76: Awesome Biological Armor (Part 2)

Grimm, the Experimenter, reined in the boundless longing in his eyes.

He turned his head and glared fiercely at Oakes.

He thought to himself:

"Do I need—"

"You—Oakes—"

"To specifically remind me that I'm a pauper?"

"Sigh, I'm already earning money quite fast."

"But, my wealth isn't growing as fast as I am."

"Before..."

"I could earn a hundred or so magic stones a month, and in that month, I could easily enjoy one or two bloody marys, hire a private chef, eat and drink to my heart's content, and live a fantastic life..."

"Now, I can earn over a thousand magic stones a month, yet facing the Bio-armor that every man dreams of, I can't even afford the down payment."

"A month of hard work only covers the material cost for one maintenance of the Bio-armor..."

"How... how... how... how can one bear this?"

..."Oakes, please continue..."

Grimm, the Experimenter's inner self was still very strong; he quickly composed his thoughts. No matter how difficult life was, it still had to go on. Oakes looked at Grimm, the Experimenter, knowing that he had been very unhappy just now, and didn't dare to provoke him.

He got straight to the point:

"The second state of the Demonic Black Vine—dormancy."

"Dormancy requires the use of a Plant Activity Solidification Potion to transition the Demonic Black Vine from an active state to a dormant state."

"At this point..."

"Its activity is suppressed, and it acts like a strong, resilient dried vine, connecting the six main components. The physical properties of the Demonic Black Vine are very strong."

"Both its tensile strength and toughness are excellent, capable of resisting Wizardry elemental attacks and physical attacks below 20 Intensity."

"At the same time..."

"The black line in the middle of the Demonic Black Vine is an excellent energy transmission channel, serving to connect the entire Wizard Array. The six main components can form a complete Hexagram Wizard Array, all thanks to the Demonic Black Vine's role as a link and a bridge."

"Therefore..."

"This is also one of the biggest weaknesses of this third Bio-armor..."

..."Oakes..."

"You mean, the enemy can disable my strongest life-saving trump card by destroying these Demonic Black Vines?" Grimm, the Experimenter questioned.

"Yes..."

Oakes nodded and replied, "This is an inherent design flaw of the Bio-armor itself, and it's unavoidable."

"The connection points of Bio-armor are inherently conventional weaknesses; all types of Bio-armor have this issue."

"It's just that our Bio-armor uses Demonic Black Vines as connecting material, which amplifies this flaw. However, compared to the advantages and powerful functions of the Demonic Black Vine, this minor flaw is tolerable."

"You just have to try your best to block enemy attacks and prevent them from destroying your Demonic Black Vines."

..."I understand..."

Grimm, the Experimenter nodded, signaling Oakes to continue.

"Speaking of flaws, there's an even more serious one than this."

"The academy couldn't find a better alternative, so they took a different approach, adopting another method."

"That's the '1' in the '6+1 mode' I mentioned; the '1' refers to the helmet that protects your head."

Oakes used his Hand of Wizardry to pull out a huge, silver-white helmet from a nearby shelf.

"Grimm, the Experimenter, this is your helmet."

Grimm, the Experimenter took the large helmet in his hands; it felt substantial and heavy.

Grimm, the Experimenter estimated it weighed twenty to thirty pounds.

Oakes explained, pointing to the large helmet:

"This helmet exists to supplement the entire Bio-armor's framework."

"Because the Hexagram Wizard Array can only be inscribed on six array bases, forming the six corners of the hexagram through these six bases."

"So the head was left out..."

"Although once the entire Guardian Wizard Array is activated, the Bio-armor Experimenter gains 360-degree, all-around, no-dead-angle protection, which naturally includes the head..."

"However..."

"In the wilderness, there are many unexpected situations, and you can't keep this Guardian Wizard Array active at all times."

"This is unrealistic: firstly, the energy supply can't keep up, and secondly, the materials of the six major array bases can't withstand it."

"Therefore, the maximum duration for this Guardian Wizard Array to be active is 10 minutes."

"In other words..."

"This Guardian Wizard Array is just one of your major trump cards. Once activated, you will have 10 minutes of 'ultimate' time. After 10 minutes, this Wizard Array will automatically shut down and require three days to cool down. Only after three days can you use this trump card again."

..."Isn't this a joke?"

Grimm, the Experimenter was somewhat speechless upon hearing this.

"Oakes, I thought that once I put on this Bio-armor, I'd be able to go on an unstoppable rampage."

"And just sweep aside anyone who dared to defy me."

"Turns out, it's just this..."

Oakes was furious at Grimm, the Experimenter's dismissive remarks about the Bio-armor and said sternly:

"Grimm, the Experimenter, what you're describing, in theory, does exist."

"However, that's for Bio-armor of Formal Wizard level and above."

"This third-version Bio-armor itself is designed for Wizard Apprentices, and it's intended to handle dangers at the Peak Wizard Apprentice level."

"Furthermore, all the manufacturing materials for this Bio-armor are Wizard Apprentice-grade materials. Not even a single Formal Wizard-grade material was used."

"Do you think, with such a combination, you can still go on an endless rampage?"

"Then why would we painstakingly select you Bio-armor Experimenters?"

"A task that an Angus beef cow could handle, why would we need you?"

...These well-reasoned words left Grimm, the Experimenter no choice but to concede.

These resounding words also brought Grimm, the Experimenter's intelligence back to his head, which had been wandering off to the heavens.

Realizing that he had spoken wrongly and done something foolish, Grimm, the Experimenter quickly apologized:

"I'm sorry, Oakes, I was mistaken..."

"I had no intention of belittling this Bio-armor. It was my fault for harboring some unrealistic fantasies."

"Grimm, the Experimenter..."

"I hope you can respect the culmination of wisdom and effort from the academy's many mentors over decades."

"This is absolutely the most suitable Bio-armor for Wizard Apprentices under current conditions."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"I'll reflect. I fully acknowledge this achievement."

"It's my foul mouth, I spoke without thinking... I deserve to be punished..."

Grimm, the Experimenter apologized repeatedly.

He truly didn't mean it; it was just that Oakes had described the Bio-armor as too wonderful, too powerful, before.

An invincible Guardian Aura... But then, suddenly, Grimm, the Experimenter heard that the Bio-armor could only maintain its invincibility for 10 minutes. So short?

He couldn't keep his composure... That's why he spoke without thinking, saying some foolish things. Oakes saw that Grimm, the Experimenter's attitude was very sincere, and he also recognized his own mistake.

So he didn't dwell on it with Grimm, the Experimenter.

Instead, he warned:

"Grimm, the Experimenter, it's only because we've been good friends for decades that I won't speak of this."

"In the future, don't say such foolish things in front of others."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll get ambushed."

Grimm, the Experimenter nodded repeatedly in agreement:

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"I regret saying such foolish things once, I wouldn't dare say them a second time."

At the same time, Grimm, the Experimenter inwardly cautioned himself that he had been a bit too complacent lately, and it seemed he needed to settle down properly.