Hikari sat before a massive rectangular steel crate.
Her legs crossed.
The crate spans the length of her legs and requires both of her arms to carry.
Ria stands beside her.
"What's this?"
"The parasitic skin of the king black salamander. A piece of living armor that can grow and take the shape of its owner."
Hesitantly, Hikari reaches to open the crate.
She could sense something swirling inside.
It had no heartbeat.
But it was alive.
The crate had holes punched into the top.
A porous netting covered the holes, letting whatever was inside breathe.
As Hikari lifted the lid, Ria hid behind her back.
"Ria?"
Donk. The back of the lid hit the ground.
A swirling mass of black moss.
It takes the shape of its container.
Its shape shifts and turns.
As the lid opens, several buds appear, reaching up for more air.
Ria pokes her head out from behind Hikari's back.
"Is it safe?"
Hikari looks at the black moss.
"It's not attacking."
Hesitantly, Ria stepped out from behind her.
She climbed onto Hikari's thigh to get a look over into the crate.
"It is exactly as the textbooks describe it. A living parasitic mass of fungus."
"Yuck."
"Yep. It makes my skin crawl looking at it."
"What do I do with it?"
"Well, wear it. It's your armor."
"Armor?"
"Yeah. That's how everyone else does it."
"Will it eat me?"
"Nope. Many adventurers have used it without being eaten. Out in the wild, it grows on the skins of king salamanders, right under their hard carapace, and lives off its host's heat and mana. Its reliance on its host makes it a rather docile parasite."
Hikari was rather unconvinced.
Reluctantly, she held out her hand, holding it just above.
The black mass reacts to the heat.
It clumps and bulges upward, reaching for her fingertip.
Hikari holds her hand still.
It wraps around her fingertip.
It was harmless.
Hikari lets it continue, watching it closely.
Ria, standing on the giantess's thigh, holds her breath.
It climbed up her finger onto her hand.
Hikari tried to move her finger, coated in black moss.
She could still move it normally.
The thick, slimy moss offered slight resistance.
It didn't bite her or try to digest her.
"How is it?"
"It doesn't hurt."
"Good. I have done extensive research on it. It is a living armor that is well known to be safe to use. Though its appearance does make my skin crawl. I wouldn't dare to wear it."
Hikari continues.
She places her palm into the chest.
Slowly, the salamander armor crawls up her arm.
Hikari feels a cooling sensation as the fungus absorbs her heat.
The slimy feeling could take some getting used to, though.
Hikari lifts her arm out of the steel crate.
She had allowed only a portion of the black fungus onto her arm to try it out.
Simple motions with her arm.
At first, it felt like nothing more than a thick layer of slime.
It's subtle, but it seems to adapt to her movements and follow them.
Hikari continues to train it.
"Yep, that's the way. You have to move around with it to get used to your body. Once it does, it boosts your overall physique by lending you its strength by synchronizing itself with your movements."
"Yes."
Slow rotating motions with her arm.
Like how she would swing her sword.
Then she circulates her mana through her sword.
"It's absorbing my mana."
"Good. It means that you're getting the hang of it. The living armor also serves as a mana bank. It absorbs mana from the user while they're resting. In combat, once the user starts depleting their mana, the salamander skin releases back to its host."
"Neat."
Hikari picks up her sword and holds it.
The salamander skin readjusts to ease the strain on Hikari's arm.
"It's nice."
"I'm glad you're liking it. You have been getting bigger and bigger. The salamander armor can help support your body's weight. When your body generates heat from intense battles, it can absorb some of it. It even serves as a mana battery. No wonder it's a popular armor even amongst the most elite raid parties."
Hikari places her other hand into the black moss.
It eagerly climbs her hand.
She has to retrain it, but it learns quickly.
Ria jumps off her thigh.
Hikari stands up and looks at the entire crate.
"Skin?"
"Yes. That is the recommended way to use it. A layer of cotton would insulate the heat and mana transfer between the salamander skin and the user. But wearing a layer underneath is recorded to be perfectly fine as well."
Hikari keeps her clothes on.
She's not quite comfortable wearing the unfamiliar living armor without a layer of cloth in between.
Plus, the palisade wouldn't shield her if she stood straight, upper body over it, and removed her top.
Removing her clothes now would certainly cause a commotion.
She bends down, sinking both hands into the black moss.
She feels the rough bedding at the bottom of the crate.
The salamander skin swirls excitedly as it senses their new host.
It climbs up her arms.
The excess mass crawls onto her shoulders, then expands down her chest, abdomen, and legs to her ankles.
Hikari stands straight up.
Her back aches a little from holding that position while the skin moves very slowly along her body.
She does her stretching exercises.
Ria runs and leans against the palisade to make space for her.
Hip rotations.
