Growing up, I was always indifferent to fashion. Clothes were always about functionality, and my dress code was simple and comfortable. Jeans were my go-to pants with mono-colour tops, hoodies, shirts, or sometimes blouses for more formal occasions. And if I can't run with the shoes, I never get them.
So here I was, faced with an unimaginable array of clothes. You see, I was in the contested realm, a world linked to 6 other worlds. Each realm contains a planet as big as Earth with as many cultures and dress codes. As an outsider, my choice of clothes will bear a heavier impact since I shouldn't make a statement I cannot back up later.
Luckily for me, I could reduce the odds by following current trends. The display hall of the tailoring guild was the ideal place for that. Tailors from all across the city get a few of their clothes displayed here, where people can get an idea of their craftsmanship and expertise. This led to the existence of some rather ridiculous articles of clothing. Fortunately, the majority remained reasonable.
Vena led me to a display with a modest green tunic with an oversized collar that covered the shoulders and the chest area. It was long and loose, almost reaching the knees of the wooden mannequin. You wore a belt over the tunic, and some simple brown pants completed the ensemble. I looked at it dubiously and then turned over the mannequin when I noticed two windows on the back where the shoulder blades would be.
"I noticed that you were wearing pants, so I showed you this tunic rather than robes similar to mine," said Vena.
She was wearing some modest white flowing robes with a medium-sized black capelet that was trying and, If I might add, failing to conceal some important details about the cleric figure.
I hope her healing powers help with back pain because she is only 16 years old and still growing.
"I don't know if I want to wear holy clothes since I am not part of the faith yet," I said, trying to be tactful.
"Heh! You find our clothes too modest, don't you?" challenged Louis. "Follow me. I will show you something more to your liking."
She took me to a display with nothing more than a loincloth and a large uncomfortable leather belt that covered the chest.
I knew it! It was a mistake coming here with those two. One is a prude nun that only gets stronger the more prudish she acts. The other is a closeted pervert. I need help from someone else, maybe a guild clerk.
"Would anyone even wear that?" asked Vena.
"Some tribes from the kindred realm pride themself on their physical prowess," explained Louis. "They are more resistant to weather effects and only get stronger when in contact with nature."
"You sure know a lot about them. Do you want to embrace your kindred side?" I teased as I recalled that Louis was half-kindred.
"NO!" shouted a blushing Louis. "I will let you know that I am, first and foremost, a Faithful. Plus, my mom was from the desert. I only have some minor heat and dehydration resistance."
"What else did you get from your kindred side?" I asked, interested in what kind of magic the kindred people get.
"That's all of it! And I am not sure how effective it is since I have never been to a desert," grumbled Louis.
"That's not true. You can overdrive?" refuted Vena.
"Everyone that has a drop of kindred blood can overdrive," dismissed Louis.
"What's an overdrive?" I asked.
"People born with the kindred blood in the contested realm have acclimated to the length of the day," explained Vena.
"We can skip sleeping one of the nights," added Louis. "Meaning that we could remain active for 36 hours without negative drawbacks. We have to catch up on the missing sleep later."
"You once stayed up for 96 consecutive hours," said Vena.
"But that caused me to crash down for a day! The full 42 hours of non-stop sleep," replied Louis.
"That is quite useful," I remarked.
"Yeah, it is," agreed Louis reluctantly. "It's just not unique; almost everyone has it."
"Less than a sixth of the population of Hano have it," corrected Vena, who clearly wanted that ability.
"Vena, what are the chances you have kindred blood you don't know about?" I asked.
"Almost non-existent," sighed Vena. "Unlike Louis, I was born in the mythic realm. People back home are quite xenophobic."
The magic system of the kindred realm seems loosely defined compared to the mythic realm. Does that mean it's a soft magic system or just a lack of information? I doubt it's the former since every magic I encountered seems to follow a set of rules. I will have to study it more closely.
As I was lost in my thoughts, we were approached by two girls. One of them was blond with an athletic build wearing a tank top and Midi shorts. She had the confident walk of an experienced fighter. The other had darker hair and was more traditionally feminine, wearing a black corset over a white blouse and some nice-fitting breeches. But the daggers on her hips said she was not averse to combat. They stopped next to us and started looking at the display... the one with the loincloth.
"You have to admit, Nakera, that even for you, this is ridiculous," said the brunette.
