Copper Glove

Lua looked at the stone in his hand. It was shaped in a diamond, its texture coarse and rough. In the middle was a swirl that was painted deep crimson, giving it a very demonic impression. It made Lua shiver just by looking at it.

This was a flame rune. It was the core piece of everything Lua had planned for his glove. Placing it on his desk, Lua looked at the glove that was nearly finished. It was mostly just finishing touches.

He looked at the engraving, that was shaped like the stone. Lua had engineered it to be precise, down to it's knook and crannies.

Modifying a rune wasn't easy. In fact, most people couldn't dream of it. Yet, Lua was able to do it because of his descendancy. Lua suspected he had gained the ability when he reached Grade 12.

Placing the rune softly into the predesignated spot, he heaved a sigh of relief. The time had finally come to test it.

According to the mercenaries, they had found it from the demon they had killed together. This was also when Lua learned that monsters like demons were the source of these runes. Of course, Lua didn't want to take it for free. However, they insisted for it to be a gift, and he would be repaying them during missions with his skills.

Bzz! The rune began to glow red, almost drowning out the glove with it's brightness.

Clank! The systems of the glove kicked in, clinging to the stone, preventing it from escaping. The glove began to light up, red streaks moving across it like veins that were exposed. The glove began to move a fingers on its own, like a machine booting up.

After things calmed down, the glove remained sterile with the rune in the middle continuing to behave like a heart to the glove. Lua was genuinely impressed with his creation.

Taking a deep breath, he put the glove on his right hand. The glove began to squeeze around his hand, making sure it fit the size of its owner.

Smiling with delight, Lua moved his hand, making sure it wasn't too heavy for his combat style. It was slim, not bulky at all like he had imagined. He felt his arm immediately get stronger, feeling the effects of the rune throughout his body.

Lua had added a few features to accommodate the fire rune. Firstly, the glove had a welding tool. Although not useful in combat, it could be plenty of use to him while he was working on project.

Secondly, it had natural heating. This meant that the glove could reach extremely high temperatures, or at the lowest, keep Lua heated on a cold day. This was very useful.

Getting up from his desk that was cluttered with metal parts, he looked at Arc, who was laying on the bed. He smiled, proud of his work, and said;

"It works."

Arc grinned. "You've finally got something to defend yourself with."

Lua rolled his eyes at Arc's comment. "I wasn't that helpless.."

Arc gave him a dubious look, expressing his doubts with that statement. Lua caved in, accepting the fact. "Maybe a little."

Lua decided to take his new glove for a spin, and left the room. He saw Victoria in the living room, reading what seemed to be a novel. She looked up, and glanced at Lua. "You're up early."

Lua rubbed his eyes. "I never slept."

Victoria looked at Lua's right hand, instantly understanding why he had not slept that night. "Working on that thing, I presume? So that's what you needed the rune for.."

Victoria was actually the last person Lua was expecting to be awake. She had passed out from drinking last night, and now she was completely fine. She seemed to understand what Lua was thinking, and answered his question.

"Part of the Warrior descendancy. Alcohol has a short-term affect on us. It's almost like a fuel that our body needs like water or food."

I see.. part of her traits, then. That explains a bit. Lua understood more about the giantess. This was the only realistic answer to her being normal just a few hours after passing out.

"That thing, what can it do?" Victoria asked Lua, wondering what made it worth it to skip out on sleep.

Lua described what he had done to make this "weapon" of his, and what he had ended up with. Victoria only responded with a nod. "Interesting... A Tinkerer really does think differently."

Lua chuckled awkwardly at her statement, knowing full well he was just a nerd who had too much knowledge in machinery and metallurgy. Victoria smiled at his awkwardness, and spoke again, with a much softer tone this time.

"How about you take that for a spin?"

Lua's eyes suddenly brightened. He could only imagine what that sentence meant. "Do you mean?..."

Victoria chuckled and nodded. "Yes. I picked up a quest yesterday, one that pays well. It's danger rating is medium, but that shouldn't be a problem. Especially in a 7-member party. We'll cruise through this with ease."

Lua was overjoyed internally. He was going to be able to do something cool with his powers finally, and he wanted to make it count. He was going to make his powers known, one way or another.

Lua headed back to his room, briefly forgetting why he had even left it. He remembered, but decided to cancel his plans due to the quest now being available. He could wait.

He saw Arc, looking at Lua with expectations. He had felt the joy coming from Lua, so he was also expecting to feel the same. "We're going on a quest." Lua didn't hide why he was so excited.

Arc's reaction was joy, but not to the extent that Lua had. He didn't have any new toys to test out, after all. Arc smiled at his childishness, and asked a rather relevant question.

"Well, when is it?"

Lua was dumbfounded for a moment.

I forgot to ask..