The two of them walked to the armory after cleaning up the training room, both excited about their new equipment. Serah had only ordered standard equipment, so they were ready the next day. But John’s sword was unusual in its size and needed special instructions.

John still felt out of place in the clean and straight rooms here, feeling much more at home in the wilderness outside the walls.

‘It’s all too… neat.’

They reached the room soon enough, surprised to be greeted by a fellow breaker. John recognized her instantly.

“Welcome!” Karin said as they walked in, standing in front of a table containing a bunch of metal cases. “They’ve asked me to help the two of you get familiar with the process of fusing with the equipment, so here I am. Nice to see you again, John.”

John felt a quick glance from Serah, but chose to ignore it for now. “You too, Karin! I thought Vera would teach us, but she can’t explain how it works, I guess.”

“Oh, she probably could. But in case there are problems, I’m more suited to fix them,” Karin replied, looking towards Serah. “Nice to meet you, Serah. I hear you’re a sort of enigma. Luckily, that’s exactly what we need here!”

Serah bowed and smiled lightly. “I hope to live up to your expectations. Is the equipment in those cases?” she asked, pointing to the table. There were four large and four small cases.

Karin nodded. “Exactly. The ones on the left are for you, while the right ones are for you, John. But remember that you have an enchantment ready, so choose your first equipment carefully.”

John glanced at the boxes and felt his excitement building. “I’ve already decided where to put it, don’t worry.” He walked to his stack, eager to start.

The steel cases had a solid design, but opening them was pretty easy. John opened the clasps on the only small box on his side and opened the lid, revealing a thick shortsword crafted from dark metal, gleaming menacingly in the light.

“Ooh, this thing looks ominous,” John said, picking it up and feeling the weight.

“Yes, that’s the shortsword you asked for. I’m guessing it’s for smaller enemies when the greatsword is too unwieldy?” Karin replied, looking curious.

“Nah, it’s for emergencies. If I can take it out in a hurry, it’s a perfect surprise weapon.”

Serah also opened her first case to reveal a large one-handed hammer, which she had ordered to knock any close enemies away. As someone primarily using ranged attacks, it was a good choice, helped by John’s expertise.

“It looks great!” she said, admiring it in her hand.

“Let’s start absorbing them,” John suggested, holding his free hand on the blade. “Do we just put our essence into them?”

“Yes, but it’s not as easy as claiming a kill. Inorganic material is less suited for essence, so you’ll have to try forcing it in,” Karin replied.

Looking at the blade in his hand, John tried pushing his essence into it. Just as she had said, it was much more challenging than with corpses of beasts. Serah also started focusing, closing her eyes with both hands on the hammer.

After trying for a bit longer, John’s essence finally surged through the shortsword. Suddenly, he could feel every detail on the sleek, dark blade. It felt sharp and dangerous, perfectly suiting his style.

He quickly tried pulling it into his core and saw the blade disappear into his hand. It floated around in his core, where the enchantment suddenly flew towards it and melded into it.

‘Now let’s see what you actually do, you enigma!’

Serah had just finished with her hammer and paused to feel the sensation. She tried summoning it in one hand and then in the other, seemingly enjoying the sensation.

John was busy sensing his enchantment, feeling the information flow into his mind from his core. ‘A supreme chance enchantment? Increasing the odds of getting enchantments and the odds of getting higher rarities by tenfold? That sounds… super powerful!’

John felt the excitement spread through his body, along with the urge to go out and hunt monsters again. This would increase his growth exponentially, at least until he had enchantments on every piece of equipment.

‘It’s a shame I’ll have to deal the killing blow with this sword for the effect to work, though… But at least I didn't put a passive enchantment on my main weapon! Feels like a good choice!’

Serah had already opened her next case, revealing a large white heater shield. It would be part of her defense, suited to block attacks she couldn’t evade.

John moved on to the large case on top, the first of three. He was only very excited about one case, but all of them would serve him well—at least if he had understood the functions correctly.

The large case opened to reveal a set of very tight-looking protective clothes, filled with protective strips along the immovable parts. It was super light armor that focused on mobility over protection.

It would be worn under other clothes like a bodysuit, so the design wasn’t all that important. But he still loved it. Its dark fabric and metal protection suited his shortsword well, even if fashion was a low priority.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Serah was busy absorbing her shield. Larger objects seemed to be more challenging to absorb because she spent more time than with the hammer.

John started absorbing the armor, using the same process as before. He could sense all the details as his essence channeled through it, appreciating the precision needed to create something so flexible and robust.

Looking to his side, he saw Serah finishing her shield. She seemed a bit taken aback by it. “Uhh, do I need essence to summon them again? I can’t do it anymore, and I spent nearly all of it during training.”

“Oh! Yes, it takes a bit of essence to summon them, unfortunately. But you can absorb them with minimal essence, so you can at least do that,” Karin replied.

John finished absorbing the armor and summoned it right away. It appeared like a second skin under his clothes, covering his entire body except his eyes.

