The Summoner And Contractor System - Chapter 17 Geared Up

Arriving at the old building, the atmosphere quieted down. Rentaro, noting that even Icrin wore a respectful expression, straightened up while watching from the back of the group. As the leader, Haz walked up to the door, though he maintained slow, respectful steps. He gently knocked on the ancient, wooden door thrice.

The door creaked as it slowly opened inward, revealing an old man in white and black robes. The old man seemed much older than Elder Astrona, and his eyes appeared to be a normal shade of blue, unlike the tradition ice-blue, gray, and darker blue eyes that Rentaro had seen up until now in the village.

His aged face was covered in wrinkles and dark blotches, his limbs appeared rather skinny, though it was difficult to tell with the robe covering his body. The man gave a gentle smile, as if inviting them to enter the building.

With a small nod, Haz signaled the group to follow after him as he entered the building. As they entered, the old man’s eye flashed with gray and he inspected each individual. His gaze paused on Icrin, unlike when he viewed the others with approving gazes. his gaze seemed to be instilled with emotions of hope and pride.

Being “guests” of the village, Rentaro and Roy had also attracted the old man’s attention and prompted a small smile to reveal itself on his face. With that, the old man walked away, having not spoken a single word and his only exchange being the meeting of gazes.

“To fulfill your curiosity, the elder we just met was Elder Quint. He’s in charge of the armory and that’s pretty much all we know about him, aside from some rumors. Let’s not start a conversation about rumors though. We’re heading into the “hunting” section of the armory, follow closely now and don’t wander off.”

Having entered the armory for himself, Rentaro noted that it was much larger than it looked from outside. There was an old stone staircase which spiraled, leading up to another floor, as well as down, though Rentaro couldn’t guess how many floors were down without checking for himself.

To Rentaro’s disappointment, Haz led them upstairs, to which there was only one floor and the staircase didn’t lead any higher. The floor was filled with rows of shelves which covered each wall and went across the floor. Each shelf seemed to have one set of gear, which included some type of standard armor, gloves, boots, a backpack, and what appeared to be a tactical belt like the one Haz wore to hold his daggers.

From a quick glance, Rentaro noted that there were several types of armors. Most of the armors were forged from a metallic material, while others were created from leather materials.

Besides the shelves of armors, there were several tables. Atop of which were weapon stands with various blades in scabbards, broadswords, spears, glaives, halberds, staffs, along with various smaller “hidden weapons” and needle-like weapons. Hung on the walls were bows, alongside them were their quivers filled with arrows.

Icrin’s eyes shone, he couldn’t help but glance in the direction of the staffs. Unlike Rentaro who had yet to practice in any weapons, Icrin had quite the practice with staffs thanks to his Storm Caller lightning technique, of which he manifested the lightning into a Bo Staff.

“I see you have already decided on what type of weapon you want, Icrin. Though, you should pick out a set of armor first. Then, you can see which staff works the best with the set of armor you have chosen. Rentaro, have you thought about what weapon you want to use?”

“Ahem, I don’t really use weapons as I use elemental techniques and summoning….” Slightly embarrassed by his lack of ability in any weapon, Rentaro played the “summoner” card.

“Oh right, almost forgot about that, though I recommend you practice in at least one type of weapon eventually. Make sure you pick out a set of armor that suits your style then. Either choose something light that gives you good mobility to move if the situation goes bad or something heavy that will protect you from any attack. All of the armor and weapons on this floor are forged with standard materials, they are strong enough to protect your from any beasts in the beginning forest zones.”

Haz seemed to see right through Rentaro’s cover-up, though he didn’t make a big deal about it and merely gave some advice. He also pushed Rentaro’s curiosity about the equipment on the lower floor(s) of the building.

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By this point in time, Icrin had already found an armor set which suited him. It was a very light set, a tad bit lighter than Haz’s. The armor was of a rather simple design with thin metal plating, a darker black color, and protected all his vitals. Aside from his armor, he held a pitch black staff in his hands, small snake designs were engraved into the staff, prompting him to pick the staff immediately.

If not for Icrin’s childish facial features, lack of control, and higher-pitched voice, one might be fooled by his appearance and think he was slightly older than what he seemed.

Rentaro chose the same type of armor as Icrin, though it was more of a navy blue color rather than a black color. Following which, he took two small daggers of simple design and a set of five small needle-like weapons, slotting them into his tactical belt’s compartments.

