Chapter 91: One's Own Strength, and the Ryder Seers

When Emmon opened the chest, Wang Yu got a full view of the armor. It looked extraordinarily unique; rather than armor, it resembled a set of bones stripped from a human body.

At the very least, the armor was made of a material that looked identical to bone. It covered only the upper body and lacked even arm guards.

Ribs, a sternum—every bone that should exist in a human skeleton was present. Where there would have been gaps, there were instead tinier bones. Overall, it looked to be a densely packed upper half of a human skeleton.

Probing ripples extended outward from Wang Yu to examine the skeletal armor. They couldn't penetrate it no matter how much intent he applied. It seemed the armor possessed an independent intelligence.

Wang Yu gave Emmon a questioning glance, hoping for an explanation as to just what this peculiar armor was.

"This armor was something I acquired by chance. It seems to be crafted from the bones of some ancient and powerful creature. Time has worn away much of its consciousness, but fragments remain embedded in its bones. I don't know what kind of creature's skeleton this is, but in some sense, it hasn't truly died. It still craves energy to resurrect itself. The creator of this armor must have leveraged this trait—a genius blacksmith, surely."

Emmon took out the skeletal armor and pressed it against his chest. The human-sized skeleton armor looked conspicuously small on the hulking orc, but it was quickly apparent why Emmon had made such a move.

The moment the skeletal armor was placed against Aemon's chest, the bones began to twist as if sensing something. Within seconds, the armor had expanded and restructured itself. The armor had stretched and reshaped to encase Aemon's upper body, with large gaps between the bones.

At first glance, the armor provided no defensive value whatsoever. The gaping holes rendered it incapable of even deflecting a blade. So why had Emmon chosen this armor as a gift for Wang Yu?

A sudden snick—as if something sharp had pierced flesh—revealed the reason why the armor was considered a demonic artifact. Its rib bones began writhing, the pointed ends curving and stabbing directly into Aemon's flesh.

Where the bones penetrated Aemon's body, tiny projections formed and extended into his flesh to extract the energy the armor needed.

A green liquid coursed from the puncture wounds, climbing up the bones and pooling in the spine of the armor. It was Emmon's blood, which was being drained by the skeletal armor.

A pained grunt escaped the orc's lips. For someone as tough as Emmon to make such a sound, the agony must have been excruciating.

The infusion of Emmon's blood caused the skeletal armor to start moving. The bones subtly rubbed against each other, and grayish-black matter started to appear between them.

This substance resembled reptile skin, though without discernible individual scales. It also seemed similar to animal hide and gleamed faintly under the light. With the energy it drew from Emmon, the armor's bones seemed to be attempting some kind of self-resurrection. This new growth was likely the flesh and skin of the ancient, powerful creature from which the bones originated.

As the flesh grew and conformed to the skeletal frame of the armor, it filled in gaps to create protective plates. The skeletal armor gradually transformed into a complete, glossy black suit of armor encasing Emmon.

The transformation continued. The glossy black material extended beyond the skeletal frame, spreading across Emmon's lower body and forming gauntlets around his arms.

Eventually, apart from his head, Emmon's entire body was covered in the strange black armor.

Wang Yu observed the transformation closely, marveling at the mysterious artifact. Could this ancient, powerful creature truly regenerate itself using only its bones?

The creator of this armor was undoubtedly a genius. How had this blacksmith discovered the skeleton's properties and envisioned such a design?

"Try striking me with a blade," Emmon said, his voice weakened by the substantial blood loss.

"Alright." Wang Yu drew his hand axe and swung it with moderate force at the glossy black armor.

The sound produced was nothing like the clash of metal. Wang Yu felt his sharp axe blade collide with a substance that was both resilient and elastic. It didn't cut through; instead, his axe rebounded slightly from the impact.

On Emmon's armor, a faint but shallow mark appeared—barely a scratch, akin to a minor cut on the skin.

Almost immediately, the black surface quivered and the tiny wound healed. The mark left by Wang Yu's strike vanished without a trace.

