Now came the next part: shaping it.
Jack drew the tusk knife, pressed the tip to the corner of the hide and pushed.
Nothing.
He frowned, applying more pressure, slicing downward in a smooth draw.
Still nothing. The knife skidded off, leaving only the faintest of marks—more of a bruise than a cut.
Jack exhaled slowly through his nose. “Well,” he muttered, “guess that’s one way to prove it’s durable.”
He shifted positions, anchoring the hide beneath his knee, and tried again, this time sawing carefully.
No better.
Frustrated, he flicked his hand and summoned a shard of mana. The familiar chill of Ice Daggergathered in his palm, crystallizing into a pale-blue blade. He narrowed his eyes, angled the magic-formed edge, and sliced.
The dagger shattered with a sharp crack, splinters of magical ice flinging harmlessly into the moss.
“Alright,” Jack muttered. “New plan.”
He stood, dusting off his hands, and called over to Cael, who was hunched nearby, carefully mixing powdered root into a flask of Pool water.
“Hey Cael—mind if I borrow a blade?”
Cael blinked, pulled a curved utility knife from his kit, and handed it over. “Good steel,” he said. “Should do the trick.”
Jack nodded his thanks, crouched, and tried again.
It didn’t even scratch the surface.
He growled softly. “This hide’s been cursed by a blacksmith, I swear.”
Cael, now watching with a mix of fascination and horror, offered a small shrug. “Maybe it’s the Pool? Hardened the fibers too much?”
Jack didn’t answer. Instead, he turned toward his pack and reached for the one thing he hadn’t tried yet—Aetherspire.
The crystalline tip of the spear shimmered faintly even in the shade, its leaf-like head narrow and keen. The edge wasn’t made for skinning, but he knew how sharp it could be—how it hummed with mana when he focused. He set the butt of the spear against the ground and angled the point toward the hide.
“Guess we find out how much of a weapon this really is,” he said to himself.
He pressed the spear’s head to the edge of the pelt and slowly dragged it forward. It resisted at first, the stiffness of the hide bucking against the weapon’s narrow profile. But then it gave—a slow, splitting sound like tearing canvas. The crystalline edge sliced through, not easily, but cleanly.
Jack exhaled, shoulders easing. “Finally.”
The angle was awkward—he had to brace the hide with one arm and maneuver the long spear with the other, shifting his stance each time to keep balance—but it worked. Aetherspire bit deep when pushed just right, especially when Jack subtly fed a trickle of mana into the spear, letting it hum with energy. He had so far only channeled mana into the spear when casting a spell, but simply funneling the energy into the weapon seemed to increase its cutting power. He would have to test that later.
The work was brutal. Even with his boosted stats—his Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity all far beyond what a normal man could hope for—Jack found the task grueling.
The hide, though softened by the burial and made pliable by its earth-aligned treatment, still resisted every cut and fold like old bark. It was as though it had simultaneously become more flexible and more durable. Aetherspire helped—its crystalline edge sharp enough to part stone if wielded right—but it wasn’t meant for crafting. Its length and weight made precision difficult, forcing Jack to reposition constantly, crouching low, twisting, even bracing the haft against his shoulder to guide each cut with care.
He had a rough design in mind—functional, flexible, something that wouldn’t hinder his movement or slow his spearwork. He sketched it into the dirt with the butt of Aetherspire before starting: a cuirass with overlapping chest plates, pauldrons shaped to hug his shoulders, vambraces reinforced at the forearms, and greaves that would strap tight over his boots. An open faced helmet that wouldn’t obscure his vision. The book proved very helpful in showing him what he needed and how each piece should be shaped.
Every piece had to be measured, trimmed, and then scored so it could be shaped. He folded the chest pieces over smoothed branches to give them curvature, weighed them down with stones so they would dry rigid. Lacing holes were punched through by driving Aetherspire’s tip into the edges, one slow inch at a time.
He worked through the morning and into the afternoon. His hands ached despite his Strength. His back burned. His fingers were nicked with shallow cuts, and sweat soaked through his undershirt. But piece by piece, it came together.
