A gentleman never kisses and tells.
Now, I am no gentleman, but there’s really nothing else to talk about besides some kisses and cuddles.
Apparently, Sheeno kind of finds power attractive, and I’m not talking about mere might, but the aura of authority that naturally comes with it. Now, she already knew that I could punch above my [Lvl], but the combination of [Word of Power] and [Rune-crafting] pretty much sealed the deal for her.
That is not to say that the feelings weren’t already there, but seeing me bend reality to my will pretty much awakened the animalistic side of my glorious amazon, inciting her to claim me as a partner.
And if I have to be honest, I feel fairly claimed right about now.
I thought that the size difference would have created some problems, but apparently, the [Introduction], amidst all the crap it spewed, told the truth about the reproductive organs being streamlined, since both of us seemed to know right where to touch.
But enough about that: I was embarrassed enough to be laying in the same bed together after the fact, so there’s no point in reminiscing that more than is necessary.
Thank Luck for that, it was getting uncomfortable.
“You’ve been suspiciously quiet during the whole ordeal.”
I am you, you dimwit.
Obviously, I am not going to ruin such moments, especially since my form makes me feel a sense of emotional detachment from carnal desires such as this, thanks to the lack of chemical stimuli.
“You can be a bro when the case arises, and as a [Tutorial] you can’t get a hardon, Got it!”
How marvelously and eloquently put...
“While spending half a day lazing around doesn’t sound bad, I believe Riverfist believed we would hurry it up and buy you some armor”, Sheenp said from above me, still enveloping my body in a four-armed lazy embrace.
“I’m the champion of lazing around! But yeah, I need to buy some leathers, that then I can [Enchant] myself”, I reluctantly agreed.
“Oh yeah”, she got up on her elbows, “if I like the way you’ll [Enchant] yours I’ll let you take a look at mine”.
“You’ll ‘let’ me? Alrighty then, [Princess]. As you wish your highne-eck!” I was taking the piss out of her for how she put it, but then she put my head in a grapple, with an arm snaked around my throat.
“Ok, that’s it. Now I’ll show you how you’re supposed to use that mouth of yours!” She stage whispered in a breathy voice right in my ear.
After the short intermission, where she ‘showed’ me what to do and I insisted on ‘practicing’, it ended up taking longer than expected to actually get out of bed that day.
* * *
You are both animals.
“Well… from a purely biological point of view: You’re right.”
[Buddy] was not amused by our antics, nor by how hard I and Sheeno found it to stop tumbling in the sheets.
We were finally out of our mansion, which I still felt weird when thinking about it, with me using the front entrance for the first time ever.
The view that welcomed me was surprisingly similar to what you would expect from a well-off block back in Europe, except that the building themselves were ‘blockier’ than expected, and very monotonous in design, appearing externally like seamless white stone.
“It’s really a lot bigger on the inside, uh?” I said, alluding to the fact this sprawling neighborhood should still be inside the complex of the [Rainbow Guild].
“While yes, the [Guild] is bigger on the inside, we’re not in the [Wild Area] anymore”, Sheeno corrected me.
“Oh?”
“While associated with the [Rainbow Guild], I still chose to buy our house further inland”, she further explained.
“Oh.”
“Both for access to a more competitive market and better connections to the rest of the [Nexus]”, she seemed to be finished with her exposition.
“Oh….kay, then where are we?” I asked, now a bit apprehensive to be further away from the protections the [Guild] provided us.
“Welcome, Darwin, to the Adventurer’s Haven!” Sheeno exclaimed, displaying her arms open wide in a grandiose attempt to indicate everything that surrounded us.
Thankfully, there weren’t a lot of people around, so nobody gave us the stink-eye for talking loudly or gesticulating around, but the disapproving glare by a Niad in a nearby garden still successfully managed to make me feel uncomfortable, now so exposed in the open.
“Any hope of finding a market where we could lose ourselves in the crowd, and then get on with the shopping?” I, once again, asked my ‘more than a companion, less than a lover’.
