The girls returned after ten minutes, during which Lev was almost vibrating. He had deliberately ignored all things crafting so far as to not get sidetracked in his quest to reach Master, but this opportunity was too good to pass up.

  They had to slow down as the crowds grew dense near the emporium. No doubt everyone wanted to see those items, which was only a little annoying. Lev calmed his excited mind and fell in line with everyone else.

  Half an hour later, Lev and company reached the gates of the exhibition building. Unlike what he was expecting, Lev was met with porcelain floor and matching ivory lights, painting the interior in magnificent hues.

  "I'll be damned," Lisa breathed out. "Didn't think it would be this big."

  The guards at the large doors had made sure that no more than fifty people were inside the large building at once, which meant that they could comfortably browse all the collection in the allotted hour.

  With a silent agreement, they all instantly made their way to the epic items.

  At the end of the large hall was a simple yet tallglass case. No signs of enchantments or any other protections were visible or detectable, which was genuinely terrifying for Lev. The sheer expertise required to manage that was bound to be mind-boggling.

  Five items were neatly arranged on cushions, arrayed in an obvious heirachy based on their height.

  Tuning out the rest of the world, Lev focused his all on the lowest item, saving the best for the last.

  Identify was cast, which returned… nothing. The item was apparently enchanted to ward off such skills. It would be irksome if the skill wasn't unnecessary to begin with. Lev just wanted to know if it had some grand description.

  Finding out about the qualities of the magnificent pair of shortswords was trivial. The enchantments practically jumped out to him, announcing their purpose in all their sublime and terrifying grace.

  Both of the swords were enchanted to act as a single unit, meaning the enchantments were shared throughout their blades. The first and most obvious was the channeling of wind mana, one that not only formed an extremely sharp blade along the edges, but also aided with any and all wind spells.

  The second enchantment that stood out was the utter lethality of the metal swords. Just by looking at their edges, Lev's mind couldn't help but conjure the image of the swords passing through his armor as if it didn't exist. Whoever had made the blades had outdone themselves.

  Lastly, the third noticeable enchantment was focused on both weapon durability and speed. Wind mana not only made them faster, it also made them tougher. How that was possible, Lev had no idea. His own glaive was a masterpiece like that, too.

  This was the fifth item… Lev took a deep, shuddering breath, and moved on to the item placed on the other corner, slightly above the short swords.

  On the fourth spot was a tower shield. It was made of some metal entirely white in color, or perhaps that wasn't even metal. Identify didn't return anything for it either.

  The first enchantment that stood out was something Lev had never seen before. It was an incredibly potent durability enchantment, but what truly made it stand out was that it operated on stamina.

  As far as Lev knew, stamina was only usable for skills granted by The System. Yet this crafter had managed to do exactly that. It was an admirable piece of equipment, even if all the enchantments were cloaked enough to not see anything beyond the glimpse of their purpose.

  There were only two enchantments, with the second being an incredibly intricate weight adjustment. The shield could be configured to weigh more than a large boulder instantly, which instantly raised the value of the previous enchantment severalfold too. Combined, the enchantments turned the shield into a perfect weapon, as well. It was already lethal before, but they turned it into something truly insidious.

  For the third, Lev beheld a gauntlet. His excitement spiked when he realized the item was not meant for combat, but for crafting.

  Seven gems were embedded on the gauntlet, reminding him of an item from Earth. Each shone with a different type of mana, making Lev squint when he couldn't identify them under the glass case. Identify actually revealed something.

  [

  Shaper of Destiny - Epic - Arcane:

  Enchantments: Minor Shadow Control, Minor Light Control, Lightning Control, Pure Mana Control, Greater Fire Manipulation, Greater Water Manipulation, Arcane Focus.

  ]

  Light and Shadow mana… with an arcane focus…. on a fucking item!? Lev blinked slowly, utterly gobsmacked. Weren't those two supposed to be some super high level mana types?

