As they drove along the road, Lushfort came into view once again.
The sight was familiar, considering they had driven away from it only two days ago.
And yet, somehow, it felt strange.
When Aiden explained the plan to Selene after she returned, he had partially expected her to resist the idea. Instead, in a strange way, she seemed agreeable to it.
Though that might have had something to do with the fact that Aiden said he could look through his grandfather's old alchemy things and maybe find one of the tools they needed to make the cure for her condition.
Even still, as they drove, Jax sat beside him in the vehicle, looking down at their map.
The plan was simple.
They would travel to Lushfort, which they knew had a teleport gate.
From there, they would use the gate to Clayland, which sat on the other side of the mountains from Hopestone.
Then they would cross the mountains by going through the town at the top, Haremont.
In total, getting there and back to where they had turned around would take around twelve days.
Another seventeen would be needed to reach the tournament.
That left them with one extra day to spare.
One.
Aiden was trying not to think too hard about the fact that their margin of error was now roughly the same width as a very nervous piece of string.
As they arrived at the gates, they pulled in and began making their way down the road.
This time, they did not head toward the normal teleport gate.
Instead, they went toward the one that allowed vehicles as well.
For a much higher fee.
A fee Aiden had volunteered to pay, since the detour had been his suggestion and idea.
Yet even as the others hopped off to check out some shops they had planned to visit before Victor's double-quest-day nonsense, Aiden was still surprised by the cost.
"So wait," Aiden said, staring at the shorter human man behind the counter, "it costs two thousand gold for the vehicle alone, and an additional three hundred per passenger?"
It must have been the third time he had asked.
The man behind the counter rolled his eyes.
"Yes. It's not cheap, but it gets you there fast. Now do you or do you not want to use our service, sir?"
Aiden could practically hear Will mumbling calculations in his head.
With a dejected sigh, Aiden asked, "Do pets count as passengers?"
The man gave him a bored look.
"Yes. Doesn't matter the size unless it's bigger than a vehicle."
Aiden slammed down the four thousand four hundred gold they needed to spend.
He took his ticket angrily and stomped back to the vehicle.
When he stepped inside, Jax was the only one waiting for him.
The wolf looked down at Aiden's significantly smaller coin pouch.
"Looks like someone is regretting this."
Aiden shot him a look, placed the ticket on the window, and said, "We have a few hours before we leave. Anywhere in particular you want to go?"
Jax took a moment to think.
Then he looked back at Aiden.
"I have a spot in mind. Follow me."
Jax led him out of the teleportation gate terminal and down the road.
They passed Victor and Little Fox, who were talking with Liora as Liora showed off a fancy new bracelet she had purchased.
Jax led him right past them, turned a corner, and stopped in front of a fancy blacksmith's shop.
"Uh, Jax," Aiden said, giving the building a wary look, "this place is kind of expensive, and I am spending basically half of what the duke gave me on this trip alone. Not to mention fuel costs."
He gave Jax an apologetic look.
Jax rolled his eyes.
Then he reached into his bag and pulled out two things.
The first was the receipt the guild had given them after turning in the remains of the crab, marking the parts as theirs to access from the guild vaults if they wanted the materials.
The second was the recommendation letter Duke Therindor had given them.
Jax set them down so his mouth was no longer full.
"We have several hundred pounds of D-rank monster parts that are fully intact, practically doubling the price," Jax said. "Plus, we have the duke's recommendation letter."
He looked at Aiden.
"We're gonna use it to make you some armor to help keep your new toy in check."
Aiden crossed his arms, unconsciously feeling the Revolution Core beneath his shirt.
"It worked just fine when fighting the crab," Aiden said. "I was actually really effective with it."
"Yeah," Jax said. "You also set yourself on fire and had to drink a risky combined potion so you didn't burn to death."
Aiden opened his mouth.
Jax kept going.
"Not to mention the complete paralysis after you vented a bunch of steam after the fight. You need something to help with that, or it's gonna get you hurt in a way a potion can't recover."
Aiden wanted to argue.
Unfortunately, Jax had already made his way inside.
So Aiden quickly followed.
Inside, several ornate and very expensive-looking products lined the walls.
Jax moved confidently to the counter, where a lightblood with black-haired beast ears sat reading a magazine.
The man glanced at them before saying in a haphazard tone, "Prices here start at over ten thousand, so porcelain adventurers will find better prices for gear down the road."
"We have the money," Jax said. "And better yet, we're making a custom order because my friend here has a new toy he needs help keeping in check."
The man put down his magazine and made his way around the counter.
Aiden obligingly pulled down his shirt collar, showing the Revolution Core and the small burn that still had not healed.
The man looked it over for a moment.
Then his eyes widened in surprise.
"Where the hell did you get your hands on a Revolution Core?"
Aiden blinked.
"You know about it?"
The man nodded as he began taking measurements.
"Hell of a device," he said. "It's basically a small motor used by mecha, designed to circulate aether at absurd speeds."
He measured around Aiden's chest.
"Turns out, however, the inventor had a natural aether resistance that allowed him to use it. When others got them installed, it killed them."
Aiden went very still.
"So they were mostly scrapped," the smith continued, "and the plans were thrown away due to both the time it takes to build up enough tolerance and the pain they caused in use."
Jax gave Aiden a scowling look.
A look that very clearly asked, And putting this thing in your chest seemed like a good idea why?
Aiden pretended not to see it.
The man finished his measurements and walked back to the front counter.
He seemed to check something over before turning back to Jax.
"What payment will you be using, and how fast do you need it?"
"I have three hundred pounds of D-rank Cobalt Crab material," Jax said, sliding over the receipt. "And a recommendation letter from Duke Therindor."
Then he added, "We need it done in a few hours."
The man looked at what Jax had given him and scratched his chin.
"The materials would pay for D-rank armor," he said. "The recommendation means I should make it C-rank."
His gaze sharpened.
"But a few hours is a tight time crunch."
Without blinking, Jax reached into his bag and pulled out fifteen thousand gold, set into three bags of five thousand each.
"Is it really so much of a time crunch if we're tipping?"
The man smiled.
He took the letter, the crab receipt, and the bags of gold.
"Not at all," he said. "Do you mind sticking around so we can fit the armor just right?"
Jax nodded.
Aiden, however, stared at him, completely flabbergasted as to why Jax, of all people, had suddenly spent fifteen thousand gold just like that.
"My gods," Aiden said, shaking his head as he put his hands on his hips. "This must be how you're always broke."
"Oh, I see," Jax said, batting his eyes like some weeping damsel in an opera. "Mocking me after I spend so much to buy you fancy armor. Truly, the camaraderie adventuring builds."
Aiden rolled his eyes.
Jax chuckled and walked over.
"Consider it a thank-you," Jax said.
His voice softened.
"I don't know what you said to Little Fox, but she actually looks at me now without being scared."
He gave Aiden a small, genuine smile.
"Seriously. It means a lot."
Aiden wanted to say something else.
Before he could, an arm grabbed him.
The smith began dragging him toward the back.
"Come on," the smith said. "For the next four hours, you're my mannequin."
"Damn," Will said inside Aiden's mind. "Are we sure this armor is worth it?"
Aiden sighed as he was dragged away.
Most unhelpful.