Magic Stone Gauntlet
My body was heating up.
It felt like my heart kept whipping me from the inside.
I clutched my wildly pounding chest and glanced back.
“Hey, hold that side.”
“The position’s… kinda awkward?”
Workers assembling something with a clatter of crashes.
I alternated a couple glances between the bedroom door and Daon.
“Just a little longer and it’ll be done.”
Daon’s words rang true—in real time, the burly guys were out the door after about fifteen minutes.
But subjectively? A whole different story.
Hunger. Thirst.
Every tick of the wall clock’s second hand stabbed at my heart.
I stared holes through the workers as they moved from the bedroom to the living room, then to the entryway.
“Uh… um. Bye?”
They awkwardly flashed their palms in greeting under my gaze, but I had no bandwidth to return it.
“Is it ‘cause she’s some kinda feral beast…?”
They mumbled some nonsense to themselves as they slipped out the front door.
“Hurry!”
I dumped the contents of the huge shopping bag onto the floor.
Clatter crash!
Colorful ores scattered across the floor.
“Haaah…”
Under the ceiling lights, they scattered rainbows in every direction.
“If I’d known you’d love them this much, I would’ve bought way more.”
In front of Daon’s proud smile, I scooped up one of those massive stones and hugged it to my chest.
“Uhya.”
No time to waste.
Heat flared from my fingertips as I shattered the huge ore into pieces, then opened wide.
“Aaang—”
“Eh…?”
Crunch. Grind.
I shoved the topmost chunk into my mouth, then the next, one after another.
Tougher than regular steel—more resistance than that iron sword I’d crunched last time.
Daon reached out anxiously toward me once, but pulled her hand back.
“Uh… um… Chew slowly, okay…?”
I ignored her and kept working my jaw.
The shrinking stones finally dwindled to nothing.
“Hm.”
To guard against any slip-ups, I left two chunks behind, dropped them in a safe spot on the floor, and swept them tidy with my foot.
Magic Stones, she’d called them.
No special flavor.
But…
‘Full.’
I hadn’t felt stuffed even after devouring all that food before, but now my gut felt packed tight.
One hand rubbed my belly while the other caressed the air.
From my fingertips flowed radiant, multicolored molten metal.
Unlike the taste, it carried a sweet, sugary scent.
“Hmm.”
The only issue? I hadn’t decided what to make yet.
A quick glance sideways—Daon gaped blankly at the sight.
“Need anything?”
“M-me? Really?”
I nodded at her question.
She snapped to, stroking her chin in thought.
“Um… I don’t have any gloves, though…”
She trailed off sheepishly, like she felt bad asking.
“Gloves.”
At the word, I squeezed my eyes shut and pictured them.
Gloves to fit the hand wielding Sawol. Beautiful, naturally—and flawless in performance.
“Gloves, huh.”
Thin yet tough iron ones, to fully withstand Sawol’s ferocious blood-red aura without hindering Daon’s movements.
I finished imagining and lifted my eyelids.
Multicolored molten metal pooled in my palm; I slammed my other palm down on it.
—Screeech.
A bizarre friction whine from the ultra-compressed metal.
I slid my palms apart in a cross, then blew on it.
A puff of white steam billowed out, then it cooled fast—into a paper-thin sheet of metal.
“Didn’t you say gloves…?”
Her fierce heartbeat thrummed in my ears. She was as excited for the finished product as I was.
“Wait and see.”
I gave her a casual reply and lifted the sheet.
So thin and wide it fluttered in the slightest breeze.
A finger flick—ping! A clear ring echoed everywhere.
“Nice.”
If this were normal steel, it would’ve shattered.
I set it down gently and forged a bunch more sheets.
Dozens of finished sheets.
I plopped my butt on the floor and picked them up one by one.
Curled some into cylinders, sharpened others to points.
Dainty fingertips shaping all sorts of parts.
Still, something felt off—empty.
‘Yeah… I really need an anvil and furnace.’
Not a quality issue. Just… crafting gear by hand alone felt kinda boring.
The hammer slamming the anvil, sparks flying off the metal with every strike. Deafening noise.
I’d hated it so much when I had it—why the emptiness now without it?
“Hmmm…”
Oh well, what could I do?
I pushed aside the regret and started joining the sheet-metal parts one by one.
Pierced seams with my index finger, filled them with molten metal, let it cool.
Precise as if they’d been one piece from the start—perfectly interlocked.
“Done.”
Before me gleamed a sharp, intricate plate gauntlet—like something a fantasy knight would wear.
Joint structure wrapping every finger knuckle like snake scales.
Sleek angles from the back of the hand to the wrist—sturdy yet refined.
Not hammered on an anvil, but my hands might as well have been hammer and anvil; the density shone through in a subtle iridescent sheen on the surface.
“Hmm.”
I pressed the gauntlet’s thin shell against Daon’s palm.
“…A bit small.”
I’d unconsciously sized it to my own hand.
I slipped my hand inside and expanded the interior space.
A few cracks formed, but that’s why I’d saved those Magic Stones.
I crunched and swallowed the last two, drew out more molten metal, and meticulously filled every fissure.
Clear, ringing metal clinks as sharp plates met.
“Hm.”
The elegant finish satisfied me plenty.
Quality… well, still a letdown without proper tools.
Finally, the iron gloves cooled fully and dropped into my palm.
“Waaah…”
Daon let out a gasp of awe at the artwork taking shape in Dan’s hands.
She startled at her own unintended sound and clapped a hand over her mouth.
Was she disturbing him? That worry.
“Hm.”
Dan smiled proudly at the gauntlet billowing pure white steam.
Her eyes overlaid his figure—bluer than ever, but now flickering with inner fire, like flames dwelled within.
“Here.”
Dan held the gauntlet out to her.
Gulp.
Daon swallowed dryly and reached out to take it.
‘Beautiful…’
Her first impression.
And then, a status window flickered in her vision.
◈ Type: Hand Armor (Plate Gauntlet)
◈ Status: Unfinished
◈ Description: A gauntlet forged by a mid-rank blacksmith using a mid-grade Magic Stone. The mana within the Magic Stone is perfectly preserved without compromise.
◈ Defense:+873
◈ Mana Amplification:+28%
◈ Skill Cooldown Reduction:-30%
◈ Held Options:
◇ Breath of Flame: On attack, chance to inflict powerful flame damage on the enemy.
◇ Mana Resonance: Defense and mana amplification rise proportional to the owner’s mana.
◇ Probabilistic Defense: 50% chance to completely block incoming attacks.
Her second impression?
“…Gasp.”
Astonishment. Dismay.
It’d been months haunting auction houses because Sawol looked so lonely barehanded.
Her standards sky-high, she hadn’t bought a thing.
‘Good call…’
No other gear could touch these options—not even at her toes.
Daon slowly donned the gauntlet.
Magic Stone scales clung like they’d always been part of her body.
“Waaah…”
She twisted her hand this way and that for ages, committing the sight to memory.
Ching. Scales parted and followed as her fingers flexed.
“Is it really okay for me to take something like this…?”
Dan just nodded.
“In return.”
“Y-yes!”
Daon answered, hands clasped behind her back, trembling.
What would he ask for?
If he wanted the house, she’d hand it over.
All her fortune? Same deal.
‘I’ve already received way more.’
As she swallowed dryly with that thought—
“Take me to that ‘Tower’ place too.”
The request was trivial compared to what she’d gained.
But…
“That’s… impossible…”
For someone who’d already cleared the 30th floor, it was the one thing she couldn’t grant.