Shield

Xia Nan was extremely cautious when it came to choosing armor.

Given his current physical strength, even with the physical damage reduction granted by the [Bronze Sinew, Iron Bone] feat—

if he took a hit head-on, then as long as the attacker's weapon was sharp enough and their strength great enough, he probably still wouldn't be able to withstand it.

For low-level adventurers, a suitable set of armor could practically be considered a second life.

Therefore, the moment he realized he could not make the right choice between the two sets of medium armor—

Xia Nan took the initiative to ask Barn, the Blacksmith Shop owner beside him, about the advantages and disadvantages of the two sets of equipment and requested his advice.

"Mm, first of all, you need to consider the weight." Barn stroked the braided hair hanging over his chest as he spoke to Xia Nan. "Though they're both the same type, scale armor is overall a little heavier."

"Defense is certainly important, but it can't come at the expense of your ability to move normally."

Xia Nan naturally took his advice.

After receiving Barn's permission, he took down both sets of armor and tried them on.

There was no impact.

With his current physical attributes, this medium armor only felt slightly heavier than the leather armor he had bought before his second mission.

It was nowhere near heavy enough to affect his everyday movements.

"Then you need to consider your actual circumstances," Barn reminded him.

"If you mainly take bounty missions from the Association, targeting bandits and outlaws of all kinds, then I'd recommend scale armor."

"After all, it provides broader coverage and can effectively block arrows and spear-type weapons. It's particularly useful when fighting intelligent creatures."

As he spoke, the tall, burly man glanced at the Beheading Longsword on Xia Nan's back.

"But if you mainly make your living hunting Monsters in the Thin Mist Forest, then a chainmail shirt is clearly more suitable."

"It makes less noise while moving, so it's less likely to draw a Monster's attention. Its relatively simple structure also makes maintenance easy. Even if you stay in the forest for ten days or half a month, you won't need to worry about its defensive strength noticeably declining."

After Barn explained it like that, Xia Nan, who had still been somewhat torn, immediately had his answer.

Compared to dealing with vicious thieves who used all sorts of traps and underhanded tools, he preferred dealing with the Greenskin Goblins in the Thin Mist Forest, which he could kill with one slash each.

"I'll take the chainmail shirt."

There was no need for any packaging. He had already sold his old tattered leather armor to Barn.

After paying the Gold Coins, he put on the chainmail shirt directly.

Feeling the distinctive weight of metal against his skin—

Xia Nan felt a faint sense of security rise from within.

If I ignore dodging and force a head-on exchange of injuries, I wonder how many hits from a Bear Goblin I could take.

After upgrading his armor, Xia Nan did not leave Rock Hammer.

He still had one most important matter to settle.

"Huh? This is..."

Barn stared at the black scale before him, its surface reflecting a dim gleam beneath the sunlight. A trace of surprise appeared on his rugged face.

His years of forging experience allowed him to recognize at a glance that it was the scale armor of some Monster, but—

Clang!

A delicate little hammer lightly struck the scale's surface, producing a crisp ring like metal colliding with metal.

Even without conducting any detailed tests, those rough hands that had handled countless forging materials could feel the astonishing hardness and toughness emanating from its surface.

"Where did you..." Barn subconsciously looked up at the Black-haired Youth before him. He opened his mouth, then suddenly stopped halfway through his question.

He swallowed the question that had reached his lips.

In their line of work, especially when the customer was an adventurer, it was better to talk less.

"So, if this scale were used as the main material, could you forge a piece of equipment from it?" Xia Nan asked calmly, his expression taut.

Naturally, he had not forgotten the Snake Scale he had found in the cave.

To some extent, it held even higher priority in his mind than a scabbard or armor.

After all, back then, he had used every ounce of his strength, even unleashing [Whirlwind Slash], yet he had failed to leave even the slightest mark on that Great Serpent.

Its outrageously powerful defense, beyond anything he had imagined, had made him start considering how to use it to make a piece of equipment suited to himself almost as soon as he returned to River Valley Town.

"Wait a moment. Let me study it."

Once he entered his professional domain, Barn's expression immediately grew serious.

Suppressing his curiosity, he pinched the Snake Scale and held it up against the sunlight outside the shop, narrowing his eyes.

"Perhaps it could be embedded into the center of a breastplate to protect vital areas. That way, even if we use a plate armor design, we could reduce the weight without compromising performance."

"But that seems like a bit of a waste."

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

"The edges are fairly sharp too. A small weapon like a dagger or Short Sword?"

"No, no, no. That would be far too wasteful."

Then, as he looked at the Snake Scale's long rhombus shape, wide at both ends and narrow in the middle, Barn's eyes suddenly lit up.

With the unique enthusiasm of a craftsman in his voice, he asked:

"An arm shield! What about an arm shield?"

As he spoke, he quickly walked to the shelves and rummaged out an exquisitely crafted Metal Round Shield that gleamed silver.

"Something like this!"

"Of course, if we use this scale as the main material, the arm shield definitely won't be round, and its color will be different too."

Xia Nan could not help but feel tempted upon hearing that.

He had some understanding of defensive equipment like arm shields.

They were roughly like small shields worn on the arm.

They were compact and lightweight. Even though his main weapon was currently the Beheading Longsword, which required both hands to wield, it would barely affect him in battle.

Whenever he needed to defend, he only had to raise the arm shield on the outside of his arm in front of himself. At the same time, his other hand could even seize the opportunity to attack.

To a certain extent, it would also spare him from the awkward situation of having to use his sword blade to block an opponent's attack.

All in all, given the long rhombus structure of the Snake Scale in his hand and his combat style, turning it into an arm shield seemed to be the best choice.

"Alright. An arm shield, then." He nodded at Barn.

However, Barn's expression seemed somewhat regretful.

"What a pity. The Association has had a lot of orders lately, and we've already used up many materials."

"Otherwise, given the strength of your scale, if I inspected it carefully, I might even be able to make a magic item."

"A magic item!?"

Xia Nan froze, then abruptly came to his senses.

"That's fine. I can wait!"

"How much will it cost?"