Chapter 422: Testing The Armor

Lian kept his eyes on the armor for a moment.

That sentence was clear enough, an Ancient Rank armor with such quality and materials could really not be given a price.

"Put it on." Magnus suddenly turned toward Lian.

He nodded and stepped forward.

"Put your hand there and give it mana." The old man then pointed at the chest plate.

The young Vorhelm placed his palm on the black surface of the armor and slowly put mana into it, just as he had been told.

For a moment, nothing happened, but suddenly the silver lines on the armor lit up.

[Owner Synchronization initiated.]

[Analyzing Mana Signature...]

[Compatible.]

[User recognized.]

Suddenly, a heavy mechanical sound came from inside the armor.

Click.

The chest plate opened, then the shoulders, forearms, and thighs...the armor pieces separated from their stands one after another.

He did not even have time to move when the leg guards suddenly wrapped around his lower legs first.

Click. Click.

The thigh plates moved up, the hip guard locked into place, and then the main chest plate separated from its stand and landed heavily against his body.

The forearms.

The arms.

The shoulders.

And finally, the last long plate was placed over his back.

Click!

The entire armor locked into place, and at that moment he almost felt as if a mountain had fallen onto his body, enormous pressure settled on his shoulders and spine.

Hundreds of kilograms, and maybe even more, his knees were ready to bend for a fraction of a second, but then the silver lines became brighter.

[World-Bearing Frame synchronized.]

The weight suddenly changed, of course, it was not that the armor had actually become lighter, Lian could still feel its huge mass, but the pressure was no longer on one point.

It was spread across his entire skeleton and body, as if the armor itself knew how to carry its own weight.

He moved his fingers and then tested more parts, his forearms, shoulders, neck, and then took a step, the movement was almost natural and there was no problem.

Well, there was almost no problem, the armor did not seem to fit his height very well, as if it had been made according to his old measurements.

It was not annoying because his physical changes were not very large, but it was something he could still feel.

"For a moment, it felt like several hundred kilograms landed on me." He then looked at the blacksmith and said.

"The armor is heavy because of the materials and base materials, its mass has not disappeared even now and the World-Bearing Frame only spreads its weight across the owner’s body structure." Magnus nodded.

Lian’s eyes became a little brighter, so the mass was still there and that meant all of that real weight would be present during an impact and his attacks could carry the weight of this armor with them.

It could indirectly increase the power of his attacks.

This armor was performing beyond his expectations.

"What you are thinking is correct, you can use the weight of the armor for heavy attacks." Magnus said as if he had read his thoughts.

The corner of the young Vorhelm’s lips rose even more, a skill like Iron Fortress Charge had just become much more dangerous and useful.

Then suddenly the armor moved.

"Wait." The old man frowned.

Lian stayed still, the shoulder plates opened a few millimeters with a quiet sound, the side part of the chest stretched, the thigh guards moved lower, and the back plate also changed its shape slightly.

All of this took less than three seconds, then the armor locked again.

This time it fit completely against his body and there was no extra pressure or empty space anymore.

"Damn..." The blacksmith stared for several seconds and then said quietly.

"What happened?" Kain looked at him.

"When I made it, I made it according to his measurements from nine months ago and apparently the armor itself just changed to completely fit and match his body." Magnus moved a few steps closer and checked the shoulder connection.

It seemed that Structural Memory did not only preserve its original structure and after fully connecting to its owner, it also learned the proper shape of his body.

The blacksmith clearly had not designed this behavior either, the armor was acting as if it had a consciousness of its own.

And at that moment, no one knew whether this was a good thing or not.

A few minutes later, the three of them left the treasury, but they did not return to the main workshop, Magnus took them through another path.

Behind the treasury, there was another stone corridor that led to a deeper part of the underground area.

At the end of it was a huge hall.

The floor and walls were reinforced with gray metal, and the marks of hundreds of impacts could be seen on their surfaces.

Several large machines stood on both sides, the machines included pressure columns, testing plates, impact absorption arrays, and in the center was a huge mechanical arm with a hammer almost the size of a human’s upper body at its end.

Kain looked at the machine and then at the old blacksmith.

"This is under your forge?"

"Yes."

"Exactly how many hidden floors do you have under your forge?" How could this small building next to a street have so many underground floors?

"More than you need to know." Magnus said without reacting, he was one of the greatest blacksmiths in the country and the Blacksmith Association.