Lyla saw how busy he was and offered to take his shift watching Celia. Though he protested, it was without much conviction. He really wanted his armor to be ready as soon as possible. So he finally accepted and went back to work, now shaping the stags antlers into something useable.
When he finally sat back, the sky had begun to shift—shadows lengthening across the glade, the sun settling low.
Before him, laid out neatly on branches and stones, was the rough beginning of a full suit of armor. It wasn’t beautiful—not yet. But it was his. Hardened bear-hide, earth-cured and shaped by his own hands, soon to be bound together into something that would take blows meant to kill.
Jack rubbed his temples and looked toward the Pool.
Right. The gut.
He pushed himself up, legs stiff, and walked to the water’s edge. The translucent coils of intestine floated lazily in the Pool’s cold, clear shallows. The magical water had done its work—cleansing the gut inside and out. What had once been a stinking mass of filth now shimmered faintly beneath the surface, like pale silk in the moonlight.
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Jack reached in, fingers brushing the cool, slick surface, and began lifting the lengths one by one. They came up clean, no residue, no stench. Just smooth, purified material—ideal for stitching, wrapping, or even water storage, if treated right.
He hung them on a line of cord between two low branches to dry, letting the mountain breeze and waning sun do the rest.
It had taken all day. But the armor was coming together.
The next morning dawned silver and quiet. Mist clung to the forest floor, curling low around Jack’s ankles as he stepped towards his materials. He was finally ready to put the pieces together.
He exhaled slowly, rolling out his shoulders as he examined the results of his efforts so far.
The bear hide had dried stiff and strong, its texture somewhere between cured leather and bark. The time buried in the earth had aligned it with nature’s quiet resilience, and now it flexed only slightly when bent, yet held its shape like shaped wood. The gut, once slick and coiled, now hung dry and clean—a pale, fibrous cord that flexed without tearing. Strong. Durable. Perfect for stitching.
He laid the pieces out in the clearing. Chest plate. Back plate. Shoulder guards. Arm and leg sections. He’d shaped them the day before, but now came the act of binding them into something whole.
Jack worked with slow, steady hands. He punctured new holes where needed, threading lengths of bear gut through each with practiced care. The material held tight, shrinking slightly as it dried again and pulling the armor pieces snug against each other. Every seam became a declaration of his intent—resilient, reinforced, built to protect.
From his pouch, he pulled the remaining pieces of the Sanguine Stag’s antlers. Their deep crimson hue caught the morning light, glinting like wet blood. He’d already shaped some of them with care—flattened slivers for decorative ridges along the pauldrons, jagged strips for reinforcing the forearms and shins. But the centerpiece was a segment he had carved into a fierce, sweeping browplate.
This, he embedded into the helm he’d crafted from the Ursine’s thicker neck hide. It sat high, curling like a crown of bone above the eyes, offering protection and presence. When worn, it gave the armor a visage both wild and regal—part beast, part warrior.
Lastly came the Soul Gem.
Jack held it for a moment before attaching it—an earthy brown crystal the size of a child’s fist, faintly pulsing with quiet weight. Inside, the echo of the Earthborn Ursine stirred—not sentient, not conscious, but undeniably present. Power lingered in that soul, dense and grounded like a mountain underfoot. The book had made no mention of how to use a Soul Gem so he had improvised. Hopefully, the System would recognize his efforts.
He set the gem into the center of the chest plate, just over where his heart would be. It clicked into a socket he’d carved the night before, a cradle of antler-bone and hide. As it settled, the crystal gave a slow, responding pulse—thrum—like a heartbeat aligning with his own.
When he stood, the suit was complete.
Dark leather overlaid with reddish antler-plate. Interlocking segments bound with sinew. A helmet shaped like the forest’s fury, and a heart protected by the soul of the beast it came from.
It was not armor forged in a city’s forge, nor stitched by any tanner or smith. It was made from the land, the hunt, and the fight.
