Chapter 175: New Appearances
After returning to Mavrick's shop, he had two sets of armor ready, both of which were similar in design. The first was black, just as Finn requested. It was slim but also durable, and most importantly lightweight to wear. This allowed Finn to move as swiftly as he liked, without having to be weighed down by heavyweight armor.
That wasn't all, however. The aesthetic of the armor looked great as well, just as one would expect from a professional, experienced tailor. It came in five parts—the mask, the hoodie, the outside cloak, the pants, and the boots, all of which were midnight black—at least, mostly.
The hoodie, when paired with the mask, completely covered Finn's face just like he wanted. There was a downwards chevron shaped visor near the middle of the casque, allowing Finn to see through it while also providing good protection (although when Mavrick made it, he only had the goal of aesthetics in mind, as he didn't know Finn was about to regain his sight in just a few hours).
After slipping on the leather hoodie, he changed into the new pants. There seemed to be an infinite amount of pockets in it, but he didn't mind. Just more space to store useful tools. Heck, even the boots held a secret compartment in them that could fit something approximately the size of a small dagger.
Finally, it was time to try on the cloak. Finn wrapped it around himself, and secured it in place using some straps on the sides. It fit his body perfectly, not too loose but also not tight enough to make him feel like suffocating. Naturally, Mavrick took the size of the hoodie in as well when constructing the cloak, so it was just the right fit.
The cape attached to the back of the cloak was a bit long, but upon questioning, Mavrick said it was meant to be like that as part of the aesthetic. It did look good; no questions there.
But strangely, around the neck of the cloak was a ring of fur, rather than leather and chainmail like the rest of it. The fur was grey and thick, able to keep Finn warm under any conditions. That made him satisfied, but…
"… What kind of fur is this?" Finn asked, tilting his head slightly. "It seems rather… high-quality."
"Keen eye, kid!" Mavrick laughed. "Well, not eye, but you get the idea. That's Emberwolf Fur, able to spread heat! Throw it on any part of an armor set and it will keep the whole body warm! It is, very expensive though, mind you, so uh…"
"Calm down," Iris said. "We will pay you in full."
"Of course, of course!" Mavrick smirked. "So? How is it? The armor set, I mean. Satisfied? Impressed, even?"
"… Not half-bad," Finn said, moving his body a bit to get adjusted to this new feeling.
"Cheh, 'not half-bad'…" Mavrick groaned.
"Hehe, that's high praise coming from Finn," Iris said with a wink over on the couch. "Cherish it."
"Yeah, well… you may not be impressed now, but you sure are going to be when you see this."
Mavrick placed his hand on Finn's shoulder, then injected some mana into it.
Instantly, the entire armor set lit up.
The chevron-shaped visor on Finn's mask began emitting glowing purple, and two translucent horns made of purple light emerged from the top of his forehead. Being untangible, they pierced through the top of his hood and continued rising until they were about the length of elephant tusks, only sharper at the end.
Lines of similar purple light ran across other parts of the armor, as if empowering it from head to heel. Even the two large black wings that sprouted from the cloak's back now had an eerie glowing purple eye on each, and were outlined with that same purple glow. It was… ominous, to say the least.
"This is…!" Finn suddenly felt empowered by his armor, in both physical strength and agility. Hesitantly, he punched forward at the air, and definitely felt more wind generated than normal.
"Heheh! How'd ya like that, my dear customer?" Mavrick grinned slyly. "The moment you inject some mana into this armor set, it will awaken the Voidheart stored within, enhancing all of your abilities greatly."
"The Voidheart…" Iris's eyes widened. "You mean, the purple gemstone that has been lost to ages?! Why is it in your possession?"
"Relax, girl," Mavrick sighed. "I wish I had the actual Voidheart… no, the one I embedded into your boyfriend's armor here is a mere fragment of the whole thing. You see, the Voidheart itself is huge. When it was finally harvested from deep underground a few decades ago, it was split into thousands of tiny little pieces and spread amongst merchants who bought them. I managed to get my hands on quite a few. Even a tiny piece of the Voidheart can give birth to immense power, after all. It was too good of an opportunity to miss."
"I see… the Voidheart, huh?" Finn whispered to no one in particular. Then, turning to Mavrick, he asked, "Does this thing have a limited amount of uses?"
"Nope," Mavrick replied with a shrug. "At least, not that I know of. The energy in the Voidheart is infinite, but because this is a mere fragment of the real thing, it will need time to recharge itself from… well, the Void. Scientists and researchers of the GHO have been trying to find a way to explain how it contains infinite power, but no one has managed to come up with a successful, logical explanation yet. The best thing they've got is a theory that states the Voidheart draws power from an imaginative 'Void', which is theoretically infinite and eternal, but uh… yeah, I make clothes, not research papers."
"Interesting," Iris murmured, having her curiosity successfully piqued. "What about my armor? Does it have a Voidheart fragment infused into it as well?"
Mavrick smiled. "Of course, girl. I spent more effort on yours than I did your boyfriend's, since I had to solve that walking issue of yours. Behold—the Walking Angel!"