Chapter 40 - Endevil

Due to the lack of time, Adam quickly removed the armour and took out the boney remains of the fellow.

"So brittle."

Adam exerted a little bit of force while pulling out one of the bones and ended up crumbling it entirely. This didn't indicate his strength, but the decade-long isolation the armour endured in silence.

Within a minute, the earthling separated the skeletal remains from the inside of the armour. Due to the merciless flow of time, every single one of them disintegrated to dust, just as the armour pleaded.

[Master, I am ready.]

The words actually meant that the armour is vacant and ready for the new owner to take over, but the way it spoke almost made Adam cough blood in embarrassment. He quickly pivoted around to see whether anyone took notice of the armour's indecent construction of words.

[Master, other than you, no one can hear you. I speak directly to your mind.] The armour saw its new owner scanning around with a reddened face. Assuming the plausible reason, the armour spoke and clarified the means of communication.

'Oh, is that so?' Adam nodded in understanding as he picked the boots and wore them. One by one, he assimilated the armour onto his body.

"And for the final piece..." Displaying a faint grin with the backdrop of constant trembling, Adam placed the helmet in place.

Click!

A crisp noise emerged from an unknown source and caught Adam's attention. At once, he felt a strange sensation coursing through his entire body.

'Armour, what the heck is happening?' Though the perception was refreshing, Adam narrowed his eyes as he peered at his limbs through the eye slits of the helmet. With each passing moment, he can tell that his awareness is somehow expanding beyond his body. Moreover, he couldn't feel the separate existence of the armour but the second layer of skin, one with his being.

The abrupt eruption of the undying tingle brewed unrest in Adam's heart as he irregularly moved his limbs.

[Master, please stay calm and allow me to explain. My name is Endevil and I am a treasure-grade armour. As an object with consciousness, I must integrate my material shell with my master. And what you are going through is a process called Assimilation.]

The fact that the armour has a name is helpful in conversation.

But...

Adam furrowed when he heard the term 'Assimilation'. He immediately had a desire to demand a detailed explanation. But the limited time urged him to seek a brief account.

[When a newly recognised master wears the armour for the first time, I plant a sliver of my consciousness into my master's heart to create a stable and smooth channel for communication. As a result, the master will be able to control my shell, that is the entire armour, with a single thought.

For example, when walking down a busy lane, master can retract the armour. The artefact will shrink and disappear into your body, only to appear when you need it again. Likewise, master can choose to summon the entire armour or parts of the armour. If you only need the gauntlet, you can command to bring out that alone. If you need the boots only, they will appear at your will.

Additionally, no external force can take off the armour from the master forcefully. I have immunity to the forces that try to distort, twist and tear apart my shell. Master will be safe inside me. I can also provide life-preservation methods at certain times.]

While Endevil gave an account of what it describes as brief, Adam had already ascended the stairs and reached the doorframe. Peeking out, he saw several aerial beasts mounted by Tarragons drifting in the air. The quaking had also picked up a notch, indicating that the enemies are very near.

'Endevil, henceforth you shall address me as Adam. Got it?'

[Yes, Adam.]

'And by the way, how did you sense the approaching army while you had just woke up from the slumber?'

Adam was curious as to how the armour managed to detect the presence of the advancing beasts. If possible, he wanted to learn that skill. It would help him so much in his future adventures.

[Master, my range of perception is significantly larger than the races of the overworld. I can pick up even the faintest seismic vibrations.]

After a short pause, Endevil added, [Master, you can actively use this facility if you need it.]

Adam almost jumped in joy. 'I can?'

[Yes. All you need to do is to merge your consciousness with my shell. I can amplify and regulate the remaining matters.]

Taking note of Endevil's advice, Adam crouched down and sat cross-legged. The bulky armour didn't creak or make even the slightest noise as he sat down. Adam, piloting the armour, felt comfortable in it.