"I know, but I could make it out of Camerian leather. That would work so well with my powers," replied the blonde. She looked at me, Louis, then Vena, and grinned.
"What do you girls think; would I turn out well in that outfit?"
"You are asking the wrong crowd," said the brunette." Those girls are holy. They would never approve of this outfit."
"I am not holy, and even I disapprove of it. That belt looks painful; it was most likely designed by a man." I said, laughing. "Hi, I am Alice, by the way. Those two are my friends, Louis and Vena."
"Hi, I am Kuru, and this is Nakera," said the brunette. As they looked at each other, Kuru nodded slightly.
"So what are you looking for?" asked Nakera.
"I am new around here and looking for clothes that would make me stand out less," I replied.
"Your shoes are what stand out the most. I've never seen anything like them," said Kuru as they studied my outfit.
"The pants are made of a unique cloth, and the buttons of her blouse are finely crafted too. But it's not too different from Soulit fashion. Soulits love to add buttons on everything," said Nakera.
The two girls were quite agreeable. We started talking about fashion while we looked at different displays, and I have to admit that they were a lifesaver since they knew more about it than the Holy girls. Apparently, some people from the sky islands love to have their clothes made from a single sheet of linen. In contrast, people from the Elemental Bloodlines and the Kindred Realms have magical beasts that could be harvested for their special leather and feathers, so their fashion has evolved to include such materials. The Soulits appear to have the most modern clothes, by earth standards, compared to the rest of the realms with linen, silk, cotton, and finely woven wool fabric. Clothes from the holy land are a close second. The fashion sense of the dreaming realm is all over the place, while people from the kindred seem the least advanced using earth standards again. And in typical fantasy fashion, there are all kinds of physical and cultural reasons for people to wear as little as possible, from sunlight absorption to summoning an exoskeleton. To be fair, there are also reasons for people to cover up, especially because of elemental allergies. And since we are in the contested realm, a place linked to almost every realm, the clash of cultures produces a mishmash array of styles that makes it almost okay to wear anything.
"You said you want to affect a scholar's look; this is your best bet," said Kuru.
The display had black baggy silken pantaloons that went under a pair of leather boots. They also had some wooden toggle buttons on both sides. The white shirt also had similar buttons on the sleeves, although they were not as baggy as the pants.
"This is the current fashion in Sky-Daisy, the capital of the Soul-scribes in the Soul realm," said Nakera.
"You are supposed to open every other button when it’s hot weather while keeping them shut in the cold," said Kuru.
The material felt soft to the touch and rather comfortable. I remember seeing a few men and women rocking those clothes while walking in this city. It wasn't my style, but I was not against it. Plus, it makes me think of the Arabian Nights. Still, they wouldn't be a good fit for fighting, so I made a mental note to ask the tailor to make me custom clothes that look similar to my current ones with local materials.
I looked at the display that contained information about the tailor. I remembered that I still couldn't read. Luckily, Louis was kind enough to get them from me. We had to ask a clerk for more information about the address, and when we got back, I noticed that Vena and Nakera were in the middle of a conversation.
"Once you join the freelancer guild, come to me. I will walk you through the first weeks," said Nakera, whose hair had turned from blond to black.
"I already have a friend with the Freelancers; his name is Calr," said Vena.
"Calr never heard of the guy," said Nakera. "You know, it would be harder for you to join a team since you are neither from the bloodline nor a Soulit. I am one of the few team leaders not from the two major factions that rule this city."
"It's it that bad," frowned Vena. "I thought the freelancer guild was a fair place."
"There is no such a thing as fairness when dealing with Soulit elitists." scowled Nakera. "Only noblemen from the bloodline have enough backing to stand up to them."
"Would they refuse a cleric to join them?" asked a dismayed Louis.
“A cleric?” gasped Nakera.
"Yeah, I ascended today," smiled Vena.
"Congratulations... my lady," said a hesitant Nakera. Kuru looked at her friend and sighed. I noticed that Nakera's hair was slowly bleeding to its original blond.
"No need to call me that! Vena is fine. We, clerics, are against such formality," said Vena
"We people of the Kindred that live in the city know how much we owe the cleric's order for the free healing they provide. You single-handedly broke the spread of the Green fever. And for that, we are thankful," said Nakera.
"I was hardly a Faithfull, let alone a cleric, when the green fever hit," dismissed Vena. "Plus, I was still In the mythic realm. If you want to thank somebody, Lady Sana and Lady Marca are more deserving."
