"Oh, you two are so cute!" Nell squealed as Fran and Art showed off their new armor to the receptionist.
"Thanks, I guess." Art mumbled, kicking her foot a little. "I just wish mom had used our design for Fran's outfit."
[Armor was meant to be used in battle to defend one's life. No loose belts, no capes, and absolutely NO uncovered vitals.] Archer mentally snapped at the girl as he was reminded of the 'design' that the girls and Gallus had tried to sell him on.
Archer had sworn at Gallus until he was left crying in a corner after seeing the 'armor' that he was suggesting, hoping to disillusion the dwarf about his failed understanding of what armor was. Gallus attempted to defend himself, claiming the less than minimalist armor design to be a common base among Beastkin, who enjoyed the feel of wind against their skin.
Fran had admittedly expressed such a preference, and Archer tolerated it in her casual clothes, allowing her to wear tank tops and shorts that he found to be rather too short for her age around town, but he would never allow such a thing on the battlefield. And even this tolerance Archer was rethinking after Amanda told Fran and Art that the method that she had used to train her [Wind Magic] involved 'bathing in the wind', prompting the two to strip naked and go running through the forest. Honestly, what was that whimsical woman thinking, telling those girls that.
Honestly, Archer was starting to have his suspicions about the old dwarf and his practices. Not suspicions of pedophilia or anything like that. Gallus would already be dead if Archer believed that he had viewed his children with such eyes. No, Archer suspected that Gallus might make his design choices based on an item's appearance over its function.
He was right, of course, that there were enchantments that would stretch the defensive properties of the armor to guard even uncovered areas, Archer was already planning on making use of them, but experience had taught him better than to depend on them. There were all kinds of attacks that could be deflected by physical armor that could easily penetrate that kind of protection. Not to mention the tiny breast plate that hardly covered the entire chest and shoulders wouldn't have been able to hold as many enchantments as a more covering set. But this wasn't even the most questionable of his choices.
Archer shouted at him for a solid minute about his complete waste of the limited amount of enchantments an item can hold when he found out that the man wanted to implement things like [Automatic Stain Removing], [Automatic Deodorizer] and [Pleasant Sleeping], sacrificing valuable space that could be used to further boost the defensive capabilities of the armor. Honestly, stain removal, deodorizer? They had [Purification Magic] for that kind of stuff. And did he honestly expect the girls to sleep in their armor? Even if the situation required them to sleep in a dungeon, that isn't the kind of place you want to sleep deeply in.
No. While Archer would make sure the armor was comfortable enough to move around in, all day long if necessary, he wouldn't sacrifice its quality to do so. While he allowed Fran and Art to keep their skirts, there were full leggings underneath them, and their chest plates were made to cover all vitals without the loss of flexibility.
Archer also gave the armors a function to allow them to change into an astral form, allowing them to equip them at a moment's notice, similar to the way a Servant could with their own weapons and armor. So that the girls could walk around in whatever clothes they wanted outside of a combat zone while still having their best armor on hand at the drop of a hat.
On top of her chestplate, Art had a dark blue long sleeved leather jacket to protect her arms, with the eight pointed compass that was the symbol of the Goddess of Chaos on her back, in the middle of a large magic circle, that while it looked like it was just for decoration, actually allowed for the girl's wings to pass through the material if she dropped her [Racial Mimicry], and even her metal hair ties held a strong magical enchantment to protect the girl from mental attacks.
Meanwhile, Fran had requested that Archer allow the cape style of mantle to be replaced by a black mantle that wrap closely around the arms, similar to the one he used, only with a hood shaped for her cat ears, with fur trimmings. It was with a mixture of flattery and annoyance that Archer gave in, as hoods were not something he normally approved of.
In the end, the girls did look cute in their new outfits, but they hadn't been exactly what Art had wanted. But while Fran had simply accepted this, the Demoness had cried about it until Amanda chose to take Archer's side, telling the girls that while appearance was important to a high-ranking Adventurer, their lives were far more important. While her own armor set had its appeals, no vulnerable area was left exposed. It was only after that that Art started to quiet down, though she was still pouting about it.
Archer openly admitted that Art's designs had been cuter, but in the end, defense was what mattered the most, and these armor sets would let the girls even take direct hits from something like the B-rank Demon without being instantly killed. They were significantly stronger than the armor of everyone else around, even Amanda's, with well over triple the total defense of the set that Gallus had sold them.
