Swordsman's Regression: Reawakened as a Necromancer-Chapter 107: Armor Upgrade

He left the inn and entered the city proper. Most of the Traders and Workers were yet to open, but after a while, he found orange firelight spilling out onto the stone street.

From the workshop it spilled from, he heard clanging of metal. It was clearly the sound of a Blacksmith.

Percival slowed only briefly to read the sign: Norry Brothers Workshop.

He stepped inside, his boots crossing the threshold as heat rolled over him in a dry, suffocating wave.

The place was half a workshop and half a forge.

The forge dominated the far end of the room, its belly glowing white-hot. Tools lined the walls in disciplined order: hammers of varying weight, tongs etched with runes, racks of half-finished plates.

Two men were present. Percival assumed that they were the Norry Brothers, given they looked quite identical.

The first looked up from the anvil mid-swing, broad shoulders flexing beneath a soot-stained apron. His beard was braided tight, iron rings threaded through it.

"Ha!" the man barked, setting the hammer aside. "Told you it was worth opening early."

The second man, thinner and more reserved, stood near the enchantment table. He wore clean robes unmarred by ash, his hands clasped behind his back.

"So it’s true," the Blacksmith continued, wiping his hands on his apron as he approached. He had noticed Percival’s crest. "The Hero himself. Name’s Halver. You picked the right door to walk through."

The Artificer, Rennic, snorted quietly. "Or the most expensive one."

Percival inclined his head once. "I was worried I wouldn’t see anyone. How lucky I am that there’s a workshop with a Blacksmith and Artificer together."

Halver shrugged. "We’re brothers. We wake together, we work together."

Percival had half-expected him to say ’We sleep tog—’

But he immediately chased the thought away.

He reached into his Inventory.

THUD. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The Obsidian Ironwolf armor manifested piece by piece on the heavy wooden table. The dark plates caught the forge light with a muted sheen.

Halver’s expression shifted the instant the last piece touched wood.

He stopped breathing for a moment.

"Obsidian alloy," Halver murmured, stepping closer. "And Ironwolf skin. Gods, you rarely see this anymore."

Percival did not respond. Instead, he produced the rest.

⸢Iron Ore (x20)⸥

⸢Gold Ore (x10)⸥

⸢Dragon Fangs (x8)⸥

And finally...

⸢Swamp God Dragon Scales (x50)⸥

The workshop went dead silent.

Halver’s eyes locked onto the scales. They were iridescent, shifting from black to toxic green. He reached out, stopped himself, then exhaled sharply.

"Dragonsteel," he whispered. "Old. Dense. These scales... I haven’t heard of this kind of Dragon. They shouldn’t even exist in circulation."

"They don’t," Percival replied. "Use the materials to upgrade the armor. You can do that right?"

He eyed the Lvl 60 below the man’s crest.

Halver laughed, low and reverent. "Of course I can. I’ll soften the obsidian frame just enough to accept reinforcement. Gold ore is very good. It will improve mana flow without sacrificing hardness. Dragon scales are your game changer here. You’ll be almost impenetrable, Hero."

He spoke as he worked, dismantling the armor with skill and precision.

Percival watched closely. He noted every step. The way Halver smelted the gold into the rivets, used iron to reinforce the joints, and wove the dragon scales into the under-layer using high-tensile wire.

CLANG! HISS!

Minutes passed. The forge roared hotter. Metal glowed, softened, and accepted a new structure.

When Halver finally stepped back, sweat-soaked and breathing hard, the armor rested on the stand.

It looked almost unchanged. Well, it was darker, perhaps. There were traces of dragon scales bulging out of the steel. Like a cool design.

"Done," Halver said quietly.

Percival inspected the armor.

⸢Armor Set: Obsidian Scaled Ironwolf Set⸥

⸢Grade: A-Grade⸥

⸢Defense: +480⸥

⸢Constitution: +75⸥

⸢New Effect: Draconic Reinforcement — Reduces physical penetration damage by 60%⸥

⸢New Effect: Scale Memory — Repeated damage types suffer diminishing effectiveness⸥

It was perfect. The armor had been upgraded from B-Rank to A. It still had all its previous effects, just newer ones added.

