Chapter 145: The Four Sets, 1!

The familiar Divine Forge interface appeared before Damian, displaying the miniature representation of his Supreme Adept equipment and the ten progress bars he had last examined after defeating Ravelhorn.

Since then, the equipment had accompanied him through the extermination of the scattered Dark Goblin warriors, his confrontation with Serra, and the final battle against Varkas.

Naturally, Damian was quite interested in discovering how much those activities had contributed toward its development.

After all, although the Divine Forge didn’t award progress simply for wearing equipment, the successful utilization of its recognized effects during combat and other demanding activities would gradually accumulate toward advancement.

And he had certainly been putting his equipment to work!

Longtian alone had carried him across enormous stretches of Moonveil Forest, executed dozens of Dark Goblins, clashed against a Moon Elf’s weapon and ultimately decapitated Varkas.

Meanwhile, his other equipment had supported everything from high-speed movement and spellcasting to defensive stabilization during the increasingly ridiculous situations he kept encountering.

Damian rubbed his hands together expectantly as the evaluation completed, and the familiar blue screen displayed the updated records.

[The Divine Forge has completed evaluation of accumulated equipment usage.]

[Divine Forge Equipment Progress:

Supreme Adept Upper Battle Robe: 1,260/10,000

Supreme Adept Lower Battle Robe: 1,058/10,000

Supreme Adept Combat Boots: 2,565/7,500

Veil of the Hidden Path: 1,720/9,000

Ring of Folded Horizons: 2,300/5,000

Titan Foundation Belt: 1,525/3,500

Flowing Hand Band — Left: 1,135/1,500

Flowing Hand Band — Right: 1,397/1,500

Amulet of the Living Word: 798/4,500

Longtian Sword: 21,200/100,000.]

"Hoh! Not bad, not bad at all! Longtian gained another 12,600 points, while the other pieces are also developing quite nicely!" Damian exclaimed, his eyes moving across the various progress bars as he compared them against his previous records.

The Sword’s substantial improvement was hardly surprising, considering how frequently he had employed its abilities throughout his recent adventures.

Although the Dark Goblin warriors were far too weak to provide ordinary Experience Points, their overwhelming disadvantage hadn’t prevented Longtian’s Dragon Scale Edge and Flying Sword capabilities from successfully fulfilling their intended purposes.

The confrontation with Serra had also contributed meaningful progress, especially considering that Longtian had directly clashed against her unusual silver-white blade without sustaining damage.

Then there was Varkas, whose execution had demonstrated the Sword’s ability to deliver controlled, decisive force against a powerful opponent.

Of course, Longtian’s enormous advancement requirement meant that even 21,200 points represented barely more than one-fifth of the necessary progress.

Nevertheless, Damian was perfectly satisfied with the development, especially since he intended to continue using the weapon for the foreseeable future.

More interestingly, the Flowing Hand Band on his right wrist was approaching its advancement threshold!

Only 103 points remained before it became eligible for Divine Forge Advancement, while the left band still required another 365.

His Ring of Folded Horizons and Titan Foundation Belt were also developing respectably, having benefited from his repeated spatial movements and physically demanding activities.

"Heh. Looks like the right hand is going to graduate first! That is totally not suspicious, heh heh." Damian chuckled, raising his wrist and inspecting the elegant band.

The other equipment had accumulated smaller but perfectly reasonable improvements, reflecting their comparatively limited opportunities to fulfill their specialized functions.

His Veil hadn’t been particularly useful during the recent open battles, while the Amulet of the Living Word naturally couldn’t compete with the combat equipment when it came to frequency of meaningful activation.

Still, the important thing was that everything continued developing without requiring Damian to replace perfectly functional equipment.

And speaking of equipment...

A broad smile gradually spread across his face as he remembered an important promise he had made to his four beautiful women.

He had already created an extraordinary personalized equipment set for himself, but Eunice, Paulina, Julia and Janet were still relying upon their existing Adventurer gear despite having advanced into the Adept bracket.

That simply wouldn’t do!

"Well, there’s no time like the present!" Damian declared, closing the Divine Forge interface and rising from his chair.

"Time to get these ladies properly equipped before they start wondering whether their husband is some kind of stingy bastard!"

He immediately summoned the Four Valkyries, who arrived soon afterward with expressions ranging from curiosity to mild suspicion.

Damian allowed them to settle before announcing that he was finally ready to fulfill his promise and create customized equipment sets tailored to their individual fighting styles.

The reaction was immediate!

"Really?! You’re finally making our equipment?!" Paulina exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement as her ears perked up.

"Damian, you should’ve said something earlier! I’ve been waiting to see what kind of ridiculous armor you could make for me!" She stated with a wagging tail.

Julia’s beautiful eyes brightened considerably, while Eunice smiled with a mixture of appreciation and anticipation.

Janet, meanwhile, immediately began inspecting Damian with an expression suggesting she was already calculating how much trouble she could cause throughout the process.

Unfortunately for the little Demoness, Damian had no intention of beginning with unrestricted creativity.

"Alright, ladies, before I start manufacturing anything, I need your measurements and specifications," Damian explained, retrieving several sheets of paper and preparing to record their preferences.

"Tell me what kind of equipment you want, what you expect it to accomplish, and whether there are any particular features you absolutely refuse to compromise on."

Eunice was the first to respond, and her preferences were entirely consistent with the path she had chosen during her recent advancement.

"I would prefer a complete set of heavy plate armor, something suitable for a Paladin who must protect others while standing at the front of a formation," Eunice explained thoughtfully, her expression becoming somewhat determined.