Wang Yu's strength when not using Bloodburn Drive was comparable to that of a knight-in-training on the cusp of knighthood. When he restrained himself, his strength was closer to that of an advanced knight-in-training.

Even so, a swing of his axe—hardly weak by any measure—failed to inflict meaningful damage. It couldn't even scratch the armor.

In other words, this armor essentially boasted immunity to conventional physical attacks from anyone without a knight's strength—an undeniably impressive level of defence.

"Actually, this armor's greatest strength isn't its physical resistance. Miss Avia, please try attacking me with any random spell," Emmon said, gesturing for Avia to test the armor with her magic.

"Alright." Without hesitation, Avia conjured a fireball in her hand. The flames burned fiercely, radiating intense heat. Though she hadn't used her full power, the fireball was potent enough to pierce through most heavy armor.

However, as the fireball flew toward Eamon, the armor demonstrated another extraordinary trait.

The fireball seemed to destabilize as it entered the armor's range. It flickered, trembled, and emitted sparks. Upon contact with the armor, it burst into a flash of light but quickly fizzled out without any sustained flames.

When the fire vanished, Emmon's black armor bore no marks whatsoever. Avia's fireball had caused even less damage than Wang Yu's axe strike.

"Anti-magic?" Wang Yu murmured in mild surprise. He could now understand why Elliot had looked so distressed earlier. Although the exact mechanics of the armor's anti-magic properties were unclear, its ability to neutralize a fireball spell with such ease elevated its value significantly.

Just like the anti-void material Wang Yu carried—an invaluable and unreplicable miracle—the anti-magic properties of this armor held immense potential. Though Wang Yu's material had been a unique byproduct of his Chaos Reformation and impossible to replicate, this armor offered a glimpse into similarly extraordinary capabilities.

With its remarkable physical resistance, unique anti-magic properties, and presumed anti-void capabilities, the armor boasted incredible traits.

"Urgh!" As Wang Yu mulled over the implications, Emmon suddenly let out a low, pained growl. He clutched his head with one hand, apparently in significant discomfort.

"What's wrong, Emmon?" Wang Yu approached to check on him.

"Wang Yu, don't get too close!" Elliot's warning came a moment too late. Wang Yu was already closing in on Emmon.

A thunderous bellow echoed through the room as the orc abruptly raised his head. Driven by his immense strength, Emmon swung a massive, armored hand directly at Wang Yu.

Caught off guard and unable to activate his Bloodburn Drive in time, Wang Yu was forced to raise his arm to block the attack. He deployed a barrier and slightly jumped off the ground to partially absorb the impact. The orc's gauntleted palm struck Wang Yu's forearm with immense force.

A crisp snap resounded in the air—Wang Yu's barrier had shattered and his arm had fractured simultaneously. The colossal impact far exceeded his expectations; Emmon was stronger than even the empowered vampire Wang Yu had previously fought.

He was sent flying like a broken kite. His limp right arm hung uselessly by his side as he hurtled toward the wall.

Fortunately, Avia reacted quickly. Summoning a gale, she redirected much of Wang Yu's momentum, sparing him from severe injuries upon impact.

Even so, Wang Yu crashed heavily into the wall, smashing several alchemical apparatuses along the way. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Give it back to me!" Emmon's enraged voice filled the room. As Elliot and Avia watched with alarm, they saw Emmon plunge his fingers into his chest—or rather, the armor's chestplate. He began tearing at it with immense force.

Under the orc's herculean strength, the armor began to split apart. Bone-like structures were forcibly extracted, their jagged ends still attached to Emmon's body by strands of flesh and greenish blood.

Heavy breathing filled the room as Eamon, now free of skeletal armor, appeared to regain his senses. He was visibly weakened.

The armor's grotesque appendages, now disconnected from its bones, quickly shriveled and cracked. They flaked off like the remnants of a molted shell.

"Apologies, Mr. Wang Yu. The mental control exerted by this armor suddenly intensified," Emmon said, wincing. His physical wounds were secondary to the guilt of nearly incapacitating Wang Yu.

