CHAPTER 27: THE GAUNTLETS ARRIVE
408 Words
The equipment shop owner called early in the morning. Klein's gauntlets were ready ahead of schedule.
He arrived to find her beaming with pride, the finished pieces displayed on black velvet.
They were magnificent.
Black metal formed the base, but crimson veins of chaotic energy pulsed through them like living things.
The craftsmanship was exquisite, each gauntlet fit perfectly to Klein's forearms, lightweight despite looking dense and heavy.
"I've never worked with corrupted material before," the shopkeeper said. "It fought me every step of the way. But I think... I think these might be my masterpiece."
Klein put them on, and immediately felt the difference. Power surged through his arms, the gauntlets conducting his mana more efficiently than he'd thought possible.
"Try them out," she urged, pointing to a reinforced testing dummy in the corner.
Klein approached the dummy, designed to withstand attacks from high-level System Bearers, and threw a casual punch.
The dummy exploded.
Klein stared at the scattered pieces, then at his gauntleted fist.
"Oh my," the shopkeeper breathed. "That's... that's a forty percent increase in striking power at minimum. Plus they'll amplify your chaos attribute attacks and enhance control."
Klein flexed his fingers, feeling the gauntlets respond like a second skin. With these, his offensive capabilities had jumped dramatically.
He paid the remaining ten thousand credits gladly.
Walking back to the guild, Klein felt eyes on him. His chaos sensitivity screamed a warning.
He turned just as a bolt of ice shot toward his head.
Klein's new gauntlets came up instinctively, and he punched through the ice bolt, shattering it.
Darius stood on a rooftop across the street, forming another attack.
"This again?" Klein called out. "You're still in the hospital from last time!"
"Screw you!" Darius launched another ice bolt.
Klein activated his wings and shot toward the rooftop.
Darius tried to create ice walls, but Klein's enhanced strength let him punch through them like paper.
He landed in front of Darius, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him into an air conditioning unit.
"I warned you," Klein said coldly. "This is done."
Darius's eyes were wild, desperate. "You don't understand what it's like! Watching someone like you get everything while I'm stuck..."
Klein's fist connected with Darius's stomach. The enhanced power from his new gauntlets made the impact devastating.
Darius collapsed, gasping, and Klein stepped back.
Police sirens wailed in the distance. This time, Klein waited for them.
He was done running.
- Writer
