Reaper of the Sands-Bruce?

Time flew, and a week passed in the blink of an eye.

After Chuan Wenwu bought enough supplies at the market and headed into the Monster Forest with Bruce, he hadn't returned to town once.

The weapon shop was as busy as ever, but Elhart always felt something was missing. Every so often, he thought of that cheerful young man and his big yellow dog.

"Boss! I'm fucking back!"

Just as that thought crossed his mind, a familiar, piercing voice rang out from the entrance. Elhart froze for a moment, then laughed and scolded, "You finally came back, you brat! The stuff I made for you has almost started gathering dust, you know?"

"Huh? That's not very nice of you, boss. Those are my goods I'm storing here, after all. Keeping an eye on them and making sure they don't gather dust... that's not too much to ask!"

Creak-

Laughing heartily, Chuan Wenwu pushed open the weapon shop's door. He turned to call to his companion behind him as he walked straight inside.

Following him was a towering figure who stooped slightly to squeeze through the doorway-he was so tall that he had to duck his head to enter.

"!!!"

"My god!" The hammer in Elhart's hand fell to the floor with a clang. His eyes went wide as he stared dumbfounded. "Kid, don't tell me that guy is Bruce?"

Standing there was a dog-headed beastman nearly two and a half meters tall! Brownish-yellow fur covered his entire body, and his muscles were as solid as iron. A crude animal-hide apron was wrapped around his waist. His face showed little expression, yet radiated authority.

It-no, he was clearly a person now. His eyes were sharp as a hawk's as he followed closely behind Chuan Wenwu, like a loyal guardian deity, immovable as a mountain and steady as a rock.

"It's a little hard to believe, but yes, that's Bruce." Suppressing a laugh, Chuan Wenwu gave Bruce a meaningful look.

"B-boss... hello... I'm Bruce."

Bruce opened his mouth and greeted the shopkeeper word by word. He spoke slowly, and his pronunciation wasn't particularly clear. After all, he had only recently gained this beastman form and wasn't quite used to speaking like a person yet.

"...How did you do it?" After a long silence, Elhart finally managed to ask. In all his years, this was the first time he had seen a dog turn into a beastman.

"I didn't really do anything. I just took Bruce out to fight monsters and level up, and he kept getting bigger as his level rose... then yesterday, after he leveled up and grew again, he suddenly gained the ability to change forms like this."

Chuan Wenwu spread his hands and pointed to the shield on his arm. "If there's a reason, it has to be this Companion Shield. Its growth bonus is so powerful that it practically turned Bruce into a spirit."

"Hey, hey, kid, has anyone ever told you that blaming everything on your shield is a pretty shameless way to cheat? At least explain how it happened! Bruce was just an ordinary dog before, wasn't he? Never mind how he got huge in the blink of an eye, but it's only been a week, and now he's evolved into a beastman!"

The shopkeeper grabbed Chuan Wenwu by the shoulders and shook him hard, desperate for an answer.

"Even if you say that, I don't know either. He just kept leveling up, and then he turned into this. I can't explain why. I've only been in this world for a little while myself, you know~ Actually, boss, you're a born-and-raised local. Haven't you heard of anything like this?" Chuan Wenwu asked in return.

"...Where would I ever hear about something like that? You're giving me way too much credit!"

The shopkeeper couldn't help protesting. After racking his brains for a long while, his furrowed brow relaxed slightly, and he slowly said, "Well, it's not that I've never heard of it, but those are all stories from legends..."

"Uh-huh, go on." Chuan Wenwu brought over two stools.

The shopkeeper continued, "They say there's a Filolial Queen somewhere in the world, an incredibly powerful monster whose strength ranks among the highest in the world. She can also take human form. Rumor has it that the Filolial Queen was raised by the heroes of the past..."

"Oh, so there's a precedent! If the previous heroes could raise powerful monsters capable of changing forms, then it's perfectly reasonable for me, the current Shield Hero, to raise Bruce into the Reaper of the Sands, right?" Chuan Wenwu patted Bruce's sturdy back, sounding rather proud.

But the shopkeeper completely missed the reference. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he sighed. "What Reaper of the Sands... I'm seriously thinking here-kid, heroes like you are just absurd! You've raised an ordinary animal into something even stronger than a monster!"

"Boss, listen to yourself. You say heroes are absurd, but have you considered that this world summoning me from my own world to be a hero here was absurd in the first place?" Chuan Wenwu smiled helplessly. "A little cheating doesn't count."

The shopkeeper rubbed his smooth bald head. After thinking for a long time without making sense of it, he could only give up. "Forget it. I'm just an ordinary man. I can't understand the world you heroes live in. Anyway, you came back this time to pick up the equipment you ordered, right?"

"What else?" Chuan Wenwu nodded. "Hurry up and bring it out so I can take a look. Waiting this whole week has been killing me."

Elhart turned and walked into the forge. Before long, he carried out a large box and set it in front of Chuan Wenwu. "It's all here. The needles in the different materials you ordered, plus a few extra types of alloy needles I made for you."

Chuan Wenwu opened the box. Sure enough, it was packed with needles made of metal, crystal, alloys... there were even more varieties than he had ordered.

The shopkeeper explained, "Since you gave me more than enough money, besides the pure-metal needles, I tried making an extra batch of alloy ones for you. Their strength varies because I used different proportions, but that Legendary Shield of yours probably isn't a picky eater. As for its limit, I reckon it's nowhere near reaching it yet... go ahead and try them."

"Boss, you're the best!" Chuan Wenwu gratefully gave the shopkeeper a thumbs-up, then grabbed the needles of various materials and fed them to his shield, which refined them instantly!

Magic Crystal Needle Shield requirements met. Successfully unlocked!

Bronze Needle Shield requirements met. Successfully unlocked!

Adamantine Needle Shield requirements met. Successfully unlocked!

Palladium Needle Shield requirements met. Successfully unlocked!

...

Dozens of new icons appeared in the Book of Weapons in an instant. Every material used for the needles unlocked a corresponding needle shield form. These new shields offered different bonuses: some increased defense, some speed, some magic resistance, and some special attributes-but without exception, they all carried the "thorns" trait.

Chuan Wenwu made a rough calculation. If he unlocked all these shields' abilities, his "thorns" stat could easily exceed a hundred. At that point, the damage reflected by thorns might even surpass the enemy's attack!

"Hell yeah!" He couldn't help cheering, feeling that his strength had taken another huge leap.