Magic Armor
After hardship comes sweetness.
That was the saying. Right now, Bella Croft wanted nothing more than to hunt down whoever coined it and slap them hard across the face.
"...The E14 experiment results were a complete success, okay?"
"Oh, it worked? Then head back to A2 and run additional cross-checks on the reactions between the magic stones and spirit stones. Once that's done, switch the main to B1 and repeat everything from A1 through A2."
"Urgh... Got it, okay..."
When the hardship ended, even greater hardship came crashing down.
As if he were casually telling her to go take a stroll, her employer issued the order that would carve up the rest of her day. She had already scraped every spare minute—sleep, meals, everything—and poured it all into the work. And now the devil, no, her employer, was commanding her to grind that day even finer.
How did it come to this, okay...?
Even when she had assisted senior researchers at the Association with their papers, she had never been worked this hard. Of course, the data these experiments yielded was incomparably higher quality than anything from those days—but the toll matched it.
Physical exhaustion was one thing, yet the constant pressure to stay razor-sharp left her nerves stretched taut and fraying in real time.
High-grade materials here, high-grade materials there... Ugh...
Barely three days ago these instruments had been coated in a thick layer of dust. Now they ran without a single speck allowed to settle. The reagents and materials cycling inside them were classified secrets and premium research components; one wrong touch and her head might literally go flying.
So Bella had to concentrate. Concentrate, then concentrate harder. Every scrap of knowledge she absorbed became hers completely. Her brain spun at a pace she had never imagined possible in her entire life, straining to its absolute limit.
Why? Because the slightest mishandling would kill her.
She was desperately learning how to handle the things closest to death precisely so she would not die. That paradoxical drive was evolving her day by day.
One day, then two, and she gradually grew accustomed to the insane pace. Humans really were adaptable creatures. What had made her tremble just looking at it on the first day, she now casually grabbed with both hands and hauled over.
Of course it had not started that way. Her employer had forged her into this.
He had watched her work, complained that she wasted too much time on each experiment, and mocked her for trembling over every little thing. At first he tried the carrot—finish faster and he would reduce the number of experiments. When that failed to produce results, he switched to the stick: he would "help" her stop trembling. The moment she slowed even a fraction, a strange shadow clamped down and pain flooded in.
The device fixed to her head like a golden headband tightened, and it felt as though her brain were being split open—no, as though her very soul were being torn apart while still alive.
If her movements grew sluggish, it tightened. If she made a mistake, it tightened. The only fear left in her was the fear of when the next spike of pain would arrive.
By then, the terror of the expensive materials had vanished completely.
Repetition forced familiarity whether she liked it or not. The pain of remaining unaccustomed was so bad that death seemed preferable; she had no choice but to adapt.
It was hard, exhausting, and miserable—yet the steadily climbing numbers in her bank account and the knowledge stacking neatly inside her skull kept her going. No—honestly, even while her body ached, the smile never left her lips.
At first she had resented the senior who shoved her into this job. Now she understood the deeper intention behind the opportunity. She was paid handsomely and, on top of that, gained knowledge and skill. For a scholar, it was an ideal workplace.
Whatever else might be said, she felt no regret about working under this particular employer.
Thus, shedding tears that were not quite tears, she reached the weekend. She had steeled herself for unpaid overtime with no rest—only to hear something unexpected.
"Good work. That's all for the job."
"...Huh?"
"I got every result I wanted. You can go."
"???"
Something... something felt wrong. At the beginning she had prayed for this hell to end quickly. As time passed, though, she found she did not hate it so much. She had even started believing she could use this chance to leap higher.
But no matter what Bella thought, the ship had already sailed.
Her former employer left without a shred of lingering attachment. The laboratory that had been filled with the roar of machinery fell silent in an instant.
Stepping out of the lab that had begun to feel like home, her body itched. It was as if resting right now was a waste of time, and her body was rejecting the very idea. More than that, the absence of the shadow that had sat on her head left a strangely hollow sensation. Why? They had not spent that much time together, yet the sense of loss was oddly strong.
