Soul of Searing Steel

 Within the core manufacturing area, deep within the steel hall, there stood a three-meter tall transparent crystal container. Inside the semi-transparent crystal, an abnormal creature was stored within submerged in green fluid.

This creature had only the size of an eyeball. It had a gray exoskeleton with numerous sharp fangs. At first glance, it looked like a curled-up centipede. If one were to examine clearly, one might notice a tail with bones and a mouth similar to a spider, filled with barb-like teeth. The head of this creature was coated with three carapaces. Each layer of the carapace looked like polished crystals, with two little compound eyes on top.

It looked like some sort of infant of a living creature that did not seem to be fully developed yet. For example, it had half-grown wings on its back. In addition to that, there was a small horn poking out of its head that seemed to have grown recently. The limbs were not fully grown and the unclear runes on top of its carapace. All these were attributes of the strength it gained through growing and evolving.

“The aura of Chaos.”

Joshua muttered and looked carefully at this creature floating within the crystal tube. “This feeling…”

There was only one being which had the power to create such a devastating and terrifying creature across the history of the universe.

The Aragami.

This Aragami carcass, which was situated within the center of the forging room, had caused Joshua to be speechless.

“Sir Moreila, is this an Aragami?”

Joshua asked this old man and received a quick reply, “That is correct. These are the Aragami carcasses that I have collected all these years. Fear not my lad, as you can see they are nothing but dead bodies. They cannot harm you.”

Moreila noticed Joshua’s mood change in plain sight. He understood what this young warrior was thinking and explained, “Clyre is also one of the resistance members against the Aragami. That was the reason why Nostradamus invited her to take care of the Chaos corruption within your land.”

“Actually, I’m not thinking about that.”

Joshua shook his head and replied. “I have slain quite a number of Aragami which includes the young Aragami. However, this one has such a huge difference between the ones I knew.”

Recalling his days on slaying the scorpion-like Aragami during the last Dark Tide, they were creatures with six pairs of limbs and huge wings. Joshua had a hard time relating the beings he saw on the battlefield and the one lying within the tube.

The larvae Aragami all had the same traits. It did not really make sense as the current one in front of him was a bit different.

“Aragami is a creature which changes as time progresses. This larva here was captured 100 years ago. They were quite different from the Aragami now. It is highly possible that they changed their form to adapt the battlefield. There might also be also the possibility that they have evolved over time. We have no idea how many types of Aragami were there within their world.”

Moreila explained for a while and walked towards the crystal tube. He then operated the control station while replying Joshua, “After an Aragami dies, and it would immediately disintegrate and vanish, leaving only a core crystal behind. I had used some special fluid to maintain their form in order for us to study the weakness of these beings. By doing so, we could build stronger Divine Armaments and armor to go against them.”

Joshua did not reply Moreila and continued exploring the surroundings. There were a total of five crystal tubes containing Aragami carcasses of different size. The young warrior felt the aura of a Gold tier from one of the tubes.

“Joshua, previously you mentioned a about magic thing… What is that again?”

The short old man had a sudden urge to continue the conversation that was interrupted previously and brought them all back to that particular topic.

“It was the magic armor.”

Joshua noticed there was a little confusion he made there and he finally recalled.

Magic armor seems to be a simple term or a simple item at glance, but it was actually something made of rune magic and magic arts of the future.

Within the final phase of the first installment, humans were facing endless Dark Tide invasion. Although the number of humans could not be considered small, humans could not handle the loss of lives continuously at such a pace. Thus, the guidance and materials of cultivation were exposed to the mass. Magic knowledge was also open to all human beings. From then onwards, through numerous research and development, the rune magic and magic arts were found all due to the continuous effort from the human race.

An automated magic armor providing a strong exoskeleton for the user which could increase the battle capability of a Steel-tier warrior to a Silver tier. A Silver tier that equips decent magic armor could go against Gold tiers.

By utilizing the runic technology upon warriors and mages, it could boost their defense and survival capability tremendously. This equipment does not even restrict their movement or potential, it might even provide additional magic functionalities which were beneficial within the battlefield. The mass production of the magic armor would be vastly adopted and developed by every country to arm their forces against threats. It was all due to the contribution of this technology in the later stage of the installment which prevents human from facing a lot of imminent danger.

Joshua explained the concept of magic armor and the possibility of mass production to the old short man. He could see that Moreila was completely captivated by this topic.

To be honest, Joshua did not know any magic techniques. Although he might have known some during his gaming days, it was not the case anymore as the world turned real for him. Joshua could not be too sure whether he could perform everything like he did in the past. To Joshua, magic was not as reliable as martial arts. Any error occurred during the magic casting could not only cause his own demise but for everyone around him as well. Thus, Joshua planned to promote the concepts and designs of the future to the geniuses and strong within this era and allow them to drive the evolution of human race.

“Your information is very informative and the direction of development is very clear. It is worth trying out.”

Moreila looked at Joshua seriously and said, “To think that my original train of thought was so lacking due to aging and habits. What you have said made a lot of sense. Rune factories with the capability to mass produce… it is a good idea. After all, it is definitely better than hammering the iron over and over again. That method wastes too much time.”

Moreila paused as he looked into the eyes of Joshua, then with determination, he said, “If there’s another chance, we would discuss further on this topic. However, today I have something else to show you. I am here to show you the last step to complete the ‘Hand-Crafted Armor’.”

The old man then moved towards the stonewall within the manufacturing room. After he hit specific parts of the wall, the sound of gears moving could be heard. Then the metal wall moved, showing a path towards an inner sanctuary. Within that place laid a metal box.

