Limits

When I visited the workshop next day, I noticed that the old Lizard was already working away. He was in the process of creating the Flash Blurite Steel Ingots, which I showed him yesterday. I only smiled, and didn't disturb him. I headed to the same abandoned workbench, and began my work on the armour pieces. I already had a design in my head. 'I need my armour to work like scales. This type of design allows for better protection, and can be made from smaller pieces' I thought.

The armour pieces wouldn't look like my right arm though, I simply went for the similar concept. The use of smaller pieces would allow for greater mobility, because the armour would be able to bend in many areas. Besides that, scales were strong due to how they formed. One scale covered the other, and this repeated until a whole section was covered. That was why, scales had the best possible defence and flexibility.

The armour I designed, was a sort of addon to any set of clothing, I could possibly wear. It was stand alone, which meant I didn't have to attach it permanently to any fabric or leather. It would go straight on top of my arm and legs. I planned to make a gauntlet like armour for my left arm, and the left arm only. I already had scales on the other arm. The defensive capabilities of my right arm, were many times superior compared to the left arm. The gauntlet like armour, would work on a similar basis as my right arm would. The difference was that my whole left arm would be covered by armour, and it would be made from steel.

Besides the gauntlet, I also required two leg guards. The leg guards would extend from the bottom of my shin, to just above the knee area. All the pieces would be made from the same material, the Flash Blurite Steel.

I focused on the gauntlet first, and hammered out the plates that would connect to make the gauntlet. This was more of a sophisticated work, as I had to measure everything correctly, and make sure everything matched. Just to create all the necessary pieces for the arm gauntlet, it took me four hours of work. 'I still have to connect them' I thought. There were a few ways to connect such pieces together. Leather was the easiest, but such connection was the weakest. It would wear out after a while, and the armour would simply break apart. Not only that, it was much easier to break such armour, and find openings. I didn't need an armour full of openings, therefore that was not an option for me.

I opted for rivets instead, which would permanently stick the pieces together. Those types of connections were as strong as the metal used. The drawbacks were also quite substantial. I wouldn't be able to easily modify the armour. I didn't plan to modify it anyway, and I needed as much durability as I could get. Riveting though, was time consuming. I had to punch out holes in all the pieces, then make nail like rods from Flash Blurite Steel. A long while later, I punched out the holes for each plate and smelted small rods as the riveting pins. I had to heat each rod up, then insert it between the holes of two pieces and smash it with a hammer a few times. When the rivet cooled, the two pieces were not permanently attached. 'That's just one rivet though. I have loads more to go' I thought and continued my work.

The pieces required many rivets. The more of them I placed, the more durable those connections would be. To connect two pieces together, I needed at least 20 rivets. Some of the pieces would require in excess of 30. This wasn't particularly hard to do, but time consuming. A few hours later, I managed to stick all the pieces together and form the almost complete gauntlet. 'The last step is polishing it, then adding internal leather for comfort' I thought.

I polished the gauntlet, then took out some leather to line the inside. Although this would go on top of my clothes, it was still bare steel, and wouldn't be very comfortable. The leather would also help absorb some of the impacts, when the gauntlet was used for defence. I processed the leather until it was as flexible as fabric, then lined the inside of my new gauntlet. 'Done, let's check how this fits' I thought, and wrapped the gauntlet around my left arm.

I knew my measurements very well, so the gauntlet would fit anyway. Besides, the gauntlet had adjustable attachments. They were made from leather, and plated with flexible metal. I used Flexium and Purified Steel, to create them. Although Black Steel or even Flash Blurite would be better, I couldn't really use them. Black Steel didn't mix with Flexium, while Flash Blurite Steel wasn't able to mix with anything. It was a completely stand alone ingot, which couldn't be mixed further. Although Flash Blurite Steel was more flexible than Black Steel, it wasn't comparable to Flexium mixed with Purified Steel.

I swung my arm around, and punch the air a few times. 'It needs a bit of getting used to, but other than that, it's perfect' I thought. I decided to test the defensive abilities of my new gauntlet. I took out one Purified Steel Ingot, and placed it on the workbench. I raised my arm up, and swung it down "CLIIIINNG!". A metallic sound reverberated throughout the workshop, and made my ears hurt. The others were worse off, some of them had their ears bleed. The Purified Steel Ingot turned a bit red, and split in the middle, as if an axe struck it.

I expected to create some ruckus, but this was beyond my expectations. I gave everyone some medicine, and apologised. When the old Lizard came to himself, he said "You could've at least warned us… What the hell did you create? Smashing ingots with your fist… What a monster". I smiled, and apologised again. My hand hurt, and I still felt the vibration from the aftermath. That was a full force impact with Purified Steel Ingot. I was surprised that my hand only hurt, and didn't break or anything. 'With this, my left arm's defence is pretty much on par with the scales on my right arm…. If not better. I still need to make the leg guards' I thought.

It took me another two days to create the leg guards, but the increase in my defensive abilities, was staggering. 'I never had such a great armour in my life! If I add the clothes that both Suly and Fox make, I shouldn't worry about my defence anymore' I thought. Of course, I would still receive damage when attacked with strong skills. But there was just no comparison to before I possessed such armour.

I didn't return to the workshop anymore. Instead, I visited Suly and Fox. When I descended to the basement, I noticed some sort of Runes drawn on the floor. Suly had her hands full of books, and didn't even look at me when I entered. Fox tried to help out Suly, as much as she could. I asked "How is it going?". Suly replied after a while "This is harder than I imagined. Alicia would've done it much sooner than me, but she hasn't returned yet. It will take me some time, before I can finish this. Sorry Nex". I shook my head, and replied "Don't be. I'm already grateful you are trying your best. Take your time, I will visit Harlin and Crow in Sedon first".

She nodded her head, but focused on the books only. Fox on the other hand, asked "Hey, where did you get that armour?". I replied "I made it myself. With this, my defence has improved greatly... What? Why are you looking at me like that?". She replied "And you only made some for yourself? You could make some for me as well". I scratched my head, and said "Well... Last time, you avoided the fight... so you don't really need it?... Anyway, I'm off to Sedon. I will see you guys later".

I walked back up the stairs, and noticed that Fox was following me. I turned around, and asked "You want to go too?". She said "Isn't that obvious? Suly is much better than me, when it comes to Formations. I can't possibly help her. As for your clothes… we had no time for that. She insisted on setting up that Formation for you. Why do you even need it?". I replied with a smile "Not telling!", and walked outside. I could hear her saying "You are impossible!", and quickly following after me.