Chapter 52. The Shell (2)
After the message about the seal being broken, a light started shining from a part of the armor with Calzen’s crest. The crest was all messed up, but now there was a new message glowing on it.
“[‘I will be with you.’]”
It was a deep phrase, but Isaac wasn’t quite sure what it meant. The seal being broken was obvious though.
“No way, I was gonna break the seal eventually, but already?”
Isaac was surprised yet pumped to see what this armor could do. Miraculous blessings carved into Calzen’s armor started showing up. It was like a laundry list of amazing powers.
“Superior health recovery, Thread of Truth, Guiding Thread, Watcher’s Hammer… Wait, what the heck is this?”
It was like all the blessings you’d want after bossing through a huge journey, showing that the angels and the light scripture were into him.
Up until then, Isaac saw Calzen as just a boss monster, but now he knew he was a seraph.
He must’ve been a total hero of the light scripture before he went rogue, basically scaring the heck out of heretics.
Isaac was thrilled by all this new power, but then he felt a strong reaction from somewhere unexpected.
“[‘The Nameless Chaos watches over you.’]”
“Ugh…?!”
The bright light from the armor dimmed out all of a sudden.
Isaac was hit with intense pain all over – the tentacles were coming at him, reacting like they did when he was seriously hurt.
The tentacles made their way through the armor, causing some serious damage.
Kaboom!
But, the armor fought back, spitting flames and burning the tentacles. It was chaos with tentacles and fire everywhere, but Isaac tried to keep his cool.
“What the heck is going on?”
But the pain wasn’t as bad as expected. The tentacles were a part of his power and the flames were there to protect him. Yet, Isaac knew they couldn’t exist together.
Even the tentacles that swallowed Calzen Miller whole coughed up this armor for a reason.
“No, dang it…!”
Isaac begrudgingly tried to unlock and remove the armor, but the tentacles stopped him and started chomping down on it.
Crunch!
The armor took a beating and the fire and light it emitted faded.
It was a battle the armor wasn’t meant to win.
The armor was meant to fend off outside threats, not deal with tentacles from within.
The tentacles took advantage of the weakened armor, tearing through it relentlessly. The enchantments on the armor began to vanish one by one.
“Hey, hold on!”
Isaac yelled, trying to save the precious armor. But the tentacles, unsuccessful before, now seemed set on destroying it.
Before he knew it, the armor was gone.
“Why couldn’t it destroy it earlier but now it can?”
The answer was simple. Isaac had grown stronger, and the tentacles had evolved.
Now, they could completely digest it.
The sacred powers that even the scripture priests would admire disappeared instantly.
“Ah, nooo…”
With Isaac’s final cry, Calzen Miller’s armor was lost forever.
***
“Master Isaac?”
After a while with no sign of Isaac, Caitlin knocked on the door.
“Are you ready yet? If you need help dressing, I can send someone…”
With no reply, Caitlin opened the door to find Isaac sitting in the storeroom, looking defeated and lost in thought.
Isaac hadn’t changed his clothes much since entering.
“Aren’t you wearing the armor?”
“I am. There was a miracle of storage, so I kept it hidden.”
Isaac showed his hand, covered in a steel gauntlet, the last remnant of the armor. Surprised by this miracle, Caitlin couldn’t understand his sadness.
“Don’t you like the gift?”
“No, uhh… It’s great. Maybe even too great.”
Isaac forced a smile.
“I’m tired, heading back now. I’ll be in Sol for a while, so send someone if you need me.”
“Okay, got it.”
With a puzzled goodbye from Caitlin, Isaac left for his lodging.
Alone again, he sighed deeply.
Then, he commanded the tentacles within him to unveil the armor.
With a sound like rattling snake scales, the armor spread from his glove, covering him in seconds. Normally, it would take at least 30 minutes, but not this time. It was incredible.
But it looked different now. The engravings formed intricate patterns like art, made of tiny scales.
The seams were joined by tentacles instead of chains, appearing seamless.
Isaac moved with ease in the light, flexible armor that seemed more like a piece of art than protective gear.
Hey, check this out! Every move was smooth and natural, almost like he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing.
‘I mean, with tentacles and shell, it’s practically naked…’
Isaac glanced down at the armor on him.
[Corrupted Paladin Armor of Calzen Miller (S)]
Sorry, Calzen. Your gear got a tentacular makeover.
The tentacles snacked on Calzen’s armor and reshaped it into Isaac’s new shell.
