Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 322: Gear Revolution

Handing over several billion euros worth of materials to Stagmer had almost resulted in him fainting. Being in a position to hand over such wealth had been gratifying.

And getting the armor that could be made from such materials that would be infinitely better than handing over the materials had been.

Though the holiday hed taken with Elena while those materials had been forged had been far better than any gain or show of wealth could ever be.

Yet the thought of the new armor had been incredible.

Isaac was a grown-ass man, someone whod matured twice over, with a biological age of 31 and a chronological of 43 years of overall life experience, with most of that having occurred under the worst pressure possible, of war and potential armageddon. He was an adult in every sense of the word, mature, capable of behaving himself in every way necessary.

But hed have been the first to compare some of his behavior in the last few weeks to that of a kid on Christmas morning, with the addition of being the mother of all sugar highs. Bouncing off the walls, practically vibrating from excitement, and overall making Artemis with the zoomies look like a paragon of patience.

Until eventually, hed gotten a text from Stagmer and almost accidentally flung Artemis into the ceiling since shed been on his lap at the time. Almost. Hed realized that he should phase out through the chair at the last possible second and slipped out of the room after giving Artemis one last scratch behind the ear.

He quickly made his way out of the building, grinning ear to ear.

It was still weird how different people reacted differently to him.

The old hands treated him with the same general courtesy they treated anyone else, having known him all the way back before the Ranking system had even been introduced.

The people whod joined or been hired after Isaac had officially become one of Germanys strongest treated him with a degree of reverence and, occasionally, trepidation.

And very few of those who hadnt gotten to know him pre-Leviathan had dared try to get to know him as anything other than the guy whod torn a [World Boss] to shreds. They were easily recognizable by how they either stared, or very pointedly didnt, or did their damndest to avoid standing in his way even if their stepping to the side would take ten times as long as it would have taken him to walk around.

Once outside, Isaac exploded into motion, [Perfect Timing] enhancing his parkour capabilities to the nines as he leaped across rooftops and reached Stagmers workshop in less than a second.

Campus really had changed. The university had expanded massively, and though most of the additions had come from the [System] research branch, everything had been upgraded with the massively enlarged, especially the Venture Lab. It had been built almost fifteen years ago to encourage students, graduates, and even faculty to turn business ideas theyd had into actual businesses.

And after what a few notable staff members had achieved, someone had decided to make a massive number of additions to that part of campus in the hopes of repeating that feat. After all, it wasnt entirely obvious what had made it possible the last time.

Isaac walked into Stagmers office with a huge grin on his face, only to find the blacksmith arguing with a customer.

Ive asked you several times to leave because Ive already got a customer coming in. And due to your refusal, youve been blacklisted at my business. Now kindly get out before I call the police and have you removed, Stagmer said, briefly glancing over at Isaac before continuing to glare at the customer.

Whos the customer? Do you have any idea how much my father can pay you? Who could you possibly be more important? Id like love to see that guy in the dueling circle, I

A duel? That sounds boring, Isaac said in a conversational tone as he passed behind the customer, causing the young man to jump. Jump all the way into the ceiling, head bumping into it.

And the idiot didnt even have proper control of his [System]-enhanced strength.

Helmut, you said you had some gear for me? Isaac asked while the idiot spluttered.

Um, Dr. Thoma, my father wanted to the idiot began, but shut up when both Stagmer and Isaac glared at him and then, finally, slunk out.

Duelling circle, Isaac sighed and hung his head after Stagmer had locked the door, Kids these days can be so ridiculous.

Youre only like ten years older, Stagmer pointed out.

Ten years and the entirety of [System]-based development, Isaac said, Thats probably the biggest generational difference in human history.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Fair point, Stagmer replied, So, are you excited to see your new stuff?

About to explore from it, Isaac laughed.

Youll still have to bear with me for the presentation, though, Stagmer said as he showed the way inside.

The smithy had grown once again, gaining more enchantments, more tools, more cool stuff in general.

And here we are! Stagmer announced as he gestured to three covered objects. A long one resting against the far wall, crossing the entirety of the room, a small one on the anvil, and what looked like an armor stand.

Id just like to say that working with you has been the greatest pleasure of my life. I dont know what brought you to my door that day, but Im grateful every day for what it has allowed me to do. I know we always play that game where I tell you something is on the house and wake up to a ton of new materials the next morning, but please, let me give this as a gift.

Isaac had to blink a couple of times to clear a few tears from his eyes.

