Going For Something Familiar

Next, they went Clothes shopping.

"Just to ask, what's wrong with what I'm wearing right now?" Vincel asked as they rose to another floor with the elevator and approached a clothing store.

He didn't think what he had on was all too bad. Maybe a change of footwear was necessary but the rest was okay.

Zay'in shrugged.

"What you're wearing isn't enchanted. Protective Enchantments are woven into the dress of an Adventurer to reduce the damage taken. The higher the grade, the better the enchantments"

As they got closer, Vincel became able to read the name and tagline of the Clothing store;

~KACEY's Adventurer's Garbs,

Battle beasts and plunder Gates while decked in style!~

"..."

Zay'in had a quiet talk with the store's clerk. Vincel didn't hear all that they said that well but he caught the phrase 'No higher than D-Grade'.

They were assigned a Store-worker who picked a bunch of clothes and gave them to Vincel. From robes to shirts and trousers to jackets, to trenchcoats all of different designs and colors. Ranging from average looking to expensive and thief-tempting.

The Store-Worker pointed to a changing room.

"You can change in there"

"Thanks," Vincel said.

Inside the Changing room, Vincel promptly took off his satchel and the clothes he had on.

Of all that had been picked for him, Vincel left out all the robes as well as all clothes that had flamboyant colors or designs. He left out all the clothes that looked like a weird mix of ancient with modern styles.

He went for clothes that looked familiar.

'I want something that I'd wear back on my Earth. The last thing I need is to be struggling to move inside a strange robe.' he thought with a small chuckle.

Clothes that looked familiar were in the minority among all that was given to him but he got a sizeable amount to set aside.

He put on a blue shirt and black trousers first.

As he snapped the trouser around his waist, he raised a brow in surprise at how instantly secure his family jewels were at the crotch of the trouser.

There was no need for underwear and he felt better about his subconscious decision to not ask for any outside.

It would have been a bit embarrassing to ask with Zay'in present.

"How about that? So secure."

As Vincel mumbled, he turned from side to side a bit while looking at himself in the full-length mirror.

"I like"

He could almost feel as the trouser and shirt adjusted to match his body proportions. They ended up being not too small and not too big.

'They're perfect'

He finished his dressing by putting on a brown jacket and was in the process of observing his dashing self in the full-length mirror when his vision was blocked by an alert from the System.

[Echantnents Detected]

[Shirt:

Protective Enchantment: D-Grade

Self-Cleaning Enchantment: Unspecified Grade]

[Trousers:

Protective Enchantment: D-Grade

Self-Cleaning Enchantment: Unspecified Grade]

[Jacket:

Protective Enchantment: D-Grade.

Self-Cleaning Enchantment: Unspecified Grade]

"So that's what Zay'in meant by not higher than D-Grade. I should probably take the time to understand the Grades and what they mean exactly."

[Analyzing Enchantment Costs...]

[Analysis Complete]

[All articles of clothing are within User's range and so there will be no penalty for continued use.

Activation of the Enchantments on each piece of Clothing: 1 Arcane Mana Reserve per hour]

[Would User like to activate the Enchantments?]

"Yes!"

He answered out loud and felt the deduction even before the System gave him another alert.

[-3 Arcane Mana Reserves]

[Arcane Mana Reserves: 20/125]

How his Arcane Mana Reserves refilled was what gave Vincel the confidence to say 'Yes'.

He felt his reserves refilled too slowly but he knew for sure they would still always refill more than 3 in an hour so he had nothing to worry about.

The clothes lit up and for a second, Vincel saw various strange symbols appear all over before they dimmed out like they never existed.

After that, Vincel didn't spend much time trying out different clothing styles.

He didn't see the point.

He just picked similar-looking Shirt-trouser pairs with more than enough jackets and knee-length trench coats to wear over them.

All of the clothes had color combinations of four major color schemes; Black, blue, grey, and brown. Occasionally there were splashes of white or red to give the attires a dashing look but it was muted enough for Vincel to ignore.

