Chapter 2402: The Power of Armor

Chapter 2402: Chapter 2402: The Power of Armor

Next, Shard quietly finished his second breakfast, and after the maids cleared the table, Miss Nate’s sword returned to Shard’s hand.

Audrey and Miss Aphrola believed that although this sword was just an ordinary item, it still had great research value:

"Although the Council has preserved quite a few personal items of the Fifth Era’s witches, there truly isn’t anything related to the witches’ inception like this."

Saying this, they both looked at Shard. Seeing their reluctant expressions, Shard smiled and lent the sword out:

"Anyway, keeping it with me is just for remembrance. Here, return it after the Moon Bay incident, as long as you don’t damage it, feel free to research it."

"I knew you never hold back from us."

Miss Aphrola shyly kissed Shard on the side of his face, whereas Audrey, the Twin Witch, merely smiled at him with pursed lips, reminding Shard of her expression last week when she held that glass goblet.

As for Luviya and Miss Belindel, who were divining that glowing armor, even as exceptional as they were, they could not draw many effective conclusions over just one meal.

"But your speculation is correct, wearing this armor can indeed evade some of the damage from the unusual glow."

Luviya said, then let Shard don the armor:

"Last time, wasn’t the glow from that light sword collected by Empty Bottle Fruit? Let’s test it now, although this armor seems tailored for you, if it can resist that kind of glow, it can protect others even if it fits loosely."

Others were curious about the experiment too, but before they helped Shard put on the armor, Miss Matilda hurriedly brought a letter for Megan and Audrey.

The wise Grand Witch opened the letter and unexpectedly raised an eyebrow, saying to Shard:

"There’s news."

"What news?"

"My cousin Nadia Folan finally agreed to answer my letter. She promised to meet you and me at Moon Bay, the time and place to be determined by her, sometime this week. How about it, ready to meet her?"

Nadia Folan and Megan Audrey are both part of the "Edwards Family" fifth generation, sharing the same grandfather. The former is a cultist of the Dragon Feast Cult and serves as a bridge for Ancestor Laplace Howard to communicate with the Dragon Feast Cult.

Although she is the mother of Velindale’s Furen brothers, Megan and Audrey are actually older than her. Of course, the Edwards family has a complex and "magical" lineage, thus Ms. Nadia Folan appears not very old, looking just over thirty.

Before the Battle of Green Lake, she provided Shard with critical information. The last time she was seen was after the Battle of Green Lake ended, when all Edwards family members reunited at the old manor.

"Finally got in touch? I thought she didn’t want to deal with us. Yes, definitely need to see her."

The meeting between Nadia Folan, Shard, and her witch cousin poses a risk for herself since it’s set at night. Specifically, in the letter, she proposed for Wednesday, the day after tomorrow at 8 p.m., at the "Melis Book Club" in the South City’s Lower District.

"Where is this place?"

Shard asked the Countess, who recalled:

"I think I remember; three years ago during a relic trade with local Circle Sorcerers, I arranged for my followers to visit.

It’s a regular library on the edge of Lower District where you can pay an annual fee to access books anytime, and you can transcribe too for an additional fee, so calling it a club or library fits. It’s near the Taton River, further south than Herring Street, which you’re familiar with. East is the riverbank, west is the labyrinth of Lower District alleys, and south is the Dock Area, quite secure."

"Alright, Audrey, reply that we can meet."

Shard said, and the witch gently nodded:

"I’ll accompany you then. I’ll only meet her once and stay nearby as lookout; you deal with any matters with her, after all, you make the decisions here. Although we’re relatives, we can’t completely trust her, and we should maintain cautiousness."

Next, proceed to test the unusual glow resistance of the "Light Lion Armor" in the manor’s basement, attracting even Emilia and Angelina to join in the fun.

The witches helped Shard don the intricate golden armor; when Shard participated in the "Tobesk Spring Ring Horsemanship Competition," he actually didn’t attach the chains to the armor, but this time, under Luviya’s encouragement, the girls assembled all components of the armor on Shard.

"Truly magnificent."

Although the basement lights were on, when Shard wearing the glowing armor "appeared," he was still the brightest in the room. The solemnity and holiness made the Sharp-eared Elf Girl exclaim in awe, then she saw the repeatedly tested "Empty Bottle Fruit" used for "light creation" being retrieved.

