Armor and Weapons

"Hmmm..." Judy and Sarah started considering what Leo said. With this new information, they began pondering over what approach they should take.

"Um, can I suggest something?" Alex raised a hand.

When the other members nodded, he took a deep breath before saying, "I think we should just give up on this mission."

"Why?" Judy looked confused, "We accepted a quest; it would be bad for our reputation if we fall back now."

"Yes, but there are just too many uncertainties in this ruin." Alex attempted to convince his two friends to reconsider. He was also hoping that Leo would join his side during the discussion.

"Right now, none of us are prepared for what comes next. Who knows what other kinds of goblins are lurking about?

"Also, haven't any of you considered it strange that we have yet to encounter anyone else on this mission?"

Sarah pointed at Leo, "What about him?"

"I came after you guys." Leo replied simply.

"Oh, I see." she nodded in understanding before remaining quiet again.

"Anyway..." Alex seemed desperately trying to convey his point, "It's very likely that the other adventurers who came before us are either captured or dead.

"I don't think it is safe to continue anymore. Why don't we try to get other adventurers to help us instead?"

"You know that's unlikely to work." Judy responded disapprovingly, "Adventurers are often expected to take care of themselves.

"They aren't obligated to aid other guild members when they are in trouble, not unless they could get something out of it."

"Then we could just promise to share the reward!" Alex quickly suggested, "And we could also give them all the treasures found in the ruin."

This time, Sarah interjected. "No. That still won't be enough to convince them.

"We've already spent enough time exploring this ruin. Considering that most adventurers are shrewd, they will most likely mistrust us.

"Not to mention," she turned her attention to the wall of caves, "It might be too late to save the others if we were to retreat now. As an aspiring priestess, I can't afford to abandon anyone who needs saving."

"Sorry Alex." Judy said apologetically, "We know you are just trying to help us, but I don't think it's right to run away."

Frustration started to form on Alex's face. After realizing that his companions were adamant in their decision, he felt helpless.

Out of options, he turned towards the only new ally he had gained throughout this trip. Although it was a bit shameful to get a newcomer's support, Alex sincerely hoped that this person would speak up to aid him.

Although the decision would still be two against two, it could at least make his teammates hesitate on continuing.

When Leo noticed Alex's imploring gaze, he immediately knew what the latter wanted. But he still needed a moment to think.

Turning away, he glanced towards the headless goblin mage before making a decision.

Alex saw this and did not try to interrupt him. The other teammates also noticed and decided to keep quiet.

It was still the first time they had met this adventurer. But this young man had fought alongside one of their companions and even provided some bits of information that could help support them. In their minds, at least for this occasion, he can be considered a part of their team.

'The risks are unknown... But they are most probably high.

'If I were to quit, while it would damage my reputation a little, the consequences wouldn't be too severe for me. It is my first time, and I didn't really waste many resources on this trip.

'But my rewards would also be extremely low. It might take a while to find another mission like this again.'

Leo continued pondering in silence. His attention soon wandered off to his surroundings.

The quiet ruin possessed a still air. Faint scents of blood still lingered next to him from the goblin corpse, seemingly inviting something deadly.

'If I were to agree, then I would at least have to consider the skills of this group.' Leo decided to probe the situation first.

"Before making a decision," Leo began, drawing the attention of the party, "Can I know each of your general skills and profession?"

Judy and Sarah looked at each other. They shared a moment of thought before deciding to agree.

"Ahem. Guess I'll start," Judy was once again the first to speak among the two, "I am a Mage who practices elemental magic, mainly wind and fire.

"I specialize in spells that mostly deal physical damage towards my targets, and I've only learned up to the Intermediate level."

'That last line did not have a lot of confidence,' Leo observed.

After her, Sarah took the lead.

"As you might be able to tell," Sarah gestured slightly to her appearance, "I am of the Priestess class who specializes in holy magic.

