Rebirth: The Shadow Of Greed

I'll still just settle for the pieces of 8. That will be good enough for me."

Odrunn looked as if his world has collapsed. Asking him to just choose one artefact made him feel like he could reach the last jelly bean in the jar, or he couldn't get the last bit of jelly in the packet it was deeply unsatisfying.

Running around the shop, Odrunn picked up a few items, the ToughBoots Mach 2 was in his hands, he placed it gently on the table while running to the other side of the store to pick out a helmet. It looked like the ones used by gladiators in ancient Rome, but it was something entirely different.

After shopping around for almost 30 minutes, Odrunn came back with a final item, he brought back a pair of metal gauntlets that looked extremely bulky and heavy, they had a pair of lions engraved on the head and metal chains that hung out from it.

"Erm... I've brought three Artefacts, but I still have to choose 1. Maybe you can help me with deciding? Boss, I think you're the best person to help me with this."

Z nodded and started to look at the 3 items he picked.

"Little brother, how about I introduce the items to you first and then you can help your friend decide what artefact he should pick. Which one would you like me to introduce first?"

Seeing Z looking at the Artefact, manager Sans asked.

"He's already explained the Toughboots Mach 2, so maybe you can just go ahead and explain the helmet first."

Manager Sans nodded, he picked up the helmet and started to introduce it.

"This right here is the Smart helm, basically all the functionality you need all in one. Besides all-around protection, it comes with all-around sound. The speakers within ensure that you hear your teammates commands loud and clear.

Within the helmet, there lies a mask that would help prevent any poisonous gas or harmful toxins to enter your body, while there is a heads up display in the lenses allowing you to see the information you wish to see while in battle. A truly wonderful piece of technology."

"So basically what you're saying is, other than the functionalities of a normal helmet, it hinders your breathing, blocks out your hearing and distracts your vision? Odrunn, we're looking to increase your combat capabilities not give your enemies an advantage."

Z shook his head as he picked up the gauntlets. Odrunn could only stick out his tongue and look a bit embarrassed.

"What about these?"

"These are lion gauntlets, they're kind of special. Initially made for manifesters on the offense team, they proved too bulky and heavy for them to use in actual combat. Strength Augment manifesters would prefer to have sturdy gloves but lighter weight so they won't hinder their movements. These, however, can create a slight barrier around them increasing the hitbox, but also because of its heavyweight and barrier, the team behind it announced that it might be more suitable for the vanguard teams since they could use it as a shield and they don't really have to move around much with it."

"Very interesting, can he test out the capabilities of the gauntlets?"

Z asked, already having a thought in mind.

"Of course, if you follow me this way, we have a training facility underground to facilitate the test of items."

Following Manager Sans to the lift they took it to the underground level, upon the doors opening, Z and Odrunn were stunned by the extremely large bunker that was underground.

"Over there is where we place our target dummies, it is also where our customers come to test our their Artefacts, whether they want to buy a new one or they just repaired theirs."

Walking past a target dummy, Z spotted a young man, holding on to what seemed to look like a curved blade. A katana, for those familiar with weaponry. He seemed to be looking at the sheen and the sharpness and it was as if he was communicating with the blade.

In the next second, he stood up, swinging the blade down, he cleanly cut the metallic target dummy in half.

"Good, very good, thanks for repairing my blade, it has been a long journey for me to get here, I'm thankful you managed to fix it for me"

"No problem, it was a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e doing business with you sir, let me walk you out."

The man nodded as he walked towards the lift with the assistant, passing by Z's group before entering the lift.

"Right this way, you'll see that the target dummies are all state of the art and are really strong, so you can go ahead and hit it with full force don't need to worry about it breaking."

"But... Didn't the guy from before just cleaved it straight in half?"

Odrunn asked curiously, obviously stunned at the beautiful sword slice by the man.

"Oh that guy is a respected inquisitor from the Holy capital, the strength he exhibits is way stronger than anyone from around these parts. Go ahead and use the dummies, I wouldn't worry about breaking them though, hohoho."

Odrunn equipped the gauntlets as he prepared to strike the dummy. A slight whir came from the gauntlet as they started to glow with a slightly yellow light. Once the barrier had formed over the gauntlets he threw a punch straight at the dummy and the dummy got knocked back a bit but was overall unharmed.

"Not bad, little brother, it seems you're really strong to be moving like this with those gauntlets on. Are you from A city academy as well? If you use them on the offense team I'm sure you would see some results. Even though you might not be top tier, you are better than average."

"Thank you manager Sans, I'm from A city academy, but... I'm in the Vanguard team."

Odrunn smiled as he answered hesitantly.