“I honestly have no idea what the correct term here would be.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
And I have no desire to think about it.
“Well, first of all, are you looking for something in particular?” Sheeno asked right back.
“I think that I’m mainly in need of some light leathers, and maybe a [Spatial pouch], if they aren’t too expensive”, I specified.
“Stop worrying about the price-“, she tried reassuring me, but I was having none of it.
“You won’t pay for it. I’m still thinking of ways to repay you for the freaking mansion, so I’m adamant on this point!” I interrupted her.
“And I say that you being adamant on me not helping in buying the best for your survival is just plain stupid!” She argued immediately.
We glared at each other for a while, and, surprising myself, first of all, I was the first to relent.
“Ok, maybe you can help with expenses, but let’s not put the cart before the horses-“, I started saying.
“What’s a horse?” Sheeno tried interjecting, but I barreled right over her.
“- let’s just see how much all of it will cost, and then we’ll decide. Ok?” I tried to reach for some sort of middle ground.
“You better not be trying to pull a fast one on me…” She warned me, menacingly.
“Me? Never!” I exclaimed, putting my gloved hand over my heart in a mock expression of hurt.
* * *
I’m not sure of what I had imagined when wondering how a market catered to [Adventurers] would have looked like, but the hundreds of shops stacked side-to-side, advertised by colorful billboards boasting about their prices and selection, constantly swarmed by sweaty people, did come close.
Especially if you weren’t blind and noticed the wildly different architectures used for the various shop, showing the numerous civilizations they came from, variating from buildings that looked like they were made of molten rock, still with some lavic stripes giving off some faint light, to metallic magi-tech sheds that seemed to slightly hover off the ground, there was no uniformity to this place, and it only made it better to my eyes.
From the neighborhood filled with copy-pasted mansions to the market was actually a pretty short walk, made longer only by the quickly increasing amount of people, which rapidly developed into a veritable ‘pedestrian traffic’, where Sheeno was forced to keep a grip on my shoulder to keep me close, to avoid people pushing me around; but not because we would get separated, but because I would start hitting people’s shins if they started pushing me too much, and she was embarrassed enough after the first time to not make it happen again.
Don’t get me wrong, there were [Races] walking around even shorter than me, and the streets were cut into lanes divided by the sizes of the pedestrians to accommodate everyone, but for me and Sheeno to remain next to one another we had to stay in the ‘mixed’ lane, where I ended up decidedly under the average height, probably looking mighty ‘stompable’, if my brief experience could attest to anything.
What surprised me the most though was probably the silence, besides the usual chatter of populated areas, and the absence of offensive smells: No sound of anvils getting abused, no stink of leather getting tanned, and yet I knew for a fact that all that, and more, was happening behind closed doors.
The response to such a discrepancy? More ‘magic-fuckery’ than usual.
A thing that I made sure to ascertain with a quick peek through my slightly lifted goggles, which I was forced to don again once out of the mansion.
The magical pollution in the air wasn’t as bad as near the [Rainbow Guild], but there was no reason for me to be constantly squinting when I had such a handy alternative, no?
“Definitely need to get me some more books on spell-weaving, enchanting, and rune-crafting. There’s a lot of stuff out there from which I could learn if this is the standard commonly found around.”
It was a bit of a blow to my self-esteem to find such intricate work so commonly in the open here, but it also ignited that spark of competitiveness that was always ready to light my furnace of creativity.
A bit sappy, but sure.
“So, this is where we’ll start finding the good stuff. What were you looking for first?” Sheeno suddenly asked me, and after giving a better look at my surroundings I did notice that the shops looked more pristine and of better craft, while the people around were also starting to have more ‘hard to look at’ stuff on them.
“I have no clue where to start, you have to remember that I’m a complete newbie here. Although I’m kind of starting to feel like the first stop should be to a library or bookstore, a stop that I’ll insist on making even if it won’t end up being the first”, I explained my thoughts.
