14 | Party/Duo
Keen doesn't want to bother Vi while she shops for her new clothes. The one she is wearing has been through a lot. It has no special property or whatsoever. Just a mere clothing like his simple shirt and shorts upon his arrival in Esprit.
He has no idea how to choose a proper dress for her as well. No girlfriend he can remember, not even one crush he gifted materially. He remembers Anika though, a high school classmate he serenaded but dumped him to be with the chic magnet who only broke her heart later on.
"This one is great for you!" A saleslady takes out a yellow cocktail dress.
"A more serene one with the vibe of a goddess is perfect for your slim body." Another saleslady approaches with an aquamarine and white long gown with a high slit reaching halfway the outer sides of the thighs. It even has a long, semi-transparent fabric connecting her two ring fingers through a pair of silver rings.
Another eager seller in the grandiose Topsy Town Female Finesse offers a stylish outfit inspired by a scout ability class. It is composed of green, emerald, and moss green colors, accompanied by a black mask covering her eye area.
Vi's eyes dart from left to right, unable to decide. The clothes have Transfer-relevant attributes, to be fair. Additional evasion, magic affinity, and even camouflage effects.
Keen finally steps in, whispering to another saleslady with dark brown hair who is just trying to find another dress suitable for his partner.
The saleslady nods, then erupts in excitement while she rushes to the storage room.
The other women stop their ushering to Vi and wait with obvious curiosity. When the brown-haired saleslady returns, she is carrying a fuschia box with white ribbon. She hands it to Vi and guides her to the fitting room. A few minutes later, she walks out with a dark brown, brocade clasp corset over a white chemise with frills on the sleeves and ruffles along the chest. The upper garment is partnered with a black hitch skirt and stockings on her legs.
Keen looks at her bare feet. He decides to leave it to Vi for the choice of footwear. He only nods with approval upon analyzing her full appearance.
All the saleswomen and other buyers in the shop fall prey to Vi's magnificent presence. One couple even argues because the guy is staring with his mouth wide open. The amount of attention she is getting makes her look at the ground and walk awkwardly towards Keen.
"What kind of dress is this?" she inquires with a whisper and a frown.
"That look certainly makes you look like my proper subordinate." He answers proudly with hands on his pockets.
"Lovely miss. Does it fit oddly or uncomfortably?" the saleslady who brought the attire inspects it meticulously.
"Not really," she answers while smiling.
She isn't lying. The material of the dress is light and soft, almost as if she is covered by fluffy cotton. According to the personnel of Female Finesse, the attire also has physical and magic defense, as well as agility buffs, which makes it useful for her ability class. It can even be enchanted with up to seven more buffs. The only missing factor is having an equipment that can provide concealment so she can effectively use her passive skills.
"Do you have a footwear that can be enchanted as well?" Vi asks the brown-haired saleslady, who nods and returns later with flat, black boots.
"These can be enchanted with agility and concealment magic. It's called Hermes," the saleslady explains.
'Magic, huh?' Keen sighs. He doesn't know any enchantment magic, lest any magic at all. He has magic aptitude attributes in his ability class but has acquired no magic skills so far, even in his current level.
"I'll take them," Vi grabs the footwear and proceeds to fit them on.
"You only have to find a salon to have the complete look," the saleslady winks at her.
As suggested, Keen and Vi proceeds to find a salon, although she seems to be nervous.
"Never been to a salon?" Keen teases.
"I find no need to do so," she looks away from him.
He chuckles, then clears his throat.
Right next to the Female Finesse garments shop is a beauty salon called Gemini. Upon entry, the owner quickly greets and entertains the two in a very lively manner. Her name is, unsurprisingly, Gemini.
"I have the perfect idea for your hair, dear," she reaches for a quick grasp of Vi's hair, "...but first let me do some tweaks to make them even more beautiful."
Despite an obvious nervousness, Vi follows Gemini while Keen sits silently on a couch in the reception hall.
"Is there really a need for a hair grooming if we are going for monster hunts, boss raids and dungeon dives?" Keen mumbles to himself with crossed arms.
After almost an hour of waiting, Vi comes out to the reception hall with a fresher appearance. Her hair has been curled halfway from the tip while having some braided from the sides to the back of her head and fixed there with a hair clip. The cinnamon rose color of her hair makes her look like a goddess in that hairstyle.
Furthermore, her face seems to be glowing and smoother than before. The facial features that he enjoyed looking at while teasing her gives him a different feeling now. She also has a sweeter scent due to the shampoo used on her hair.
'Did I just have a nosebleed?' Keen clears his throat.
"I didn't wanna ruin her natural beauty with makeup. Only a regular facial wash would suffice," Gemini giggles.
Vi looks at her and offers two pieces of gold coins. Gemini's eyes light up in awe, insisting she is only charging two silver coins. One hundred silver coins is equivalent to one gold coin. Additionally, ten copper coins are equivalent to one silver coin.
"We finished a boss raid yesterday so we can manage a few luxury today." Keen stands up and radiates a dominating presence unconsciously.
"Wow! That's great. So you two are really strong fighters." Gemini grabs Vi's payment with high spirits and proceeds with signing the receipt.
◎◎◎
Eron sits atop a large rock with eyes closed, arms crossed and legs on an Indian sit.
"How long are we gonna sit here waiting?" The snake enchanter playfully massages the chin of a king cobra wrapped around his arm.
"They will come for sure, although their cooperation is uncertain," the blind woman sits on a conjured purple chair with the two knight familiars standing vigilantly beside her.
"I heard they survived the boss raid yesterday because the famous paladin, Sir Isidore, was with them." The ranger brushes his nose with a thumb.
"Also Elise, who has very powerful support spells," The teenage boy adds.
"She's the apprentice of the medical experts, right?" Rona brandishes her daggers, admiring the clarity of her reflection on its surface.
"The energetic kid called Jerud may have done nothing significant to that raid," Arlan chuckles maniacally. He swings his scythe to intimidate a wandering deer grazing near their group from a fair distance, then smiles with a tongue sliding between his lips. "That woman. I'll be feasting on her tonight."
Eron's brow twitches for a bit.
"Not gonna happen." Vi's strong-willed voice appears from behind Arlan. Beside her is Keen, whose hands are on his side pockets.
"We're taking the dungeon and getting all the loots," he conjures his pair of bone lance from thin air.
"Interesting!" Eron jumps beside their location with a smirk. "Let's have a contest, then."
"We're not up for games," Vi grips the poisonous dagger stationed at her right thigh.
"If you find the treasure we are trying to get a hold of, you win and all the loots are yours." Eron unmounts the hexagonal shield from his back. With a smug smile, he continues, "If we win, you and all your loots so far will be mine."
"Deal." Keen shrugs.
Vi turns around to him, but she realizes the Lion's Den guild may actually be no match for her monstrous mentor.
"Deal," she steps back.
After describing the talisman they are trying to find, Eron allows the assassin duo to proceed in the dungeon first, but they refuse.
"What confidence. So you're saying you can get ahead of us even if we go in first? I'll take you up on that." Eron signals his guild members to put their guards up before entering the dungeon portal.
The monk casts multiple layers of protection and body enhancement buffs for Eron, a couple of agility boosts for the ranger Edward, concealment sutras for Arlan, and skill effect improvements for the teenage explosive experts guy named Justine. He mentions skills like
The blind woman Shina, on the other hand, enchants a spell called
The snake enchanter casts
Arlan has a sly smile lurking in his cheeks while glancing at their leader while Rona is shaking with clenched teeth while holding her prized pair of daggers before the guild members finally walk into the ten meter radius dungeon portal.