Once Ren was done picking a quest, he and Hilda were waiting for Lara to come back to the adventurers guild. While the two were waiting, Ren couldn't help but look at Hilda's equipment. Compared to her other equipment, which she used when going to dungeon, the one she was wearing now was pretty good.
Hilda who noticed Ren's staring at her spoke to him, with a wary look on her face. "Why do you keep on looking at me like that?"
"I was admiring your equipment. Compared to the one you used when we went into that dungeon, the one you're wearing now is so much better. Why didn't you wear that when we went into the dungeon? If you were better equipped, you might have beaten that steel golem with less effort."
Hearing Ren's comment, Hilda felt like she was the bad guy. She didn't mean to do it again but she did. She once again judged Ren based on her past experience with men. Turns out he wasn't looking at her, he was only interested in her armor.
"This armor was handcrafted by the dwarves in the mountains of Jattori. It was a gift by my father before I entered the knight academy. The weapons on the other hand are a family heirloom."
Ren got a bit excited, since Hilda said something unknown to him. "You said something about dwarves. Tell me, what are dwarves?"
When Hilda heard Ren's question, she was shocked. There was someone in the kingdom that doesn't know about dwarves. When she thought about it for a bit, she then remembered that Ren was from a small village. There was a chance that stories about dwarves were never told to him.
"Dwarves are a race of sub-humans. They are small bearded people that live in the mountains, but do not underestimate them because of their height. Dwarves possess greater strength than humans, a dwarf child could lift a grown man with relative ease, and an a.d.u.l.t dwarf even without training can lift boulders with one hand. Though they are famous for their strength, what makes them truly stand out among the races is their unrivaled blacksmithing skills. Even the average dwarf blacksmith is more skilled than the best human blacksmith. Some even say the best blacksmiths of the dwarves could make weapons that could harm even Gods."
Hearing that this race could create weapons that could harm Gods, made Ren even more excited. At this very moment Ren decided that he would find this the best blacksmith of the dwarves and ask whoever it is to make him a weapon. Just thinking about owning a weapon that can harm or even kill a God made Ren really excited.
"I see thank you for that explanation. So your armor was made by dwarves, then are your sword and shield also made by dwarves?"
"No they are not. In truth none from my family know where the sword and shield come from. They have simply been passed down from one generation to the next. The origins of the weapons have been lost in time."
"I see..." Once they were done talking about Hilda's equipment the conversation stopped and both were silent. After awhile Hilda broke the silence.
"Speaking about equipment, why don't you and Lara buy some new ones? I know that your weapon that you used to beat the King Drake was nothing short of legendary. But Lara's bow and arrows looked like they were hand made by her. Even your leather armor looks so old, that at this point it doesn't serve its purpose."
"I guess, we could buy new equipment, seeing as I do have a lot of money at the moment... Sure let's do that. So tell me Hilda, where can I buy the best armor in this town?"
Hearing that question Hilda started explaining about the different armor shops in town. Each armor shop had their own specialty. Some armor shops have thick armor that boast considerable defense but one losses maneuverability when worn. Others have excellent resistance to spells, but not much with bladed weapons.
As Hilda continued on with her explanation about the various armor shops in town, Lara had returned. She noticed from a distance that Hilda and Ren were having a very lively conversation. She didn't like the feeling that Hilda was getting close to Ren. So she sprinted onwards and interrupted their conversation.
Surprised by Lara's sudden appearance, Hilda stopped talking. Ren on the other hand had already noticed Lara's return a few seconds ago, wasn't really surprised.
"So Lara have you handed the money to our friend?" Lara nodded her head in response, and handed a letter to Ren.
"This is from that friend." Hearing what Lara said, Ren safely hidden the letter in his pocket. He decided to read it once he was alone.
"Now that we're all here, how about we head to one of those armor shops. Hilda if you would, please lead the way." Ren made an over dramatic gesture telling Hilda to go on first and show him and Lara to an armor shop.
...
The group of three headed towards an armor shop that sold armor that could protect one from some minor damages and was light as well. The reason for choosing this kind of armor, was because Ren and Lara knew how to surround themselves with mana that acts out as their armor. So in reality they never needed armor in the first place. Though if the armor was better than their mana shield, then that was a different story, but unfortunately there wasn't anything like that in Grenton.
Still buying new armor was a bit fun for Lara. It was like trying some new clothes. Most importantly for her, it made Ren look even cooler, even though Ren was not really cool or handsome looking.
Ren who was done picking out his armor, wore some plated shoulder guards, some enchanted silver armor, and enchanted silver greaves. He decided not to buy gauntlets cause it disrupts him from doing spells. Overall with this new look of his, even with his average looking face, he somehow looked a bit cool.
Lara was also able to buy new armor, and it made her even more eye catching. She wore a silver gauntlet on her left arm, which she uses to hold her bow. Her armor was a tight fitting leather armor, with matching leather boots. The shopkeeper liked her look so much that he even gave Ren a discount for it.
Once they were done buying armor. The three headed to a weapons shop, to buy Lara a new bow and arrows. With Ren's money they were able to buy the best bow in the shop, which wasn't much, since no one in town was very adept in using bows. Though it was a big improvement from Lara's old bow.
Now that the party was fully equipped and ready, they left town and headed to the location of their quests.
...
Back in the knight academy, Valdel's swordsmanship was being ranked. The test was simple three Saint Rank swordsmen would watch the person being ranked do some moves using his/her swordsmanship and they will evaluate it.
Valdel moved the way Ren thought him. There was no superfluous movement, it wasn't elegant or beautiful to look at, but it was powerful. Valdel's movements might look simple and easy to dodge, if looked at by lower level swordsmen, but the Saint ranked swordsmen gathered could see that Valdel's movements were precise and deadly.
Once Valdel was done showing his swordsmanship he stood before the three Saint ranked swordsmen and waited for their verdict.
"Valdel first year student of the knight academy. You're talent is nothing short of miraculous. We are proud to witness the birth of a future legendary swordsman. From today forth you are ranked as a Master ranked swordsman. You young swordsman, we hope, that your journey be worthwhile."