"I never heard of a cleric joining the freelancer guild," wondered Kuru.
"My path to paladin requires that I prove my bravery and honour," said Vena.*
"I see. Being a healer, you will probably be popular enough to be accepted into a team. Still, I doubt you would be respected, let alone appreciated, by a Soulit team leader," said Nakera.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"She is probably right," said Kuru. "The fractions are not as level grounded as they should be. And kindred, dreamers, and Mythics are barely above outcasts in the guilds."
We chatted about the city's politics for a few more minutes before leaving the tailoring guild building. We said goodbye to the team leader and her friend since we were going to different shops and promised her to be in contact if or when we joined the freelancer guild.
We start heading toward the tailor while chatting about different food around here. Louis, an aspiring cook, was doing most of the talking, although I did my fair part of describing my favourite food from back home. People would have told me to withhold this kind of information to make a profit, but I didn't believe it was an avenue I was willing to take, plus I was already set in terms of money.
Since everything was new to me, I kept watching my surroundings and the people around me. Keeping note of patterns of interest like how men act around women, how different races are treated, and how the same tall and skinny man followed us for more than 20 minutes.
"Are we being followed?" I whispered.
"A tall guy a few meters to the left?" Vena asked.
"So you have noticed him too!" I responded.
"I haven't noticed anything," said a shaking Louis, who started to turn her head to the left.
"No, no! Don't look at him now! You will make it obvious that we have noticed him," I hissed.
We kept walking for a few minutes, we even tried to lose him in the crowd a few times, but he was relentless. When we arrived at our destination, the place was in a decently crowded alleyway with a few open shops and a dozen browsing customers. We decided to enter the tailor shop and continue with our business, hoping our stalker would give up and leave when we were done.
We entered the shop and were greeted by an older lady with dark blue hair. After exchanging greetings, I talked with her about the kind of clothes I needed and how I wanted to affect a scholar instead of a fighter when I walked around the city. She was also interested in my clothes, and I agreed to let her study them for a couple of days if she gave me a discount and made me similar-fitting clothes with local materials. I offered to get clothes for the girls, but they both politely refused.
"I can modify a set for you now if you want. The pants would probably fit; I need to adjust the top slightly," said the tailor.
"That's cool! What about the shoes? You don't seem to have any," I asked.
"I am sorry you need to see a cobbler for that", responded the tailor. "Lucky for you, there is one across the street. He is the one that made the pair you have seen on the display. You can visit him after I take your measurement. I will be done with the first set when you come back."
After the measurement, I approached Vena and whispered: "be ready for a fight, just in case." then I headed towards the door. And said louder, "Louis, why don't you stay here and keep Mrs Tailor company while Vena and I check the cobbler."
As I said that, Vena was getting a knife under her robes.
Wow! Very subtle. And here I was, trying not to alarm Louis and the shopkeeper.
We exited the store, and I watched out for the tall man following us. He was nowhere to be found. I sighed in relief and nodded to Vena.
We crossed the street toward the cobbler shop. The smell of leather hit me as I opened the door, a smell I hadn't experienced this intensity before. The shop was full of boots, some were finished, and others still needed more work. I also noticed a pair of sandals and a belt or two. An older man with grey-bluish hair was sitting behind a counter, working on a piece of leather.
"Hello, good sir," I greeted. “I want a pair of boots. Something comfortable and fit for running.”
"Do you want something ready-made or custom-fitted?" he asked.
"Probably custom fitted. I am not in a rush." I replied.
"Come here; let me take your measurements."
As I approached, he looked at my footwear. Notice that they were made of fabric rather than leather and promptly dismissed them. After my measurement, I chose a simple model that would go well with my scholar clothes and requested that they be made from extra comfy magical leather. At first, I said that mostly as a joke after hearing Nakera talk about magical leathers, but apparently, a beast in the Kindred has this kind of attribute. That kind of leather made the boot 20 times more expensive, raising the price from 3 bronze to 1 silver. I still thought it was worth it. Nothing is worse than uncomfortable shoes.
I started getting used to the bank badge. We shook hands with the badge in our palms while thinking about the price I was giving. If the number he is thinking about receiving matches, a green light signals the transaction's success. If the number doesn't match, a red light appears. If the user is out of funds, a purple light appears.
I paid the older man using my badge and received a slip of paper that said to come back next week for my shoes. I still can't read it, but I had Vena check it.