Naturally, they ditched all the miracles that interfered with their tentacle buffet. Good thing the basic miracles were still intact, minus the game-breaking ones.
‘Can’t have it all, right?’
Function-wise, the armor was way better now. Wearing armor 24/7 is a pain, so having something easy to slip into for battle, not to mention comfy and light, was a major upgrade.
No more giveaways that it belonged to Calzen, either.
‘And with the light scripture blessings gone, I can mix in ones that suit my style. Not too shabby when you think about it.’
Frankly, the old blessings were all flash and no substance for Isaac. Since he couldn’t vibe with the light miracles, customizing new ones seemed more fitting.
Isaac tried to see the bright side of things.
Yet, a twinge of regret lingered.
‘Master Isaac.’
A sense of purpose hit Isaac.
Hesabel, now an apostle, could reach out to Isaac like a chaotic whisper, showing her loyalty.
‘All set.’
She had wrapped up Isaac’s mission successfully.
Isaac acknowledged the message and made his way to her location.
The slums of Seor beckoned.
***
Rain drizzled over the slums of Seor.
The cold air became even chillier with the light rain.
In a dingy area, a group gathered cautiously, hands on their concealed weapons. A hooded woman in a corner caught their attention.
Her glowing red eyes pierced the darkness, instilling fear in the gathered crowd.
The barbarians couldn’t help but think of the rumors of a cannibal creature wandering Sol as they stared into those eyes.
“Listen up, folks!”
Isaac, accompanied by Jacquette, entered the scene.
Surveying the group, Isaac saw desperate Barbarians who had ventured to the city due to Loracus’ soaring prices. The disturbance in Loracus had pushed these once farmers to seek work in the city.
The Barbarians were all tense as Isaac, looking like a paladin, stood in front of them. Before, they had attacked without hesitation, thinking he was just another mercenary. But now, with Isaac all decked out in paladin gear, he struck fear into their hearts.
“Pretty diverse, huh?”
Being a Barbarian doesn’t refer to a specific group but more to those who, for whatever reason, don’t have faith. And there’s one particular thing about these Barbarians: because they lack faith, magic doesn’t work too well on them. In simple terms, they’re pretty resistant to magic.
This made them pretty tough to sway with different beliefs and they were their own independent bunch. Yukhar had a sneaky plan to use this trait of the Barbarians to his advantage.
“Even if Golruwa shows up resurrected as a golden idol, he wouldn’t have many followers right away… That’s why he needed them.”
Yukhar paid the Barbarians, who didn’t care for faith, with money. By getting them on his side first and then giving them Loracus alcohol, he aimed to convert them to his faith. And it worked, weakening their magic resistance.
And now, Isaac had plans for them.
Isaac started to speak, saying, “Hey there, folks.”
The Barbarians were stunned. A paladin using respectful language with them? Barbarians, though fellow citizens, were often treated badly because they didn’t have faith.
“Would you think about giving faith a shot again?”
Isaac got to work, using his charm to proselytize.
The conversion didn’t take long. A quick 10-minute chat and a 30-minute Q&A. Isaac cleverly mixed in his own ideas with the Codex of Light doctrines, which were pretty similar to his own beliefs. The Barbarians, expecting conscription or worse from Isaac, were surprised but impressed by his unique approach.
“It looks like you’ve done a number on them, Lord Isaac.”
Hesabel came up to him, impressed. But Isaac just shrugged.
“Not too sure about that. Didn’t think a few words would do the trick. And I’ve taken down some of them before.”
“Well, despite that, many seem to have been swayed. Jacquette, especially, seemed really into it.”
Jacquette had been the most curious and engaged during the proselytizing. Given her help with the Loracus trade, it seemed like she was already starting to fall in line spiritually.
Isaac agreed, thinking of Jacquette.
“Yep… Jacquette even offered to be a saint, so she’ll be a great asset moving forward.”
With Hesabel following his lead and the new role of saint below the apostle, Isaac was set. It was a position like a cleric or priest. Even though Isaac couldn’t perform miracles outright, in this faith system, an individual’s faith grew over time, and gathering more followers through proselytization only made them stronger.
Being a top dog among the Barbarians, Jacquette was set to level up real quick.
That hierarchy they cooked up only got stronger as it climbed. The faith building up from the bottom kept packing more punch.
‘And… this faith stash is what amps up my game.’
Naturally, Isaac ruled the roost when it came to this faith-based pyramid.
