Wow.
Upon purchasing the armor set, I was sent to another location within the nexus. This… teleportation came out of nowhere, eliciting an embarrassing yelp from me since it took me completely by surprise.
Now, I was in some kind of a small, noiseless white room, closed off from the outside world, and in the middle of the room, a black box with a similar golden trim like my room key laid dormant, awaiting any form of interaction.
[Armor box - interact to choose your desired armor set.]
I shifted closer, licking my lips in excitement. Finally, I was allowed to wear armor after such a long time. Now, A stray arrow wouldn’t just lodge into my joints, gliding through my skin and muscles like it was butter.
My fingers made contact with the box, and it burst into silver rays of light, accompanied by a message.
[Select your desired armor set]
[Set 1 - Basic heavy armor set. Focuses on toughness and vitality.]
[Set 2 - Basic medium armor set. Focuses on Strength and vitality.]
[Set 3 - Basic light armor set. Focuses on speed and vitality.]
[Set 4 - Basic Magic armor set. Focuses on Arcane and Arcane. Strength]
Well, I mean, My choices weren’t difficult. Only two of these made the most sense; Either I picked the heavy armor set—focusing on pure defense, or I opted for the mage set—Focusing on firepower.
If only there was a mix between the mage and the heavy set… I understood from the start that finding the right set of equipment for a niche style like mine would prove challenging since what I wanted wasn’t the norm.
The mage set gave me everything I needed. The added Arcane stats would buff not only me, but the orc mage within my party would receive a little bonus to its bolts as well. Yes, I knew I said that arcane stats wouldn’t benefit my summons too much, but when my only summon was the mage, then that little asterisk didn’t matter anymore.
[You selected the magic set.]
The chest opened, revealing a set of regal outfit, laced with light metal that covered the extremities of my chest, along with a set of bracers and pants that were comfortable to the touch. They were mostly white in color, with the exception of the metals, but what surprised me the most was the modest cape that came along with it.
On the side, a shoulder pad with a bright, blue gem inscribed on its front glinted when I stared at it. It was a strange feature to be put into that area of the armor and to be frank, it didn’t look that appealing as an accessory.
When I looked at the set closer, the message confirmed my suspicions about the usage of the gem.
Basic Mage’s armor set
Rarity : Common | Tier : 0
A common armor set worn by fledgling mages. Must be worn as a set, individual parts cannot be changed.
Attribute bonuses :
+3 Toughness, Vitality, Resistance.
+5 Arcane, Arcane.Power, Arcane.Defense.
+2 mana regenerated per minute.
Granted skill: Mana battery.
Stores 20 excess mana into the armor when you regenerated mana above full.
It didn’t take much of an effort to wear it, despite how complex it looked on the surface. The cape wasn’t the type that hung on your back, either, it covered the front part of my left chest, and stretched far enough to reach my left scapula, providing a sense of warmth in that specific region.
Like all the weapons that the sanctum gave, the armor fit my dimensions perfectly, as if it was tailored just for me. Well, maybe it is.
The mana regeneration part was new. As far as I knew, I had never been able to regain my mana unless from the potions and the effects of my death bolts, so the idea of passive, regenerating mana was neat; On top of that, any excess mana was then stored into the gem, allowing me to use the gem to cast spells instead of using my mana pool right away.
It would be safe to consider the armor as another +20 to my max mana, on top of the attributes the set granted.
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Smiling, I patted down the crumples of the cape and enjoyed the added warmth from the separate layer of clothing.
[Returning to the nexus.]
“ARE YOU SERIOUS?”
I flinched. Both eardrums rang from the deafening sound.
A scream welcomed me to the absolute chaotic mess of a party when I stepped back into the nexus. It seemed like things were more disarrayed this time around; It wasn’t like this back in my past life.
The red-haired woman, the same one who yelled at the guy behind her during the first day, argued with her two other party members, her face flushed red with anger, and her hands creaked as she clenched them hard.
“This is all I got?” She said. The woman, who I’d speculated to be Katherine Gillian—The former number 10—demanded that more points should go to her. It wasn’t a pretty sight, I must say, and if she was removed from her party, this argument wouldn’t be a good resume for her going forward.
“Leave us, Katherine. You’re strong, but to say that we did nothing in that mission…”
She is Katherine. I was right.
What was also right would be which fist was being swung at the speaker’s face.
“Kkggghh….” Yet, she stopped her swing mid-way. “Fine.”
It was brief, but her eyes showed signs of regret. From the two or so times I’d seen her, her hot-headedness had always been the primary trait she displayed. In a way, I felt the compulsion to help her, since the reason she didn’t scratch the top ten list was due of me.
Her party members stepped away, clutching their arms together, almost comically. They might not like her, but they feared her even more so.
“What are you looking at? Is it funny?”
Crap.
The pearls of her eyes were staring straight at mine. A mix of anger, shame, and… determination? “Step off.”
I shifted to the side, allowing her access.
