Jonathan grinned as he read over the new bonuses. These would fit his needs perfectly. He quickly thanked the smith, and took his items out with him, forgetting to shut the door on the way out.

He took them back to his alleyway from earlier, and set his gauntlets down on the ground in front of himself. Squatting down, he got to work. His idea was to create a Rune of Hatred on each gauntlet, which would hopefully increase the damage that they dealt. He would have to imbue them before he struck, but that was worth the damage that he could do. However, as he began to work, he had an even better idea.

He would place one of each of the runes that he knew on the gauntlets, making one of them attract enemies, and the other one damage them. With that sort of combination, he could draw entire groups of enemies in and then strike with the other hand while they were distracted. He immediately made up his mind on the matter. That would be his course of action.

He started to draw the Rune of Hatred on the knuckles of the right gauntlets, struggling to keep the rune stable as he did so. He lacked the precision to draw it small enough to fit on a single finger, meaning that he would have to line up the parts perfectly. The rune would only work if he punched with his fingers together, but seeing as that was his primary means of damage, it was fine.

As he started to inscribe the rune with simple mud from the street around him, he worked to line up the complicated parts along the fingers. A few minutes later, he had finished, and was about to test it.

Sliding the gauntlet on, he clenched his fist, and poured Divinity into it. The gauntlet started to glow, and he punched at the wall. When his fist landed, a small nimbus of red light expanded outwards, fracturing the wall. He had only tapped the wall, but the damage was still quite imposing. In addition, it seemed that inscribing the rune on the gauntlets sacrificed some of its range for more stopping power, as it was now able to break things as well as kill enemies.

Jonathan set down the gauntlet, and picked up the other one, this time inscribing the Rune of Beckoning on it. That rune was a bit more complicated than the Rune of Hatred, and it took him almost half an hour to perfect it. When he was finished, he imbued the gauntlet with Divinity.

It glowed softly, and he heard a skittering noise from behind him. A dozen rats were scurrying towards him, headed straight for the gauntlet. He picked up the other gauntlet. It was time to do a live test. He punched forwards with his left hand and watched as the rats jumped straight up, trying to get to the gauntlet. Punching with his other hand, he landed a hit directly on the largest rat. A nova of energy expanded outwards, killing six rats in a single go. The other six were heavily damaged by the attack and they fell to the ground.

Jonathan quickly finished them off, noting that his Rune of Beckoning had run out of juice. Jonathan smiled at his new weapons and quickly analyzed them, interested to see if there was noticeable difference.

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Marauder Captain’s Batterers

Tier 1 Weapon(Blunt)

Twin dark iron gauntlets that are imbued with the spirit of a pugilist, these weapons are the perfect accompaniment to any martial path that eschews normal weaponry in favor of fighting in hand to hand combat. Using these weapons will even the gap, allowing you to fight against wielders of any other weapon. These gauntlets have been imbued with the power of Journeyman smith, adding extra durability and offensive potential to their form. In addition, a runecrafter has enchanted the gauntlets with the runes of Hatred and Beckoning, creating a different effect for each gauntlet. The right one damages enemies, while the other pulls them in.

+6 to Strength, +6 to Dexterity, +3 to Resilience while wearing.

There was no stat bonus, but Jonathan had not been expecting one either. The two gauntlets were more than enough for him now. Thai would be an interesting addition to his fighting style. As if by magic, the ground started to rumble, signifying the approach of the final beast wave. Jonathan quickly got up and started running toward the walls. It was time to see just how powerful his new weapons were.

Ten minutes later, he was waiting on the top of the walls, having eschewed a bow this time. Nobody begrudged him of his decision either. They knew that he was saving his energy for the greater fight to come.

Jonathan leaned over the wall and watched as the tide of monsters came hurtling across the ash, heading straight for the city. This was by far the largest group that he had seen yet, stretching for almost a mile in every direction. Behind it were a few large shapes that looked suspiciously like the Ash Mammoths from earlier. Jonathan smiled grimly. One of those monsters had almost taken him out last time. However, with all of his new bonuses, he was hoping that this fight would go a little bit differently.

He unconsciously exuded a domineering aura of strength now, to the point that those around him looked visibly uncomfortable. The aura felt like that of a clenched fist, threatening extreme violence.

As the monsters came into range, the defenders fired over the walls, sending their attacks into the ranks. This time, Jonathan extended his left hand over the wall, imbuing it with Divinity. The gauntlet glowed with light, and a large portion of the enemy ranks broke off, heading straight towards him. They crashed into the wall, piling on top of each other in rabid desire. That rendered them easy targets for the attacks of the defenders, which quickly ripped through the tightly packed monsters.

Jonathan withdrew his hand a moment later, satisfied with what he had seen. He made way for the other defenders, who quickly filled the gap, firing into the horde. A few of them shot him looks of suspicion, not knowing what he had just done. Jonathan knew that nobody understood runes, except for him, meaning that nobody would be able to discern the secret behind his power. That was just as well too. He was already powerful enough to put a target on his back. He didn't need another one.

As the horde passed around the edges of the town, and broke against the walls, Jonathan began to prepare himself for the battle against the bosses. He would have to take out one of the monsters on his own if he was to help the town win this. Last time he had gotten an advantage over one of the creatures, and it had still almost killed him. If another Ash Mammoth came, he would need to be ready. Jonathan gathered his wits, and came up with a plan of action for how to best use his new weapons. He wasn't sure how well the Rune of Beckoning would work on the highly leveled mammoths, meaning that he was down to using the other one instead.