Meanwhile, the campaign for the discovered tomb has been getting more and more traction lately.
As Sir Jon said, the rumor was quickly getting spread through the grapevine even though the Order was keeping the information under tight wraps. As long as the adventurers smelled even a whiff of money, they would come swarming in even hungrier than a shark in blood-filled water.
However, the progress in the tomb had come to a standstill. After a few more deaths by acid, the adventurers refused to enter without any proper defensive measures.
Some returned to Angora City, hoping to be the first ones to purchase leggings from the best blacksmiths.
Unfortunately for them, it seemed that the premier armory in the city owned by the HammerStone company, coincidentally suffered a shortage of leggings to sell. It was also a coincidence that their fighting group was showing signs of preparation for the tomb.
They were taking advantage of their monopoly in gear to become the first people to explore the tomb.
Eventually, some ended up returning to the tomb with nothing but rusted boots and guts of steel.
One such group, made of four slightly inexperienced adventures, returned to the tomb with almost no hope left in their name. As no-names, they certainly didn't have any connections to established blacksmiths that would hook them up with acid-proof leggings like some high-class adventurers.
After another scream echoed in the jungle that signaled another death in the tomb, the group decided to call it quits and return home.
However, when they were about to leave for Angora City, one of them suddenly spotted something out of the corner of his eye.
There was a slight glint in his vision.
"What's that?" he said loudly to his group, which caught all of their attention.
They all turned around and slowly walked over to this strange sight.
And lo and behold, they saw something completely out of their expectations.
There was actually a small house right here in the middle of the jungle!
"Huh? Was this always here?"
The structure was just large enough to be called a home, with a roof and four walls. It was barebones, with no decoration or paint around it. And if it didn't have any sharp edges, they would have thought that it was just a large boulder.
They didn't recognize the material. It looked like stone but was way too smooth to be one.
"Maybe…it's part of the tomb?!"
"No…it looks modern. And look at that, there's light inside!"
As they slowly walked over to the front of the house, they finally saw part of its interior through the looking glass beside the double doors.
They all looked up at the signage carved in stone. It said;
{Reborn Armory}
The adventurers couldn't believe their eyes. They would have never expected to see an armory in the middle of nowhere.
They had half a mind to consider this as a trap, just like seeing a puddle of water in the desert. They thought that this armory was nothing but a mirage.
After all, just when they were wondering where they could get armor from, this building suddenly popped up without any warning at all.
"Should we…should we come in?"
"What if it's a trap?"
"But look! Leggings! Armors!"
They couldn't help but squeeze themselves through the window as they peeked at the goods inside.
"Ahem…welcome to our armory!"
A human woman suddenly opened the door from the inside and greeted the weary adventurers. She gestured for them to come inside with her warm expression and inviting smile.
"Boss Michael! We have customers!" she shouted back.
Michael ascended from the other side of the counter with a smile on his face.
…
…
…
Michael oversaw the construction of the Golden Road right until the very edge of the jungle area.
There, he instructed the Engineers to create a little shop to set up their armory. It was near enough to the tomb so that the adventurers could stumble upon it accidentally, while still being close enough to the Golden Road that they could easily replenish their products through automobile trucks.
With Michael's magic, it took barely two days for the armory to be completed. It was simple but quaint.
With the structure done, he just had to stock up the shipment of Rebornian 'reject' armors inside.
Of course, he made sure to add more than just armor. He stocked up on everything an adventurer would need in a campaign such as rations, tents, torches, bedrolls, and other such equipment.
It didn't even take long before their very first customers arrived.
"Boss Michael! We have customers!"
She was a Neo Orcus local who helped him take care of the armory while he was away.
Once he heard her voice, he immediately transported himself to the armory to welcome the first customers.
"Excuse me," a youthful adventurer said. "But…is this really an armory?"
"Of course. You can buy anything you need here," he said to them.
The adventurers didn't speak anymore and simply just admired all the products hanging on the shelves.
They couldn't help but show a face of shock as they saw their reflections from the smooth armor.
"I don't even think those fighters from the HammerStone group have this amazing armor!" one of them said.
"I can't believe the quality of the swords here. It looks the same as those Dwarven equipment in the black markets!"
They were too amazed at the armor to even question the fact that an eleven-year-old boy owned an armory in the middle of the jungle.
"Oh my god! Those are steel leggings!"
One of them finally chanced upon the armor that Michael set up.
"Look at the craftsmanship on this! There's no seams! This is acid-proof!"
"We have to get this! This could be our chance to finally break through to the tomb!"
A palpable excitement spread across the adventurers.
They immediately brought out all the gold they had on them and pushed it on the desk. Even though they had to fork up their savings, it was worth it to get these leggings.
"Thank you," Michael's attendant said. "Please come again."
After the adventurers left, Michael smiled to himself. "Good, now we just have to wait."
…
…
…
A day later, five groups of adventurers came inside the Reborn armory. Just like the previous group, they had also stumbled upon this by accident and were curious as to what it was.
And when they saw the leggings on sale, they immediately bought them without any consideration.
By the second day, there had been rumors that a few groups had been able to cross the acid part of the tomb safely!
This became a sensation among the adventurer circles, especially since the people who had successfully journeyed through the acid were no-names.
And when they asked around, more people found out about this supposed armory in the middle of the jungle.
Of course, most people didn't believe it was true. But, when they investigated it themselves, they quickly found out the truth.
And so, the Reborn Armory slowly gained a reputation from the adventurers. With the HammerStone company preventing anyone from buying any legging armor, this was the only place they could obtain one for their campaign.
By the fifth day, almost half of the people camping by the tomb were wearing armor with the distinct 'R' symbol of the Reborn company stamped on its side.