Creates a suit of armor out of junk

I knelt beside the pile of junk we'd gathered into the hideout, gauntleted hand touching the floor as I closed my eyes and focused on the image in my head. I imagined aluminum cans and metal parts liquefying into a wide, controlled puddle before beginning to move—and then felt my Aura flowing out of me as if through a sieve. When I opened my eyes at a crumbling, crunching sound, I saw cans being crushed and flattened, a broken toaster cracking along the edges, parts tearing free of old toys, and screws twisting free. As they did, as metal parts and pieces clattered to the floors, they all but jumped in place, several pieces hoping up and down. After a few seconds, gleaming droplets seemed to almost condense on their sides before flowing free, crawling across the floor towards me until they touched my armored hands and began to climb up them with increasing speed.

The flowing metal was surprisingly cold as it touched my skin and climbed up my arms. More drops of metal joined the stream with every second, leaving tracks of metal across my bare skin. I began my work just above my elbows, building my armor as the metal progressed. I flexed my arms as I did, making sure I knew exactly how wide each piece needed to be, and they constructed it based on that, the metal alternatively tight against my skin and giving it room. In places where solid armor wouldn't work and beneath it, I thought smaller, of links of chain so small they could barely be seen, fine enough to be almost like cloth. I guiding the metal over my feet, next, and up my legs, before four streams converged upon my chest, before it went up my neck and over my head. I built the helmet around the mask I wore now and covered my lower face as well with air holes built into the mask.

It wasn't fancy, even though my control over metal gave me a great advantage. Most of the materials I used weren't ideal, either. Ignoring the metallic cloth, it was nothing but smooth surfaces and hard, heavy plates. Maybe when this was over and my affinity for metal even greater, I'd work on something stronger and more detailed, but that wasn't the purpose of this. Even protecting me wasn't really the point, though the defense rating was decent and I was sure Crocea Mors would put it to good use. I was only after the training it would provide.

Even with the stat boost of my Aura, getting to my feet was a bit of an effort, as unused to the new weight I was carrying as I was. Counting Crocea Mors, I must have been carrying sixty kilos and it was weighing upon me in ways I'd never had to deal with be for, changing how I had to do even basic things like balance myself—and it was going to take time to get used to that.

I glanced at the windows that appeared before me, informing me of the levels I'd gained in Craft by making the armor and the new blueprint I'd created, and then turned to look at Adam who'd waited silently while I worked.