Of course, he said, inclining his head slightly, Just this once. But believe me, there is no grand plan or cosmic coincidence thats brought us together, you were just the best. Its that simple.

This time, it was Stagmers turn to struggle to keep a straight face.

So, this is easily the finest piece Ive ever created, and I hope it keeps you safe for decades to come.

And with that, he whipped off the first cloth, revealing a beautiful scale mail shining metallic blue, small claws tipping each finger, and spikes on his elbows and knees that could do devastating damage.

Sea-Scale Mail of Primordial Power

A set of armor forged entirely from the scales and bones of the primordial Sea Monster, the Leviathan, made for the man who made its defeat possible.

While worn, the wearers Strength, Fortitude, and Agility are increased by thirty percent, this boost rises to forty-five percent while the user is submerged in water.

In addition, all attacks pyrokinetic or demonic in nature are massively increased.

Once per day, the user may generate a fifty-meter diameter sphere of the Leviathans variant of Transcendant Hellfire, with perfect control over what is and is not affected.

Once per week, the user may unleash a shockwave from their position that will keep going for ten kilometers and push any bodies of water in that area away as a tidal wave that will keep going until it runs out of energy. The closer the body of water is to the wearer, the stronger it is, reaching tsunami levels of power and threat should the wearer be in the ocean.

This armor can repair itself using any organic material provided, so long as it is from a Tier 10 Raid Boss or above.

Not only was this thing tough as hell, but it would also boost his flames and it was the first piece of gear that had inherent once-a-day abilities. Sure, there were enchantments that could copy the effect, but those needed to be independently charged with mana, this was something that just existed.

You really could make some awesome stuff with [World Boss] parts.

Just another possible thing that the world as a whole might earn a Darvin Award.

But this was an armor set that made him incredibly powerful and literally turned him into a living natural disaster.

Now, this is the biggest sword Ive ever worked on, but its turned out incredible, if I may say so myself, Stagmer introduced his second piece, having to walk down the entirety of the wall to pull off all the cloth.

Greatsword of Aquamarine Flame

A titanic blade, fifteen meters in length, carved from a single tooth belonging to the primordial beast known as the Leviathan, a handle wrapped in the beasts leather, and formed around the beasts fire gland.

It is a weapon possessed of incredible sharpness, with adjustable mass that can be dialed up to a hundred times what it normally is, or reduced to a minimum of half a percent.

Each strike will unleash a blast of Transcendant Hellflame and inflict damage as though the wearers strength were 200 points higher (free and toggleable).

Furthermore, thrice per day, the wielder may project a flaming sword-slash formed from either Transcendent Hellflame or the strongest pyrokinetic ability the wielder possesses.

Bigger than his old Giant Sword, durable enough to be wildly swung about without snapping, and perfect to be used in conjunction with [I Am The Sword]. Not to mention that with Isaacs Strenth Stat being only at 615, a two-hundred-point increase when striking with this weapon was a third-again boost. Which was pretty nutty.

And throw in the various abilities he could use for free and this single weapon would make a basic human capable of trashing a Tier 5 monster with relative ease. Well, if they could lift the weapon, at any rate.

The weapon was instantly absorbed into Old Reliable.

But there was still one object left, one that Isaac hadnt asked for. What could that be?

Now, I know you gave me materials for two objects, but there were enough scraps to make an extra piece for you, Stagmer finally announced before whipping the cloth off the anvil, revealing a necklace. A thin chain of blue braided leather, with a blue and white inverted teardrop hanging at its end.

Necklace for Humanitys Savior

A labor of love, created from the materials left over during the creation of a magnificent sword and set of armor.

It is imbued with the admiration its creator holds and the acknowledgment of the world itself of the difference that Humanitys Savior made.

Should the wearer wish it, this item can be analyzed by anyone who sees it, proving what the wearer has achieved for the Planet Earth, even including information on what the planet is like, should that be necessary.

All effects only function if it is worn by Isaac Thoma.

Once again, tears stung Isaacs eyes. Hed been told about his own achievements by others, back-slapped by various movers and shakers with various levels of sincerity, and received more medals than he could wear even in his largest [Form of Horror] form.

But this, this meant more to him than he could ever put into words. So he just hugged the burly blacksmith. Words really werent needed here.

***

Once hed put on everything, Isaac left the blacksmiths shop in his regular clothing, with the armor stored in [Fully Geared], Old Reliable de-manifested and the Necklace under his shirt, resting slightly above his heart. That had been awesome, now it was just time to start fighting some monsters to test out his new gear.

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