Gacha Harem System-Chapter 45: [Dread Cuirass]

The attendant led them through a door at the back of the shop and into a small private room.

The room had two chairs, with a low table between them, and a lamp on the wall that threw warm light over the windowless room.

She returned a minute later with a thick catalog and set it on the table between them before excusing herself.

Lukas pulled it towards him and Melody leaned in from the side, and they began working through it together.

All of the cuirasses were Awakener-rank [Items], which meant their effects were useful but not exactly exceptional.

The first few pages covered options that added flat stat bonuses like constitution boosts, strength increments, and minor agility adjustments.

They were functional, but nothing that made either of them stop. These were low level cuirasses obtained from low level dungeons.

Then one caught Lukas’s eye. A cuirass that added a hundred and fifty points to Constitution and came with the ability to project a shield on command.

He stopped to read it twice, and after considering it, moved on.

His Constitution was already sitting at nearly one thousand seven hundred points. Another hundred and fifty was not nothing, but it wasn’t the priority.

But the part that put him off the cuirass was the fact that the projected shield was essentially [Hex Shield] wearing a different name.

There was no need to add something he already had to his arsenal.

The next option had a layered armored shell that ran on the wearer’s mana, reinforcing itself continuously as long as the mana held.

For most Awakeners, that would be a significant advantage, but for Lukas, it was just a weaker version of [Blood Armor].

Melody shook her head before he could say anything. "We’re not paying for something that does what you already have."

He turned the page.

They kept going. A cuirass with spiked plating that could extend outwards on command. It was interesting, but it wasn’t exactly what they were looking for.

If he wanted to cause damage, he already had his sword for that. They were here for something that could at least be defensive. Even if some would argue that offense is the best defense.

They found another that reduced incoming fire damage by forty percent, which would be useful in specific situations, and useless in most others.

Then Melody’s hand came down on the page.

"This one."

He looked where she was pointing.

[Dread Cuirass]

The description beneath it was short. It had been recovered from an A-rank dungeon, added two hundred points to Strength, and reflected twenty percent of all incoming damage back to the attacker.

Lukas read it again.

The Strength bonus was good, significant, even, but the reflection was the part that held his attention.

Twenty percent of every hit returned to whoever landed it. Against opponents who hit hard, that number became meaningful fast, especially if he blocked most of the attack on his [Blood Armor].

This meant that any beast that dealt a thousand points of damage on contact would take two hundred back every single time it connected, while he could negate the attack entirely with his [Blood Armor].

And over the course of a prolonged fight, that added up.

"That’s the one," he said.

Melody was already flagging down the attendant.

The woman returned shortly, disappeared into the back, and came back carrying the cuirass in both hands. She set it on the table between them.

The metal had a deep red sheen to it, the metal looking not quite bright and unpolished, but a dull, dark surface that seemed to absorb the light around it.

It looked dense and functional, like something that had been made specifically to take punishment and answer for it.

Lukas reached out and touched the surface.

The [Item] information appeared immediately in front of him. Melody also touched it, reading the details.

[Dread Cuirass]

[Rank: Awakener]

[Forged and tempered with the blood of a Dread Knight, this cuirass is exceptionally sturdy to piercing blows, reflects 20% of all damage received back to the attacker, and adds +200 Strength to its wearer.] 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He looked at Melody. She looked at him. A short conversation passed through their eyes.

"How much?" Lukas asked, turning to the attendant.

The attendant smiled at that. "Fifty thousand gold coins, sir."

Melody’s hands tightened on the edge of the catalog.

"Fifty—" She stopped, then took a deep breath. "Is there any flexibility on that price?"

"I’m afraid our establishment uses fixed pricing," the attendant said. "We don’t negotiate on [Items]."

Melody set the catalog down carefully and looked at Lukas.

He could see the war happening behind her eyes. He leaned slightly toward her. "We can find something else. The other options weren’t bad. We don’t have to—"

"We’re buying it," she said.

"Melody, fifty thousand is half of what we have—"

"I know what fifty thousand is." She looked at the cuirass, then at him. "I also know what a Nemean Lion looks like standing over you."

She turned back to the attendant. "We’ll take it."

The attendant smiled and led them through to process the payment.

Melody transferred the coins from her pouch with the expression of someone doing something that physically hurt them, but was already fully committed to.

When it was done, she asked for a changing room.

The attendant led them to a small room off the side corridor, and Melody closed the door behind them and immediately began helping Lukas into the cuirass, working the straps with efficient hands.

The metal was heavier than his old one but sat differently, balanced in a way that distributed the weight more evenly across his shoulders and torso.

Then it adjusted.

He felt it happen as the metal shifted subtly, the plates drawing in, and the fit tightening until the cuirass sat against his body as if it had been measured for him specifically.

Every [Item] recovered from a dungeon carried that property. They fit whoever wore them, and there were no alterations required.

He checked his status. Beside his Strength stat, there was an additional +200.

He turned to the mirror on the wall.

The red-sheened cuirass caught the lamp’s light and held it without giving much back, dark and solid against his frame.

He rolled his shoulder, bent at the waist, and turned side to side. It didn’t restrain his range of movement like the previous cuirass had.

Then he turned to Melody, who was watching him from the corner of the room with her arms folded and a satisfied expression.

He stepped forward and kissed her before she could say anything.

She made a small surprised sound, before leaning into the kiss. When he pulled back, she was looking at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Thank you," he said.

"You’re welcome," she said. "Don’t make me watch you get mauled again."

With that done, they left the store and made their way to Shelby’s for their next purchase.

They could have bought it back at the equipment store, but it was better to buy it in a shop that specialized in this specific product.

The bell above the door announced them, and Mr. Shelby looked up from behind his counter, his face moving immediately into recognition and then a wide, genuine smile.

"My two favorite customers," he said. "Back again. What can I do for you today?"

"We want to see your spatial rings," Lukas said.

Mr. Shelby’s smile widened further, if that was possible. He came around the counter and beckoned them towards a section along the far wall.

It was a dedicated display of rings, each one sitting in a small groove in a long wooden rack, organized by size capacity.

"I assumed you’d want to start with the entry level," he said, gesturing along the row. "This selection offers six by six by six feet of internal space. That’s the standard starting point for most Awakeners."

He swept his hand across the display. "We have simple iron bands, engraved gold, diamond-set, which are different designs, but the same capacity. The space inside is identical regardless of which you choose, but the price differs based on the design you choose too."

He stepped back, still smiling.

"Take your time," he said. "Try them on. See what suits you."