Was it because the density of the experience had been so high? No matter how she turned it over, Bella's expression only grew darker.
"...Come to think of it, I never even heard his name, okay?"
She had seen her employer's face until she was sick of it, yet she knew neither his name nor anything else about him. Every day had been so busy and exhausting—so fulfilling—that there had been no room for other thoughts.
Leaving the regret behind, she headed toward the Association, intending to ask her senior who the man had been.
"...I should buy a headband on the way, okay."
Bella Croft scratched at her oddly empty head and left the Academy behind.
A crow that had been quietly watching her take off into the sky, then sank into the darkness as if vanishing into the far side of the world.
Its destination, as always, was fixed.
"Caw!"
Confirming the information relayed by the crow, I opened my eyes.
With that, the watching eyes are gone too.
I rose at once and began the synthesis. The experiments I had run this time were purely for the advancement of my own abilities.
The experiment's name was Mana Weaponization.
It was a test of whether mana could be turned into weapons and armor—directly or indirectly.
Research into solidifying mana through sword aura, sword energy, or physical reinforcement had existed for a long time. The real hint, however, came from the item I was currently wearing: Doteron's Masterpiece – Black.
The inspiration itself had come from Riri, who handled the thing as if it were her own. She could imitate it simply by looking at it and touching it. That meant some magical principle was embedded in the technique, and it operated on that foundation.
From there I thought of Kallion's dragon magic. If a dragon—possessing potential equal to or greater than Riri's—could wield such a privileged power, then perhaps it could be realized in another direction.
The result was unfolding before my eyes right now.
Shhhraaaak!!!
Spears of glittering milky-white mana poured down from the sky.
Bang! Crack! Crunch!
"Gueeeek...!"
"Chiiik...! Chik?!"
The Holy attribute contained within them rejected every enemy they touched, twisting the contact points and blowing clean holes through flesh as if the bodies themselves were being unmade. The sight was exactly like the cratered earth left behind when a meteor creates a Creator.
Mere contact was enough to make bodies burst, tear, or evaporate. With the very components of their forms erased beyond any hope of regeneration, there was no way for life to continue.
A rain of spears fell. Enemies died.
It was as simple as the mathematical formula A becomes B. And on the body of Kallion, the one who had created that spectacle, sharp scale-like armor of mana had already taken form.
I named that phenomenon Magic Armor.
Equipment made of mana, written as Magic Armor and read the same way.
"...A failure, then."
Looking only at the conclusion, the research was half a failure.
The prerequisites for using Magic Armor were far too strict—that was the first problem. The second was that, rather than using this, it was simply more efficient to cast other magic or draw out more sword aura.
Still, Magic Armor had its own merits.
As long as you had mana as a resource, you could draw out whatever form you had imprinted, anytime, anywhere. Need a sword? Channel mana into the imprint for a sword. Need a spear, a shield, or armor? Imprint those instead.
Once the form was fixed to the body during the first casting of Magic Armor magic, from the second time onward you no longer needed to spend time shaping it—you simply pulled it out with mana.
In the end Magic Armor was a mass of mana, yet because magic had given it form and physical force, it possessed no weight while still exerting physical influence.
It could not freely transform the way Doteron's Masterpiece – Black could, but by consuming additional mana you could raise the durability of the pre-fixed form, and there was no upper limit so long as your mana allowed it.
That was precisely why I judged it half a failure.
Once you fixed the initial form with Magic Armor Magic and stored it in the body, you could not draw out anything else until you added more. You could add other forms by consuming extra materials, but ultimately Magic Armor remained a backup measure and could never become mainstream.
I had considered layering Magic Armor onto existing weapons, of course, but the materials that could withstand Magic Armor magic were far too limited; the cost simply did not add up. Unless you manipulated mana directly through the body the way Kallion did, the efficiency dropped too low. In the end Kallion's own combat power had increased, but the result was far removed from what I had hoped for.
Another reason I called Magic Armor Magic a failure was the preparation time required to fix the magic and the amount of reagents and materials consumed, both of which scaled with mana. Above all, it took far too long for Magic Armor to become attuned to the user's mana. Anyone whose mana sensitivity was even slightly lacking could not use it easily.
