Field quickly calmed his racing heart and tried to hypnotize himself.
Field, you're not someone who easily gets excited. Stay composed!
He closed his eyes and then opened them again.
Hilda still shone brightly before him.
She was truly beautiful.
So, Field quickly closed his eyes again.
Seeing this, Hilda looked puzzled. "Field, why are you closing your eyes?"
Field replied, "Your radiance is too dazzling for me to look at directly."
Hilda couldn't help but giggle at his response.
Then she sheathed her sword and said, "Field, if there's anything I can help you with, please let me know. I'll do my best to assist you!"
"Alright, I will," Field replied with a slight smile before standing up and inviting, "Actually, I'm about to go buy some supplies and armor. I need someone with good judgment to guide me. Would you like to come along?"
Excitedly, Hilda replied, "Absolutely!"
After paying the bill, a hefty sum of 18,800 gold coins, and receiving an 20% discount from the innkeeper for being a valued customer, Field expressed his intention to return.
Aside from being a bit pricey, the inn had almost no obvious flaws, and the delicious dishes were almost entirely devoured by Field, showcasing his hearty appetite.
Field then led QiQi and Hilda to the Seaside Grand Mall.
The mall was enormous, nearly as large as the Haidis Academy, with hundreds of shops to choose from.
"What do you need?" Hilda asked as she walked briskly alongside Field, her beautiful golden waves of hair bouncing slightly, drawing the attention of passersby.
"For the upcoming missions, I need to venture into mines and hunt dangerous monsters, so I plan to buy a sturdy shield, illumination equipment, and temporary armor," Field explained.
Several platinum-level missions could be completed simultaneously, so Field estimated that he would be facing quite a number of monsters, with a high level of combat intensity.
He had never worn any equipment before, and apart from his magic stone and an angelic mace, he had no other gear.
Therefore, Field decided to temporarily equip himself with a sturdy set of armor until he could craft his own.
Even though it was just temporary, the quality couldn't be low, and having Hilda with him would make the selection process much easier.
"I see... I know a good large store that specializes in selling armor. They should be able to meet your needs!" Hilda suggested.
"Let's go then."
With Hilda leading the way, her youthful and energetic figure exuding charm, Field couldn't help but admire her.
Of course, Field's hand hadn't left QiQi's tail this whole time—the sensation was just too fantastic!
Arriving at the store Hilda mentioned, Field quickly found a set of armor he liked, thanks to Hilda's expert guidance.
It was heavy armor specially crafted for someone of Field's stature!
Inspecting the material, it was made of threaded steel, offering strong defense that could withstand attacks from platinum-level monsters. The downside was its weight.
This set consisted of half-plate heavy armor for the torso, leg guards, arm guards, shoulder pads, and a helmet. If it were a full plate, it would cover joints and the trunk with folding armor.
Even so, it weighed over 200 kilograms, making normal movement difficult for most people.
However, for Field, the weight made no difference.
Moreover, because of its weight and the fact that it was tailored for larger individuals, such as the Goliaths, Barbarians, and Minotaurs, it had been sitting in the store for a long time without being sold. As a result, the shopkeeper offered Field a very favorable price.
Only 15,000 gold coins!
After calculating the cost, the shopkeeper would only make a profit of 1,000 gold coins. This was already quite generous, so Field happily purchased it.
Field immediately tried it on.
"I feel like I've gotten even bigger," Hilda joked.
"Except for a bit of room around the belly, everything fits well," Field patted the heavy armor on his abdomen and remarked.
"That's because our customer has such a great physique. I've never seen someone with such a large frame before. Your waist is so slim," the shopkeeper chuckled.
Field laughed in satisfaction. "For that comment alone, I'll be back next time."
With the temporary armor sorted, next was the shield.
Field's requirements for the shield were the same as for the armor: hard, thick, and strong defense!
Hilda quickly helped Field find the shield he wanted—the Chargebreaker Heavy Shield. It was 1.8 meters long and diamond-shaped, over a meter wide at its widest point, two fingers thick, and weighed over 300 kilograms.
It could withstand frontal attacks from platinum-level monsters and also had some magical resistance.
Originally designed for larger races such as Goliaths, Barbarians, and Minotaurs, it was still a perfect fit for Field.
Field purchased it without hesitation. It was pricier than the armor, at 36,000 gold coins, but it was worth it for its high quality and cost-effectiveness.
Field praised Hilda for her excellent judgment. Although he could have found better equipment himself, the cost-effectiveness wouldn't have been as high.
Field's praise made Hilda very happy, and her delicate chin lifted with pride.
QiQi also didn't want to be left out and quickly found some good loose items for Field: a headlamp for illumination, a long-range illumination magic device, grappling hooks, and some quality ropes.
