Triiffic-Soul: Can I Be In Control?-Chapter 195 – Upgrade?

Chapter 195 – Upgrade?

Every day in the city was seemingly met with an increasing sense of unease and ease.

They hadn’t seen Alba since their meeting in the clock tower. Luna wanted to go back and support the child again, as he clearly wasn’t in a good state, but Syrus denied that suggestion, and Eva had to agree with Syrus. There were two options: the kid just happened to find a tunnel to the tower or came from a family that had access to one of the tunnels. The latter could be a risk, but they promised Luna they would find the kid again eventually.

For similar reasons, they hadn’t asked Lord Hall or Havier about the possible identity of the child. They didn’t want to expose themselves. There also hadn’t been any trouble with the fact that they very much had created a hole in the floor of a historic building. The people in the building, if they even remembered her, wouldn’t have seen her leaving, so it was clear someone had to be keeping something quiet.

Havier or Lord Hall were people they had in mind, both of whom could theoretically help suppress the situation. However, everything about what happened depended greatly on why they were attacked and who ordered it. Both questions they were in the process of thinking about, but hadn’t settled on any answer yet. Certainly it was dangerous to be casually walking through the city after being attacked, but that was also kind of the point.

Strolling through the city again was a more enjoyable experience when not investigating every single lead.

The welcomed treats that made life easier were quite nice. From what was offered to everyone who lived in the city: the ease of shopping, the entertainment, and the flow of people. To the extra benefits that they received from supporting a member of the royal family. There was a lot to like.

If anything, Eva had undersold what the experience in her home country was like, though that could simply be because her memories of such times were so heavily clouded by darker emotions that the joy seemed almost pitiful.

However, what moved beneath that exterior that tried to stay hidden was deeply concerning and a possible threat to them and their friends' safety. They each had their own theories and guesses on what could possibly be going on, but their investigation still had many holes needing filling.

So with all the possible danger that could be in their path… why not use the opportunities presented to them for an upgrade?

[I believe it is time for us to reevaluate our equipment.] Luna said with a degree of exhaustion about the burdensome task that would be. Though perhaps the buying part would not necessarily be the point of drudgery.

[Do we need more armour?] Eva asked, [Isn’t the equipment we received from the Demon Home suitable, and not only that, more effective than most standard pieces of armour?]

[Can we please not call that armour?] (Luna)

[What is the problem? It’s the best piece of armour I have ever seen; we might not even need up an upper layer to cover it—] (Syrus)

[Never suggest such a thing!] Luna quickly panicked at the suggestion as she tried to erase the image that appeared in her mind. [You heinous woman!]

[Wow, so rude. Click.] Syrus mentally clicked her tongue. This was the one topic that Syrus actively enjoyed getting reactions out of Luna from. She made it too easy. To the point it almost wasn’t fun, if Syrus didn’t also have a front-row seat to all the exact emotions Luna was feeling.

[Hmm… but do we really need more armour?] Eva asked again; she was taking Luna’s suggestion very seriously. [We aren’t in the best financial state, and we already spent money to repair and replace armour before we set out on the journey here. Then there is the question of what armour we would even get. Most heavier armour will begin to interfere with our movement, and the combination of our outer layer of armour, inner layer, and Syrus reinforcement with her Blood attribute is a better option than most armours.]

[And the only real exceptions would be some sort of engraved metal armour, which would be way outside our budget.] Said Syrus, but she was willing to consider the idea. [But it might be possible if we used a favour of something with our current connection, but it costs us in other ways.]

…

The trio went silent for a moment; the only thing really better than demon armour would realistically be artefact armour. Metal armour that had been engraved with mana to empower it, but even then, acquiring such a piece would be difficult, and it would still lack the flexibility of the demon armour.

[Eletscoep is an advanced city, but finding something that meets your exact requirements would be a bit tricky.] Said Eva. From exploring the city, despite the unrest, the city was still a place that felt more advanced than the nearby countries, but where those deployments rested tended to be in other areas outside of combat artefact creation.

