The Runesmith

Armand finished securing the gauntlets onto his forearms with a satisfied expression. He flexed his fingers experimentally and noticed how they moved fluidly within the unique design of the gauntlets. It was clear that Roland had put a lot of thought into the creation of these specialized weapons.

"These are amazing, Wayland. I can feel the power!”

The man thrust both of his fists into the air, infusing his mana into the pair of weapons. The runes started to emit a crimson glow, mirroring the effect of Arthur's rapier. This weapon utilized a comparable runic system to the flame blade, allowing it to conjure flames and even flame whips. However, with Armand's reckless behavior, the situation became increasingly volatile.

"What on earth are you doing? Stop waving your arms around!"

As Armand vigorously swung his fists, he triggered the whips, which shot out and initially collided with the ceiling before shooting forward. He was not the only person there, Lobelia was quite close by, engrossed in inspecting the mithril arrows, her attention elsewhere. One of these blazing lashes hurtled directly toward her, prompting Roland to swiftly invoke his runic authority. Just before the spell could make contact with the unsuspecting half-elf, it dissipated into nothingness, transforming into ephemeral wisps of red light.

Armand froze as he realized the danger he had just created. Sweat trickled down his face as he stared at Roland with wide eyes, the fiery whips retracting into the gauntlets. Roland, still controlling the runes with a stern expression while focused on his new brother-in-law.

"Armand, you have to be careful! These gauntlets can be powerful, but they can also be extremely dangerous if not used properly…"

This was precisely why he had brought the two of them down to his workshop. Individuals like this brute often lacked the finesse required for handling magical items with multiple active spells. To address this, he had designed them to function like game controllers, requiring everyone to master the correct combinations to execute special spells, akin to maneuvers in fighting games. These combinations weren't overly complex, which sometimes led to situations like this, where a spell could be triggered randomly.

Lobelia became aware of the near-miss and turned towards them with a mixture of relief and anger. She approached her brother and Roland quickly with a clear scowl plastered over her face.

"What in the world were you thinking, Armand? Do you have any idea what could have happened? You nearly fried me!"

Even Armand who was usually unapologetic lowered his head in an apologetic fashion. It was evident that he had not anticipated the gauntlets' abilities to manifest in such an uncontrollable manner.

“I uh… Sorry, I got carried away a bit…”

“A bit? How I get carried a way and shove this up your arse?”

“Hey now, hold on, I said that I was sorry.”

“An apology can only get you so far!”

“What do you want me to do then?”

“How about… you pay me for the emotional damage that I have suffered, a few gold coins will suffice.”

“Gold coins? Are you mad?”

The two of them launched into a heated argument, with it becoming increasingly evident that Lobelia had suffered no real injury and was now attempting to extort money from her brother. Their bickering continued, but Roland had no time for such disputes. He was operating on a tight schedule and needed to test another item he had prepared for the War Monk and his frenzied alter ego. Luckily it was more of an active skill and not a personality trait as he was able to hold himself back from going into a frenzy, at least while arguing with Lobelia here. Whether or not this self-control would persist in a confrontation with someone he truly despised remained to be seen.

‘From my research, it’s possible to alleviate the berserk and frenzy symptoms by meditating and other means, though I can’t imagine this idiot ever meditating so we’ll have to go with something else…’

He had consulted books and some old knowledge he absorbed to come up with a way of pacifying his brother-in-law. Despite the challenges posed by Armand's muscle brain disposition, he recognized the potential of having him as a formidable ally. Elodia played probably the biggest role in this decision and he decided to give it his all.

In his quest to mitigate Armand's frenzied state, he had crafted a harness designed to fit snugly over his robust chest. Initially, he had contemplated creating a full metallic breastplate, accompanied by a garment resembling a muscle shirt, allowing Armand greater freedom of movement. However, a complication arose as he unearthed certain hidden passive effects. He was well aware of the limitations imposed by the War Monk class on equipment load. Much like in old video games, monks couldn't don heavy armor, and even lightweight armor would diminish the effectiveness of their passive abilities.

He recalled one of the passive skills that Armand had gained with his recent class ascension. The explanation in the system window was vague but it encompassed all sorts of armored pieces. Everything that was considered to be armor besides clothes would affect this passive skill that he had. It wasn’t the only one there as he also possessed passive skills like, Unarmored Defense and Unarmored Movement that boosted other stats.

The one he focused on increasing all the vital physical attributes like agility, vitality, strength, and endurance. However, if he burdened Armand with an excessively heavy load, it would nullify these crucial skills. Thus, he needed to find a workaround. Fortunately, after consulting with skilled dwarven craftsmen, he received a valuable tip.

