Chapter Fifteen: The Custom Tailored Suit
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Melina followed Miss Li as she stepped out of the tent. Outside, Maria approached them—somehow, the scene made Melina expect Maria to ask, “Doctor, how is it?”
“Li Li, if I want to custom-make equipment, how long will it take to get it?”
“Hmm?” Miss Li hummed thoughtfully, her dark red eyes reflecting contemplation.
“Bright silver takes about a week and a half, Ore Alpha about a week, dragon bone roughly three days, and brass about three days as well.”
She recited the four main starter sets.
Melina frowned slightly. “That’s quite a long time.”
“Bright silver takes a week and a half, yes.” Maria pressed her left hand on the sword hilt, absentmindedly stroking it. “Why does it take so long? I recall Soso and I only needed a combined day for ours.”
When it came to her expertise, Miss Li returned to her usual serene composure and calmly explained:
“That’s because that was in the capital city. The capital is abundant in resources; whatever parts you want are readily available locally.”
She paused briefly but continued without letting anyone interrupt:
“Also, polishing takes time. The basic effect provided by the bright silver set is [Protection Level Two]. The magical factor’s force field must fit extremely tightly to ensure most things aren’t mistaken for attacks. Please come over here a bit, Miss Maria.”
The blonde older sister stepped closer.
Miss Li then demonstrated the segmented front armor structure of the bright silver set to Melina.
“The upper armor,” Miss Li tapped twice, producing a solid thump.
Melina discreetly gauged Maria’s expression and found no reaction at all.
“The magical factor’s determination must be rigorous. Full-body armor is extremely complex and difficult to make, so we segmented the upper armor. Both upper and lower armor are plate structures, modularly fitted, with an internal plate armor layer behind the eye membrane on the abdomen, providing flexibility and protection.”
She tapped Maria’s abdomen, then slid her finger upward, hooking at the joint of the upper armor.
Only then did Melina notice the joint had a hollow space.
“Pressure padding—the innermost layer is the magical factor trigger. In other words, it needs to be like this…”
She performed a forceful chest compression motion. A blue light flared on Maria’s body, pushing her back two steps. Melina, prepared, also stepped back instantly, not repelled by the [Protective Magical Factor].
“A certain attack intensity is required to trigger the defense level. Therefore, the upper armor’s structure consists of an outer armor layer, pressure padding, the magical factor attachment surface, an internal buffer plate, an inner plate layer, and an inner protective buffer… plus considerations for comfort and so on. You and Miss Sonia’s bright silver armor could be finished so quickly because you both have standard body types and only require slight polishing. But Miss Melina…”
She shook her head. “You will need special custom sizes and measurements.”
The process of making a suit of armor was this complicated.
Before Melina’s crossing, a full medieval suit of armor often took months to forge. In this world, armor-making had become simpler, but the threshold had risen considerably. Craftsmen without abundant magical factors were utterly outpaced in efficiency.
However…
Am I really that big? Melina glanced down at herself.
“Is bright silver absolutely necessary?” Melina asked. “Dragon bone and brass aren’t bad, right?”
“They’re good, but the subsequent upgrade paths…” Miss Li hesitated. “…If you want to upgrade later, Ore Alpha and Bright Silver Alpha have smoother, more suitable routes. They don’t require many monster materials, so money can solve much of the problem. Brass and dragon bone upgrades are more troublesome…”
Miss Li glanced at Maria while speaking.
Old Maria smiled like a proud mother:
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“I understand what you mean.”
Melina guessed she was shading Sonia.
“The bright silver series has more prominent defensive performance. The Ore Alpha series shares similar attributes and is also suitable for beginners.” They’re among the few armor sets whose upgrades can mostly be handled through money.
“That’s fine, I prefer to handle the material side myself.”
Miss Li nodded quietly.
“So, do you prefer offense or…”
“Offense.”
Melina answered without hesitation, so fast that Maria raised an eyebrow.
She had always been a firm advocate of offense.
Advantageous offense secures victory; disadvantageous offense creates opportunity; balanced offense breaks stalemates. She was always a supporter of all-out aggressive tactics. To her, winning by defense, a 1-0 or 5-0 score—those were all just three points, meaningless chatter. Melina only played offense.
Though explorers risked their lives fighting dragons, a well-prepared explorer had a huge advantage. Not attacking when you have the upper hand is a waste. Understanding this took some getting used to.