The quality of the materials was great but with their colors and design, they appeared simple. Just as Vincel liked them.

Vincel stuffed the clothes he took off into the Satchel and was amazed when a screen appeared in front of him with an update;

[+1 Casual wear received at the Harkness Estate: Ungraded]

"Cool"

The System interface Vincel was now looking at was rectangular but divided into smaller squares and the only one currently occupied had a 2d representation of the clothes he just put in.

At the top of the Interface were the words: Satchel Inventory.

Vincel left the changing with all the clothes he had selected, including the ones he was still wearing.

He considered stuffing them all into the Satchel before going out but decides against it.

'Zay'in should pay for them first.

I don't know how but I'm sure the Store will know if I should sneak any of the clothes away'

The moment he was out of the changing room, Vincel saw Zay'in looking away towards the entrance of the store.

She seemed to feel his arrival though and she turned to look at him.

"You're done already?"

"Yeah," Vincel said with a nod. "I left a bunch of them back there though" he added with a gesture at the changing room behind him.

The Store-worker went in to grab them while Zay'in looked him up and down.

"Simple," she said with a smile and then her eyes zeroed in on his crotch.

Eventually, she looked down at his footwear.

"Oh, that won't do," she said and shook her head.

Vincel was still wearing the footwear he had been given at the Estate.

Vincel chuckled while nodding his head.

"Yeah, I agree. Slippers don't go with the outfit"

When the Store-worker clerk came out with all the clothes Vincel had decided not to wear, a majority of which were robes, Zay'in asked for shoes.

The Store-worker brought so many different pairs of shoes. At least one pair from every footwear in the store and as he eyed them all, Vincel only had one thought.

'No Sneakers?! That's a crime!'

The shoes had design differences to what Vincel had known on his earth but as with the clothes he had picked, he found pairs that he felt comfortable wearing.

Pairs that looked like loafers...

Pairs that looked like Combat boots ('An instant favorite')

And Pairs of Sandals ('They just look so comfy and will let me show off my toes. A win all around')

Vincel strapped on a combat boot and was not surprised when a notification came from the system.

[Enchantment Detected]

[Combat boots (Semi-Casual)

Protective Enchantments: D-grade]

''Semi-Casual'? Haha, System seems to have a fashion sense'

[Analyzing Cost...]

[Analysis Complete]

[Combat Boots Grade within User's Range so there will be no penalty for continued use.

Activation of Enchantment- 1 Arcane Mana Reserve Per hour]

[Would User like to activate the Enchantment?]

'Yeah'

[-1 Arcane Mana Reserves]

Zay'in saw the boots light up with Runes upon activation of the Enchantment and she looked at Vincel with a bit of surprise.

"How did you know to do that?"

Activating Enchantments is a deliberate action. So Zay'in felt there was no way Vincel didn't know what he was doing.

She was actually just about to tell him about it.

Vincel smiled slyly.

"Something in my head told me how"

Zay'in looked confused.

"What? You mean instinct?"

Vincel waved it off.

"Yeah, sure. Instinct."

'So she doesn't know about the System.

I wonder if Agatha does. She brought me here so maybe she put it in my head too...'

Zay'in paid for all the clothes and shoes but Vincel was not close enough and didn't pay enough attention to know how much she paid for them all. He just put them all into his Satchel while being amazed at the notifications he was getting.

[+1 Trouser(Black)- D-Grade]

[+1 Jacket(Blue)- D-Grade]

[+1 Shirt (Grey)- D-Grade]

...

[+1 Pair of Loafers- D-grade]

[+1 Pair of Sandals- D-Grade]

...

Everything he put into the Satchel was separated and labeled accurately.

The Stachel remained as light as ever without any indication that it contained anything and without affecting Vincel's walk or speed.

When Vincel called out the Satchel Inventory Interface, he saw all that he had stored occupying individual squares.

Zay'in's voice pulled Vincel out of his conference with the System.

"Let's go. I saved the best for last" she said with a smile.

"What's the best?"

Zay'in got a twinkle in her black eyes and clapped.

"Weapons shopping!"