Chapter 10 The Armor

Elysia snapped back to attention, imagining all the loot she could stash in a spatial storage space. Still, despite the allure, a high-grade mana crystal was a steep price. While admiring the ring, Elysia asked, “how much would a normal high-grade spatial ring cost?”

“If you can find one this close to the opening of Mezo at least a couple high grade mana crystals plus the cost of keeping it empowered since you lack mana.” Replied the lighter scaled sister before Eva could.

The price of this ring really was too good to be true, wasn’t it?

“Yes, take it.” Replied a certain ever present nosy turtle out of nowhere.

Elysia squeaked in surprise before shifting to glaring but with no direction to glare at she released a frustrated groan. “Stupid nosy turtle.”

The presence suddenly became heavier, causing everyone’s breath to hitch except Elysia, who built an immunity. “Will you quit that? I know you’re bluffing.”

Suddenly Elysia’s body lifted off the ground and shot out the door out into the lake. She flailed, but her body continued to float higher and higher. At over a hundred meters above the lake, her body stilled before gravity took over, sending her plummeting.

A scream ripped from her throat, tear-filled eyes staring down at the rapidly approaching lake that may as well be concrete from this height.

Just before making impact, her near freefall body slowed to as if she fell from a few meters up. Unaware of the change, Elysia frantically swam through the air trying to escape but as a lightning elemental, she was helpless.

On instinct she sucked in a deep breath, eyes clenched closed, awaiting impact only for none to come. She cracked open her eyes, staring down at the crystal clear water less than a centimeter from the tip of her nose. Almost instantly her expression shifted to a scowl recovered from her episode, but learning her lesson, she remained quiet.

After a minute of floating just about the surface, Elysia’s self-control frayed. “You’ve proven your point. Could you please bring you back to my boat?”

The presence fluttered before releasing its control on her body. Elysia’s eyes widened, shifting to escape, but it was no use. A split-second later, she plummeted to the lake’s depths.

Any thought of restraint vanished as she sent the whole alphabet of curse words mentally at the culprit of her torment while she swam back to the surface. Halfway up, a splash from above drew her attention to her cat fish.

Ione swam circles around her, almost radiating smugness as she showed off her superior swimming ability.

Elysia ignored her cat in favor of reaching Umbra. A couple minutes later, one soggy elemental climbed onto the rear deck before plodding inside. She ignored everyone inside, all clearly trying to smother laughs.

After changing into a dry black tank top and shorts matching her mood, Elysia returned to the living room upstairs. With her arms crossed and a grumpy expression, Elysia spoke to the assembled group. “I’ll take the elemental essence powered focus and spatial ring. Also, where is my commission? Eva said she paid for it.”

Afraid of a stray lightning bolt striking them, the sisters jumped to attention. They worked together to heft a prismatic scaled case from the floor onto the table before opening it.

Neatly displayed in the case was a scaled simple but beautiful prismatic scaled armor arranged in the shape of a person with an open faced helmet, body suit, forearm guards, gloves, shin guards and boots. The only added style to the armor aside from the gleaming prismatic scales was were spikes. A spine of spikes ran from the crown of the helmet down to near the base of the neck. One larger and smaller spike sprouted from each shoulder. The only possibly useful offensive spikes sprouted from each forearm and knee.

All the annoyance from her impromptu bath vanished as her eyes shot to the sisters with a giant smile. “Thank you, it looks a beautiful.”

A moment later, her smile wavered as a thought came to her. “I thought I didn’t have enough scales for a full set of armor. Did I have to pay extra for more scales?”

“We used your attuned scales in all important areas such as the torso, then used Prismatic clan Chrotile scales to fill in any less vulnerable areas. With the woven metal under layer, it shouldn’t affect lightning continuity. We ensured the entire armor allows for unrestricted lightning release.” Explained Drask with her sister nodding her head in agreement.

Feeling extra frugal after her ring splurged, Elysia commented, “You didn’t answer my question about cost.”

Both sisters glanced at Eva before wincing, earning a smug smile from said girl. “Your hit woman negotiated a good deal for you. The entire set, including the whip, costed one and half high grade mana crystals. The materials you provided cut the price down significantly. You hit the jackpot with those scales. With their impressive anti-magic and element capabilities, you could’ve sold them for at least ten high grade mana crystals, especially with the current inflated prices.”

Elysia frowned as she glanced down at the armor, now feeling some regret. “Wait, so I used ten high grade mana crystals worth of scales to make a set worth one and a half?”

The sister’s eyes widened before Daesk rambled, “Oh no, the full set would be worth at least fifteen high grade mana crystals if sold in its current state, though it may be hard to find a buyer with its elemental attunement. There’s only a handful of lightning elementalists on Urus after all. The one and a half is your cost.”

Some of the luster returned to the armor in Elysia’s mind as she asked her next question. “Where is the whip?”