Archer poured everything he knew into those armor sets, using the full extent of his knowledge of armor crafting methods spanning several thousand years, knowledge that far surpassed anything that the locals could accomplish with their [Magic Tailoring] skills. He made use of all the best materials from the strongest parts of the monsters that they had on hand, and even dipping into his very limited supply of the legendary Orichalcum to make sure that the armor was as powerful as could be. He had dumped almost 40,000 units of mana into the creation of each set. Almost double the amount of mana that could be generated by all the other members of the Adventurer's Guild combined and enough mana to create over a hundred High-Quality Magic Swords.
They were armor sets worthy of a Servant.
Name: Little Demon's Set | Defense : 600 | Endurance : 9000/9000 | Effect: Mental Stability ↑, Mental Attack Resistance (High), Impact Resistance ↑ (High), Slashing Resistance ↑ (High), Piercing Resistance ↑ (High), Arm Strength ↑ (High), Leg Strength ↑ (High), Agility ↑ (High), Poison Resistance (High), HP Recovery ↑ (High), Noise Tolerance ↑ (High), Elemental Resistance ↑ (High), Cold Resistance ↑ (High), Heat Resistance ↑ (High), Conceal Heat, Muffle Sound, Equipment Self-Repair, Instantaneous Recovery, Magic Resistance ↑ (Medium), Abnormal Status Resistance ↑ (Medium), Principle of an Element (Mirror) Lv3, Darkness Amplifier, Darkness Reinforcement, Automatic Magic Barrier Lv3, Astral Transfer, Appraisal Cover
Special Skill: Demonic Harmony
Name: Black Cat's Set | Defense : 630 | Endurance : 9600/9600 | Effect: Mental Stability ↑, Mental Attack Resistance (High), Impact Resistance ↑ (High), Slashing Resistance ↑ (High), Piercing Resistance ↑ (High), Arm Strength ↑ (High), Leg Strength ↑ (High), Agility ↑ (High), Poison Resistance (High), HP Recovery ↑ (High), Noise Tolerance ↑ (High), Elemental Resistance ↑ (High), Cold Resistance ↑ (High), Heat Resistance ↑ (High), Conceal Heat, Muffle Sound, Equipment Self-Repair, Instantaneous Recovery, Magic Resistance ↑ (Medium), Abnormal Status Resistance ↑ (Medium), Principle of an Element (Mirror) Lv5, Moon Phase Empowerment Lv4, Physical Reinforcement, Astral Transfer, Appraisal Cover
Special Skill: Black Cat's Divine Protection
"Oh, I almost forgot, the Guild Master was calling for the two of you." Nell said, surprising the two girls.
"In trouble?" Fran asked.
"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure he just wanted to talk to you about a mission." Nell giggled at the child's assumption.
She wouldn't be giggling if she saw what the pair did to the City Knights' barracks after a group of them had gotten onto the two for their 'attitude problems'. Archer had been too impressed by the pairs enginuity to stop them, as they turned their headquarters into a swamp, while the knights were still in there, without getting caught.
It was good practice for the girls, and hoped it would serve as an equality valuable lesson to those men on guard about the importance of remaining vigilant.
"That's okay then. We'll head on over and see what the bossman wants." Art said, putting her hands behind her head and starting towards the Guild Master's office, along with Fran. "You want to knock or should I?"
Fran started to slam her hand against the door, causing it to rattle.
"Hey! Who is it! Such rude knocking!" The Guild Master's voice came from inside.
"Came." It wasn't an invitation in, but it was close enough for Fran who simply pushed the door open and walked inside.
"Ah, it was you two. How should I say this… If you enter before being invited in from the inside, then there's no point in knocking." Klimt said, giving a tired sigh as his two favorite headaches marched into the room.
"You called for us, bossman!?" Art said with a teasing grin, not acknowledging the man's complaint.
"Yes, I suppose I did. It has to do with a commission that I would like for you girls to accept." Klimt said, motioning for the girl's to take a seat. "Even though his letter was still sealed when you gave it to me, I have no doubt that you know it's contents."
"...Letter?" Fran said with a tilt of the head.
"...The letter you took from Augusto Alsund four days ago."
"...Not ringing any bells." Art admitted, crossing her arms and scrunching up her face.
"The former Vice Captain of the City Knights. The one who was killed… by you." Klimt tried again. Surprisingly, even this didn't jog the girls' memory. To be fair, he wasn't that memorable, other than the degree to which he was a disgusting piece of garbage.
[He's talking about the man whose bed you stole.] Archer helpfully reminded them.