Depending on the application it could draw out great power, yet in the end Magic Armor never escaped the category of enchantment. That was how I had to see it.
A shame.
If instantaneous use had been possible, I had imagined mixing the mana of my summons to create special Magic Armor—weapons and armor carrying each one's individuality to boost overall combat strength. It seemed that was still beyond reach.
"Still, not bad."
Given that the original concept had been equipment, this outcome had been roughly predictable. Continued refinement would surely produce better results, but that was a problem for other people to solve now, not me.
I had created it, so I filed the report and copyright application with the Association under my name. Perhaps because they knew Lee Se-rin stood behind me, approval took less than a day. That left me with free time over the weekend, which was why I was out here farming experience while running further tests.
"Kallion."
"Grrrrngh!"
At my call, Kallion—who had been raining bombardment from the sky—came fluttering down. The way it poked its head out and fawned on me created a jarring contrast with the expressionless slaughter it had just been performing.
To me it still looked like nothing more than a slightly oversized pet lizard, though.
Even while this was happening, the magic circle fixed in the air continued firing Magic Armor. Dragons really were broken. There was a reason every fantasy story treated them as the strongest.
At least in this world, dragons were definitely broken.
On top of that, I had discovered an unexpected synergy among the new summons. Bihos, who inevitably made noise while moving, became completely silent when paired with Haze, who controlled wind. Sound is produced by vibrating air; by using Haze's wind to suppress the sound of Bihos's wingbeats, far stealthier movement became possible.
And that applied not only to Bihos but to all of us, myself included.
That was why people always gave the edge in versatility to spirit users. Phenomena that a mage would need to combine multiple spells to create could be produced by a spirit simply because it belonged to the corresponding natural force—yielding a dazzling variety of effects.
At this rate I might even be able to fly just by continuously supplying mana. No—I did not even need to supply it myself; I already had the stat boosts from Subjugator.
"...I'll have to think about this more."
The advantages of versatility were so large that I was leaning toward choosing another spirit for my next summon. The benefits of spirits had impressed me that much.
Still, leaning too hard into pure versatility was also a concern. "Jack of all trades" could easily become "master of none." No matter how many uses something had, if it lacked a single decisive blow and could not finish the enemy, it was still useless.
Even so, the research had not been completely worthless.
Kallion creating and using Magic Armor Magic anew each time through its own body as a medium was a feat possible only because of a dragon's unique nature. Did that mean it had to remain Kallion's exclusive privilege? I would shake my head at that question.
If the conditions were met, the other summons could also fix a form the usual way and effectively gain spare weapons. Especially for Echidna, it meant she would have a means of obtaining armor and weapons without me having to craft them myself.
I planned to spend the rest of this weekend imprinting Magic Armor Magic onto every summon. For now only one form could be stored, so I would have to carefully choose whether to give weapons or armor.
First up was Bihos.
Its entire body was already hard carapace, but I intended to make that carapace even harder. I planned to grow Bihos strictly around status ailments—something that could reliably take down an enemy simply by enduring. It was a concept I had often seen in games in my previous life: inflict status effects and outlast the opponent.
On top of that, its naturally high mobility and innate form would let me use the body itself like a hardened cannonball. Being tough was, by itself, already a powerful weapon.
"Bihos."
At my call the one I had already summoned tore through the air and flew over. The dark-red carapace beetle approached as if it were the most natural thing in the world; I held out my arm so it could settle. The moment it landed it clicked its mandibles, and after giving it a brief look I turned to Echidna standing behind me.
"I'll leave the surroundings to you. I'll call you when it's your turn, so don't go too far."
"Understood, Master!"
Echidna raised her shadow mace in both hands, nodded, and led Keres toward the enemies.
Confirming that, I conveyed my will to Kallion. I had developed the technique and possessed more knowledge, but the actual casting of the magic belonged to Kallion. If I had possessed the power to wield magic myself, I would never have gone through that whole mess just to obtain a long-range attack method.