His blacksmith shop was very important to the country and no matter how much was needed, they were willing to invest in him and his blacksmith shop.

"Go to the center." He then stood beside the machine’s control panel.

Lian entered the marked area.

"For now, do not activate any skills, just stand there."

He nodded.

Magnus made several adjustments, and the huge arm of the machine slowly moved back.

"Is this really going to hit him?" Kain looked at the size of the hammer.

"Yes."

"How strong is it? Because I doubt a normal hammer would even be worth testing."

"If you were wearing A-Rank armor, you would die instantly."

Lian silently looked at the hammer, one of his previous armors was A-Rank and had helped him a lot and its power was completely clear.

And this thing could destroy such armor instantly? Then what exactly was it made of to have such power?

At that moment, Magnus pulled the lever down and the hammer was released.

BOOOOOM!

The impact hit the young Vorhelm directly in the chest and his entire vision shook for a moment, enormous pressure entered his body.

The old man had not even told them the full power of that damn hammer, this thing was enough to turn the body of a Rank 35 Awakened into ashes instantly.

Lian even doubted whether his body could survive it without the armor.

And the strangest part was that the pain did not stay focused on his chest, the force spread through the entire armor like a wave.

Chest, shoulders, back, sides, hips, and finally legs, the ground under his feet cracked with a dry sound and his body moved half a step backward.

That was it, an impact that could turn his body into ashes without armor had been blocked just like that.

[Mountain Frame activated.]

[Impact dispersed.]

Lian stood there for several seconds and then ran his hand over the armor’s chest, there was no dent and the armor was completely fine.

"...It’s awesome." He then said with clear satisfaction.

"This is the only part that I am sure I made myself." Magnus crossed his arms over his chest.

"If this was the first test, what is the second test going to be?" Kain looked at the impact point, he had also felt the force of that impact, he was sure that his body had no chance of surviving it.

"Stronger." The old man looked at him and then prepared the machine again.

"Activate Mountain Anchor, both feet completely on the ground, do not move."

Lian adjusted the position of his feet and mana flowed inside the armor.

[Mountain Anchor activated.]

At that moment, he felt something strange, as if his weight had suddenly become several times heavier.

Not in terms of pressure on his body, but in terms of his connection to the ground, and the plates under his feet matched the surface below them and the structure of the armor locked the lower legs, thighs, hips, and back spine together in one line.

"I am ready." He then took a calm breath.

Magnus increased the power of the machine.

The second impact was even heavier and a wave of air came out from the point of impact.

Dust rose from the floor and the cracks under the young Vorhelm’s feet spread farther, part of the ground directly behind his heels broke apart.

But Lian did not move and the force of the impact passed through the armor and went directly into the ground.

When the dust settled, he was still standing in the same place.

"I am really jealous now, this armor is like a miracle for solo hunting." Kain said with admiration.

After the test ended, Lian opened the armor’s full panel.

[World-Devourer Bastion]

[Rank: Ancient]

[Type: Full Body Armor]

[Primary Material: Unholy World-Devourer Giant]

[Owner: Lian Vorhelm]

[Increases the defensive power of the user’s body by 2500% based on the user’s own resistance]

[Skills]

[Mountain Frame — Passive]

[Mountain Anchor — Active]

[Giant’s Momentum — Passive]

[Structural Memory — Passive]

[World-Bearing Frame — Passive]

[Unique Trait]

[Mountain Evolution — Growth]

[Repeated survival against extreme physical pressure gradually reinforces the armor against similar structural forces.]

[Current Adaptations: None.]

Unique traits for artifacts were extremely rare and depending on their type and abilities, they could be even rarer.

It was very rare for S-Rank or even Ancient artifacts to have a Unique Trait, and they were still mostly found among the strongest types of artifacts.

He read the panel for several seconds, comparing this armor to his previous equipment was almost ridiculous because it was not just a simple increase in resistance.

It changed the entire way his body took impacts and moved, and the strongest part of his body was also much more resistant now after the first evolution.

Magnus had noticed the same thing and moved a few steps closer and tapped the armor’s shoulder with his finger.

"Your body has clearly gone through positive changes too, and it can distribute and endure power and pressure very well, much better than what a human body should be able to do, to the point that it feels like it is not a human body...."

He had no idea how correct his guess was.