After the distress signals were sent out, panic ensued in the military base. Hordes of people streamed in and out of tents and various buildings. Some emerged shouting orders, while others carried documents. In the middle of the base, however, a group of four was getting armored. It seemed the plans for the vanguard were being pushed forward, and they needed to head out ASAP. At the same time, they would now need to wait at the tower as the main force was being sent instead of a smaller fighting unit, meaning they would have to go alone.
Gant had only briefly seen Ruk and Selina while they were being trained, but he was strangely excited to reconvene with these near-strangers. He felt some sort of connection to them, or perhaps it was simply his desire to share a bond with others. Either way, Gant was happy to see Ruk outfitted with a new... reel blade? Gant had expected Ruk to be equipped with the basic driving sword, as most of the military seemed to be. But to his surprise, they were strapping a thin, almost needle-like blade to Ruk's belt. While smaller, it seemed to carry more weight than the driving sword. The reel blade was only held in place by a small ring on the belt, easily unclippable if needed, and the only protection was a small black cap at the end. The reel blade was designed primarily for thrusting, but the damage it dealt was extreme. Ruk's specific reel blade was made from a lustrous blue metal, making it eye-catching. However, what truly caught Gant's attention was the small black needle at the bottom, something he hadn’t noticed before. Before he knew it, he was walking over to ask Ruk about it.
"Hey Ruk, long time no see." Gant greeted him.
Ruk let out a small harrumph in response.
"A very long three days," Ruk said without even looking at him. Clearly, Gant's 'bond' was one-sided.
"Haha, yeah, sorry to bother you. I just wanted to ask—what's that needle-like thing at the bottom of your blade? It seems dangerous to have that there while fighting."
After Gant spoke, the outfitters looked baffled. They knew one of the tower warriors had been a peasant, but this level of ignorance surprised them. Ruk, seemingly used to Gant's questions, pointed to the needle and looked at the outfitters, who shrugged before giving him a go-ahead gesture. Ruk unclipped the blade from its ring, held it like any other weapon, and placed his opposite thumb on the needle. Suddenly, the blade began to spin, growing in size until it reached half the length of his forearm. But before Gant could admire the blade, he had to catch Ruk, who was suddenly falling over.
"My bad," Ruk muttered, his earlier demeanor vanishing as Gant supported him. "I’m not used to its increased weight, along with the blood it drains. Mine isn’t as strong as your human realm dragon blood; it's just tier 0 blood from my clan."
Gradually, color returned to Ruk’s face as the blade shrank back down, spinning slowly as it returned to its original size.
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"Huh, so it’s powered by blood." Gant was surprised but had expected something of the sort. He had heard rumors of noble technology powered by blood but was astonished to see it firsthand.
"Yeah, pretty cool," Ruk said with another cough. "But if you ever see the advanced version of this blade, a stinger, just pray you’re on the right side of it. That blade is meant only for monsters."
Despite the terrifying description, Ruk's eyes gleamed with reverence as he spoke about the weapon.
After a few moments of silence, the outfitters shooed Ruk away and instructed Gant to step onto the platform. It was his turn to be outfitted. As one outfitter reached for a driving sword, assuming it was appropriate for Gant’s build, another pointed to a note. Confusion lingered among them until one outfitter seemed to remember something.
"We recently got a new weapon that fits this description. This must be what the blade master was referring to," one of the outfitters yelled as he scurried around the tent, searching for something. After a few minutes, he found what appeared to be an ordinary black bracer, extending all the way to Gant's knuckles and including a handhold for him to grip. Oddly, despite being called a device, it had no visible mechanisms or parts to draw blood.
"Excuse me," Gant interrupted the outfitter's frenzy, his voice edged with irritation. "What does this device do, besides protecting my arms?"
A smile spread across the outfitter's face. "Well, you see, the engineers found it quite challenging to design a new weapon. They couldn’t figure out where to put the blood needle, so they made a blade inside the bracer that only activates when you apply enough force—basically, when you squeeze your fist hard enough."
Gant was dumbfounded. A custom weapon had been made for him. He knew he had to thank Kash for this; otherwise, he would be stuck lugging around a driving sword for no reason. Without thinking, he clenched his fist to try and activate the bracer’s power. For a few seconds, nothing happened. The outfitter, noticing but saying nothing, also seemed curious about the new weapon's power. Then, suddenly, Gant felt a sharp sting in his palm. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, his fist glued to the floor by the bracer’s immense weight. He doubted how he would ever lift his hand, but just as quickly as the weight had come, it faded.
The outfitter's sly grin widened as he presented Gant with the second bracer. Gant flinched slightly, knowing one wrong move in battle could pin him to the ground. Still, he donned the second bracer. The rest of his armor was standard leather gear worn by most soldiers—a tunic that was a bit too tight and pants that were slightly too short. The only notable addition was the chainmail over his leather gear, an expensive luxury he appreciated, given where they were sending him.
"Are we getting plate?" Gant asked, a trace of hope in his voice. He had always admired the impressive armor worn by the noble guards and keepers, despite his distaste for them.
The quieter outfitter chuckled. "If you couldn’t carry that bracer, trust me, you couldn’t carry their armor. It's extremely heavy."
The rest of the outfitting process went smoothly. When Gant stepped outside the tent, the mayhem around him continued, with people rushing everywhere. A few steps away from Ruk stood Selina, keeping her distance from everyone. She was already armored, and to Gant's surprise, she had been outfitted with a driving sword. The small-framed girl, about the same size as Ruk, was carrying a massive butchering blade on her back, seemingly without breaking a sweat. Gant was astonished, until he noticed a small strand connecting the blade to the ground, a strand that also connected to her mushroom.