Chapter 1696 (1/2)

Randidly eyed the gloves that the goblin passed to him. More complex runes glittered along the metal plates that were embedded around the wrists. It seemed that the goblin took this process seriously. Being hired as a laborer came with a uniform. “These… suppress Skill use and images?”

Meanwhile, the continually dead-eyed Claudette grimaced as the admittedly… rank smell of the well-used and sweat-covered gloves wafted under her nose. She held the implements at arm’s length, and it was clear she didn’t consider that far enough “Sir… are these gloves really necessary? I’ll have you know in addition my identity as the daughter of Don Beigon… I’m also an apprentice Pinnacle Seeker underneath the Frost Matriarch. I can assure you that my mastery of my image is immaculate. Such a tool… is redundant.”

“Oh, a Pinnacle Seeker,” The goblin said in mock sincerity. The trio was standing next to a small shed propped up against the edge of the immaculate and glittering rune-covered walls. And literally, the shed was filled with farming equipment. Gloves, boots, hoes, and overalls made the small building feel extremely cluttered. “So you are still seeking the Pinnacle, yes? Which probably means that your control over your image isn’t perfect? So you want to waltz into my farm and jeopardize my livelihood on your word? The word of a woman who didn’t even have the money to pay for a single meal?”

“I didn’t even-” Claudette twitched with rage and once more Randidly had to turn away and hide his smile.

The goblin clicked his tongue and eyed Claudette with blatant suspicion. “Forgive me if I refuse. If you want to walk away from your debt, fine. I’ll work your boytoy plenty. I don’t need a complainer.”

“He’s not my Boytoy!” Claudette snapped. Then the second part of the goblin’s words reached her and she hissed her breath out through her nose in an attempt to breathe fire.

Wondering if he was pushing things a bit too far, Randidly slipped on his gloves and nodded. “I’m really not her boytoy. I actually am seeing someone else.”

“Ah, so she’s the other woman? Well,” Suddenly the goblin looked at Claudette with pity. “Not that I blame you, but be careful. If you don’t set emotional boundaries, a shameless man like this will walk all over you. Anyway, your personal mistakes are your own; either put on those gloves or leave.”

The goblin waddled forward toward a small door next to the shed. Avoiding a growing eddy of frosty air spiraling outward from the glaring Claudette, Randidly hurried after the goblin. He was actually quite curious about the design of the gloves. When he snapped the leather wrist braces into place, the runes connected and activated. Instantly, Randidly felt a strange sense of heaviness settle across his body as the Engraving activated.

He took a few steps tentatively, getting used to the new sensation. With their suddenly more intimate connection, Neveah sensed his wonder and brought her attention to align with Randidly’s they looked in wonder at the bracelets. The Engraving was extremely domineering in its scope. It’s truly… suppressing all of my Skills. Even the passive ones…

Randidly waved his arms, feeling the runes on the gloves activate with a bit more vigor. Of course, the bracelets couldn’t prevent the Skills from functioning within the confines of his body. But the equipment created a thin barrier across his skin that completely disallowed anything related to Aether from proceeding past it.

Guess it’s a good thing that the Alpha Cosmos is inside of me, at the moment, Randidly’s lips twitched. Otherwise… heh.

However, a new tidbit of information became obvious as he continued to walk around experimentally. To compensate for the passive Skills of his body, the gloves generated an equal restriction against him. That is, for all the extra physical power Randidly received from where his Skills could occur, the gloves countered with a restrictive forcefield. He studied the patterns on the gloves, making a mental note to add a version of this to his physical training regimen.

“Careful.”

Randidly looked up in shock. He had been so caught up in examining the function of the gloves that he didn’t notice the goblin’s approach. The goblin was squinting at Randidly’s gloves. “Heh, yea, you definitely have a pretty robust body. Good for farming. But… just a warning; don’t be too lively out there. I didn’t add a heat sink to the runes. The formation is connected to the central weather control I maintain inside of the farm, so powering the Engraving isn’t an issue. But as it has to channel more energy to restrict you… that heat will accumulate. With the materials used for those… theoretically, it could melt through your wrists.”

Randidly reached out and touched the metal plates embedded in the leather gloves. Already, they were quite warm to the touch. But he just flashed a cheeky smile at the goblin. He thought that it was quite unlikely that heat could easily overcome his new body. “Thanks for the warning, but I’m pretty confident in my heat tolerance. By the way, what’s your name? I really admire your Engraving.”

“Nrorce,” The goblin grunted. Then, as Claudette finally thawed enough to slip on the gloves and snap them into place, Nrorce led them to the door in the wall and opened it. Instantly, bolts of white lightning raced up and down around the threshold. A rather cramped and low-ceilinged hallway ran forward, through the entirety of the thick alabaster walls. A powerful electromagnetic field crackled within the area, populated by floating orbs of white lightning.

Surveying the lightning-filled tunnel, Nrorce cackled a bit then favored Randidly and Claudette with a wide smile. “Ehh… not to be blunt, but you might want to… ahem, void your bowels before proceeding through the barrier. This energy field rids you of any lingering images… but also can have a strange effect on the body. Feel free to go beyond the shed and relieve yourself-”

Before Claudette could open her mouth and finally vent the frigid fury she had been nursing for almost an hour, Randidly stepped forward and confidently walked into the passageway. White lightning quickly lashed out and hit his body… but he continued walking without the slightest hitch.