Earth Dungeon 70.1

 Test

Chapter 70.1. Armaments

With a somewhat subtle expression, Okubo nodded and agreed to work at my company. When I heard her say that she was passing my portion to Serika, I glanced at Serika, but she seemed to understand the significance.

"Hey, Serika?"

"Yeah? What is it, Sakimori?"

She grinned, her crimson eyes gleaming as she looked at me, the albino beauty.

"Could you tell me why you're here? It's not because of Okubo-kun's introduction, is it?"

I put my index finger to her lips and looked sternly at Okubo-kun. That report is unnecessary information, so forget about it. 

Okubo-kun must have understood my intention, as she smiled wryly and nodded quietly. Yeah, it's better to keep the information about the employer a secret. It might make you feel uneasy.

"Oh, your last name is similar to Ooki-san's, so 'Ryuko' is fine."

"No, I'll change mine... I mean, my name isn't Ooki."

I nodded in understanding of Ryuko's words and returned my gaze to Serika. Ooki-kun, more tea?

My line seemed different from what she expected. Serika pursed her lips even more and took something from her bag beside her.

"You're straightforward, Sakimori."

"Remember it's not a formal agreement. You have just acquired a laboratory, Serika-san. You need a lot of cement for repairs, don't you?"

I could use some cement. Besides, there's a possibility that Serika is using the money for Ryuko elsewhere. I won't judge based on just one aspect.

"You can switch gears quickly, which is a virtue. Now, these are the armaments for you. We'll talk about the cement later."

There was a black bracelet on the table with a gem that looked like an eye. I could feel magical power from it, so it had some power. Is this the armament?

"And this."

She took out another item. It was a one-meter-long short sword with a crystal blade faintly glowed with magic.

[Hazy Short Sword and Monocular Demon Bracelet. Crafted with Craft Skills, they're user-friendly weapons with no weaknesses. I see. These should be usable against B-rank enemies. But the Hazy Short Sword is fragile, isn't it?]

After Shizuku saw the armaments, she immediately displayed her knowledge. I see.

"And this is the armor."

It was a small silver ring with a tiny gem attached. Cutting corners? Why are there three of them?

She must have noticed my gaze; Serika crossed her arms and smirked. If you're embarrassed about emphasizing your chest because your cheeks are slightly red, you should stop.

Despite her pouting at me for a moment, she quickly regained her composure and began her explanation.

"This is a Hazy Short Sword and a Monocular Demon Bracelet. They allow an easy flow of combat energy and increase combat effectiveness by 30%. Well, not exactly, but close enough. And this sword can create a Hazy Sword on its blade. It's a short sword, but it can transform into a greatsword at will, and the crystal has high durability, so it's hard to break. ...I hope."

She explained proudly but stumbled at the end. Does Serika have some cause for concern?

"You seem a bit uneasy."

"No, it'll be fine if you don't use it recklessly. It's usually quite durable. Yeah, it should be fine, as it's designed to be extremely durable. Please don't say things like 'I cut a building along with the enemy, and it broke because of the load'. It will break if you cut a building because of the stress."

[Seems to have durability issues.]

[This old man doesn't think there are any durability issues.]

Serika shook her head in response to my thoughts, and Shizuku conveyed her response. Cutting a reinforced concrete building? That's not something human techniques can achieve.

"I can craft Hazy Short Sword from the teeth of an Azure Dragon. I made it using the teeth of an Azure Dragon that appeared before. And Monocular Demon Bracelet. There's an actual demon called a Monocular Demon that it's based on, and it shoots magic from its eye. In other words, that single eye enhances magic effects significantly. I can vouch for that."

"I see. So, it doesn't occupy your hands. That's good, not being a staff."

It's inconvenient when your hands are occupied. Plus, I don't want to carry a staff around. I'm not a fantasy magician; I'm aiming to be a hard-boiled old man.

"Lastly, Logic Ring. This will provide the wearer with a barrier equivalent to a thin sheet of steel. By the way, it has an operational time of 8 hours, and mana automatically replenishes every 24 hours."

"So, it's not useful?"

I don't think it'll work against C-rank or higher enemies, but Serika, who probably anticipated my question, wagged her finger and smiled mischievously.

"I initially prepared robes and armor, but you didn't like them, so I switched to these. With three of them, you can have a 24-hour continuous activation. You can add magic or combat techniques to the barrier, right? It's your own special skill."

"I see. Magic weaponization, combat defense techniques. If I could add those powers, it's powerful."

I put one of the rings on my index finger. It's a small ring, so it doesn't stand out much.

"You just need to think to activate it. It's easy, right?"

"Okay."

I circulated mana and sent it into the ring to activate it. I could feel a mana barrier enveloping my body. It was an invisible barrier.

What's this? An invisible mana barrier? That's fantastic. I'll have to learn how to do that.

I added magic weaponization to the barrier. It's stacking an invisible mana barrier. I did the same with hardened skin. I applied it through cohesion.

It's not visible, but I can feel that the barrier has been strengthened. This is great.

"...I can see why Karin calls you a perverted magician. You're much tougher than I expected."

"Just as I said-nya. Sakimori is a pervert-nya."

Serika gave me a bewildered look and then glared at me, but she suggested this method herself. It's too late now. And don't call me a pervert, Karin.

"Armor-piercing rounds should be no problem, right? How about a rocket launcher? I'd like to give it a try."

Serika tapped her hands together in front of me. Her hands couldn't touch me because of the barrier.

"What about poison or magic? Mad scientist stuff."

Ignoring her mad scientist talk, I inquired about scenarios involving a lack of oxygen, poison, or other situations.

"There's a filter-like feature that only allows harmless substances to pass through, but it might not be very useful against magic or combat-related status effect attacks. You'll have to rely on magic or combat energy defenses for status effects. I think it should block things like napalm, flames, and physical attacks at this intensity."