*The next day*
Joram was once again uncomfortable. Which, really, shouldn’t have been a thing given that he was in his workshop, creating new outfits to prevent training related wardrobe mishaps. No, that would have been fine all by itself. Crafting was one of his great passions in life. But not in front of an audience.
Bai Lian and Mo Yu had insisted on accompanying him today, stating that they wanted to spend more time with him to get to know him better. He was more than a little bit suspicious about where their argument had come from, but had ultimately acquiesced to their seemingly innocent request.
“Young master?” Bai Lian spoke up after raising a hand as though she was attending some sort of workshop at school.
“Could you please just call me by name when we’re alone?” He asked as he turned to the pair.
“Then, Joram? What sort of clothing are you working on?” She asked, her gaze intensely curious.
“Something that’ll survive a spar,” he said simply, then looked at Mo Yu. “Do you have a question?”
“Are you planning to make artifacts out of them?” She asked, one delicate eyebrow rising slightly.
“No, I won’t need to,” he said, waving that off. “The materials should be good enough on their own with just a bit of an adjustment to their molecular bonds.”
“Pardon?” Mo Yu asked politely.
“Ah, well, that’s part of how I see everything,” he said, then waved it off. “Anyway, with these I should be safe from being accidentally disrobed during a fight.”
The pair blushed slightly at the reminder of his blunder.
“Then,” Bai Lian started, then obviously gained courage before continuing. “What about your training partner? What if Miss Hornwood challenges you again?”
Joram found it very hard to meet their intense gazes at that point, remembering his brief contact with Emily.
“I, ah, suppose that she’ll need one too,” he said, hoping that that was the right answer.
“Then if you’re going to make one for her, could you make some for us?” Bai Lian asked nervously, but still managed to keep her eyes on him while she spoke.
“I’d be happy to,” he said with a smile. If that was all it took to make her happy, he was more than willing to make a few outfits for her. “I’ll just need some measurements to make sure they’ll fit properly,” he added as an afterthought.
Bai Lian and Mo Yu exchanged looks before Bai Lian practically threw her clothes off as she began disrobing. Mo Yu, though, was much more elegant about how she began undressing, one hand sliding her robes off one shoulder then the next.
“What are you doing?!” Joram practically yelled as he tore his eyes away from them.
“We have to undress to have our measurements properly taken,” Mo Yu said casually.
“There’s no way around it,” Bai Lian added breathlessly.
Joram manually turned off his field of perception as the last of their clothes came off.
“I can take accurate measurements while you’re still fully clothed!” He yelled, holding up his left arm and waving it in the air. “My omni-tool can do that easily!”
“Your what?” Bai Lian asked in confusion.
“Please get dressed!” He practically begged. “I’ll only proceed then!”
After not a few sighs of disappointment, grumbling, and several minutes’ worth of dressing, they were finally done and sitting on a pair of chairs. He explained the functions of his omni-tool to them, expounding on how wonderful and varied its functions were.
When he mentioned the omni-blade option, however, they both turned ghost-white. It was only then that he remembered how they came to be with him. Of how Avi had killed them.
“I’m sorry for bringing up unpleasant memories,” he said, feeling genuinely guilty for not having remembered that before expounding on things.
“No, it’s fine,” Mo Yu said, her hand on her chest. “If it wasn’t for… that, then we wouldn’t be here with you,” she said faintly.
Bai Lian nodded vigorously to that.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said, her voice firming up.
“Anyway,” he said, changing the uncomfortable subject. “I’ll just give you a quick scan, then that’s it,” he said, slipping on his AR glasses and turning them on.
A moment later, he had their forms scanned and converted into wire-mesh models along with their exact measurements.
“I’ll get started on your outfits as soon as I finish adjusting the schematic for the material,” he said with a nod. “I think that I’m pretty close to getting the fabric to where I want it.”
They both nodded before he turned back to his samples of Viridian Iron Bamboo and Bloodmoon Reaver Silk he’d been using.
Both materials were Tier 5 resources which he’d picked up when he’d explored the mountains before he’d been interrupted by that Old Fart. He hadn’t known how valuable they were at the time, much like just about every other thing he’d picked up during that time.
