The Ironclad Giant
Dorne closed his eyes, checking the options presented to him.
While reading the All-Encompassing Ability Compendium, Dorne had already decided in advance that his next ability would be [Mana Recovery], which could combine with [Mana Capacity] to form a combination ability. He was briefly tempted by the sudden appearance of [Vitality Enhancement], but rationally chose [Mana Recovery].
He couldn't tolerate leaving [Mana Capacity] alone on his torso, incomplete amid the two fully formed combination ability tattoos. [Mana Recovery] engraved itself right next to 【Iron Man】 and 【Giant】, the three tattoos interlocking like puzzle pieces.
[Mana Capacity] and [Mana Recovery] merged into 【Mana Core】, and the three adjacent combination abilities heated up once more in synergy. An intense heat that even [Iron Skin]'s resistance could barely withstand enveloped Dorne.
"Urgh." Thud.
Dorne, eyes still closed, dropped to one knee.
『Ironclad Giant』 — Using combination abilities 【Iron Man】, 【Giant】, and 【Mana Core】 as base materials.
'Repeated combination ability...?'
Having endured extreme pain from the engraving side effects of the repeated combination ability, Dorne opened his eyes and stood up.
"Wha—what?"
The party members, who had been scanning the surroundings for loot, rushed to support Dorne as he showed signs of distress. When he stood, they panicked and let out exclamations of awe.
Dorne's head had shot up 20-30 cm higher than before. Since no armor had formed yet, his clothes were bulging as if about to burst. Dorne took in Eresa's small head from his newly elevated eye level, then closed his eyes again.
『Ironclad Giant』 is a repeated combination ability using 【Iron Man】, 【Giant】, and 【Mana Core】 as base abilities.
『Ironclad Giant』 channels the output of 【Mana Core】 outward from the body, allowing the creation of armor and weapons within reach of the hands and feet.
Generated armor and weapons dissipate after a certain time or distance from the user's body and receive assistance from 【Mana Core】 for movement and performance.
Generated armor and weapons occupy the user's mana.
Having read the description carefully, Dorne activated the function of 『Ironclad Giant』.
Clank— Clank—
An ultraviolet glow blending the blue of mana and the red of stamina shimmered over Dorne's skin, forming armor that mixed Earthling and medieval tastes—exotic and stylish to this world's humans. Polished iron plates enveloped his body.
If a blacksmith were watching, the unrealistic aspects of this armor would stand out. The impossibly curved plates, multi-layered reinforcements for smooth movement without any play in the joints—if forged with a hammer, it would be worth a fortune and still impossible.
The seamless armor pieces united into a work of art. From the completed helmet's eye slits and joints, heat haze from stamina-integrated mana seeped out. Dorne realized the narrow eye slits didn't obstruct his vision at all—an extra feature not listed in the 『Ironclad Giant』 description confirmed via Self-Reflection.
Dorne grabbed and removed the face guard.
Clank—
His face, hidden by the iron, emerged into the air amid ultraviolet haze.
"In the world..."
Lucian's awestruck sigh drew agreement from everyone staring at Dorne.
Empowered further by 【Mana Core】's support, Dorne carried several of the party members' bags as they returned to the Oren Labyrinth Merchant Group's annex. From the labyrinth exit clearing to the annex, countless eyes were drawn to the exotic, exquisitely beautiful armor sprouting from him.
Dorne entrusted the disposal of byproducts to Lilia, Eresa, Inoi, and Raon, then checked how much mana the armor occupied.
The full-body armor occupied 100 mana. Dorne went ahead and generated a shield and sword as well. A massive shield covering his upper body and a long sword formed.
The sword and shield each occupied 20 mana, apparently. In the meantime, thanks to [Mana Recovery]'s effect, a small amount of mana had recovered.
The full-body armor moved as one from multiple pieces, with features like the face guard not blocking vision and the helmet not muffling hearing, so it occupied 100 mana—while a mere sturdy shield and sharp sword took less.
'It dissipates after a certain time or distance from the body... Does the occupied mana vanish then?'
To gauge the "certain" threshold, Dorne set the sword and shield on the ground and backed away gradually. At about 3 meters, he felt the connection snap via the sense gained with 『Ironclad Giant』. After 10 more seconds, the heavy iron masses dissolved into purple light and vanished.