  Arcane focus was a well known passive skill found in arcane classes. For someone to convert that in an enchantment and put it on such a potent item was… amazing. Lev was a fan. Furthermore, the Arcane modifier was also a mark of excellence. It only appeared for items that focused on magical abilities and possessed a decent level of strength for their rarity.

  Several minutes of ogling later, he moved on to the second last item. Due to its nature, the item was actually displayed on an armor stand, with the base slightly below ground to keep the height low enough for it to only be at second place.

  The powered armor looked straight out of a sci-fi movie. Lev had only seen clips, yet the bulky but sleek and tall black armor fit the criteria perfectly. Veins of white streaked through its exterior, and he could tell they existed as a design. A decoration that would be on full display once the suit was powered.

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  As for the enchantments, Lev had to take a steadying breath before diving into them. He had to concisouly close his hanging jaw when the first of them registered.

  Fire enhancement it was called, and the enchantment eclipsed his own by several orders of magnitudes. Not only was it meant to be explosive in every possible way, it was also chained to two different enchantments.

  Said enchantments were shock absorption and thermal charge. The use of the latter was obvious due to the very large hand cannon built into the left arm, with the barrel ending in the middle of the palm. Taking hits only served to make the wearer stronger with the combination, converting kinetic energy into fire mana.

  Half a dozen smaller enchantments were also present, but they were all supportive in nature, meant to empower the three large ones.

  Frankly, Lev was thoroughly engrossed in just viewing the item. It was utterly astonishing to imagine that there was an item that stood above even the powered armor.

  Finally, he tore his gaze away and gazed at the last item. It was majestic.

  Matte black with light blue patterns faithfully depicted both the lightning it was meant to be powered by and the inspiration for its creation. It was an actual sniper, yet the form was far different from the weapons he remembered from his past life.

  Firstly, the weapon was bulky enough for a Classer to struggle with just picking it up. It was more a railgun and less a sniper, but still served the purpose more than adequately. The long, round barrel made sure of that.

  Instead of a trigger, it had a much more intricate mechanism to bind it to one's shoulder and take aim. Since the enchantment could be powered mentally from a long range, a large, portable stand was also visible behind the weapon.

  [Nemesis' Gaze - Epic - Arcane]

  Even the name references Sherron's title, Lev chuckled, still in disbelief. Whatever he was expecting from the Epic item, the firearm easily topped it. The cherry on top was the small, almost inconspicuous note under the stand atop which it rested.

  'Intended Level Range: 400 - 600.'

  A sniper not just for second-threshold monsters but also early third-threshold ones… Wow.

  For nearly ten minutes, everyone besides him just stood there. They made space for others after a bit, yet the ogling continued all the same. The sniper was… intense. Not only were its enchantments blazing like a sun as opposed to the forest fires of the other equipment, but the sheer lethality of the item was also unfathomable.

  Just when would he be able to craft something like that? Lev couldn't wait to evolve.

  "Hunters, your hour is up," the voice of a guard reached them. Time had passed in a blink, and they didn't try to create any trouble and left instantly.

  "Wooh," Elias breathed out. "Those swords man. If only they weren't designed for hybrid warriors."

  "Yeah," Viktor absent-mindedly agreed. "Same for that armor."

  Lev remained quiet as everyone voiced their woes one after another. To begin with, the items weren't for sale, so getting their hands on epic items remained a dream still.

  It also told Lev about just how valuable the blocking stone given to him by Alec was. Rare items were not cheap.

  "Do you think you could've utilized the armor?" Lev asked Isabella.

  She didn't reply instantly and fell in thought. "Not as I am right now. If I continue on the same path and evolve, then I will be a full mage. But at the same time, transitioning into a warrior hybrid is not ideal, so no. I can't."

  "I see," Lev simply replied.

  "What about you?"

  "Yeah, I can," he replied after a little bit of thought. "My Barrier Armor works much the same, and fire mana is not an issue. Using that armor before Master however, is impossible."

