If I thought that fighting in a skirt was bad, then dresses were hell. The one I had on actively constricted my knees. It prevented me from being able to separate them more than a foot or so. It was nowhere near the amount of movement I was used to having. I would have to either find a way to add a slit or run around with feet moving like Charlie Brown.

  Then we have the sections that actively constricted my chest. It hugged my skin and helped force it into a shape I wished it wouldn’t. A shape that was fine until one tried to work out and needed to breathe. I found this out when I nearly passed out from a lack of air. I only managed to get enough air by practically panting.

  So, let us go over what this dress was doing to me. It was limiting my movement as well as preventing me from taking a single deep breath. Oh, and the skirt part kept fluttering in the wind. Which of course threatened to tangle my legs or show off parts of my lower half that I would rather it didn’t. But hey, at least I was safer from the creatures and weapons in this place. Yeah, I was not sure it was worth it.

  Not given how the guys keep shooting glances at me when they think I was not paying attention. Out of all of them, Lance’s looks are the most confusing. His face was a mix of pity, anger, and want. Not a combination I wanted looking at me. At least not by him. Not after what he had tried to do.

  “Ok,” Linda called out to me from where she had been sitting. “Come put your stuff away so we can get going.” Panting up a storm, I simply nodded as I put my sword away. Thankfully, everything I had taken out was stacked neatly on the table. It took mere moments to put everything into my inventory. All set, I looked around to find that most of them were already walking up to the top of the hill to join Lance. Only Linda stood at the base of the hill where she watched and waited for me.

  “Are you ready to try this again?” She asked as we started up the hill.

  “I would have been ready with or without the dress,” I said as my eyes rolled. “It is the rest of you that refuse to let me do so without armor.”

  “We already went over why that is. Anyway, blatantly switching topics to something more important, are you going with anyone to the spring festival?”

  Her question startled me enough that it took a second for me to answer her. “Not really, why?”

  “Is there really no one that would be willing to go with you? Maybe a significant other or close friend?” When I heard the word friend an image of Xander popped into my head. While he wasn’t much of a people person, he understood that staying cooped up was bad for one's mental health. As such, he would have practically dragged me with him to this event. She must have noticed something as she said, “Oh, who was that that you were thinking of?”

  “Just a friend,” I replied as I started to wonder what the guy was doing right now.

  She kept going, “A guy friend or girl friend?”

  “A guy,” She wasn’t going to drop this unless I forced her to. “How about you?”

  Her expression was enough to ask the question, ‘Are you really asking that?’ Yeah, probably not the best question to ask to force the conversation off me and onto her. I was worried that she would ignore my question and pester me about Xander, but then she sighed, “While I will be going with the guys, it won't be until later.”

  “Hmm.”

  “My dad is making me join him in the morning. Something about father-daughter time. So annoying. It’s like he doesn’t want me to have a life. It would be one thing if he asked, but no, he demanded I join him.”

  “Why didn’t you refuse?”

  She groaned, “Did that once, it did not go over well.”

  Before I could ask what she meant by that, Lance held up his hand. His ears had likely found our next targets. As quietly as I could, I hurried to the rest of the group where Michael was already giving his instructions. “Patric, you take out the one on the left. Kyren, you get the one in the middle. Linda and I will take the farthest two.”

  I glanced around the rock we were hiding behind. We were once again on a hill. Halfway down it was my target. It was the smallest boar of the group, likely the youngest, but that also meant it was more than likely nimbler than the rest. Michael held up his hand, counting down again. At two, I pulled out my sword. Took as deep of a breath as I could before letting it out just as he signaled for us to move.

  The group sprinted past me as we charged. Their strides made the trip easier and faster for them. As for me, I was pretty sure I looked like Charlie Brown as I made my way to my target. Just as I got close enough to slash, the beast charged me. As I had expected, it moved fast. While I had been prepared for the extra speed, I didn’t expect it to be so much faster. Thankfully, it wasn’t fast enough to get out of the path of my sword.