Rotate left. Rotate right.
The sticky skin slows her down.
She keeps repeating the same motion.
It is learning.
Hikari picks up the pace.
She has the rest of her rest day to get used to her new armor.
Tomorrow she marches to the mouth of the Wyvern Peaks.
Slow-moving drills to relax her muscles are what she would do anyway after the intensive training with Sheela.
Plus, she gets to train her new armor.
The salamander skin finally got the horizontal rotation down.
It took her three times the reps she usually does.
Time to move on.
Leg movements are the most important.
She lifts her left leg.
And then her right in a high knee motion.
Her flats stomp against the ground.
A set of fifty leg raises on either leg.
Her normal rep count.
The salamander skin offered resistance as it still adjusted to her movements.
She picks up her sword.
Basic drills.
One foot in front of the other.
Raise the sword over her head.
Vertical slash.
Slow motion.
There was no need to rush.
Fifty reps.
She sets her sword down and wipes sweat from her temple.
Surprisingly, the rest of her body doesn't feel as sweaty as it normally would.
The salamander skin was absorbing the excess heat from her workout.
"Nice."
She continues.
Horizontal swings.
Fifty reps.
She picks up her water tank and takes a drink.
She was getting into a groove.
Squats.
Fifty reps.
Her muscular thighs give her the explosive jumping power she uses so often in combat.
She could feel the salamander skin reinforcing her leg and back muscles.
This would be incredibly useful if it could reduce the strain on her legs.
"Ria."
Hikari turns to see Ria looking up at her.
"Umm.. Ahem! I see it's working well for you. You'll be fighting in the mine caverns where you won't be zipping around a vast battlefield as you did in the Carla campaign. It'll be the perfect time to get used to your new armor."
"Yes."
Hikari checks herself.
"Ria."
"Yeah?"
"It's soft."
"Ah, you're right. But fret not. You see, in the wild, salamander skin wraps around its host, accumulating hardened rock as armor. Think of the salamander skin as a glue layer. It can support harder, heavier platings over it. Your wyvern skin will do just fine."
"Ah."
Hikari positions herself in front of her pile of wyvern skin.
She tries to assemble them on her.
"Ivory berries."
A failure on the first try.
The extra surface from the salamander skin throws her off.
The salamander skin itself interferes with her mana flow.
"Oh, did I mention that the king salamanders are magical creatures that could channel mana? Many hybrid spell blades have made great use of salamander skin. You are one yourself, aren't you? No wonder the Lord RazenHeir picks this particular armor."
Hikari nods.
Looks like she has more homework.
She sits down in front of the pile.
She first juggles the pieces of wyvern-skin armor while channeling her mana through the salamander skin.
Feeling confident, she mixes in her throwing daggers.
The salamander skin takes time to get used to her mana movements.
She moves the objects around in a simple circular motion.
No fancy thrusts and swings just yet.
Ria watches her practice.
Her giantess knight's abilities never cease to amaze her.
Before she knew it, Hikari could telekinetically move a dagger freely in random directions.
Hikari stands up.
Now, time to try assembling her armor again.
The pieces of wyvern skin floated onto her body and began assembling themselves.
They formed a complete piece.
Hikari gingerly checks herself.
She was quite proud of her achievement.
Until she spotted a long crack in her armor from the side of her leg down.
"Pffff!" Ria covers her mouth, stifling a laugh.
"There are more pieces in the tannery. They should be ready."
Hikari pulls them over.
She tries assembling her armor again.
It happens every time she has a growth spurt.
Having her armor in pieces helps her readjust it to her new size.
But she still has to solve a jigsaw puzzle every time.
"There."
Hikari checks herself again.
No gapping slits this time.
She retries her movement set.
"It's tight."
"Ah. I remember now. Adventurers don't usually make armor as tightly knit as your wyvern skin. Perhaps try just tiling your wyvern skin over the salamander skin without connecting them with the weaving runes?"
Hikari nods.
She tries again.
This time, she uses the weaving runes only as markings.
She tiles them tightly, but without activating the weaving runes, leaving tiny slits where the sheets meet in her armor.
The salamander skin was sandwiched between them, gluing the pieces together.
Hikari checks herself.
She was well covered.
She tries her normal movements.
It felt even better than her old way of wearing her wyvern skin.
"Now we don't have to worry about the weaving runes on your wyvern skin anymore. They have to be replaced a lot when you overstretch them."
"Nice."
Hikari picks up her sword and gives it a few swings.
She's more than satisfied with her armor upgrade.
"You march off tomorrow to clear the mines. Make me proud out there. Hope you, hehe~ come back with something… spectacular."
Hikari giggles.
"I will."
— King salamander skin —
[Weight : ~350 kg]
[Physique : 100]
[Mana + 175]
[Defense + 170]