I was in no hurry to go back to Earth. First, because it was Earth, and sed, I ostponing Mahya’s annoyance about the indiscretion in the Archive. And I had the perfect excuse—my Ste was too full, and I wao get to level ten in my Mert css.

  I took out all the dishes I got from lord Damarion’s spire and re-examihem. The ptes sisted of a substahat wasn’t a or por but resembled both. It was as breakable. I fed some chipped ptes to the core and took care of the rest. Over the four weeks, I painstakingly inscribed the durability rune for dishes on every piece. There was also a lot of gssware that didn’t look worse than the gssware from Earth. I inscribed the durability rune on all of them and all the gssware I had from Earth. All told, this projee seven weeks, and we reached the summer.

  After a week in the meadow, Rue came home with a friend. It was an hoo-god honey badger. It was twice as rge, and instead of bck with a white stripe, it was greenish-brown with a white stripe. Besides those differences, it looked the same. Again, it was another proof of my theory that all the animals started from the same in and developed differently in each world.

  “Help friend,” Rue announced, his deep telepathic voice eg in my mind as he nudged me with his enormous head, his tail wagging expetly.

  I gnced over at him, curiosity rising. “What’s the problem with your friend?” I asked, already suspeg what he might say.

  “Friend have bad leg,” Rue expined, his tone serious noerked forward as if expeg me to act immediately.

  I approached the badger carefully, expeg a bite or something, but he also looked at me expetly.

  “You unicate with him?” I asked Rue, raising my eyebrows in surprise.

  “Yes! Friend smart,” Rue responded eagerly, his enormous paws shifting on the ground as if proud of this aplishment.

  I diaghe badger and discovered that something had mangled his hind leg. He also had worms, a lot of worms. I cast Ahesia, took out my operating table, and fixed the leg. It was a lot of work. The badger had a crushed bone in his hihat healed crookedly, and he was missing a lot of flesh, tendons, and muscles. After w on him for three hours, the leg was fihe worms were an issue. Healing Touly made the worms more eid Purify or had no effect. I suspected only se would help, but I didn’t want our lovely, hidden meadow to be covered with badger diarrhea.

  After my treatment, the badger was hungry, but I had no idea what badgers eat. I gave him some vegetables, ae them with gusto. He dispyed the same enthusiasm when I fed him the cooked stew from the metal boxes I fiscated from the guards. That solved the issue.

  The following day, I told Rue, “Expin to your friend that the treatment is not do. We o fly away from here and plete the treatment.”

  He looked at the badger for a while, growling occasionally, and the badger growled, snarled, hissed, snorted, whined, and chittered. It was very iing to watch. Finally, Rue said, “Friend uand.”

  I carefully grabbed the badger, cast Ahesia again so he wouldn’t freak out in the air, and flew with him to the stream. Just in case I flew low. Unfortunately, when I cast Invisibility, I was invisible, but the badger wasn’t. I didn’t want stories to circute about a flying badger.

  Whe he stream, I eled the se spell into him. I didn’t know how much to el, so I stopped at 7,000. If it was enough for Rabban, it should be enough for a badger. I left him he stream and flew up. When he woke up, he rushed to the water, drank a lot, snarled a few times, and ran into the trees. I flew higher.

  After a few hours, he ran back to the stream, drank a lot, and y there panting. I nded and gave him a bowl full of the guards’ stew. He fi in record time and looked at me expetly, purring. I didn’t know that badgers could purr—live and learn. I fed him more, and he ran to the trees again. This sequence repeated four times, and he finished all the stew stock. The puy looked like skin and bones but was in high spirits—lig my hand and purring like an engine. I fed him some other odds and ends I had, especially cooking experiments that weren’t great but not bad enough to throw out. He kept eating aing and then y down and fell asleep. I cast on him a few times and flew him back to our meadow where Rue was waiting.

  From that day, I had two pets. When they left in the m to explore, I had to give Rue food for two. In the evening, the badger ate dinner and watched movies with us. He was smart and knew he got a good gig going. When I first diagnosed him, I discovered he was a ma; he had a small beast core in his head. At least now, Rue had a friend with whom he could spend all his days while I was busy.

  After I fiaking care of the gssware, I switched to the cookware. Some were in bad shape, so I fed them to the house. For the good stuff, I first eled Restore, looked in the book for everyday runes, and found a ruo prevent rusting. I engraved the rune on all the cookware, including some from Earth that didn’t look too alien. This project took awo weeks. By this point, I was out of ready food. Rue ate like ten, and his friend wasn’t far behind. I spent a week cooking using a lot of my ingredients from Earth. Rue grumbled about it, but the badger didn’t mind.