"I have the ability to support my allies but I'm still able to fend for myself if left alone to a certain degree.

"I have mastered up to Advanced level spells."

Leo nodded before asking, "What kind of support can you provide?"

"I can heal and offer protection," Sarah was very frank, keeping a stoic expression that almost seemed disconnected to Leo, "And I can also improve people's performance in battle, though the latter is still something I'm a little lacking in."

"I see."

Leo found that Alex was remaining quiet. Of course, the latter had no need to say much since he had already showcased his abilities during the previous battle.

'Combat-wise, they both seem alright. Especially Sarah, her abilities could really be useful in a fight.

'Let's imagine that we are outnumbered by a group of goblin mages two to one. If they are anything like the kind that Alex and I just killed, then our group wouldn't really be at much of a disadvantage.

'While there is still no guarantee that we would be able to get the upper hand, we could at least successfully retreat even if there are a pack of regular goblins in our way.'

Leo made up his mind.

"Alright, I think if we all work together we can have a good chance at exploring the rest of the ruin."

Alex looked dejected but he did not try to argue anymore. His other teammates immediately nodded.

Everyone felt a little sorry for Alex. Although his suggestion did not seem very brave, they knew that he was only trying to look out for them, which was still something quite admirable.

"By the way, Leo," Sarah suddenly asked, "If you don't mind, can you tell us about your profession and skills?"

She spoke in a polite tone that did not appear to contain any hidden intent.

"Oh... right," Leo looked a little sheepish. Considering that he just got them to reveal information about themselves, it wouldn't be fair to avoid doing the same, "I'm a mage who has learned up to Advanced level spells, and I can use both elemental magic and enchantment.

"For the former, I'm more well-rounded in whatever element I can use. But for enchantment, I consider myself quite well-versed in it, though I'm still a bit away from being a professional."

"Really? You're an enchanter?" Alex was pleasantly surprised, "Can you enchant some of our equipment? Of course, we'll make sure to pay the appropriate price after." Although he wasn't too happy that they couldn't leave, he still felt that, since it has come to this, they might as well find ways to strengthen themselves.

"I can, but only for your equipment." Leo explained, "The items on Judy and Sarah were already enchanted by someone else. I wouldn't be able to do much about them."

If he attempted anything, there was a high chance he could either ruin the previous enchantments or break the items entirely. It was extremely difficult to enchant an object that had already been completed by another individual.

At Halo Academy, Leo was taught that every enchanter leaves a personal mark on the items they create. Afterwards, if the enchantment was successful, the object's compatibility would only be towards that same individual. Only a true professional, like Mr. Jones, would be able to bypass this issue without causing any problems and place his own mark on the object.

"How about our clothing?" Judy held up one end of her cloak.

Leo shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm actually not too good with fabrics."

Judy shrugged and turned away, indicating that she didn't mind.

"Alright then," Alex breathed a deep sigh, "Might as well work with what we've got.

"I'll take off my gear and the rest of you guys can guard us."

'At least he isn't too angry,' Leo thought. He had been slightly worried that Alex would choose to leave out of frustration, but the guy still managed to stay and show his determination.

'He seems to be like the leader of this group. Although he can't entirely make the decisions for the other two, his words still seem to hold some special weight over them.'

Leo could tell that, while both teammates did not agree with running away, they at least considered the proposal.

Leo helped Alex unstrap his armor and shield before laying each of them on the ground.

"So," Leo sheathed his short sword before stretching his fingers, "What kind of enchantments do you want?"

----------

Thirty minutes passed.

A third of that time was spent on Leo and Alex discussing on the different types of enchantments they should place on the equipment.

Leo could not guarantee that he could grant each of Alex's needs. He also stated that, for more complicated enchantments, it would take much longer to apply without special materials.

After some negotiations, they both reached a consensus.

