Chapter 489 [Abyssal Current]

What met Xia Nan's eyes was a complete half-body armor set consisting of a form-fitting inner lining and an outer shell.

The grainy, tough, and coarse skin, stripped whole from a Shark Beast, had undergone special processing to become a tight-fitting garment with the deep, steel-gray hue of the deep sea.

Through its creator's ingenuity, the monster's highly resilient tendons were wound in a spiral pattern along the seams of the shark skin. They looked like dark blue veins, adding further durability and flexibility to the inner lining.

The outer armor was pieced together from pale bone plates connected by gray-blue metal. It looked primitive and wild, but was actually meticulously designed—each piece sat flush to create a smooth, streamlined profile.

Unlike the solid, one-piece protection of the Plate-Chain Composite Armor, the chest piece was tightly woven from interwoven gray-blue metal and Shark Beast bone plates. It boasted a striking, layered aesthetic while maximizing the defensive properties of both materials.

The center of the chest dipped slightly inward, its surface carved with an incredibly dynamic swirling vortex pattern. It wasn't just for decoration; Xia Nan could feel dense magic particles churning at the vortex's core. The humid moisture in the air radiated straight from it.

Perhaps because the Shark Beast materials were so plentiful, and Xia Nan's ample funding had given the creator free rein to experiment, this armor set even came with two additional shoulder guards.

The Shark Beast's sharp, fierce lateral fins had been kept intact, curving upward from the sides of the gray-blue steel pauldrons like two inverted scimitars.

They might not be strictly useful in combat, but in terms of visual impact, they were maxed out.

Meanwhile, though Xia Nan appeared to be scrutinizing the armor, his eyes were actually focused on the equipment Attribute Panel floating in the void.

...

[Abyssal Current]

Type: Armor (Set)

Grade: Rare (Blue)

Effects:

1. +75% Durability;

2. +25% Fire Resistance;

3. +10% Blunt Damage Resistance;

4. +10% Slashing Damage Resistance;

5. +10% Piercing Damage Resistance;

6. +15% Movement Speed (Underwater);

7. -20% Stamina Consumption (Underwater);

8. [Marine Life]: The wearer can extract oxygen from seawater, extending underwater breathing time to a certain extent, and slightly mitigating the effects of water pressure on the body;

9. [Bloodthirsty Instinct]: The instinct of an ocean predator makes you extremely sensitive to blood. When the wearer is in an underwater environment, their Perception of injured enemies is amplified.

Description:

An armor set crafted from the flesh materials of an Abyssal Shark Beast and special metals. An outstanding forger has combined and maximized the advantages of these two materials. It boasts decent defensive stats even on land... but you're going to go into the water, right?

Note:

"I see the fin, it's right below! Swim! Swim..."

— Robinson, the "Flying Fish" and record holder for crossing the Silver Strait.

...

He had to admit it.

Even though Xia Nan had fully participated in the early planning stages of this equipment and had a good idea of its general appearance and special effects, he still couldn't help but click his tongue in awe when he actually saw the armor named [Abyssal Current] and the nine distinct modifiers on its Attribute Panel.

"+75% Durability" went without saying; it was practically a mandatory stat for this type of enchanted gear, reflecting its innate hardiness.

For reference, his [Decapitating Longsword]—which had carried him on purely base stats from the moment he transmigrated into this world until he became a Class Holder—only offered a +50% durability bonus.

And his straight sword, [Ember Fall]—forged by the exceptionally skilled blacksmith Barn using an expensive material like Solar Flame Iron Plating Powder and what was likely the world's only [Molten Ash Silver Ingot] from the Lingering Flame Secret Realm, with a quality sitting between "Rare (Blue)" and "Unique (Purple)"—only provided a 100% durability bonus.

[Abyssal Current]'s seventy-five percent durability increase was more than enough to prove its resilient defensive properties.

Then came its 25% Fire Resistance.

This was also very easy to understand. Since the armor was primarily crafted from a deep-sea Shark Beast, having some innate fire resistance was entirely expected.

But Xia Nan was thinking about how his fire resistance would already skyrocket once he activated [Ember Echoes] to enter the Ember state. Stacked with the fire resistance provided by [Abyssal Current] and combined with his own physical Constitution, he would likely be outright immune to ordinary flames. He couldn't help but look forward to the possibilities this might create in the future.

