The shops were in a different district outside of the city ter, which held the four important buildings: the Pad its Basements, the Bordello, the Coliseum, and the Arena. It was only a short five-minute walk to start seeing the first stores.

  Each sold different categories of wares. The first they entered, by ce, was a shop that sold neckces.

  "Natalie," Vaa said faintly. "Natalie, it boosts damage with daggers by fifty pert."

  "But only when your nipples are visible," the automaton shopkeeper said brightly. "And at least one person must be able to see them at the time of attack. For women only! An incredible effect, as expected of su illustrious Epic item."

  And ihe item for sale ily Malice's monster core had been of a simir rarity. To be fair, this neckce was absurdly expensive, one of the best items iire shop. There were no Mythicals for sale, the tier above Epid a rarity of item Natalie aeam had yet to find.

  "Natalie," Vaa said, sounding distraught. "Fifty pert. What kind of delver would I be if I didn't make that sacrifice?"

  "There's … probably better items out there." Her own words were a bit choked, since she was also shocked at the sheer bonus the neckce provided. Of course, the downside was major, at least from a propriety standpoint. And it required her to be visible to oher person at the time of the attack, which was a huge limitation for a [Rogue]. But still.

  "Situational," Vaa mumbled. "But fifty pert. Fifty!"

  "Your teammates would be appreciative, Miss," the automaton said brightly. "And not just for the damage boost!"

  Vaa turned an open-mouthed, red-faced look toward the metal woman.

  "They would surely enjoy seeing your naked chest exposed," the automaton crified.

  "I know what you meant!" Vaa squeaked in e. "Aren't you supposed to be—be a professional?" she sputtered. "You 't say things like that to your ts!"

  "I 't?" the automaton asked, blinking. "It's a pliment." She turo Natalie. "Wouldn't you wish to see her naked breasts?"

  "Uh," Natalie said.

  "You should ence her to buy it," the automaton tinued early.

  Vaa turned dagger-like eyes to Natalie, dario answer, or say anything at all.

  Of course, the internal answer was a resounding yes, she would like to see Vaa's breasts, and a lot more than that besides, but she had some sense in her head.

  "What other items do you have for sale?" Natalie asked loudly.

  The automaton, in their usual cheerful and clueless way—though not all automatons were like that, merely most of them—answered instantly, listing off the two other Epic items she had. They were equally as stunning as the first, and that brief introdu into their first Eros Shop roof enough why Acacia had insisted so fervently that the City was an unparalleled opportunity for delvers.

  Though, Natalie did aowledge it would take a signifit amount of time to earn enough tokens, much less Empowered oo buy one of the Epics. The prices were eye-watering.

  They left the neckce store some time ter, heads spinning.

  "I guess I could get used to having my tits out," Vaa said, somewhat numbly. "And everyone else would get used to them, right? It'd stop being sexual, in a way."

  Yeah, Natalie doubted she would ever get tired of seeing a hot girl's tits, but maybe she shouldn't say that.

  "There's gonher items," she said instead. "Some of them are normal." Not every incredible piece of loot had as bizarre of a drawback as that first Epic, though it had been stronger for it, certainly. "Do what makes you fortable," she said, voice firm. "Raw efficy isn't everything. Your feelings matter more than a bit more power."

  Vaa rubbed her forehead and didn't reply. Natalie wondered if she even agreed.

  They advanced into the store. This one sold cloth armor meant fes, which meant it was irrelevant to both Natalie and the rogue, who wore heavy and light armor respectively, but their curiosity was so piqued they perused the wares anyway. And besides, it might serve as a gift for Ana or Liz.

  They left that shop in a simir daze.

  "Natalie," the dark-haired rogue said. "Why did that robe cover everything except between her legs?"

  "It's the fashion these days," Natalie replied, her voice less faint than her partner, but still obviously incredulous. "And it's breathable."

  "Breathable," Vaa repeated. "I bet."

  Sihey had time to waste until the assig reset, they wahe shopping district, peeking into every store. Iingly, wares restocked: what they found today might not even be avaible when they finally earned enough Tokens. But it also wasn't refreshed daily or anything so frequent, so taking notes on what they wanted wasn't a waste of time either.

  Nothing ever rose above the rank of Epic, though regurly-spawned Epics were already of such a high rarity tier that a person might spend their life delving the third floor and never run into ohey were more on at higher levels, yes, but this was the third floor, and so Epics were unbelievably unon, undoubtedly the first that any of these people had seen.

  There were other Citygoers lingering around the various stores, and a versation with one of them revealed something important.

  "The Emporium?" Natalie asked curiously.

  "Yeah," Damien, the older boy, said. He was tall, well-built, and spectacurly on dispy: his armor was only slightly less revealing than Natalie's. He'd wasted no time running his eyes up and down Natalie's body, grinning good-naturedly and a bit zily at her, though when she'd cleared her throat and adjusted her metal top, he'd brought his eyes up to hers ahem there, the smile slipping—not in a rude manner, but simply reizing the i wasn't returned.

  Natalie got the feeling that propriety was, reasonably, lowered iy of Eros, and stealing obvious gnces of other Citygoers' bodies was far less frowned upon. Still, people showed basic respect, and Acacia's expnations of what happened with actal pillory-events firmed that. Flirting and holy fug robably a o among Citygoers, and Damien had been happy to check her out: but also quick to rein himself in when Natalie made it clear she wasn't ied. Which she respected. She didn't want to be ogled by men, only women, but such things couldn't practically be avoided in this pce, and it was their follow-up that mattered.

  "It's where the best of the best items are," he told her. "It's the big building at the end of the district. Keep walking that way," he poihe dire they'd already been headed. "And you'll see it. Problem is, you need a key to get in."

  "A key? How do you get one?"

  "There's no guaranteed way," Damien said, "but I heard Coliseum fights drop them pretty often." He shrugged. "Gotta do something that draws the City's attention, generally speaking." He grinned a toothy smile. "One of the girls pilloried herself up for three days straight, and an automaton walked up and gave her a key when she finally stumbled away. So there's some creative ways to get it dooo." He ughed. "Ah, now that was a. It's a shame Jennifer left, I miss her." He briefly lost himself in a memory.

  "Right," Natalie said, even her cheeks c at that whole expnation. "Thanks for letting us know."

  "No problem." He patted her shoulder as he left, whiatalie raised an eyebrow at, but didn't shrug the touch off. "Love your armor, by the way," he added. "Does wonders for your ass."

  "Thanks," she said dryly. Her eyes flicked down to his own. "Yours too." Her tone made it clear she wasn't flirting.

  Damien ughed, the. Again, she couldn't really bme anyone for being a flirt, sidering the envirohey'd found themselves in. He'd been at the City for a while, it sounded like. Social norms adjusted quickly, sidering these surroundings.

  "Well," Vaa said, eying the boy as he left. "All it takes is yourself up in a pillory for three straight days to get a key. I'm sure we'll find one in no time." Sarcasm dripped from her words.

  "Coliseum fights too," Natalie said. "And other ways. Just have to draw the City's attention. I'm sure we do that."

  Seeing how she was the Padin of Lust? Natalie doubted she wouldn't find herself the owner of such a key by act, e time.

  Though, hopefully soohan ter. She wao know what was in the Emporium, if even the basic shops sold Epics.