I put my palm on the glass case that contains my armor set, and it immediately disintegrates not long after. Unlike when I touched Rexorem's glass case however, I don't feel any attachment toward the armor.
I also don't feel any sensation of getting my consciousness sucked into something this time, signifying that the armor is not that amazing of a Relic.
Quickly extending my hand to take the black chest plate with red linings, I bring it closer, then tap it to see how sturdy it is. I find it is roughly at the same Rank with Millonia's chest plate that I have broken a day before.
For me, this kind of armor is not foolproof at all—an armor that I, a newly born Demon, can ruin shouldn't be a very useful armor. Nonetheless, like Valeria has said, it is nothing more than an accessory; I don't really need it, unless I plan to always take hits.
? "I will teach you how to put it on, if you don't know how to do it yet," Valeria offers.
"I kinda get how to put it on, but I'll take up on the offer." I nod my head then hand over my chest plate to Valeria. "I hope I won't irk you by forcing you to do this."
"It's a mentor's job to teach her mentee—what are you talking about?"
"Well, thank you for being a good mentor."
I stand face to face with Valeria, then slightly recoil in surprise when I realize I am already of the same height as her.
I can't help it. My sudden growth spurt due to my Awakening has been overshadowed by the more impressive things that have happened—I don't pay much attention to it.
Valeria looks at me curiously as she seems to notice my surprise earlier, but she says nothing about it. She taps my coat that has fixed itself a few seconds ago, and I immediately take it off at the gesture.
Once the coat is taken off, Valeria immediately puts the chest plate on me while telling me the correct way to wear it on top of showing how to do it. The process takes roughly 30 seconds—she did it quickly but meticulously.
"This is different from what I expected it would feel like."
"Is it far too comfortable than what you expected?"
"Yeah." I tilt my body left and right. "I initially thought it would be suffocatingly tight, and would hamper my movement greatly."
"Such things only happen to Red Rank armors. Orange Rank armors don't have such a problem because there is a special Spell cast upon them to prevent such a problem to occur."
"Alright, I am ready for the next part." I nod my head.
Valeria takes the red vambraces with black linings, the put them on each of my hand. Like the chest plate, they don't hinder my movement at all, and they are pretty comfortable to wear.
The last piece of the armor is the tassets that will protect my thighs—the only part of my leg that will be protected. The tassets are of the same color as the vambraces, and they also have similar black linings.
Valeria takes the tassets, gets on her knees then puts them on my thighs. I don't feel right letting her do that considering who she is—and how suggestive her current position is—but I don't say anything about it.
Valeria has made the choice to do it, so I just have to respect it by not questioning whether she is sure about what she is doing.
On the back, quiet as she is, I can feel Millonia's glare boring holes in my back. I know what she is thinking about, and I know what she is trying to tell me: "Don't do anything stupid, asshole!"
Even if she doesn't glare at me that way, I know not to do the very thing she warns me not to. Having used Mana for a month, I already know how to control some of my body's natural reactions; I will never get a random boner.
"It is done."
"Thank you for your hardwork."
Valeria nods her head lightly then stands up. I can see that she is looking at me silently, but I am too busy testing my mobility while having the tassets on to mind her.
"Do you think I am not enough to arouse you anymore?"
"Pardon...?" I blink my eyes at Valeria's out of the blue question. "What are you talking about? You are that type of a woman that every man can only dream of seeing; you are perfect in many ways, you seem unreal."
"Oh... Thank you." Valeria slightly lowers her head then clears her throat. "However, that is not what I meant to ask. I am puzzled about why I haven't seen any reaction from down there lately."
"I thought you were going to ask about a serious matter for a second..." I smile awkwardly at the same time a light blush appears on Valeria's face.
"I don't know how many men you have encountered in your life, but not all of us let our lust get the better of us. At least, that is the type of a man I am."
"I see..." Valeria nods her head. "I thought you no longer found me alluring, so I am glad that I was wrong."
I shrug. "Well, I don't really know much about men just like you, so you may find many differences between me and the other men."
"I see where you came from."
Valeria nods in understanding, and I merely smile at that. It is rather unbelievable considering what I have become, but I was initially an androgynous young man that suffers from hypogonadism.
Like the two ladies who are clueless about what kind of a creature men are, I also don't know much about the way men usually behave in that kind of matter.
Even though I have a quite high sexual drive now, my mindset hasn't changed yet. Unlike the other men, who probably think sex is life, I don't see much necessity in it, so I can keep my lust at bay no matter how overwhelming it is.
Of course, the Mana helps control it better.
"Ah, this is too bad—I can't wear my coat anymore."
"Who told you that?"
"No one told me that, but I don't want to be the idiot who wears a coat on top of an armor."
Valeria hums to herself, then picks up my coat from the ground. She casts a Spell I don't know about on it, and the long sleeves turn into short sleeves in the next moment.
"No one says you look stupid in the coat." She hands me my coat. "Wear it—it won't get in the way."
"If you say so..."
I put my favorite, one and only red tailcoat on, then muse about how different it feels when I have it on. Quickly walking toward a mirror upon spotting one, I admire how awesome and unfamiliar I look.
"Whatever you did, you need to teach me how to do it, Valeria."
Standing in front of the mirror is a 6'5" tall man with a middle length black hair, an angular jaw, and a fair skin tone. His toned muscles aren't visible due to the way he dresses himself, but one can tell he is muscular from his figure.
That very man is me, and since this is me, I will rate my appearance 9 out of 10. I am not narcissistic enough to rate myself 10 out 10, but if I was compared with the so-called "Greek Gods" of Earth, I would win by a huge margin.
'Ironically, I kinda miss my cute look, but this handsome, manly face is not bad. This type of face will be able to swoon any woman over.'
I sweep my bangs to the back, and it gives me a more intimidating look. I don't know when my eyes became that empty, but they are giving me the look of a handsome, psychotic serial killer—it's dope.
"Have you had enough admiring yourself?" Millonia comments.
"You can join me if you want to."
"This narcissistic bastard..."
I smirk at Millonia's response then touch my black hair while contemplating on whether I should cut it. It no longer reminds me of my mom since the color has changed, but I am still unwilling to cut it.
'I will cut it once I have moved on from my mother's death...' I sigh as I recall the response I gave Valeria when she asked why I didn't cut my hair. 'Moving on is harder than I expected, apparently.'
Shaking my head faintly, I turn around then face Valeria who is looking at me like a mother watching her son wearing his school uniform for the first time. It's slightly embarrassing, so I clear my throat to gain her attention.
"What am I supposed to do next?"
"Put this on." Valeria hands me a black full-face mask with shining red linings and an intimidating design. "I don't want you to cause a stir among the army due to how you look."
"Do I look that horrible?" I quirk my eyebrow. "I'm sorry for being ugly."
I take the mask Valeria gives me then puts it on. The moment I do so, I immediately understand her true reason for asking me to wear it.