Groza had spent a long time searching for a blacksmith skilled enough for her level. She’d done it all to obtain the sword she’d been so proud of, until she met Kreyn and realized that what she held in her hands was just a sharp piece of iron. Nothing special.
But what was she looking at now?
The armor, made of dark-purple hide, hovered above the ground. The steel ribbed plates ran along the sides, with bones lying between them, reinforcing the entire structure. The armor had a high collar, and the hide extended low enough to cover the wearer’s waist, which, combined with the material, made this armor look more like a jacket.
The sleeves and shoulders were made of the same material as the torso, but on the back was an ink drawing - an eight-legged spider whose legs wrapped around the wearer’s shoulders and ribs.
"This... This is mine?" Groza asked eagerly. She wanted to hear only one answer.
"I guess so. Want to try it on?"
"Of course!"
With quick movements, Groza put on the armor as a status screen opened before them both:
[Spider Bone Wall
[Type: Equipment
[Tier: I
[Cells: Spider Queen
[Socket: Shadow Watcher.]
[Description: This armor is a reminder of the queen who had to fight even before her birth and was killed shortly after. The spirit left the source of this armor forever, fading into the shadows, but now it has opened up new possibilities for its current owner.]
Unlike Kreyn, who was already accustomed to many aspects of the gear he crafted, Groza was utterly taken aback.
"W-What? This armor has a Socket? Things like that are incredibly rare!" Groza exclaimed, unable to control her emotions.
’So that’s how it is, hm?’
Kreyn studied her reaction. After all, Groza’s sword lacked both the Sockets and the Cells.
’So the Sockets exist on other gear too? Well, that was to be expected. After all, they’re abilities. But what about the Cells?’
"Cells?" Groza muttered as she looked at Kreyn. "What’s a Cell?"
Understanding filled Kreyn’s gaze as his answer was already ready:
"Think of it as a perk of my ability. To some extent, it’s similar to the Sockets, they’re abilities too, but the Cells can evolve both on their own and together with a piece of equipment."
Groza blinked as she remembered something.
"Then, at the cave. You and your boots. Huh, now I think I’m starting to understand what’s going on here."
"Come on, let’s move on to the most interesting part."
"Hmm?"
Kreyn pointed to two screens below.
"Abilities, Groza, that’s what it’s all about."
[Shadow Watcher
[By using energy, you can bring the drawing on the back of the armor to life. The shadow legs will either attack your target or defend you, depending on the selected mode. High energy consumption, and the ability becomes ineffective under sunlight.]
They immediately moved on to the next one:
[Spider Queen (Energy Cell)
[While wearing the armor, using a small amount of energy will grant you spider instincts. The longer you use this ability and the more developed this cell is, the greater the effect. Your reaction speed and accuracy will increase significantly.]
"Wow, is all of this in this armor?" Groza looked herself over, amazed.
"Something like that. I’m sure it’s pretty durable, too."
For a moment, Groza paused as her expression grew serious.
"Kreyn, can you help me with something?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"I just want to test this out right now." Groza spun around, pointing at herself. "Throw a rock at me."
Bam!
It wasn’t even three seconds before the rock hit her right in the shoulder.
"HEY!" Groza turned over with a frown. "You’re supposed to warn me!"
"You told me to throw it, so I did it." Kreyn shrugged.
"Argh! Just... Just give me a moment!"
She took a deep breath, and soon a green flame ignited on her back, rippling out in a fading wave.
’She activated her Cell? Alright, let’s see how your instincts hold up.’
Realizing what Groza was trying to do, Kreyn threw another rock, but this time he aimed for her left knee.
Crack!
At the last moment, as if someone had pulled a string on a puppet, Groza’s leg shot up as she kicked the rock away with her heel, sending it flying back.
Kreyn ducked as the rock flew over him.
"Did you see that!?" Groza’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
"More than that."
"So, are we ready to head back?" she asked. After all, their mission here was complete.
However, Kreyn raised his hand.
"Wait, the Crystal Crusher. I need to use his gene right now."
"Oh..." Groza gasped. "Right, you have to craft your own gear, too."
She scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
"Sorry, I just got a little too excited. We killed the Crystal Crusher, and this armor... Damn, so many good things happened today!"
"Sure."
Not wanting to wait any longer, Kreyn activated the Gene Forge. He had one charge left, and he was hoping for something special.
[Gene of the Anomalous Crystal Crusher.]
[Available Options:
[Option 1
[Result: Fang of the Shattering Crystal
[Chances of Success: 77%.]
’What strange odds, huh,’ Kreyn muttered to himself before moving on to the next one.
[Option 2
[Result: Eye of the Hungry Scar
[Chances of Success: ???]
’Agh? The success rates are hidden? Why?’ Kreyn was confused.
Even when crafting the first version of his boots from a lizard, the success rates were available to him. He didn’t know what he’d end up with, but the percentages were always there.
’Tsk.’ Kreyn bit his lip. ’Could this somehow be related to a hidden feature of this gene?’
His eyes darted from one option to another as he tried to figure out what to choose.
Suddenly, Kreyn noticed something.
"Wait... the name of Groza’s armor was pretty strange, but I understood that it was a piece of equipment. But what about this? A fang... not fangs, just a single powerful fang, right?"
Kreyn pondered as he placed his bet that the first option would be a piece of equipment.
"Most likely it’s a sword or a dagger. But an eye? That must be a mutation!"
In fact, Kreyn hadn’t created any mutations yet - well, not personally. His only mutation was his arms, but that happened automatically due to the chaos on the Aegis A-13.
"If this really is a mutation, then I have to get it. A mutation from the Crystal Crusher! That’s got to be something!"
He waved his hand.
"Second option!"
[Accepted.]
Immediately, Kreyn noticed the differences.
The hammer didn’t strike the gene, instead, the gene headed toward the anvil as the fire blazed at full power.
Kreyn had to shield himself with his hand as, in no time, the flames engulfed both the gene and the anvil, shaking violently.
Whoooooosh!
A blue flash burst from the fire, striking Kreyn’s left eye.
"ARGH!"
Kreyn collapsed to the ground in the real world, clutching his left eye.
"Kreyn! Are you alright?!" Groza rushed over to him.
He held out his hand to stop her and slowly got to his feet. The pain was intense, but it quickly left him.
"Wait... I’m fine..."
This wasn’t what Kreyn had expected, but the result should be worth it.
But as soon as he saw Groza’s pale expression, he sensed that something was wrong.
"Kreyn, your eye... it’s..."
In a panic, Kreyn quickly touched his eye, but he could only feel a line running across his skin.
"I can’t open my eye, and... is there a scar on my eye now?" Kreyn could only come to one conclusion.
From Groza’s cautious nod, he understood everything.
"But!" She tried to take control of the situation. "Don’t worry! As soon as we get back to the city, we’ll figure out what the problem is."
Tap.
She pressed her bracelet.
"I’ll contact the military right now. Either way, it’s time for us to leave - our mission is complete!"
A hologram popped up as Groza made the call.
WHISTLE!
With a whistle, a bullet flew straight into Groza’s bracelet, piercing her wrist. Blood gushed out, rushing past their eyes - wide open in shock.
Suddenly, Kreyn stepped forward as Groza turned around, but there was nowhere for them to go.
In an instant, more than a dozen red laser dots locked onto them from all sides as shadows in tattered clothes took up positions at the top of the gorge.
They were surrounded, and their enemies were not monsters.
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