  Both of my sides were hit by the tusks as its head rammed into my stomach with enough force to pick me up off my feet. Luckily, my blade was well on its way toward its target. With the added momentum granted by the beast's powerful strike, my sword cut into its back. Somehow it even managed to cut deep into its spine. Going deep enough to nearly bisect a few of the vertebrae.

  The strike must have done quite a bit of damage to the nerves inside because the creature roared as it collapsed. Our combined momentum caused it to drag its belly across the dirt for a good half dozen feet. As the creature had been holding me up as it tried to drive its tusks into my stomach, I found myself dropping to the ground. My feet scrambled to keep me standing as images of my body getting smeared under the creature's sliding bulk played through my mind.

  Finally, we came to a halt as I found my balance. Lying there in front of me, the creature groaned and whined. Likely in fear as it found itself unable to move. It was at my mercy. I could do anything to it and there was nothing it could do. I knew it and it knew it. I could let it slowly bleed out or even drag its living body back to the guild, but I didn’t. Out of respect for the thing, I ended its life as painlessly as I could. With a quick cut, I sliced its throat open. Its blood flowed out onto the ground while I watched.

  When it finally breathed its last, I took stock of my injuries. My middle hurt like a bitch. It felt like someone had decided to use my stomach and sides as punching bags. Though, at least this time I wasn’t bleeding. In fact, the dress seemed like it was just fine, even after taking a direct strike from the creature. Which confused me. If the dress was supposed to act as armor, why did I take damage while the dress seemed just fine?

  Jeremiah, likely checking on me now that the fight was done, joined me. “Are you hurt?”

  “Just a few bruises,” I answererd.

  “Yeah,” he sighed, “It is one of the downsides of having flexible armor.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He shot me a look that questioned my intelligence as he answered. “No matter how strong a piece of fabric is, it will still bend when struck. It may stop a blade, or tusk,” he gestured at the creature, “But it will never stop all the damage from making it through. It is the downside to having armor with so much freedom of motion.”

  I felt stupid after he explained it. It made sense. Hell, now that I thought about it, every armor type only negated some of the damage. Rarely was there any sort of armor that prevented everything from even one type. With a nod in understanding, I got to work packing the beast away.

  Five hours, and three more boars, later, we started back for the city. My stomach felt like it was twisted. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that I had some sort of monster trying to torture me. As we walked, I kept one of my hands clenched in an effort to at least distract myself from the pain, if not dull it. Add to that the lack of talking coming from me, it was inevitable that one of the group would notice.

  Linda, ever the healer, was the one to notice. “How are you doing?”

  “Just peachy,” I said through gritted my teeth. I know. I shouldn’t lie to the group's healer but I had come this far. I had even managed to pull my weight this time. I didn’t want to look weak and pitiful so close to the end.

  “Tsk,” She shook her head as she grabbed my open hand. I felt it as a pulse of magic flowed up the arm and into me as she did something. “Ah, I see the issue.” Her hand let mine go as she pulled something out of her inventory. Offering it to me as she continued. “It looks to be from something you ate. While I don’t have the skills to heal it, this should hold you over until we get to town.”

  I took the proffered item. It was a round ball about an inch in diameter. “What is it?” I asked as I tried to get a better look. The setting sun's light that through through it made the orb glow red with gold striations.

  “Just a family recipe for a healing potion.”

  “But it's solid.”

  “Nope, just the outer layer.” She gestured for me to eat it. I still hesitated. My hand squeezed it and found that the skin was firm, yet pliable. “Makes potions easier to use. No need to fumble with corks or glass bottles. Just pop it into your mouth, bite down, and swallow.” Finally, I gave in and did as she said. Popping the orb into my mouth. However, instead of biting down on it and letting the liquid go everywhere, I carefully nipped it with one of my canines.

  I must have scored enough of the way through the skin because liquid oozed out. It was as thick as honey and nearly as sweet. However, there was a bit of heat that seemed to follow after it. It wasn’t a burning heat, but something that felt comforting.

  As soon as it reached my stomach, the pain ebbed as the muscles unclenched. For the first time in an hour, my middle didn’t hurt. The relief must have been evident on my face because she spoke as she held out something that looked a lot like a piece of jerky. “Healing is good and all, but it tends to burn a ton of energy. I would recommend eating anytime you heal, no matter how minor the injury.”