We left the cobbler shop to a less crowded alley. Only the tall guy and five rough-looking guys were waiting for us.
"There they are. I found them for you! Like you have told me!" said the lanky boy. I didn't notice at first, but he was quite young, the same age as Vena at most. The other roughs were older, in their late twenties.
"Are you the new San that came from nowhere?" asked whom I assumed to be the gang leader. "We are here to relieve you of your money."
"Heh! You told me you wanted to sell her something important," said the surprised boy stalking us.
"Hahaha! Of Course, that's how it works," laughed the leader as he bent down and picked up a random stick lying on the ground. "You see, I can't use her badge. We will have to do a transaction. I will sell her this stick for... let's say, 100 gold coins."
I grimaced. I should have thought there were ways to circumvent the badges. In the corner of my eye, I noticed Louis leaving the tailor shop and running toward the main street. Good girl, she is probably going to get help. I also noticed another man hastily approaching us from the other side of the alley.
"You are messing with the wrong people," said a scowling Vena. "This woman is under the protection of the temple of the holy."
"The temple of the holy has no power in Hano! You don't scare me," shouted the leader.
Two men separated from the cluster of thugs to block the alley where the newcomer was almost at hand.
"Vals, what are you doing here? I spent the whole day looking for you," said a deep-voiced man that would make a Twitch streamer very popular. The newcomer was a muscular man with black spiky hair wearing only an open-sleeveless jacket, knee-length pants, and no shoes.
"Ah... Yon..." cringed the lanky boy.
"Are you harassing those women, Vals?" said the newcomer, pushing through the two thugs blocking his way and standing between us and the lanky boy. He completely ignored the ruffians as if they were beneath his notice.
"I didn't know, I swear! They told me to find them because they would only sell them something important. I didn't know they were thieves. They said that they would give me 20 silver."
"And went ahead and stalked two women LIKE A CREEPY MANIAC!" shouted our new ally.
"I might add that the woman he stalked is a cleric of the holy," I added, knowing that people react strongly to clerics.
"For fuck sake, Vals! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" reacted Yon. "Have you seen the Corpses left behind the crusader? Why are you so stupid?"
"Okay, this has gone on for too long," said the gang leader. "You are not going to stop us alone."
"I won't be alone. Vals, as your Sargent, I order you to fight by my side".
The muscular man and lanky boy started getting ready for a fight.
"two vs five, you are still at a disadvantage. Especially since you are unarmed," said the thug leader as they extracted their weapons.
"Make it three vs five," advanced Vena.
It's now or never. Let's see if my three years of self-defence were worth something.
"four vs five, I guess," I said as I braced myself for my first real fight.
The two thugs that tried to block Yon earlier went straight to him; both had swords.
The three others, including the leader, went for me.
In a flash, Vena identified the guy with the knife as the more lethal threat and went for him.
Probably trying to prove himself to Yon, Vals went for the leader with a chain whip.
I was left with a guy with a club. I don't blame Vena for this, but I would have been more comfortable fighting the guy with a knife since my training did not include as much fighting against a longer-reach weapon. Luckily, the guy against me didn't seem to have any training; he was somewhat experienced at fighting but didn't truly know how to fight. I could keep him out of range and dodge his attacks accordingly. He was full of openings, but they were wasted on me since I didn't have the experience to know the perfect timing to attack.
I surveyed the fight and noticed that one of the guys facing Yon was already defeated, and the other was still holding his ground. The tip of Vena's blade was bloodied, and she was doing far better than me. On the other hand, Vals was a bloody mess and was barely standing.
The leader will come for me once he finishes with him. If he can spirit me away, he can get his gold. He doesn't need to beat Yon or Vena. I need to defeat my opponent as soon as possible.
I waited for the brute to swing his club dodged, saw an opening, and went for the punch. I put my back into it and hit him straight in the nose as strongly as I could. The man staggered for a second, then swung his club again. I could barely dodge, and my hand hurt from hitting him. I was confused. I knew how to punch, yet the brute didn't even have a nosebleed.
Remember Alice! People here can have advanced physical attributes. I can't fight him as if he was a normal human. He could also have a Soulbook with an attack I know nothing about.
Why did I think it was a good idea to get myself Isekai'ed? I should have wished for magical powers in my old world.
I was panicking...I took a deep breath. Rationally I knew it was almost impossible to get power back home if I truly wanted to study magic. I needed to live in a world of magic.
