With the basic form of the pauldrons completed, it was time to work on the details. To begin with, he lined the inside of the pauldrons and created straps to hold it on with some more of the soft, yet durable, Black Tar Boa skin. He planned to use as many of the same materials in all of his items as possible. Maybe that would be enough to turn everything into a set? He didn't know but it was worth a try. Besides, it was all excellent material so he wasn't losing out on anything by doing so.

Once he finished lining the interior of the pauldrons, he retrieved all of his enchanting materials. A single bottle of Alchemist's Oil could be used repeatedly, depending on the size of the enchantments it was used with. He still had some of his purified oil so he planned to use that up and then make himself some more. He'd never go back to the worse stuff. It took no time at all to grind up some of the giant amalgamated mana crystal he made back in the pirate cave and add the oil to it. With all of his preparations complete, he conjured up an engraving tool from his Metal magic and got to work.

He focused his mind on a single thought, a single concept, as his tool dug into the Mithril armor and left a thin trail of mana crystal powder in its wake. Enchanting had become second nature and the higher his Magitech Engineering grew, the more potent his enchantments grew. The enchantment he was engraving was meant to help him with stealth. He wasn't a rogue-type character. At the moment he was probably closer to a wizard given how often he used magic to fight versus anything else. However, stealth was an excellent utility tool to have and he planned to put it to use when it was needed.

Gentle lines started to slowly appear on the pauldron and followed the natural lines that had been beaten and Transmuted into the metal. It gave the pauldron a dignified and elegant look. He'd moved away from his standard enchantments for this armor set, he had no real reason for doing so. Except that he found it more visually appealing. It wasn't long before the lines carved into the pauldron all met and the enchantment was completed, "Done!"

Thomas waited for a bit but nothing happened, the expected notice didn't come. He scratched his head in confusion and examined the pauldron in front of him closely. Everything looked good and he didn't see anything else he needed to add. Lining, straps, enchantment, rivets, everything looked good. Puzzled, he sat back and thought for a bit before coming to a conclusion. He suspected that the system wouldn't consider the pauldron done until he completed both of them. This wasn't the system's fault though. He'd been thinking of the pauldrons as a pair since he started making them so it seemed the system now did as well. He smiled to himself, this might also be a clue to making equipment sets.

He set the first pauldron aside and began his work on the second pauldron. He kept the same concept for the enchantment in mind and worked to perfectly mimic the lines he'd carved into the first pauldron. He wanted them to be perfect mirror images of each other. Sets always had a similar look and concept. As more pieces of the set came together the concept would become more powerful. At least, that's how it usually worked. AoG may be different, he didn't know. He'd never seen any kinds of equipment sets to this point. He kept calm and moved slowly to make sure everything went perfectly. When the last line of the enchantment was finished the pauldrons emitted a visible ripple and the long-delayed notice arrived.

System Notice: You have created Epic rarity Shadow Shroud Pauldrons. Quality: Excellent. You have gained 2,898 (x2) Magitech Engineering experience. You have gained 5,796 (x2) experience. Armor Type: Shadow Shroud Pauldrons Rarity: Epic Quality: Excellent Description: This pair of pauldrons are a perfect match with each other. Darkness magic emanates from them and shrouds the wearer when mana is channeled into them.

+75 Endurance Each (Shoulder/Upper arm only)

+150 Stealth Each when activated in dark environments Souldbound: Thomas Darkrose

Thomas looked over the descriptions of both Pauldrons, they were exactly the same, just one for the left and one for the right. Their stats weren't very impressive. However, wearing both and activating them would spike his Stealth up by three hundred points! That was ungodly! He'd practically be invisible in any dark environments. Since he spent most of his leveling up time inside of dungeons, that meant it could be used quite a bit. In the darkness, he would thrive... why did that thought make him feel like a villain?

Shaking his head, he stored the pauldrons away so he could take a short break and spend some time snacking with Snowlily. Together they ate some snacks and relaxed. It was still a couple of hours until lunchtime so he didn't plan to eat too much just yet. As they snacked he planned out how to make the boots and greaves he planned to make next. When it came to boots the most common and sought after enchantment would have to be speed. Speed meant using the wind element. He was already kind of fast though. Could he maybe come up with something more impressive and useful? He sank into thought and let his mind wander in search of inspiration.

Eventually, his lips curled into a smile as a thought came to mind. He leaped to his feet and immediately got to work. He wanted to make a new pair of boots first. The greaves would be made to match the boots so naturally, they had to exist to do that. Thanks to finding the odd Grorg fat material, he had something to use as a rubber for the soles. He didn't have any thoughts about making the boots special. With all the armor he planned to make he would have enough items to power with mana, he didn't need more. Making the boots wasn't a difficult process. The hardest part was forming and then hardening the Grog fat into proper shape with good treads. Treating the Grorg fat required heat, like Vulcanizing rubber. Just without the sulfur.

Making the boots took less than an hour and netted a tiny amount of Magitech Engineering experience. They were nothing fancy but he made them from durable leather and the Grorg fat with a comfortable fit. It didn't take long for the old to be replaced with the more comfortable new. He walked around for a bit to begin the process of breaking the boots in. They were much more comfortable than his last pair and gripped the floor much better. With this, he would have much better traction to control his movement at higher speeds. With the boots finished it was time to move onto the greaves to protect his shins.

