Centaur's Charge

And so, two days passed. Lin Yun helped manage the blacksmith shop, taking care of all the necessary tasks, including the refurbishment of steel plate Scale Armor and Chainmail. It turned out that the Chainmail, besides the smell of metal and blood, had no other scent. Well, don't ask Lin Yun how he knew.

Then, considering the appearance of bards and the fact that young warriors could also equip heavy crossbows to assist in combat, Lin Yun spent another 85 gold coins to purchase a heavy crossbow and a Light Crossbow. These weapons did not require any further adjustments.

He also spent 5 gold coins on 100 crossbow bolts. Although a certain number of bolts could be recovered after each battle, they were inevitably damaged. Thus, after the last battle, the Female Mage and the Goddess Priestess didn't have many bolts left, so preparations were needed.

Regarding the young warrior's weapon, since he seemed to only be proficient with longswords, Lin Yun suspected the young warrior had a specialization in longswords. Therefore, he only re-polished his existing longsword, making it look like new, and nothing else. After all, the result of forcibly using other weapons was... awkward, just like before.

On the fourth day since Lin Yun arrived in this world, the Dwarf blacksmith, looking gaunt and with dark circles under his eyes as if he had just completed an arduous cultivation, came to Lin Yun's room and informed him that his armor was finally complete.

Lin Yun immediately jumped out of bed and went to the forging room. There, on a mannequin, stood a suit of armor that perfectly matched his build. It looked somewhat dark, even gleaming black, which was unavoidable.

Although he didn't see any magical aura emanating from it, Lin Yun, with his blacksmith knowledge, could naturally sense that this armor was extraordinary.

"D20+2+5=18, success." A successful blacksmith knowledge check brought a flood of information into Lin Yun's mind, which he summarized as follows:

This was not a magical item, but a masterwork armor that possessed the same effect as a +1 magical item. Furthermore, due to the special properties of Black Iron, the armor provided +5 resistance to acid and +5 resistance to electricity, which was terrifying.

This was armor even before enchanting. Once enchanted, it would likely be incredibly powerful.

However, with Lin Yun's current meager funds, let alone enchanting, he couldn't even afford the cheapest +1 enchantment. He'd have to rely on himself. He lamented again, wishing he had chosen the blacksmith master's Priest variant profession back then; it would have felt invincible.

As Lin Yun had said, the armor had no special patterns. If it weren't for its all-black color, it would have been indistinguishable from a regular flexible breastplate.

Lin Yun opened the quick-release buckle at the bottom of the armor and tried it on. There was a layer of beast hide lining inside, which didn't feel uncomfortable and was very pleasant. It was clear the Dwarf blacksmith had put some thought into it.

He glanced at his status screen. His AC had instantly increased to 16, a gain of 2 AC compared to his previous Scale Armor. It was primarily more protective. The covered area hadn't increased much, as it was a flexible breastplate, so Lin Yun could still move quite freely, even though... Lin Yun's Dexterity was only 8.

It was a minor imperfection. With the +4 shield bonus from his Shield and the +2 deflection bonus from Protection from Evil, Lin Yun's AC defense now reached a staggering 22. Most Goblins probably wouldn't even be able to touch him.

"How is it? I didn't ruin your work, did I?" Despite his exhausted appearance, the Dwarf blacksmith looked very excited. Lin Yun figured the blacksmith was probably boasting to everyone he met about having crafted a suit of armor with a Clan Craftsman.

This could be called Lin Yun's work, or his work, although Lin Yun was responsible for the main parts, and the blacksmith only handled the seemingly insignificant details.

Although the Dwarf blacksmith had been heavily exploited by Lin Yun, he had at least gained something, such as skills and reputation. From a certain perspective, the Dwarf blacksmith had actually profited, which was quite mysterious.

As a side note, considering that wearing only black armor with a gray helmet looked too incongruous... Lin Yun decided to make the helmet black as well. Of course, it was just a simple process using a special solvent, costing 10 gold coins, which he applied like dye to turn the helmet black. And so... Lin Yun was almost entirely black from head to toe. Wait, something seemed off.

Someone let out a question befitting someone with bad luck.

Since the armor was settled, it was time to embark on a new adventure. As he had made arrangements in advance, Lin Yun, clad in his Black Iron flexible armor, black helmet, black boots, black leather pants, and a black cloak, held his not-black Lantern Staff and a black heavy mace, along with a not-black shield...

Hmm, looking at the black and white emblem of the Eye of Omniscience on his shield, Lin Yun ultimately decided not to dye his Lantern Staff and shield black as well.