She was strong, and in fights, she would be a fantastic asset. I didn’t know her preferred fighting style, nor what kind of skills she possessed, but the odds of her popping out a staff and chanting spells were close to zero. Her fist alone had determined that she carried the same spirit as Phillip’s; A strong, unwavering, front-line fighter.
“Wait,” I said. “You don’t have a party with you, right?”
Her ears twitched. “So what? Don’t say that you’re asking me to come with you.” It was clear that she was still upset about what had happened, and I’d say that it was kinda her fault as well. I mean, changing the terms of how many points she should get after clearing the mission was a dick move.
Scratching my head, I approached her. “Yes. Yes, I am.” I needed extra help in the front lines, and with the mission evolution in mind, only the ones close to the top 10 would survive it.
At this distance, I couldn’t help but notice her extreme musculature that was almost statuesque, only losing out to Phillip. It was obvious she’d trained ever since she was born, and from her attitude, her life must’ve been quite difficult.
It was vague, but I swore her shoulders slumped. “What makes you think I want to join you? You’d just rob my points again and let me do all the work…”
“I don’t know what happened, and frankly, I don’t care.”
She drew a sharp breath, then exhaled like she’d been holding her breath for years. “Fine, but why me?”
Why her, indeed…
I wouldn’t lie and say I didn’t pity her. But was that the reason? She was strong and competent. Well, okay, she had personality issues, but as long as she was trustworthy—unlike someone else—I could deal with bouts of anger here and there.
But those reasons wouldn’t convince her, wouldn’t they?
In the end, I just said what I felt. “Because I don’t have anyone else, and... I’m trying to make things right.”
Her head turned slightly, just a little. My mind went to Phillip, Maria, and Sarah, “I know, it’s dumb. I could’ve just asked and they wouldn’t mind me coming with them, after all… I am-“
“It is dumb.” She said. Turning around for the first time. The fire in her eyes lit up the already bright hall. “Why do you say that?”
Why, huh? “Lots of reasons.”
She tilted her head, uncertainty obvious from her expression. It was the first time I had a good look at her face, and yeah, she indeed have the look of someone that had been running from the cops or mafia her entire life. It was that rough edge that was present on all protrusions on her face, a feature that wasn’t all that common. Although, she was probably around my age; if I had to guess.
Her gaze studied my form and look over and over again. “I’d say that you are lying, but I don’t think you are. Strange…”
And like Phillip, she trusted her gut like no other. I appreciated having a bad guy sensor in the form of a living person before, so her gut was only a plus in my book.
She scowled. “Fine. But you’d better carry your weight. I don’t want to beat the living crap out of the Hobgoblin and then be asked to share the points equally when they didn’t do shit.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.” Following Phillip’s footsteps, I pointed at the old leaderboards.
Her eyes followed my staff. “What’s that?”
“I’m Gray Mors.”
###
The observer, the human observer, was doing his usual routine; Watching the progress of those under his care, like all the other days past, but he did it while holding a smile under his mask this time.
No, he didn’t suddenly find enjoyment in his work, not even close, but the surprised expressions those humans gave when their enemies evolved were funny, he had to admit. A sudden twist out of nowhere, what’s more fun than that?
He had to admit. He was so bored. Every time he decided to test the humans further than necessary, they always crumpled like a sack of potatoes. Sure, some of them possessed superior quality, and they ended up passing the Trial, but they were the exception, not the rule.
This batch was… interesting. The highs of this group of people were amongst the highest he’d ever seen, but the lows were… appalling. It was almost as if the sanctum tried to balance the strong with the weakest humans that existed, a disappointing mix, for sure, but thank goodness the useless ones perished fast.
Except one.
On one of the screens, the image of the largest human he’d ever seen, Phillip, was struggling to defeat the evolved hobgoblin with the young kid beside him.
Phillip was the most competent human he’d ever had in terms of his physicality. Strong, fast, sturdy, packing a massive reach, and more, all of the qualities of a warrior, he excelled at. He wasn’t as strong as the Orcs and Ogres, and he wasn’t as nimble as the kobolds, but like all humans, he was balanced.
He couldn’t say the same about the kid he was with.
“Watch out! Cory!”
The observer watched how hapless the teen acted, how did he pass the dual lizardmen fight, he didn’t know; Yeah, he was lazy, and maybe, just maybe he was asleep during the teen’s fight against the lizardmen, but why would he pay attention to someone like him? It wasn’t his fault, none at all.
With a swing, the evolved hobgoblin broke past Phillip’s guard, sending him flying. It was incredible that he managed to stand toe-to-toe with an evolved without support and magic, but it was about time that he lost. No one could go far with pure physical strength alone, not even the other races, you had to mix in magic at some point, and later, the arcanas.
At any point, he could’ve dropped in and provided some hints to the humans, but that included the fact that he had to care, which he most definitely wasn’t.
He sighed, disappointed. Another promising prospect, dead.