Chapter 300: Mostly Ruined

Rows of armor worn on several mannequins filled the room, each one emanating a regal aura.

"Don’t look so thrilled. They’ve probably rusted already."

Hearing Selene’s disappointed voice, Leon’s excitement cooled. He approached the first one, placing a hand on it. Instantly, the shoulder guard fell off and broke apart.

His expression soured. He turned to another one and gently tugged at it. The breastplate tore open, having weakened after years of decay.

"And here I thought we were going to get something good."

Shaking his head, he continued forward, checking the armor one after another. Selene did the same, and they combed through the rows of armor together.

The little cat followed them, jumping from one mannequin to another and making them collapse beneath its weight.

Even the mannequins had turned weak and brittle, unable to withstand the weight of a small cat.

Leon counted about fifty damaged armors, his disappointment soaring.

’For all of these to be destroyed, they must have been here for many years.’

"Over here."

Turning to Selene, he saw that she was nudging an armor on a mannequin. Unlike the others, the armor didn’t break apart. However, the mannequin itself collapsed, causing the armor parts to fall to the ground.

Selene bent down and picked up the helmet. It only offered protection for the head and left the face exposed, with two white horns jutting from the sides.

When she touched them, they were harder than steel.

"It isn’t damaged?" Leon muttered as he stepped closer to observe it.

Thrilled, he picked up the other pieces and saw that they were undamaged.

"Hm, looks like we finally found something good."

Just as he smiled, Selene took out her sword and slashed at the chest piece on the ground.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

Clang!

Along with Leon’s stunned voice, the blade rang sharply, then rebounded against the breastplate while only leaving a faint white mark.

Leon stared at her, unimpressed. "What was that for?"

Sheathing her sword, Selene picked up the other armor parts. "I tested the quality. Any armor that my sword can cut through is useless."

Sighing, Leon couldn’t help but agree. They needed armor, not fashionable relics. He still had a few Will Combat Armor in his storage ring, but they offered little help to him anymore.

His fight against the Tier Three Insect was a glaring reminder of that.

"Let’s check for more. We might see others like this."

The two continued searching through the armor racks, pushing aside the damaged ones in search for better ones.

In the end, they only managed to find one more armor that was of the same quality as Selene’s. Leon quietly claimed that for himself, leaving the armor with the horned helmet for Selene.

Hearing another mannequin crash to the ground behind them, Leon turned to the cat and crouched down.

"Hop on."

The cat stared at him in confusion, tilting its head from side to side. Realizing it didn’t understand him, Leon picked it up and placed it on his head. Its claws weren’t sharp enough to injure him, so he wasn’t worried.

Selene stared at him resentfully, then turned away. "There are weapons too."

Leon turned the torch towards where she was looking and saw them. Weapons ranging from blades to polearms lined the wall.

Even without moving closer, he could already tell that most of them had rusted and would break apart upon contact.

Selene walked over to the wall and grabbed a poleaxe. Just as she expected, it didn’t break apart. It was made from the same material as her armor, and proved to be very sturdy.

Seeing that she’d found something good, Leon also decided to try his luck. He searched through the weapons, watching them break into parts under his touch.

His disappointment rose rapidly, until he touched a dagger that didn’t break, but cut his hand instead.

Leon winced, then smiled. He held the dagger by the handle and pulled it free from the rack.

"Not bad. But why are there no messages regarding these weapons and armor?"

Selene turned to him, equally perplexed. "I wanted to ask you since you’re almost a blacksmith too."

Narrowing his eyes, Leon asked. "What do you mean ’almost a blacksmith’?"

Ignoring his question, she raised her poleaxe and struck the ground.

Boom!

The room trembled, and several damaged weapons fell off their racks. Keeping the dagger in his storage ring, Leon grunted and looked at the floor. It was cracked, and dusty. Their footprints could clearly be seen through the dust covering the ground.

"Okay. Let’s clean this up a bit."

Using tangible shadows, he managed to sweep away the dust around them, clearing enough space for them to sit.

Then, using wood that hadn’t turned into dust, he lit a campfire. The room was illuminated by the fierce glow of its light, and shadows danced across the walls.

He took a seat and took out a plate of mutated chicken meat. Remembering his stomach had been upset a while ago, he hesitated. Could the food actually spoil?

He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t think so. Maybe it was simply a problem with his own body.

Seeing him hesitate, Selene frowned. "Is that the only one left?"

Leon shook his head and passed it to her before taking another one for himself.

’Well, if Selene’s stomach gets upset too, then I’ll know it’s not only me.’

Unaware of his thoughts of using her as an experimental subject, Selene began to eat. Although she was already tired of eating meat, she had no choice. It wasn’t like they could cook rice or any other food.

Meow!

Blinking, Leon felt the cat tugging at his hair. He gently set it down, then put another plate down for it to eat.

The cat immediately dug into the meal, eating voraciously.

Only after feeding it did Leon realize he might have made a mistake. He was feeding the cat with Tier Two meat!

Fortunately, nothing happened, and the cat continued to eat. This once again raised a question in Leon’s mind.

What was the origin of the cat?