n

n

n

"That depends what Tier of armor you are looking for,

" The demi-human replied.

n

"I don't really know, I need to know the cost first.

"

nNodding the man turned into one of the back rooms that was used as storage,

"Most of the pieces might not be of use to you. But you are free to take a look, we can negotiate the prices. Do you have any other gold?

"

nShaking his head Eldrian started looking, ignoring the pieces designed specifically for centaurs. He could use some of the breastplates, gauntlets, or pauldrons, but that was about it. Naturally, helmets were one thing that seemed to be shaped the same among all races.

nEldrian having yet to meet a race with horns, though some of the helmets were modified for demi-humans. The modification did not make it unwearable, it just lessened the protected area.

n'Were should I even start?' Eldrian wondered as he used mana sense to get a sense of what was good and what was not. Canceling it almost immediately when he found himself overwhelmed with information.

n'Alright, let's rather first find things that actually fit.' He thought and started his search, starting with looking for a breastplate. It was the largest part of him and as such he thought it would be good to have some protection there.

nMagical Breastplate, Diorila

nTier 1

nArmor: 20

nDurability: 4.8k

/5.2k

nAttribute requirements:

nStrength: 103; Agility: 94; Intelligence: 78

nAbilities:

nActive: Protect!- When given a burst of mana increase the armor rating by 15 for 15 seconds.

nCost: 25MP ; Cooldown: 45 seconds

n'Not bad,' Eldrian thought as he picked it up and tried to see if it would fit. The breastplate was was just a singular plate he could fasten with a few leather straps to himself. When he had it on he immediately felt uncomfortable, feeling restricted.

n'You'll get used to it,' He told himself as he glanced at Aoidos's damage. The spear had a damage value of 36, meaning that the armor would stop most of the damage if he used the active. However, the armor would be damaged in the process.

nEldrian was unsure how much the damage would be, but recalling that in some cases armor simply gave like paper he really did not want something too weak. A large part of why he had avoided buying armor till now.

n'Repairs are going to be darn expensive, but if it can block Aoidos it should be able to block most weapons. It would completely stop Gray.' Turning towards the guild representative Eldrian realized he had never asked the man's name.

n

"How much is this one?

" Eldrian asked, asking after what the man's name was.

n

"Lagou, and that piece was originally at 7 gold. It is cheaper than most due to how little it protects.

"

nNodding Eldrian asked how much he would have to pay. The armor just protecting his chest and a little bit of his stomach. Something he actually quite liked since it allowed him to keep his movements less restricted than some of the other breastplates that went down to the waist.

nHe did not even look at the cuirasses, while the protection was almost complete, he felt he would suffocate in them.

n

"I can offer it to you for 5 gold.

"

n

"Not bad at all, what metal is it made of?

"

n

"Black steal, most armors are made of black steel. Some might have a dash of mithril or some other higher grade metal but those are quite rare.

"

n'Yet it is 5 gold...' Eldrian did not know what to think of that. Pushing that to the back of his mind he took the breastplate off and put it aside in a not so cluttered corner as he continued his search.

n'Ideally, I want armor that can either give me a massive boost in strength or take a really strong blow.' He thought as he searched through the piles of items. Luckily they were sorted by type, but that did not mean much.

n'Tier 3?' Coming to a standstill Eldrian held the gauntlet in hand over his forearm and just knew he was not going to be able to afford it.

nThe gauntlet was a dull gray with light blue runes covering most of it. Eldrian's first thought was that the runes would be easily damaged, however, if that was the case there was no way it would ever have been created.

nMagical Gauntlet(right), Kyma (Set piece)

nTier 3

nArmor: 34

nDurability: 24k

/25k

nAttribute requirements:

nStrength: 140; Agility: 134; Intelligence: 127; Spirit: 138

nAbilities:

nPassive: Awaken- While the gauntlet is equipped increases the user's stamina and mana regeneration.

n{2 SP every 5 seconds, 1 MP every 5 seconds}

n'How on earth?' Eldrian activated mana sense fully to try and see how the item could increase his regen, forgetting completely that Aoidos had a similar ability.

nWhen Eldrian chose not to restrict mana sense the amount of information he received was truly overwhelming. Mustering through, he managed to see that some mana was slowly being drawn to the gauntlet. However, he could not see what happened to the mana from there.

nReturning his focus to the gauntlet's ability he gasped at what the active could do.

nActive: Give me some space!- Sends a shockwave in the direction of the gauntlet.

nCost: 30MP ; Cooldown: 15 seconds

n'Shockwave? How strong of a shockwave?' Eldrian wanted to equip the item there and then to try it out, realizing in time that doing so would be quite improper.

n

"How much is this one?