  "Naturally," Isabella agreed. She did give him a sidelong glance, though. Lev realized he might've made a mistake by bringing up something so obvious.

  "Hey, are there any other exhibitions currently taking place?" Nina addressed all of them. "Maybe we can find more epic items."

  So started the hunt for all publicly displayed epic equipment. It was the highest known rarity, something Lev doubted was actually the peak.

  What would the next rarity even be, I wonder. Legendary? Mythical? Or something more mundane like Fabulous?

  There were no answers, however. Lev would have to craft something of that caliber on his own, which was a goal more than worthy of pursuing.

  Wandering for nearly half an hour led them to the heart of the merchants district. Only the wealthiest of organizations were present there, and their only lead to more epic items unsurprisingly pointed in that direction.

  "Do we wanna go in?" Lev asked, just to make sure.

  "Yeah?" Isabella gave him an odd look. "Something wrong?"

  Lev gave her a strained smile. "Well, we are all just waltzing in there with such casual clothing. Everyone else either looks extremely wealthy or prepared for war."

  He got laughed at his face. "And I am Isabella Bladeheart, the heir apparent of my family. Let me see who dares disrespect us."

  Girl, you really are missing out by not becoming close friends with Sherron, Lev chuckled in his mind. Sherron had said almost the exact same words to him before.

  "Let's go then," Nina didn't give them a chance to dawdle. Ten minutes of asking around later, where instead of getting dirty looks and haughty refusals, every clerk and attendant scrambled to give them answers.

  Just the perks of accompanying an almost-princess.

  Another few minutes of that entertaining treatment later, Lev found himself in the Celestial Complex. Normally, he would be critical of such an ostentatious name, but entering their main branch washed away all those notions.

  So much glass was used in the construction of the superstore that it begged the question of where it all came from. White marble matched it all, painting a vista that would be more fitting in Modern Earth than Monarch.

  "Greetings hunters," someone spoke from behind them, spooking them all except Lev. He had seen a dark blur tiptoe from the corner of his eyes.

  "Hey," Lev casually greeted back whereas everyone else had their weapons drawn. He gave them all a smug grin.

  "This is not funny, Sir Kaiser," Isabella muttered and stored all the various armors and rings back in her storage artifact.

  "I have to have my fun someway," the man named Kaiser grinned back. He was an average man with black hair and fair skin color. "And this also lets me introduce myself. I am a senior manager of celestial complex, and have been a worker for four hundred years."

  Isabella stepped forward and took the lead before anyone could open their mouths. "While I would introduce my friends here, I'm sure they don't require one. What brings you here, Sir Kaiser?"

  "My, so direct," Kaiser put a hand over his heart. "I am simply here to make sure you find what you need today."

  New objective: Do not let this guy within two meters of me.

  "Is that so?" Isabella replied, just as skeptical as Lev. "Will you show us where the epic items are currently put on view?"

  "Of course," Kaiser turned around and started marching. It tickled Lev the wrong way with how the man expected them all to follow. They still did without any grumbling, but Isabella's expression had become scarily neutral. Lev was certain there was going to be some noble drama after this.

  They were led up the stairs, completely ignoring the elevators they could've taken for convenience, and eventually reached the fourth floor.

  Immediately, the crowd became denser. Many people were flitting about, scanning the myriad of items on display with either polite disinterest or mild curiosity. It was frankly unnerving, and Lev was regretting coming here.

  What exactly these people were trying to prove with such fake-ass masks, he didn't know.

  "There are a total of fifteen epic items currently given to us for the purpose of advertisement. Please, enjoy yourselves."

  And just like that, their guide was about to leave after whatever weird powerplay had just transpired. Just before the man could vanish, Lev identified Kaiser.

  [Mage - ???]

  At least he's not all words, Lev thought and put the manager out of his mind. People were always looking for reasons to prove themselves superior. It would do no benefits to dwell on such behavior when no harm was done.

  That was only true for now, though. Once he evolved and actually stepped into the field of crafting, he too would see who dared to disrespect him.