Steam Mechanical Power Arm

"Isn't Piscis a potion master? What did he need this mechanical arm for?"

Rein took out the mechanical arm, fastened its complex leather straps, and fitted it onto his right arm.

This type of external Mechanical Skeleton was a specialty of the Oma Empire and essential equipment for most Strength Extraordinary. For low-tier Transcendents, such equipment could greatly improve their combat power.

But this kind of individual steam technology was also extremely expensive. The more refined it was, the more astronomical the price.

"It seems to be a gauntlet mechanical arm from the Fighter Sequence."

Wearing the mechanical arm, Rein moved it slightly.

Even without activating the Steam Boilers, he could clearly feel that the gauntlet greatly enhanced his grip strength. The hydraulic transmission system slowed the speed at which force was applied, but multiplied his grip strength several times over.

The more he played with it, the more curious he became, so he ignited the miniature Steam Boilers.

The boiler was very quiet, and its vibrations were almost negligible.

Clearly, this was a mechanical arm with an exceptionally high level of technology.

Otherwise, Piscis would not have kept it in his collection.

"Huh? How is it this powerful?"

The instant steam power flowed through it, Rein's eyes lit up. The stiffness in his finger movements vanished at once.

The miniature Steam Boilers provided all the kinetic energy required by the entire mechanical arm. With just a slight exertion from the wearer's arm, it could amplify the force several times over.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up a stone from the ground and gave it a light squeeze. With a bang, the rock shattered into powder.

"At least a fivefold increase in grip strength... This mechanical arm is too powerful!"

The more Rein tested it, the more amazed he became. He then looked through the instruction manual included in the box.

Only then did he discover that the gauntlet had a pressure-storage valve. After charging for three to five seconds, it could unleash a "Second Stage Air Hammer" with seven hundred to thirteen hundred pounds of punching force!

The sturdy external Mechanical Skeleton could also easily block slashes from swords and blades. It was equipment that balanced offense and defense.

Looking closely, he saw an inscription carved onto the mechanical arm: "Maltz James, Marquis of Crescent Moon."

"Tsk, tsk. It looks like a rare piece custom-made for some noble lord."

Rein found it harder and harder to put down. This thing had conveniently fallen into his hands.

The mechanical arm's only drawback was probably its weight.

After gauging it, he estimated that it weighed well over a hundred kilograms.

This was heavy equipment that only Strength Extraordinary were qualified to use.

But the Corpse Stitcher potion had granted Rein a massive boost in strength, giving him power no weaker than any First Tier fighter.

It was still somewhat strenuous for him to use now, but once he fully digested the potion's effects, the weight would be just right.

With this mechanical arm equipped, he felt that his combat power could increase by at least fifty percent!

"Hm?"

Just as Rein found the mechanical arm more and more pleasing to the eye, his ear twitched slightly. He suddenly heard some faint rustling.

Something was approaching through the darkness!

Firelight could drive away most nocturnal magical beasts, but it could also arouse the curiosity of certain creatures.

For example, the meat-and-grass-eating Canine Rabbit!

These ferocious rabbits, with their foolish and adorably dazed nature, would not flee when they encountered firelight. Instead, they would curiously approach for a closer look.

Then, they saw a human.

Oh... what delicious food!

"Damn it! With my luck, I really shouldn't have hoped to get a good night's sleep on the wasteland."

Rein's eye twitched as he watched three pairs of eerily red rabbit eyes suddenly light up in the darkness not far away.

He had not forgotten that on his very first day after transmigrating, he had nearly died in the jaws of rabbits the size of calves.

These ferocious rabbits were the most numerous magical beasts on the wasteland!

Two large Canine Rabbits and one small one, like a family of three. The moment they saw the human, the red gleam in their eyes grew even more terrifying. Baring sharp canine teeth, they lunged forward to bite him!

Adult Canine Rabbits were not intelligent, but their bite force could easily crush a human skull. Even to Transcendents, they were deadly beasts.

And there were three of them!

In the blink of an eye, they had already pounced on him.

"Damn it!"

Rein instinctively wanted to use the thief's Movement Technique to evade the attack. But the mechanical arm weighing over a hundred kilograms suddenly made his previously nimble body stall.

In that brief moment of sluggishness, the male Canine Rabbit had already viciously lunged at him.

Less than half a meter separated man and rabbit. Rein could even clearly smell the foul stench blasting from its open mouth.

At the critical moment, he raised the mechanical arm without hesitation and shoved it directly into the male Canine Rabbit's mouth.

With a crack, the Canine Rabbit tried to bite through Rein's arm.

But not only did its bite fail to go through, several of its sharp teeth broke as though it had bitten stone. It howled in pain.

"Huh!"

Rein was delighted. As expected, the mechanical equipment collected by that old man Piscis was good stuff. It had actually blocked the Canine Rabbit's most lethal bite!

He did not hesitate. While blocking with his mechanical arm, he gripped the surgical knife in his left hand and slashed backhandedly.

Unfortunately, the Canine Rabbit's fur was exceptionally tough and thick. Like soft armor, it absorbed most of the force.

