“New Equipment”

When I returned to the blacksmith's shop, the dwarf master was standing at the reception. That meant the work was completed. It might seem too early to finish the metalworking job, but production skills worked that way.

The master grinned and nodded, pointing towards the back room.

Upon entering the room with the master, in the center of a space resembling a workshop, a dull-shining full-body armor stood imposingly.

Next to it, there were many small metal plates bound together with leather straps, forming what is commonly known as lamellar armor.

The full-body armor was for Gil, and the lamellar armor was for Wayne, presumably.

I decided to try them on.

The master adjusted the belts and buckles, tailoring the armor to fit Wayne and Gil.

The full-body armor wasn't as thick as I expected, deriving structural strength from its forged shape. It seemed to be a form of fluted armor. Thanks to this design, it didn't feel as heavy as it looked, and Gil, with high STR and VIT, wore it effortlessly.

However, the defense was on another level. Wayne's iron sword, which had been at his waist until this morning, wouldn't leave a scratch on it.

On the other hand, Wayne's lamellar armor felt slightly heavier than it looked. Despite being made of small metal pieces, the quantity used, along with the weight of the leather, made it so. But the defense was more than it appeared. It could withstand simple slashing and piercing attacks just as well as Gil's armor. However, it might not fare as well against attacks with significant force or blunt strikes.

For mobility, the sides, groin, elbows, and the back of the knees were intentionally left slightly exposed. Adamas wasn't used in Wayne's armor. While maneuvering required caution, Wayne, at his current level, should be able to dodge effectively or use the high-defense areas to his advantage.

"This is amazing."

"Yeah."

Agreeing with Gil's murmured words, Wayne received size adjustments from the master.

There was no other way to express it in words. It was undoubtedly top-notch material and craftsmanship.

"Oh, you can't forget about these!"

The master pointed at the swords and shields on the workbench.

There were two swords, one a slightly smaller broadsword, designed for one-handed use with a shield, likely for Gil. The other was a longsword, usable with one hand but with a longer hilt, allowing for a two-handed grip. It was also called a bastard sword.

The shield was a large square-shaped one, referred to as a scutum, typically made of wood or leather. When made entirely of metal like this, it would be too heavy for most people, but for mercenaries and knights with high STR and VIT, it could be used effectively. Of course, it was for Gil.

Like the full-body armor from earlier, the shield was impervious to Wayne's iron sword.

As for the swords, there was no suitable target to test their sharpness. If there were bundles of straw wrapped around bamboo, it would be perfect, but Wayne hadn't seen such things in the game. He hadn't seen them in real life either.

"To test the sharpness, you might have to try slashing some monsters."

"Use that firewood over there! Cut it vertically, and you'll save yourself the trouble of chopping firewood!"

It was an unreasonable request. While it might be possible to cut it, it wasn't something a sword was designed for.

"If it's vertical, do it yourself. If it's horizontal…"

Gil raised his sword in an upper stance. The master grabbed some firewood and threw it, curving towards him.

Normally, the firewood would be struck by the sword but not be cut, slamming onto the ground.

However, to Gil's apparent surprise, the sword swung silently, and the firewood fell to the ground, neatly split in half.

"Woah, that was amazing!"

Even Wayne, who was watching, couldn't find the words. It was like Gil's sword flash from two days ago—or rather, the one he'd seen every day before maintenance. It wasn't that his skill level had suddenly increased. If anything, the armor had become relatively lighter, giving him a bit more speed, but that was it.

"You try, Wayne."

Gil threw the remaining firewood in an arc. Since Gil had already cut it in half, it increased the difficulty. The target was smaller, and the weight had halved, making it harder to cut.

With a brief moment to calm his mind, Wayne concentrated. It would be disastrous if he hit at an odd angle. At this point, he could not afford such rookie mistakes.

Like Gil, Wayne raised his sword in an upper stance, calculating the timing for a downward swing.

"Huah!"

Due to the lack of resistance, the sword passed through effortlessly, almost causing Wayne to hit the ground with the sword's tip. Thanks to his STR, such a clumsy mistake was avoided, but he needed to be careful not to cut his own leg. At this point, making rookie mistakes like that was unacceptable.

"That's incredible," Wayne muttered, still shocked by the experience.

The firewood on the floor had been further split in half. I checked the blade and found not a single chip. Truly, it could be called fantasy metal.

With this, it should be possible to cut through monsters, bones and all.

"No issues, it seems! Ah, I did a good job!"

"Thank you, Master! This is fantastic equipment."

"Yeah! We've certainly become much stronger, but it seems we're still no match for our equipment. We need a bit more training."

Wayne and Gil expressed their gratitude to the master and received their old equipment back. Gil's equipment was taken as a trade-in, while Wayne's was offered for disposal. They were asked if they wanted to leave it as it is, considering such incidents might happen again, and they chose to take it with them.

Seeing this, MentaList looked satisfied.

"Now then, if both of you are satisfied, that's good. Now, about the payment."

"Well, about that, the materials you left with us this time are still in surplus. If you guys don't mind, you can leave them here, and I'll waive the labor cost."

Wayne and Gil looked at MentaList. Originally, those materials belonged to him.

"…If you promise not to disclose that you got them from us or mercenaries, it's fine. You can say you came across them through some unique route."

"Yeah, well, you don't have to worry too much about that. Rarely does anyone ask about such things. After all, even if you have the materials, they're useless if you can't process them."

While the master said that, it might not hold true in the future. As player crafting professions, especially blacksmiths, continue to grow, when Adamas becomes the appropriate material, such information will be crucial.

However, even for MentaList and others, they obtained it as some sort of event reward by chance. He just didn't want Wayne and the others to expose their unique acquisition route. It wasn't about safeguarding their own procurement strategy or anything like that.

"Well, as long as you guys don't leak our information, anything is fine. By the way, is that really enough? It seems like you've incorporated quite a bit of skill into it."

While the working time was effectively half a day, an unbelievably short delivery time, the quality was undoubtedly top-notch. Normally, reducing the delivery time without compromising quality would increase costs.

"That's because the master was so pleased that he decided to improve the quality on his own, so there's no need for the customer to worry. Also, considering the amount we'll pay for the remaining Adamas, the difference shouldn't be that much."

The woman at the reception, who had popped her head into the workshop, answered so. She was likely in charge of accounting. Her response indicated that, judging from the phrasing, the material itself had become quite valuable. Wayne, and even Gil, would probably take some time to fully pay off.

"Well, I don't think you need to worry about that. From the moment we were in the capital, I already considered us a part of this party. Picking up dropped items is also part of the party's work.

If you really insist, you can return it to us in kind."

This was likely what MentaList wanted to convey.

"…Understood. Our equipment is complete, so let's start an attack on Hiers soon.

First, let's head towards the city of Erntal, partly to assess the situation. I remember it was also devastated by the minions of the calamity."

"Weren't there zombies and red skeletons? Also, a giant stag beetle?"

"On the simple map, it may not seem like much of a distance, but we'll have to detour around that highland. It'll be a bit of a roundabout, but there's no helping it."

It was about time when the difficulty level in the vicinity of this town had hit a plateau in terms of experience points. Wayne and Gil decided to move towards Hiers for the purpose of acclimating to their new equipment and gaining more experience. Once the teleportation service was implemented, they could reach their goal.

Wayne and Gil, setting the conquest of the Hiers capital as their new goal, began planning their journey.