Artefacts were a popular creation that not many people could get their hands on. Items that had been permanently refined with mana to either be greater than their non-improved form or to have a function that no normal item could possess. The magical artefacts didn’t tend to be weapons that could create elemental effects; there were a few of those in history, but barely any knew how those ones were made.

Weapon artefacts tended to be purely physically stronger or sharper, while some warriors could use their mana to improve their weapon in combat; an artefact did that without a warrior needing to concentrate on the act. Weapon artefacts could even be made lighter and heavier and still contain the same or greater sharpness as an ordinary weapon, which was something a warrior couldn’t replicate by putting their mana into a weapon.

Outside of weapons and armour, there were artefacts that could compare the quality of materials, compare substances, and check if something contained poison. These were a lot more complicated to make but were the field that was more actively studied in Eletscoep than the weapon variety. Still, more still didn’t mean a lot.

Artefacts required mana engraving, which was an extremely difficult act, and most people who performed it were individuals with suitable attributes, like Manipulation. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

[Eva, do you want to learn a new skill set?] Syrus asked, jokingly.

[I’ve got my hands full, and learning such a new skill would be time-consuming and expensive.] Eva turned down that suggestion immediately.

It wasn’t like she had no interest, but it really wasn’t possible. Ignoring the fact that she shared her time with two other people. Like potion making, practice was important, and making potions could already be expensive if a person wasn’t careful, but it didn’t really get insane unless a person was making a certain level of potions. Artefact crafting was a different story, as metal was a lot more expensive at the base level, and failing an engraving could make the physical product unfit for future attempts.

[Too bad.] Syrus nodded. She understood it likely wasn’t possible anytime soon, but she did think it would be cool if they were able to create artefacts.

[Since we are on topic about equipment, what about the possibility of getting another sword?] (Syrus)

They currently had one sword, and it worked, but Syrus did enjoy using two; however, the prior physical condition made it so that it wasn’t the best decision to swing around the hunks of metal. Though with all the improvements to their body after being healed by the crystals in the demon realm, and Eva’s own progress with the crystal that was given to them, they could finally say their body was in good condition.

Syrus even finally felt confident in using Blood for combat purposes without it damaging their body.

[Is using two swords really the best way for us to fight?] (Eva)

Eva’s question caused a momentary pause within the group. It was an interesting question that they had all thought about in some regard before, but they all had slightly different thoughts on the matter.

Syrus, of course, would really like to use two swords. Luna, on the other hand, would rather they not give up their open hand. If they wanted to use the sword with two hands, they could, and leaving one hand open made it easier to use magic and for Eva to use her wires. Eva was mostly neutral about the matter; despite being the one to ask the question, she brought it up as a topic of debate since it felt like the perfect time to do so.

Luna’s eyes glistened. [Even if we choose not to fight with two weapons, there's nothing wrong with replacing the current one.]

[What do you mean, nothing wrong? It costs us money for one, and getting a blade with custom length is way more expensive.] Syrus bit back on that suggestion. [If we do get another sword, we are keeping both.]

Luna was really happy with Syrus’s response. There was an annoyance within that she really enjoyed after dealing with Syrus’s pokes repeatedly during their time in the city and before.

[...Cheeky…] Syrus realised through Luna’s emotions what she did.

[My point still stands. There could be some worth swapping that weapon; it was even buried underground for a while.] (Luna)

[It has recovered well, and yes, a friend for it could be a good idea.] (Syrus)

[I’m not against window shopping, but as mentioned before. Finding someone who is capable and willing to make engraved weapons could be a challenge.] If they were able to find a place, Eva was all too happy to make some compromise with their finances if needed. Even having something like a weapon artefact to study and use would be a treat.

[How hard could it be to find an artificer in this city of all places that can make weapons?] Syrus was pretty confident they could find someone within the day.