[Congratulations! Leatherworking has gained 5 levels]
[Congratulations! Armor Crafting has gained 5 levels]
[Earthborn Greaves]
Type: Medium Armor
Rarity: Rare
Quality: Excellent
Material: Earthborn Ursine Hide, Bear Gut Threading
Properties: Enhanced durability, partial grounding effect
Description: These reinforced greaves protect the lower legs with layered Earthblood Ursine hide and antler ridge plates down the shins. They are sturdy enough to absorb the shock of heavy impacts and keep the wearer anchored during even the fiercest of charges.
Attributes:
- Defense: +10
- Durability: 285/285
- Weight: Moderate
- Stat Boosts: +7 Endurance(Soul)
- Resistances: +5% Earth Resistance
- Special Effect: Reduces knockback effects by 20%
- Requirements: None
[Earthblood Tassets]
Type: Medium Armor
Rarity: Rare
Quality: Excellent
Material: Earthborne Ursine Hide, Sanguine Stag Antler Fragments
Properties: Armor-flex waist coverage
Description: Protective flaps that hang over the thighs, these tassets use overlapping scales of antler and hide to guard vital arteries and joints without restricting mobility.
Attributes:
- Defense: +8
- Durability: 2802/80
- Weight: Light
- Stat Boosts: +5 Endurance (Soul)
- Resistances: +4% Blood Resistance
- Special Effect: None
- Requirements: None
[Earthblood Chestplate]
Type: Medium Armor
Rarity: Epic
Quality: Good
Material: Earthborn Ursine Hide, Bear Gut Threading, Sanguine Stag Antler Fragments, Soul Gem of the Earthborn Ursine
Properties: Enchanted resilience, soul-bound restoration
Description: The heart of the set, this armored chestplate is forged from the thickest hide and reinforced with antler plates and a glowing Soul Gem embedded over the heart. The gem pulses with the lingering essence of the Earthborn Ursine, granting restorative powers in moments of crisis.
Attributes:
- Defense: +10
- Durability: 800/800
- Weight: Heavy
- Stat Boosts: +10 Endurance(Soul)
- Resistances: +10% Physical Resistance
- Special Effect: Once per day, use Restoration of the Earths Blood to fully restore the wearer’s health and repairs all pieces of the Earthblood Armor Set
- Requirements: None
[Earthblood Pauldrons]
Type: Medium Armor
Rarity: Rare
Quality: Excellent
Material: Earthborn Ursine Hide, Sanguine Stag Antler Reinforcements
Properties: Enhanced shoulder protection
Description: Broad and intimidating, these pauldrons sweep out from the shoulders with jagged antler trim. The design is as much deterrent as it is defense.
Attributes:
- Defense: +6
- Durability: 175/175
- Weight: Moderate
- Stat Boosts: +4 Constitution
- Resistances: +5% Blood Resistance,+5% Earth Resistance
- Special Effect: Reduces damage from overhead attacks by 15%
- Requirements: None
[Earthborn Vambraces]
Type: Medium Armor
Rarity: Rare
Quality: Excellent
Material: Earthborn Ursine Hide, Bear Gut Threading
Properties: Forearm protection with spell-channeling lattice
Description: Crafted for utility and resilience, these vambraces protect the arms and double as a medium for spell-conduction.
Attributes:
- Defense: +5
- Durability: 370/370
- Weight: Light
- Stat Boosts: +6 Constitution
- Resistances: +4% Magical Resistance
- Special Effect: Reduces mana cost of Earth spells by 10%
- Requirements: None
[Earthblood Helm]
Type: Medium Armor
Rarity: Rare
Quality: Excellent
Material: Earthblood Ursine Hide, Sanguine Stag Antler Crest
Properties: Intimidating presence, head protection
Description: A open faced battle helm shaped from reinforced hide and crowned with a jagged antler ridge. Its design offers strong protection while evoking the raw majesty of the Earthborn Ursine.
Attributes:
- Defense: +9
- Durability: 675/675
- Weight: Moderate
- Stat Boosts: +3 Intelligence
- Resistances: +5% Blood Resistance
- Special Effect: Slightly increases intimidation against beast-type enemies
- Requirements: None