Instead of answering, they pointed at the belt area of the armor. On the right hip was a coiled whip of similar color to the armor.

Now paying closer attention to the armor, her eyes landed on several more features, including mounted sheathes on the thighs and opposite hip of the whip holding thin throwing knives looking to be made of the remaining spikes from the serpent. “I didn’t order throwing knives.” Commented Elysia.

“No, you didn’t, but Thrazk decided it would be a good idea as a backup weapon after seeing your skill with a whip. Think of them as a bonus as he footed the extra cost.”

Well, now she felt indebted to Thrazk and his annoying sister. Actually, let’s just focus on Thrazk. If that mean little Chrotile wanted to remain anonymous, she would pretend she didn’t figure it out.

After a minute of staring down at the armor, Elysia glanced up at the siblings. “Can I try it on?”

“Of course you can. You already paid for it.” Both sisters glared at Eva who was inspecting the still open ring case before Daesk added, “well, your vulture did.”

Elysia winced but waved it off as she bent down to grab the armor. She dropped into a squat, tensing her legs, expecting the armor to be heavy, only to shoot upward in surprise.

“Thrazk emphasized light and flexible over defense. The scales are your primary source of defense, as the underlayer is for comfort and structure for the scales.”

While holding the near feather light armor in front of her, she inspected for a way in but found none, prompting the darker scaled sister to speak. “Stretch the collar and climb in. We designed the under layer to be flexible to improve mobility.”

Afraid to break off a scale, she gently stretched the collar and stepped in. She cringed, hoping she didn’t damage the armor as she wiggled it over her body. Was this a damn catsuit with scales and spikes glued to it? At least the scales were thick enough not to show anything. A little too fitting for a whip wielder.

After a minute of wiggling, she let go of the collar, allowing it to rest against her neck. Her hands ran along her body, gliding over the smooth scales, feeling like a second layer of skin. She liked how easy it was to get on, but could this thing even be considered armor? Sure, it covered most of her body, but it seemed really thin and fragile.

Guessing what the customer was thinking, the lighter scaled sister spoke. “You would be surprised how tough those scales are. However, I would avoid blunt force and stabbing to be safe. Its main strength is magical elemental and slashing resistance. Without hurting your mobility, there isn’t much we can do to protect you much more.”

“Is it enchanted?”

The sisters winced in response. “We are sorry, but the scales rejected enchantments. The trade-off for impressive magic resistance is the inability to enchant it.”

She hoped this was worth it. It didn’t seem all that impressive so far. Besides looking pretty. Despite her thoughts, Elysia continued to apply the armor. She cinched the belt, holding her new whip and several throwing knives.

Unlike the main armor, the helmet forearm and shin guards felt solid though still light. First, she slipped on the boots, which were lighter than they had any right to be. While pushing away her thoughts on their durability, she strapped on the shin guards, which ran from her ankle to the front of her knees, ending with a razor sharp spike over the knee. She wasn’t sure she would want to use that spike. What if she hit something too hard and busted her kneecap? If nothing else, it looked cool.

Done with her legs, she slipped on the open fingered scaled gloves with grippy scales on the palm. After the forearm guards cinched down, she grabbed the helmet while flicking her hair back. The helmet fit perfectly and comfortably on her skull, leaving her face exposed but protecting the rest of her head. She cinched the under the chin strap before turning toward the sisters with a frown. She felt like she was suiting up for a hockey match not to go to battle. Even the combat suit felt sturdier, and that thing never survived a dungeon.

Before making a final judgment, she grasped at her core, but like usual, her lightning slipped from her control. With mounting frustration, she stepped back then used electrify self. In an instant, the prismatic scales glowed violet as lightning sparked off the surface. With a wide grin, Elysia moved to give Eva a hug only for the girl to dash away, hiding behind Joe in the kitchen.

Elysia pouted for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. They weren’t kidding about the lightning continuity. It was damn near perfect, though it felt a slightly weaker where she wore clothes. Still, she would rather wear clothes underneath, even if it weakens some lightning continuity. She was still leery of its durability and protection, though.

Yet again predicting their customer’s thoughts, both sisters lifted their hands and released a blue beam.

Elysia’s eyes widened, but was far too slow to dodge the twin beams. They impacted her chest but simply absorbed. A slight warmth at the impact site was the only result of the attack.

“Our arcane beams could down anything below level sixty. What this armor lacks in physical defenses, it makes up in magical protection and then some. If you are going to join a team for Mezo, you will be primarily a back liner with your elemental magic, so this armor is perfect. If you still aren’t happy after Mezo, we will give you a full refund.”

Instead of responding, Elysia prodded the impact site with her finger but found the scales unharmed. After several seconds, a wide grin formed as she pictured the changed teams’ faces with their magic failed. Now she was kind of hoping those pests showed up. She hoped she didn’t just curse herself. Oh well, let them come. They were perfect targets for a smite.