Chapter 74 - Pinhurst Cold-Steel Part 3

Maeve stifled a laugh as she watched Cynrik being scolded, and she motioned for Cinyah to take out the last item from the crate meant for Brance.

Clicking her tongue, Cinyah looked away from her troublemaker of a son and pulled out two Cold-Steel Shin-Guards that matched the pauldrons on the CS-LB Duster and handed them to Brance, who quickly tried them on.

- Cold-Steel Shin-Guards-

-Tier 1: Special Grade-

- Classification: Mana Infused Small Shin-Guards -

- A custom-made leather jacket designed by Cinyah Jetlensr and crafted from five ore Cold-Steel and Medium Silver Drake Hide, by Famed Blacksmith and Runist Jessup Pinhurst, for Brance Jetlensr. These guards have been inscribed with Mana allocation runes containing Light, Earth, and Wind Mana.-

- +5 DEF-

- Durability 5000/5000-

- Ability:+ 5% Buff to Earth Skills, +5% Buff to Wind Skills, +15% Buff to Light Skills -

Brance took a couple of steps back and released several swift kicks to test out the range of motion on his new CS plated Shin-Guards; thanks to the riveted joints and their lightweight, he felt no resistance or discomfort while wearing them, and after a few more seconds, chose to put them away by adding them to his T1 Loadout. However, when the Shin-Guards were slotted into place, he received a notification that made his eyes light up.

-Armor Set has been detected in the T1 Loadout.-

-When equipped, the Host will receive added bonuses-

-Tier-1 BSG Cold-Steel Custom Armor Set (Brance Jetlensr)

-1 Piece = 10% Increase in Mana Point Regeneration -

-3 Pieces = 10% Increase in Stamina Regeneration -

-5 Pieces = 10% Increase of Health Point Regeneration-

With his mouth hung open, Brance looked at Maeve in shock. "Big Sister, there's a set bonus! I get 10% in HP, MP, and Stamina regeneration if I wear it all together."

Even Cinyah was surprised. While a 10% increase wasn't huge, it was still a significant boost that could help her sons in a pinch. Quickly hiding her surprise, she smiled and patted Brance on his head before looking at Cynrik, who was still standing with his hands behind his back and looking down.

"Alright, Cyn, get over here. It's your turn." Cinyah reached into the box and pulled out a CS Chainmail Vest and Shin-Guards that matched Brances, the only difference being that his Shin-Guards weren't bright silver, but instead a dark grey that appeared to be only a few shades shy of being black.

Cynrik's eyes lit up as he picked up on the color of the CS-Shin Guards, and he couldn't help but get excited at his prediction. He carefully accepted the new equipment and put them on in a flash, but unlike Brance, who put them away after a few seconds, Cynrik chose to keep them on after adding them to all three of his Loadouts before looking expectantly at his mother.

"All right, all right, here." Noticing how impatient Cynrik was being, Cinyah reached in and grabbed a coat, that while slightly resembling the one she gave to Brance earlier, was vastly different in both color and ability.

The first noticeable difference was the color. Unlike Brance's silver Coat, the one Cynrik swiftly snatched from his mother's grasp and was admiring with an excited look was black as night, and the pauldrons were the same dark shade of grey as the Shin-Guards he currently had on. His eyes drifted along with the scaled hide, to the dark rune clad metal pauldrons, to the final main difference. Instead of just having a large open collar, Cynrik's had an assassin-style hood that ended in a point the would hide his face in the shadow it cast. Grinning ear to ear and using both hands, he snapped the hood up, covering his head with it.

{Hehe, I am darkness, I am the night, I AM BA...}

{SHUT UP, CYNRIK.} Brance refused to let him finish that statement.

Cynrik pulled down his hood and exposed his scrunched-up face, which looked like he had tasted something sour, and glared at his little brother before looking at his forearm and using Inspect.

-Cold-Steel ShadeDrake Assassin Duster-

-Tier 1: Special Grade-

- Classification: Mana Infused Duster Jacket -

- A custom-made jacket designed by Cinyah Jetlensr and Crafted from five ore Cold-Steel and Adult ShadeDrake Hide, by Famed Blacksmith and Runist Jessup Pinhurst, for Cynrik Jetlensr. This jacket has been inscribed with Mana allocation runes containing Dark and Fire Mana. Much like its lesser evolved form, the ShadeViper, the ShadeDrake, is naturally attuned to Dark Mana, allowing this jacket's materials to store large amounts of Darkness Mana particles. This Coat will stop most bladed attacks under Tier-2 with relative ease.-

- +10 DEF-

- +5 AGI -

- +50 MP-

- Durability 10000/10000-

- Ability:+ 10% Buff to Fire Skills, +15% Buff to Dark Skills -

-Passive Special Skill: Stealth Assist – By infusing Darkness Mana into the jacket, the wearer can increase the duration of Stealth-Type Skills. Depending on how much Mana the wearer invests into the Cold-Steel Shadow Assassin Duster, the cost of activating and sustaining Dark Mana-based Stealth Skills will decrease by a maximum of 50%.

