Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to this. They didn’t lie about knowing a store with clothes. Hell, the store had tons of high-quality pieces. It just happened that most of them were dresses or otherwise built for a woman’s body. Given that I wasn’t a woman, they all felt awkward to put on.
Not that they gave me much choice. Not when they gave me such pitiful looks and saying things like; “Were you lying about letting us help you find something?” And “you promised.” Yeah, I was being a bit of a pushover. Sue me. You didn’t see the looks on their faces.
Now, that’s not to say I wouldn’t get them back for this. I just had to find the best time to pull something off. Hopefully without having spent any money on a dress or something else they thought I just had to have.
Speaking of dresses, the most recent one they handed me was fluffy as hell. Made from some animal fur, it felt as soft and light as silk while containing absolutely no color. A combination I had not thought possible until now. Likely it wasn’t possible in the real world. “Can I get a blanket made out of this stuff?” I called out, thinking about how warm it would be when camping. The only issue would be cleaning it. Maybe there was a spell for that, though it likely required a water affinity.
“Sure,” Ronda called back, likely not because she thought that I could or would ever buy such a thing but in an effort to distract me from what I was doing. The three girls had gotten very into picking out various clothes for me. “But first, let’s see how you like it against various parts of your skin. Don’t want you to commission something only for it to make you squirm or something.”
Rolling my eyes at the obvious push, I slipped the dress on. Unlike a few other dresses, this one seemed to settle itself into place. Showing curves that I wished my body did not have. Curves that were kept well hidden when I had some fat around my middle or any normal shirt. The kind that didn’t cling to every piece of skin it could. At least I didn’t have any breasts. If I had those, I might have been forced to pay for surgery. And I mean out of pocket because it wasn’t like my insurance would have paid for something they considered cosmetic.
Turning and taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes. Imagining that I was looking at someone else and not my reflection. The instant my eyes caught sight of the woman, my heart stopped and my breath froze in my lungs.
She was the most gorgeous person I had ever seen. Her crystalline blue eyes caught mine and held them for moments. Neither one of us willing to let the other move on, but eventually we had to. Her lips were a subtle crimson. The color still present from whatever the girls had put on me when I showed them the third dress.
Her short hair was longer than I typically let it get. Nearly reaching the back of her neck. An otherwise bare neck of lightly tanned skin that was only broken by the slight bump of an Adam’s apple. It was something that was easily missed if one did not look for it.
The collar of her dress hung just below her collarbone, looking like it was a part of her rather than a piece of fabric that she was wearing. Instead of the bright white fur that I had seen earlier, the color had shifted to a lovely combination of various shades of blue. The sight of it reminded me of the flames on a Bunsen burner of all things.
The effect of the shifting colors made it look like the fire was licking up her body. Sleeves covered the entirety of her arms. Only leaving the hands and wrists exposed. As the arms moved up to push a stray hair behind her ear, the colors shifted. Making it look like the flames danced and twirled.
While there were no breasts displayed, or even hinted at, the rest of the curves were well and truly shown. Her hips were enhanced by her tight stomach. Something that most girls I knew would have killed for, yet the beauty in front of me showed no signs of the various methods people tried. No signs of malnourishment or drugs. Nothing.
On top of that, her legs were long. What little of them that showed were bare of any hair. Yet she didn’t have any razor burns. No signs of wax or laser burns. As if there had never been any hair there in the first place. The only thing that was missing from her were a pair of shoes, or lack thereof.
Seeing them move and feeling the warm wood below my feet broke my trance. I went from seeing a lovely woman to seeing myself in a dress. All of the feminine-looking parts of my body were on full display. My face morphed from someone who was putting up with something to one full of horror at what they were seeing. I was not female nor did I ever want to be.
Too bad the girls had taken my scraps of clothes and disposed of them after I tried on my first dress. Even going so far as to make sure that I got new undergarments. Though, if I had to be honest, I would be keeping those. Every time we finished a place and I refused to buy anything, one of them would pass me the robe and hustle me to the next place to do it all again. I was fed up with it. This would be the last dress I would be trying on and this time I wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Stepping out from behind the curtain and into the small room set aside for parties such as this. As I came into view, the girls all gasped as one. I ignored the looks, taking advantage of their focus and silence to say what I needed to say. “No more. I am done. Get me a pair of pants and a shirt or I will find one myself.”
“But…” Britainy started.
“No.” I cut her off.
“But…” she started again.
“No!” I said with more force.
“Would you…” She once again started speaking.
As it sounded like she was going to ask me to try to put on yet something else, I cut her off again. “NO!”
