The armor that formed around his body looked very different from the armor he imagined in his head. For instance, the armor appeared more like an exoskeleton than an actual armor with long, bone-like pieces coiling around his body and connecting like a complex net of sorts.
There wasn’t a single part of his body that was fully covered in the armor and instead, it felt like he was strapped with thick belts of tough white material than an actual full armor.
“Huh…” Arthur muttered as he lifted his hand up slowly. There wasn’t any resistance or weight he had to carry to do that move and that was when he realized that the armor itself was weightless. He couldn’t feel any level of restraint.
‘This is the weirdest armor I have ever seen.’ He thought to himself. ‘It almost looks like a bunch of straps. How is this going to protect me?’
“So, what do you think?” Merry asked. “It’s good, isn’t it?”
“… It’s… Odd.” Arthur replied as he kept examining the armor. “It doesn’t feel… like an armor.”
That was perhaps Arthur’s biggest confusion about this armor. He couldn’t feel like it was really something that would stop attacks and protect his body even though it said it will.
“I suspected you would think that way. Well, the reason you aren’t feeling like it’s protective enough, is because you haven’t activated the armor yet. The mana you infused into it just now was enough to make it work, but not enough to activate it.” Merry explained.
“Oh? It’s not activated now?”
“No, to activate, you have to supply it with mana. Try doing that now.”
The boy nodded his head and took a deep breath before he channeled his mana around his body again. The energy coursed through his cells, infusing them with vigor and power. Then, Arthur slowly guided the mana through his skin and into the armor.
He was exceptionally careful as this was still a completely foreign object to him that he didn’t know everything about. The moment his mana made contact with the armor, it was absorbed greedily as if the armor was starving for that mana.
Then, Arthur felt something quickly change. The straps of white bones started expanding on their own, growing larger and thicker in real time. Quickly, it formed a thick layer around Arthur’s entire body.
The tips of his fingers turned into sharp white claws while his feet were covered in thick boots, as the exoskeleton started looking like armor… A very terrifying armor. On Arthur’s chest, a menacing skull formed out of nowhere, finishing the entire armor.
“… This is insane! How did it…”
“That is the magic of that emblem. Whenever it is infused with mana, it turns into a full armor out of nowhere. Now, does it look more like an armor to you?” Merry asked.
Staring at his body, Arthur nodded his head eagerly. “Now it looks like a cool armor! Even cooler than the armor I was wearing! Not to mention how light and flexible it feels, I can move in it with no problem.”
“I’m happy to hear tha- Hm?”
As Merry was about to congratulate him, she suddenly noticed something very odd. Her eyes squinted as she stared at Arthur. The boy caught the change in her expression.
“Is everything ok?”
“Don’t move,” Merry said coldly as she approached him and lifted his hand. Then, she looked closely at it.
“What is happen-”
That was when Merry’s eyes widened slightly. “The armor… It’s changing in color.” She said.
“Huh?” Arthur was taken aback. “What do you mean?”
So, the woman simply twisted his arm around and showed him. There, Arthur saw a small red spot appearing at the tip of his fingers that was growing visibly with each passing second. By the time he reacted to that, his fingers were already completely red in color.
“Huh? Is this normal? Why is it changing color?”
“…” Merry didn’t reply as she kept staring at the change. ‘This is weird… I have never seen this armor react that way to being worn. Is it because of this boy’s mana? But, what kind of Mana does this?’
In her entire life, Merry had never come across something so odd. Mana is a type of energy that doesn’t change from one person to another, it is the same mana for everyone with varying degrees of quality. However, even the best of the best still have the same form of mana with nothing different about it.
However, the fact the Shattered Skull Armor Set was reacting to it in such a way meant that something very off was happening.
“Merry?”
Hearing Arthur’s confused voice, Merry snapped out of her daze. She instinctively took a step back as she said.
“Well, this is a little odd. Are you feeling anything different, Arthur?” She asked while still watching his arm and shoulders getting submerged in that bloody red color.
“Uh, no complaints. I don’t feel anything different.” He said. ‘Though, this color is looking pretty nice. Maybe this is some kind of hidden feature the armor had. I don’t mind the red color as it is more badass.’
For the next minute or so, the two watched as the armor turned completely red from head to toe with some areas being very dark red that they almost appeared black in color. The new mix of shades turned this ominous armor into an even more terrifying one.
The aura around it was darker and heavier as if there was some kind of evil spirit roaming around it endlessly.
“Very interesting. You have just shown me something completely new, kid.” Merry said. “This is perhaps the most intriguing thing I have seen in a long time.”
“What can I say? I’m full of surprises. This armor knew that I like the color red so it decided to change to fit my taste.”
“I wish it was that simple,” Merry muttered under her breath.
“Hm? Did you say something?”
“No, nothing…” Merry replied as she walked past Arthur.
“So, how much do you want for the armor?” Arthur asked.
“Hmm, usually, I would sell that armor for two gold coins at least.”
“Two gold coins?!” Arthur blurted out in shock. ‘That is way above whatever money I have! I don’t even have a single gold coin yet!’
Even though Arthur could consider himself to be quite wealthy in the game, he was far from the wealthiest. The money he had was minimal even when put into his perspective.
“I said ‘usually’, kid. Don’t jump your horse yet. But, since you seem like quite an interesting boy, I will give you a discount. 200 silver coins.”
“200 silvers, huh?” Arthur muttered. “Ok, that is fine. I have enough money.” He said as he opened his menu and pulled his pouch of coins out before he emptied it on the table.
“Those are 325 coins. I will take 125 coins and then you can have the rest.” He said.
“Good.” Merry nodded her head.
“What about the old armor? How much does it cost to fix it?”
“Oh, this one? Well, for now, it’s for free. This option is mainly something I want to do because this obsidian is rare and I’m quite fascinated by it.”
“Hm, if you say so… Well, if that is the case then I will keep it in your care.” Arthur nodded his head. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have to leave. But, where can I find you again, Merry?”
“I am never in one single place. But, I do have one way for my special customers to find me. Wait there a second.”
Turning around, Merry busied herself with something. Arthur waited curiously for what she wanted to give him. A few seconds later, she turned around and handed Arthur something. The item was in reality a small, featurless silver coin. It had nothing interesting about it except for a small arrow drawn on it, aiming in one direction.
“Hm? A coin?”
“This thing is a ‘Direction coin’. It is a useful item that will show you where to go to find me. Put it vertically on the palm of your hand.” She said.
Arthur nodded his head and did what she asked. The moment he did that, the coin magically started changing directions until it aimed at Merry.
“Wow! It really pointed at you!”
“Now, whenever you want to find me, just use that coin and it will lead you to me.” Merry nodded her head.
“Thank you! I will take care of it then!”
With that, Arthur bid Merry farewell and left the carriage, closing the door behind him. The woman stood there for a while staring at the closed door, her mind wandering somewhere different.
“What an odd one… Everything about him is odd. Who thought I would find someone like that so randomly.” She muttered as she exhaled a small breath. Arthur was truly one of a kind and a few minutes were more than enough to confirm that for Merry.
“I wonder where he came from.” She said as she picked up the armor set Arthur gave her before leaving. At that moment, her nose caught something.
“Hm?” Her eyes looked down at the armor, a little confused. “What… is this smell?”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3