Chapter 27: Preface- The Mysterious Gauntlet
"Alright! I am all done!", I said it to myself as I closed my books.
Just completed all my homework. Our homeroom teacher always tends to give us a bit more homework than usual on Saturdays. We have half-days in school during Saturdays and a holiday on Sunday. So the student shouldn't waste their whole time playing around so they tend to give homework in a bulk.
Many students hate the teachers for giving them more homework on the weekend but they don't realize it's for their own benefit. They start to revolt against teachers and instead waste their time playing instead.
The homework was like a training session for your brain. Your brain needs a workout every day. During this 1 and half day holiday, the brain will become sluggish. Hence the teacher tends to give homework so that student won't forget the teachings that been taught in the school.
And I just completed my homework just now. Today was a Saturday after school ended early, I went straight to the library and bought some books with me to pass the day. After I got home, I first completed my homework which I managed to complete it by noon.
I then laid down on the floor and stared on the ceiling. My arms were a bit strained as I wrote all homework in 2 hours straight.
Recently my foolish big brother (Desmond) was carried home in an unconscious state. They said he was hit by a horse carriage in the way home. For the time being, I believed it.
But thinking back, the people who carried him back weren't any ordinary soldiers. They were heavily armed, unlike normal soldiers. The most intriguing part was that each of their equipment was reinforced with some kind of a jewel attached to the equipment.
I had read about enchanted equipment which was a powerful weapon owned by an Elite ranked soldier or higher.
My brother had joined the guardsman regiment where all the commoner folks join. So instead of a fellow soldier from guardsman regiment, why were Elite soldiers bothered to help a nobody like my brother?
Also when they bought him home, there were no injuries on my brother except for his tattered clothes. Only top notch healer would be able to heal such injuries and surely we cannot afford the expense. So did the Elite soldier's helped him? And if yes, why?
Also, I tried to inspect around the city from the locals but they didn't see any kind of carriage accident for a week now. If such an accident had occurred why didn't anyone saw it?
Such many things thoughts were eating me.
In our school, my last name was Rosetta Watson. My big brother told me to conceal our real last name.
I don't get it!
Why should we be in trouble for the mistakes of our old man? Why do we need to hide it! If anyone dares to hurt me or my brothers, I will surely make them pay hell. The most problematic was Armin because he was a bird brain and people easily tend to make a fool out of him.
Despite this, I agreed as big bro said to. I haven't told about our last name to anyone. Even Armin isn't aware of our real last name. Big brother never told him about it so he won't mindlessly blurt it out.
Just when I was busy thinking about such stuff.
Somebody started to bang on the door wildly.
"Who's it?", I asked out loud.
"Open up the door! Hurry!", replied back an excited voice.
It was none other than my dumb little brother, Armin. It was almost lunchtime so he was back home after playing to his heart's content.
We both go to the same school, same grade and the same class. I am studious and excel in every academics but he was completely pathetic. Today after the school ended, he went along with his friends to play straight away. Now it was lunchtime, so he ran straight home after realizing that he was hungry.
I opened the door and Armin rushed in and he even shouldered me aside in a haste.
"Watch it!", I yelled at him, "Why are you in such a rush! Don't tell me you broke another window of the neighborhood!"
It's already been like 5 times he had done this. Big bro had to pay up to cover Armin's damages because of his carelessness.
"No! I did not!", answered back Armin with strong displeasure.
"So you better have a good reason for pushing me aside like that as you rushed in.", I said angrily as I raised my fist to threaten him.
Armin was always excited and full of energy which was sometimes troublesome. He always tends to make a mistake and break things because of these traits.
Suddenly a proud smile appeared on Armin's face.
"Today I found something amazing.", he said as he proudly rubbed his finger under his nose.
I let out a huge sigh.
Not this again.
"Please throw that thing right away! I don't want any more of your legendary relics at home! That one time you bought a rotting stick that was growing fungus at home and the other time bones of a dead dog!", I cracked my knuckles to ready to give him a beating.
He always tends to roam in the street looking for garbage that he thinks could be powerful armaments. But every time it turned out to be a pile of garbage. The last time the whole house started to stink because he bought a carcass of rotting rat saying it was a mythical familiar.
We had to sleep at Aunt Martha's house before the smell could be disposed of completely.
Armin took a few steps backward as I approached him. I would surely kick him and his stupid relic out of this house.
"No lunch for you!", I shrieked at him.
"Hey! This time I really did find something amazing! Why don't you believe me?", he started to retort and yelled back,
"If you don't believe me. See this…", he put his hand behind his back of the shirt and unveiled the thing he was hiding.
To my surprise this time he was holding something which didn't turn out to be crap.
"This is some kind of a gauntlet.", I said as I observed the thing in his hand.
"Isn't it cool! I said it wasn't trash, this time?", responded Armin as he flaunted the gauntlet held high with his arm raised.
He even agreed that the stuff he used to bring home earlier was trash. Despite he cried a lot when we tried to dispose of his garbage.
I snatched the gauntlet from his arm.
"Let me have a look."
"Hey-", he squirmed when I snatched it.
This gauntlet was a bit weird.
The gauntlet was made of strange clothing embedded with metal strings to reinforce it. It also had a jewel on top of the wrist.
"Isn't it cool! What do you think? You don't have words to say, right? Right?", nagged on Armin who jumped around the room excitedly.
"Shut up! Let me examine it a bit."
The jewel was black in color and gave off a bit weird aura.
This could be enchanted equipment.