  After the cookware, I switched to the liowels, etc. The book of runes for cloth stayed with Mahya, and I didn’t feel like embr, anyway. Instead, I eled Restore, cast ohing, folded it nicely, and moved on to the furniture.

  Some of the furniture ended up in my core’s bottomless belly, but I restored the suitable pieces. In the rune book, I found runes for furniture:

  Rune of Preservation

  Effect: This rune preserves the furniture’s material, proteg it from wear and tear, aging, or damage from the elements. It also prevents dust and grime from settling, keeping the furniture .Application: Used on outdoor furniture, wooden ets, or antiques to maintain their appearand extend their lifespan without frequent repairs or ing.Rune eion

  Effect: This rune gradually repairs any damage the furniture sustains over time, from scratches to dents and even broken parts. The furniture slowly regees back to its inal state.Application: This product is ideal for heavily used or older furniture, like tables, chairs, or ets. It offers exceptional utility in homes with children or busy workshops where furniture frequently sustains damage.Rune of sing

  Effect: When activated, this rune repels dust, dirt, and stains, keeping the furniture and fresh with nur upkeep. It also ralizes odors, making the surrounding area pleasant.Application: It is perfect for upholstery, rugs, or dining furniture, ensuring they stay spotless even in messy enviros. It is ideal for homes, taverns, or busy workspaces.Initially, this specifie book didn’t impress me. But the more I used it, the more I appreciated it, and I sent a mental thank you to Lis. It took ahree weeks to restore and engrave all the furniture. The lo project was the tables and chairs from the floor below the ballroom. There were a lot of them—hundreds.

  I wao work on the kniacks, but after some sideration, I decided not to. They were specifid there was no reason to put myself in danger.

  The st thing I tackled was the books. It took me a long time to gh them one by ohere were children’s books, old leather-bound tomes, and tless volumes on topics I couldn’t imagine anyone ever needing. Still, I took the time to s each title. Various noble families had over fifty books dedicated to their genealogies, detailing intricate bloodlines, marriages, and alliances, most of which I had never heard of. Some volumes were so old that the pages threateo crumble at my touch. A rge se tained basic magical primers—books designed for children or novices expining the most fual spells and theories, the kind that barely touched the surface of real magic. There were also historical records, ats of treaties and wars long past, and several texts focused oiquette and courtly manners, perfect for someone needing a crash course on behaving in a noble society. A few dusty tomes even covered agricultural practices, as if a marquise would ever o plow a field.

  All those were useless to me. The only ones I kept were some books about various crafts and a few fi titles. The crafting books, though basic, had potential. There were many on wo, leatherw, aal f. Each was filled with detailed illustrations of tools and teiques. One book, Mastering the Fe: An Apprentice’s Guide, provided step-by-step instrus on f everything from horseshoes to swords. Another, Carving the World: A Beginner’s Manual on Woodcraft, described the art of shaping wood into furniture and ors. Some even delved into alchemical crafting with basic recipes. And some books about amulets and other means of prote. ouched on advanced Magitech or plex entments, but their tent offered a solid foundation—a stepping stoo more intricate creations that Mahya and Al might find helpful.

  The fi books were a wele escape. They spoke of legendary heroes, distant nds, and old myths, and their tales added some imagination to the otherwise dry colle.

  I pced all the “keep” books in my library and eled Restore into the “giveaway” books. Ohey were like new, I paid another visit to the orpha night and dropped the books off with them.

  At the bottom of the pile, I reached the three carriages I had fiscated from the thieves who had tried to steal Rue and the core. I fed the cage wagon and the mages’ wagon to the core. For the third one, I had other pns. I put it on the ded told the house, “Absorb this carriage aurn it without the seats, bigger and in a different color.”

  Well, it worked partially. I got it back without the seats, but it was still the same size and color.

  I got annoyed and pio the core. “Hey, I fed you a ton of wood aal. Take this carriage, and give it back bigger using that material.”

  The deck sucked in the carriage aur still the same.

  Annoying core.

  “You absorb the carriage,” I told it a about my cover differently.

  The carriage disappeared, and I experimented with the ste rings. It turned out that I still couldn’t have tws on the same hand, but could have one on each. That reminded me I hadn’t checked the tent of the rings I had collected, and there were a lot s. The rings from the safe were empty, but the others had some iing things. The rings from the mages, the lord’s wife, and his family, had money and some odds and ends. His ring was different:

  Large Void BandStores items in a total volume of twenty-one cubic Migur (28.56 cubic meters).

  The ring tained more chests of gold s, two chests of gems, the notebook and part I sold him with the ritual, and many papers signed by various noble families as subordio him. The house ate the papers, and the gold and gems went into my Ste.

