Stoneskin. Tim held his hand out and a thin gray covering coated it along with the rest of his arm, feeling like a too-snug covering for his whole body. He flexed his fingers. Still have flexibility, that's good. He jumped a bit, feeling that he was heavier than he had been by a noticeable amount. Okay, that's throwing my balance off a little. Lastly, he poked at his hand with the dagger, and it made a sound like he was striking stone. He steeled himself and took a deep breath, then stabbed as hard as he could. The sound was a bit louder, but the stone armor held together, not showing any signs of damage. Nice. Now that's going to be handy. But is it really worth a quarter of my mana for a thirty second buff? Feels like I probably need to get a better test since that's two casts of Restoration.

He frowned. Wait, where's my mana bar? And my health bar, for that matter? There was no sign of either one that he could find. How am I supposed to know how much mana I have? I can't just keep my status window open while I'm fighting. What the… I guess if I run out now, I'll have some idea as long as I keep track of what I've cast? Should I put on some caster gear for this so I have more mana for healing? Damn, I don't even know what stats I should be optimizing for. If it's a fast fight then this is good, but if it's going to be more drawn out then probably I'll want the mana… Plenty of time to think about that later.

Wall. A wall of stone rose swiftly up between him and the target dummy, reaching up half again his height. It was a cheap spell with a quick cast time, making it useful for disruptions in some cases. He walked forward, tossing the dagger back into his inventory, and drove a practiced punch into the wall with as much force as he could muster. The wall shattered as he'd expected. Yeah, still not that strong. Might be good at one point or another though. Stoneskin seems to make that hurt less than I'd expect, too. Good to know.

Poison Web. A wide web of spidersilk shot out of the space in front of him, striking and clinging to the dummy. The web was supposed to be naturally strong, which he confirmed after trying to rip it apart for a second or two before finally succeeding, the whole thing stretching gradually rather than tearing immediately. Though he, as the caster, was immune to it, the poison in the webbing slowed and paralyzed the victim, and it even applied a small portion of its effectiveness to endgame bosses and reduced their action speed. Not too sure how good it'll be, but it shoots like I'd expect, so it's usable at least. Mana cost isn't bad either.

Tim stood in place, tapping his foot and losing himself in his thoughts while he considered his other spells. Can't use Air Shackle against anything that's touched the ground recently, so I'll just have to hope that works like I'd expect if I need it. Hopefully no flying opponents. Regeneration is just upgraded Restoration, and I'm not feeling like severely injuring myself to test it is a great idea. What about—

"Hey, what're you doing?"

He started and looked away from the dummy he'd been staring at. Ir'alith and Scipio were walking towards him from a ways off down the platform. The taller of the two looked as she had when he'd last seen her, and the shorter looked exactly like she had when he'd last seen her, too. Unable to stop himself, his eyes roamed over the gorgeous, dark-haired woman's still-naked body, deciding to again revise his rating, this time to a nine-point-three. But why is she naked? Not that I'm complaining, but—

"I thought I said not to make it weird," Scipio said as she walked up to him with a frown, crossing her arms under her breasts like a shelf.

"Uh, sorry," he said, giving a small shake of his head as he blinked. He gave her soft legs a final glance before moving his gaze upwards. "I…"

She continued frowning at him.

"Was just looking at your legs," he said when he remembered that she'd know if he was lying.

As he should've expected by now, she didn't react how he expected. An excited smile spread across her face. "Really?" she exclaimed. She turned to her side, rotating the leg closest to him. "What do you think?"

"Well," Tim said. His eyes flicked to Ir'alith, who seemed more interested by the target dummy than anything else. "I—"

"Need the full view, I know," Scipio said. She turned around completely, facing her tight, heart-shaped butt towards him, and raised herself up on her calves, which caused the muscles to shift.

Wow, she really does have amazing legs. Tim found himself riveted. He'd never specifically considered legs to be the feature he looked for in a woman, but he felt like maybe these ones in particular were something special now that he was taking the time to examine them in some detail. Mentally, he revised his earlier judgment, taking into account the memory of their feel, and arrived at a strong nine-point-five.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She turned back around, letting herself fall back to a regular standing posture. Her face took on an expectant look.

