I invested one talent point into something I'd long been drooling over but every time had to forgo it in favor of combat skills. A group teleport was something that neither Necro nor Death Knight had; what they did have was an advanced personal one that started at level 30 and allowed you to take your mount and your pet with you. And now I could finally acquire one, too. No more leaving my pets behind in dungeons! My inner greedy pig was still clutching at his heart every time he remembered the Plague Panther, all leveled up and dripping with abilities, that I'd had to abandon in that personal dungeon.
I habitually moved the one available characteristic point to Intellect. I'd done so every time, sharing all the points received between Intellect and Spirit at a ratio of two to one.
Right. What next? It was probably a good idea to set aside a particular sum I could afford. In hindsight, I should have done so before I'd even started buying. Never mind. Let's look at it in another way. I didn't really want to break into the million. Like a single large note in your wallet, it would resist being changed for the dubious pleasure of getting a few penny objects. I had to set aside another fifty grand for various operating costs I could already see coming. By doing a bit of some preschool subtraction, I was left with about eighty grand. Almost as much as I'd just spent on my own mount. Yeah, right.
What was worth keeping of the gear I already had? Honestly, considering the sum I had to play with, I really should upgrade everything I owned. I hadn't made any improvements to my gear since the tournament at the Vets' when it had been appraised at six grand. When you compared it to eighty, all that was left to do was gasp and crumble in a heap on the floor in silent ecstasy.
Still, there were a few things I wasn't prepared to swap quite yet. Staff of Dark Flame, Crown of the Overlord and Jangur's Battle Shield had to stay. The Crown I'd never sell, ever—I needed it as a unique tool for some specific tasks. But no one said I had to wear it all the time, so nothing prevented me from getting some new head gear provided I found something in the same league. The jewelry had to go to the clan vault, a.k.a. my bedside cabinet, at least until the clan finally got itself some kind of fixed abode.
I went back to the Vets' storage and started another search, this time only limiting it by class—Death Knight—and price—lowest first. Well, well. About three thousand search results, the nicest thingies smiling at me from their thirty-grand-plus positions. Looked like I was again forced to buy a few top items and clutter the remaining slots with their budget versions. Not that this particular strategy was without its fortes. It had served me well last time I'd done it.
I pondered over both alternatives. Still, it was probably better to buy the best I could afford. Was I prepared to spend my money on a ton of low-class gear so that one day I was faced with the fact that at level (say) 120, a poorly invested eight thousand bucks hadn't provided me with the advantages I'd hoped for? Much better to get a couple of true uber waffles that I could at some later date exchange for some epics and artifacts.
That brought me back to the initial scenario. Pets were my trump card. I sorted the search results by Raises the summoned creature's leveclass="underline" highest first. Just in case you wondered, Death Knights—who were the most deprived in this respect—also had access to the superest items. Not that I complained, really. Who was I, after all—a humble Death Knight coming to them cap in hand for a handful of bonuses for his sickly pet.
Panting from the effort, my inner greedy pig and myself studied the offers. I ran a similar search on the auctions: ten times more choice, but their prices tended to sneer rather than smile.
Soon I'd sighted the first uber goodie:
Renegade's Steel Boots
Item class: Unique
Effect 1: +110 to Armor, +25 to Intellect, +25 to Strength
Effect 2: Speeds up mana regeneration 4% .
Effect 3: The raised creature has a 50% chance of keeping one of its special skills.
Effect 4: +7 to the raised creature's level
Effect 5: -1 to your relationship with Races of Light
Effect 6: +1 to your relationship with Dark Races
Class restrictions: Only Death Knight
Race restrictions: Only races of Light
Jeez. These were my size, tailor made. Having said that, thirty-one thousand gold equaled three thousand bucks: basically, I was exchanging thirty grams of printed paper for a few thousand lines of program code. No, not like that. Was I going mad? There was no code to talk of anymore; nothing to do with dollars. I was behaving like a Russian immigrant in his new home country who'd convert every price tag he saw into rubles and either rub his hands with glee or grasp his head in despair. That wasn't the life I wanted for myself. Money had to pull its weight. It shouldn't collect dust; it had to grow, multiplying my loot and experience.
Now. The next item worth its while was a breastplate, also Death Knight restricted. Necros can't wear heavy armor and they can't count on strength bonuses. The breastplate looked intimidating:
Nazgul Backbone Breastplate.
Item class: Unique
Effect 1: +210 to Armor, +250 to Mana, +250 to Life, +10% to magic resistance.
Effect 2: In case of an attack by a stabbing weapon, there is a 15% chance of receiving a critical hit.
Effect 3: If the wearer's Life drops below 20%, the Aura of Fear will cover all beings within 10 paces, paralyzing them for 2.5 sec.
Effect 4: +6 to the raised creature's level
Effect 5: Sends fragment of bone flying whenever the wearer sustains damage, injuring all enemies within 3 paces and dealing them 40 pts. damage.
Class restrictions: only Death Knight
I mulled over the stats comparing them to those of other suitable objects, finally coming to the conclusion that the breastplate was definitely the coolest of the available. I had to buy it. Thirty-five grand down. I wiped away the sweat. I'd never had the chance to spend such amounts so quickly before. Fifteen thousand bucks in the last hour, the mind boggles. Having said that, easy come, easy go. There were plenty of castles still left, LOL.
I also laid an eye on a bracelet which wasn't particularly impressive, just +3 to pet's level, but being jewelry, it had attracted the attention of a host of other Necros who'd forced the price sky high. Never mind. It could wait. Especially because my reserve was running low. What was it I'd said about low-class gear?
For the next two hours, I pawed over my gold choosing budget versions of the remaining equipment. They wouldn't last, anyway, so I'd have to replace them one day.
With every delivery, my bag got tangibly heavier. Finally, I was done. I spread the remaining pennies thin over numerous clothes and jewelry slots. That was it, enough.
I changed into my new acquisitions and hopped around a bit, testing them. There was some clinking and clanking here and there but not much, despite the hundred fifty pounds of steel hung on me and another seventy in my bag. God bless the game physics! With my strength numbers, I didn't even feel anything lifting under 220 pounds. Above that, it went straight into overload.