Blast Gauntlets

"Ah... a bit disappointing."

"It's so clean in here. I thought dragons were supposed to hoard treasure, according to the legends."

Noah and Cana trudged out of the cave, their heads hanging low—a stark contrast to the elation they'd shown when Doran first allowed them inside.

Old man Doran followed behind the two youngsters and mercilessly taunted Cana. "Can't believe someone actually fell for that nonsense. What use would a dragon have for treasure? Most dragons just find it blinding."

"Tch, that just means the Iron Dragon doesn't care for treasure. Right, Noah?"

Cana looked to Noah for validation, but he was staring at the two warm ore samples in his hand—the only things that existed in the Iron Dragon's lair.

Ore of the highest quality. Without any processing, it could easily sell for millions on the market.

In the Iron Dragon's nest, such precious ore was piled in heaps beyond counting, while slightly lower-grade ore was only fit for paving the floor.

Doran had allowed Noah to take two pieces of the valuable ore—one as compensation for his own intelligence failure, and the other as thanks for Noah stopping the Dark Magic Cult from entering the Iron Dragon's lair.

Cana watched with burning envy, putting on an act as she said, "Um... Grandpa Doran, I want some too."

"Ha? Who was it that called me 'old man Doran' earlier?"

Doran shot Cana a glare, but still tossed her a piece of ore the size of a fingernail—a world of difference compared to Noah's two fist-sized chunks.

But Cana didn't care about the unequal treatment. She happily stuffed the ore into her small bag. After all, she hadn't done anything, hadn't lost anything—getting anything at all was pure profit!

Getting something for nothing felt great!

Back at the market, Doran opened up his true creations to Noah and let him pick one as payment for wiping out the Dark Magic Cult's branch.

Among the dazzling array of magical weapons, Noah chose a pair of magic gloves with the abilities "Attribute Shift" and "Blast."

Once he put on these magic gloves, he could switch between five magical attributes—wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth—at will, according to his intent, and unleash a corresponding "Blast" magic with each punch.

High-quality materials could withstand the wear and tear from shifting magical attributes. Doran's unique craftsmanship gave them extraordinary durability, and finally, he added the "Blast" trait, whose power increased with the user's output of magic power.

The only downside was the immense demand for magic power. An ordinary mage would exhaust their reserves after just a few attribute shifts, let alone the even more draining "Blast."

But for Noah, who had abundant magic power and superb physical techniques, these "Blast Gauntlets" were a perfect fit. They not only made up for his lack of combat magic but were also portable enough to use anytime, anywhere.

Until he could pull a reward that boosted his combat power from the "Prayer" orders, the Blast Gauntlets would be Noah's primary offensive tool.

Out in the clearing beyond the market, Noah couldn't wait to put on the Blast Gauntlets and threw five consecutive punches at a piece of scrap ore as tall as a person.

The sounds of wind, thunder, burning, rushing water, and rumbling earth rang out almost simultaneously, instantly leaving five deep, differently colored marks on the scrap ore.

As Noah pulled back his fist, those marks violently exploded, blasting the entire chunk of scrap ore to pieces.

"That speed!"

"Not bad power."

Cana and Doran, watching from the side, showed surprise and satisfaction respectively.

Cana was amazed that Noah, using the gauntlets for the first time, handled them so effortlessly.

Doran was pleased that Noah could bring out the full power of his crafted magical weapon. Every magical blacksmith hoped their work would find the right owner.

Noah stared at the rubble on the ground, his expression unchanged.

Recalling the brief pause during the explosion earlier, he seemed to notice something. He turned to Doran, but before he could speak, Doran cut in first.

"Noticed it already, have you? Noah, my boy, you keep surprising me."

Doran looked at Noah with growing approval and explained the gauntlets' "Blast" trait in detail.

The Blast Gauntlets' "Blast" ability came in two detonation modes: "Instant" and "Delayed."

The former exploded on impact, with considerable power.

The latter left a mark on the target upon contact, detonating at the user's magical command. Its power was average, but it excelled at catching the opponent off guard.

I'd love a versatile magic tool like that too... Cana watched, drooling on the sidelines.

She only regretted why she had to learn "Card" magic—a skill that drained both her energy and her wallet, with only mediocre divination results.

But once she remembered the price tag on the Blast Gauntlets at Doran's shop, Cana lost interest. At 500,000, she couldn't scrape together that much even if she sold herself and all her cards combined.

After familiarizing himself with the magical weapon, Noah returned to Doran's shop. He had promised Cana a commission, after all. Even though the Blast Gauntlets satisfied him, they were still payment for Doran's request.

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

Small as the ring was, it represented the fusion of spatial magic and top-tier forging techniques.

Inside the ring was a special space measuring 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm, usable for storage. The ring only reacted to the user's magic power, and no one else could open it through conventional means.

But after asking Doran for the price, Noah was stunned.

A full 1.2 million for a one-tenth cubic meter space... wasn't that a bit too impractical?

After some back-and-forth haggling, Noah managed to get Doran to give him a fifty percent discount, reluctantly spending 600,000.

Seeing the smile on the frowning Doran's face after taking the money, Noah realized that even at half price, the old man had made a huge profit.

It was outright robbery!

No, robbery didn't rake in money this fast!

Cana got her 30,000 commission and celebrated with Doran, leaving only the poor sucker Noah as the one who got shafted.

And Noah, fully aware that the Space Ring was a white elephant, still bought it for one reason: to store the Dragoon.

Although the unactivated Dragoon was only the size of a palm, it was still inconvenient to carry around, and there was the risk of accidentally dropping it. Better to find a small box-like space to give it a home.

After asking Doran for a chain to hang the ring around his neck, Noah and Cana left the market.

"Hey, Cana, tell Erza to remember to come pick up her new gear."

"Got it, old man Doran."

On the return Magical Train, Cana and Noah waved goodbye to Doran through the window, and the old man watched them until the train completely disappeared from sight.