A Masterpiece Rejected

I simply couldn’t comprehend it.

“Why won’t you wear it?”

“It’s too flashy. It’s overwhelming.”

“Armor is better the cooler it looks, isn’t it?”

“We’re not some legendary heroes; this much is a bit…”

The youngsters flat-out refused! I had poured my boundless love and passion for these newbies into making it!

I don’t know what the problem is. It’s not that incredibly flashy. I haven’t even done any intricate carving or magic enchantment yet. It’s just white with a slight sheen!

“I worked so hard on it, so why won’t you wear it? It’s incredibly cool!”

“If we stood on a platform wearing this, people would think we were hero statues.”

“That kind of grandeur is precisely what makes it worth wearing!”

“Armor isn’t just an ornament.”

“Are you daring to disregard my skill right now? This is easily ten times more robust than the junk you used to wear! It’s solid mithril with platinum embellishments, and I generously used lapis lazuli, quartz, and even crystal dust!”

“That’s why we can’t wear it! It’s a walking treasure! How could we possibly wear that?”

“If you don’t wear something like this, you’ll be instantly devoured by demons, I’m telling you!”

[ ‘White Glory’ – Heavy Armor / Upper Body / Legendary / Set

Defense 50 / Weight 8 / Value 5000 / Durability 100(100)

Description: Crafted from high-purity Mithril, making it exceptionally lightweight. It is finished with top-grade Platinum and Quartz, and adorned with Lapis Lazuli. Hamman’s emblem is intricately carved into its surface.

An armor forged by the greatest master craftsman. Its beauty is such that even gods would covet it.

Additional Effects: Charisma +100 / HP +10% / Stamina +30% / Revered / Good Affinity +10 / Evil Repulsion Effect / 10% chance to nullify demon attacks / 1% chance for demons to flee (excluding boss-tier) / Fire Resistance +10% / Cold Resistance +10% / Lightning Resistance +25% / Magic Resistance +25% (Mithril Effect).

Bonus Effects: When praying to Hamman before combat, Defense increases by an additional 10% / Inflicts Fear and Stun on evil-aligned enemies equal to or lower than the wearer’s level.

This is a set item: Upper Body / Lower Body / Boots / Gloves.

Set Bonus: When all pieces are equipped: Defense +10% / Hamman’s Blessing (Fear Resistance) / Ethereal attacks are ineffective.

Crafted item. Crafter: ‘I Want to Bang Faust’. ]

That damn Hamman. When I made a statue for them, embedding it with gold in marble, they only gave a meager 5% HP recovery speed increase! But when it’s for their own followers, they seem to have poured everything into it without holding back.

This is so good that most holy relics couldn’t even compare.

Honestly, I hadn’t initially intended to carve an emblem. It just occurred to me while crafting, and I suppose Hamman was more pleased with it than I could have imagined. Well, I did pack it with all the most expensive and finest materials, too.

“So what’s the use?! These guys won’t even wear it!”

If they wore it and prayed to Hamman before battle, their defense would skyrocket to dragon-tier levels. Even I’m dumbfounded by what I created. I stumbled upon a major success.

“Kids, aren’t these options a waste? Your god showered you with such generous blessings for you to wear this! Just put it on!”

“What are ‘options’ now? I don’t know anything about that! Please, just wear it yourself! Why are you telling us to wear something like that when you’re practically naked? This is driving me crazy, seriously!”

“Faust. You’re still the leader, so shouldn’t you wear something like this?”

“No. It shines so brightly it hurts my eyes just to look at it; it’s too much.”

How resolute. Even you, Faust…!

“I worked so hard on this! Aren’t you guys being too much?”

When I shrieked, the youngsters flinched. Good, it seems they aren’t entirely devoid of conscience.

We were currently inside a rented inn room. The two of them had dragged me here, claiming they felt uncomfortable with people staring.

These guys were fundamentally good-aligned, after all. They were Hamman’s priests, no less. So, I deliberately put on a pitiful act.

“Look at this. I worked so incredibly hard on it. It might not seem like much to you, but this isn’t easy, you know. How much hammering did I do to create something like this? A masterpiece like this finally came into being, and yet the very people it’s for won’t even try it on and are just complaining…”

As I glumly lowered my head and covered my mouth, the two of them flinched and began to exchange uneasy glances. Priests really are all clueless. They know nothing of the world. Especially these good-hearted ones; they’re the biggest pushovers of all.

“O-oh, no! Complaining? We were just overwhelmed—!”

“Our gratitude is genuine! It’s just too precious for us to accept easily! We didn’t mean to imply anything of the sort—!”

They then babbled incoherently, attempting to appease me. I subtly lowered my hand and feigned a serious demeanor.

“Demons will only increase in number from now on. Stronger ones will emerge, and as you are, you won’t be able to stop them.”

At my words, the youngsters who had been approaching halted their steps. “Faust.” At my call, he licked his dry lips and looked at me. I gazed up at him.

“This isn’t a joke. You genuinely need this level of equipment. You can’t fight like I do. It might sound cruel, but it’s the truth. Did it seem easy because I handled it with ease?”

At my words, the two of them glanced between me and the armor, a look of contemplation on their faces. Good, they were almost swayed. I swallowed a laugh, just barely maintaining my serious facade. Then, I gestured towards the chairs. Understanding, the two of them quietly sat down again.