"I’d also like a proper mace. I may need a wand or staff as a Divine focus, allowing me to fight without compromising my ability to cast Divine Spells."

Damian nodded approvingly, immediately appreciating the practical considerations behind her request.

However, he also remembered that Eunice’s physical Attributes remained comparatively modest, and even with her newly acquired Warden Class, she lacked the raw Strength necessary to comfortably move around in genuinely heavy armor.

"That’s a good direction, sweetheart, but we’re going to make a few adjustments," Damian informed her with an encouraging smile.

"You’re not quite strong enough to carry a conventional heavy plate set without compromising your mobility, so I’ll design something that can transform between lighter ceremonial armor and a reinforced battle configuration."

Eunice looked delighted by the suggestion, especially when Damian explained that the heavier defensive configuration would be activated through Mana rather than requiring her to endure its full physical burden constantly.

It would preserve the dignified appearance she preferred while allowing her to reinforce herself when combat actually demanded it.

Paulina’s specifications were considerably more straightforward.

"I want something that won’t slow me down, but it still needs to protect me properly!" Paulina declared with enormous enthusiasm, flexing her fingers to emphasize her next point.

"And I want gauntlets that leave my claws free, preferably something that can channel more power into them when I’m fighting!"

Damian began recording her preferences before gradually realizing that the Wolf Beastwoman was describing something suspiciously familiar.

The combination of relatively light protection, exposed areas around her joints, flexible lower armor and an unmistakably aggressive appearance sounded remarkably similar to the infamous bikini armor popularized by fantasy games back on Earth!

"Paulina, sweetheart, are you sure you’re describing combat equipment and not an outfit designed to give the enemy a nosebleed?" Damian questioned with an increasingly strange expression.

"Because I’m beginning to suspect your idea of protection involves distracting people until they forget how to swing their weapons!"

Paulina merely grinned, completely unashamed of her preferences, and insisted that her mobility was more important than being encased inside a metal coffin.

Damian eventually conceded the point, deciding that he could reinforce vulnerable areas through enchanted materials rather than forcing her into a design that contradicted her natural fighting style.

Julia’s preferences were considerably easier to handle.

She wanted a lightweight set of medium armor incorporating supple leather, protective plates and minimal interference with her movement.

As a Ranger specializing in archery while developing her melee capabilities through the Fighter Class, she needed equipment that wouldn’t restrict her shoulders, elbows or legs during rapid changes between fighting styles.

Unlike the others, Julia had no interest in replacing her primary weapon.

Her Elven Bow was already deeply connected to her personal growth and capabilities, and she preferred to continue developing it rather than acquire a new weapon simply for the sake of owning something Damian had personally created.

He naturally agreed, recognizing that replacing an established growth-linked weapon would accomplish very little unless the replacement offered an overwhelming advantage.

Janet, unfortunately, proved to be a nightmare.

The little Demoness began by requesting something lightweight and stealthy, which sounded reasonable enough until she started suggesting additional decorations, removable components, different colors and several increasingly contradictory requirements.

Every time Damian thought he had finalized her specifications, she would suddenly remember another feature that absolutely needed to be included!

"Janet, for fuck’s sake! If you change your mind one more time, I’m going to make your entire outfit out of a bunch of leaves!" Damian threatened, finally losing patience with her seemingly endless revisions.

"And don’t you dare complain afterward, because I’ll tell everyone you personally requested the latest forest-nymph fashion!"

Even Janet was momentarily subdued by the threat, although her eyes immediately developed a suspicious gleam suggesting that she might not consider the proposed punishment entirely unpleasant.

Fortunately, the prospect of allowing Damian to design the final appearance himself eventually convinced her to settle upon a fitted black leather ensemble emphasizing stealth, flexibility and her naturally mischievous image.

With the specifications finally established, Damian moved on to the designs.

He had never considered himself much of an artist during his previous life, and ordinarily, producing professional-quality portraits would have required considerable practice.

However, with his current Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity and extraordinary control over his movements, even his mediocre artistic foundations were hardly an insurmountable obstacle.

His mind could visualize complex shapes with remarkable precision, while his hands possessed more than enough coordination to reproduce those images upon paper.

The newly acquired crafting-related Feats further strengthened his understanding of materials and structural design, allowing him to consider practical construction requirements while developing each appearance.

Within moments, four detailed colored portraits appeared before the women.

The results were astonishing!

Each drawing depicted its intended wearer in a complete equipment set, carefully incorporating her physical characteristics, preferred combat style and personal aesthetic.

Even Damian was rather impressed with himself, considering that producing anything remotely comparable during his previous life would’ve required an artist with considerably more talent than he possessed.

"Oh! Damian, this is beautiful!" Eunice exclaimed with genuine amazement, studying the elegant white-and-gold armor represented in her portrait.

Julia was similarly delighted, examining the intricate armor plates and carefully fitted leather sections with appreciation.

Janet practically hugged her own portrait, while Paulina enthusiastically approved of the imposing Wolf-themed design before requesting one minor adjustment.

Her tail!

Damian had naturally accounted for the Wolf Beastwoman’s tail, but Paulina wanted the rear armor opening adjusted to provide greater freedom during rapid movements.

Since her tail played an important role in maintaining balance and expressing emotion, restricting it would have been a rather embarrassing oversight.

"Hahaha! Alright, alright, I’ll fix the tail opening!" Damian promised with a chuckle, quickly modifying the relevant portion of the design.

"I sure as hell wouldn’t want my beautiful Wolf Wife getting her tail caught in her own armor during a fight!" Damian teased with a grin, making Paulina’s tail wag happily.

With all four designs approved, Damian finally began preparing for the actual manufacturing process!