|Night Veil City|

From within the forge in the Glass Tower, sharp sounds of metal striking metal repeatedly echoed. Under the dim lighting of the forge, Leon stood bare-chested. His body was lean and sculpted, as if created by a perfectionist.

His back glistened with sweat as he raised the hammer again, then swung it down.

Clang!

The anvil shook slightly, groaning from the impact. On its surface, a red breastplate glistened. It was the last piece of the full body armor Leon was creating.

He paused for a few seconds, then raised the hammer again. Since his wealth had increased, he had gotten access to a wide array of resources.

As the sharp clang of the hammer connecting echoed, he quietly thought to himself.

'It's a good thing I created this shelter…'

If he had been alone, he wouldn't have been able to gather enough resources. Now that he had subordinates, he could farm essence crystals from them and buy anything he wanted from the Reward Crucible.

Suddenly, he paused, eyes shining in enlightenment.

'Now, I understand why those novels with clichè titles were common.'

He felt like he had gained an epiphany.

'If I am to write a biography of my life, I'd name it; Farming Essence Crystals from my subordinates!'

Unbeknownst to him, his creator didn't dabble into such naming choice. Oblivious to this fact, he continued to hit the breastplate until it formed the desired shape.

Picking up the piece of red armor, he scrutinized it with experienced precision. He immediately noted the subtle mistakes, then proceeded to correct them. Although he had to reheat the metal, he didn't mind and went through the process, ensuring he didn't make any mistake.

After all, this armor was being made for himself.

In preparation to facing the Fourth-Level creature which had appeared, he knew his personal strength wouldn't be enough. This was why he was determined to arm himself with strong equipments. After cooling the armor in zombie blood—an unexpectedly cooling material, he attached it to the rest of the armor.

Worn on a manikin, the red armor looked dazzling and fearsome; reminiscent of a Japanese-style armor. The torso was covered in black armor plates cracked with glowing, molten lava-like fissures. Over the torso was a layer of red dragon-scale plating, giving a layered, reptilian texture.

The left shoulder guard was capped with an ornate black pauldrons shaped like a snarling wolf head. The gauntlets were sleek black with the same fiery cracks running through them.

Leon let a satisfied smile slip from his lips. The materials used in forging this armor had been costly, making him poor on third-level crystals. He had sacrificed the chance to get a few third-level evolution potions just to purchase the materials.

Stretching a hand, he touched the armor. Its information immediately appeared before him.

[Three-Star Wyvern Armor]

[Durability: 1000]

[Defense: 3000]

[Enchantment: Energy Shield - The breastplate, gauntlets, and shins are imbued with the ability to produce an energy shield]

[Skills: Damage Repel - Once armor's durability drops below half, all attacks suffered will be reflected to the attacker.]

[Worth: 30 Third-Level Essence Crystals]

A Three-Star equipment was supposed to possess several skills and enchantments. However, coupled with his own lack of experience in tailoring skills, the equipment was an armor. Therefore, it didn't have the capability of having attack skills. Even then, Leon was quietly impressed by its enchantment and skill. Both were undoubtedly useful, especially the skill

"Sigh, did I really create something this impressive?"

He questioned himself, then turned to the side. Lying on the table were two sleek katanas, coolly sheathed. Those two were Two-Star weapons, forged by him. He had used magma ores in their creation, forming a pair of formidable hot blades.

Beside the katanas, laid a small nose mask. Unlike regular ones, it had been bought from the crucible for its skill. Despite being only a One-Star equipment, its skill made Leon desire it.

[Skill: Conceal - Makes the wearer's presence almost unnoticeable]

He had tested it and realized it could even fool the senses of second-level evolved humans.

With those three equipments, Leon felt like he was personally ready. It was time to boost up the others. After all, an incompetent subordinate wouldn't bring him much profit, right?

Leaving the forge, he went to his personal quarters on the top floor. The luxurious living room was spot clean, making him feel refreshed. He went into the kitchen, then poured himself some juice.

While drinking, he heard the sound of the door opening. Without turning back, he took a wild guess and asked,

"Cassie?"

The only three people who could enter without knocking were either Cassie, Anna, or Elena. Unfortunately, he had guessed wrong.

"No. It's me."

Anna's nigh-emotionless voice answered him. Nigh-emotionless because he could sense fatigue in her voice.

'She must have been working hard.'

Leon felt his heart swell with pride towards this competent subordinate. She surely deserved a reward. Though, what better reward was there than better equipments?

He calmly poured another cup of juice, then offered it to her. Her expressionless face showed a hint of surprise, then she accepted it.

"Tough day?" He asked, resting on the counter.

"I faced that Undead King alone today. Almost had my limbs clipped." She said casually, taking a sip.

Leon cocked his head, astonished. "You faced it alone? Seeing as you're alive, I presume you killed it in the end?"

Anna nodded, her eyes meeting his. "I did. But it was tough. You, meanwhile…"

She didn't need to complete her sentence, Leon already understood. In the past, he had faced the Undead King in that dungeon by himself as a second-level evolved and won. After facing that creature solo, Anna must have realized how impressive he was.

Just as much as she was surprised, Leon was equally astonished. His act of killing the Undead King could be attributed to his change in race and previous knowledge about the creature. However, Anna had no idea of its weaknesses or abilities, yet she faced it alone and won.

As Leon had previously explained, in his past life, two out of four third-level evolved humans had died while facing the Undead King. While an evolved's strength might vary based on their class, those on a similar level would have similar physical abilities.

Therefore, Anna's feat of soloing the Undead King was nothing short of astonishing. This made Leon's heart harden in determination.

'I have to get her the best weapon I can find.'

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.