Fox Maid's New Weapon!

⁜ Yumiko POV

"So much useless junk. This world is so annoying. Why restrictions?"

Yumiko's tail swatted away another useless weapon. Beastman couldn't equip it, leaving her irritated, sending the pretty spiked whip into the distance. 

Her impatience grew as she heard Ryuji finding things for Ryo and Akari.

"So noisy," she sighed.

Tired of searching, she stood in place, closed her eyes, and wondered which direction to search in because of their time limit.

"..."

"Hm?"

'My feet?'

Opening her eyes, a set of claws rested on her lower leg. "???" she sneered for a moment before seeing they pointed in a direction.

'Go that way?'

"Whatever," she groaned, finding it faster than her current plan.

"..."

She strangely used her tail, letting the wind remove the dust as she wafted it left and right. "Hm?" Yumiko watched it stop in a particular direction.

'... Closer.'

Yumiko followed the feeling and walked forward five steps. Her tail swiped once again, stopping as she found a small box. The padlock was so rusty that it broke the moment she lifted the box with a powerless clang.

"!?" Yumiko raised her brow, and her pupils focused on the box as she became interested in knowing what lingered inside.

'Found one,' she thought as she carefully opened the box.

"...?" Her eyes became brighter and shone like small lights, and her beautiful lips let out a pleased smirk.

'My item?'

Yumiko didn't know why, but that was the feeling in her chest upon seeing the item. It felt like something guided her to this item because it was an item only Beastmen could use!

"I wonder if I can use them well?" 

Inside the box was a pair of gauntlets and greaves, made from what seemed to be an extremely lightweight metal, neither iron nor bronze, but something that felt a little magical as it vibrated and throbbed when her fingers slid across the surface.

She held the gauntlet up, trying it on in different ways before equipping one, only to find that should she punch out, a sharp blade would extend from above her fist, the blade with a strange colour, not silver or copper but a dark blue, with silver markings.

'Wow!?' 

Her heart felt a rush of power and delight each time she tested them. The blade retracted when she pulled back, but when practising the forms Ryuji taught her, the blade and gauntlets almost seemed perfect for this martial arts style.

'Who exactly was Ryuji's mother?'

Yumiko's questions received no answer while she wore the greaves, the metal cool on her skin.

However, once equipped, she felt warmth, as if the two pieces were one whole, as her body felt filled with power and comfort.

"Like they are made for me," she murmured as she stretched her body, practising Ryuji's moves, "..."

She felt a sense of peace, closing her eyes.

Her instincts felt like never before. Yumiko's body seemed to react to the best position, her legs naturally separating, her hips twisting just the right amount for maximum power and avoiding her bad habit of lunging too far.

It was like something guided her. 

"So strong," she commented, not noticing that the Greaves and Gauntlets were not just for offence but improved defence; the lightweight metal seemed to sense the moment she was about to take a hit and send a shockwave toward the attack.

****

Meanwhile, as Yumiko practised in a trance, Ryuji found exactly what he wanted. The pants and greaves matched his new chest piece; unlike the Roman style, he knew there was no leather skirt but a pair of tight, black, padded, flexible, blade-resistant pants with copper-plated leather boots.

"This seems the best fit for me."

When he changed his clothes, replacing the worn linen for these pants with both padding and comfort, he noticed a sense of relaxation, as if the clothes had been waiting for him to arrive and equip the full set.

"Let's see?"

Ryuji began jogging on the spot, performing the training drills with his mother. His speed and movements increased significantly, and his body's force seemed to increase.

"I'm impressed! The clothes feel and move so well," he commented.

His eyes kept scanning the ground, searching for more things to assist Akari or Ryo, but there was nothing so far, and their time ended. As he headed to the exit, he noticed something beautiful bouncing and hopping along the aisles using his mother's martial arts. There were no mistakes. It was captivating.

"Yumiko?"

"Hum?" Yumiko seemed to awaken, noticing Ryuji watching her. "Oh? What do you think? The weapons were useless, but I found these?"

[Beast Warriors Gauntlets + Greaves of Martial Prowess] (Growth Type - Level 1)

—Increase learning speed of martial arts and combat skills by 100%

—Grit Increased by 2

—Agility Increased by 2

—Strength Increased by 1

—Self Repairing.

***

When Ryuji saw her weapon and armour, he was amazed at how strong they seemed compared to his basic equipment, which would never grow. The items would grant her close to three levels of attributes and repair themselves when she killed monsters.

It would devour part of their soul and magic to repair and improve them slowly!

'I am glad; this makes up for her lack of base attributes, or rather, because of the ring, she can level once again as a Beastman. Maybe there is more to learn about other races, but I can't do it in this kingdom.'

"Did I do well, Ryuji?" Her eyes narrowed, a simple show of her confidence as she nudged her hips against him while enjoying herself a little more.

"Yeah, you picked an amazing item."

"Fufu, then you must become my knight, here to protect me from harm then."

Her words trailed off as she lowered her head and kissed his cheek before walking away with a slightly red face. However, her fluffy ears and tail wagging gave her embarrassment away.

"So cute," Ryuji petted her head, unable to say anything to such a beauty.

He couldn't handle how she shifted from a mature adult to a lovely young woman, sometimes making his heartthrob, but the movements were so close to his mother that he felt a sense of crisis.

'She is going to improve quickly. I should practise harder to keep my advantage!' 

Her changes ignited Ryuji's desire to train even more. He wants to remain stronger than Yumiko when she acts strangely mature and adult, and it drives him crazy.

"Umu, shall we go find something nice to eat? I am hungry after training in this dusty room for so long!" Yumiko announced while lightly stretching.

Ryuji just nodded, heading toward the exit. "That sounds good."

"Ryu, make sure you take good care of me," Yumiko smiled. "Or I'll beat you!"

Her fist pushed forward, revealing the deadly blade; even her boots did the same with a small sharp blade that flipped out when she performed her attacks.

"Of course. Now let's go find Ryo and Akari. They might be ready."

"Nn!" she agreed, taking his hand, her ears twitching as her tail swished back and forth like a kitten who found her favourite toy.

While Ryuji felt relieved, he refused to separate from Yumiko after getting to know her. This item and the fact that she could improve faster now. He was confident she could handle the D-rank dungeons or higher as they moved forward.