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th effects were even more straightforward. "Blunt," "Slashing," and "Piercing"—simply put, they essentially boosted Xia Nan's overall physical defense by 10%.

This vastly increased his margin for error when facing strong enemies in combat.

By comparison, during his previous fight with that mutated Shark Beast, if he had been wearing the [Abyssal Current] instead of the Plate-Chain Composite Armor hastily bought from the general store, he might have been able to rely on its defense to tank a heavy punch head-on and drain the enemy further. That way, he would have had an even greater chance of winning when he activated [Ember Echoes].

As for the final four special effects—6, 7, 8, and 9—they almost perfectly shored up Xia Nan's current weaknesses while adventuring in the Southern Archipelagos.

Initially, when he first arrived at Barracuda Bay, his inexperience and lack of skill in underwater combat made him avoid falling into the water at all costs. He did everything he could to keep his enemies on shore; he would rather shoot a crossbow from a deck than jump into the sea.

Later, as he gradually adapted [Fang Hunt] to oceanic environments, he experimented with treading on the water's surface and unleashing combat techniques underwater to simulate a zero-gravity effect. Yielding excellent results, he only then managed to slightly overcome his aversion to aquatic combat.

Even so, he only dared to fight enemies in shallow waters where he could still see the seabed.

His experiences with underwater battles made Xia Nan increasingly aware of his own shortcomings.

On one hand, there was his endurance. During high-speed movements, the seawater felt as thick as a mud pit, causing his stamina to drain far faster than it would on land. Even with a respectable 8 points in the Constitution attribute, it was completely insufficient. After activating [Fang Hunt] to dash back and forth a dozen times underwater, he could clearly feel the sore, exhausted muscles all over his body.

On the other hand, the primary factor limiting his ability to engage in prolonged underwater fights was naturally oxygen.

Xia Nan was a pure-blooded, proper human. At best, he just had slightly better physical stats. He didn't have gills growing on the sides of his neck, so he couldn't breathe underwater like a Half-Elf of Sea Elf descent or a fishman.

Many times, even when his stamina was still abundant, oxygen limitations forced him to temporarily abandon enemies right in front of him, using [Fang Hunt] to shoot up to the surface like a dolphin to take a breath.

But now, the underwater environment bonuses provided by [Abyssal Current]—"Movement Speed," "Stamina Consumption," and "Underwater Breathing"—perfectly patched up the critical weaknesses he urgently needed to address for his adventures in the Southern Archipelagos.

While it wouldn't make him fully adapted to the sea, it meant he wouldn't be as helpless as before, allowing him to face enemies whose main battlefield was the ocean with much more composure.

As for the final [Bloodthirsty Instinct], it was just like how a shark could sniff out a faint trace of blood in the sea. Xia Nan, whose Perception attribute was already outstanding, would likely be able to track every move of an injured enemy underwater just by relying on his Perception—as if he had turned on a 3D radar while wearing this armor.

That added up to a total of nine special effects.

Xia Nan even felt that there would be absolutely no problem treating the quality grade of [Abyssal Current] as purple (Unique).

But after his gaze carefully swept over the Attribute Panel, Xia Nan realized why this equipment hadn't reached a higher grade despite its stellar stats.

[Abyssal Current] wasn't just a single piece of equipment; it was a set formed by two blue-quality items—the form-fitting inner lining and the outer armor.

He had to admit that this would, to a certain extent, affect the wearer's upper combat limit.

If the wearer possessed another enchanted inner lining, they would have to choose between the two armors. Forcibly stacking them would severely impact the wearer's physical flexibility and might even produce negative effects.

Of course, for Xia Nan—who had an absurdly high armor destruction rate, breaking nearly every set of upper-body equipment he wore, and possessing absolutely no other enchanted armor—this wasn't something he needed to consider.

What truly limited the grade of [Abyssal Current] was the equipment's harsh environmental requirements.

It was born almost exclusively for underwater combat. Nearly half of its nine special effects only activated in the water. On land, it would probably just be considered an ordinary piece of green-grade gear with excellent defensive properties.

But... it was Rare-quality gear, after all. Xia Nan figured that no matter how aggressive he got in battle, it shouldn't break too quickly.

In any case, he had already acquired the spatial storage item, [White Flask]. Once he left the Southern Archipelagos, if he found more suitable armor, he could keep [Abyssal Current] stored in the Pocket Watch's space at all times. It could serve as backup armor on one hand, and as a secret weapon when he needed to go underwater on the other.