Approaching before the shield fully disappeared, the completely gone sword didn't return, but the partially remaining shield reformed instantly.
'Equipment that vanishes beyond the threshold doesn't refund mana.'
Dorne intentionally dismantled the shield in his hand.
'Intentionally dismantled equipment refunds mana.' The 20 mana from the shield integrated back into usable mana.
'I could probably make weapons with special abilities too...'
The full-body armor had features absent from plain iron plate. Dorne envisioned a sword with the strength and cutting power even Torman could wield.
Light gathered in his right hand, forming the sword.
Dorne generated a shield too, then sprinted back and forth across the annex clearing at high speed.
Bam! Bam!
He even smashed the shield's rim into the ground to dent it.
In combat, all generated armor and weapons would occupy 150 mana, leaving 250 to assist Dorne's movements and repair damaged gear. The dented shield rim flowed with purple mana, restoring to pristine condition.
Watching all this, Lucian's eyes were unfocused. The sight of Dorne sprinting intensely, cloaked head to toe in ultraviolet light, stirred the magic researcher's soul.
If I could turn Dorne's ability into a magic tool... No, I couldn't do that. Creating something so beautiful by human hands... It would diminish Dorne's unique value. Even devoting his life to replication offered no guarantee of success, so Lucian decided to abandon the idea. Better to stay by Dorne's side, breathing in his purple mana, witnessing the history he'd forge.
Finishing his tests, Dorne reverted only the helmet to mana.
Dorne decided to wear the full-body armor even in peacetime—no hygiene issues or discomforts—to get used to it.
Having sold all byproducts from the Dragon Raid, Dorne's party gathered in the annex dining hall as usual. Eresa and Lilia beamed, flush with coin.
"Lucian, how many abilities short are you for 【Flame Magic】 including 【Fire Magic】?"
Lucian, composure regained, replied, "We got two this expedition, so just [Flame Control] left to complete 【Flame Magic】."
Dorne, roughly planning in his head, said, "Then how about exploring up to floors 3-4 in the Western Labyrinth until you finish 【Flame Magic】, then heading back to the Eastern Labyrinth?"
Once Lucian had his combination ability, everyone except Dorne and Inoi would have one—making it efficient to explore the Eastern Labyrinth for warrior abilities next. Inoi could acquire priestly abilities in any labyrinth anyway. Deeper dives meant prioritizing strengthening the three warriors first.
"Mm, I'm good with that."
The party mostly nodded. Then Lucian raised his hand.
"Um... I have a proposal."
All eyes turned to Lucian, who cautiously raised his hand for permission to speak. Dorne nodded, and Lucian lowered his hand to begin.
"How about stopping by the Northern Labyrinth?"
"The Northern Labyrinth?"
"Yes. Summon abilities appear there at low probability."
"I know that, but is there a specific reason you're recommending it?"
Lucian pointed at Eresa, Raon, and Lilia. "I got two abilities this expedition, so that's like my raid reward. Dorne got an amazing ability, so you've claimed your big contribution reward."
Though Lucian said that, it wasn't quite true. Dorne had gotten just one ability as reward; 『Ironclad Giant』 came from his accumulated combination abilities evolving into a repeated one.
"But Eresa, Raon, and Lilia didn't get any, so they should still have raid merits banked. The strategy is to explore the Northern Labyrinth now, convert those merits into summon abilities... though it's not guaranteed."
Acquiring a summon ability in the Northern Labyrinth was every explorer's dream. The hypothesis—that summons gained abilities separately, unaffected by the six-person limit or slowing acquisition—held as canon. Whether living or object, summons could explore labyrinths for abilities. Explorers who'd hit acquisition limits dreamed of it. But it was so rare most never even tried.
Labyrinth runs were half adventure, half income before the depths. Non-depth explorers lacked funds to waste time in the North.
Inoi backed Lucian. "I'm for it. I've said a few times Dorne's favored by the gods, true or not. Fact is, Dorne Party walks a different path from ordinary parties. Even pulling a summon ability from bare ground wouldn't surprise me for us—especially with raid success merits banked. Plenty possible."
Inoi, who usually just believed, added basis to Lucian's claim. The two beastkin and one teen inflated with hope, eyes wide, nostrils flaring.
"Dorne... I want a cool summon..."
Eresa's round lesser panda eyes mentally stripped Dorne's armor. Dorne felt tempted too.