Once everything was settled after that disastrous skill change-up, Cronus and Isabelle let the otherworlders leave the estate in a matter of an hour or so.
The reason for the hour-long wait was so that the Master could say something about their appearance.
“You look like poor excuses of commoners pretending to be poor. It’s insulting to the actual poor commoners. Put something on that reflects your status as true Journeymen.”
Hence the two were forced away by the other servants that magically showed up to help them with their clothing–Men for Zeke, and women for Mikella for obvious reasons.
They were really … handsy, practically tearing off all her clothing in a matter of seconds without care. Her leather armor that she had worn for so many months and took care of was brutally burned away into cinders by someone’s fire spell. Needless to say, she shouted in outrage at the act.
But then she turned quiet when she saw the new clothes they gave her practically for free. She naturally stayed quiet as she was aided in putting it on, as it wasn’t something she was used to wearing, at least not truly.
Soon, she looked at herself in the mirror, taking into account her new journeymen appearance as well as the clothing that suited her rather well.
She wore a dress that covered her body from the neck to over her waist, long fluttering cloth covering the front and back of her legs. The sides was open, revealing her well toned lower thighs. She also wore long cloth over her arms which were covered by metal platings over her wrists and forearm, interlocked together in a seamless manner that it felt like cloth itself. To finish it off, she had long boots that reached just to the bottom of her knees, which also had metal plating to protect herself.
The style was similar to that of a black Chinese dress with golden embroidery and red tinged belts, making her out to be a warrior from the east. Her Draconian scales and wings were more prominent this way. She was even surprised at how her wings could easily go through the dress, and despite having her wings out, no visible holes could be seen. Clearly, a magical dress meant to help her wings be free without worrying about the dress breaking apart.
It was rather pleasing to the eye, which was why she stopped bitching about her drabby leather armor. But it wasn’t just the look she liked. There was power emanating from the dress and metal she wore, which was revealed as soon as she Identified it.
> Ebony Flame Garments Set (Epic)
>
> The Ebony Flame Garments were created in line for women who had shed away safety and protection for combat. But despite that–they still want to look fabulous no matter where they go.
>
> The Ebony Flame Garments set contains the following:
>
> -Ebony Flame Dress
> -Ebony Flame Arms
> -Ebony Flame Shorts
> -Ebony Flame Boots
>
> As part of the set, you gain the following set bonus:
>
> Darkened Skies:
> Once a day, you can cast a spell that creates dark clouds that surrounds a specific area you want to cover. These clouds creates an area that decreases anyone’s spellcasting by 50% in the next five minutes.
>
> …..
>
> You receive the following enchantments from each part of the set:
> -Moderate Physical Defense
> -Moderate Magical Defense
> -Moderate Curse Resistance
> -Moderate Disease Resistance
> -Moderate Attribute Effectiveness (Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, Endurance, Vitality, Spirit)
Her eyes opened wide at the number of bonuses from the supposed set that looked more like expensive brand clothing than actual armor. However, after wearing it, she realized that she couldn’t be more wrong.
The clothing felt sturdy, practical, and almost not even there when she wore it. Not only did she look absolutely fantastic, she felt that even if a sword were to pierce this thin looking cloth, it would protect her better than even the armor pieces from the first tower. Hell, perhaps even her exposed shoulders could be protected as long as she swore this dress.
As soon as she was finished marveling at herself, which was honestly rather hard especially after advancing to Journeyman, she went over to find Clara and Zoan to which her little sister practically exploded in delight.
“Sissy! Oh my god, you look so awesome!” Clara exclaimed, which only made Mikella’s heart squeeze at the honest praise.
“You certainly look better than that drab armor you were wearing. Still… it’s fairly eye catching.”
Zoan commented, to which Mikella had to contain herself from screaming that the sky was about to fall. A compliment from Zoan was definitely rare, if not impossible.
“Where’s Zeke?” She asked, noticing that he wasn’t here in the room.
“Here I am. I just got finished.”
