Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 475 - 475: Argentum III - Decanus Class Armor

"I see… Any progress on the... 'bearer-project' situation?" Lin Mo asked.
Liu Zhongzu shook his head. "The commission you've posted have attracted a lot of patrons. However, most rogue cultivators are wary. The idea of bonding their life force to alien armor terrifies them. We have a few desperate mortal volunteers, but I haven't authorized it yet. It's too risky without your supervision."
"Indeed," Lin Mo nodded. "Keep them on standby. We need to refine the converter process first. Scholar Wei is still working on the arrays."
"Understood. One more thing, Shopkeeper. Aside from the Legionary Sets, we've also completed one Decanus Set. Take a look."
Upon saying that, Liu Zhongzhu produced a set of ten equipment that were clearly similar to what the Decanus, who was commanding the Legionary Vindicators from the Argent Covenant Realm, wore.
Lin Mo picked up one of the gauntlets and checked its stats.
[Decanus Gauntlet]
[Origin: Argent Covenant Realm]
[Grade: High Spirit Grade (Argentum-III)]
[Description: One piece of the once-evolved Legionary Set. Channels Aether to enhance physical strength and durability. Alone, it is a simple piece of armor. As part of a set, its true potential is unlocked.]
[Set Bonus (10 pieces): Argentum Resonance - Forms a bond with the wearer, allowing them to channel their life force to power the armor. Grants strength equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. Unlocks the ability to form a linked energy field with other set-wearers.]
[Status: Unbound]
[Experience: Currently Unavailable]
If the Legionary Set was marked as 'Argentum-II', the Decanus Set was 'Argentum-III. If completed and bound to someone, the bearer's strength should be comparable to Core Formation Stage cultivators if used with their Aetheric Link.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the tent.
"Make way! Make way! We have a priority drop!"
Yan Wei burst into the tent, looking disheveled but triumphant. He was dragging a massive, metallic crate behind him, assisted by two panting disciples.
"Shopkeeper!" Yan Wei shouted, ignoring Liu Zhongzu's frown. "I found it! The 'Hidden Chest' marked on the Area 1 map! It was guarded by two Decurions and their subordinate cavalry. A nasty trap, but this young master overcame it!"
He kicked the crate open. Inside, nestled in cushioning foam that looked suspiciously organic, was not armor, but a strange, glowing device. It looked like a complex, multi-layered geometric puzzle made of silver light.
[Vindicator Formation Matrix (Damaged)]
[Origin: Argent Covenant Realm]
[Grade: Low Earth Grade]
[Description: A tactical command unit used by Centurions to coordinate and amplify the Aetheric Link of their subordinates. It contains the blueprints for the standard hexagonal defensive formation.]
[Value: High Intelligence Asset.]
Lin Mo's eyes widened. This was the tech being used by them! Even if it's damaged, it contains the secret of their formations. It would detail how to activate and use it effectively! If it were repaired, it might be used to automatically activate it.
"Excellent work, Young Master Yan," Lin Mo said, genuinely impressed. "With this, Scholar Wei and those working with him in analyzing these foreign techniques might be able to come up with a corresponding alternative that could be used by us."
Yan Wei grinned triumphantly, casting a smug look at the approaching Zhou Rui, who had just entered the tent quietly. "Of course! Did you expect anything less?"
—
Several minutes later, Lin Mo, Xiaoyu once again ventured inside the ACCB#0003 Anchor.
"Boss," Liu Xiaoyu interrupted with her eyebrows slightly curled. "Must you try it out yourself. Didn't you say it would be dangerous?"
Lin Mo glanced at her and smiled. At the moment, he's equipping the ten pieces of equipment of the Decanus Set.
"It is dangerous. But didn't you confirm it yourself? The Aether of this Outer Realm, unlike normal cultivators, has no negative effect on us. For you, your Heavenly Physique negates it. On the other hand, my Celestial Providence allowed me to acclimate to these foreign energies, treating them similarly as just a type of Dimension Essence."
"Besides," He added, fastening the greaves, "I need to know what our future 'Aether-Knights' will be feeling. We can't sell a product I haven't tested myself. That will be against store policy."
Xiaoyu sighed, crossing her arms. "Fine. But if you start talking like a construct or try to stab me with a glaive, I'm punching you. Hard."
"Noted. If we get a complete Centurion Set in the future, you can wear it if we're successful with this test."