He paid Halver the gold without haggling. The smith bowed deep.

Then, Percival turned to the Artificer.

"I want two Aspects imbued into the armor," Percival said.

Rennic looked at his brother, then at Percival. He didn’t seem impressed by the Hero’s presence.

"An A-Grade Aspect," the Artificer said, rubbing his chin. "Ya stacking a lot of valuable stuff, Hero."

Percival narrowed his eyes, irritated. "Can you do it or not."

Rennic pouted derelictly. "Will cost ya."

"I have coin," Percival replied.

The Artificer looked at his brother who shot him a warning glare. He then studied the Aspects Percival was trying to infuse into the armor.

⸢Aspect of the Briar King (D-Grade)⸥

⸢Aspect of the Undying Lizard (A-Grade)⸥

He circled the armor, fingers steepled. "It will cost you an extra 5,000 Gold."

Percival stared at him.

Then, silently, he stepped closer. Rennic stumbled backwards, feeling a sudden evasive aura wrap itself around him.

"Don’t try to hustle me, Artificer," Percival warned.

Rennic paled. He swallowed hard.

"You... you’ve done this before."

Percival said nothing more.

"Okay. Okay." Rennic took the armor. "Only a thousand and two hundred gold."

He began his work immediately and finished in a few minutes.

Percival felt the change immediately as he equipped the set.

⸢Armor Set: Obsidian Scaled Ironwolf Set⸥

⸢Grade: A-Grade⸥

⸢Aspect: - Aspect of the Briar King (D-Grade), Aspect of the Undying Lizard (A-Grade)⸥

He paid and left the workshop as the fog thinned.

Next, he searched for a farmland to harvest a new batch of Skeleton Soldiers.

Beyond the city proper lay an old graveyard.

Weathered stones. Rusted markers. Forgotten names. Percival walked among them without reverence or haste.

He checked each tombstone, making sure they were Warriors or Fighters. Then, he extended his hand to each of them and activated the Skill:

"⸢Awake⸥."

The ground churned. Blue flame swept outward, seeping into the soil.

One by one, Skeletons rose in disciplined silence, dirt falling from their bleached ribs, armors burning blue.

He had managed to awaken 20 of them. Then, he opened his Undead Inventory.

⸢Titan Silverwrought Armor Sets (x7)⸥

⸢True Runestone Swords (x7)⸥

His dead Skeletons had evaporated with their armor. Percival unfortunately couldn’t reclaim the undead armor and equip these new recruits.

So, he equipped seven of them with the armor available to him now. He would loot armor for the rest later.

He dismissed them into their Summon Space and headed out of the dead people world.

Following Baron Eutheo’s directions, Percival found himself in the hidden channels that lay beneath Luvengart, accessed through a collapsed cellar and a narrow stair.

The air was so damp and the walls were slick and slippery with black slime that dripped rhythmically into the dark water flowing through the center of the tunnel.

He saw a man waiting below.

He stood in a circular cistern, his hood shadowing his face, his hands glowing with unstable violet light.

"You’re the Hero," the Portal Mage said.

"I’m Percival."

After a nod, the Portal Mage led the way.

The chamber they reached was untouched by the city above. Darkness pressed close.

And at its center was a portal.

It was purple-black and pulsing.

Percival stared at it for a while. This very portal was what had led Luvengart to most of its riches.

"This leads straight to Hollowcreek," the Portal Mage said.

Percival didn’t reply. Rather, to the surprise of the Mage, he summoned a single Skeleton Soldier.

"Enter."

The Skeleton marched forward and stepped into the violent swirl. Then it vanished.

Percival immediately opened his Summon Map.

He saw his own blue dot. He zoomed out.

The map blurred, flying past the city, past the mountains.

He zoomed out until he saw the entire world map.

There, on the dark, fog-choked map of Eldermoor, a single white dot blinked.

⸢Unit: Skeleton Warrior⸥

⸢Location: Hollowcreek⸥

Baron Eutheo—and this ominous Portal Mage—wasn’t lying.

Percival closed the map and stepped forward.

"Good luck," he heard the Mage say behind him.