Chapter 234: Equipment and Source Material Interaction

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Equipment and Source Material Interaction

Lance found the change in Rein’s expression incredibly familiar.

It was exactly the same as the reaction from Vance, the Records Officer at the Veterans’ Hospital.

’No way?’

Lance inwardly sucked in a sharp breath.

However, Rein’s next actions made Lance sigh in relief, though at the same time, he was even more surprised.

After a full half-minute of silence, the tough old veteran’s eyes actually began to redden.

Rein heaved a long sigh.

He lowered his head and wiped away the tears welling in the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Child... All these years, you’ve been stranded in a backwater place like this. It must have been so hard on you."

In his younger days, as a member of that secret department, Rein had truly spent time at the center of power in the Royal Capital.

He had seen with his own eyes the extravagant lives led by the direct members of the Pandragon Royal Family.

That was why, from the bottom of his heart, he felt it was a great injustice to Lance.

But this also made all the doubts in Rein’s mind instantly clear up.

Triggering a battle between two dragons in the Star Realm, condensing a rare Source Material of the True Dragon Species, a growth in strength that defied all logic, and that incredible feat of defeating a god.

Right.

Even the boy’s increasingly handsome and charismatic face now served as ironclad proof of his royal bloodline in Rein’s eyes.

Lance’s black hair and black eyes were completely different from the Royal Family’s signature golden hair and green eyes.

But in the old veteran’s mind, the explanation was simple.

To evade a cruel assassination plot from the court, the child must have been given a special Alchemy Potion from a young age to alter his physical features. This was an all-too-common tactic used by the Great Nobles to hide their illegitimate children.

Thinking of the boy’s achievements, an uncontrollable sense of pride welled up in Rein’s heart.

’So what if the Elder Council in the Royal Capital poured all its resources into carefully cultivating the legitimate heir?’

’Didn’t he still lose to this true king, who was abandoned by the Royal Family, cast out among the common folk, and whom I watched grow up with my own eyes?’

Rein felt that being able to contribute his own strength to this child’s journey of growth... was undoubtedly the accomplishment he could be most proud of in his entire life.

As for Lance, who was sitting opposite him,

while he didn’t know the exact details Rein had imagined, the moment he heard the line, "It must have been so hard on you," Lance knew things were spiraling out of control.

He quickly reached out and grabbed the old veteran’s shoulder.

"Uncle Rein, I don’t know what kind of outrageous story you just cooked up in your head."

"But I promise you, it’s definitely not true."

The instant those words left his mouth, it was as if a bolt of lightning flashed through Lance’s mind.

All the clues perfectly connected in that single moment.

The sudden subservience and fawning from Vance, the Records Officer in White River City...

Elvira’s heartbroken question in the canyon before she collapsed from exhaustion...

And now, Rein’s appearance, so moved he was a complete mess...

The three of them, perhaps at different times and in different places, had all perfectly misunderstood the exact same thing.

Lance quickly put himself in their shoes.

The conclusion he reached made his scalp tingle.

In their eyes, he was now, without a doubt, the illegitimate son of the Pandragon Royal Family, forced into exile for some political reason.

Because in the minds of this world’s inhabitants, an identity like a Dragon Descendant could only be inherited by blood.

There was no way they would believe that a country boy who had just barely reached the threshold of the Professional Level had secretly slain a True Dragon all by himself, right?

’No wonder...’

The realization dawned on Lance.

No wonder Elvira had cried so devastatingly after recognizing he had activated the Red Dragon Form.

It all made sense now.

The classic tragedy of lovers discovering they’re siblings.

Who wouldn’t cry in a situation like that?

But understanding was one thing; Lance still fell into an awkward silence.

He had no way of revealing his biggest secret—the system—to prove he had absolutely no connection to the Royal Family.

And so, during this brief silence,

Rein saw Lance’s hesitant expression and immediately took it as a tacit admission, as if his identity had been exposed.

In the old veteran’s view, it was simply because this good kid, Lance, was being too considerate.

’The kid must be worried that the sudden, immense gap in our statuses would make an old man like me feel distant. That’s why he’s trying to comfort me like this.’

Rein gripped Lance’s arm, patted it twice, and gave him an "I understand" look.

"Don’t worry, child. I understand everything."

"I’ll take the secret of your identity to my grave."

’What in the world do you think you understand?!’

Lance let out a silent scream in his mind, feeling like this conversation on two completely different wavelengths was about to give him an internal injury.

’Forget it. If I can’t explain it with common sense, I’ll just have to roll with the mistake.’

However, after calming down and thinking it over,

Lance realized this identity as an illegitimate son, which had been forcibly thrust upon him, might actually have some unexpected uses in the future.

At the very least, bureaucrats like Vance, the Records Officer in White River City, who dreamed of climbing the ladder, would be easy targets to manipulate using this Aura.

Thinking of this possibility,

Lance couldn’t help but lower his head and chuckle.

’Things won’t actually get that absurd, will they?’