In retrospect, he was impressed that he’d survived meeting the Bloodmoon Reaver spiders considering how strong they were. It was pure luck that they were vulnerable to psionic attacks, specifically mind-based attacks. If not, he was sure that he’d have died his second day out exploring.
As it was, their spider silk was amazingly flexible while also remaining incredibly strong. After removing the adhesive coating on the silk, it proved to be a dream to work with.
Then there was the bamboo. It was another material that proved easy to harvest with psionics, specifically [Modify Matter]. With how good he was with that Power, he was able to manipulate things as the atomic level, rendering the bamboo’s coveted durability moot; especially now that he could sense Tier 3 mana and adjust things accordingly.
Even with Viridian Iron Bamboo’s unusual strength, it was still ultimately bamboo, which meant that he could work with it. He had, after all, processed tonnes of bamboo while learning to weave. Part of that process was learning to, well, process various fibres into workable materials.
The last step that he was actually working on was getting the bamboo/spider silk ratio just right. Too much spider silk and the cloth would be way too elastic. Well, that in and of itself wasn’t an issue if he wanted to make “fun time” costumes for Avi….
Anyway, he also found that too much bamboo added in made the cloth closer to denim in its elasticity. Again, that wasn’t terrible because he kind of missed having some blue jeans to wear. That said, just using cotton would be easier and almost infinitely cheaper.
It took almost another full hour of experimentation before he found a combination that he felt was just right. It provided enough elasticity for comfortable range of motion and possible bulging of muscles while also remaining stiff enough to feel like you were actually wearing something. Even the texture was fantastic, a combination of the finest silk and the highest thread-count bamboo linens he’d ever felt.
It was so nice, in fact, that Bai Lian and Mo Yu gushed over it; even going so far as to rub it on their cheeks with expressions of bliss.
A moment of foresight stuck him then. He immediately re-tasked M3 to quickly set up a pair of change rooms off to the side before he started working on mass producing the… what would he call it?
The spider silk was nearly translucent once the adhesive layer was removed, while the fibres made from the bamboo were white with a green hue to it. Combined, the resulting cloth kind of looked like a pale jade that seemed to shimmer slightly in the light.
Well, since he recognized that he was terrible at naming things, he just went for simple.
“I’ll call this Viridian Silk,” he said, holding up a bolt of the fabric to show them.
They nodded to that, still too distracted by the samples they were fawning over. He shrugged, then placed the bolt of cloth off to the side before turning again to his pile of raw materials.
Joram was pretty sure that the base viridian silk would hold up well enough in a fight between people in the 5th Tier, but wasn’t quite happy with that yet. He was already in the 5th Tier, so he’d likely outgrow its usefulness sooner rather than later. Even though he enjoyed the process of making things, and new things at that, he knew that he shouldn’t be taking time away from his studies and cultivation.
So, he messed around with psionically strengthening the various bonds in the cloth with [Matter Manipulation], a Power designed to increase the harness, or durability, of and object. The nice thing about the Power was that it didn’t make the resulting item into a “magic item” or anything; it was an “instantaneous” Power. Meaning: that the modifications couldn’t just be dispelled, nor would they go away if he somehow found himself in an anti-psionic or magic field, or something similar.
Again, it took him a bit to get the adjustments just how he liked them. But it was worth it. After a bit of experimenting, he found that the cloth’s resistance to being cut or pierced had increased significantly, while its resistance to heat and cold were amazing.
Even more experimentation revealed that it was amazingly hydrophobic as well as oleophobic. The finished cloth was, therefore, impossible to dye. Which bothered him a bit.
As much as he liked the colour, he didn’t think he wanted to be seen in a pale jade green body suit.
After even more experimentation, he found that he could infuse different colours into the emerging cloth as he created it with [Matter Manipulation]. Simply put, he needed to decide on the colour before he finished making the cloth.
Now, with an amazing matt-black bolt of cloth in hand, he was ready!
“Umm, Joram?” Mo Yu caught his attention.
“Hmm?” He hmm’d, turning to see that she and Bai Lian looked a bit nervous.
“Would you be able to make some… undergarments for us with this?” She asked, holding up the sample she’d been gushing over.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Joram blinked. Then had to blink again a few times to rid himself of the images of the pair modeling various designs of undergarments for him.
“Ah, yes, I could,” he said, clearing his throat. “I would imagine that this might become a popular material for such things.”