"Materials are being continuously supplied, so that's fine."
The biggest reason I was doing this inside a dungeon was the supply of magic stones. If there was a place where materials could be self-supplied and I had the skill to do it, it was more profitable to move myself than to spend money. As a bonus the kids gained experience, so even if it was a little bothersome, coming out personally was the right call.
I held Bihos, perched on my arm, out in front of Kallion. Since both were my summons, rather than hostility they simply observed each other with interest before returning to their own tasks as if nothing had happened.
"Kallion. Armor Type B with sharpened spikes, please. For the back, mix in Type A so the wings can still open."
"Grrrrngh."
Type B meant full-coverage armor that fused completely with the body. Type A, conversely, allowed sections of the armor to be removed or detached.
"Unify the form as a tattoo."
At the same time a magic circle began constructing itself on Kallion's claw. The moment the needle-like construct was complete, I took it and began placing it along Bihos's back.
From here there could be no distortion. I positioned the needle as if drawing a perfect circuit into the body, then injected the liquefied magic stone through that point. Once the energy of the magic stone settled on the surface, Kallion's magic shone.
Shaaang!!
A mass of mana began taking shape as if covering Bihos's body. When it melted and settled into place, the first stage of the procedure was finished.
Next came continuous infusion of the user's mana so that the Magic Armor could fully settle into the soul and become attuned. During this process a portion of the user's mana properties would appear directly in the Magic Armor.
Bihos's mana was fundamentally hard, proliferative, and toxic—heavily influenced by the skills it possessed.
"Bihos. Keep pouring mana in just like that."
As if answering me, dark-green mana began to ripple across Bihos's body. The rough form I had prepared gradually found the shape that suited it best and settled in.
In roughly one to two hours the settling would be complete; whenever Bihos wished, light would fill the tattoo and the Magic Armor would deploy.
"Twenty magic stones close to C-Rank, was it?"
That was the number consumed while engraving Magic Armor onto Bihos just now. If I had added other materials besides Bihos's own mana, both the stones and the time would have increased.
At this stage nothing special was needed. As the summons grew, their Magic Armor would have to be updated repeatedly anyway. Unlike class changes, evolution often brought dramatic external changes. Creating something perfect from the start only to remove it later and fit a new one would mean doing the work twice. It was far more convenient to make something that grew and adapted alongside them from the beginning.
Imprinting it on the soul rather than the body was a provision for exactly that.
"Haa..."
One done.
Finishing the rest would take a while. Still, it had to be done. In the end it was an action for increasing combat power, so even if it was bothersome I had no choice.
I would use it like this for now, refining and revising as I went. And since there might be people more knowledgeable than me in this field, I planned to keep collecting information steadily.
Come to think of it, Lee Se-rin had borrowed the patent saying she wanted to add this function to some equipment.
Something weird is going to pop out again.
The topic would probably be noisy for a while. I only hoped the sparks would not fly my way. I had filed the creator information under a classified section so it could not be immediately linked to my name; ordinary people should not learn the truth.
Through the skill Link I called Growl, who had been continuing the hunt on the far side.
Regardless of my uneasy feelings, work still had to be done, right?
"Offense is already enough, so I'll give you defense as well."
"Woof!"
Even though it had no weight, the physical force it possessed could still restrict movement. If that interfered with the body's motion, there was no point in wearing armor, so I decided to mainly use Type A—which allowed parts to be added or removed at any time without interfering with each other's domains.
This Magic Armor, having thoroughly absorbed Growl's mana, would surely gain the property of growing stronger the more blood it drank.
That was the part I personally looked forward to.
How strong could the Magic Armor I created become? How far could it go?
I did not want sparks flying my way, yet my personal wish was for the technique to become widely known so that further refinements and revisions would happen on their own—evolving without me having to lift a finger.
I would perform my own improvements, of course, but the absolute best outcome would be for someone else to suffer the hard work first and create the better version for me.
This world was so insane it felt unfair.
Surely there were people more outstanding than me. Hoping they would take the hardship in my place, I continued applying Magic Armor Magic.