"Oh yeah, that fat guy… There was a letter?" Art said, sort of kind of remembering.
Klimt just stared at the pair, his jaw open in mute shock, before he just sighed yet again. "Alright, then let me put it like this. The guild has received an 'anonymous' tip off that someone might have tampered with the Guild exclusive dungeon, Cobwebs, smuggling magic food into it in order to call the monsters inside to evolve. This tip has already been confirmed to be accurate, and the man within the Guild who was responsible has already been apprehended. I'd like for the two of you to join in an expedition into the dungeon in order to put things back into the right order."
"Kill everything?" Fran asked the man.
"Not everything, but at least enough to reduce the threat level back down to normal. If you can track down most of the evolved individuals it should be enough." Klimt explained. "You will be joined on this job by three other teams, one C-rank team and two E-rank teams who will be there in order to take their promotion exam. The examinees will not have been informed of any changes in the dungeon."
"Huh, why not?" Art asked with a tilt of her head. "Isn't it supposed to be dangerous?"
"Because, how one reacts to and prepared for the unexpected says a lot about their capabilities as an Adventurer. So long as the Trap Spiders have only evolved into Trick Spiders, then it shouldn't be too dangerous." The Guild Master said with a shrug. "The Trick Spiders are E-rank Monsters, so the C-rank party should be able to handle keeping everyone safe… That isn't to say you should be careless. There is the chance that one of the monsters has evolved all the way up to being a Trickster Spider."
"Strong?"
"Not really, if you compare it to the higher tier of monsters in the Demon Wolf Plains. As far as stats go, they are only at the D-rank level. However their ability to create and manipulate magical traps makes them as dangerous as any C-rank Demonic Beast. That is one reason that I wish for Fran to be the one to go, since she has such a high [Magic Detection] skill and the [Magic Concealment] skill, magical traps should be no problem for her, making her perfect for the job." Klimt said lacing his fingers together. "It will also have the added benefit of silencing those who are making noise about your rise to D-rank."
"Huh? I thought we crushed everyone who was complaining." Art said with a scowl.
"There were complaints?" Fran said. She honestly hadn't noticed that there were people trying to mess with her out of jealousy, since it was not really any different than her normal everyday dealings with people, [Blessing of the Chaos Goddess] being what it was.
"Well, as you might now, many of our Adventurers were not around to experience your… training… since they were at the Haunt when you first arrived. And since you got back you have been training with Amanda outside of the city walls." Klimt said, struggling to call what Fran and Art did to those people 'training'. It actually made Archer feel all warm and tingly inside. "Because of this, many Adventurers have started to voice their disapproval at your rise through the ranks, especially those who have been stuck at the E-rank for a long time. Some among them are spreading unfounded rumors, like you bought your Rank with money, or that I have preferences for little girls and have been charmed by you." This last statement caused the man to start twitching angrily and Archer could practically see his blood pressure rising as he started to mumble to himself. "There is no way that I prefer little girls! Good grief, spare me please. To begin with I prefer…"
"I don't get it. Can't we just beat them all up? You know, like we did before. Seems like that would be a lot quicker." Art said, scratching her head.
"I already asked you two to stop doing that." Klimt said after hearing Art's suggestion. "Besides, some are still saying that you shouldn't be promoted on strength alone, as being an Adventurer is more than just about combat."
"You're right. It's also about figuring out ways to get back at your ungrateful clients for leaving a negative review even when you did your job." Art said with a sage like nod.
"...I thought you said you wouldn't do that anymore."
"Promised to not get caught." Fran replied.
"...Please, just take the job." Klimt said, his energy starting to run out.
(Guild Master: desperate. We have the position of power.) Fran said telepathically to Art as her stolen [Commerce] skill kicked in.
(Good thinking.) Art thought back cheerfully, those on the surface she showed complete disinterest. "Well, I don't really see why we should. Sounds like all this stuff is your problem, not ours, since we are planning on leaving in a few days anyways."
"Do… don't say that. I'm sure I can make it worth your will." Klimt said, looking extremely worried.
It was the truth, that they were planning on leaving in just a few days. Archer had finished Fran's armor the day before, so it would be another full day and a half before his [Doppelganger Synthesis SP] skill was off cooldown again. Originally, he was planning to make his attempt at creating a Godblade after that, but that plan ran into… a problem.
