The Crafter's Darkness: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 4) by Jonathan Brooks (e book reading free txt) 📕

next on the list because the Orcs tended to use relatively little, relying on their warrior prowess rather than relying on any particular protection.  She doubted they would completely cover up like the Dwarves did, or even the Elven Rangers in their soft leather armor that protected them well enough striding through the trees; armor like that would be restrictive, and the Orcish Warbands (at least from what she had observed) relied on manipulating their internal strength and speed via their elemental energy.  As of now, they wore the most basic “leather” armor over their waist and torso, which was as poorly made as their weapons.  What they needed was something made with higher-quality materials, as well as something that would help with exterior penetration.

She was stumped at first on how to go about that, until she remembered some chainmail pieces she’d learned how to craft back when she was still Human.  They were lighter weight than full plate, though they were heavier than just leather; while the Orcs were strong, she thought that the largest reason they didn’t want to wear any type of metal on their armor (besides the lack of material) was that it would slow them down with its bulkiness and weight.  So while they might submit to wearing chainmail, she had another thought along the same line of lightweight protection, but had something completely different in mind.

First, she crafted from her basic leather two chestpieces of nearly identical size, with one being just slightly smaller.  She had to estimate how large it needed to be, and it might not fit every member of a Warband, but she was going to put some simple buckles that would allow it to be tightened along the sides.  Regardless, it was already looking better than what she had seen them wearing before – and sturdier, as well.  She was going to make it even more protective, though, with the introduction of a hidden strength.

Sandra created a thin sheet of Steel, which was thin enough that it could bend with just a little effort.  Then, she created an equally thin sheet of basic Cotton cloth of the same size and laid it on top of the Steel; after that, she created a sheet of Titanium similar to the first two and placed that on top of the Steel and cotton cloth.  Then was another Cotton cloth, then Steel, then Cotton, then Titanium and so on until she had 25 layers stacked on top of each other.  Even with that many layers, the thickness of the stack was only an eighth of an inch – which was probably the thickest she wanted to go.

She took the stack and placed it on the inside of the larger chestpiece, before placing the second, smaller chestpiece on the inside.  Then, using her Mana, she was able to seal all of the edges together so that it trapped the layered stack of metal and cotton inside the front side of the armor.  It was a little difficult to judge how much heavier it was, but she didn’t think it was terribly noticeable; it didn’t look all that great, but she could make it look better once she tested it out.

Using one of the steel swords that she just crafted, she placed her experiment against the wall and stabbed it lightly with the tip of the weapon.  She wasn’t surprised to see that it easily penetrated the leather, but it was swiftly stopped by the layered plate below; she could see that the sword point penetrated through the first Steel plate, but was stopped by the other sheet of Titanium underneath the cotton.  A second experiment with a moderately forceful thrust of the sword showed that the sword penetrated through a few more layers, but the cotton was acting as a cushioning agent; she was originally thinking that it might help with impacts – which she was now sure it would – but was surprised that it was helping with penetration as well.

A third strike with all of the effort Sandra’s Ape could muster finally slid through all but the very last layer, which was impressive; she was sure that if she practiced (which she was happy enough to admit that she had no skill in actually using a sword) she might be able to completely penetrate the entire stacked chestpiece of metal and cloth, but what she had would certainly do the trick.  It wasn’t going to protect the Orcs from all attacks, but neither would their armor be little better than paper like it was now.

The best part about what she had created was the flexibility of the armor; while it wouldn’t give the Orcs the same sort of maneuverability as simple leather, the stack she had placed inside the chestpiece was more flexible than if she had placed a simple plate of Steel or Titanium inside.  That meant that the Orcs wouldn’t lose too much in terms of being able to move quickly and bend in most of the ways that mattered, and they would gain a whole lot more protection in the process.

To complete her design, she also added another thinner stack on the back side of the armor, to prevent most light damage from behind.  In addition, even thinner sheets of Titanium were added to the shoulders, where they were bent in a way that conformed to the shape of the chestpiece itself.  As much as she wanted to add even more, she also didn’t want to add too much or it would start to get heavy; if it were too heavy, it was likely that the Orcs would be unwilling to wear it.  She’d have to see how it worked out with the first Warband to test them out and make any changes to the design to see what might work better.  They might even be willing to wear something heavier if it means better protection, but I’ll let them decide that.