As I sit on the crate waiting for the pain to lessen and my injuries to heal, I begin looking at what exactly is in the armory that I am apparently located in. Along the wall opposite to me are 5 wooden armor stands, and the only reason I know what they are for is because of the fact that a couple of them are still holding defensive equipment. Other than the three empty ones, one stand is equipped with a metal piece that is meant to cover the chest and back, and using [Eyes Of Aspiration] gives me nothing more than a message appearing that says (Iron Breastplate). Next to that stand is one with a similar piece, except made from a brown leather material and is described as (Leather Chest Armor). Along with the chest armor, a pair of what are identified as (Leather Bracers) lie on the floor next to the stand. The gashes in my chest and wound on my side mean that I am definitely taking one of the chest pieces, most likely the leather one as I think the iron one will be too heavy. The bracers might let me block some blows with my arms as well, so I'm glad to have found something protective.
To the right of the armor stands, on the wall opposite the room's entrance, are a few weapons holstered on wall mounts. Along with a couple of spears laying against the wall, a single sword and an axe hang from the wall. Similarly to the rest of the building and the things within, no rust is found on any of the weapons, and only some old scratches and chips mar the blades. Turning fully and leaning over to the side, I see that the shelf I am resting against houses nothing but a burlap sack. Disappointment hits me first, before I soon realize that I now have something to carry things in and don't need to leave so much stuff laying about.
With nothing else to check out except the box I’m sitting on, I decide that I'm good enough to stand, and get off whilst supporting myself against the wall. Turning back to it, I try to lift the lid, removing it easily and setting it to the side. I peek inside, only to see a pile of metaphorical gold. Folded neatly are three piles, one with simple looking beige tunics, another with pairs of wool trousers, and the third with what looks like some kind of undergarments resembling shorts, with a couple of leather belts beside the piles. Now that my only article of clothing is riddled with holes and black blood stains, it is wonderful that I now have plenty of spare clothes to change into. I should heal up fully before changing though, otherwise I would just immediately cover them in blood.
Seeing as how I couldn't do much other than wait to heal, and also not wanting to leave the room till in good enough condition in case I'm attacked once more, I decide to spend my time waiting practicing various skills. Not wanting to slow down the healing process, I mainly focus on skills other than [Light Of Justice], particularly [Restful Touch] since I haven't used it much other than practice and there shouldn't be a downside to improving it anyways. I also soon found that it helped reduce the pain when active long enough, but I made sure to also try and focus on resisting its effects enough to stop when it looks like I'm about to doze off. Other than that, the only other skill that I could really practice at the moment was [Tail Whip], so I just stood in the middle of the storage room and continuously whipped out in the air while using [Restful Touch] on myself. This managed to turn into a real workout, as the successive [Tail Whip] usage made me tired and short of breath, which made it harder to focus on staying awake and having it so that I would need to take a break from [Restful Touch] as well.
I don't know if the workout affected my healing speed at all, but it felt like ages passed until my injuries healed enough that I was no longer worried that they would reopen and only some dull pain remained, but the results proved that it wasn't a waste of time even if that was the case.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
[Skill [Restful Touch] Has Reached Level 4!]
[Skill [Restful Touch] Has Reached Level 5!]
[Skill [Restful Touch] Has Reached Level 6!]
[Skill [Tail Whip] Has Reached Level 9!]
[Skill [Enchantment Affinity] Has Reached Level 4!]
[Skill [Enchantment Affinity] Has Reached Level 5!]
[Skill [Enchantment Affinity] Has Reached Level 6!]
[Skill [Brawling] Has Reached Level 6!]
As the practice went on, I noticed two things. First, there would be points where my [Restful Touch] would be of a higher level than [Enchantment Affinity], and it would be much more difficult to resist the urge to fall asleep, but managing to fight that urge off would soon be followed by [Enchantment Affinity] increasing in level. This feedback loop would be useful if I could use it forever to quickly level both skills, but I noticed that it took exponentially longer to level the Skills as I did this, gaining the first levels in only a few minutes, the second levels in about ten minutes, and the last levels came in only around the time that I was pretty much ready to get going, which must've been between an hour or hour and a half. This is also supported in how I received only a single level in [Tail Whip] even though I was using it almost constantly the whole time. It does make sense that the higher level a Skill gets, the harder it is to level up, but I also think that the difficulty involved is related as well. [Light Of Justice] skyrocketed in level after only a couple of minutes, but the difficulty of the fight on top of its continuous use and what I now realize was a new application in how I infused both my hands and tail at the same time at the end of the fight must have all been contributors in its rapid growth.
Now that I'm well enough, I double check to make sure the door is locked, and after confirming that it is, I strip off my tattered robe, using it to try and wipe off all the dried blood on my skin as best as I can before tossing it aside, and put on a set of tunic, pair of trousers, underwear, and belt that was in the crate. They fit fairly well, most likely due to my stature being taller than the average woman’s, and I only need to tighten the belt a little to keep up the slightly loose-around-the-waist pants. Moving around to make sure it's all up to snuff, I then go over to the leather armor rack to give it a try.
It takes me longer than I would like to admit to figure out all the straps and whatnot needed to keep the chest piece firmly attached, but I manage to figure it out eventually. The leather armor successfully manages to cover the majority of my torso, though it is a little snug when properly fitted, I'll gladly take the mild discomfort in exchange for the protection it provides. The accompanying bracers are a little large for me, but the leather cords allow me to tighten them enough that they don't slip from my forearms when I move them around.
I consider arming myself with one of the weapons, but after a quick test reveals that I can still only imbue myself with [Light Of Justice], I decide to only grab the hand axe and hold it between my belt and pants as a contingency, as it could be useful for things other than combat as well such as the gathering of firewood or bursting open doors. I then grab the sack, stuffing a couple sets of spare clothing inside it before hoisting it over my shoulder.
Unlocking the door with the keyring, I peek out to make sure no assailants await me this time before stepping out. I quickly head over to Douglas’ old office to get the logbook and put it in my sack along with the keyring, just in case they could be useful later on. Remembering the pair of kitchen knives downstairs, I go back into the storage room and tear off a couple strips of cloth from the ruined robes, before I head back downstairs while keeping an eagle eye out for skeletons. Luckily for me nothing is awaiting me, and I head into the kitchen to grab the ladle and wrap the two knives in the cloth strips, before I place all three utensils inside my bag to increase my collection. Finished with my looting, equipped much better than before, I head to the exit of the guard barracks to go back out into the ruined town of Littlecreek with newfound determination.