Joshua moved towards the box and opened it. In the box, there was a set of thick and sturdy black armor.

This black armor was made with layers and layers of sturdy material. It was designed as well as the packed scales of a dragon without any gaps in between. The helmet of this set of armor had a horn-like design similar to the horns of a dragon. On top of this brilliant masterpiece, the flow of magic could be felt coursing through this piece of art. The helmet had a “V” shaped viewing path for the user made of transparent steel crystal. The armor on the thighs and legs were very solid as well.

The whole armor looked to weight more than 300 kilograms. It might be even more than that. Joshua careful examined this piece of art. The black outer layer of the armor was made of fusion material and titan core. These materials had very strong anti-magic properties, was sturdy and weighed extremely heavy.

“Just this piece of armor easily exceeds the weight of a warrior and his warhorse.”

Joshua moved forward and touched the armor. He felt very excited about this, “If it was Pegasus from the elven tribe or the Unicorn, they could only sustain two pieces of this armor at most. It is definitely very well made. Even if I were to use a little destructive force on it, it would not change the state of the material at all.”

Joshua was a man who could destroy metal and mountains with bare hands. Most armor were nothing in his eyes. Today, he had finally found something which could handle his attacks. This had proven that the armor was top quality.

“Weight is also an advantage for defense and attack power.”

Moreila examined his masterpiece and smiled, “You are a Gold-tier warrior. Dashing into the battle with this baby equipped is not a challenge for you at all. Although it will slightly decrease speed, it could transform you into an unbeatable fort. It could allow you to battle, to kill endlessly. You know very well what you can with this.”

Joshua definitely knew about this. Within a military formation, he could build an advantage by leading a charge by wearing this armor. No one could stop him and his army in that case. You could just imagine he could be even sturdier than a tank. Just running through the infantries would cause heavy damage to the opponent by swinging his weapon.

However, this armor was definitely not suitable for forest, swamp or desert battlefield. The armor will only bring torture in that environment.

The old man continued to explain about his treasured product, “The outer layer which was fashioned with the scales of a dragon with titan core as one of the ingredients could render Silver tier attacks useless. The overall main ingredient of the armor would be the [Aragami Crystal]. Even if I were to use my full power to swing on this armor, I could not destroy it within a short time frame. It would only cause some dents and that would be the final verdict.

Joshua caressed the armor with satisfaction and said, “So what’s the last step here?”

Moreila immediately answered, “Channel your energy into it and activate the magic seal on it.”

Moreila continued smiling while he said, “Long time ago, my ancestor had made an oath stating ‘One Divine Armament, One Set Magic Armor’. You have successfully contracted the second Divine Armament. Based on the legacy I inherited, I should be giving you two pieces of the armor. However, making the second set would take up all my remaining materials. Thus, it might be sometime later that you’ll receive your second one.”

Joshua who was standing there was surprised to hear those interesting information from the old man.

“There’s no need for the second set. You don’t have to uphold that promise your ancestor made.”

Joshua shook his head and said, “I could never take something away from others without giving them back. Even if it was an agreement of the past, it does not relate to me personally. Master Moreila, my man had brought forth the material from the Ajax Aurumseeking Draconian Spider and the Corrupted Black Dragon. These are Gold-tier materials which could mitigate some of your losses for giving me this armor. If it is not enough for you, I could hunt some Gold-tier beasts for you. After all, I’m pretty interested in hunting and it is not a big deal to me anyway.”

“There is no need for such a deed…”

Joshua disagreed and said, “If you wish to help me, then you could always enhance my current armor in the future. I had told you about the new design and implementation for armor, am I right?”

Moreila was excited and said, “We could start from your armor and design the first magic armor in the world!”

Clyre could not understand the heated conversation regarding armor and technology. She could only sigh helplessly.

“All men are the same. Their love for weapons and armor are just inconceivable.”

Clyre did not feel annoyed about this. She actually smiled for a while, thinking about her distant past.

Time passed as the conversation continued

After all, Joshua’s profession was at Level 22. He did not waste time doing nothing.

After quite a long time, Moreila breathed an air of relief after confirming the path to alter and improve the design of the armor. He looked at this blueprint and exclaimed, “Who could have known, your knowledge in design and manufacturing is unbelievable. I thought you were all brawn and no brain.”

Joshua was quite satisfied with the design as well. “Sometimes, man would dream of the equipment they desire. However, I noticed that my talent on this field was limited at some point. I had just chosen the path that was more suitable for me later on rather than sulking and getting jealous of others.”

“This was way better than the norm. You only lacked in time to discover this talent of yours.”

After a small pause, Joshua recalled some important stuff.

“That’s right. Master Moreila, other than this armor today, I have another favor to ask of you.”

Joshua then took out a small box that was kept near his chest. He then opened the box and showed Moreila. “Could you please help me appraise this steel-essence crystal? There was an unknown power within the crystal which I could not identify.”

“Steel-essence crystal? This is not something common one sees every day.”

“Be careful. Do not touch it directly. It could get really nasty later on.”

Moreila nodded in agreement. Following Joshua’s instruction, the old man took the box from Joshua. Then, he channeled a golden aura on his hand and removed the dark-red crystal from the box.

The old man who had tinkered with all sorts of materials appraised the crystal cautiously. “The color is a bit strange. The energy was leaking rapidly from the crystal… this is… Huh!?… Hold on a moment, based on this rate, the crystal should have completely vanished by now.”

“What sort of energy is currently sustaining its form?”