Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?-Chapter 514 - 24 The Importance of Reading the Manual

After dining with the Pope, Aske carried the chosen task reward and took a helicopter back to the Lysine Building.

Inside the Salmatia, when the Pope issued Aske the task, the promised reward was 10,000 silver marks or similar high-tech equipment.

Without a second thought, Aske definitely chose the latter. After all, there are many ways to make money in this world, but there are also many things money can’t buy.

It was only after he returned to Nora’s residence that Aske opened the briefcase given by the Pope and saw that the task reward was a device shaped like a backpack.

Aha, this is an Adaptive Force Field Shield.

The Adaptive Force Field Shield, as the name suggests, is a type of military personal shield. Wearing it on the body, one could form an invisible force field shield around oneself.

When objects like bullets or shrapnel collide with the shield at high speed, their impact force would be dissipated by the shield.

It’s what players commonly refer to as an extra health bar.

Of course, the shield’s capacity to withstand damage in the short term has its limits. If you unload a machine gun into it with relentless fire, the shield would soon be worn out, and recharging it would take a few seconds. Plus, it consumes a lot of electricity, so a nuclear fusion battery is indispensable.

Overall, it is a piece of excellent equipment for the Technology Camp.

As previously mentioned, in the Iron and Fire Game World, the levels of ordinary equipment from low to high are white, green, blue, purple, and orange. Above that are Divine Artifacts, which come in red (epic), silver (growing), and black (cursed) varieties.

Aske’s Dragon Bone Longsword, being the only one of its kind, is the highest rank among ordinary weapons, an orange name. In contrast, this Adaptive Force Field Shield produced by the Church Court is slightly lower in rank, belonging to the purple name level of equipment. While not unique, its quantity is extremely limited.

The reason is simple. Such devices are mostly components implanted within the bodies of the Temple Knights, fitted specifically for DNA rejection matching through cybernetic enhancements, and thus are not transferable for players even if they manage to kill a Temple Knight.

However, the one the Pope presented this time is a specially designed external force field shield that can be easily equipped without the need for body modifications.

Thus, whether considering its functionality or rarity, at least from its overall value, the Church Court did not treat The Azure Longsword unfairly.

Not like a certain Emperor who generously promised tasks but became stingy with rewards and later surely got his just desserts, right?

As for who would use this equipment, Aske only needed to think briefly before arriving at an answer.

The force field shield is primarily used for bulletproofing. In case the team faces a shooter, Eleanor and Sigrdrifa can rely on their Power Armor and Physical Power to tough it out, Peggy and Mia would use their high mobility to evade, Nora and Medea can launch Mind Blind Zones to avoid being targeted, and as a Sniper, Miel would be far away from the start.

He himself has Star Nine Forms protecting him and is not the least bit scared of firearm fire. That being the case, it seems that a certain poor former Empress, who functions as an Arcane Mage, lacks an effective means to deal with stray bullets—diverting bullets with a massive Gravity Field is already at the limit of her capabilities.

Thus, Aske soon found Thira (she was today alone in the Main Plane preserving Ancient Books, while the other girls were at Fire Island), and placed the shield backpack in front of her.

"What’s this?" Thira set down the book she was holding.

"Adaptive Force Field Shield," Aske said.

"Oh." As the former Empress of the East Solomon Empire, though a former Empress, Thira was naturally not unfamiliar with such equipment, "For me?"

"Of course," Aske smiled, "You need it the most in the team, don’t you?"

"Just because you said that, my fondness for you won’t easily increase, Squad Leader," Thira sighed.

"Look at what you’re saying; it’s as if I gave you this equipment just to increase your fondness for me," Aske said, bewildered.

"If you weren’t intentionally trying to woo favor, then why do so many girls in the team like you?" Thira questioned.

"I’d really like to know why myself," Aske mused, "Could it be because I’m particularly handsome?"

"Squad Leader, all you have is a brazen style that leaves a particularly deep impression on me," Thira expressed her disdain, then lowered her head to study the equipment, "How do you use this?"

"Oh, I just glanced at the manual," Aske said. "First, you need to wear it on your back, then set the parameters and mode correctly. After that, press the button in the middle of the belt and an invisible mass field shield will be produced around you. It will offer significant resistance and compression to any matter trying to pass through the shield."

Equipment from the game world used to be something players could simply pick up and use without the need for all this complicated setup and operation. Naturally, in this world, it was not so convenient.

"Is that so?" Thira tried to put it on her back, "Where is the button?"

"It’s on the belt," Aske said, looking down to examine her belt. "Look, there’s a button right here."

"This one?" Thira pressed it.

"Hey, you haven’t adjusted the settings yet..." Aske didn’t finish his sentence when suddenly, a faint blue spherical shield appeared around them. Centered on Thira, it enveloped both her and Aske.

Almost immediately, the shield began to shrink rapidly, squeezing both Aske and Thira tightly together.

"This isn’t... What’s happening?" Thira was also confused, but her brain quickly went blank.

Under the pressure of the shield, their bodies were now pressed so close that it was even more exaggerated and ambiguous than lovers in a tight embrace.

After about a few seconds of silence, Thira heard a sigh from above her head:

"You always manage to come up with something new."

Thira: ???......!!!

The feelings of cluelessness and shyness that had filled her chest rapidly transformed into incomprehensible anger and annoyance. She silently opened her mouth and bit down on the Squad Leader’s chest.

"Hey, that really hurts," Aske said, expressionless.

"Mmm mmm! Mmm, mmm!" Thira didn’t let go, just mumbled incomprehensible words.

"I know, I’ll release the shield quickly," Aske said. "But could you please let go first, Your Majesty?"

That "Your Majesty" saved his life. Still angry, Thira reluctantly released her bite and urged:

"Hurry up!"

"Actually, pressing the button again would deactivate the shield," Aske said.

"Then you press it," Thira said.

"My hands are pressed against your legs by the shield, I can’t move them," Aske said.

Thira’s head was also pressed against Aske’s chest, immobilized, so she could only look down and, indeed, saw Aske’s hands pressed against her thighs.

"Pervert," Thira said.

"It was an accident, okay?" Aske said helplessly. "Also, I’m quite uncomfortable in this position. Let’s deactivate the shield quickly. Can your hands reach the belt?"

"I can’t reach it," Thira tried, but her hands were also firmly pressed against Aske’s knees, unable to move.

"That’s so," Aske sighed. "It seems we’ll have to wait for the others to come back, so they can squeeze their hands between us to press the belt button and deactivate the shield."

"How can that be!" Thira shouted, annoyed and embarrassed. "If they see us stuck together this closely, will I become the public enemy of the team? Those who openly or secretly love you won’t swallow me whole?"

"Ha?"