“Joram,” Mo Yu said, suddenly becoming very serious. “If we could make a lingerie store that exclusively used this viridian silk, I am sure that we’d be the most successful store in the world,” she said with great conviction as Bai Lian nodded along vigorously.
“That would be lovely, but do you know what this is made of?” He asked, nudging the first full bolt of cloth he’d made.
“No…”
“It’s made from Viridian Iron Bamboo and Bloodmoon Reaver Silk,” he said much to their astonishment. “If I were to sell a single brazier made from viridian silk, it would likely cost a couple High-Grade T2 Crystals.”
Their reactions weren’t the same, but the shock on both their faces was plain to see.
“As much as I’d like to make a killing, I’m not sure how… accessible the products would be to the general public,” he said, not quite so keen on setting up a business that only the wealthy and well-to-do could afford to shop at.
That thought gave him pause, though. He was planning on becoming an Alchemist and Artificer, both of which would basically have him doing just that: providing products that only the rich could afford.
“… I guess that’s no different than setting up an alchemy shop or something,” he said, mumbling it out as he rubbed his jaw.
“That’s true,” Bai Lian said, seemingly taking courage from his worlds. “I’m not sure how aware you are of things, but having undergarments as durable as what these would be…. Well, I’m sure that every female cultivator and practitioner from millions of miles around will come to purchase them.”
“That’s right,” Mo Yu agreed, a fire lighting up in her eyes. “Not only does this viridian silk feel heavenly, but if it is as durable as you say, then the problems women have been facing for millennia will be greatly mitigated by it! Do you know how many women are humiliated by ‘accidents’ during spars or fights? Or even just by accidents during training or crafting. Selling undergarments or even body suits made of viridian silk will gain you the love of almost every woman on Dovaynia…” she said, trailing off at the end.
Then her eyes widened, followed by Bai Lian’s as they started to look panicked at the thought of women flocking to him demanding lingerie custom made for them. Because, well, it really would need to be custom-made due to its durability.
He was reasonably sure that he’d need to use shears that were a Peak Tier 6 artifact just to cut the fabric, let alone the needles needed to sew the stuff.
“Bah, don’t worry about that,” he said, waving it off, much to their indignation. “I won’t be opening a shop like that any time soon. I can make some for my friends and family, but that’s it for now. I just don’t have the time to invest in such a project…” he said, trailing off at the end as another thought occurred to him.
Wait, I can have one of the Minds run the shop… he thought, suppressing a huge grin. Even with having four Minds running constantly, he was still well above his ability to regenerate what was needed to keep the Power running. Heck, at this point, he could have another four Minds running and still be at a net positive.
Why haven’t I been doing that already?!
Kinkade: Because you’re distracted?
Joram sighed, then saved M4 & M5’s progress as he made sure that M2 wasn’t doing anything critical, ended [Schism], then re-manifested it to get more Minds running. He was now up to M9, which astonished him. He’d never imagined having more that one additional Mind running back when Altaea had been teaching him as the strain it would have put on him was immense.
Now? Now, he was infinitely more appreciative of the cultivation methods for Mental Strength that were practiced here.
Then another thought occurred to him, so he started re-tasking his Minds.
M3 and M4 were tasked with his Psijic Star and cultivation. M5-7 were tasked with the new [Genesis], while M8 and M9 were set to converting all of his known Powers. Well, not converting, per se. Creating would be a better word. He tasked them to create new Psijic Powers/Spells based on his Psionic Powers that he knew. In fact…
‘Hey, Avi?’
‘Yes, Joram?’
‘I’m going to need access to the directories that Altaea left you on everything psionic,’ he sent, getting excited.
‘Why…?’
He then explained what he was going to do with what he already knew, getting excited at the possibilities that spread out before his imagination.
‘That could work,’ she said, consideration heaving in the sending. ‘All right, let’s do it!’
He blinked at that, then felt A3 connect with M8 and M9 in their very own “chat room” as access was granted to him. He felt the vastness of the knowledge left by Altaea then. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of overwhelming awe and gratitude for such a priceless trove of knowledge freely gifted to him.
“Are you OK, Joram?” Bai Lian asked from his side, her hand resting lightly on his left shoulder.