Part of his strategy for creating extremely powerful equipment was to use the refresh to his MP whenever he ranked up, alongside his [Doppelganger Synthesis SP] to produce 10x his normal amount of mana, in order to fuel the creation of much more powerful effects. Which was currently comparable to a Servant with A+ Mana spending it all at once, showing just how powerful a substance Orichalcum was. No ordinary material would have been able to survive it.
Sadly, it cost a lot of Magic Stone Points to force a Rank Up, and after creating Fran's armor set, Archer found that he was running low. He would need another 500 Mana Stone Points if he wanted to Rank Up again, which wouldn't normally be a problem, save for the fact that they had completely drained the local market of all surplus stones. It wouldn't matter how much Archer offered to buy them for, they just didn't exist, and with the city not exactly being a mature trade hub, it would be a while before the local marketplace recovered from just how many stones Archer had taken out of it. Something that Caroline was absolutely livid with Archer about.
They could stick around, continue to train with Amanda, perhaps go back to the Demon Wolf Plains to find some more Magic Stones, but Fran herself said that she wanted to leave sooner rather than later.
This place was becoming too comfortable for her, too much like a home. She was afraid that if she stayed too long, that she would lose the will to continue. As much as she was enjoying her time with the Guild and with Nell and Amanda, she wouldn't be able to live happily if she didn't pursue her evolution, and the longer she stayed, the more it would hurt when she had to leave. Archer understood that better than anyone.
That said, the mention of the dungeon caught her interest. While it was unlikely that her and Art would level up there, it seemed like a fun experience and it would have the possibility of getting new trap based Skills and more Magic Stones. So while the pair were dangled the threat of simply abandoning Klimt to his label as a lolicon, it was clear enough to Archer that they would eventually accept the man's proposal. They would just first milk the man for all he was worth to them.
Archer really was raising a pair of terrors.
So far, Klimt was offering to count it as three separate missions, the D-rank mission that was the promotion examination, a C-rank mission for investigating the dungeon for clues, and a B-rank mission for the extermination of evolved specimens. Not only would this mean they would be paid three times for a single job, but it would be counted towards their future promotions, something that was actually rather interesting.
The C-rank was when Adventurers would be given their Silver Adventurer IDs, which granted them special privileges. It was kind of like being named a diplomat to the Adventurer's Guild, not really nobility, but it still came with wealth, power and percs, if you were good at your job. Reaching the Rank would allow the girls quite a bit of freedom, since it basically offered diplomatic immunity with the backing of the Adventurer's Guild.
Few countries were willing to pick a fight with the Adventurer's Guild as if the Guild decided to abandon them, they would be forced to deal with the dangers of the world alone. Only a few of the larger countries could survive such a thing, and not without serious consequences. Even Kings wouldn't mess with a C-rank or higher Adventurer without reason.
From that point on, the only thing they would have to worry about would be other Adventurers, so long as they didn't commit any crime worthy of the Adventurer's Guild letting the country take them.
Still, the girl's played down their interest, saying that being part of the Guild at all was just a passing fancy and that they didn't necessarily need the rank, and that 'mom' provided them with more money than they knew what to do with. Which was true, with most people considering a good Magic Sword to be more valuable than a house. Normally, the cost of materials and time needed to make these weapons would drag down the profits, but Archer could make them out of scrap iron and weaker monster parts in just a few hours, so he had made quite a lot of money in the last few weeks. More than he really knew what to do with. He was currently sitting on around 400,000,000 gorudos, or 30,000,000 USD. So money was not likely to ever be an issue.
Seeing that money, mission credit and letters of recommendation wouldn't be enough, Klimt brought out something that did catch the girl's attention, Magic Stones. The man poured out a bag containing 20 Magic Stones of D or C-rank quality which were harvested from rare monsters and offered to give 2 of them to the girl's if they accepted… to which they managed to barter him up to giving them 7. Enough to get Archer to the next Rank.
Archer almost felt sorry for the man as he watched. It was just sad, watching a 136 year old elf being bullied by a pair of little girls. It only got sadder as Amanda kicked the door down and informed him that she had been listening in and would be joining as well.
Klimt's head hit his desk. Today just wasn't his day.
Self-Evolving:
(Rank 12 | Memory 112 | Points 121) → (Rank 14 | Magic Stone Value 10018/10500 | Memory 139 | Points 256)
ATK: 620 → 726 MP: 4150 → 5500 Durability: 3950 → 5300 Mana Channel: A+
Archer is starting to accumulate points... and I'm actually not sure what to even do with them. He simply doesn't normally need them.
Some people are probably going to be disappointed about the outfits, but it's Archer. He isn't going to put fashion over functionality.