Wang Yu spat out another mouthful of blood laced with bits of tissue. His internal organs had been injured, and his right arm shattered. "Damn it," he muttered, frustrated by his body's lack of resilience.

With practiced ease, he pulled out a handful of potions from a concealed pocket and downed them, activating the regenerative properties of his vampiric blood to accelerate his healing. Meanwhile, Avia quickly cast healing magic at his side.

"It's fine. I know you didn't mean to do this. Strength enhancement is another function of the armor, isn't it?"

"Yes. These growths greatly amplify the wearer's strength. Under their effect, my strength was boosted to that of a grand knight," Emmon explained apologetically.

"No wonder... Magic resistance, physical resistance, strength amplification—this armor is truly astonishing," Wang Yu remarked.

If Emmon's earlier strike had landed on Wang Yu's head, his chances of survival would have been less than thirty percent. This armor was even lightweight and significantly enhanced the wearer's physical capabilities.

"Yes, but overcoming the immense mental strain and control exerted by the armor's native intelligence is crucial to wielding its power. Mr. Wang Yu, I believe you are capable of withstanding this mental pressure?"

"I have no issues with mental resilience," Wang Yu declared with confidence.

"In that case, I would like to entrust this armor to you," Emmon offered sincerely.

"It's incredibly powerful armor, but I won't use it." Wang Yu flexed his partially healed arm and shook his head.

"Why?" Eamon asked, surprised by his outright rejection.

"I won't rely on something so powerful yet inherently flawed," Wang Yu replied.

"Tools should always remain tools. While there are cases of weapons gaining sentience, that isn't the case here. This armor's consciousness is purely malicious. A powerful yet inherently flawed item like this holds no meaning for me.

"All power must ultimately come from within oneself," Wang Yu said, clenching his fist. With Avia's continuous healing, his various potions, and his bloodline's regenerative capabilities, his shattered right arm had already nearly healed.

Wang Yu had never been one to chase after legendary artifacts or powerful equipment.

Ever since his talk with Avia on that summer night a year ago, he had known that his body was the core of his foundation.

Power from external sources could never be the root of his strength. Tools with such significant drawbacks, no matter their strength, were meaningless to him.

Emmon's claim that the armor was perfectly functional if Wang Yu could withstand its mental pressure wasn't quite accurate. After all, the growths from the armor were essentially tissue that resulted from the ancient creature's self-regeneration.

Whether he or the armor was in control at any given moment—the answer to such a question wasn't obvious.

Wang Yu didn't covet such cursed strength that was external to his body. No matter how strong the armor was, it could never become part of his foundation.

"But..." Emmon was still perturbed. He hadn't expected Wang Yu to reject a gift of such powerful armor so easily.

"I won't use the armor, but I would be delighted to accept it as a gift. I think the true value of this armor lies in the material itself—its strong anti-magic properties and physical resistance. This would be perfect research material for a budding alchemist."

Wang Yu smiled. This armor was made of exquisite material, which Avia would surely benefit from studying, analyzing, and exploiting. Thankfully, these were precisely Avia's core strengths.

"I'll do my best!" the young woman exclaimed. Though she was upset that Wang Yu had been hurt once again, she was very interested in the properties that the armor had displayed. If she were able to analyze and extract those properties, she would be able to design Wang Yu a suit of armor without any drawbacks.

"I see." Emmon nodded in understanding, impressed by Wang Yu's thought process. He hadn't been tempted by the powerful armor at all. Wang Yu's mental resilience was beyond what ordinary people could understand.

"I gratefully accept your gift, Emmon. And—" Wang Yu was just about to continue when he received an urgent communication from the Professor. He frowned.

"What's the matter?" Avia asked immediately.

"There's a task that Edward and I have been summoned for. Stay here, and don't tell Charles."

"Got it." Avia nodded without hesitation. She didn't say anything else, but there was a suppressed glint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Something happened to the Ryder family—their famed seers," Wang Yu said, not hiding anything from Avia.