Hevy Aphrola, the Grand Witch of "Light," personally donned special gloves to uncork the bottle. Making sure Shard’s helmet was on, she poured the light towards him like water from the bottle.

Everyone immediately stepped back, and the ritual symbols on the floor surrounding Shard lit up simultaneously, nearly completely shielding the weakened light, a recent research achievement by the witches.

When those rays touched the glowing armor on Shard, the armor neither suddenly brightened nor darkened, but the light "sprinkled" onto it somewhat diminished, then dispersed evenly around Shard, making the basement brighter.

"Shard, how does it feel?"

Audrey asked, and a muffled voice came from inside the helmet:

"Apart from the feeling of this armor suddenly warming up, there’s no other sensation. Oh, the temperature is gradually decreasing... Alright, it’s back to normal now."

"Absorb part of the unusual glow and convert it to temperature?"

Miss Aphrola speculated, and after pondering, asked:

"How does the intensity of this light compare to the sunlight you encountered in that desert?"

"Far weaker than the sunlight in the Gravel Golden Sea."

"Given that this armor can absorb stronger unusual glow, absorbing the light here is quite normal."

Luviya remarked, then issued a "command" to Shard:

"I remember you know an arcane technique for emitting sunlight, try it now while wearing this armor."

"Shard, wait a moment!"

The Countess immediately said, turning to instruct Miss Matilda. Shortly, maids brought in a large urn, and the witch softly chanted an incantation, causing a skeleton to rise from the urn.

She controlled the resurrected undead to gradually approach Shard, while everyone else instinctively moved away from the skeleton.

Then Shard raised his hand and pointed:

"Sunlight Ray!"

The light initially appeared not at the fingertips, but the warm sunlight on the armor rapidly flowed along the arm guards and gauntlet towards the fingertips, then a golden beam as thick as a bowl mouth erupted, directly vaporizing most of the skeleton’s body and continuing to shoot towards the area behind the skeleton undiminished.

Miss Eles, who had come to "watch the fun," was prepared and raised her hand to block the beam. With a gentle pinch, she shattered the light beam.

But she still frowned at the palm of her hand, where a small blackened area resembling a burn appeared in the center of her originally delicate and rosy palm. However, thanks to her exceptionally strong physique, the injury was healing:

"Such intense sunlight. This secret technique looks familiar; is it something you learned from Miss Violet? I remember the original Sunlight Ray, unless deliberately amplifying its power, generally only harms undead, demons, and similar creatures."

Miss Aphrola then asked:

"So, does this armor enhance powers related to the sun? Shard, do you feel the armor itself has been consumed of its power?"

"At least for now, I don’t feel anything."

Subsequent experiments proved that only powers related to "sunlight" could be amplified; arcane techniques like "Feliana’s Witch Light" and "Moonlight Greatsword," which involved "glow" but not the "sun," retained their original potency.

And through continuous experimentation, Shard also discovered that this amplification of "sun" powers does not consume the glow already absorbed by the armor.

This implies an astonishing fact: until this armor reaches its absorption and enhancement limit, continuous exposure to sunlight and those unusual glows essentially equates to continuously enhancing the armor’s effects.

"So why can Mia’s owner produce such a thing?"

The Red-haired Little Princess asked in confusion and glanced back at the cat being held by Tifa before quickly turning her head back to avoid developing unnecessary feelings of envy.

"Shard said this armor was strengthened by the altar of the Ancient God Temple in such an extraordinary place as the Sand Sea, allowing it to absorb sunlight. Maybe the armor itself has a problem, or maybe it’s just an unreplicable coincidence. In any case, having this armor will save a lot of trouble in the future."

Luviya said with a smile, then gestured for Shard to take off the armor:

"Angelina, Emilia, you go try it out."

"Us?"

The Little Princess and the Elf Girl pointed at themselves; Miss Aphrola understood Luviya’s intention:

"Angelina is First Ring of the Low Ring, Emilia is First Ring of the Inner Ring, Shard’s level is basically High Ring. You all try on this armor to assess its enhancement effect, which will also help evaluate its utility. Of course, I’ll be the final one to try it on."