right away, we got back to discussing how to beat the stage. I shared the little I knew, along with my suspicions that we'd find the mermaid bosses in a cavern we might be able to reach through tunnels from the canals.

"Most of us have scrolls of water breathing, but I'm not sure I can get a team to explore underground tunnels and fight through whatever we encounter down there without losing a lot of people," Burns said with a grimace.

"Don't worry about that. There's not enough intel yet, but I plan to explore what I can first thing in the morning. With any luck, I'll find the mermaid lair and hit it with my team. You can focus on the clockwork insects with your forces."

"Sure, as soon as we can find them," Burns chuckled.

I directly transferred to him the Clockwork Navigator Hummingbird to ensure it didn't fly away before he was ready. Burns studied the description and his eyes lit up.

"Will this thing lead us back to their lair?"

"That's what I'm hoping. I suspect it's a single-use item, so haven't tried it."

"It's worth a shot." Burns turned to Tony. "Let's make it a full cohort, scouts, elites, and all."

"I like it, but we'd be leaving the town basically undefended."

"If we don't take any risks, we'll lose," Burns responded.

"Let's make the plan. If we get the extra town defensive arrays in place by morning, we'll take everyone. If not, I'll have to leave a force behind."

Burns didn't like it. Honestly, neither did I, but I understood his point. If we all sallied on our missions and another big horde got around us and hit the town while we were away, it'd be a slaughter.

I slid a tier-8 mana crystal across the table to Paul. The softly-glowing blue mana crystal looked no different than a basic tier-0 crystal, but was somehow worth 100 million times as much. The numbers were simply mind-boggling. When I focused on it, I could sense a denser concentration of mana, but not that magnitude of a difference.

I chose to think of it like a US $100 bill. Same shape, size, and color as a $1 bill, with only a different face and a few design alterations, but was worth so much more.

"Use this for the defenses if you have to."

He picked it up and gasped. "Tier 8!"

"And you're just tossing it over like nothing?" Crystal exclaimed.

"I have another one. If you don't need to use it, I want it back. And I will want change if you don't have to spend it all."

Paul smiled and the crystal disappeared. A Death By Chocolate cake, topped in fresh raspberries, appeared on the table in front of him. He slid it over, despite the longing looks from the other councilors. "You can trust me, Lucas."

Honestly, even if I lost that mana crystal, the cake made it almost a good trade. Not really, but the cake probably wouldn't make me explode if I ate it.

I could probably manage a tier-2 or tier-3 mana crystal. Maybe even a tier-4 if I was desperate, but even that would be tempting an explosive detonation even I'd probably not recover from.