Magic! That's it. I have lighting magic now! I should use it.
As I was tunnel visioning on adding lighting to my attack, I missed the leader whip that hit me on the neck. As if the chain had a life of its own, it surrounded me and started to tighten. I tried to remove the chain from my neck using my hands, but it was useless. The leader seems to have some control over it. Probably magic.
After a dozen seconds, I coughed as I could finally breathe.
"Don't move! Or I will kill her," shouted the leader.
"Let her go, and I will heal your bleeding friend," Vena counter-offered.
I noticed that Vena's opponent was bleeding from a gash in his neck and was trying to hold the flood with his bare hands. Vals was on his knees looking like shit while both Yon's opponents were on the ground. The only standing thug other than the leader was my opponent, who now stood between Yon and the leader.
"Nope, sorry. He is not worth 100 gold," responded the leader.
The silence held for a few minutes, where people gazed at each other but was interrupted when Louis arrived with three guards.
"No one fucking move!" shouted the leader frantically.
Time stopped! I could see the guards advancing. Yon and Vena started attacking the guy with the club. I could feel the panic rising from the leader. I knew he was probably going to do something stupid. With everything I got. I started using all my newly acquired electrical abilities. And it worked. I felt the chain completely disentangle from my neck as the leader dropped his whip in pain. Not letting this opportunity go, I turned and hit him the same way I tried hitting the other brute earlier. This time, I could hear his nose breaking under my punch. It was like music to my ear.
The guards apprehend the now bleeding leader. They seem to be looking at Yon for confirmation on whom to take in. I was surprised that the brute with the club was not immune to Yon's punishment as he was to mine. Yon directed the guards to the four other men on the ground, excluding Vals, who was now trying and failing to get up on his feet. Vena scowled for a second, and I thought she would tell the guards about Vals' involvement, but in the end, it looked like she decided not to do it.
The guard hesitated when they were standing over Vena's opponent.
"Sergeant Yon, this one is dying," said one of them. "I don't think he will make it."
The bleeding man was still holding his wound with frantic eyes.
"Can't you heal him" I whispered to Vena.
"Why would I? He is not worth saving," responded Vena in a cold voice.
"What...why!" I was slightly offended that a healer was judging a man's right to live or die.
"I fought him! He was going for lethal attacks. I beat him; his next victim may not be as lucky."
That was cold yet fair! To think that Vena, the sweet healer, is this callus about human life. This was a hard reality check. This isn't my world anymore.
I looked at the man… his desperate eyes...
"Please save him, do it for me!" I found myself begging.
Vena's harsh eyes softened, and she sighed.
"Fine! Fine! I will do it."
She put her hand on the wound and said in a loud voice. "Heal"
A glow appeared as his wound started closing in a few seconds, and it was replaced by a red angry scar that was still raw and would still need more time to heal.
"Thank you!" whispered the man.
"Next time, do better!"
The guards scowled, looked extra angry, and started roughing up the thugs as they led them away.
"You idiots attacked a cleric!" said one of the guards as he pushed the injured man forward. "You will not be having a good time, and trust me! Words will come out."
There was an awkward silence for a couple of seconds, so I decided to break it.
"Thank you for your help, Sir."
"No! Thank you for not turning this idiot over the guard."
"It's the least we can do to pay for your help," I replied.
"About that, You are Sergeant Yon, right, the arena fighter," asked Louis.
"Is he famous?" asked Vena.
"Remember, he was that guy we watched last year. He won against two Lieutenants in the ten men's battle royal.
"That was a fluke! They were both focused on each other and underestimated me," said an embarrassed Yon.
"I am sorry to interrupt", grimaced a bloody Vals. "Can you, the lady cleric, heal me too? I am dying here."
Vena looked at him and then grinned.
"I am sorry I used all my healing on the dying thug," said Vena in an exaggerated tone.
"Come on. "laughed Louis. "Don't lie to the poor man, or you will never make it to Inquisitor."
"I am going for Paladin. I can lie if I want to," said Vena sticking her tongue on Vals and Louis.
"Does that mean you can heal me?" said a hopeful Vals.
"Fine! Fine! I will do it."
I smiled at Vena's antics. I was glad she returned to being playful rather than the dark and sombre Vena I had seen during the fight.
I guess I still haven't fully acclimated to my new world. At least I was able to use magic successfully.