"..." Since it was the first time, Adam had to tolerate some hardships while spreading his consciousness into the armour. But with the assistance of the artefact soul, the process consummated smoothly.

Shaa!

Adam suddenly felt his five senses stretched beyond compare. He can see what's around him and hiding behind the rocks without even sparing a glance. He can unmask the direction and strength of the faintest breeze in the air. He felt as if he can smell the presence of water from almost a kilometres away.

But this grandiose awareness was short-lived as Adam felt his consciousness being pulled and forcefully contained back into the body.

[Master, since it's been only a few minutes after assimilation, I cannot exert my prowess with consistency and stability. Give me enough time and I'll recover soon.] Endevil, the armour, earnestly notified to which Adam nodded in agreement.

After a quick conversation with Endevil, Adam memorised the basic functions of the armour.

Primarily, he can choose to abandon the armour whenever he likes. But it's highly unlikely that Adam will ever do such a foolish act. Furthermore, the armour is a lifetime partner. This essentially means that the armour will be with him to the end of the times.

Second, he now owns the armour. This means he can conceal or flaunt the existence of a treasure-grade artefact. That also indicates that Adam can retract and hide his armour beneath the casual clothing. Not even the sage himself will fail to detect the presence of the artefact unless Adam permitted.

The third and most important was the changes that occurred on his Art of Ascension interface. In disbelief, Adam summoned the screen and personally bore witness to the transformation.

'Status.'

/◄▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫►\

▹ Name: Adam (26/M)

▹ Race: Zoomorph

▹ Level: 23 [118/11,040]

▹ Class: Berserker

▹ Innate Skill: Auto-Healing

▹ HP: 9,627/9,627

▹ MP: 81/81

▹ STR: 87

▹ AGI: 65

▹ INT: 39

▹ A.P: 0

▹ Martial Arts: Unarmed Mastery (D), Spear Mastery (E), Axe Mastery (F).

▹ Magical Arts: ---

\◄▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫◇▫◆▫►/

Just because Adam's face was covered by the helmet, the crowd didn't see his eyes bulged out. It was natural when compared with the unbelievable rise in health and strength attributes of the interface.

'Endevil, care to explain?' Adam felt that the armour knew the reason for this sudden jump.

[Yes, Adam.

The assimilation with the armour significantly boosted your strength and agility. The range of perception also increased by a good number and resulted in the change.

The unreasonable rise in health is due to reinforcement of the armour over your body. I am unsure of what material I am crafted from, but it simply is immune to the trials of the time and battering of the world.

But to be honest, the enhancement in the attributes is still mediocre. It would be at least fifty or sixty times what you currently have once the fusion is concluded. After familiarizing yourself with the newfound augmentation, you can grow exponentially.]

Endevil's explanation shocked Adam. He found himself lost at words. 'Am... amazing! This already is sufficiently powerful.'

After dismissing the screen, Adam pondered for a second and then asked, 'Endevil, what about mana and magic atta-'

Just as he was about to finish his query, the ground began to shook violently. The eyes of Aaron, Thalia and Adam peeked to the outside, only to see the army already inside the stronghold.

"What are they doing?" Adam raised his doubt in a soft voice as he noticed the unpleasantly tall humanoid creatures walking around with keen eyes. Their grey skin complexion was standing out in the crimson backdrop. The presence of sparse fur at some places on their body danced even in the absence of a breeze. Each one of them looked nothing short of mutated werewolves. Yeah, MUTATED WEREWOLVES!!

"From the limited intel we have, Tarragons have extremely sensitive auditory, olfactory and visual perceptions. But their brain is not sufficiently powerful to process all these pieces of information at once. They're buying time by keeping on a vigilant facade." Aaron whispered.

Adam listened to the knight commander's words while simultaneously taking a count of the number of enemies. They easily surpassed two hundred and many were on their way here.

"What should we do? We can't hide here for all eternity. They'll eventually find us." Thalia's concerned voice rang in the duo's ears.