"Thank you, Mom and Aun..."

BANG

"YOU LITTLE HOOLIGAN, WHO ARE YOU CALLING AUNTIE!" Maeve shouted while grabbing the closest item she could find, which just so happened to be the crate's lid, and chucking it at Cynrik's head. Not able to dodge, Cynrik's head snapped back due to the collision, and a large bump started forming in the center of his forehead while his feet stayed rooted in place.

'Who am I? Where am I? Did she just throw a heavy wooden crate at my head like it was a frisbee?' These questions rattled around Cynriks mind as he stared with unfocused eyes at the ceiling of the shop.

Cinyah and Brance both shook their heads while sighing loudly. Cynrik just never seemed to learn.

Standing near the front door, the terrified Rikard lifted his hand and touched his own forehead as if feeling his son's pain. The fact that Maeve had hit Cynrik in the exact same spot she had flicked him earlier did not escape his keen eyes. 'My son, I shall say a prayer for you. The She-wolf is more dangerous the more you taunt her.' Then, saying a silent prayer for Cynrik, Rikard went back to trying to be invisible and not draw Maeve's attention.

"Here I was about to explain your jacket to you, and you just had to be rude. Cinyah, I'll ask again. Why is it that little Brance is so sweet and well-behaved while Cynrik turned out like a little hooligan?" Maeve's sharp eyes turned to Rikard, who visibly flinched at her gaze. "It must be your fault."

Wanting to run and feeling wronged, Rikard shook his head back and forth as if saying, "it's not my fault, I swear."

"TSK, whatever, anyway, give him the swords next, Cinyah." Done with the father and son duo, Maeve wanted to move on and started explaining the pair of matching swords that Cinyah was pulling from the crate, while Cynrik rubbed his forehead and shot a scared look at Maeve. Then, his eyes looked at the two black sheathed swords resting in Cinyahs hands, and his mood brightened instantly.

"Your Mom said you like to dual wield and needed different length swords. So the first one is the shorter of the two, so you'll want to use it in your non-dominant hand, which is why it has a strap for mounting it on your back. While the second one is a bit longer, you shouldn't be hindered by drawing it from your waist.

-Cold-Steel Tri-Elemental Twin-Kodachi's-

-Tier-1: Special Grade

- Classification: Runic Kodachi (51cm, 59cm) –

- A pair of matching black, single-edged, slightly curved short swords; the longer sword is meant for use with the dominant hand while the shorter is intended to be wielded with the non-dominant. Designed by Cinyah Jetlensr and Crafted from five ore Cold-Steel, by Famed Blacksmith and Runist Jessup Pinhurst, for Cynrik Jetlensr. The handle is wrapped with ShadeDrake hide, and both the kashira (pommel) and habaki (ring guard) are forged from ShadeDrake bone. The blades are inscribed with Runes that can be infused with Dark, Fire, and Wind Mana.

- +5 AGI (Total of 10)-

- +5 DEX (Total of 10)-

- Ability:+ 5% Buff to Fire Skills, +5% Buff to Wind Skills, +5% Buff to Dark Skills –

-Special Passive Skill: When wielding both at the same time +20% increased Critical Rate.-

-Special Passive Skill: When wielding both at the same time +20% Critical Damage.-

Cynrik couldn't help but gasp when he read through all the buffs he would receive by dual-wielding his two new kodachi; in a flash, Cynrik equipped the shorter sword on his back and the longer one on his right hip before dropping into his fighting stance and drawing both simultaneously.

Spinning each sword in circular patterns a few times to get used to their length and weight before slashing at the air, he eventually sheathed them with a flourish and smiled widely.

"They're perfect, Mom and A...Big Sis, I couldn't ask for better swords." Cynrik figuratively wiped the sweat from his brow as he caught himself almost calling Maeve Auntie and corrected himself, which caused the woman in question to grin.

"There is one more thing here. This last one was pretty difficult to make; my Dad and I both struggled for a while, and we actually almost gave up because of the lack of material, but your Mom was adamant that we made these for you." Maeve put the empty crate on the ground beside her and replaced it with a medium-sized metal box that resembled the gun box Brance owned back on Earth.

Curious about its contents, Cynrik walked up to the counter and, using both hands, unlatched and opened it.

"No way…." Forgetting the world around him for a moment, Cynrik whispered softly as he examined the box's contents in awe. Inside was a multitude of different parts, two of which were ShadeDrake hide wraps, covered in black runes, and seemed to be cut to perfection to fit his Assassins tools. But these hide wraps alone weren't enough to make him so awestruck, to the point that he felt his eyes start to water. Instead, the cause was the two thin blades resting neatly on a small velvety pillow.

Carefully, he picked one up and held it to the light. He would recognize them anywhere.

"I sent them over all the fragments of your favorite sword and told them what I wanted. Happy Birthday, Baby." Cinyah spoke up after seeing how Cynrik's eyes started watering slightly.

With everything going on, Cynrik had forgotten today was his birthday.

Caressing the new hidden blades formed from his shattered SunFlare one last time, Cynrik gently put it down before running to Cinyah and giving her a big hug.