He noticed that Mo Yu was also there, but on his right, one hand also resting on him. Both looked concerned, and he realized that tears had started to fall down his cheeks.
“Nah,” he said, wiping the tears away gruffly. “I’m good. Just had a moment.”
His two friends exchanged uncertain looks before nodding to him and taking their hands off him.
“If you’re sure,” Mo Yu said, sounding anything but convinced.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he said with a warm slime as he placed a hand on each of their shoulders in return. “Just had an epiphany, as it were. Now, let’s get some clothing made for you girls,” he said, smiling wider at their enthusiastic smiles.
“But you’ll need to use the changing rooms over there,” he said, throwing a wet blanket on their growing excitement.
*1346.07.12- Late afternoon*
Ah, I still hate exams, Joram thought as he left his final one for the term, freeing him from that hellish week.
Still, it wasn’t as bad as it had used to be for him. With his exponentially increased memory and processing speeds, things like exams were a breeze. It was just the psychological factor that bothered him. He’d never liked the restricted nature of exams, it having played hard on his anxiety in the past. And, truthfully, in the present.
Well, it was done and over with, leaving him time to enjoy Summer Break! He needed it, given how… eventful the past five weeks had been.
After making Bai Lian and Mo Yu their requested garments, and still having had to endure their wanting to show them off to him, he’d made some for others. Avi had been over the moon for hers, thanking him repeatedly and with much enthusiasm when they were alone, resulting in them getting much closer.
That said, Mo Yu and Bai Lian had also grown closer to him in that time. He wasn’t sure if it was more gratitude for his gifts or what, but they’d started acting more naturally around him. Which, in turn, resulted in him being more comfortable around them. All told, he was actually glad at how close they’d all become.
On the other hand, his stress levels had increased when Emily started following him around when they weren’t in class. She’d show up with Renna for the study sessions, insisting that he “take responsibility” for her. The first time that had happened had resulted in less than optimal study time.
It had taken him hours to calm things down, all while he was trying very hard to ignore what the reactions of the first five members, Alicia not included, of the study group might mean. The only one who hadn’t reacted was Aya, who merely looked on with a faint combination of disapproval and amusement on her face.
The next week had seen Emily constantly pestering him for more sparring sessions, claiming that she, too, needed to be tutored. He wasn’t sure if she was still aiming to marry him, just spar with him, or if she was more than a little masochistic.
He’d only finally agreed to another spar if they had a private stage that they could use. Surprisingly, there were some available to rent. It was an enclosed building that could accommodate up to a thousand people if needed. The capacity wasn’t needed, as only their study group was in attendance.
He understood why Alicia, Bai Lian, and Mo Yu wanted to be there, and wholly approved. Even Renna being there wasn’t a surprise, seeing as how she and Emily were good friends. That Jae-Eun and Aya, along with Sophia, Alyraele, Gabrielle, and Daleira, along with the two other newcomers Faenwyn and Kassandra, were there was both a surprise and an annoyance.
Faenwyn, the Silver Wolf Beastkin, was studios and direct, but seemed to have little interest in martial arts normally. Kassandra, the Succubus, had also shown very little interest in martial arts, but was also there for some reason that he didn’t want to guess at.
Anyway, for that spar he’d consciously held back as they fought. Emily had clearly noticed and had tried to push him further, but he’d refused to engage. Until she’d bagged him.
At that point he’d once again lost to his battle lust and an almost identical repeat of their first spar occurred. The main difference was that he had been wearing his viridian silk body suit underneath his regular clothing. It was almost identical to the one he’d been wearing when Avi had come to talk with him that day, sans-cowl though. That would have been weird.
So, after once again draping an unconscious Emily in a sheet, he took the time to give Emily a quick scan before having Kinkade quickly fabricate a body suit for her. Joram grinned at the ice-blue body suit with silver trim and highlights once it was in hand. It would look pretty good on her.
Then he gave himself a mental slap before presenting it to Renna for Emily to wear the next time they sparred. The look Renna had given him had sent a slight chill down his back when she accepted the garment. Not because she frightened him. Well, the look frightened him, but it didn’t intimidate him.
After having felt it, Renna proceeded to insist that he make one for her, causing the others in the study group to take interest in the conversation. Soon enough, everyone was politely demanding their own body suit. Even Aya.