" Eldrian asked, hoping that it would be affordable but highly doubting it.

n

"Give me a second,

" Lagou quickly flipped through the clipboard hanging on the wall,

"Yes, this should be the one...

" Lagou mumbled as he turned towards Eldrian,

"The gauntlet is part of a set, however, unfortunately we do not have its partner.

"

nNodding Eldrian had assumed as much since the gauntlet had just been laying around in a mess of other gauntlets.

n

"Its original price with the other was altogether 90 gold. However, with the other missing the set bonus is missing.

"

n

"And what is that?

" Eldrian asked as he sighed that in recognition that he would not be able to afford it. Wondering slightly why mana sense did not show the set bonus.

n

"A universal 5% attribute boost.

"

nEldrian stood dumbstruck and completely missed as Lagou told him what he could sell it for. 'That should be almost equal to the bonus attributes from reaching Tier 2.' Eldrian had no idea how the bonus was calculated, but that was truly impressive.

nAfter a good while he finally recovered and apologized,

"Ah sorry, I blanked out hearing the set bonus. What did you say after that?

" Eldrian asked, slightly embarrassed at his complete unprofessionalism

n

"Not a problem, it is truly something that is not often seen below Tier 5.

" Lagou calmly replied,

"Due to the set being incomplete it is deemed more a Tier 2 gauntlet than a Tier 3. I can offer it to you for 17 gold.

"

n'17 gold? Is that good? How good is the shockwave though? It would be useless if I can learn an equivalent spell.' Eldrian wondered, knowing that for others it would always be handy. However, he could instantly cast spells. Something that made this far less appealing if he could just going to use a spell instead.

n

"How strong is the shockwave?

"

n

"You are more than welcome to try it out, however, let's first finish up here. We will need to go to the training grounds. There is a special array allowing you to use an item as if you have imprinted it.

"

nNodding Eldrian assumed imprinting was the NPCs way of saying binding. Recalling that the system always asked if he wanted to bond with an item when he first equipped it. The same prompt having come up each time he tested if a piece would fit.

n'How is that possible though, and why?' He knew that it was not hard to unbind an item, at least not for players. As if reading his mind Lagou explained as he started his search anew.

n

"The benefit of testing out items there is that you can both go full out and the un-imprinting process can be skipped. While it is not terribly difficult, it makes testing multiple items far more time-consuming. Unlike weapons, you can't have multiple armor pieces imprinted at a time.

"

nNodding in reply Eldrian picked up a dust-covered shoulder guard.

nMagical Pauldron(left), Amos

nTier 2

nArmor: 27

nDurability: 13k

/15k

nAttribute requirements:

nStrength: 112; Agility: 116; Intelligence: 102

nAbilities:

nPassive: By your side- A constant reminder that you are not alone. Increases armor rating by 1 for every 48 hours worn, up to a max of 10

nActive: I need a shield!- Detaching and morphing, the pauldron will format a buckler shield. While small, the shield will block most anything thrown at it.

n(Costs 45MP & 250 durablilty)

n

"Ummm...

" Eldrian did not know what to say, he did not know what to even think about that. The passive required a heck ton of investment while the second was not mana cheap.

n

"Do you have any idea how this shoulder guard's active works?

"

nHesitating Ladou said it would be best if he tried it out himself.

n

"Alright, then let's go.

"

n

"Is it only these 3 you are interested in?

"

nNodding Eldrian replied that it would depend on how their abilities worked. Completely aware that he might not even be able to afford all 3.

nAs they set out Eldrian asked how much the paldron would be.

n

"Normally it would be 22 gold, even at discount. However, if you take all 3 I will call it even.

"

n