Zeke suddenly said, getting her to notice his presence entering through the door. Her eyes widened at the change as well, much like how he turned into an elf during his transformation.
Contrary to the drab robed cloth and messy shaggy hair he always had, it was a completely do-over. He wore a simple black shirt and pants, boots that were also meant for traveling like Mikella’s. However, a white jacket with the arms rolled up to the elbow, revealing his muscled arms. His shaggy hair was also cut to have it more preferable, if not a more charming looking shagginess she hadn’t thought possible on Zeke.
To finish it off, the bastard had to put on glasses which put on an entirely different outlook for him. The mix between the gentleness he exuded along with the muscled form made a gap that she couldn’t ignore, no matter how awkward that made her feel.
“Wow, Bobo…” Clara said with awe, her eyes widening. “You look buff.”
“Hehe, thanks,” Zeke chuckled, his cheeks reddening at the honest praise.
Mikella could tell that there was a hint of a blush in Clara’s cheeks as well. She knew for a while now that Clara has been growing up, so it was only natural that she started to notice that Zeke is also a man.
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He then looked back at her, his eyes widening and couldn’t quite keep his eyes off of her. That only increased her awkwardness as she was certain she did the same.
“Mikky, you look… wow,” Zeke stammered, shaking his head. “You look amazing.”
“T-Thanks,” Mikella said, blushing a little. The genuine praise from him was only making it worse for her. “You too. You look… really dashing.”
“Umm… thanks…”
The two adults couldn’t quite handle looking at each other for the moment, which prompted one of the people in the room to say something.
“Try not to fornicate here. We might get in trouble with the Master.”
The two adults blushed even harder from Zoan’s proclamation, the one forbidden word spoken without a sense of shame. And unfortunately, it was caught by Clara.
“What’s fornicate?” Clara asked.
“It is the act of–”
“Ahhh! Stop! Stop! Don’t you dare dirty her mind with that!”
Mikella rushed in and slammed her palm against Zoan’s mouth, ensuring that she didn’t explain the literal word. Zoan didn’t even look all that surprised, just letting herself be silent. Was she trying to tease them? Was this her way of joking around? She shook her head at the thought.
Thankfully the moment passed and the adults regained their composure. Mikella noticed Zeke taking off the glasses, revealing his naked face. He was probably told by those pushy helpers to put it on for a dramatic effect.
He flashed a prompt into existence, turning to Mikella. “Trade?”
Mikella nodded, offering the prompt of her own garments to him. Once she got the prompt for his clothes, she stared at the screen.
> Arclight Flow Garments Set (Epic)
>
> The Arclight Flow Garments were created with the intention of easing the minds and hearts of the wearer and those around them. No matter their power, their focus is clear–function over power.
>
> The Arclight Flow Garments set contains the following:
>
> -Arclight Flow Jacket
> -Arclight Flow Shirt
> -Arclight Flow Pants
> -Arclight Flow Boots
>
> As part of the set, you gain the following set bonus:
>
> Height of Might:
> Once a day, you can increase the power of your spellcasting by 25% for each spell. You have a maximum of ten spells to cast with this powerup, and the ability resets regardless of how many spells you created. It will erase any currently held spell enhancements when it resets.
>
> …..
>
> You receive the following enchantments from each part of the set:
> -Moderate Physical Defense
> -Moderate Magical Defense
> -Moderate Curse Resistance
> -Moderate Disease Resistance
> -Moderate Attribute Effectiveness (Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, Endurance, Vitality, Spirit)
“Nice…” Mikella said, the ability more interesting than any of the other enchantments, being the same as hers.
“These garments are incredible,” Zeke said, his nerd-side returning in full force. “Does your clothes actually protect you? Even the dress?”
“Yeah, surprisingly,” Mikella said, tugging onto the cloth herself with her pinching fingers. “And they feel pretty good too. Way better than the leather armor.”
“Yeah, the guys that man-handled me burned my favorite robe because it had a stench like no other… Seriously, do I smell that bad?”