‘Ah, this is perfect! I can’t wait to get it enchanted!’

He felt his essence enter the armor like his own body, strengthening its defensive abilities. It was like an extra set of skin he could reinforce, just like his own.

“Ooh, this one looks gorgeous!” Serah exclaimed after opening the next case.

John looked over to see her holding a small sphere, looking transparent and dark. He didn’t quite agree that it was gorgeous, but he didn’t feel the need to point that out.

“You don’t like it!” Serah accused, seeing his expression.

John instinctively denied it. “What? No, I just looked at it closely! Looks great!”

“I can tell you don’t like it!” She sharpened her eyes at him and pouted slightly.

“... Well, it’s just a sphere! What’s so gorgeous about it?” John exclaimed, feeling like her mood was unjustified.

“Appreciate the smoothness and roundness! Look at it, perfectly round!” She held it out for him to get a better look.

John gently pushed her hands away from his face. “Yeah, so are many things. But who cares? It’s just to help you cast spells.”

Serah looked displeased and turned sharply away from him with a pout.

‘... Women,’ John thought very silently, hoping she didn’t sense his thoughts again. He was disturbed by her ability once again. This time, only his eyes had been visible.

The second-to-last case John ordered contained a giant shield. It was unwieldy, but looked like it could block nearly anything.

“... You’re gonna use that?” Karin asked, studying the shield.

“Of course! Since I can summon it at will, it will be perfect to block attacks! I’ll just unsummon it if I don’t need it anymore.”

Karin seemed surprised by his plans, but she had a slight concern in her eyes. “You know that will make it way slower for you to get stronger, right? Evolving something so large will take a lot of essence.”

“I know, but I’d rather take my time than take risks,” John replied, knowing he would earn extra essence through the enchantments he would get. He recalled that they turned to essence if he chose not to use them.

Serah was absorbing the ugly ball while John focused on the shield. This time, due to the size, it took him quite a bit longer, but he had gotten the hang of it by this point.

Once it was in his core, he summoned it in front of him. It stood steadily on the ground, not needing any support from him. ‘Perfect for defending against big attacks! Or dropping from the sky on.’

He put it away again, loving the feeling of building his arsenal. At this point, he felt he could easily beat the former champion.

Now, they were both ready to open the two last cases. John felt his excitement building again, glad they had put the best case at the bottom. Serah only had her armor remaining and looked nearly as excited as John was.

He started opening the last case with glee, revealing a mighty-looking greatsword. With a long handle and a thick blade, the entire thing was as tall as John was. It was made from the same dark metal as the shortsword and had a simple, thick handguard between the blade and the handle.

John was amazed, imagining swinging the thing around and slashing monsters in half with ease. It had to be extremely heavy, but that’s what he preferred. It wasn't a proper greatsword if he didn’t have to swing his entire body around to wield it.

Serah also seemed happy with the armor she had gotten, looking at it with admiration. It was white and decorated with golden details. It looked much more solid than John’s armor, mostly made of solid metal plates and scales. Serah didn’t mind if her flexibility wasn’t all that great, so she focused more on defenses.

“It’s perfect…” she said, looking very happy with the design. She put her arm on it immediately, seeming eager to try it on.

With her entire getup of hammer, shield, and thick armor, she looked very much like a paladin from their world. On the other hand, John would have looked more like a rogue if it hadn’t been for the giant sword he would be swinging around in combat.

He was already absorbing it, eager to see what would happen if he put essence inside. “Come on, come on, come on! Let me wield you, Larang!”

“Larang? You have a name for it ready? That sounds… okay,” Serah said wrongly, being dumb and stupid.

John was mostly unbothered by her lack of awe at his awesome name and simply continued the process. His essence was coursing through the entirety of the sword now, making it ready to absorb.

‘Come hither!’

The sword disappeared from the casket and appeared in his core, where he could sense it perfectly. He took a moment to admire it as it floated around peacefully in his center, feeling his love for greatswords fill him with joy.

With both hands held forward, he readied himself to receive it, putting one foot in front to handle the weight. It appeared suddenly, laying its hilt in both of his hands and pulling them down. John had to use some essence to keep hold of it due to the weight distribution, but he was holding it.

‘Aaaaahhh…’

It was intimidating, large, and beautiful. The edge reflected the room's lights perfectly, showing the master craftsman's attention to detail.

Holding it straight forward, John took a deep breath, preparing himself for a strike. He was one with the sword, one with destruction and power.

Seeing John's intense focus, everyone in the room could feel the atmosphere changing. The chilling effect made both girls hold their breath subconsciously.

He moved, bringing the whole room with him, and slashed the air with immense force. The sword approached the ground at great speed, but it disappeared back into John’s core just before impact.

Everyone breathed out simultaneously, seemingly relieved that the sword didn’t destroy the floor.

“This is a damn good sword,” John said quietly, feeling at peace. The ability to summon a greatsword at will was like a dream come true.

‘What enchantment will you get in the future, Larang?’