The shoulder pauldrons on these examples were bulky, and spikes often decorated their metal plates. Female warriors, more concerned with intimidating their opponents than with their own protection, wore revealing breastplates and skimpy leather thongs.

On Eosor, magical protection had always been commonplace on both cultivators and their enchanted equipment, so it was rare to see the kind of purely functional armor that characterised the warfare of Earth’s middle ages.

As I walked slowly along the rank of armor suits, I admired the bizarre decorations and elaborate weapons. I couldn’t help wondering how they had been acquired and how many dollars each ornate piece represented. I wasn’t an antique dealer, but you didn’t have to be an expert to see that there was a fortune contained within this one entrance hall. It was a collector’s dream.

A corridor leading off from the entrance hall caught my attention. I could feel magic buzzing from it, like static electricity in the air.

“I’m going to take a quick detour,” I said, wanting to find the source of the magical energy I was picking up on. “Any objections?”

Astrid shrugged and shook her head but Belinda’s mouth tightened.

“We don’t have a limitless amount of time,” the tentacle-haired Outworlder said. “But I can understand your curiosity. You have... three minutes.” She glanced at the glowing screen of the smartwatch on her wrist. Three minutes. Clearly, she meant it.

Noting that I would need to be quick, I walked into the corridor. Here, I immediately found the source of the magic. The corridor led to what seemed to be a long gallery. The powerful sensation I was getting came from a series of gilded picture frames containing painted portraits of monsters.

As I approached, the sensation of rippling magic became stronger and stronger, until I stood in front of the row of pictures. I was awash with the magic pouring from them. It was a pleasant sensation, a bit like being drunk. I kept my head as I leaned in to look at the paintings.

There were three paintings, all beautifully done. In the first, a gorilla-like ape was standing in a jungle scene. Below it was a label that marked it as a Jungle Ape.

In the second was the same ape, but much larger. This time, he was muscle-bound and sporting massively elongated canines. The label below this creature said: Brawny Ape.

The third portrait was very impressive. In this depiction, the ape stood in a shadowed space, but he was bathed in flames. The fire didn’t seem to harm it at all—in fact, he seemed to be glorying in it. His head was thrown back and fire blasted from his jaws. His huge hands were clenched in fists and were beating his chest.

Below this terrifying creature were the words: Magma Ape.