Chapter 50: Shield

Xia Nan was extremely cautious regarding his choice of armor.

After all, given his current physical strength, even with the effects of the [Copper Sinews and Iron Bones] talent providing a certain degree of physical damage reduction, he still wasn't invincible.

If he were to take a direct hit—provided the attacker's weapon was sharp enough or their strength sufficient—he feared he wouldn't be able to withstand it.

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

Therefore, the moment he realized he couldn't make a proper choice between the two sets of medium armor, Xia Nan proactively asked Barn, the blacksmith shop owner beside him, about the pros and cons of the two pieces of equipment and requested his advice.

"Hmm, first, you need to consider the weight," Barn said to Xia Nan, reaching up to stroke the braided beard on his chest. "Although they are of the same type, scale mail is generally heavier overall."

"Defensive performance is important, of course, but it shouldn't compromise your ability to move normally."

Xia Nan naturally followed this advice.

After receiving the man's nod of approval, he took both sets of armor down and tried them on.

It didn't affect him.

With his current physical fitness, the sensation of the weight of this medium armor was only slightly heavier than the leather armor he had bought before his second mission. It was nowhere near the point of hindering his daily movements.

"Next, you must consider your actual circumstances," Barn reminded him.

"If you are a bounty hunter primarily taking on guild contracts targeting various bandits and outlaws, then I would recommend the scale mail. After all, it has wider coverage and can effectively block attacks from arrows and spears, making it exceptionally useful in combat against intelligent creatures."

As he spoke, the tall, burly man glanced at the decapitation longsword behind Xia Nan.

"But if you primarily make a living hunting monsters within the Misty Forest, chainmail is clearly more suitable. It makes less noise when you move, making it harder to attract the attention of monsters, and its relatively simple structure makes it easy to maintain. Even if you stay in the forest for ten days or half a month, you won't have to worry about its defensive strength dropping significantly."

After Barn's explanation, Xia Nan, who had been somewhat conflicted, suddenly had a clear idea.

Compared to fighting bandits who were malicious and used various traps and insidious tools, he much preferred dealing with the green-skinned goblins in the Misty Forest, who could be taken down in a single strike.

"I'll go with the chainmail."

There was no need for fancy packaging; he had already sold his original tattered leather armor to the man. After paying the gold coins, he put the chainmail on immediately.

Feeling the distinct weight of the metal against his skin, Xia Nan felt a faint sense of security rise from the bottom of his heart.

*If I don't rely on dodging and instead force a trade of wounds in a direct confrontation, I wonder how many hits from an ogre I could take,* he mused to himself.

Having completed his armor upgrade, Xia Nan did not leave "Rock Hammer." He still had one most important matter to resolve.

"Eh? This is..."

Barn's eyes stared at the pitch-black scales reflecting a faint, eerie light under the sunlight, and a look of surprise appeared on his rugged face.

Years of forging experience allowed him to recognize at a glance that these were the scales of some kind of monster, but—

*Clink!*

A small, exquisite hammer tapped lightly on the surface of the scale, producing a crisp sound like metal colliding.

Even without a detailed test, those coarse hands that had touched countless forging materials could feel the incredible hardness and toughness emanating from the surface of the scale.

"Where did you..." Barn instinctively looked up at the black-haired youth before him, opened his mouth, and then suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

He swallowed the question that had already reached his lips.

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

"How is it? If I use this scale as the primary material, can you forge a piece of equipment?" Xia Nan asked calmly, his expression composed.

He naturally hadn't forgotten the snake scale he had discovered in the cave. In a sense, its priority in his mind was even higher than his scabbard or his armor.

After all, back then, he had exerted all his strength and even used [Whirlwind Slash], yet he hadn't been able to leave even a single mark on that giant snake.

That unimaginably exaggerated defensive performance had made him contemplate how to utilize it to create equipment suited for himself almost as soon as he returned to River Valley Town.

"Wait a moment, let me study it."

Entering his professional domain, Barn's expression immediately turned serious.

Suppressing his curiosity, he gripped the snake scale and squinted his eyes against the sunlight streaming in from the shop door.

"Perhaps it could be embedded in the center of a breastplate for vital area protection. That way, even with a plate armor model, it could reduce weight while maintaining performance. But that seems like a waste of such a great material."

"Or should I split it up to make scale mail?"

"The edges are quite sharp too... maybe small weapons like daggers or shortswords?"

"No, no, no, that's too wasteful."

Suddenly, looking at the long diamond shape of the scale—wide at the ends and narrow in the middle—Barn's eyes lit up.

With the characteristic passion of a craftsman, he asked

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

As he spoke, he walked quickly to the shelves and pulled out a finely crafted metal buckler that shimmered with silver light.

"Something like this!"

"Of course, if this scale is the main material, the shape of the arm shield won't be circular, and the color will be different."

Hearing this, Xia Nan felt a surge of interest.

He had a general understanding of defensive equipment like "arm shields." They were essentially small shields worn on the arm. They were small and lightweight; even though his primary weapon was currently a two-handed decapitation longsword, it wouldn't interfere with his combat much.

When he needed to defend, he could simply block with the arm shield on the outside of his arm, while his other hand could even look for an opportunity to attack. To some extent, it would also prevent the awkward situation where he had to use the blade of his sword to block an opponent's attack.

In short, given the long diamond structure of the snake scale in his hand and his combat style, making it into an arm shield seemed like the best choice.

"Alright, let's go with the arm shield," Xia Nan nodded to Barn.

However, the man's expression seemed somewhat regretful.

"It's a pity. There have been a lot of orders from the Guild lately, and many materials have been used up."

"Otherwise, with the strength of this scale, if I checked it more carefully, I might even be able to craft a piece of magic equipment."

"Magic equipment!?"

Xia Nan was momentarily stunned, then reacted instantly.

"It's fine, I can wait!"

"How much will it cost?"