The Discarded Son's Skill Market
Chapter 41: Special armor

Chapter 41: Special armor

Zaid struggled to his feet, and his aching back told him he’d hit a rock when he fell. However, what bothered him more was not having been told about that ability beforehand. He could have avoided the blow if only he’d been warned to watch out for something like that.

Even so, he didn’t have time to complain because the Knight tried to attack him with one of his long legs; he had to jump aside to dodge it.

"Terrible mistake. It seems you don’t understand that I’m stronger than you," the mercenary muttered with a smug smile and struck the Knight while his leg was still raised. His blows were delivered with full force, leaving the giant’s armor dented in several places.

His massive body fell backward, presenting Zaid with the best opportunity he could have hoped for—one that he seized with all his might. His dagger sank in firmly even before the giant hit the ground, and the system’s announcement soon lit up his face.

An additional 10 PE and 5 ME—for having done so little, that wasn’t bad at all.

The mercenary walked up beside him and patted him on the shoulder with a big smile. "Not bad, kid! You’re good enough that I can consider you my friend." He laughed.

"You could’ve told me about its repellent ability," Zaid complained.

"Huh? Oh, about that. Didn’t you know? All the Armored Knights have it!"

"This is the first time I’ve ever seen one," Zaid protested.

"Really?" The mercenary’s eyes widened in surprise. "You’re really good, then!"

Zaid was annoyed that his complaint had been ignored, but he’d won anyway. Did it matter now?

"Why do you say that?" Zaid asked, climbing down from the giant’s body.

"Your accuracy was amazing. Not only did you know exactly where the heart was, down to the millimeter, but your dagger managed to pierce through the bones without any of them getting in the way. It takes a lot of practice—or perhaps a keen instinct—to do that."

’Oh. Thanks to my Rank S senses, I figured all that out in an instant...’ Only now did Zaid realize that those Rank S senses were more valuable than he’d imagined.

So much so that they helped him kill one of the most troublesome beasts in the lower ranks with a single blow.

Zaid didn’t say anything about it.

"I’m Martin. Thank you so much for your help. As a spear user, I have a lot of trouble with pinpoint attacks like that." The mercenary laughed gratefully. He was a cheerful man.

Zaid nodded. "I’m Gio. Your strength is admirable. Couldn’t you have killed it with sheer force?" They shook hands with mutual respect, which was somewhat unusual considering that, to Zaid, Martin was practically a "senior" who didn’t owe him any respect.

Both looked at the creature’s corpse after Zaid’s question.

Four meters tall, quite broad. Its arms were long and heavy. But the most striking feature of this creature was the immense armor that protected it.

"You’re a newly awakened one, aren’t you?" Martin asked.

"I just woke up not long ago."

Martin smiled warmly. "It shows—you don’t know much about these special beasts. I guess you’ve just started at the academy..."

Zaid nodded in agreement.

"Although it’s impressive that you’re able to come here to farm in such a short time. It means your strength and talent are above average. You’re what many would consider a genius."

Zaid shook his head. "Most people treat me like trash."

"Hahaha. Some people have never hit rock bottom, which is why they don’t appreciate talent." Martin walked over to the dead creature.

"This beast is considered special because of this armor. It’s not just any kind of armor." Martin motioned for him to come closer. "Look at this."

He pulled on the armor with all his might, while pressing down on the dead creature. He tried to pry it off, but couldn’t. It makes sense—you can’t just take off armor like that.

But that wasn’t the case this time. In fact, you could pull it off if you used enough force. That’s because the armor here wasn’t constructed the same way as full-body armor, even though it looked like it was.

Zaid’s eyes widened when he realized that the armor was attached to the bone by something... Glue?

"Although it looks like glue, it’s actually flesh. The armor is part of their body in such a way that it’s attached to their bones through the flesh, which acts as glue. Through this flesh, powerful defensive capabilities are transmitted to the bones, making their bones much more resilient."

"No wonder their bones are so hard. So they’re being nourished by this armor."

Zaid touched the armor. He thought it wasn’t really made of pure metal, but in fact, it was.

Martin sensed his intentions, so he laughed and replied, "It’s metal. In fact, it’s pure bronze. If you’ll take my advice, you should take this to a blacksmith and pay him to take it all apart. They have special tools to take it apart without damaging anything; that’s why they say this is the only Rank F undead that’s worth anything."

He pointed to himself—to his armor. "See? Pure bronze. This armor was made almost entirely from one of these special beasts."

"Wow." Zaid was surprised.

And it would be cheaper if you had the raw materials yourself... it was amazing.

Zaid stored the creature in a special ring he’d bought specifically for cases like this. He couldn’t keep storing the corpses in makeshift bags, so he bought one at a good price when he bought his cell phone.

"Thank you for your advice, Senior Martin," Zaid replied respectfully.

"I’m the one who should be thanking you. You have no idea how hard it is to escape from these bastards once they set their sights on you." Martin shook his head in frustration.

Zaid nodded.

"You’re trying to level up, right? Want a little help?"

Zaid hesitated for a moment. What he wanted most right now was to prove himself in face-to-face combat, which is why he didn’t want to swap his Talent for the dagger one right now. With a helper, he wouldn’t stand much of a chance.

However... he only has about 10 more hours to reach Level 6 or 7. Someone as strong as Martin could be a big help, and it’s not like he hasn’t had other chances to prove himself. In fact, he’d just killed a dangerous beast with a single attack—wasn’t that enough to prove he was strong enough?

Zaid made a decision. "Actually, I only have about 12 hours left to try to level up. I level up quickly, so if you help me, it should be worth it," he said, motivated more by the idea of befriending this guy.

A newly registered Gold-Rank player was worth a lot. The strength he displayed was at least D-Rank. His Talent must be very good to reach that level by the age of 25; it would be good to have it in his shop—maybe it’ll actually be useful.

"All right, kid! Then let’s go hunting, like the good mercenary hunters we are." Martin was more excited than Zaid.

He never imagined that on this mission he’d be lucky enough to take a rookie under his wing. Ever since he was an MMORPG player, he’d loved doing that!

And now he’d get to do it in real life!

To him, it was awesome.