Chapter 1290 – Better Best Boots = Confusing Message

Before heading to Venus, Jake just had a little pit-stop at Arnold’s place. Not to actually get anything, but to receive a little head-start for his journey to the other planet.

Making use of his experience gained during the Prima Guardian event and the teleporter he’d made back then, Arnold had constructed what was effectively a slingshot that could teleport someone in a chosen direction for a pretty far distance. Granted, its accuracy was pretty shit, and its range was also more limited than Arnold would have liked, but the scientist didn’t seem bothered as the project was still in its alpha-development stage.

Which also meant that, yes, Jake was an alpha tester. Arnold had tried to teleport weaker living creatures using it before, but the space magic, unfortunately, required consent to be used on someone, and the scientist had found no trusted sapiens who volunteered. He had wanted Sandy to help, but unfortunately, the space worm had been missing in action for a good while.

Jake did reconsider his participation when he saw the device the scientist had constructed.

“That looks like one of those test chambers that either result in the person within turning into a superhero or they just fucking die,” Jake muttered as he stared at the large metal sphere with a completely glossy surface.

“It shouldn’t have enough power to slay you,” Arnold dismissed his doubts as he started charging it up. “Fully charging will take approximately ten minutes. I’ll also make some last-minute corrections and optimizations.”

“See, that doesn’t inspire me with confidence,” Jake sighed, pretty sure part of the reason Arnold wanted him to visit Venus was to also test out this thing.

“Also, considering I’m in the midst of modifying the Voidblade Katar, am I right to assume you are currently in need of a temporary melee weapon?” Arnold entirely skirted around Jake’s concerns. “If so, use this. A test model that should be perfectly usable and prove more than durable enough.”

The scientist tossed Jake a box that he quickly opened, finding a katar that looked practically identical to his old Voidblade Katar. However, upon using Identify, he saw it was “only” epic rarity and seemed pretty lacking compared to what he was used to. It did look durable, though, so Jake nodded and took it, knowing he would only use it for this brief trip. Who knows… maybe he could even do a bit of testing himself without the fear of losing a good weapon.

“Thanks, I’ll make use of it, though I won’t promise you’ll get it back,” Jake said with a cheeky smile. “Mayhap I do a little testing myself, which may prove destructive.”

Arnold looked at Jake. “In that case, here.”

Unceremoniously, the scientist summoned a small stack of boxes identical to the one containing the katar. Jake stared for a moment, doubting he was seeing things right. He was.

The madman had apparently made fourteen more epic rarity katars, all of them for B-grades. They varied slightly in design, the metals used, and other minor details, but they were all pretty damn usable and would serve Jake well.

“I won’t say no to that,” Jake smiled as he put them all away. He also decided not to bother the scientist anymore, so he could focus on making sure the teleporter didn’t accidentally take Jake in the wrong direction.

Seeing as he had some time on his hands and was about to do a bit of traveling, what time was better than now to take a look at his current footwear?

Having made his decision to do so, Jake entered a side room for some privacy and set up a stable arcane barrier so he wouldn’t be recorded. When it came to dealing with these boots, he didn’t want to take any risks and was fully aware that something weird might happen.

Once settled, Jake took out the Upgrade Token before taking off his boots. He felt pretty naked without them on, probably because the only times he didn’t have them on tended to be when he was actually naked. They were just so snug he never wanted to take them off if he could avoid it.

With the token in hand, Jake focused on the item. He knew how these items tended to work, and consciously, he made his desire clear. Jake wanted to do away with any stats given by the boots, as he no longer needed them courtesy of Primal Spirit of Man, and instead have them provide only other effects. As for what other effects he wanted?

That was a bit trickier, so Jake didn’t even try to direct that part. Truthfully, he wasn’t even confident he could. These Upgrade Tokens awakened existing Records within items, meaning they tended to be used on passed-down artifacts and whatnot, allowing them to return to their prime or at least close to it. Many crafted items also had the potential to be better due to the materials used and the smith’s lack of talent, allowing them to work there, too. Then there were system-granted items from dungeons. These could almost always be upgraded.

Items like his Boots of the Wandering Sage were not common at all, so there wasn’t much precedent on what best practice was. Even if there were… this was an item related to the First Sage. He was the living antithesis to the very concept of normality, so any experience of those who came before him was likely useless.

Hence, Jake only used the token with a desire for what it should not do. As for the rest, he was sure that the Records of the First Sage would gladly guide them in a direction he would find more than satisfactory.

As expected, the token reacted near-instantly and did its thing. It started shining and slowly dissolved into streams of energy that entered the boots, at which point it just seemed to disappear into nothingness.

His boots had absolutely no reaction at all as they sat there on the floor, looking old and worn down as usual. Jake couldn’t even tell their aura had changed at all. However, he knew it was working through his Soulbound connection with them.

The entire infusion process was swift and painless, taking only ten or so seconds before the token was entirely gone, and the boots had absorbed every shred of energy and Records. To an outside observer, it probably looked like Jake had just wasted his token, as usually the infused item would have some level of visual change to represent the improvement, something his boots markedly did not.

Jake wasn’t worried, though… at least not at first. However, upon using Identify and noticing nothing had changed in the first part of the description, Jake did get a little concerned, but fortunately, he hadn’t been double-scammed.

[Boots of the Wandering Sage (Mythical)] – Boots once offered to an alchemist before setting out on a journey to experience the world outside at the behest of his master. With time, this wanderer became recognized as a Sage, the same as his master, who once wandered in them, too. This has left a deep mark on this item, allowing it to transcend many ranks despite being made of nothing but simple leather. Its Records continue to awaken, resonating with their wearer and adapting to his Path as they remember where he has wandered. Including the journey to the Gate of Enlightenment. Enchantments: Reduces energy expenditure from all movement-related skills while also increasing their effectiveness by a substantial amount. Increases sensitivity towards earthbound plants and natural treasures. While wearing the Boots of the Wandering Sage, never let difficult terrain impede you, as you shall always find a solid foothold. Increases sensitivity towards the concept of space.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Requirements: Soulbound

Most of the flavor text and abilities of the boots had remained exactly the same, making the changes seem minor on the surface; however, they were most decidedly not. The new addition to the description already made Jake raise an eyebrow.

“Its Records continue to awaken, resonating with their wearer and adapting to his Path as they remember where he has wandered. Including the journey to the Gate of Enlightenment.”

This pretty much said that his boots had been empowered by the Gate of Enlightenment somehow, and when Jake continued down to the enchantments section, he saw that while all the stats were gone, a new sentence had been added at the very end:

“Increases sensitivity towards the concept of space.”

Jake didn’t even know this could be a thing on an item. It didn’t seem like it should be a thing. In either case, it was evident that this effect had taken a lot of the Records “budget” of the item during this upgrade, having even absorbed all the stats the item would give in the process.

To be clear, the other effects that improved his ability to sense earthbound treasures and improve his movement skills had also been upgraded. Granted, those upgrades were more to bring the item up to snuff with his new B-grade status.

He sat in thought for a moment before doing what was perhaps the most important thing. Inspecting the boots closely, he looked where the First Sage had left a message the last time he had upgraded the item. Then, it had hinted that Jake could meet him when he had five charges of Path of the Heretic-Chosen, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to that text.

Checking, he saw that it had indeed changed, and with a narrowed gaze, he read the new words etched there.

May we next meet when twin worlds breathe.