  Whehing was ready, I filled Rue’s Ste to the brim with food, told him to guard the house, and flew to Crystalspire. On the way, I ged my gmain and my css baert. Not wanting to exit and leave through the woods every day and raise suspi, I found a small house to rent close to the bazaar.

  Since all my stuff was ented, I found a spot in the magical area, set up a table, and began selling. After a few hours, the Truth Mage approached me with an air of authority, his robes billowing lightly in the breeze.

  “Hello, esteemed mert,” he began, his voial. “You o swear you are not from Crystalspire and state your pce in.”

  I gnced up from my merdise, mildly irritated but keeping my tone even. “I swear I’m not from Crystalspire.”

  “Please swear to your pce in,” he insisted, his eyes narrowing slightly.

  “Why?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “As proof you’re not from Crystalspire,” he replied with a slight tilt of his head, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  I sighed internally. “I swear I’m from Abama.”

  His brows furrowed in fusion. “Where is that?”

  “Very far away from here,” I answered with a casual wave, “on another ti.”

  He seemed satisfied but then threw a curveball my way, his expression suddenly more serious. “You o swear that all your merdise is yours and not stolen.”

  I blihinking fast. Then it hit me. “I swear I ented all this merdise with my own hands.”

  His eyes widened, clearly not expeg that. “You’re an enter?” he asked, surprise g his words. “Why do you dispy the mert css?”

  I shrugged. “I’m selling, so it seemed more logical.”

  He gave me the look, but then shrugged and handed me a dot, clearly unimpressed. “This exempts you from tribute.”

  I smiled, pocketing the paper. “Much appreciated.”

  That’s how I spent all summer and a few weeks of autumn. The ented stuff opur, but not like the sungsses, so it took loo sell. Every evening, I flew home at top speed, cooked, and spent time with Rue and the badger. Finally, my red light started blinking when I had only some line. I packed up early, went “home,” cast invisibility, and flew to my actual home.

  Level up+3 wisdom, +3 perception, +2 luck, +3 free pointsProfession: Mert Level 10

  I allocated the free points to Vitality, and then opened my profile. Uhe mert css, I had a skill called Iory. Curious, I activated it. Immediately, a grid of windoeared before me, arranged in a five-by-five yout—five rows across and five ns down, each window representing a separate ste slot. At the bottom, there was a shape resembling a funnel, and below it arate grid with two rows, ten small windows each. Fourteen were with bels and the rest without: Big Mana Crystals, Medium Mana Crystals, Small Mana Crystals, Elite Gems, High-Value Gems, Mid-Tier Gems, Affordable Gems, Duron, Mithril, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Copper, Iron.

  For the wo days, I pyed with my new iory. I learned each window tain 74 items—the number was strange, but that was what it was. Additionally, I discovered I could pce items in a tainer, and they would t as one, as long as the tainer was simir. I could fill 74 cardboard boxes with stuff, and they didn’t o be the same size. The same went for wooden crates, backpacks, or coolers.

  I couldn’t trauff from my Ste directly into the Iory. I had to take it out and touch the window in which I wao store it. The money was different. Even if I touched the window to store s, it didn’t work. I o store them through the funnel, and they would appear in their respective windows.

  I uood what Lis meant about using it only for the money ter. Our Ste was much better. I didn’t feel what I had in the Iory like I felt the stuff in my Ste; I had to open it and look at it. Transferring all my funds to the iory took me a day, and the numbers pletely threw me. I also had new bels at the money windows.

  Big Mana Crystals (0)Medium Mana Crystals (0)Small Mana Crystals (482)Elite Gems (92)High-Value Gems (521)Mid-Tier Gems (108)Affordable Gems (96)Duron (0)Mithril (0)Gold (851,923)Silver (1,592)Nickel (39,000)Copper (604,500)Bronze (18,570)Iron (10,830)Zinc (52,000)Aluminum (65,000)Steel (11,460)Cupro-nickel (32,500)Mixed Metal (1,609,500)Oh, boy!

  I knew I was rich, but I was stinking crazy rich.

  Woohoo!

  I discovered that Elite Gems were the ented gems from the safe, and the rest were a mix of gems from Earth and the spire. The copper s were a mix of s from Earth, gaming s, and Shimoor and Lumis.

  I finally remembered to read the description of the skill.

  IoryActivating this skill opens a 5x5 grid of ste windows, each capable of holding 74 items. tainers t as oem.

  Every five Mert levels unlo additional row of ste.

  Crystals, gems, and s must be deposited through a special interface that ahem into dedicated slots for easy trag.

  I had no more excuses for the dey in Lumis. Rue and I said goodbye to the badger and flew to the Gate to Earth. I hoped Mahya and Al were close to pleting their pns. By my calcution, at least two weeks have passed oh.