Fluna’s Equipment
When they arrived at the workshop, I took out weapons such as one-handed swords, two-handed swords, spears, maces, axes, and others from where I stored the stock in.
「Considering surface combat and underwater combat, it would be difficult to wield one-handed and two-handed swords.」
「Yes. The same with axes and maces.」
It was impossible to swing swords and maces with the drag from water resistance.
「So that leaves a spear, huh. You wouldn’t be able to swing it either, but I think you should be able to focus on thrusts.」
「Also, knives and daggers seem like they could work underwater.」
「Yes, it should be usable with the short blade of a dagger or knife.」
The reason I imagined a spear as Fluna-san’s weapon was because I was inspired by Poseidon’s trident.
Then I made Fluna-san try out the spear, dagger, and knife.
Upon observation of her movements, I noticed something that could be considered a weakness unique to Mermaids.
「Oh I see, is it because Fluna-san is a Mermaid? Her footwork is clumsy.」
「Urk, my apologies.……」
「Sorry, I’m not critizing you.」
While trying to console the discouraged Fluna, I thought she needed combat training on land.
The Mermaids have demonstrated excellent mobility underwater, but on ground, they were only mobile enough to not impede on their daily lives.
「Even so, your race has high physical capabilities.」
「Yes. We are capable of swimming at high speeds underwater.」
That makes sense. Swimming is a very intense exercise, and the mermaids were capable of swimming fast for extended periods of time.
I gave her a brief lesson on how to handle spears, then asked her to practice the forms.
If she had the aptitude for the spear, then by repeatedly practicing with proper form, it shouldn’t take long for her to acquire the skill.
Underwater, thrusts would likely be the main attack pattern, but I had her practice sweeping attacks and pommel strikes too.
After all, even though Fluna-san’s battlefield would mainly be underwater, the dungeons we’ll be leveling up in were all above ground.
「Ah! I learned the Spear Technique skill!」
After watching Fluna-san practice for a while, she suddenly yelled.
「Fluna-san, you might actually have the knack for the spear. Okay, shall we try getting the dagger or knife skill?」
「Yes!」
Ecstatic from having obtained the spear skill, Fluna-san eagerly switched to a dagger.
While she trained with the dagger, I thought about the specifications for her possible weapons.
A spearhead that’s specialized for thrusts might be good.
Maybe it would be better if it could also slash when used on land? Thinking so, the trident seemed unfeasible.
For a Japanese-style spear, it would have to be the omi-yari, a long-blade spear. There was also the kama-yari for Japanese-style weapons.
A kama-yari had a cross-shaped spear tip, with a sickle-shaped blade protruding like a branch.
I would need to arrange one for Fluna-san’s use, but I wonder if a single or double branching kamayari would be better.
To me, this was mostly a matter of personal preference.
If she wanted minimal water resistance underwater, it would probably be better to not have the sickle blade part.
Even so, I’ll have to experiment on the length of the sickle blade’s length and curvature to find the optimal shape that could be used with very little difficulty underwater.
The materials for the spearhead and shaft had to water resistant too. Of course, I could would waterproof it with an enchantment, but we should use highly water resistant materials nonetheless.
「Ah! I’ve obtained the Dagger Technique skill!」
「Woah, Fluna-san, you really are a natural.」
I had only taught her a bit of footwork and body movements, and she had just practiced swings and forms, but given how she had already acquired the skill for a short time, she may actually have some decent battle sense.
Eventually, Fluna-san had chosen the kama-yari and a large knife for her weapons.
However, the problem was with her armor.
「Even light armor would be a hindrance underwater, wouldn’t it?」
「That’s right. Generally, when we go into the sea, we only use swimsuits.」
Oh yeah. Before they moved into the Sanctuary, there were some that didn’t even wear bikini top swimwear. Nowadays, whenever they went on walks around the Sanctuary, they were using normal clothing, but……
Laeva came in while I was agonizing in the workshop.
「Are you troubled by something?」
「Ahh, it’s you, Laeva. I was thinking about Fluna-san’s armor, but……」
「I see, a functional armor that’s easy to move in even underwater, it seems interesting. Laeva wants to assist.」
「Thank you, Laeva. I’ve done all I could by myself, you’re really doing me a solid.」
After that, Fluna-san herself joined us to brainstorm for armor ideas, and we somehow eventually managed to decide on a direction.
We would make gauntlets and a chestplate with a generally water resistant design. The chestplate was made into a bustier shape by Laeva and Fluna-san. In addition to that, we were providing shoulder guards, though minimal in size. She would be too defenseless if there wasn’t anything on her shoulders.
The problem was regarding the unique lower half of the Mermaids’ bodies, so we decided on special miniskirt-type armor.
This skirt-type armor had a form transformation gimmick.
The miniskirt-type armor splits side-to-side and front-to-back, so it can be deployed and attached to a special fabric inside the armor to instantly transform into spats the instant it is on land.
As for the color and finer details, it seems like Laeva and Fluna-san would decide after some consultation.
I was hands off on that part of the design. I’m not confident in my fashion sense.
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Thanks for the treat.
Thanks for the chapter! Awesome translation! May God bless you!