Incidentally, the main body of the Lantern Staff was made of silver metal.

As Lin Yun arrived at the Adventurer's Guild, he was surprised to find a colossal being inside. Yes, please forgive Lin Yun for calling it a colossal being, because it wasn't human, but a giant centaur.

The centaur, clad in leather armor that revealed incredibly strong muscles and a simple beast hide draped over its back, stood before the Adventurer's Guild counter, its hooves restlessly pawing the ground. It seemed the Adventurer's Guild floor would need repairs.

"Ah, Mr. Silent, you're here. Perfect timing. This is Mr. Infini, he wants to commission a task involving Goblins. I recall it's not far from the quest you're currently undertaking, possibly even the same location," the exceptionally beautiful receptionist said with a smile to Lin Yun.

"Are you alone? Hey, I'm going to rescue someone. It's not that I don't have money, I just need some time," the centaur said anxiously. Judging by its incredibly irritable temper and the shield and weapon it carried, it was either a warrior or a barbarian, and Lin Yun leaned towards barbarian, based on intuition.

"We are his party members. Do you have a problem?" The young warrior and the others stood up from the more tavern-like area to one side and came to Lin Yun's side, addressing the centaur.

"Just a bunch of kids?" The centaur clearly seemed impatient.

"You're also a combat-capable adventurer, aren't you? If you don't mind, how about we have a spar?" Lin Yun said with a smile, holding his heavy mace in one hand and his shield in the other.

"Just what I wanted." The centaur glared, its large eyes already showing bloodshot veins. Lin Yun then led him to a training ground next to the Adventurer's Guild.

Taking a weapon that was clearly longer, likely a lance, from its back, the centaur held its shield and glared at Lin Yun with imposing energy. Then, it suddenly went berserk...

With a roar, its already reddish skin turned even redder, looking almost like a steamed crab. Its eyes turned bloodshot, and it charged at Lin Yun with its lance.

A lance is a very specialized weapon. When held on the ground, it requires two hands, but when mounted, it can be wielded with one hand for a thrust. And the centaur... it was already one with its mount, allowing it to wield the lance with one hand while holding a shield.

However...

Although the barbarian went berserk, gaining +4 to Strength and Constitution, meaning an additional +2 modifier on top of its base stats, which was terrifying. A charging centaur was undoubtedly fearsome, surpassing even ordinary cavalry. But this fellow seemed a bit too hasty, or perhaps the reason for his friend being captured by Goblins made him too agitated. Inadvertently, he didn't notice his footing and stumbled, crashing headfirst into Lin Yun's shield, much to Lin Yun's bewildered surprise. Yes, its head literally hit the shield. As a result, the centaur looked dazed.

When Lin Yun saw the centaur preparing to charge, he was already ready. He just didn't expect it to hit him in such a manner.

Lin Yun firmly gripped his shield and asked the somewhat dazed centaur with a hint of speechlessness, "Um, are you going to continue?"

"Ah, are you looking down on me?" Although Lin Yun intended to let it go, it clearly angered the centaur. It drew a Battle Axe from its waist and swung it at Lin Yun.

Lin Yun instinctively blocked with his shield, firmly parrying the Battle Axe, then raised his mace and swung it down.

"D20+2+2=9, MISS." Just as Lin Yun was about to use his strength to smash down the mace, the centaur on the opposite side exerted a slight force with its Battle Axe, causing Lin Yun's swing to go off balance. The mace hit the centaur but dealt no damage.

Meanwhile, the centaur continued to swing its axe at Lin Yun. This time, due to Lin Yun's reaction speed being somewhat sluggish, it was hit by the centaur's axe on his armor. Yes, the fact proved that Lin Yun's products were always top-quality. Lin Yun barely felt it; the centaur's axe was directly deflected by the armor.

"D20+2+2=17, HIT." This time, without any obstruction, Lin Yun landed a mace blow on the centaur's head, dealing considerable damage.

"D8+2=6."

It could be said that it was indeed a barbarian. Even with that mace blow, it didn't cause much damage. The centaur shook its head, roared, and swung its axe again.

However, this time, it only produced a sound like striking metal and had no effect. Because Lin Yun's reaction was too slow, the blow landed on the armor again. This fellow seemed incapable of swinging anywhere other than Lin Yun's armor, which was quite stubborn.

"D20+2+2=15, HIT." Lin Yun's mace successfully struck the centaur's head again, and this time it finally posed a threat.

"D8+2=8." Lin Yun's mace blow made the centaur dizzy, and it fell unconscious to the ground.

Why bother?