Blast Gauntlets

"Ah... I'm a little disappointed."

"It's so clean in there. Aren't dragons supposed to collect treasure?"

Noah and Cana trudged out of the cave, their spirits low—a stark contrast to how excited they'd been when Doran had first let them enter.

Old Doran followed the two young people, mercilessly mocking Cana. "Only a fool would believe that sort of thing. What use would treasure be to a dragon? Most dragons would just find it too dazzling."

"Hmph, that just means Iron Dragon doesn't care for treasure. Isn't that right, Noah?"

Cana looked to Noah for agreement, but he was only staring at the two warm-to-the-touch chunks of ore in his hands. They were the only things in the Iron Dragon Lair.

The ore was exceptionally high quality. Even without processing, it could easily fetch millions on the market.

There was enough of this precious ore in the Iron Dragon Lair to count in piles, while ore of slightly lower quality was fit only to pave the floor.

Doran allowed Noah to take two pieces of the precious ore as compensation for his faulty intel and in thanks for stopping the Dark Magic Cult from entering the Iron Dragon Lair.

Cana watched, green with envy, and said coyly, "Um... Grandpa Doran, I want some too."

"Huh? Weren't you calling me Old Doran earlier?"

Doran shot Cana a look, but still casually tossed her a piece of ore about the size of a fingernail. Compared to Noah's two fist-sized chunks, the difference was like night and day.

But Cana didn't care about being treated differently. She happily tucked the ore into her little bag. She hadn't done anything and hadn't lost anything, so whatever she got was a bonus!

Getting things for free was the best!

Back at the market, Doran showed Noah his actual creations and let him choose one as a reward for wiping out the Dark Magic Cult's branch.

From among the dazzling array of magic weapons, Noah chose a pair of magic gauntlets with the abilities to "change attributes" and "explode."

Once equipped, the gauntlets could switch freely between the five magic attributes of wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth at the wearer's will. When they threw a punch, the gauntlets unleashed an "explosion" of the corresponding attribute.

The high-quality materials could withstand the wear and tear caused by switching magic attributes, while Doran's unique craftsmanship gave them exceptional resilience. Finally, he had added the "explosion" effect, whose power increased with the amount of magic power the wearer released.

Their only drawback was their high magic power requirements. An ordinary mage would exhaust their magic power after switching attributes a few times, let alone using the more demanding "explosion" ability.

But for Noah, who had tremendous magic power and superb physical skills, these Blast Gauntlets were a perfect fit. They made up for his lack of combat magic, and their portability meant he could use them anytime, anywhere.

Until he got a reward that could improve his combat strength from a Prayer order, the Blast Gauntlets would be Noah's primary means of attack.

At an open patch of ground outside the market, Noah eagerly put on the Blast Gauntlets and threw five punches at a discarded chunk of ore as tall as a person.

The sounds of wind, thunder, flames, rushing water, and rumbling earth rang out almost simultaneously, leaving five deep marks of different colors on the discarded ore.

As Noah pulled back his fists, the marks suddenly burst apart, blasting the entire chunk of ore into pieces.

"What incredible speed!"

"Impressive power."

Cana and Doran watched from the sidelines. One looked astonished, the other satisfied.

Cana was amazed that Noah could use the gauntlets so smoothly despite this being his first time wearing them.

Doran was delighted that Noah could bring out the power of the magic weapon he had made. Every Magic Blacksmith hoped their work would find the right person.

Noah looked at the scattered fragments without changing his expression.

Thinking back to the brief pause before the explosions, he felt he'd noticed something. He turned to Doran, but before he could speak, Doran spoke first.

"You figured it out already? Noah, you really have given me quite a surprise."

Doran liked Noah more and more. He explained the gauntlets' "explosion" ability to him in detail.

The Blast Gauntlets had two ways to trigger an explosion: "instant" and "delayed."

With the first, an explosion went off as soon as the wearer's fist landed, and it packed considerable power.

With the second, a mark was left on the target upon impact, then detonated at the wearer's command. It was generally less powerful, but had the advantage of catching the opponent off guard.

I wish I had a versatile magic item like that too... Cana watched from the side, practically drooling.

She only regretted ever learning Card Magic. It took a lot of effort, drained her wallet, and wasn't even all that good at fortune-telling.

But when she thought of the price of the Blast Gauntlets in Doran's shop, she lost interest. They cost 500,000. She couldn't scrape that together even if she sold everything she owned, including all her cards.

After getting familiar with the magic weapon, Noah returned to Doran's shop. He had promised to give Cana a commission, and although he was pleased with the Blast Gauntlets, they had been a reward from Doran for a job.

In the end, Noah set his sights on a Space Ring.

It might have looked like a tiny ring, but it was a fusion of space magic and top-tier forging techniques.

The ring contained a special space measuring 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters, which could be used to store items. It responded only to its owner's magic power, and no one else could open it by ordinary means.

But when Noah asked Doran about the price, he was shocked.

Still, at a full 1.2 million, wasn't paying that much for a space of just one-tenth of a cubic meter a little ridiculous...?

After haggling back and forth, Noah managed to get Doran to cut the price in half. He painfully paid 600,000.

Seeing the smile that spread across Doran's face as he took the money, despite his earlier frown, Noah realized that the old man had made a killing even after cutting the price in half.

It was practically robbery!

No, even robbery wasn't this lucrative!

Cana got 30,000 in commission and celebrated with Doran. In this world, only sucker Noah ended up getting hurt.

The reason Noah had bought the Space Ring despite knowing how impractical it was, was to store the Dragoon.

Even when inactive, the Dragoon was only about the size of his palm, but it was still inconvenient to carry and could easily get dropped if he wasn't careful. Better to give it a little box of its own.

He asked Doran for a chain, hung the ring around his neck, and left the market with Cana.

"Hey, Cana, tell Erza not to forget to come pick up her new gear."

"Got it, Old Doran."

On the Magical Train ride back, Cana and Noah waved goodbye to Doran through the window. The old man watched them until the train had vanished completely from sight.