She didn’t stop speaking though. Her voice cutting over mine. “Stop cutting me off. I was going to say that we got you three pairs at the first store we visited.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
That froze me in place. If they had those this entire time, why did they keep dragging me from store to store? Why did they keep pushing dress after dress at me? Ronda pulled a package out of her inventory. Tossing it to me. “Here.” She sounded hurt. As if I had done or said something to her.
Catching the package, I placed it in my inventory. Nodding to them before turning and returning to the changing room. I don’t know what I expected to hear, but the sounds of soft crying were not it. Then again, they had practically held me hostage as they had me play dress up for them.
Ignoring the sounds in the other part of the room, I took off the dress and pulled out a set of clothes they had purchased. The pants were made of a soft black leather with gold accents. Thin enough to move around and not bunch up, yet it felt sturdy enough to stop some lighter weapons. The shirt was nearly as good, though made of a deep burgundy.
Of course, the moment I put it on, it fit perfectly. Molding to my body as the crafter had intended. However, unlike the dresses, this outfit didn’t show off any of my odd curves or work to feminize me. it somehow worked to make me look more regal and elegant than I had any right to be. Curious, I pulled up the stats on the two pieces.
Name:
Armored Shirt
Type:
Armor – Chest/Arms
Rank:
Common
Material:
Treated Leather
Physical Defense:
13
Magical Defense:
0
Environmental Defense:
+10%
Durability:
200/200
Name:
Armored Pants
Type:
Armor – Legs
Rank:
Common
Material:
Treated Leather
Physical Defense:
13
Magical Defense:
0
Environmental Defense:
+10%
Durability:
220/220
They looked decent, though the information made little sense to me. Considering how much more information was displayed compared to when I had looked at my skirt, I had to assume this was one of the things that changed in the interface part of the update.
Stepping out of the changing area, I found the room empty save for the attendant who was cleaning up the pile of dresses. Given that this last trip into the changing room was my fastest yet, it didn’t make sense for them to have left. “Where did the girls go?”
“They all left.” The attendant said as a flash of light and steam ran through the dress in her hand.
“What do you mean?” I had their names but that was it. I needed more information if I was going to get them back for today.
“They settled the bill and left.” His tone was one of annoyance. He probably wanted me to leave so that he could work in peace.
“Bill?”
“For the dress and the room. You didn’t think that a store would have a room set aside for people to try on clothes for free did you?” Given how he sounded, I was sure that he was questioning my intelligence.
“Yes, I did.” Though, now that I thought about it, I had not seen any store doing the same in a long time. Only those in movies had places that anyone could use to try things on for free. “And what do you mean for the dress? I didn’t plan on buying any of them.”
“Of course you weren’t.” He mumbled. Likely thinking that most people who came in here to try on multiple dresses with friends were just here for a good day and nothing more. “They purchased the last dress you tried on. Is there anything else you need?”
Shaking my head, I put the dress into my inventory, finding that it did indeed go in without issue meaning it was mine. As I went to leave the room, I found myself asking him a question. “What material is it made from?”
“Moonlight Fox fur.”
“And where might I order something else made from the same material?” He didn’t answer. Instead, his eyes bore into me. I licked my lips and asked a second time. “Is there a place that might sell such materials?”
This time he answered. “Moonlight foxes are B-grade monsters. Protected B-grade monsters.” He emphasized the word protected as if to stop me from doing something stupid. “Their furs are offered up only when one dies of old age or in battle. What you have there is what was left of the last one. The majority of which was used in a ceremony to honor the leader of the army that blocked the latest demon army.”
“If it is so rare and used in such events, why was this piece made into a dress and sold here?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know how my father got a hold of it. I just take care of the store and learn as much as I can while I can.” With that, he turned back to what he was doing. Effectively dismissing me. Walking out of the place, I pulled up what I could on the dress.
Name:
Moonlight Elegance
Type:
Dress
Specific Type:
Full Body Armor - Dress
Rank:
Rare
Material:
Moonlight Fox Fur
Physical Defense:
30
Magical Defense:
40
Environmental Defense:
+150%, Cold Resistance Boost (Large)
Level:
5
XP:
950/1600
Skills:
[Locked due to level (<10)]
Durability:
400/400
Current Condition:
Pristine
Requirements:
Feminine skeleton structure
“What can cut through this dress?” I asked the damn AI, the random numbers and lack of information starting to get to me.
“Any material stronger than steel should be able to do some damage. Though, folded steel might find an issue cutting through it.” Of course, the damn dress would be one of the best armors I had seen so far. Sometimes I hated my life.