Haz inspected Icrin and Rentaro before speaking in a formal tone like a teacher to his pupils, “Uh-hm, Very good! Icrin, it’s good you chose a weapon that you’ve already practiced in.”

“Shut it! I don’t need your compliments!” Icrin’s irritated voice responded.

“Hah, I don’t feel like fighting right now, my dear student. Always so harsh.” Haz pouted slightly, before looking Rentaro’s way.

“Rentaro, you chose nicely as well. Small weapons are your best choice, until you start training in a better weapon. Otherwise, larger weapons will just burden you if you can’t use them properly. I see you went with a light armor like Icrin, I’d normally disagree to such a decision. Though, I heard your companion Roy has a strong defense and with your connection with him, I’m sure you’ll be alright even if any head-on attacks are directed your way.”

“Well then, let’s get moving!” Haz led the way down the staircase to the first floor, leaving the building down the path, and towards the depth of the forest.

“Haha, let’s see who gets the best catch today!”

“Ha? You think you even have a chance with me around, Ichi?”

“Every beast will flee before you even get near them Shin.”

“Exactly, Phu! That’s why I’ll win!”

“Fool! I’m not saying you’ll win! Your speed can’t compare with the average beast, you won’t even be able to get close enough to them for close combat. Naturally, Tsyun will take them all out with his bow and win like every other time!”

Tsyun merely revealed a smile in response to their bickering, whereas Rentaro and company watched the group in silence with smiles.

Soon enough, a stone wall revealed itself in the distance. The wall seemed to track an entire boundary, as if it were an indicator that beyond it was the second forest zone. The stone path continued, leading to a wide gate, its base material of wood with metal reinforcing the gate. The gate was accompanied by four men, two of which seemed to be in their forties. The other two seemed to be in their lower-thirties.

“Alright, you three quiet down! It’s time to get serious now.”

“Going out on the hunt today, huh, Haz?” One of the older men spoke up.

“Yeah, we’ll training some younger ones today.”

“Hehe, Young bloods? Take good care of ’em, Haz.” The other old man chuckled, while the two in their lower-thirties watched the group set off with encouraging smiles directed at Rentaro and co.

Walking past the gate, Haz turned around, his face now strewn with a strict facial expression, much different from his earlier smiling look.

“Alright, I need everyone in formation! Ichi, you take the mid-front as the guard! Shin, take the right just slightly behind him, Phu, left of Shin. Icrin behind Phu, Roy behind Ichi, Rentaro behind Shin. I’ll take the back left and Tsyun will take the back right.”

Although slightly startled by Haz’s change in face, Rentaro and Roy quickly adapted. Rentaro felt slightly anxious for what was to come, but his cheeks burnt red with excitement.

Inwardly, Wilhelm couldn’t help but smile. He resumed his silence, not wanting to interrupt Rentaro’s current emotions and decided to only say something during the expedition if anything cropped up that would turn the situation dire or beyond Haz’s control.

In their formation, the group slowly moved forward with Ichi leading the way. Haz retained his vigilance, ready to move forward with his fastest speed if need be.

The group traversed the muddy ground, not having any clear trails to walk across. They walked through bristle grass and all sorts of plants, some with thorns, some with poisons that caused rashes, and so forth.

To Rentaro’s astonishment, he noticed that Haz and his team left very shallow prints in the ground, almost unnoticeable to the naked eye. He, Icrin, and Roy however, left rather deep prints in the ground. Among the three, Icrin took notice of the matter first.

Icrin slowed down and reproached his manner of walking, Rentaro sensed that he was channeling qi towards the sole of his foot, his footsteps slowly lightening not only in depth of the print, but also the sound of his steps. Being new to the application of qi and elemental energy, Rentaro took more time until he managed to realign his manner of walking.

Instead of channeling a pure qi, Rentaro channeled elemental energy to the soles of his feet. More specifically, he channeled a dark elemental energy to his feet. With the innate characteristics of darkness like silence and stealth, his footsteps lightened. Had he used any other element with his currently low elemental control, he wouldn’t have been as successful in lightening his footsteps.

To the side, Roy mimicked Rentaro’s method, soon finding success and getting the hang of he technique.

Haz and the others didn’t bother directing Rentaro and company as they focused on their surroundings using their elemental energy. Thanks to their control and perception, they inevitably felt the change in atmosphere when Rentaro and co. succeeded in lightening their steps, smiling nostalgically as they thought back to when they were learning to hunt.