Both Quinn and Tsukuru looked down at the huge pile of black clothes.
This is the part that Quinn had been dreading the most.
He was already hot and sweating.
He couldn't imagine how bad it would get after he was covered head to toe in black clothing.
Tsukuru glanced over at Quinn, an amused smirk on his face.
"Alright, time to get into the monkey suit, Quinn." He replied.
Quinn grit his teeth in annoyance.
He let out a long sigh.
"Let's just get this over with." He muttered, wanting to get this done as soon as possible.
First, Quinn put on the sweater, followed by the thick, black trousers.
He took off his regular sneakers, and put on the tall, thick boots, followed by the black, leather gloves.
Finally, he put the balaclava mask over his head, followed by the black top hat on his head.
Looking at him, Layla and Tsukuru thought that Quinn looked absolutely ridiculous.
Layla tried to hold in her laughter.
"Breathe, breathe, Layla." She muttered to herself.
Given the current situation, it would be rude to laugh.
However, Tsukuru had no such reservation.
He burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he whole body shook.
"You look…rediculous!" He wheezed.
Layla and Quinn both narrowed their eyes at him.
Layla reached her hand over, and flicked him on the ear.
"Ow!" Tsukuru muttered.
Instantly, he stopped laughing, him now rubbing his reddened ear.
Layla turned back to Quinn.
"Anything?" Layla asked.
"No." Quinn replied. "Not yet, anyway."
"Well, let's try the rest, then." Layla replied.
She reached down, and picked up the remaining clothes on the ground.
She placed a sleeping mask over his eyes, as well as a few additional hats.
Now, every inch of his skin was covered.
"Anything?" Layla asked.
"No!" Quinn's muffled voice came out through the clothes.
However, Layla didn't give up.
If the umbrella had worked, then this had to work, as well.
She continued to place all the remaining clothes that she had brought with her onto Quinn.
Finally, while Layla had finished piling on all the clothes, a System message had popped up in front of Quinn, informing him that he was no longer being affected by direct sunlight.
However, there was another problem.
Although the clothes had worked, Quinn was now wrapped in three inches of multiple layers of black clothing.
Tsukuru snorted.
Seeing Quinn reminded him of an old family movie whose name he had long-since forgotten.
In the movie in question, a mother had wrapped her young child in several layers of thick winter clothing to protect them from the cold.
To the point that their legs were forced to stick out straight to the sides of them, as they would just stick right back up whenever they were pushed down.
Layla quickly helped Quinn out of the absurd amount of clothing, as it seemed like he was a bit wobbly on his legs, and that he was gonna pass out any minute.
Once they were done, Quinn picked up the still-open umbrella off of the ground, and felt his energy start to come back to him as he stood in its shade.
"Well, you can't go out like that either, then." Layla replied. "You wouldn't be able to move at all."
Hearing this, Quinn let out a sigh.
"Yeah." He agreed, before glancing back at the two. "But at least now we know that the most important part is stopping the sun from hitting me."
Layla and Tsukuru both nodded.
As Quinn looked up at the umbrella, he wondered if he could perhaps get clothes made out of the same material.
However, that brought up another problem.
Just like how the umbrella couldn't be used in a fight because it could easily be destroyed, the same was true for clothes made of the same material.
But then, the memory of that cape worn by Nate's friend, Sam, in the VR game flashed through his mind.
He remembered how the cape had easily deflected his Blood Swipes, despite them easily slicing through flesh and stone.
Quinn's eyes widened, and he snapped his head over to Tsukuru.
"Tsukuru, I fought a person in the VR game earlier who had…a rather peculiar cape." He replied. "It was able to deflect my Blood Swipes as if it were made out of steel."
Hearing this, Tsukuru put his hand under his chin, thinking.
"Sounds like a piece of Beast Equipment." He muttered.
Then, his eyes widened in realization.
'Wait, did he just say that he used his Blood Swipe Skill in the game?' Tsukuru thought.
Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you mean 'Beast Gear'?" He asked in confusion.
"No, I don't." Tsukuru replied, looking up at him. "Beast Gear and Beast Equipment are two entirely different things."
Seeing the look of confusion on Quinn's face, Tsukuru let out a sigh.
"Alright, listen up, Quinn." Tsukuru replied, narrowing his eyes. "With the exception of those who use Beast Crystals as an energy source for machines and energy weapons, there are primarily three types of people who work with Beast Crystals." He explained.
Tsukuru raised up his index finger.
"The first, and most commonly known are known as 'Beast Forgers'." Tsukuru explained. "They're essentially like the 'blacksmiths' of old, and it's considered to be the easiest of the three methods in comparison. They use metals and Beast Crystals to forge Beast Weapons and Beast Gear. Things such as swords, shields, and suits of armor. They do this by melting down the metals and Beast Crystals into a sort of molten 'slag'." Tsukuru continued.
"This 'slag' is then poured into Glathrium molds, similarly to how metal parts are casted. The slag is then tempered into hardened steel with hammers. Due to this, it takes a high level of Strength to be a Beast Forger."
Tsukuru then held up his middle finger along with his index finger.
"The second group is known as 'Beast Tailors', and they are significantly lesser known, as their profession is quite more difficult." He continued. "Rather than pouring the metal slag into a mold, it is woven into a metal thread. Think of it like a metal fiber. This metal thread is then woven into cloth and fabric, creating Beast Equipment."
Quinn and Layla took in everything that Tsukuru was saying, with them now paying very close attention.
"What about the third type?" Layla asked.
Tsukuru glanced back at her.
"They're called 'Beast Jewelers'." He replied in a dismissive tone. "They forge the slag into innocuous things such as jewelry. These items have absolutely no use in battle, and are primarily worn by the elites as a status symbol."
Tsukuru narrowed his eyes.
"Both me and my brother, Logan, agree that this 'jewelry' is a complete and utter wasteof Beast Crystals."
Quinn looked down, thinking.
"So what you're saying is that if I want a suit made out of the same material as the cape, I would need to find one of these 'Beast Tailors'."
Quinn then heard Tsukuru snort.
"Like I said, they're harder to find." Tsukuru replied, dismissively waving his hand. "You can find scores of Beast Forgers here due to how prevalent Beast Gear is."
Tsukuru then narrowed his eyes.
"But trying to find a Beast Tailor here would be like trying to find a fashion designer in a public school."
Layla then turned to Quinn.
"Besides, Quinn, you don't even know what kind of Beast Crystals this 'cape' was even made from." She said with a gentle smile.
Tsukuru nodded slowly.
"Right." He agreed. "Every student of every rank from all seven bases uses that game! That thing could be made from King-Tier Crystals for all we know!"
Tsukuru narrowed his eyes even more.
"And even if we did find out, how do you expect to obtain the required Beast Crystals?" Tsukuru added. "It's not like we can just hop a ride through a random portal to go Beast hunting!"
Hearing this, Quinn grit his teeth in irritation.
He knew that they were both correct.
Quinn narrowed his eyes.
'The next time I see that person in the game, the first thing I'm asking him is which Beast's crystals that cape's made from, and where to find them!' He thought.