"Let's see! We got the tools, the spares, the extras, the back-ups, the merch, the giveaw…"

Leon started counting but Jessica hurriedly stopped him.

"Alright. I'mma stop you here. You don't need all that… and you can't possibly take all that." She said.

"What?" Leon almost felt baffled, "You don't know how much gear I needed to infiltrate the British Museum. I used to do a yearly run in that place. It is like a supermarket of artifacts and I build a scaffolding of ropes every time I go in. They never discovered how I do it."

"As much as I am interested in your past, you can't possibly carry that and run around doing mercenary work." Jessica said and the clerk was finally relieved to hear some reason.

"Alright, alright. Do you have any menu I can pick from at least?" Leon said.

Seeing that this loaded guy is going all out, the clerk sighed as he handed him the ledger of the armory's inventory to pick from.

Leon was thorough and calculative with the prices and the needs of every situation. He had a lot of experience in many different types of terrain and he just needed to make no mistake. Also, since he has a very vast storage capacity in the [Space-Time Magic - Storage] spell, he can take as many things as his money can afford.

The Black Cobra always had a motto, "The Right Toy for the Right Playground."

"Fine. Let's forget about the extras and the spares." Leon said, "But I am taking a full list."

"Sigh!"

Both Jessica and the Clerk sighed in relief as Leon finally backed off that ridiculous amount of purchase he was after. Even a four-man party wouldn't take all that unless they are going to conquer a dungeon or something.

"Now let's talk about weapons and armor." Leon said.

"Finally." The Clerk said but he soon detected the deep look on Leon's face.

"The Weapons are not hard to figure out. 2 Shorts Swords, 1 Spear, 4 Javelins, 4 Daggers, 4 Hatchets, 1 Short Bow, 4 Arrow Quivers, and 8 Bear Traps."

"I am excited to know what you are going to hunt with all that." The Clerk said in a tone of mockery as he recorded everything after Leon.

"As for the armors… I really can't say I am an expert here." Leon scratched his chin, "I want to go with something light yet protective. What do you think works?"

Finally and for the first time, Leon was taking recommendations.

"Alright! I would say a Gambeson set, very protective against bites and hacks which are the attack pattern of wolves and goblins. You would need a good Brigandine armor to protect your torso and vitals. Most Leather Boots and Gloves are also hack and bite resistant and as the rule goes, you should never go anywhere without a good Steel Helmet." The Clerk said.

"Let's see them." Leon agreed.

The Clerk cheerfully ran inside and came out with a few picks that fit Leon's size. He laid them on the counter and waited for Leon's reaction.

Leon wasn't impressed. The quality was quite average as his reading indicated. All of these items were graded as "Common".

Normally, a higher quality should be custom made by special materials and this is as far as the mass-produced items go. The Gambeson set included a coat and a pair of pants that were made of padded cloth, the Brigandine armor is very close to a jacket in the way it can be put on having segmented plates from the inside and a very tough fabric from the outside all studded to each other. The helmet came with a coif that protects the neck and holds the headgear all together.

Pretty good and light stuff that can be said way better than nothing. But…u

"Ye're buying those?"

Vadim popped up from inside the armory.

"Oh! Hello, Chief." The Clerk noticed Vadim and greeted him.

"You go take a break. I'll speak with this one." Vadim shooed away the clerk who was very relieved as he wouldn't deal with Leon anymore.

Leon watched Vadim come in and nodded.

"I will."

"Ya can carry all that around in a jungle?" Vadim asked.

"Of course not." Leon replied, "I'll have most of the Gear in my residence and pick what I need depending on where I go."

"Yeah! Whatever." Vadim didn't hear him and took away all the armor pieces Leon was going to buy and tossed them away.

"Eh! What are you doing?" Leon asked.

"Ye don't call that armor unless ya want to walk around with a goblin spear in yer arse, lad." Vadim ranted.

"… Okay." Leon was taken aback, "But I'm not walking around in some plate clinking armor."

"Bah! I'll bring you something you won't find anywhere." Vadim said as he looked around and dragged out a crate before simply tossing it around, he then brought a hammer hanging nearby and broke its top.

What Vadim pulled out then was a strange-looking fabric that Leon couldn't distinguish its nature but it looked really good. It was indeed padded armor like the Gambeson set but way thinner and came in all black reminding him of the tactical suit he used to have.

"What do ya think?" Vadim said.

Leon took the shirt of the suit Vadim handed to him and he couldn't help but let his face view how impressed he was. It reminded him of the stab-proof fabric yet it felt lighter and sturdier against shock.

——————————
[Ebonthread Shirt] <Uncommon>
- Can be Hardened with Mana.
——————————

"This must be… very expensive." Leon said.

"Expensive? Pft! Nah! It is very common really. You can't find it anywhere because it is just made when requested but the material is as common as a bear in a dwarf's keg." Vadim dismissed it right away, "Same price as this Gambeson even."

Leon narrowed his eyes as Vadim was dismissively saying that an Uncommon item is as good as Common. As far as Leon can tell, there is no reason for Vadim to lie so… it doesn't make sense.

Yet he wouldn't turn down an act of kindness, would he?"

"Alright. I'll take it." Leon said.

