By the time Brandon was done speaking, everyone was left speechless.

Compared to the series of events they went through, his own seemed a little bit lackluster and pretty unfortunate.

But the more one thought about it, the more at the same time it did feel fortunate.

After all, once Brandon got stronger, that place would practically be a treasure box just waiting for him to claim.

Even hearing that the guardian creature was a late-stage Royal grade didn’t change their conclusion.

After all, going by this same principle, Brandon could be considered Monarch grade.

Though his first skill was Royal grade, his new skill as an Awakened was Monarch, according to what he just said.

And also...

"This genetic armament you speak of, can I see it?" Seth couldn’t help but feel his curiosity peak at the mention of this ultra gene-tech item.

His eyes shone brilliant lights at the sound of it.

You see, Seth’s ability was Absolute Weapon Resonance — not all-item resonance. So while he could by default enhance all items with his skill, he still couldn’t do it at the same level he would with a blade or an item crafted to kill.

Hence why he loved using the Grim Lineage Set so much. It was a weapon set that came with armor and all, and at the same time they were all connected and linked as one entity.

So by default, him enhancing the blade to whatever degree naturally elevated the rest of the set along in the same power.

Meaning his enhancement on the armor, the helm, and other things would be just as potent as that of the blade.

Seth’s eyes flashed with expectation...

"But this could change everything..." he whispered beneath his breath.

In truth, since the moment he heard about this gene armament, his interest was piqued, and the rest of Brandon’s story didn’t really matter to him anymore.

An ultra-tech suit — but at its core it should still be a weapon, shouldn’t it?

His ability should work on it fully, right?

But there came the problem. Seth didn’t know if his ability worked on tech-related items.

He had been curious: if he wielded a gun, what would be his skill’s effect? How would it enhance an item with zero essence?

Where did his limit lie?

And if he really could enhance tech items — most especially weapons — then his skill Absolute Weapon Resonance could be said to be countless times more broken than he thought.

Naturally, Seth wasn’t the only one with aroused curiosity. Everyone else was eager to see this tech suit that could boost the prowess of an Awakened.

Nobody pressed him for where he got it, due to the mutual understanding that everyone deserves to have their secrets.

Who among them didn’t?

And just because they were allies and teammates didn’t make them all best friends out of the blue.

While they did actually trust each other with all their hearts, that didn’t negate the fact that they still hadn’t forged the level of bond required for such transparency.

"Tsk tsk! Look at this, no one is even bothered about my well-being. I was almost whooped to death and all I get is ’show me the item that delayed your death’." Brandon said, feigning an expression of betrayal.

Surprisingly, Elaine chirped back in reply, eyeing him with a disdainful glare. "Hmph, you think you’re the only one who suffered?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Naturally no, but I bet you still can’t imagine the pain of being whooped by an undead dominatrix. It’s... phenomenal, and not in a good way." Speaking about it alone made the already padded scar on Brandon’s back and face itch in reminder.

But regardless, he did comply. With a wave of his hand, a battered gleaming armor radiating a valiant presence pulsed into existence on the center carpet.

Seth shot off from his seat, stepping forward, admiring the armor in its full splendor.

Though cracked and battered, the armor still radiated a chilling majesty worthy of the killing machine that it was.

Seth knelt beside the armament, while others admired from their seats. While they were curious, it couldn’t be compared to Seth.

After all, the guy had a driving factor.

He gently placed his hands on the cold metallic surface of the chest. Seth didn’t need to do anything more.

The ephemeral presence of his skill slowly churned into action, a stream of information flowing through his mind.

With his high intelligence stats as an Awakened, naturally this influx of information brought no ache, as his mind was robust enough.

It was as though the genetic armament spoke to him in a language he alone could understand.

Seth had always wondered how the information part of his ability worked. Now he could finally grasp its workings.

His gene skill never gave him information on a weapon — after all, that wasn’t logical. And no matter what, the Origin still had to have an explanation for everything.

What his skill did was attune him to the weapon. He felt every pulse of ether, every arrangement of tiny compartments.

The rhythmic flow of energy through the armament’s circuits — and this was all he needed for his high intelligence to sort the rest.

His eyes blazed with gleeful lights... it seemed he could enhance this armament with the same efficiency as a weapon.

Seth licked his lips at the possibility of him getting one. He didn’t need to ask Brandon for the source since he didn’t want to impede on his friend’s privacy.

But there was an all-knowing crystal that could answer whatever question he had.

And since Brandon trusted them enough to reveal such a mind-blowing artifact, it wouldn’t be nice if he didn’t reciprocate.

Right there in their midst, an emerald crystal orb illuminated into reality, casting its bright emerald beams of light all over the surroundings.

Seth didn’t explain anything to anyone. Ignoring their curious gazes, he ordered, "Scan this and tell me what you can about it."

The orb flashed with processing lights...

[As you command, Host!]

It promptly replied before casting a concentrated beam of light scanning through the genetic armament.

[It seems Host has come across an Advanced-grade genetic battle suit armament!]

[... A genius invention that seems to have an ethereal gene bind of the legendary Sylvie race, probably a creation of their own making.]

Everyone remained silent as the mechanical voice of the orb rang.

Even Brandon felt visceral shock at the chilling accuracy in appraisal. He never said anything about the lucky trait of the armor.

Lord knows he didn’t say anything about any Sylvie race either.

’this must be the source of his unfathomable deep knowledge.’ This thought filtered through everyone’s mind.

"So tell me, how can one be crafted?" Seth asked, silently hoping this question hadn’t crossed the inaccessible tier gap.

And fortunately it didn’t — and it was even better...

[Naturally, Host. With the right gene skills and class, crafting a genetic battle suit armament is possible...]

[If you’d like, you can give me the specs an

d features you need, and I can craft a ready blueprint.]

Everyone’s gaze on the emerald crystal orb became more heated.