’Me, using the guise of this Red Dragon Bloodline to skillfully navigate the tangled political web of the Royal Family’s various factions, bluffing and swindling my way through everything?’

’And in the end, relying on a group of fanatical followers with overactive imaginations, I’ll somehow create a massive "Prince’s Restoration Faction" among the common people?’

’If it really gets to that point, the joke will have gone way too far.’

He shook his head, casting aside these wild fantasies.

Across from him, Rein had already opened the leather case he brought back from White River City.

The old veteran put on a monocle-like Alchemy Tool and began to carefully inspect the piece of equipment resting on the shock-proof velvet.

A good ten minutes passed.

Finally, Rein took off the lens with a satisfied look and handed the equipment back to Lance.

"This Hand Armor is good quality. No one’s tampered with it."

It was a Half-Finger Hand Armor sewn from some kind of Dark Red Magical Beast Hide, with a layer of black Alchemy Metal covering the back of the hand and knuckles.

This was the prize Lance had carefully selected from the treasury.

This Hand Armor was specifically chosen to complement his close-quarters combat style and the new Protection he had just obtained, [Royal Armory].

After all, the activation condition for [Royal Armory] was physical contact.

If he wanted to seize an enemy’s Enchanted Weapons on the battlefield, he couldn’t just go and try to break them with his bare hands, could he?

Although his Specialty granted his palms an additional Natural Armor Value,

that Armor definitely couldn’t withstand the cutting power of Enchanted Weapons.

Therefore, a piece of Hand Armor that could protect his hands and provide support in terms of Hardness was the most crucial missing piece in his current tactical system.

Since Uncle Rein said there was no problem with it,

Lance didn’t hesitate for a second, slipping the Hand Armor onto his left hand.

With a mere thought, he slowly channeled Ash Dragon Breath into his left hand.

The process of binding the equipment went very smoothly.

As Lance continuously infused his own Ether Energy into it,

the gaps between the originally pitch-black metal plates began to glow with patterns resembling flowing, dark red magma.

Immediately after, the system panel popped up with the specific equipment data.

[Equipment: Unnamed] (Resistance Threshold: 5)

[Trait 1 (Unarmed Hardness Check +5): When the wearer’s Hand Armor comes into contact with an enemy’s weapon, its material Hardness is equivalent to an "Ordinary Level, Excellent Quality" Professional Alchemy Metal. This material possesses excellent Ether Energy conductive properties and will not be easily melted through when subjected to high-intensity Energy impacts.]

[Enchanting Ability (Burst): The Burst Power of the wearer’s left-handed attacks is increased by +3. When the user releases Fire or Lightning attribute Ether Energy through the Hand Armor, each successful hit on a target will be accompanied by a small-scale physical burst Effect.]

[Special Synergy Alert: This burst Effect can synergize with the wearer’s Essence Trait, "Molten Armor." The efficiency of melting enemy Armor will be enhanced, and it will also cause "Molten Armor" to splash.]

After reading the panel’s description,

Lance clenched his left fist in satisfaction.

This special synergistic Effect was the very reason he had chosen this piece of equipment at a single glance back in the treasury.

In this world, many powerful abilities did not work in isolation.

Just like how this Hand Armor’s Enchantment could create a wondrous chemical reaction with his own Essence Traits, transforming into a more destructive tactical Effect.

This was precisely why in the world of Professionals, a piece of Enchanted Equipment that perfectly suited its user could often become the most important component of their overall strength.

And it was because he understood this point that Lance felt even more keenly just how overpowered the forced-theft ability of [Royal Armory] truly was.

Of course, his Essence Trait, [Molten Armor], was just as nasty.

It was tantamount to forcibly dismantling an enemy’s tactical build in the middle of a fight.

However, during his previous battle with Elvira,

Lance had actually discovered a small weakness in his [Melting Gold Armor Shattering].

Back in the canyon, his intention had actually been to melt that damn sword.

But when his Ash Dragon Breath, carrying the Molten Armor Effect, struck the Holy Sword, it failed to cause any substantial damage whatsoever.

Afterwards, Lance checked the combat logs on his system panel.

Only then did he learn that the Treasure known as the King’s Choice Sword came with an inherent "Unbreakable" trait.

Within the fundamental laws of this world, there existed a hidden mechanism for determining priority.

The foundational depth of the Holy Sword within this world was currently far greater than that of Lance’s newly awakened [Melting Gold Armor Shattering].

Therefore, in a contest of priority, the current [Melting Gold Armor Shattering] couldn’t break through the Holy Sword’s "Unbreakable" trait, and thus naturally couldn’t melt it.

But Lance wasn’t discouraged by this.

This priority wasn’t set in stone.

As his Professional Level continued to rise, his Source Material would inevitably grow stronger.

Sooner or later, he would be able to raise the priority of Molten Armor to the point where it could melt even the Holy Sword.

"I’ll call you [Suicide Bombing]."

Lance said, casually settling on a name as he looked at the Hand Armor glowing red on his left hand.