The fairy quickly changed her behavior. "My apologies for my earlier tone, sir. That is indeed a significant title. Please, allow me to verify your status."
Liam watched as she pulled out a small, intricate device, gesturing for him to place his hand on it. As he did so, the device emitted a soft light, scanning his credentials, and going past his disguise.
Liam did not mind as the system shop attendants were typically bound by confidentiality oaths. This also worked in his favor as he did not have to reveal his status screen. After a moment, the scanner beeped affirmatively, and the fairy's eyes widened.
"Grandmaster Liam, it's an honor to have you in our establishment. Your status as a Grandmaster certainly grants you access to the upper floors. I will personally escort you and your companions there."
Rey, Madan, and Lan Deming gathered around, all eager to take a look at the higher floors too. The group followed the fairy as they climbed the staircase.
The first floor was markedly different from the ground level. It was quieter, the crowd thinner but more distinguished. The beings here moved with purpose, their attire and demeanor speaking of wealth and status.
Liam looked around the items available on the first floor for a while but nothing stood out to him. He still ended up buying a few rare skill books, one for him, and a couple for Lan Deming, Rey, and Madan.
Since the beginning Liam did not really invest anything in his guild members, letting them struggle for themselves. However, now situation was different. They had struggled more than he wanted and it was time for them to take a couple of shortcuts and handouts.
Liam purchased the shadow element skill book, a dark element variant, [Meld with the Shadows] for himself. The skill offered stealth and maneuverability and one couldn't have too many of these skills in one's repertoire. It wasn't a soul-healing technique, but it would certainly bolster his defensive capabilities, which was crucial given the unknown dangers they might face.
Besides, he also felt some resonance with the dark element attacks when he faced the dark elves back in Tirnanog. He had also used some dark element attacks in the tutorial and he did not want to let that connection slip away.
He purchased the same book for Lan Deming as well since the skill was invaluable for an assassin. He also purchased one additional copy for Abraki and Ning Xi.
Other than that, he purchased beast rearing related skill books for Madan and Rey and one more skill book that was unique [Spectral Scout] which allowed hunters to project their senses outward, essentially scouting areas with their spirit.
Liam added a couple more to this pile that Rey wanted including [Wind Whisperer] and [Arrow's Arcana]. Madan hadn't specifically asked for Liam but seeing the look on the guy's face, Liam purchased the same for him too.
Apart from that he purchased a few more skill books that caught his eye for the elites of the guild, quickly racking up the bill. Each skill book cost in millions and billions and they were not cheap. However, there was nothing Liam could do. To nurture a few elites, this much investment was needed.
Without a good grasp of the skills, the future paths of the guild members would essentially stagnate a lot. Only if they familiarize themselves with the skills and gain more proficiency and deeper insight into them, they would be able to decipher the dao seed behind it.
After that Liam held back a little because the higher floors were still there. The first floor also had some pills, potions, recipes, raw materials, artifacts, and items but nothing really stood out and there was nothing he couldn't forge himself.
Liam nodded at the fairy indicating that they were done with this floor. The fairy quickly escorted them to the next one.
Liam ended up buying some more skill books on this floor as well since he spotted some pretty good ones. He purchased [Mirror of the Ice Queen] for Lan Fen and also for himself as it offered mastery over reflective ice surfaces, teaching mages how to use them for scrying, communication, and creating bewildering illusions.
He purchased a few more ice element related skills but mostly for Lan Fen. He did not need those as the elves he had captured were good alternatives to skill books.
Lan Deming profusely thanked Liam for keeping his sister in mind but Liam waved it away. He continued purchasing more for the guild. [Last Stand] for Alex, [Spectral Stalker] and [Mark of the Predator] for Rey and Madan, and [Nature's Wrath] for Mei Mei.
Lastly, he purchased [Phantom's Veil] skill book for himself and Lan Deming. This skill book offered advanced cloaking techniques, allowing an assassin to become virtually invisible even in plain sight. It also taught how to mask one's presence from magical detection.
With that, Liam was just about done with this floor when he noticed something different about the corner section. It stated 'Bloodline Upgrades'.
Liam had read about this back in Tirnanog. The basic study materials that the other fairy had provided him mentioned about this.
'Bloodline Upgrade' was something commonly done in the Myriad Realms to improve one's basic body constitution and to awaken a dormant bloodline in a body that would otherwise go undetermined.
The shelves in front of him were selling the items that were commonly used to awaken a person's bloodline. These items were quite rare but since they were on the first floor, it also meant that their efficiency wasn't all that top-tier.
Nevertheless, Liam splurged a little and purchased some of the items from the shelf. He was curious about the process and wanted to test some things out. These were also items used in alchemy so he wouldn't lose out one way or the other.
With this, the first floor was done and the fairy respectfully escorted them to the second floor.