Mikella giggled. Clearly Clara’s words stung him like no other. “You, in particular, are fine… but maybe it’s a good idea that they burned the clothes.”
Now that she thought about it, while she may have wiped the blood and whatever monster viscera she had on the armor, it didn’t mean it was completely clean. It was only wiped and repaired to the best of their abilities. The entire reason why they haven’t spent more money on clothes was that they could save up to buy a home in Eve Glade once they got permission.
Now that seemed out of the question.
Eventually, the otherworlders were taken out of the estate in a timely fashion. It wasn’t as though the servants were rushing them to get out, but it was clear that having people that shouldn’t belong at the Master’s estate was a bad idea overall. Obviously they didn’t want to have any more trouble, so they immediately left the estate, walking past the entire field that belonged to the Master alone and out of the entrance.
Soon the gates that surrounded the estate closed off from them, leaving behind a loud thud that resounded across the entire section of the city–at least it felt like it.
And just like that, the otherworlders were left on their own once more in an entirely new location. Somehow it barely felt any different than before.
Heavy feelings exuded from Mikella, mostly at Zeke’s own frowning expression. Despite his new look, Zeke looked like he was hollowed out. His eyes looked placid, staring down at the neat and clean pavement below.
“Zeke… are you okay?” Mikella asked, Clara noticing the distress and turned to the older man.
“...Personally? No. I feel… I feel like I messed up,” Zeke admitted, pressing his lips tight. “My barrier is gone. Even with all these new things just handed to me and the gold they gave us on the way here… it still feels like it wasn’t enough. It’s never going to be enough…”
Mikella grimaced at the pain he showed on his face. She sympathized hard on that front. If her own skill she developed for a while was suddenly taken, she wouldn’t handle it well either.
What’s more, it was Zeke’s first ever skill he learned, something precious that had saved them dozens–no, hundreds of times. Sure, they provided a different, probably just as decent enough skill to replace it. But what does that matter? A lot of love and care went into that skill, and it was torn away from him like the robe they burnt up.
But in the end, there was nothing they could do. Mikella held onto Zeke’s hand, grasping it tightly. His warmth settled into her as he looked back at her. His multi-colored eyes were downtrodden, but there was that hint of a glint like before.
“Everything’s gonna be fine,” Mikella said softly. “I know you’ll work hard to make up the difference. You always had, and I’ll always rely on you for that. So don’t worry about it.”
“...You sure?” Zeke said, raising a brow. “You tend to get yourself in trouble a lot. Then there’s Clara…”
“I’ll be fine!” Clara shouted, then she patted the back of her right shoulder. A tiny bat head popped out from underneath her clothes, yawning widely. “Brucey’s here with me! And Zoan will help me too!”
“That is my duty,” Zoan said, finally talking after that ‘mishap’. “I didn’t think Cronus would go and take away that skill… but what he gave in return is not bad.”
“Is he still trustworthy?” Mikella asked Zoan, to which she responded by staring down at the ground with that usual impassive stare.
“I believe so… but it’s best to be on your toes.”
Mikella nodded. “True that. But that’s besides the point. It just means I have to take better care of myself. And that also means that now you gotta focus on something else. Whatever it is, in the end, we’ll keep working together, right?”
“Right.”
Zeke nodded, a small smile forming on his face. Hearing all the facts that the two will be safe even without his barrier was the thing he needed. Mikella knew instantly that it wouldn't be enough to cheer him up, but they were only just starting. Baby steps are acceptable.
“Now… let’s go ahead and find that attendant,” Mikella said, which she now started to swivel her head around. “Didn’t they say she would see us the moment we got out?”
“Maybe she hasn't arrived yet… should we stay?” Zeke added, but Mikella shook her head.
“Nah, it was her own fault for not arriving in time. Let’s give that woman some trouble for not doing her job and let’s go around to sightsee our new place.”
“You… sure that’s a good idea?” Zeke asked, raising a brow. That didn’t sound like outright denial in Mikella’s ears as she grinned back at him.
They were gonna do this, one way or another.