Naturally, this was something he only needed to consider later.

At least for now, in Barracuda Bay and throughout the entire Southern Archipelagos, the stat bonuses provided by [Abyssal Current] ensured it wouldn't pale much in comparison to ordinary Unique-quality gear.

Arriving at the tailor shop's fitting room, Xia Nan took off his shirt and changed into the full [Abyssal Current] set.

Looking at the tall and slender figure reflected in the full-length mirror inside the cubicle, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

This look, tsk tsk...

It wasn't that Xia Nan was narcissistic. Well, maybe just a little bit.

But the main reason was that [Abyssal Current] looked incredibly good on him!

During the early stages of production, Celianne had measured Xia Nan's physical dimensions with extreme precision and thoroughness. The tailor's slightly obsessive-compulsive, perfectionist personality might have made the crafting process seem overly drawn-out and dawdling, but the finished product was incomparably perfect.

The steel-gray shark skin inner lining felt like the professional athletic wear worn by athletes in his past life. It was form-fitting but not overly tight, as if a thin film had been applied to the surface of his skin, completely devoid of any cumbersome feeling.

At the same time, this perfectly highlighted Xia Nan's almost flawless, streamlined physique, honed through countless training sessions. The explosive contours of the muscles beneath the inner lining were clearly visible.

The outer armor and the inner lining originated from the same source, sharing a unified style while complementing each other. Despite its streamlined exterior woven from layers of blue-gray metal and white bone having a much larger coverage area and weight than the previous Plate-Chain Composite Armor, its weight distribution had been flexibly adjusted during the design phase to suit Xia Nan's physical characteristics. As a result, wearing it actually gave off a feeling of lightness.

Besides that, Xia Nan didn't know if Celianne had paid special attention to his gear or if it was just by a twist of fate.

The [Abyssal Current] outer armor, made of fish bones and special metals, actually looked incredibly well-matched with the [Bone-Bound Iron Greaves] Xia Nan was currently wearing.

It looked like a complete, top-to-bottom set of equipment.

"It's a perfect fit!"

Xia Nan couldn't be more satisfied with this—the very first blue-quality armor he had obtained since transmigrating.

Its stats went without saying, but even its appearance aligned with his aesthetic—low-key and restrained, yet not the slightest bit cheap.

Walking out in this outfit wouldn't draw too much attention, nor would it cause people to underestimate him.

Even ordinary people who knew absolutely nothing about extraordinary powers would instinctively think, 'This is an elite Adventurer,' upon seeing his gear.

And any professional Adventurer who knew their stuff would be able to sense the true value of his armor set.

"How is it? Are you satisfied?"

Seeing Xia Nan walk out of the fitting room wearing the armor, Celianne asked confidently, his expression and tone feeling more like a statement of fact than a question.

"It's excellent." Xia Nan didn't skimp on the praise.

Having meticulously crafted equipment recognized by the buyer was something that even legendary grandmaster blacksmiths, who had enjoyed a lifetime of praise, would never get tired of.

He had utilized the materials Xia Nan provided to their absolute limits, meticulously refining even the design to perfectly match the customer's aesthetic.

Hearing Xia Nan's response, the smile on the Half-Elf's face inevitably deepened, causing the fleshy gills on either side of his neck to flutter slightly.

"By the way," he extended a slender finger and pointed at the vortex-like pattern in the center of Xia Nan's chest armor, "I embedded the Shark Beast's swim bladder inside there as the core to connect the outer armor and the inner lining."

"I'm just mentioning it so you know where it is."

"You don't need to worry about it too much during normal combat. After all, that piece of metal is already the thickest and hardest part of the entire armor set. If even the swim bladder inside gets destroyed, then you honestly wouldn't need to worry about anything else anyway."

Hearing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but reach out and touch the vortex pattern on the surface of his chest armor. Feeling the icy-cold sensation against his fingertips, he nodded slightly to show that he understood.

However, his eyes flickered slightly, as if recalling the many pieces of armor he had scrapped over the past two years.

Suddenly noticing a gaze resting on him, he couldn't help but look up. He saw the tailor shop owner, the Half-Elf named Celianne, standing behind the counter and looking at him with an inexplicable expression.

"Ahem." Seeing that Xia Nan hadn't caught his drift, Celianne let out a somewhat deliberate dry cough before opening his mouth to speak again.

"You see... about the final payment for this equipment..."