Since there was a high possibility that they would be going up against a bunch of goblin mages, Leo decided to add [Magic Resistance] onto the armor. It can protect the wielder from being affected by 15% of a magic spell's potency. In addition, he used [Warrior's Strength] and [Warrior's Speed] to increase both the user's strength and agility by 20% respectively.

The round shield was granted [Greater Substance], to increase its durability, as well as the Advanced enchantment, [Shock Nullification], which allowed the shield to negate up to 30% of the total kinetic energy of an opponent's physical attacks.

As for the sword, Alex simply wanted it to have more durability and sharpness. Leo had previously suggested that he could enchant it to cast spells on its own, but this idea was quickly rejected.

Apparently, Alex had once used such a magic weapon before and it didn't seem to synergize well with his combat style.

While Leo had briefly debated on its usefulness, in the end he decided not to pursue it. Not all warriors prefer having spells in their arsenal.

He gave Alex's sword [Greater Substance] and added the Advanced enchantment, [Blitz Edge], to allow the weapon to cut through steel like butter. Even more impressive, if the sword enchanted with [Blitz Edge] were to inflict a wound on a person, then the wound would temporarily be unhealable for a certain period of time by Intermediate spells and lower. More Advanced healing spells would have an effect, but its potency would still be reduced. The latter enchantment can be consciously activated at will by the user and does not have to remain active on its own.

After testing the equipment for a few minutes, Alex gave his appreciation to Leo.

"Amazing... This work is really top notch!

"Don't worry, I'll definitely pay you back for all the help you provided me today.

"In the future, I might also just rely on you when it comes to my equipment."

"Glad... you liked it." Leo breathlessly replied while wiping sweat off his forehead. His mana was really exhausted.

For this occasion, Alex had wanted the enchantments to be permanent rather than temporary for each equipment. Because of that, Leo had to pour in quite a bit of mana and mental concentration to meet the demands. It didn't help that all the enchantments he used were Intermediate level and above.

Thankfully, because Leo practiced diligently at the academy, he had ended up obtaining the talent, [Permanent Enchant]. Mr. Jones had taught that it was the mark of an enchanter's ability to make their enchantments last perpetually on an object.

While the enchantments could still be replaced or broken, if the object were to be able to last forever, and remained intact for eternity, then they would theoretically never fade away.

"Sorry, but can I rest for a bit..." Leo asked before squatting down.

"Sure thing, sure thing." Alex didn't mind. He could see how tired Leo was from looking at his face. Since they would soon engage in battle, it would do better for them if everyone replenished their energy.

Having thought of this, Alex turned towards Judy who was standing guard nearby.

"Judy, what happened to our supplies?"

As he observed closely, he suddenly noticed that neither she nor Sarah carried any luggage beside them.

Judy rolled her eyes. "What do you think? They were obviously left behind in one of those caves."

Under Alex's questioning gaze, Sarah provided her own explanation. "There were too many goblins for us to deal with so we had to ditch what we carried."

"Ah, I see." Alex said, looking a little downcast. He had hoped that they could share some food with Leo to repay him for the previous provisions, but now it looks like his whole team was left with nothing besides their clothing and gear. This trip really was one of the worst he had ever gone on.

At the mention of supplies, Leo was just about to take out his bag but Alex raised a hand to stop him.

"It's alright," Alex explained, "I was just wondering if we could give you some of our food."

Leo nodded before closing his eyes while sitting cross-legged on the ground.

'Should I show them my healing potion?' he suddenly wondered. Now that they have a healer, it seemed the potion became something quite unnecessary.

'I guess there's no need. Still... it's quite a waste of gold coins.'

----------

Deep in one of the caves, chilling screams were reverberating off the walls of a large cavern.

They came from an adventurer who was repeatedly being tortured by several green, barbaric goblins.

They each held their own personal devices. Some were weapons, others were certain "interrogation" tools.

"Ple... plea... please..." the adventurer rasped in ragged breaths.

He had only been there for less than a whole day but he was currently in terrible shape.