Chapter 50: Shield

When it comes to choosing armor, Shanan’s attitude was extremely cautious.

After all, given his current physical endurance, even with the mitigating effects of the [Copper Muscles and Iron Bones] perk providing a certain degree of physical damage reduction, taking a direct hit head-on would likely prove too much to handle if the attacker's weapon was sharp enough or wielded with enough force.

For a low-ranking adventurer, a suitable set of armor could very well be considered a second life.

Therefore, the moment he realized he couldn't make the right choice between the two pieces of medium armor, Shanan took the initiative to ask Barn, the blacksmith shop owner beside him, about the pros and cons of the two sets of equipment and asked for his advice.

"Well, first of all, weight is something you need to consider," Barn said, reaching out to stroke the braided beard on his chest as he looked at Shanan. "Although they belong to the same category, the scale armor is overall quite a bit heavier."

"Defensive performance is certainly important, but it shouldn't come at the expense of your normal mobility."

To this, Shanan naturally went along with the advice.

With the blacksmith's approval, he took down both sets of armor and tried them on.

No hindrance.

Given his current physical condition, the weight of this medium armor felt only slightly heavier than the leather armor he had bought before his second mission.

It was nowhere near heavy enough to impede his daily movements.

"Next, you need to factor in your own actual circumstances," Barn reminded him.

"If you're a bounty hunter who mainly takes on guild commission tasks targeting various outlaws and bandits, then I'd recommend the scale armor."

"After all, it has wider coverage and can effectively block attacks from bows and spears, making it exceptionally useful in combat against intelligent beings."

With that, the tall, burly man glanced at the executioner's greatsword strapped to Shanan's back.

"But if you primarily make a living hunting monsters in the Mist Forest, a chainmail shirt is clearly a better fit."

"It makes much less noise when moving, making it harder to attract monsters' attention. Moreover, its relatively simple structure makes routine maintenance very easy. Even if you stay in the forest for ten days or half a month, you won't have to worry about a noticeable drop in its defensive strength."

After hearing Barn's explanation, Shanan, who had been somewhat torn, instantly made up his mind.

Compared to dealing with malicious bandits who employed all sorts of traps and insidious gadgets, he much preferred dealing with the green-skinned goblins in the Mist Forest that went down with a single slash.

"I'll take the chainmail shirt."

There was no need for any packaging, as his original ragged leather armor had already been sold to the shopkeeper.

After paying the gold coins, he put the chainmail shirt on directly.

Feeling the distinctive weight of the metal pressing against his skin, Shanan felt a subtle sense of security well up from the bottom of his heart.

"Disregarding dodging and just forcing a trade of blows head-on, I wonder how many hits I could take from a hobgoblin?"

He pondered to himself.

Having upgraded his armor, Shanan did not leave "Rockhammer."

There was still one crucial matter left unresolved.

"Oh? What is this..."

Gazing at the pitch-black scale in front of him, which refracted a dim luster under the sunlight, Barn's rugged face revealed a trace of surprise.

Years of forging experience allowed him to recognize at a glance that this was the scale of some kind of monster, but—

"Clang!"

A delicate little hand-hammer tapped lightly against the surface of the scale, producing a crisp sound akin to metal colliding.

Even without a thorough test and inspection, those rough hands that had touched countless forging materials could feel the astonishing hardness and toughness emanating from the surface of the scale.

"Where did you..." Barn instinctively raised his head, looking at the black-haired young man before him, his mouth opening before abruptly cutting off the question halfway through.

He swallowed the question that had already reached his lips back down into his stomach.

In their line of work, especially when clients were adventurers, it was better to speak less.

"Well? If we use this scale as the primary material, can you forge a piece of equipment out of it?"

Shanan maintained a taut expression and asked him calmly.

Naturally, he hadn't forgotten about the snake scale he found in the cave.

To a certain extent, its priority in his mind was even higher than that of the scabbard or the armor.

After all, back then, he had used all his strength, even unleashing [Whirlwind Slash], without leaving the slightest mark on that giant snake.

Its unimaginably exaggerated defensive performance made him start pondering how to use it to craft a piece of equipment suited for himself the moment he returned to River Valley Town.

"Wait, let me study it."

Entering his professional domain, Barn's expression instantly turned solemn.

Suppressing his inner curiosity, he pinched the snake scale and squinted slightly against the sunlight outside the shop door.

"Perhaps it could be embedded in the center of a cuirass to protect vital areas. That way, even a plate armor design could reduce weight while maintaining performance."

"But that might be a bit of overkill."

"Or should we cut it apart and make it into scale armor?"

"The edge sharpness is also quite good. Small weapons like daggers or short swords?"

"No, no, that's too wasteful."

Suddenly, looking at the long, diamond-like shape of the scale in his hand—wide at the ends and narrow in the middle—a flash of inspiration crossed Barn's eyes.

With the enthusiasm characteristic of a true craftsman, he asked:

"A vambrace shield! How about a vambrace shield?"

As he spoke, he hurried over to the shelves and fished out a delicate, silvery metallic round shield.

"Something similar to this!"

"Of course, if we use this scale as the main material, the shape of the vambrace shield definitely won't be round, and the color will likely differ as well."

Hearing this, Shanan couldn't help but feel tempted.

He had a vague understanding of defensive gear like "vambrace shields."

They were roughly like small shields strapped onto the forearm.

Small and lightweight, they would basically not interfere in combat even though his main weapon right now was a two-handed executioner's greatsword.

Only when defense was needed would he raise the vambrace shield on his outer arm to block, while his other hand could still seize the opportunity to counterattack.

To a certain extent, this also spared him from the awkward predicament of having to use the blade of his sword to parry enemy attacks in certain situations.

All things considered, given the long diamond structure of the snake scale in his possession and his own combat style, crafting it into a vambrace shield seemed like the best choice.

"Alright, let's go with the vambrace shield," he nodded to Barn.

However, the blacksmith's expression seemed somewhat regretful.

"It's a pity. Recently, there have been a lot of orders from the guild, and many materials have run out."

"Otherwise, given the sturdiness of this scale of yours, if I inspected it more closely, I might even be able to whip up a piece of magical equipment."

"Magical equipment!?"

Shanan was momentarily stunned before snapping back to reality.

"It's fine, I can wait!"

"How much will it cost?"