For the greaves, he started with heating up some purified Mithril. Once it was hot enough he pulled it from the flames of the forge and set it on the anvil. His sledgehammer came out and began pounding mercilessly on the ingot. Wind mana was channeled through both of his arms and into his tools. Each heavy blow locked more and more mana into the ingot. He didn't think of anything else and just let the work wash over him. In less than five minutes the mangled ingot let out a bright flash of ephemeral green light indicating it was completed.

Thomas wiped some sweat off of his forehead and relaxed his whole body with a sigh. For the greaves, a single ingot should provide more than enough metal for the pair. The ingot was moved back into the flames of the forge to be reheated and then pounded back out into an ingot shape. Once it was, he used a hot cut tool to cut the ingot into two equal halves. One half was set to the side while the other would be used immediately. Hammer blows rang out once again to transform the ingot half into a flat rectangular sheet of thick metal. The metal was stretched longer than it was wide. The armor would go from the ankle up to the knee. The top would be rounded and provide protection for the kneecap.

After he hammered the first one flat, he reheated it before taking it back to the anvil to use the horn to bend it. These greaves would protect his shins and the sides of his calves. It wouldn't become a full wrap-around piece of armor. He didn't plan to work on putting in things like hinges. Once it was bent a fair amount, the first greave was set to the side while the other was picked up and placed into the forge to be reheated. Thomas watched the flames in the forge dance with a soft smile on his face. This really was the best feeling in the world.

Once both greaves were pounded flat and shaped properly, he moved onto reinforcing them. To do so, he used his cross-peen hammer to pound ridges into the armor similar to the ones on his gauntlets. The ridges added stability and strength to the structure and would prevent the armor from being easily dented or bent. He did as much work as possible with the hammer before finally putting it away with a sigh. It was possible to do all the work by hand but he didn't want to take the time at the moment. Later on, he could spend as much time as he wanted to make things by hand.

His Transmutation was activated and used to refine the shape and proportions of the greaves. At the same time, he opened two slots on each one that would be used for the straps that would hold them to his legs. Once everything was smoothed out and perfected, he added the straps with some simple buckles. All that left him to do was to enchant them. He was excited about the enchantment and just hoped it would work as he envisioned.

With all the base work done, he sat down and prepared his materials for the enchantment. He was using the last of the purified oil so he would need to make some more. He decided that when the time came he would create quite a bit at once. Now that he had everything ready and prepped, he calmed himself down with a few deep breaths and began to focus intensely. The summoned engraving tool in his hand was dipped into the mixture of alchemists oil and powdered mana crystal. With one final confirmation of the intent he planned to imbue into the greaves, he began carving.

The enchantment he had in mind was probably one of the most unique he'd thought of to date. It had limitless potential that would only be limited by his mana pool. The engraving tool slowly carved shallow lines into the metal of the greaves leaving behind glittering deposits of pure mana crystal. As he looked at his work he couldn't help wondering just how awesome the pattern would look if it was a dark line like most enchantments were with impure mana crystals. Each line was carefully laid out with the intention of following the natural lines of the equipment. He spared no effort and tapped into what little artistic creativity he had. As much as he loved this kind of work, his artistic abilities were actually quite lacking.

It wasn't too long before the first greave was engraved and like the pauldrons before them, there was no notice of completion. He didn't let this bother him this time and instead rejoined Snowlily on the floor. It was already time for lunch so he decided to take a break to recover his mana and mental stamina. Enchanting seemed so easy on the surface and for simple things it really was. However, the complex concepts he was working with now made things take a significantly longer amount of time, effort, and focus. If he wasn't used to this kind of work it would take him even more time and effort to complete even a single enchantment. He couldn't imagine what sort of effort it would take when he moved beyond Epic rarity gear. Honestly, he was looking forward to it!

Lunch with Snowlily was nice. She especially enjoyed lunch since there was a distinct lack of vegetables. She knew there would be plenty of them at dinner time so she relished their absence for the time being. Lunch almost always consisted of tantalizing bits of street vendor food still hot and fresh no matter how long ago Thomas purchased it. Since he was in an especially good mood, he pulled out a couple of the precious bits leftover from his time in Ulvstad. It was almost like a taste of home, even though he didn't really count any place as home just yet. It's just that Ulvstad was the place he spent the most time inside of AoG thus far.

Snowlily seemed especially happy when he pulled out the bit of food from Ulvstad. For her, the area around Ulvstad was home. The taste of the monster's flesh familiar and comforting to her. It reminded her of her family and friends, now lost in the past and never to be seen again. She missed them terribly at times and could only comfort herself by knowing she had a new family member to rely on, Thomas.

Together the pair enjoyed a silent lunch. Eating until they were both sated. Once it came to an end, Thomas climbed back to his feet and returned to the worktable. It was time for him to finish the second greave and complete the pair. He couldn't hold back his excitement as he imagined what would come of his hard work.