"They're great," he said, trying to keep the questioning note out of his tone. He flashed her the best smile he could manage given how off balance he was.

Her face underwent a series of shifts in expression, ranging from pleased, to happy, to confused, to pensive, all in the span of a couple seconds. "Okay," she said, continuing to think. "Yours are great too," she added, almost as an afterthought.

"Thanks?" Tim said. "Uh, do you want your clothes back?"

Ir'alith walked behind Scipio and poked at the target dummy.

"Oh," Scipio said in understanding. "I was wondering where—Nah, I don't need them now. I don't have that many clothes, and they're just gonna get destroyed when we fight here. I'll get them later when we're about to leave."

"Right," he said. It…sort of makes sense? Not that I'm complaining, but it's…definitely distracting. He felt his eyes wandering again and forced them to stop by looking to Ir'alith. "How's the fighting going?"

"She will easily pass as a specialized magic-user," Ir'alith said, now pulling at some of the webbing with apparent curiosity. "We will train more, however, as her control is still lacking."

"Eh. Control's not that important," Scipio said. She moved over to the dummy and rose up on her tip toes to prod at its head.

Tim's eyes again drifted down her body, from her lightly-defined back, to the ten-out-of-ten dimples above her butt, then lower, to the legs that had knelt on either side of him earlier. Did that really happen? This day is so fucking weird on so many levels.

"What's this?" she asked, looking back at him while pointing at the dummy.

"Target dummy," he said, glad to have something that would keep him focused in a productive way. "I was using it for practicing some spells. You can punch it, or kick it, or blast it, and it'll just sit there and take it. Good for practicing aim."

"Intriguing," Ir'alith said. "Would it not break with continued use?"

"I've got a few of them," he said.

"Really?" Scipio asked. She tapped it on its chest. "Where? And how'd you get it down here?"

"Magic-ish," he said, still not wanting to try explaining the concept of the game's inventory. Inventory continuing to work has to be magic somehow.

"Huh," she said. "Weird."

"Drake Storm, may I strike your target dummy to test its might?" Ir'alith asked.

He shrugged. "Sure, why not."

She punched the target dummy in the head. It rattled a little, as it did when it received a strong impact. "I understand," she said, turning to regard him. "This is a useful tool. My people carve and enchant idols from the stumps of dead trees to be used for this purpose, but they are not so large."

"I wanna try!" Scipio called out. She struck the dummy's chest, and it rattled. "Huh." She blurred, and there was a loud boom, and the dummy rattled again.

"It is mighty indeed to withstand such a blow," Ir'alith said in an approving tone.

Scipio punched the dummy once more.

The sound of the impact this time was deafening, leaving a ringing sound in Tim's ears that took a few seconds to pass. Still, however, the dummy simply rattled slightly in place.

"Huh."

"I had underestimated the power of this target dummy." Ir'alith sounded impressed. "This could be a powerful decoy if used correctly in battle."

Tim continued to wince.

"Huh?" Scipio said, this time as a question.

"I would disguise it with an illusion in this manner," Ir'alith said. The target dummy grew hazy for a moment, and then it looked completely identical to the naked Scipio down to the confused expression on its face.

Scipio gasped. "Wh… Y… H…" she said, too stunned to speak as she stared at it.

Tim stared too, regretting it when the image morphed into a daydream of a threesome with twin Scipios. There's no way. The weirdness would make the universe explode. Damn, this would be so much easier if she wasn't so attractive. "That's some good magic," he remarked.

Scipio was busy poking at it. "Still feels like it did before."

"This is a simple illusion," Ir'alith said dismissively. "I could construct one which would be impossible for you to distinguish between it and—

"Really? Can you?" Scipio asked with raised eyebrows.

"Perhaps another time," Ir'alith said. "It is no small feat, and I do not intend to halt my training for such a thing."

"Urgh, fine," Scipio said, seeming to lose interest.

"I will meditate now," Ir'alith said, looking between them. "Unless it is of great importance, I must not be disturbed."

"Got it," Tim said.

"Okay," Scipio said. She turned to him as Ir'alith folded her legs under herself and began to float upwards. "Let's fight. I wanna see how strong you are."

"Uh…" Tim hesitated for a moment. "Do you mind putting some clothes on first?"