  Just before I took a bite of the jerky, I asked, “So what is the plan for tomorrow?”

  She shrugged. “Depends on what your teachers want to do. It will likely be more combat training. Maybe with groups this time so that you can get used to working with someone and fighting multiple opponents.”

  “How would that work?” I asked out of curiosity.

  “The way I would do it is to have you going against a group of two. Both would have to be somewhat limited in what they can do to give you a chance. For example, one could be focused on support while the other is only allowed to focus on fighting.” That would be interesting and would represent the most basic team out there, other than solo people like me that is. “Then working our way to more and more complex team compositions until you are able to handle being dropped into a battle and have no issue adapting to the situation. So that you can at least survive long enough to get away, or if that is impossible, long enough for help to arrive.”

  That plan sounded like it would take quite a few people. “Do we have enough people or room to do all that?” I asked while imagining our entire group trying to fight in the circle Barti had drawn in the training room. While the thing was large, it couldn’t be large enough for such a fight.

  “Nope,” She shook her head. “We will likely have to rent the guild arena or come outside of town for most of the larger fights.” Hah, that meant we wouldn’t be able to use the circle Barti set up. I wouldn’t have to worry about the ambient mana dropping for no reason.

  As we approached the gate, I noticed that people kept giving us odd looks. It wasn’t until we were crossing the gate that I realized why. I was still wearing the damn dress. Fucking hell, of all the things to forget, it had to be that. Maybe if I could find an empty alley or bathroom, I could get changed before any of those three saw me.

  The moment I thought that, Mindi and Tindi walked out of what looked to be a sweets shop. I don’t know why, but their eyes snapped and locked onto look at our group. It was as if they knew exactly where we were going to be. Not wanting to be seen, I put Michael and Jeremiah between us. While this worked, it also meant I couldn’t see where they were. “Hey, where is Kyren.” Tindi’s brusque tone came from the other side of the group.

  The group as a whole turned to look at me. They didn’t even give me time to move away or say something before, as one, they moved enough for the two of them to see me. “Huh?” came Mindi’s soft voice while Tindi asked, “Nice trick. Seriously though. Where is he?”

  Linda shot me a look while Patric simply said, “That is Kyren. Turns out he can pass as one hell of a chick if he tries.”

  “I didn’t try.” I countered on reflex only to instantly realize just what I said.

  Both Mindi’s and Tindi’s mouths dropped open in shock. Patric, Jeremiah, and Victor looked to be trying hard to not burst out in a fit of laughter. My face burned in embarrassment. I wanted to run but my feet felt like they were locked in place somehow. As if that wasn’t enough, Barti strolled out of the shop. His eyes lifted as his eyes locked onto our group, and more importantly, onto me.

  “Destroyed all your clothes already?” I didn’t know if I should be annoyed or happy that he recognized me even while I wore the dress.

  “No,” I tried to defend myself by shifting the blame onto the people around me. “They wouldn’t let me hunt with them without armor.”

  “So, you put on a dress?” His eyes traveled up and down the dress.

  “It was all I had.”

  “Why do you own a dress?”

  “Don’t ask,” I muttered, likely sounding like a petulant child.

  “Well, seeing as you have it and it is strong enough to count as decent armor, you will be training in it from now on.” His tone was one that said the decision was final.

  Still, I tried to argue. “But…”

  “If you can learn to fight in a dress, you can handle fighting in almost any other form of clothing.”

  Fuck, he wasn’t wrong but that didn’t mean I wanted to listen. Unfortunately for me, everyone around me, save Lance, all looked at me. Many of which shook their heads. It seemed like I was not going to be able to get out of this. I let out a growl of frustration at the thought and idea of being forced to train in the stupid thing. Finally, whatever had been holding my feet was gone, letting me get away from the group and to my room where I wouldn’t have to put up with anyone staring at me.

