025 Preparations Complete

"You're an idiot kid"

Otto paused for a moment before continuing.

"...You already know that though, Here follow me, the both of you are going to need this."

He motioned for us to follow and we all made our way to the other side of the room which housed the covered mannequins.

It seemed it was finally time to reveal the armor he has been hiding.

"I'm going to be honest with you both. When it comes to this particular armor. These two sets are my children. Don't you dare mistreat them."

He specifically glared at me.

"What!?" I gave the response with an indignified tone.

"You already know what! You are always too reckless! I swear to the goddess I will kill you with my own hands if you don't take care of my work!"

I grinned mockingly.

"Relax old man, it will be fine."

"I doubt that." He grumbled.

With one motion he grabbed the cloth covering and pulled it off of the mannequins to reveal two matching sets of dragon scale full body armor.

A Rich black with illustrious orange undertones filled our view.

The shape of the armor and it's colors instantly reminded me of the dragon we had slayed.

Jupiter. So you still managed to live?

I shook my head and dismissed the thought.

Both sets of armor were identical. The only difference was obviously the size of them. Well that as well as one set being catered towards Ven so it was a feminine armor set.

Other than that there wasn't a difference.

I began to once again take in the splendor of Otto's work.

The helmet was a work of beauty. Fierce and intimidating. It resembled a dragon's head. Sharp patterned horns came out of its back.

The cuirass was stunning. Bold and defined. One look at it and it yelled back saying that it was an immovable fortress. No attack was getting by.

The scales had been fragmented and set in overlapping layers to mimic what they actually look like on a dragon.

Strange runes were carved onto the edges of the cuirass.

As I admired them Otto chimed in.

"You said you wanted it enchanted right? I had to override the previous enchantment on it since I used your old armor as a base. Honestly the enchantment wasn't that good. If you ask me, mine is a lot better."

Once again he displayed a smug smile.

This time I welcomed it. Truly this was work to be proud of.

The gauntlets were a bit strange. It was a mix of materials and I couldn't tell which. I turned to ask Otto but he beat me to the punch.

"Dragon fangs reinforced with plated scales. It took a lot of work to forge it like this but now you should be able to stop any attack. You will have no need for a shield of any kind."

A pair of gloves laid on top of them. With an interesting marking on the palms. I didn't question it and instead moved on.

As I looked down on the final piece of the armor I saw a pair of black knee high boots. The shins appeared to be slightly reinforced but outside of that it was a normal pair of boots.

"I didn't want to over encumber you both. I know speed is imperative for you. With that in mind I reinforced them so that they could remain durable for battle while being light enough to not tamper with your momentum."

Once again Otto with the explanation.

He really had thought of everything for us.

"Old man this is perfect thank you."

"Yes Otto thank you so much."

We both bowed to show our appreciation.

"Well what are you waiting for? Put it on and check it out!"

He seemed a bit too eager but when you are showing off something this incredible, there should be no other reaction.

Without hesitation we followed his orders.

We grabbed the armor and piece by piece we put it on. Immediately as the last item to the set was on, did the system respond.

[Items Acquired]

[Calamity Reborn Armor Set] [Rarity- SSS++]

Crafted by Legendary Master Craftsman Dwarf Otto. It boasts incredible defensive capabilities. Enhancing defense, dexterity, and mana The user will be devastation incarnate.

Defense +15,000

Mana + 10,000

Dexterity +10,000

[Skill]

[Absolute Authority]

For 60 seconds the user will take no damage of any kind. Can be used once per day.

Ventus was the first to chime up.

"Otto! This is-I mean it's-"

"You don't have to say it, I already know." He smiled back.

"Like I said, take care of my precious children. Now that this has been passed off, I will take my leave."

He turned around and walked away. Just as he was about to exit through the doorway I finally spoke.

"Otto, Thank you...For everything."

He slightly turned his head back.

"Give 'em hell kid. And remember, don't die."

I nodded.

He finally left and it was just Ventus and me left in the room. Of course SB was once again atop my head nestled uncomfortably over the helmet but I usually always forget he exists.

Now wearing a full set of armor and with this unimaginable weapon I felt invincible. I felt power swelling deep inside and I decided to take advantage of it.

I tried a few practice swings and movements here in the small room to get a feel for the armor and sword. It was beyond insane. The armor literally felt like another skin. It fit so perfectly and provided no hindrance of any kind.

Swinging the sword, it took a few minutes of getting used to. I had never held a weapon with a blade as long as this but once I got acclimated to its movement and flow, there was no problem.

I swung a few more times for the reassurance that I could handle this weapon and ended the demonstration with a small flourish.

Ven clapped at the show I had inadvertently put on.

I just blushed. I had forgotten she was here.

We put our weapons away in our pocket dimension.

As we did this, I remembered that this would be a great opportunity to deal with the rings.

Going back into the pocket dimension, I pulled out the ten rings.

As I did this, Ventus looked at me curiously but before she could say anything I gave Ventus her five rings and explained to her what they were and how they work.

"...To finalize, just manifest the element by activating the ring and then pour your will out in order to manipulate it."

"Okay, that doesn't seem to difficult to understand. Thank you."

I smiled back.

Good, now that that was out of the way, I equipped my rings.

I decided to put them on the middle and ring fingers of both hands and the fifth one went on my left thumb.

Since they were magical items, they naturally resized themselves to fit securely.

I noticed that Ven had chosen the same fingers as me to house her rings.

Was that on purpose or just a coincidence?

I gave the rings a quick test run to make sure they all worked accordingly. Truthfully I should have done it earlier but what the hell.

I summoned a small amount of each element from every ring I was wearing. They danced above the palm of my hand. Just over it's corresponding ring.