Firstly, if he ensured that the harness, which only partially covered the chest, remained beneath a certain weight threshold, it would prevent it from being classified as heavy armor. Secondly, he discovered that accessories like belts, armbands, gauntlets, and even pants did not contribute to the overall weight calculation of the armor set. This realization opened up various possibilities. Ultimately, he opted for a harness over a belt, as it provided more space for the incorporation of runic components and the runic battery required for the device to actually function.

“Okay, that’s enough from you two. Lobelia, go practice with your bow, I need to explain a few things to Armand here.”

“Hah, see even Wayland has my back, I knew that I could count on you, my little brother!’

“I’m going to hit you…”

Roland responded in a disgruntled tone as he found the idea of being called a little brother by this muscle brain somewhat insulting. It was better to not argue if he wanted to move things alone so he just grabbed the harness and presented it to the test subject.

“Just put this on.”

“Wait, now that I look at this… don’t you use for that?”

“For that?”

“You know, at the pleasure district! Did you have such tastes?”

“Just shut up and put it on already…”

After tossing the harness toward Armand, Roland observed as he began putting it on. The central piece took the form of a hexagon and was secured with specially crafted leather straps made from the leather of flame-resistant creatures. Embedded within these straps were metallic wires designed to accommodate the runic traces as a safety precaution. While ethereal pathways typically sufficed, the intricate mechanics of the spell required additional structural reinforcement. In the back, there were a few clasps to bring everything together and also to tighten everything into place.

‘If you gave him a bowl cut now…’

Roland rubbed his chin as his brother-in-law looked like a caricature of a superhero character from his own world. He was just missing a large sword that he could point into the sky to gather some power. Finally, after the piece of equipment was in place, he could begin with the test.

“How does it feel?”

“It actually fits nicely…”

“How about your skills, are they still active?”

Armand executed a series of punches to familiarize himself with the harness, then nodded in approval. The front section of the harness was primarily crafted from red mithril, complemented by a blend of other alloys for the runes and the core spell it contained. Now came the most intriguing question: would it prove effective in assisting Armand to counter his frenzied state?

“Good, now I’ll need to activate your skill.”

“You want me to go into a berserker state?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? But…”

“Yes, I’m sure and I know what conditions need to be met to activate the frenzy skill.”

The limitations imposed on Armand's class extended beyond the unarmored skills. Initiating a berserk state couldn't happen arbitrarily or without reason. At the very least, the individual needed to elevate their heart rate, or they could employ a faster method by engaging in combat. Enough time had been wasted so instead of having him make a few laps around the testing facility, it was better to confront him directly.

“Oh, are you two going to go at it?”

“Yes, it would be better if you kept your distance, Lobelia.”

Lobelia observed the unfolding scene with a touch of curiosity, her thoughts drifting toward the prospect of placing bets to earn some extra coin. Meanwhile, Roland was equipped in a scaled-down version of his armor. This iteration gave him some basic stats and buffs. He had the usual half-plate components, including gauntlets, boots, greaves, and a chest plate, all constructed from an aether mithril alloy. This design was notably slimmer compared to his customary bulky knight's suit and likely wouldn't be sufficient to support his Overlord skill.

He was actually interested in how well he would fare against a fresh tier 3 class holder. Armand was in possession of a more prestigious class than the adventurers that he confronted not so long ago. It would allow him to gain some data while utilizing armor that couldn’t hold that many spells. In the future, he hoped to slim down his suit to something more manageable. However, it was also possible that such a thing would not be possible and that his armors would continue to be bulkier and larger.

“Okay, we can start.”

“Haha, finally, I’ve been waiting for this. It’s only a shame that no one will be able to see my victory but don’t worry, I’ll be gentle!”

It appeared that Armand had gained a degree of confidence in his abilities, or perhaps he had noticed that Roland wasn't donning his superior suit of armor. Despite not being known for his intelligence, when it came to combat, Armand had a knack for gauging his opponent's strength to some extent. He had ample time to assess Roland's strengths and vulnerabilities, a luxury that couldn't be extended to his present opponent.

Before the fight started, Roland positioned a helmet over his head. Upon infusing it with mana, he was greeted by a familiar interface that swiftly identified his opponent. Through the visor, he could discern Armand's primary levels, including details such as health points and stamina. This information was made visible through a bit of manipulation of his analyzing skill, allowing him to view these crucial statistics. The helmet would continuously gather data from this skill and present it in a visual format, providing valuable insights during the fight.