"Deal!" Liu Xiaoyu's eyes immediately sparkled. In the end, she just wanted to test it herself. And since she didn't want to wear the plain-looking Legionary Set with its lower capabilities, she had already secretly asked her father to set aside one Decanus Set for her.
Shaking his head at how he easily persuaded the young prodigy, Lin Mo picked up the final piece, the crimson-plumed helmet. It felt cold and heavy in his hands, humming with a dormant, hungry energy.
He took a deep breath, centering his mind with the [Everflowing Serenity Sutra] and [Stillwater Perception]. Then, he placed the helmet over his head.
Click. Hiss.
The world instantly went dark, then exploded into a dizzying array of alien data.
His vision was replaced by a Heads-Up Display that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi shooter game, but the runes were jagged, aggressive, and silver.
Lines of incomprehensible text scrolled rapidly across his peripheral vision.
Following that, he felt a sudden, sharp tug on his soul. The armor was trying to bond with him. It was searching for an Aether source, and finding none, it turned voraciously towards his life force. It felt like a thousand tiny needles trying to burrow into his skin.
"Hungry little thing, aren't you?" Lin Mo muttered.
Instead of resisting or using a converter, he grabbed the piece of Aether Shard that Liu Xiaoyu threw after giving her the signal.
The shard of solidified Aether, glowing with a pale, cold luminance, made contact with the induction port on the breastplate's center.
There was no resistance. It was as if a starving man had been offered a feast. The armor quickly devoured the energy coming from it.
VMMMMmmm…
A deep, resonating thrum like an engine starting up vibrated through Lin Mo's bones, shaking his own foundation.
The sharp, needle-like pain of the life-force drain vanished instantly, replaced by a sensation of icy water flooding his veins. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was truly foreign. It felt artificial and regulated yet terrifyingly efficient.
Clearly, it was the process of layering himself with the empowerment coming from the armor set.
Soon, the chaotic, jagged runes scrolling across his vision froze, then rearranged themselves. The aggressive red warnings shifted to a stable, cool blue.
[External Power Source Detected.]
[Aetheric Resonance Stabilized.]
[User Vital Signs: Optimal.]
[Sync Rate: 15%... 40%... 85%... Complete.]
[Soul Binding: Completed]
Lin Mo blinked. The Heads-Up Display (HUD) was no longer a mess of incomprehensible alien script. It was… readable? No, it wasn't that he had suddenly learned the language of the Argent Covenant. He found that the Store Token hidden in his robes pulsed in a radiant light. The Divine System Interface seemed to overlay itself onto the armor's operating system.
[System Notice: Foreign Interface Detected. Translating protocols…]
[Archiving Information: Complete]
[Detecting Equipment…]
[Equipment Grade: Argentum-III 'Decanus' Class Armor.]
[Experience: 0%]
"Well, isn't that convenient?" Lin Mo murmured as his voice came out deeper, synthesized, and slightly metallic through the helmet's vocal modulator.
"Huh? Boss? You okay in there?" Xiaoyu's voice came from outside, sounding slightly muffled. "You sound like a tin can that learned to talk."
Lin Mo chuckled and raised a hand. The movement was instantaneous.
There was no lag, no weight. The heavy Aether-forged steel felt as light as silk as it fitted him perfectly. He clenched his fist and it felt like he was still feeling his skin through the armor.
"I am fine, Xiaoyu. Better than fine. The theory holds. The Aether Shard acts as a perfect battery. And it looks like our store's system hacked into this armor's interface, making it our own. Still, it can't be run with spiritual energy yet."
He took a step forward. Then another. He broke into a run, circling the cleared stronghold with a speed that rivaled a wind-attribute cultivator without using his movement technique.
He jumped, the hydraulic assist in the greaves launching him thirty feet into the air. He landed with a heavy thud, the shock absorbers dissipating the impact effortlessly.
It was exhilarating. It was like driving a high-performance sports car, but the car was his own body.
However, he also noticed the drawback immediately.
He tried to circulate his Vein of the Silent Stream. The spiritual energy moved sluggishly within his meridians. The Aether-forged plating acted as a Faraday cage for spiritual energy and starlight qi, dampening his internal cultivation by nearly 30%.
Still, his strength as a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator and the Decanus Set seemed to fuse, enhancing his physical prowess to a degree that compensated for the loss.
And it was no trade-off. His techniques and spells as a cultivator could still be used. But with the armor on him, it seemed to amplify his overall strength. It's also not a simple 1+1=2. It's like an enhancement that could allow a mortal without any cultivation to have the power of a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. And since he's already at that stage, the amplification to him was even higher!