The brass series was actually quite good; it had over a hundred main upgrade branches, but its principal schools divided into three:
The Steam School: converting magical factors continuously into hydraulic mixed steam, creating a mist dense with magical factors, which enhanced various abilities while immersed.
The Grappling School: thigh-mounted greaves fitted with convenient grappling hooks, combined with a back-mounted power system, allowing flight. Powerful explorers could fly to some extent, but this world’s magical factors had unique properties. To fly, one must gather specific equipment and magical factors. Explorers were like the strongest Steve: unbeatable on the ground, but to soar, they needed fireworks wings or mods.
The Ejection School: modified soles gave piston-like legs, enabling long jumps and generally strong single attacks. The Echo Squad’s twin legal loli sisters used this style, though equipped with Ore Alpha upgrades. They’d likely switch to brass ejection later, but hadn’t yet because Don Quixote wasn’t fully trusted.
Ore armor was already fragile; brass was even more so.
If Don Quixote lost the dragon’s aggro, those two legal lolis could instantly become little pancakes…
Why was brass more brittle?
“Well, if you favor pure offense, brass armor is better, and you’ll get it faster.”
Miss Li pulled out draft sketches to show several mainstream sets.
From the designs, the question “Why is brass armor the most brittle?” became clear.
Brass armor’s main parts are vambraces, gloves, back-mounted magical factor-fused functional plates, and greaves with shin guards—the center is entirely hollowed out, covered by chainmail to prevent stray shots and offer minimal protection. This ultra-thin armor was almost like paper against dragons, but it granted exceptional mobility and maximum “space left for modifications.”
In this world, equipment gradually developed emotional bonds with their owners, an affinity that smoothed magical factor integration.
An armor’s capacity for additional materials had limits, as did the number of modifications.
Each modification or addition of monster materials used up part of the magical factor and modification limit.
Brass armor was the base set with the highest number of modifications allowed—not the highest limit, but the greatest number of times. It suited explorers aiming for constant hunting. Many explorers even cultivated multiple brass sets from scratch.
With enough adjustments, it would eventually be perfect.
However…
“…Can’t the hollow center have plates added?” Melina tried to control the heat on her face.
“Why add plates?” Miss Li said puzzledly. “Plates don’t add defense and don’t look good as decoration. If you dislike the chainmail inside, you can replace it later with a dragon scale one-piece.”
It wasn’t like the full limb coverage but hollow center design wasn’t a bit odd?
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Plus, chainmail fit the body better.
Melina could only nod.
Since she was using her senior’s money, Melina felt a bit embarrassed, but Maria didn’t hesitate to pick the most expensive option, having Melina choose the priciest steam-style brass set.
Maria pulled Melina aside to whisper:
“The feature of this brass set is the steam-like magical factor distribution that enhances bodily functions, consuming a lot of magical factors. I heard from Soso that consumption isn’t an issue for you, so this set is best and has the most room for modifications… If you don’t like it, you can buy another one.”
How could she accept that?
Before Melina could say anything, she shyly added, “Actually, I also quite like the grappling school…”
Maria immediately decided: “Buy! Since it’s not my money but Soso’s.”
“One steam, one grappling… okay, I’ve noted that. By the way, Miss Melina, what weapon do you want? So I can customize adjustments.”
The topic returned to weaponry, and Melina fell into thought.
Right, she hadn’t chosen her weapon yet.
Li Li, experienced as ever, saw Melina’s expression and nodded.
“Shall I start with a balanced adjustment? Once you decide, I can make changes.”
“No.”
Melina gently shook her head, eyes softly closed.
She had realized what her heart truly desired—or rather, its direction.
A warrior’s armament reflected their inner soul, so the weapon must align with the explorer’s emotions. She wasn’t an overly emotional person, which made her choice difficult, but not anymore. Her spirit had gained strength through a vision.
The power of rage.
The source of that rage was:
[Senior missed 15 shots in a row]
So angry.
So very angry!
Damn it, why? How can someone miss so many shots?
I’m furious!
Just as some professional players rise because of “I can do it, so I’ll do it,” Melina, aside from her obsession with “becoming an explorer,” finally felt a second emotion: anger and fury.
She opened her eyes:
“Please make adjustments for me in terms of ranged weapons.”
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