With this feature, Roland could effortlessly monitor his opponent's health and gauge when they were nearing their limits, which provided a significant tactical advantage in the battle. Even now he could see a drastic decrease to Armand’s stamina bar which showed right after he activated one of his skills. His feet moved at a superhuman pace and allowed him to bridge the gap between them in a matter of moments.

“Remember, you’ve asked for this!”

A powerful right straight shot toward Roland's face, but to Armand's astonishment, his opponent adeptly evaded the blow. Although Roland wasn't particularly specialized in close-range combat and lacked any superior combat passives, he possessed other advantages. His heightened stats, coupled with a multiplier that would leave everyone wide-eyed, were notable assets.

When combined with the stat-enhancing properties of his runic suit and his augmented Overlord organs, he could compensate for his deficiencies and hold his own in this confrontation. With the addition of his newest skill that allowed him to perceive the world in mana shape, he could react to all the combos that Armand was throwing at him. Even if there were fakes mixed into everything, this combination allowed him to sustain himself.

“How are you doing that… This makes no sense!”

Armand shouted out while his muscles bulged out. The more he attempted to land hits the madder he became and the faster his frenzy came. Soon he was out of it and it actually became a lot harder to predict where the punches and kicks would land. One of the glaring weak points of this mana-detecting skill started to be exposed.

It seemed that the phantom of the movement would appear whenever a person thought about the action before performing it. However, when in a frenzied state as the one Armand was in, this process was tossed out of the window. What only remained was muscle memory and reactionary combat with not much thought behind it. While he was still seeing the phantoms, they became ever more erratic and difficult to predict.

Even though he received a lot of battle data, Roland had no intention of defeating Armand in this match; rather, he wanted to test the effectiveness of the harness and its ability to mitigate Armand's frenzied state. As the battle continued, Roland focused on monitoring Armand's stamina and how it fluctuated as the frenzy took hold.

Armand's frustration grew as Roland continued to evade his attacks and counter when necessary. The match was lasting longer than he had anticipated, and the harness was having a calming effect on his frenzied state. Although his attacks were still ferocious, they lacked the sheer unrelenting force they would have possessed without the harness.

“How are you this fast! This doesn’t make any sense!”

It was an encouraging sign that Armand retained his ability to speak while in the midst of his frenzied state. The runic spell periodically infused him with a divine energy, akin to the spells wielded by clerics. Whenever he crossed a certain threshold, the harness emitted a burst of radiant light that pulsed across Armand's body. Despite his escalating anger, he managed to hold onto his sanity, proving that the test was a resounding success.

"That's enough, Armand. The test is complete."

Roland took a step back, raising his hands in a calming gesture. Armand blinked in confusion but was able to pull back his punches as he was asked to, not something a berserker should be able to do after their skill was triggered.

“Wait, what just happened? This is not how my skill should work…”

“It’s the effect of that new equipment piece, it’s meant to contain your frenzied state.”

Armand looked down at the harness and then back at Roland, realization dawning on him.

"So, that's what this was about and It actually worked?"

"Yes, it appears to have mitigated the effects of your frenzy. With more practice and fine-tuning, we can make it even more effective. Did you feel anything strange? Like feeling drowsy?"

Roland nodded approvingly as Armand examined his new harness, a newfound appreciation in his eyes. Though Armand didn't consider himself the brightest, he was well aware of the advantage a berserker gained when accompanied by a cleric in the party. With the addition of a pocket-calming spell to help him maintain his composure, he knew he would be significantly more effective in his role of delivering fists to his adversaries.

“Haha, with this around no one will be able to stop me, I will become a legend among the adventurers! Thank you Wayland, you don’t know how much this means to me!”

“You’re welcom… hey, what are you doing?”

Armand, in his excitement, had instantly jumped up on Roland and brought him in close for a hug. The two were around the same height and size but he was not fond of hugging men, even less when they were covered in sweat and didn’t use deodorant. Roland winced, as he tried to move his face away from the smiling Armand.

“Okay, okay that’s enough, let go of me.”

Lobelia watched the scene with amusement, a sly grin on her face.

"Well, well, it seems even our stoic Wayland can't escape the embrace of brotherly love."

Armand finally released Roland, patting him on the back with a hearty laugh.

"I can't believe you did this for me, Wayland. You're a true friend, and now I can be the best berserker this world has ever seen!"

Roland took a few steps away to get away from the smell of the muscle man. With their newfound understanding of the harness and Armand's improved control over his frenzied state, the group continued their preparations for the future, something that they would certainly need sooner rather than later…