Field spent over 60,000 gold coins in total, but the results were excellent. With these equipment, his efficiency in missions would be greatly improved.
"When do you plan to set out?" Hilda asked.
"Tomorrow. Why, do you want to come too?" Field smiled and asked.
"Yes!" Hilda nodded. "I still have three days of vacation unused, so I can take them off. Plus, I want to try out my new sword!"
"In that case, you're welcome to join me. Let's meet at the school gate at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning," Field chuckled.
"Alright, it's a date!" Hilda seemed very excited, as if going on a mission with Field was a very enjoyable thing.
And that was exactly what Field wanted.
Afterward, they wandered around a bit more before Hilda had to leave. She had to finish all the work for the Student Council today so she could join Field on their journey tomorrow.
"See you tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, don't be late!" Hilda smiled at Field.
"I'm a punctual person, unlike you. Don't oversleep, or I won't wait for you," Field teased with a smirk.
"I won't oversleep," Hilda retorted, slightly offended, but then laughed again. "Remember, goodbye!"
"Goodbye."
Watching Hilda's lively figure bouncing away, Field couldn't help but feel touched.
Youth is truly wonderful.
Wait, he was only sixteen himself. He couldn't think like a forty-year-old uncle anymore.
Let's change the perspective.
Hmm...
I'm awesome!
Next, he would find a hotel to rest for a while and prepare to meet with Holland and Veena for dinner tonight.
Field found a nice hotel, costing 280 gold coins per day, and booked it for a day. Since he needed to rest here tonight and set off early tomorrow morning for his missions, he decided not to return to Seaside City.
He had a total of six tasks: two from Yvren, both hunting tasks, one from Oren, a mining task, and Raymond's tasks, four in total, with Field having already completed one.
The remaining three were two hunting tasks and one material collection task. Among all four hunting tasks, three involved monsters that frequented the Koteimo Ore District or its vicinity.
So, Field planned to go directly to the ore district tomorrow to complete the hunting and mining tasks, thereby completing four tasks at once.
There were two other tasks: one involved hunting sea monsters, and the other collecting a specific material from the sea, requiring them to go out to sea.
So, they might even get to see a wet Hilda then.
Heh heh~ At this moment, there were still over two hours until 6 p.m., so Field decided to take a short rest. However, QiQi seemed unwilling to let him rest. As soon as Field lay down, QiQi climbed onto him.
"Field~" she cooed in a soft voice, lying on Field's chest, her big eyes blinking as she looked at him, her disobedient tail curling up.
Field instantly felt captivated by her charm. Oh, this teasing QiQi! Field chuckled and reached out to embrace QiQi's slender waist.
"Field, the cat toy~" Her soft voice was like feathers, teasing Field's heart. How could Field, as a good guy, refuse such a cute request? So, soon, the sound of Field and QiQi playing echoed in the room.
An hour later, seeing QiQi glowing with golden light all over, Field finally understood why she liked drinking his milk so much. Just two sips, and she was already golden-ranked! Indeed, giants were full of treasures! However, he had to be careful, as QiQi's cheeks were now red, as if she had drunk too much, indicating she had overdone it.
"Get up and move around a bit, or you'll nosebleed later," Field said. "Okay meow~" QiQi nodded and immediately began practicing swordsmanship in the room. This time, she wielded dual swords, as well as her tail, in a three-sword style.
Field lay on the bed, leaning against the headboard, leisurely guiding her. "The tail's sword can harness the power of your waist. Your waist is very flexible, so when you turn... Hey, that's right, this way, your strikes will have more force."
"I got it meow!" Watching QiQi twist her waist to unleash her blades, Field licked his lips.
QiQi was now golden-ranked. Could he... eat her now? Heh heh heh~ But not now, as they still had work to do.
After practicing for over an hour, QiQi 's face returned to normal, and then... she gained another star! "You're amazing, meow!" QiQi exclaimed, excitedly observing her body and feeling the power of her two golden stars, both magical and physical.
"That's right, good stuff," Field agreed. "Can I drink it every day, meow?" "Cough, no, you can't. Just replenish your nutrition every once in a while," Field replied, rubbing his nose. You little glutton, can I handle you drinking every day?
Can you handle it? QiQi needed to be more self-aware. However, this way, Field wouldn't have to worry about QiQi's rank falling behind his growth rate anymore.
At his words, QiQi looked a bit disappointed, but still obediently nodded, soon happily asking Field for a hug again. QiQi was becoming more and more clingy.
Checking the time, Field nodded. "It's about time. Let's go find Professor Holan and the Silly Mushroom, then we'll go eat a big meal."
"Okay meow!" "A hug meow~" "You can only hug once, you'll have to walk on your own later." "Okay meow, mua~"