  Unfortunately for me, the moment I passed through the guild door a familiar dwarven voice called out my name. “Kyren!” Turning, I found the person in question leaning on the far side of the counter. While the other attendants looked busy and had lines, she was on her own. “A merchant dropped off a few things for yah earlier.”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Seeing as there was only one merchant I had an outstanding order with, it wasn’t hard to guess what they had delivered. Figuring it was too little too late to hide the dress from her or anyone else here, I walked over to the desk. She wasted no time walking to the back and bringing me a few items.

  “One leather sheath and three pairs of simple leather pants.” She said as she passed the items over. The sight of the sheath reminded me about Shizukana Arashi’s status and how a section was locked due to damage. This was the last item needed to repair the Chisa Katana, that section would now be open. With a bit of effort, I held off from doing so right now. After all, who knew what I would find in the skill tree? I would just have to wait until I got up to my room.

  “I have a quest I would like to turn in,” I said as I held out the bag that contained the Effervescent Boar bodies.

  She took a second to look each over. Going so far as to pull each out and check the wounds before finally nodding. “They look good. Give me a minute to get your reward.” The dwarf turned and vanished through the door. While she was gone, I pulled up my current stats and gawked at the numbers. Either I was seeing things or this quest was more than a payday.

  Last I checked, I was level 8. Going over the log, I found that those five boars were worth nearly seven thousand experience. Why? Because all but one was over level twenty. The knowledge nearly knocked me onto my ass. No wonder I nearly died when the first boar hit me.

  Hell, this dress likely carried me through each fight more than I had realized. Well, it and the rest of the group taking care of all the rest of the boars so that I could fight one on one.

  “Ok,” Ginny said as she returned. I quickly closed the windows as I gave her, and the bag in her hand, my full attention. “Here is your reward of fifteen gold. Is there anything else I can do to help you today?”

  I shook my head as I took the bag. “No, thank you though.” As soon as I finished talking, she nodded and waved me off. Not willing to wait any longer, I hurried up the stairs and to my room. As soon as I entered, I pulled out my Chisa Katana and looked at its stats.

  Sure enough, the skills section was no longer locked. In fact, a pair of windows popped up alongside the first. The first listed various skills I could purchase. It looked very similar to the one I could use to purchase player skills. Only this page included more information for each. Going so far as to include mana cost, cooldown, and activation time. All of which would make deciding what skills to purchase easier.

  While this page was interesting, it was nothing compared to the last page. A page that included ways to upgrade the weapon. Something that, based on the fact that some of the options had the word used in the uses column, was already partially used.

  There were quite a few more options, but the last one caught my eye. It explained why the weapon had no skills and upgrades minus being materially upgraded to folded steel. Given that the weapon had been reset, I presumably had eleven level-up options to buy. The question was, what to spend them on. Soul Binding was an obvious one. As were self-repair, self-sharpening, and the material upgrade.

  As I purchased the material upgrade, the weapon started to light up. A dull orange-red color started at the edge of the weapon before expanding toward the spine. The metal looked like it was being heated up in a forge. The moment the entire blade had changed color, it darkened. Whereas the faux heating was gradual, this loss of color was instant and startling. As soon as I could see again, I noticed the change in the blade. An off-white metal made up the blade. There was no trace of the layer lines indicative of folded steel. Instead, it looked almost as if it had been made of the new metal since its initial forging.

  That left me with six more options to pick. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as choosing everything. While most of the ones at the top of the list were one-off purchases, the rest could be purchased an unlimited number of times. All of which could be useful at any time. Options to increase the weapon's sharpness or durability.

  Then you had a few more complicated options. Mana Battery increased the amount of mana the sword could hold by a fixed, flat rate while Mana Battery+ increased it by a set percent. Given that I had no clue which way to go, I opted to leave the rest of my choices until at least after I gave the skills a closer look.

  While there were nowhere near as many skills as there were level-up options, they all looked pretty decent if used right. Well, all except for Meld. The description read ‘Mentally become one with your blade.’ Which made no sense. But then again, maybe I should ask Barti or someone about these skills before purchasing anything. Especially when you consider that I had only twenty-six points to spend on them.

  The last thing I did before going to sleep was to check out my weapons updated page.