Sol was caught unaware as he forgot to check his surroundings properly because the shadow root took most of his attention. The one who yelled at him was a tall man with long arms that almost reached his knees. His arms weren't extremely long, but long enough that they were noticeable from a single glance. The man was accompanied by 4 other adventurers who had a look of anger mixed with annoyance.
"We're letting you off with a warning. Put that root on the ground and leave."
The man made it sound like he was doing the two a favor while still robbing. This especially peeved Sol.
"What? No. We found it first. Also, we aren't even on the western side of the floor."
Sol had chosen a route that specifically didn't enter the west side of the floor, though it did go near the center of the floor. They had to take this path as it was the fastest route and going all the way around the east side would take more than a day.
"Like we give a shit. We want that root."
Sol wasn't one to pick fights, but he also knew when to stand his ground. If Sol did as they said, they would see him as a pushover. They will take him compromising as a sign of weakness and take even more from them.
If they could take from him once, who's to say they couldn't take from him again?
The man gripped the handle of his sheathed sword.
"Last chance, kid."
The adventures behind him began to slowly unsheathe their weapons. They wouldn't hesitate to attack if Sol didn't surrender the item.
Keeping his eyes fixated on the group, Sol spoke to Amber telepathically.
-Stand behind me, but get ready to fight.-
Amber couldn't respond as the skill only allowed for one way communication, but she didn't have to, as she silently took position behind Sol.
This didn't escape the eyes of the long armed man as he disdainfully gave the order.
"Kill 'em!"
Surprisingly, the one who acted first was one of the mages in the back, but he didn't cast any attack spells.
"[Harden Earth]!"
The mage's mana spread through the ground in a way Sol had never seen before. It didn't seem harmful, so it left him confused. Hoping that it wasn't some kind of trap for later, Sol ignored it and took out his bow and used [Bombardment].
Multiple arrows with glowing red tips were launched with the intention to carpet bomb the entire passage. Before the arrows could reach their destination, the other mage cast a spell just in time.
"[Wind Wall]!"
The trajectories of the arrows were sent in different directions away from the party, with a few flying back towards Sol.
Not expecting his own attack to be turned against him, Sol quickly took out his shield and used [Barricade (Variant)], activated its [Wide Cover] and also activated his boots [Wind Barrier] just in case. Sol knew how devastating the arrows could be and didn't know if his shield would be enough to cover for both of them.
As the barrier of wind formed, the first arrow made contact, erupting into a powerful blast. The other arrows that were deflected in other directions also began to blow up, and a terrifying chain reaction occurred. Arrows caught in the initial blast began to blow up, and the entire hallway became scorching hot.
When the explosion began to die down, Sol checked the durability of his shield.
The Protector
Rare
Defense: 60
Durability: 156/850
Skills:
[Wide Cover] Lv 5
'It was nearly full just a moment ago…'
Sol put away his shield as he looked at the other side of the hallway to see the other party, surprised the duo came out unscathed.
One of the adventurers who had a rapier asked her allies, "Is that a unique shield?"
The long armed man nodded, "Probably, if so, you're in luck, Renard."
The large man who wielded a tower shield called Renard agreed, "I have been wanting to get a smaller shield for a while now."
"Sure, you can have it. Tristan, block their escape. Renard, lead the front."
The earth mage Tristan cast, "[Earth Wall]!"
Tristan raised his shield as he began to move forward with his party not far behind.
Behind Sol and Amber, a solid wall rose much stronger than Sol's [Earth Wall] when he used it long ago.
The wall didn't scare Sol as he could break it with some effort, but even if he did and escaped, the group could pursue them easily. Sol turned back to Amber, but before he could even say anything, he realized she was gone.
'She must be looking to take out the mages.'
Sol didn't have to ask to know her intentions; the two had fought long enough together they could assume what each other was thinking.
'If that's the case, I'll get you the opening you need!'
Removing the Lipon from his spatial ring, Sol swapped out the cartridge with another one he had been wanting to try out. Pulling the trigger, a raging fire erupted from the handle as it quickly took form into a fire sword.
Elemental Fire Sword
Unique
Attack: 145-175
Durability: 900/900
Skills:
[Sharpness] Lv 7, [Burn] Lv 7, [Heat Wave] Lv 7
It took Sol a bit to understand how to transfer elemental mana into a cartridge, but once he figured it out, he made one of each element he had. Sol found that the attack and durability are the same for all the elements, but the skills changed slightly, but they also stay consistent. The first skill was based on the pattern fitted into the handle, which meant [Sharpness] for swords. The second one was a status affliction skill and the third was a skill that consumed a large portion of the cartridge's mana to release a special attack.
With his blazing sword in hand, Sol immediately released [Heat Wave] at the approaching group. As if sentient, the scorching fire blasted towards the man in the front.
Renard laughed as he raised his shield towards the wave of fire. "You think this is hot?! My mom cooks with fires hotter than this!"
Just before the fire reached Renard, he used [Barricade] to resist the attack.
Seeing the man use that skill, Sol knew it was the perfect opportunity and yelled.
"Now!"