"Sigh... a bit disappointing."
"It's actually so clean. Don't legends say that dragons collect treasures?"
Noah and Cana walked out of the cave, crestfallen, a stark contrast to their excitement when Doran first allowed them in.
Old Man Doran followed behind the two young people, mercilessly mocking Cana. "What an idiot to believe such nonsense. What use do dragons have for treasure? Most dragons would just find it dazzling."
"Hmph, that just means the Iron Dragon doesn't like treasure, right? Noah?"
Cana looked at Noah for affirmation, but Noah just stared at the two warm ore chunks in his hand. These were the only things found in the Iron Dragon's lair.
The ore was of extremely high quality; without any processing, it could easily sell for millions of Jewels on the market.
Such precious ore was found in piles in the Iron Dragon's lair, and ore of slightly lesser quality was only fit for paving the ground there.
Doran allowed Noah to take two precious ore chunks as an apology for his intelligence error and as thanks for Noah preventing the Black Magic Cult from entering the Iron Dragon's lair.
This made Cana incredibly envious, and she feigned nonchalance, saying, "Um... Grandpa Doran, I want some too."
"Ha? Who was it that called me Old Man Doran earlier?"
Doran rolled his eyes at Cana, but still casually tossed her a piece of ore the size of a fingernail, which was worlds apart from Noah's two fist-sized pieces.
But Cana didn't care about the differential treatment; she happily tucked the ore into her small bag. After all, she hadn't done anything, hadn't lost anything, so getting it was pure profit!
Freebies are the best!
Back in the market, Doran unveiled his true works to Noah and let him choose one as compensation for destroying the Black Magic Cult's branch.
Among the dazzling array of Magic weapons, Noah chose a pair of Magic gloves with Attribute Transformation and Explosion abilities.
When wearing these Magic gloves, the user can freely switch the glove's Magic attribute among wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth according to their will, and unleash a corresponding attribute's Explosion Magic when punching.
High-quality materials can greatly withstand the wear and tear caused by Magic attribute transformation, Doran's unique crafting technique imparts super toughness, and finally, the Explosion characteristic is added, with its power increasing with the user's Magic Power output.
The only drawback was the extremely high Magic Power requirement; an ordinary Mage would exhaust their Magic Power after switching Magic attributes a few times, let alone the even more Magic-consuming Explosion.
But for Noah, who possessed immense Magic Power and superb hand-to-hand combat skills, these Explosion Gloves were a perfect fit. They not only compensated for his lack of combat Magic but also were convenient to carry and could be used anywhere, anytime.
Before he could receive rewards that would enhance his combat power from his Wish orders, the Explosion Gloves would be Noah's primary offensive method.
Arriving at the open space outside the market, Noah eagerly put on the Explosion Gloves and threw five consecutive punches at a man-high piece of discarded ore.
The sounds of wind, thunder, burning, rushing water, and vibration rang out almost simultaneously, instantly leaving five deep, differently colored imprints on the discarded ore.
As Noah retracted his punches, those imprints violently burst open, shattering the entire discarded ore.
"So fast!"
"Impressive power."
Cana and Doran, who were watching, one showed surprise, and the other a satisfied expression.
Cana was surprised that Noah, despite using it for the first time, was so adept at it.
Doran, on the other hand, was delighted that Noah could unleash the power of the Magic weapon he had created. Every Mage blacksmith hopes their work can find the right person.
Noah looked at the scattered rubble, his expression unchanged.
Recalling the brief pause in the explosion just now, he seemed to have discovered something. He turned to look at Doran, but before he could speak, Doran spoke first.
"You discovered it so quickly, young Noah. You truly give me enough surprises."
Doran found Noah increasingly pleasing to the eye and explained the Explosion characteristic of the gloves in detail.
The Explosion ability of the Explosion Gloves is divided into two detonation methods: Immediate and Delayed.
The former explodes upon impact, with considerable power.
The latter leaves an imprint on the opponent upon impact and detonates it by the user's Magic Power control. Its power is average, but its strength lies in its unpredictability.
I really want such a versatile Magic item... Cana drooled as she watched from the side.
She only regretted why she had learned Card Magic, a Magic that was both energy-consuming and emptied her wallet, and whose divination effects were only mediocre.
But as soon as she thought of the selling price of the Explosion Gloves in Doran's shop, Cana wasn't so keen anymore. At 500,000 Jewels, even selling herself and all her cards wouldn't be enough.
After familiarizing himself with the Magic weapon, Noah returned to Doran's shop. He had promised Cana a commission, and although he was very satisfied with the Explosion Gloves, it was, after all, Doran's commissioned reward.
Ultimately, Noah also took a liking to a spatial ring.
Don't let it seem like just a small ring; it was a fusion of Spatial Magic and top-tier forging techniques.
The ring had a special internal space of 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm, which could be used to store items, and the ring only reacted to the user's Magic Power; others could not open it through conventional means.
But after inquiring about the price with Doran, Noah was shocked beyond words.
A full 1.2 million Jewels for a tenth of a cubic meter of space—wasn't that too expensive? After some back and forth, Noah successfully got Doran to give him a fifty percent discount, painfully spending 600,000 Jewels.
Seeing Doran's worried face, then the smile that appeared after collecting the money, Noah understood that even with the discount, the old man had made a huge profit.
It was practically robbery!
No, robbery doesn't make money this fast!
Cana received a 30,000 Jewels commission and celebrated with Doran, achieving a world where only the unlucky Noah was hurt.
The reason Noah bought the spatial ring, despite knowing it was expensive, was to store his Dorma Anim.
Although an unactivated Dorma Anim was only palm-sized, it was still not convenient to carry and ran the risk of being accidentally dropped. It would be better to find a small box space for it to call home.
After asking Doran for a chain to hang the ring around his neck, Noah and Cana left the market.
"Hey, Cana, tell Erza to remember to pick up her new gear."
"Got it, Old Man Doran."
On the Magic Train back, Cana and Noah waved goodbye to Doran outside the window, and the old man watched them until the train completely disappeared from sight.