Since this was a limited space and I didn't want everything to fall on us. I willed them to take the shape of a soft flame and consume the mannequins.

They followed their orders dutifully. Within moments all that was left was cinders and ash.

I felt satisfied because everything was going according to plan. There is only one thing left to do and Ven was all to happy to ask that question.

"So Em, what is left to do? We have all our supplies, armor and weapons. Where do we go from here?"

I responded warmly.

"Well since you bring it up, there is only one thing left to do."

I grabbed SB off the top of my head and placed him on the ground in front of me.

BLOOP BLOOP

"It's finally time to evolve SB"

"Really!? That cute slime is going to evolve? I've never seen a pet evolution do you mind if I watch?"

I took deep offense to her words.

"How dare you! SB is not cute! He is a machine of murder. A servant of death that exudes an aura which the gods themselves fear. Don't you ever call him cute again!...But yes you can watch."

BLOOP BLOOP BLOOOOOOP

I'm glad SB backed me up on this statement. At least I think he did. Who knows what he says.

She rolled her eyes at me.

I opened the system menu and navigated to the Pet Status page.

[Pet SB Ready For Evolution. Proceed?]

"Yes".

I wonder what happens now?

In my experience as pets evolve and reach their final forms they change drastically. What will you change into SB?

[Notice. Materials And Experience Acquired Exceed Limit.]

What is this?

[Secondary Evolution Is Possible. Proceed?]

I've never heard of this before. Is this even normal? Well what do I know, I've never had a pet before.

"Yes, proceed."

At my command SB started to float up in the air and shine a brilliant and glistening light. It's rays illuminated everything around us and forced us to look away.

I could feel the connection between SB and me become deeper. It was strange but I felt closer to him.

The system rang out a notice in the middle of this evolution.

[Bond- 50%]

Well that would explain what I was feeling.

One final notice rang out.

[Evolution Successful]

Slowly SB started floating back down the light he was emitting was dying out.

When I was able to open my eyes again I saw SB and his newly transformed self.

Both Ventus and I rang out in shock.

"What is this?!"

"How is this possible?"

He looked exactly the same!

There was literally nothing different about him.

I grabbed him and began to accuse him.

"SB why did you put on that show if you didn't change at all? Were you blinding me just for fun?! And who taught you how to float?!"

I was shaking him during this miniature interrogation.

All of a suddenly he started to melt? His cute slime form was dripping and covering me all over.

I could feel his slimy jelly like blobness drip down and begin to cover and envelop me. It was both gross and panic inducing.

"Em what did you do to him?"

"I don't know, oh goddess I hope I didn't accidentally kill him. What do I do?"

He kept melting and reforming. SB was starting to wrap itself around me in a thin layer.

As I began to panic I thought to myself, am going to die? Is this it?

Ventus snapped me out of my delirium.

"Em don't be stupid check the pet status to see if there is any updates."

She was right. Surely the system must know what is going on.

I quickly opened the menu as SB continued to melt and cover me whole.

I finally got my answer.

[Pets]

[Owned- 1]

[Sir Blob]

[Class- Slime Guardian]

[Rarity- C]

[Abilities]

[Sanitatem]

As Long as physical contact between pet and master is occurring, all negative status changing effects are absorbed by pet and dissipated.

[Everlasting]

"SB" turns in to a thin invisible protective layer over player. Acts as a shield to mitigate attacks both physical and magical by 30%. Will absorb players mana to heal itself.

"Well that explains it."

SB had finished super gluing himself to me as I finished reading the explanation out loud.

I am not going to lie it freaked me out just a bit that he was invisible and clinging on to me but, I am not going to scoff at extra defensive power. First the armor now this. I will take any and every advantage I can.

Ventus who had backed up to give space to SB for his evolution began walking towards me. I couldn't help but notice that there was absolutely no sound from her movement.

At this realization I just smiled and thanked Otto silently for his talents.

Once Ven got to me she spoke.

"Well it seems everything is in its place. Are you ready to head out?"

I thought about her question for a bit.

My eyes met hers and I was quickly lost in their emerald beauty.

Should I really ask her to do this? Is it alright?

I shook my head as conviction begin to pound away at me. I know what I am about to do. I refuse to allow myself to waver however, is Ventus sure about this?

"Ven before we continue I just have to make sure one more time. The path that I am walking on is going to become a bloody one. In order to liberate everyone, I have chosen to throw away whatever humanity I have left. To become an apostle of death and free Luna from this parasitic evil no matter the costs...Are you sure you want to follow the same road?"

She stared me down with a stern unshakable look in her eyes. Refusing to back down.

Ventus spoke plainly.

"I told you once and I'll say it again Em. I will follow you wherever. Nothing matters to me as long as we achieve our goal. Use me however you will. I don't care even if it means my death but know that I am walking at your side on what will become a bloody road."

I looked her in the eye throughout her entire response. I accepted her resolve. Turning around I began to make my way back to the main room.

"Let's go."

We arrived to find Otto standing by the exit as we Silently approached him.

To any other individual the sight of us two in this particular armor would have thrown them into a cold sweat of panic.

To Otto, he just fell into a drunk stupor. He was high on his pride knowing full well how amazing his work looked and was.

As we neared him, he sobered up and spoke.

"Kid, are you ready for this? What lies up ahead is..."

"I have promises to keep Otto. No matter the cost."

"And are you sure this is the best way to go about this?"

I just stared at him. That was all the response that was needed.

He nodded in acknowledgement and began to move away as he responded.

"Don't die kid...I can't afford to lose you again."

Ventus and I started walking again, leaving Otto's sanctuary I finally whispered my reply.

"Stay safe old man..."