[Synergy] Skill [Design] has reached level 2.

  [First Armor] Design memorized.

  Over the course of a day and then some, the Smith designed his first set of armor. A much simpler version of the plate armor James had once seen at the Lord’s manor in his hometown, the operating principle was maximum coverage and durability. For the material, regular iron. James would have liked to use Green Iron, given that it was as hard as regular iron with half the weight, but there were no seams of the Green Iron Ore within the warded area.

  The helmet was roughly cylindrical, with a poorly rounded top. James stuffed a spare shirt in to mitigate some of the impact. At least his head wouldn’t be bashed directly against hard metal if he took a blow to the head. There was no visor, but instead of a large opening that sharp monster claws could get in, he punched holes into the metal leaving a somewhat occluded field of view, but enough to see the monster. The breastplate was created twice: the first piece was so thick and so heavy that James could barely put it on, and barely move once it was on. It also interfered with swinging his hammer. The second was thinner, and James was doubtful about how it would stand up to blunt impacts, it would hopefully be proof against claws.

  Attached with hooks to the chest plate was a metal skirt, covering his groin and bottom, and cylinders were hooked onto the skirt to cover his legs down to the knees. A stiff half cylindrical knee cap, open in the back, allowed him almost full mobility in his knee joints. The tradeoff was leaving the backs of his knees exposed, and if he was gouged there… But it was that or being entirely unable to walk or move his legs. For boots the same principle applied: he armored the fronts and tops of his feet, leaving the sole and back of the boot exposed to allow movement and at least some footwork. He would be unable to stomp, but he was intending to pound the monster with his hammer. If he got to the point where he needed to stomp, he had probably already lost the fight, or perhaps had won the fight and would be better off retreating temporarily to get another hammer.

  At first, he had tried to ensure maximum protection for his arms. Much time was wasted on trying to create gauntlets, elbow joints, and shoulder protection. In the end, he left his arms mostly unarmored except for slender pieces covering the forearms and upper arms, with a special piece covering his left shoulder that restricted most movement, but still allowed him to pick up and hold up a shield. The rest of his arm would be protected by the shield, and his right arm would be free to swing a hammer.

  But all this armor was, ultimately, a fallback option in case the real centerpiece of his strategy failed: his shield. A tower shield that came up as high as James’ nose, allowing him to peak over it when standing tall. It was just under three feet wide, allowing him to hide his entire body behind it, and the bottom edge had short, wide spikes to dig into the earth, allow him to anchor it somewhat.

  The blasted thing was so heavy that James could just barely lift it and move forward a few inches before resting it on its edge again. But he found that he could store it in the magic bag and retrieve it, so he was able to prepare himself at the edge of the wards, facing the mole monster.

  Having spent well over a day forging almost non-stop, he recharged the warding stakes and slept to recover his strength for the fight ahead.

  In the end, the Smith was equipped for his second battle.

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  [Appraisal]: Bucket Helmet, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 15/15

  [Appraisal]: Breastplate, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 12/12

  [Appraisal]: Armored Skirt, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 5/5

  [Appraisal]: Greaves, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 10/10

  [Appraisal]: Cuisses, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 10/10

  [Appraisal]: Pauldron, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 9/9

  [Appraisal]: Tower Shield, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 20/20

  The rest of his armor failed to [Appraise], instead showing up under [Material Identification] as [Forged Iron].

  The mole monster eyed him warily.

  James put on his armor and readied his tower shield. The tower shield entirely occupied his left arm; in his right hand he held his war hammer.

  James inched forward. With shuffling steps and at great cost to his stamina, he hefted the heavy shield forward bit by bit away from the edge of the ward and towards the monster. The monster backed away at the same rate James advanced, maintaining the distance between them. James was quickly tiring from moving the heavy shield forward while also weighed down by his armor, and the monster showed no signs of blindly lunging forward like it had before.

  In a moment of distraction, while James was considering retreating and re-thinking his strategy, the monster suddenly advanced. Shuffling forward at the pace of a brisk walk, it rushed the Smith and lunged, colliding with his shield.

  Caught off guard, it was all James could do to keep the shield upright as several hundred pounds of monster flesh slammed into the iron. And it was at this point that the Smith learned a painful lesson about armor.

  During an impact involving the human body protected by armor, there are actually multiple impacts, all of which are cushioned by proper armor design to lessen the damage from the impact. In this case, first, there is the impact of the monster onto the iron shield: the monster will take some very minor damage from this, and the mole monster is cushioned by its fur and hide. Then there is the impact of the shield striking the Smith’s arm: this was entirely unimpeded, effectively striking the Smith’s arm with his own shield. The force of the impact was then diminished by the Smith’s muscles resisting that force until the shield struck the Smith’s pauldron, on his left shoulder. Again, the force was transmitted from the pauldron into the shoulder unimpeded by any cushioning. At this point, the Smith managed to brace himself and dissipate the rest of the force of the impact by resisting that force with the muscles of his body, from his upper body and core into his lower body and finally, his feet into the ground beneath himself.

  Thankfully, James’ [Smith] class provided boosts to not only his Strength, but also his Endurance, which allowed him to resist the force of the impact and reduced the damage his body took. And remaining upright spared James from further impacts of his body accelerated by the force of the strike into his own armor, and then the impact of his internal organs against the inside of his own body.

  Rattled by the strike, James could only focus on keeping the shield upright against the weight of the mole monster. The mole monster unhesitatingly scrabbled against the shield with its sharp claws.

  Skitter skitter screech

  A piercing sound that might have stunned or terrified another came from the monster’s claws scraping against the Smith’s Iron Tower Shield.

  [Smith] Skill [Sound Resistance] has reached level 2.

  The Smith’s wits returned to him, now braced against the weight of the monster on the other side of his shield. He clenched his hand, gripping the shaft of his war hammer tightly, and swung around the side of the shield.

  [Technique: Hammer Strike]

  Crack!