Which startled him more than a little bit. But after she’d tested the fabric herself, her eyes had lit up.
It had taken him a good ten minutes to explain the “difficulty” in making the material, as well as the cost to procure more of it before he was suddenly presented bank card after bank card. They were more than willing to pay for their own body suits.
Then Bai Lian let slip that he’d made her some undergarments of the stuff when she was gushing over how amazing the viridian silk was. After that, he was inundated with orders for their own undergarments. The following hour had been a mix of heaven and hell as he not only took their measurements, but also had to go over their individually requested designs.
By the end of it, Emily had woken up again and had joined in on the “fun”. She’d dropped her sheet to slip on her body suit right in front of him, causing no small commotion that she just shrugged off, not seeming to have the slightest bit of modesty. Again, he was unsure if it was because she was surrounded by other women and was trying to snare him, or if she really didn’t have a spec of modesty when it came to nudity.
Either way, he was so emotionally drained that night that he couldn’t even muster the strength to do anything more strenuous than cuddle with Avi.
After that, the time went quickly. Classes, study group, then sparring took up almost every day of the week. He had also begun giving guitar and piano lessons to the interested study group members after hours at Dawn Star.
A good chunk of Sundays were devoted to Alchemy and Artifice with Gabrielle, Renna, and Kassandra. He was surprised that Kassandra was as enthusiastic about alchemy as she was. He was also happy that Renna was true to her word about enjoying helping juniors with their alchemy.
That said, the standard method of Alchemists was still infuriatingly inefficient. Nevertheless, he still memorized their methods and theory so that he could play along with them. About the only thing that he took away from any class or session were the recipes that he’d later modify for his own personal method of alchemy.
It was still a bit weird for him to have Renna watching over his shoulder though. She still looked to be in her mid-teens. She still had what he’d call baby fat in her cheeks for crying out loud. And he’d learned that she was one hundred four years old, but still considered a “youth” by other elves.
Which, considering her Peak Tier 4 cultivation as well as having recently become a 5th Tier Mentalist, he was sure that she was a prodigy. Sure, she was “old”, but considering that elven developmental stages were much longer than that of most other races, she really was “young”.
All that said, and for as busy as he was, he found that it was astonishingly fun. He remembered his long monologue to Avi about him being an introvert and needing his own time to himself. And he still got it in the night because he only needed two hours of sleep to fully replenish himself.
Maybe it was because of Avi’s support, or the fact that their study group was relatively small. Or perhaps it was because everyone got along so well together, apart from all the flirting aimed his way. But he found that their genuine desire to be there helped to relax him. Helped him to drop his walls bit by bit.
Even with Emily. He’d gone and studied the customs and culture of the Eternal Snow Kingdom and had found that she’d only fudged their customs a bit. Yes, it was pretty much mandatory to get married if the couple engaged in sexual relations, but not for something as minor as a training accident. That said, the royal family seemed to take things a bit more seriously than others.
As such, he’d received a formal letter from the crown requesting an audience during summer break. Which he more or less planned to avoid.
After that, the study group once again astonished him by expressing their interest in learning martial arts. Most pitched it as a way to keep themselves safe should they be accosted, while others just looked like they wanted to get more “Joram Time”, as he started to hear them call it.
So, for the past three weeks, he’d rented a smaller sparring arena than that first one for them to practice in. Again, he was surprised at how… easy it was for him to spend so much time with other people. He mostly attributed it to his love of helping and teaching others, but had to admit to himself that it didn’t hurt that he was surrounded by so many stunningly beautiful women.
All dressed in their body suits.
Contrary to what he’d initially expected, he didn’t leave those training sessions hornier than a rabbit in spring. No, he left… content. It was almost like a balm to his soul to be surrounded by such beauty. That may have seemed incredibly superficial to some while others might view it as lecherous, lustful, lascivious, indecent, immoral, objectifying, or any similar thing. But to him and his incredibly low self esteem, it helped to heal the damage done to him in his youth.
Sure, some of them argued from time to time, fighting over his attention and silly things like that. But even after all that, he was glad to have made more friends. Not just flatterers trying to exploit him, but people who genuinely- however hidden some of them might try to keep it- wanted to spend time with him and the others.
I guess even I change, he thought with a wistful smile as he headed home, ready to start his summer vacation.