The Midnight Set

Alfred walked away to a part of the wall for bladed weapons, but there was nothing on that part of the wall. He tapped it once and a compartment in the wall opened to reveal the most beautiful set of daggers he had ever seen. It was in no way comparable to the other daggers on the wall as it was leagues above them in beauty.

The blades were a brilliant black colour with specks of silvery dots around them, almost identical to the midnight sky. The blade was a little curved and the blunt edge was serrated. The hilt sported the same design as the blade but with silver edges. It had little depressions for a better grip and a little ring able to fit just one finger, but those weren't the only thing about it.

At the bottom of the hilt, there was another ring attached but there were chains attached to his one. Chains that were about 80cm long. They were also designed the same way as the blade.

"What do you think?" Alfred asked. "These were the only set of weapons I personally requested to be kept here. They are a set."

Ian looked at the gauntlets in his hands as he hasn't worn them yet. "Now that I think about it, the gauntlets are also of the same design as the daggers."

"Of course, they are," Alfred smiled. "And these chains can help you in mid-range battles."

"But how do you know I would want something like this?" Ian asked, suspicious of his teacher's intentions.

"I didn't," Alfred shrugged. "These were the kind of weapons used by a friend of mine so I wanted them around me."

"What?" Ian's eyes widened. "These are your friend's weapons?"

"Of course not, dummy," Alfred hissed. "Her weapons are nothing as pathetic as these. These are just weapons made in the likeness of hers. It isn't a popular weapon choice because of how difficult it is to control with the chains but if you can get used to it, it's a great help in battle. I have seen its usefulness firsthand, and it suits your criteria for a weapon. It's the best you can get."

"But how do I use them?" Ian asked, still sceptical about the weapons. "Having chains hang around me in battle is a disadvantage, especially with how slow I am.

"That's why it's a set, dummy," Alfred sighed. "Why do you think these gauntlets go all the way to your forearm even though they already cover your hands?"

"To protect them?"

"Yes....., that's true," Alfred nodded. "And?"

"I don't know?"

"Dummy."

"You were just looking for an opportunity to call me that because I gave a good reason the first time!" Ian hissed.

"Whatever," Alfred waved it off. "Look under them."

Turning the gauntlets over, Ian saw what he was referring to. A narrow compartment running the length of the forearm.

"There's a mechanism in there that helps reel the chains back to you after you throw them," Alfred explained. "And the compartment itself hides the chains."

"Wow, that's better," Ian said as he finally decided to try it on. He clenched and released his fists a few times. "It's comfortable too."

[Midnight Gauntlets equipped.]

Ian quickly exited the screen, trying not to be distracted in the middle of Alfred's explanation. He also had an underlying trauma of the system only delivering bad news.

"Of course, it is," Alfred smiled proudly as he detached the chains from the daggers and tapped a button which opened, letting him put the chains in and the mechanism immediately got to work, drawing in the chain until the whole length fit into the small compartment.

"It took a lot of time to perfect that," Alfred sighed. "I was half worried that it might fail again."

"How do I connect them to the daggers though?" Ian asked the obvious question.

"Be patient and let me explain," Alfred hissed as he still inspected the compartment even after it had closed up. "Pick up the daggers."

Ian slowly picked up the daggers as he inspected them. They looked really beautiful and so clear that he handled them like glass.

[Midnight Daggers equipped]

Again, he exited the screen immediately.

"Would you stop acting like it's larva and hold it firmly?" Alfred hissed.

"Someone's quite jumpy," Ian remarked as he gripped the dagger.

Alfred chose to ignore that as he showed him a button at the flat side of the hilt. "Tap that button and a magnetic suction force attracts the chains to the hilt, and frees them. You also tap it when you need the chains off."

"Kinda like a switch," Ian commented.

"I'm sure that much was obvious," Alfred raised an eyebrow.

Ian swung the blades a few times to get a feel of it and it seems to be extremely smooth in his hands.

"You have absolutely no technique whatsoever," Alfred sighed. "You're swinging like a madman."

"I think I'm doing pretty good," Ian said as he swung the blades some more to buttress his point.

"I take it back," Alfred said and Ian smirked in pride. "Even a madman swings better than that."

"What?!"

"You're so lucky that you've got good battle instincts, but you rely on them too much," Alfred continued. "Your style is the type that only excels when you are fighting an opponent who is equally as unskilled as you are. You can't control the chains this way."

"That's a lie," Ian hissed and immediately pressed the button to attach the chains. Martial arts were the only things he could do whenever he was alone. Of course, he had no weapon then, but he feels insulted to have been considered even worse than a madman. His sixteen years old pride couldn't take it.

Once the chains were attached, he swung out the blade and let go of it, but instead of the chains going forward as he expected. They bore no force once he let go of them and fell back to the ground.

"Snap your hands back to retrieve them," Alfred instructed and as he did that, the chains dragged the blade back to him.

"If your swing hurts a worm on the ground then it must be because of gravity," Alfred commented, while Ian just kept his head down.

"Don't look so down," Alfred comforted him after a minute without a reaction from Ian. "It took my friend months to master these weapons. I'm pretty sure you'll master it in no time with the added technology."

"Then, will you teach me?" Ian asked, finally remembering how weak he was. He seems to have forgotten that fact when around Alfred who treated him like a human.

"Of course," Alfred smiled. "You will master these weapons before the raid. I promise you."