I quickly rushed to my bag and searched for the books.
"Damn it! I forgot to bring the books about weapons and armaments.", I frowned at myself.
I placed the gauntlet on our low table.
Armin was jumping around me the whole time.
"Now admit, I am a genius! Admit it! Admit it!.."
I smacked a chop in his head,
"Could you stay quiet for a bit!"
He continued to argue but when I threatened him with another chop, he quietly sat on the opposite side of the table.
At first glance, it looked like your usual gauntlet with a creepy design tho. But for some reason, the gauntlets gloves were big enough that it covered your entire arm till the elbow. I know this wasn't that weird but there was one thing that bothered me.
Above the wrist, on the arm, there was some kind of bulge. It looked like it had a cabinet that could store some stuff.
I tried to examine the glove but when I touched at the bulgy part.
Suddenly, two long blades came out gauntlet.
"Wha!", shrieked out Armin as he backed away and took a fighting stance.
"These are the combat claws!", I spoke out in surprise.
What in the god's name did Armin find?
This was enchanted equipment with both defense and attack capability. Also the weird jewel with black color, I didn't see anything like that. The color of the jewel also played a significant role to determine the class and the power of a particular armament, according to the books.
"So what do you think?", asked Armin with a bashful smile as he scratched his head like an ape, "Don't you think that big brother Armin did a wonderful job?"
I bashed my both arms in anger.
"Where did you steal this from?"
There's no way such equipment was just found lying on the roadside.
Armin became agitated,
"I didn't steal it. I found it. I swear!"
"So how and where?"
"The thing is when I …."
He then continued to tell how he procured this item.
Basically, he was playing hide and seek with his friends and when he was hiding in a trashcan, he found that. He ran straight home as soon as he picked it.
"So you just left the game and returned home like that? Don't your friends still be looking for you?", I asked.
He just left in between the game of a hide and seek. I guess his friends would be looking for him back and forth.
"Ah! I completely forgot it.", he shrieked out.
He really was a bird brain.
I then continued to study the equipment when-
"Hey, Rose!", called out Armin.
"What is it?", I responded as I carefully examined the gauntlets from all side.
"Is this really a powerful weapon?", asked Armin worriedly.
What's this?
Never saw Armin worry about stuff. Was he doubting himself?
I guess me and big brother had named him rag picker. So all of a sudden to stumble upon such weapon might be really surprising.
"Yeah, this is indeed a powerful weapon. This is not any ordinary equipment. As per this jewel here it could be an enchanted gauntlet. Although I don't know about this jewel, this is the first time I am seeing this.", I placed the gauntlet on the desk again and touched the place where the blades were being stored. The blades from the gauntlet retracted inside back again.
I continued,
"The most surprising part is that this equipment also has a defense plus attack attribute. Which is very rare. Although the enchanted equipment itself was a rarity, but this seemed to be a customized armor with a weapon. I never had seen or read about such a weapon. So to answer your question in short. Yes, this could be one of its kind."
Armin stared blankly at me,
"Wow! Although I didn't understand a thing! It sounds cool. Heck yeah!"
I let out a small sigh.
What was I thinking to explain to my ape of a brother?
"Hey, Rose!", he called me out again.
"What now?"
"How about we give this to big bro?", he asked with a big smile, "I think he will surely love it as well as praise me. He will also stop calling me rag picker! This will make him even more powerful!"
Well, Armin made sound advice for a change. If we were to gift it to big bro, he would really become strong.
But one thing worries me that why was this lying in garbage.
And if we were to give this enchanted equipment to the big brother which would also raise his ranks directly to the elites. Which mean more dangers shall befall big bro.
Big brother was a boy after all. Heading to take on challenges was one of the traits of the boys, be it big brother (Desmond) or the dumb brother (Armin). Both would charge head on towards trouble even if their life was in peril.
So good thing would be to keep it away from big brother. He would surely get himself killed if he did the dangerous job of elites and he would also make many more enemies who would try to take the gauntlet.
But how would I keep my dumb brother's mouth shut?
"Hey Armin, did anyone saw this gauntlet except me?", I asked him.
"Nope. As soon as I picked it. I put it inside my shirt and dashed here.", answered Armin haughtily.
Ew! You just picked a thing from a trash can and hid it in the shirt! That's gross.
"Anyway keep this a secret from big bro, can you?", I asked him.
"Huh? But why should I? Don't tell me you shall hand it yourself and take all the praises!?", he replied back.
"No!", I scrubbed my forearm. He really was a pain in the head.
"Listen up! If you hand it to big bro. what weapon will you use, when you become a soldier?"
Alright time to bait him.
"Eh?", he scratched his brain trying to procure an answer.
"See! You won't have any! And do you think big bro will return that weapon to you?" I waited for him to reply but when he tried to say something, I continued "No, he would keep it for himself."
After he thought for some seconds,
"I see! Big bro is rude to me anyways! He won't return it if I gave him. So we shall hide it then. It's our little secret!"
Phew!
Sometimes I am grateful that he was dumb.
"Also, go take a bath now!", I exclaimed.
"But I did one this morning.", he replied.
"I said now! You trash picker!", I scowled at him.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
HomelessDancer
HomelessDancer Welp!
Today my feature came to an end (/'^.^)\
And we just reached 300-1=299 collections here is a bit bigger chapter!
A new arc is brewing!
Please let me know your feedback through comments and if you have power stone to spare, I would really appreciate it!
Thanks for reading as always!
(/>3<)/
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