That slash merely cut through a little fur and caused it no fatal injury at all.

At that moment, the other two Canine Rabbits also bit at him in quick succession!

This time, Rein did not evade. Instead, he thrust his fist directly into the female Canine Rabbit's throat.

That Canine Rabbit also tried to close its mouth and bite down, but teeth that could easily crush granite could do nothing to the alloy mechanical arm.

Seeing this, Rein showed no mercy. He grabbed hard inside its throat, and the immense strength granted by the mechanical arm easily tore out a bloody chunk of soft flesh.

Then, with a backhand motion, he drove the surgical knife straight into the eye of the young Canine Rabbit beside him, sending blood streaming down.

In an instant, blood gushed from the female rabbit's mouth like a fountain after its throat was crushed. Staggering back several steps as though choking on water, it collapsed with a heavy thud.

That ferocious creature had actually choked to death on its own blood!

"This mechanical arm is insanely powerful in actual combat!"

Rein's eyes shone with excitement as he watched the Canine Rabbit fall.

Without this mechanical arm, even with his max-level thief skills, he would have had no choice but to flee in disgrace if he had faced three Canine Rabbits at once!

These thick-skinned creatures could shrug off a slash, but one light bite from them could be fatal. With Rein's current strength, he would need to cut one at least a hundred times to kill it.

Could he guarantee that he would never get bitten even once? And there were three of them!

Even the lowest-tier magical beasts of the wasteland were not easy to provoke.

Yet now, he had actually killed one so easily?!

"Great strength works miracles. This path is a highway to the heavens!"

Rein was incredibly excited. He suddenly found himself liking this kind of brutally overwhelming combat style.

The thief's skills could do nothing to these magical beasts, but sheer strength could crush them head-on!

With one female Canine Rabbit dead and the young one blinded in one eye, the male rabbit ignored its aching teeth and charged at him again!

"Let's test that function!"

Rein ignored the blood flowing down his entire arm and triggered the charging mechanism inside the mechanical gauntlet.

He dodged one of the male rabbit's lunging bites. By then, three seconds of charge had accumulated, and he turned around and punched the male rabbit directly in the head!

The miniature Steam Boilers on the mechanical arm buzzed. The pressure built up moments ago finally found an outlet and erupted with a roar.

Second Stage Air Hammer!

This was the mechanical arm's strongest killing move. With a fully charged strike, massive steam pressure and an indestructible fist smashed heavily into the male rabbit's head.

With a crack of breaking bone, the Canine Rabbit, as strong as a brown bear, was actually knocked unconscious.

"Another one down!"

Rein was delighted.

Killing two adult Canine Rabbits in a row greatly boosted his confidence.

He looked at the completely undamaged Steam Mechanical Arm, then glanced at the blinded young Canine Rabbit in the distance. The curve of his lips rose with growing confidence.

A few minutes later, the corpses of all three Canine Rabbits, two large and one small, lay beside the campfire.

"A family should be together, nice and neat."

Rein slowly let out a breath. Looking at the rabbit corpses and the blazing campfire, a thought surfaced in his mind: It would be great if this world had cumin.

Although the encounter had been somewhat dangerous, running into Canine Rabbits on the wasteland was not entirely a bad thing.

Since these crafty small magical beasts were active nearby, it generally meant that no other large predatory magical beasts would be around.

However, Rein did not dare roast meat in the wasteland. The scent would drift for more than ten kilometers and would probably attract even more terrifying things lurking in the darkness.

He buried the bloodstains and planned to sleep with the Canine Rabbit corpses as pillows.

At night on the Ice Ridge Wasteland, temperatures fell below freezing. These three magical beast corpses, still warm, made the best bed warmers.

But not long after he finished tidying up, Rein's ear twitched again, and he immediately became alert.

"Under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be other magical beasts near a Canine Rabbit nest."

But Rein felt that, blessed by his bad-luck aura, he was probably always the sort to encounter probabilities outside those "normal circumstances."

"Can't be this unlucky, can I?"

Rein complained helplessly to himself.

But his reaction was not slow in the slightest. He immediately drew his weapon and stared vigilantly toward the source of the sound.

"Light footsteps, alternating between two feet... Could it be some small bipedal magical beast? What could it be?"

Rein listened carefully and gleaned a great deal of useful information from the sounds.

The footsteps were lighter than a Canine Rabbit's, so it was at least not some enormous creature. Realizing that was the only reason he did not turn and run.

The next moment, the shadow passed through the mist and entered the range of the firelight.

"A human?"

Rein focused his eyes and was greatly surprised.

The magical beast he had expected was actually a human!

And a woman covered in blood?

PS: Being able to guess it is not just because of an omniscient perspective. It is more because the author wanted an important character's appearance to have cause and effect, so there was enough foreshadowing. Clever readers, please sit down. There are indeed a few minor flaws in the handling. If you do not like it, you can skip to Chapter 33.

Rolling around and begging for recommendation votes~ Votes are very important for a new book. Please, everyone.