"Excellent." Vadim became cheerful in a sudden turn of mood, "I'll bring you some armor now."

Leon took his liberty to check the rest of the Ebonthread suit as Vadim went in. Aside from the shirt, there was a pair of pants with a plate at the crotch area which is both wholesome and thoughtful as well as a coif incorporated with the shirt that can act like a hood if its straps were let loose.

Vadim soon returned with an armored jacket, a pair of Vambraces, and Shin Guards. Each of them was made of tough leather reinforced with steel. The Vambraces reach and cover the elbow while the Shin Guards reach and cover the knee. Both of them can be worn alongside gloves and boots. The last thing Vadim added was a normal helmet which added more face coverage to the as well as extra belts and straps.

However, what was interesting was the jacket. It was not really long but it covered the torso. Just like the Brigandine armor, it had plates of armor lined up and studded inside but it also had half sleeves that acted as pauldrons which the Brigandine didn't have. (They usually do)

——————————
[Ebonthread Suit] < Uncommon>
- Can be Hardened with Mana.
A set of thin but protective padded Hood, Shirt, and Pants.
——————————
[Brigandine Jacket] <Common>
A Short Brigandine jacket made of Thick Scales.
——————————
[Steel Helmet] <Common>
A T-faced semi-closed helmet with a nosepiece.
——————————
[Light Guards set] <Common>
A set of Chin Guards & Vambraces of Reinforced Leather and Steel.
——————————

"These are actually good." Leon said as he imagined the combination together, it seems that as the rumors about Dwarves being armor experts sold them even shorter. (pun intended)

"Walk with those around and ye'll have the hardest arse in all the Mercenaries."

Vadim spoke with enthusiasm as he went on about the armor qualities and how every piece of this and that works together as Leon was listening, asking, and even taking notes. Armor technology in this world is very different from the combat and stealth tactical suits that he knows.

"Ehem!"

Yet at this moment when the door behind Leon opened and someone came in. The shadow of that someone felt abnormally long and Jessica who was standing silent the whole time backed away from that newcomer with a shocked look on her face.

Leon didn't notice until the newcomer put a hand on his back asking him for space. He politely walked out of the way and looked back to almost meet the torso of a person at his eye level.

Leon isn't terribly short or anything. He is 165 cms (5.4) which is quite normal for his underdeveloped body but that person behind him was seriously tall. The word inhumanly tall can even be used here as this was not a human.

The person was a female, magically beautiful as if she walked out of a dream and had long ears pointed up against her brown hair. Her proportions were rather weird as she can be compared with Slenderman or Hachishakusama in terms of slenderness. Her arms were long, her legs were long, her neck was as long as Leon's entire forearm. Still, her body was just thin.

From the visible parts of her body, Leon could see weird looking muscles that don't resemble any human muscles he knows. They were thin, ribbed, and carried some resemblance to a tree's bark.

On top of all that, the face was nothing alien or ugly but rather beautiful and normal-sized compared to the body. The ears on its side indicated that this woman is indeed the race that appears in every stereotypical fantasy fiction.

"Oi, lad. Never seen an Elf before?"

Vadim's rough voice woke Leon up from his instant daze.

Leon looked at Vadim and smiled.

"It is my first time indeed." He then turned to the Elf and apologized, "I was rude. Please, accept my apology."

"Not at all." The Elf replied as she still kept her hand on Leon's back as she spoke to Vadim, "Chief, I am sorry to take you off your duties but there are things we need to talk about."

"Ah! Alright, Erielle. Be with ya in a jiffy."

Erielle and Vadim seemed to be talking about their own business but despite the smile on her face, she was urging Vadim to speak in private.

"Alright. Yer set now, lad." Vadim said, "Come find me if you need anything. To complete yer registration, go find a task you can do. You have a one week limit." Vadim said.

"Alright. Thank you." Leon handed over the price which was around 43 Silver Coins, took everything in a sack and a backpack then walked away carrying all those heavy objects like nothing with Jessica following him.

Vadim and Erielle watched the door until it was closed shut and felt that Leon was far enough before they looked at each other.

Erielle looked at Vadim seriously.

"You were spoiling this boy too much, you know! You gave him an Ebonthread Suit for a dirt-cheap price. Eleanor won't like the fact that you smuggled out one of the suits she brought for the campaign." She said.

"Bah! Account errors happen all the time." He replied.

"But that boy…"

"I don't know what nonsense ya're going to say. That lad is Leon. I just know." Vadim stomped the ground as he said, "I can't feel any recognition in his eyes but my eyes won't lie to me."

"I agree." Erielle said.

"I don't want to…" Vadim was about to throw a tantrum but he stopped and questioned what he heard, "What?"

Erielle sighed.

"I confirm to you that this is Leon Dark." She said, "I didn't even need magic to tell if he is a lookalike or some imposter or anything."

"How?" He asked.

"Remember that thing on his back?"

To Erielle's question, the Dwarf's expressions widened in disbelief. He of all people shouldn't be the one to forget about this. It is the shame that haunted him for six years.

Vadim looked at Erielle no longer able to stay in character.

"Let's not lose him this time. Eleanor is just an hour away."

"Before you even say it."

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(Patron Chapters available: 5)
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