Chapter 250: Armory of Myth and Legend
Going to Brussels to meet people had been interesting and helpful, but also frustrating in places. He’d made plenty of new and useful contacts, but possibly even more importantly, he’d discovered several potential sources of friction.
Specifically, Ardouin was going to be a problem. He was powerful, influential, and had massive blinders on when it came to certain things. In essence, Isaac wouldn’t count on him when making plans any more than he did on Sun.
Both of them had the power and capabilities to be incredibly useful, to the point where they’d normally be the cornerstones of any plans, but were simply too unreliable. If a plan was built around them and their [Skills], then flaking would be beyond devastating.
What Isaac needed were things he could lean on. And right now, he was on his way to pick up some of those things. Stagmer had called him just before he’d gotten back to announce that the ring Isaac had left behind had finally been replicated.
But when he reached the blacksmith’s shop, he was greeted by a mess of police tape and a slowly breaking-up crowd of officers and looky-loos. He wasn’t stopped as he made his way into the blacksmith shop, however, and he decided to wait to ask questions until he was inside. After all, it didn’t look like there was anything urgently wrong, and Stagmer seemed to be just fine.
The interior of the most famous blacksmith’s shop in the world was a bit of a mess when he entered, with a massive crack running down one wall, and weapons worth hundreds of thousands if not millions of euros each scattered about like trash.
“What the hell happened here?” Isaac asked when he caught sight of the man himself.
“Oh, you know, someone thought I’d be easy to rob. They forgot that the ability to beat nigh-indestructible metals into new shapes and control the fires of the forge can be used in a fight,” Stagmer shrugged, “I punched the first guy into the wall there, shouted about me being robbed, and then your assistants showed up.
“Every time someone made a threatening move, one of them teleported them a hundred meters up and let them fall, head first. At some point, everyone realized they’d just keep earning themselves more lumps.
“What we think happened is that they thought that just because you and your colleagues were gone, this place was vulnerable. ‘If the cat’s away, the mice party’, that sort of thing. But there’s more than one cat here, isn’t there?”
Ah yes, his assistants. The people he’d raised basically from Level 1, ensured they’d get teleportation-based [Classes], and then his [Continent Strider] had granted him his own portal power, making them largely superfluous.
As a result, they’d become more or less everyone’s taxi service. It was a position that was invaluable to overall operations but had a significantly lower status than being his left and right hands would have been.
“And you didn’t call me ... why exactly?” Isaac asked, trying very hard not to sound accusatory, “I could have been here in literal seconds.”
“Because this was handled. Even if me and your folks hadn’t been able to handle it ourselves, we’ve got a GSG-13 office literally five hundred meters away. These were a few punks under Level 50 who felt strong. You’re busy, I know that and don’t need you running yourself ragged on my behalf,” Stagmer explained.
“Yes, but ...” Isaac blew out a long breath as he deflated, both metaphorically and literally, “Thank you. But getting bothered for no reason is still better than someone getting hurt because I didn’t help.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Stagmer reassured him, “I’ve got no intention of tangling with an S- or even A-Rank threat, but like I said, this was nothing. At least by this university’s standards.”
“Alright, but if something goes seriously wrong, call me,” Isaac insisted.
“I also finished your armor,” Stagmer announced, pulling a large box from beneath the counter, reverently pulling off the lid.
Abyssal Scale Mail of the Warrior-Scholar
A set of armor forged from the scales and bones of the prismatic dragon, the final boss of the Draconic Abyss Dungeon, retrieved during its final minutes.
Built upon a base of Hydra Leather and metals sourced from the Draconic Abyss, its top layer consists of pure-white dragon scales that provide excellent protection from elemental attacks.
While worn, this armor enhances all flame-based attacks originating from the wearer’s hands or mouth, as well as any and all based on draconic Aspects.
Furthermore, this armor’s draconic nature resonates with the wearer’s dragon scale-enhanced skin, bonding with it and staying in place through magic alone, should the armor be damaged to the point where certain parts would normally fall off (severed armor pieces can be removed with sufficient force).
In addition, this armor has been built specifically to interface with Isaac Thoma’s [Fully Geared] to allow for extremely rapid and efficient regeneration. Due to the uniqueness of the materials that make up this armor, it was given the capability to convert lesser materials of draconic origin into the material that makes up this masterpiece. To do so, the materials in question need to be placed into the pockets of this armor before it is stored.
Finally, detached armor pieces can be stored in [Fully Geared] at a range of five meters.
While worn, the wearer’s Strength, Fortitude, and Agility are increased by twenty percent.
It was absolutely perfect. Durable as all get out, he didn’t have to switch out his armor after a few cuts, and it was one of the few man-made Stat-boosting pieces of equipment he’d ever seen.
He could also repair it with extreme ease, making it far simpler to keep around.
... The less said about the usual lifespan of his armor, the better.
Sure, if they ever killed a Tier 10 [Raid Boss] or even a [World Boss], he’d get a better suit, and once Stagmer hit the fifth Evolution, he’d obviously be able to make something far superior. But until then, this would be his permanent set.
“Thank you so much,” Isaac said with a wide and warm smile, “Name your price, any kind of material, any kind of monster part, whatever you need.”
“Just keep bringing me the usual amount of stuff, you’ve probably paid me for that piece ten times over by now,” Stagmer said, “Just make sure that set doesn’t come back slashed to ribbons in a few days, ok?”
“I’ll make sure to keep it intact, and to keep sending you materials,” Isaac promised.
After a few minutes of chatting, he left and headed off towards Camelot to hand over a few pieces of gear.