“Understandable, you realized that your knowledge is rather shallow due to you being [Transferred], and want to rectify that by seeking more material, which is smart, but since I’m here you can just rely on me as far as knowledge on raw materials goes, while you’ll have to get books only on the more specific stuff you’re looking for”, she reassured me, punctuating her words with light pats on my shoulder.
“If you’re so sure of your capabilities to ascertain the quality-“
“I am”
“-then I’ll trust you and suggest that we look for a [Leather-Worker] first, and, just to be sure, remember that intend to do the enchantments on my own”, I decided, ignoring Sheeno’s interruption.
“Yeah, I know, I already expressed my interest in seeing how it will turn out. You wanted specifically something light and flexible, even if it sacrifices some sturdiness in the equation, right?” My companion further asked.
“Yes, physical and elemental protections I can handle on my own, I would actually prefer for the material to be able to better absorb [Mana] and [Enchantments], since the prerequisites for it being light and flexible were mostly born out of a need for comfort”, I further clarified.
“Oh… okay, that makes it more specific, which in turn makes it harder to find.”
I was about to lament how nothing could simply work out for me, but Sheeno kept going and I had to stop myself from starting to whine.
“Fortunately for you, I know about the exact type of crafter that you’re looking for, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find”, her last words brought much more relief than she probably expected.
“Marvelous! Where are we going then?” I asked excitedly.
I did not realize just how interesting it would be to finally have some proper ‘fantasy wereabilia’.
“Well, first we’re going to a [Tailor]: Leather armor, except the pants, goes over proper clothing, and those the [Temple] gave you are too recognizable for a normal adventurer”, my companion started explaining while heading towards wherever we needed to go, unaware she had just proven the point I was making in my mind.
“Oh, right. I’m so used to wearing them, and being the only [Human] around, that I didn’t even think about conforming anymore to the norm”, I realized that I never really changed out of my clothes, not even for sleeping, since they had the function to keep both themselves and me immaculate (they were specifically made to mark me as [Transferred], so they didn’t match the surrounding fantasy vibe).
“Not particularly attached to them?” She asked.
“Like, emotionally? No, not really. I actually don’t like wearing white, it makes the form of my body stand out too much. Having said that, I’m definitely keeping the cape though”, I responded.
“Well… I’ll say that you’re much more muscular than before, so you might want to reconsider exalting your form. But I do understand why you would keep the cloak: It’s a definite step up in material from what you would normally find even here; still, I’d let a [Seamstress] have a look at it, since the material is kinda wasted as is.”
Before I could blush about the compliment on my body I realized what she had said soon after.
“Wait, the material is that good? It was only [Uncommon] before I further [Enchanted] it, and I wanted to keep it because it was a gift from a friend… and because it made me look kind of cool”, I said, scratching the back of my head in embarrassment at that last bit.
“The [Rarity] is low because it was made too quickly and without much care, and I’d bet that even your [Enchantments] were done barely after you understood how your [Abilities] were meant to work, overall resulting in a shabby work that wasted the material it is made of”, Sheeno clarified, clearly unamused that someone would treat the material my cloak was made of so poorly.
“Ok, but what is this fabled material then?” I ended up asking, further embarrassed that I was walking around with a piece so shoddy that it would have made me look bad if it wasn’t for Merga’s glove hiding it from identification.
“[Arachneiad]’s silk”, she simply stated.
Not remembering having read about such a [Monster], I had no idea what that meant.
“A gigantic [Demon] that is a cousin to the [Drider], a half-spider half-humanoid creature, that makes floating nests over large bodies of water”, she explained.
“Have I been wearing demonic loot since my second day in the [Nexus]!?” I asked, baffled by the notion.
Sheeno simply gave me a dubious look, and then slowly nodded.
“What the FUCK!?” I shouted, turning around trying to grasp my cloak but failing since it got tangled to the staff on my back, and only after Sheeno busted out laughing did I notice that I was acting like a dog chasing my own tail, in the middle of a busy street to boot.