“There’s a lot to do. You need to level up, and you need proper weapons. Armor didn’t require intricate work, so a small local forge was sufficient, but weapons need to be crafted in a proper place with a blast furnace in a major city. Anything I make here would just be an iron knife at best. You also need magic enchantments, intricate carvings for elemental properties, and you need to receive proper consecration at your temple. Only then can you even hope to contend.”

“Sir Haut, why are you going to such lengths?”

They looked utterly bewildered. I chuckled softly at their expressions.

“I told you. I’m going to clear demon nests with you guys.”

I let out a peal of laughter, and they stared at me as if I were even more unfathomable. What grand reason is there for nurturing newbies? It’s literally just something I’m doing so we can clear demon nests and have fun together. This much effort is truly nothing. After all, I’d be clearing demon nests by myself anyway.

“Alright, alright! So hurry up and put them on!”

“I have so much to say, but I can’t find the words.”

Jack ran his hands through his hair, groaning miserably. Faust, picking up the armor pieces with a troubled expression, looked at me with an earnest plea.

“Could we… only wear them during combat?”

Seriously! These youngsters just don’t know when to give up!

“Haa, fine, whatever. For now, just try them on. If there’s any discomfort, I’ll need to adjust them.”

Just when I thought I had them completely convinced, they threw a wrench in the works at the last moment!

I suppose I’ll have to compromise this much. And I’ll need to make them another set of light armor they can wear as everyday clothes. For their weapons, I’ll definitely add a glitter effect to match the armor. I’ll even try to see if I can add an effect that spreads a halo of light, like wings. What kind of magic enchantments would be best? I’ll decide that after observing their combat styles; it seems pointless to choose now. For intricate carving, perhaps I should engrave Hamman’s Revelations? Hmm, that can wait too.

Oh, right, that’s not all!

“I’ll need to make accessories too. What do you guys prefer? Earrings? Necklaces? Rings? Bracelets are fine too. Or, do you have a preference for headpieces like circlets?”

“Somehow, I feel like we’ve been tricked.”

“You’ll genuinely die without these. I’m not joking.”

I gave them a bright, innocent smile.

“It’s fine. I’ll make sure you live.”

Surely, I wouldn’t kill you, would I?

“You trust me, right?”

I’m just a casual gamer. I’m not some jaded veteran. Seriously!

Generally, items are named according to the materials used in their creation. For instance, “Tin Plate Armor” or “Platinum Diamond Silk Gloves.” While in-game default items cannot be renamed, crafted items allow for name changes.

While the two youngsters slept, I also crafted a set of light armor they could wear as everyday attire.

It couldn’t be helped. Since I couldn’t use teleportation right now, we had to travel through the fields, and everywhere outside of cities was swarming with monsters. Besides that, there were bandits, deranged fanatics, necromancers, and plenty of other dangers. If a fight broke out on the road, they couldn’t exactly ask their enemies to wait while they fumbled to put on their heavy armor.

Damn it, I should have just made them sturdy light armor from the start. Well, the heavy armor can wait until we go clear demon nests later.

“You’re truly too much. There’s no middle ground with you.”

“What’s the problem this time? You can wear them like everyday clothes, can’t you?”

“That’s true, but…”

I don’t know what their issue is.

I made it and gave it to them right after they woke up this morning, but they kept complaining noisily, seemingly displeased. After all my hard work, why are they treating it like this? Honestly, these youngsters are truly unfathomable.

“These aren’t just casual items you can hand out! These are treasures you’d be lucky to find even after raiding a dragon’s lair!”

“Even if you raid a dragon’s lair, there’s not much of value, surprisingly. You mostly just get some enchanted junk items.”

“Uh… what? What?”

Their dumbfounded expressions are amusing, but I’m tired of seeing them. I want to see some normal reactions, like smiling or something. I’m traveling with handsome characters for once, but the facial expressions are too stingy, aren’t they? You guys are the ones who are truly too much!

[ ‘Remnants of a Forgotten God’ – Light Armor / Upper Body / Legendary / Set

Defense 32 / Weight 8 / Value 3000 / Durability 100(100)

Description: Crafted using the hide and bones of something that was once a god, now forgotten by all. An armor forged by the greatest master craftsman. Everything about it is perfect.

Additional Effects: Stealth +20 / Stamina +15% / Magic Resistance +30% / Cold Resistance +10% / Does not get wet.

This is a set item: Upper Body / Lower Body.

Set Bonus: When all pieces are equipped: Defense +10% / Demon Attack Damage -10% / Reduces Mana cost for Holy-type skills by half.

Crafted item. Crafter: ‘I Want to Bang Faust’. ]

This light armor I made wasn’t anything special. Aside from a few components, it was crafted purely from leather, with a focus solely on mobility. The set only having upper and lower body pieces was due to a shortage of leather.

Crafting both sets ended up requiring more materials than I anticipated. For the gloves and boots, I mixed in some bones and black lion hide I had, but it seemed the quality didn’t match, so the set bonus didn’t activate. Damn it.

While pondering what decent designs existed, I decided to create something similar to what I wore when I played as the “Shadow King” previously. Among all the light armor designs in the game, this one is undeniably the prettiest.