Trying Out the New Gear I
"What the hell are you two doing!?" Lili finally managed to get her words out of her mouth.
The two girls stopped momentarily before turning towards the Pallum and answering her question.
"Changing in the outfit Nox-sama gave me." Haruhime innocently replied but her blush did not make her too convincing, even if she was actually being honest.
Simultaneously, Aisha gave a much spicier answer.
"Putting on a nice show for my handsome lover~" She provocatively said.
Lili was looking redder and redder as she just wanted to blow up but couldn't. In the end, it looked like she had deflated.
She was just about to leave and change when her usual fire returned to her eyes.
Turning back to where the other two were, she also started undressing and almost as sexually as Aisha too.
But, with the clear shame and embarrassment in her face along with her diminutive and innocent, appearance, it ended up being even more arousing.
Nox just started entranced at her which embarrassed Lili even more but also made her feel great that the boy she loved found her so attractive.
Aisha on the other hand, whistled in appreciation from the side, showing her approval and jokingly admitting defeat which made Lili pout, adding to her cute looks.
Soon, they were dressed up in their new gear and admiring themselves except for little Lili who looked like a small tank, being a sexy and curvy one.
Aisha looked a dive courtesan while Haruhime looked like an oriental princess, only Lily was decked in full plate, her armor being modeled after Albedo's from the Overlord LN.
Despite her displeasure, she soon scolded herself inwardly for her ungrateful behaviour when her beloved Nox-san had gifted her a set of first rate plate armor, tailor made for her and sourced from materials so expensive she had barely laid eyes on them before.
'Alright girls! Any discomfort or size problems?" Nox asked.
"No, Nox-sama!" Lili responded first, as if shaking away from her previously ungrateful self.
"It's sublime, Nox-sama!" Haruhime followed behind.
Aisha on the other hand, who always seemed to have a sultry answer on the tip of her tongue seemed to still be lost in thought, admiring her new outfit.
"Aisha?" Nox called out to her.
"Eh?" She suddenly looked up to see everyone staring at her.
"I asked if there was any problem with the outfit?" Nox reiterated his point.
"No, no. E-Everything is perfect . . . yes, perfect . . ." Aisha trailed off, seemingly returning to admiring her outfit with a lost expression on her face.
'Hmm . . . I'll talk to Aisha later, find out what's going on . . .' Nox thought.
"Well then, be sure to wear them on your next dive and tell me how they performed alright?" He requested, receiving positive responses from all three.
Nox then left them to their own devices before going on his way to test his own new armor and gear.
Meanwhile, the girls did the exact same since they already had a dive planned and were supposed to go and pick up Naaza at the entrance to the middle floors, then descend back to the 19th floor together before making their last preparations and beginning the true dive into the 19th floor and beyond.
All of them were already Level 2 with all abilities at S-999 before the Level Up as will as multiple development abilities due to the loophole Nox had discovered so they were more than capable of handling those floors as a team, so long as they didn't overextend.
With their new gear, they would be handle to handle even more than before so they were truly looking forward to this dive. Not to mention they could show off their gifts to Naaza.
They swiftly climbed the floors and met Naaza, greeting her immediately upon seeing her.
"Hello Naaza-san! Did you wait long?" Haruhime greeted.
"No . . . Not at all, Haruhime-san." Naaza responded in her usual low tone but her eyes went from one gril to the other, noticing their flashy new garments.
"Noticed? Nox-sama's gifts! I told you at the party that he wouldn't forget us!" Haruhime bragged.
Lili also raised her head up in pride but Aisha who would usually throw out a teasing remark at such a juncture just kept quiet, seemingly contemplating something.
Haruhime noticed this and called out to her.
"Aisha-san?"
"Hmm? What is it?" Aisha asked if she didn't know anything.
". . .' Haruhime paused a bit and even Lili looked a bit weirdly from the side.
'I'll leave it to Nox-sama since this seems to have something to do with the gift he gave her.' Haruhime decided in her mind.
"Oh, it's nothing. Nevermind." She said.
Aisha just shrugged.
"If you say so." She replied at the same time.
Meanwhile, Naaza continued observing the girls' new gear with jealousy bubbling in her eyes but an unchanged expression.
She had a good eye and head for money, as such, Naaza could tell the fine make and ridiculously expensive base materials that were used in the making of the girls' new apparel.
'Their weapons were already a surprise beyond belief and now . . . full outfits of the same or even superior quality . . .'
"Where did Nox-san get them?" Naaza inquired, intent on knowing more.
"Personally made by Nox-sama himself!" Haruhime announced with pride, eager to brag about her beloved husband's skills.
"Seriously!?" Naaza was shocked.
'I knew he was a talented herbalist and alchemist and that he was also learning the trade of blacksmithing at the Hephaestus Familia's place but to think he was already at such a level . . .' She thought with awe.
Haruhime and Lili greatly appreciated Naaza's reaction as they felt even prouder of their beloved's achievements like they were their own as well.
The four girls then went down once again to the 18th floor without any incident and made the last few checks and preparations for their true dungeon dive.
The 19th to 24th floors, the Three Dungeon, was the area the girls spend their time in. Aisha was nearly Level 3 at this point since she fulfilled her development ability quota much sooner than her companions due to have quite a few more to start with. As such, she was quite a bit more powerful.
Her initiative and general bloodthirstiness in combat as well as the fact she used strength to wield her large blade, agility and dexterity for her masterful movements, magic for long ranged attacks and even endurance due to her violent and aggressive fighting style, made her overall progress in all of her abilities far smoother than specialized adventurers like Lili and Haruhime.
This, combined with their great weapons and auxiliary items, meant the girls could actually go deeper into the Dungeon than they had been but they were playing it safe since there was no need for them to do so and the gains of such an action were insignificant when compared to the risks.
At the start, Haruhime casted her usual buffs on everyone.
For her Shin Kokonoe magic, she only had three tails at the moment so she could only afford to do triple casts but she had a massive Mind Pool for her Level and her basic abilities were quite a bit greater than what her status showed due to the tails boosting her foundation itself and not the status.
"Kitsunebi: Zenko!"
Three beautiful small fox spirits made out of fox fire coalesced and hovered behind each of Haruhime's companions and, with a second cast, she created on for herself as well.
They would constantly heal and enhance whoever they were hovering around or "possessing" as spirits.
"Purification Barrier." This time, with two casts as well, one for her companions and one for herself, Haruhime created barriers that would block a certain amount of damage before disappearing.
"Chimes of Fortune." The last buff and an area of effect one that she only needed to cast once for everyone, herself included. It slightly raised everyone's abilities and had a stamina, health and Mind recovery effect.
After doing this, Haruhime stopped with considerable surprise.
Lili noticed this and asked her what was the matter.
"Something wrong?"
"Not all!" Haruhime replied.
"It's the exact opposite in fact!" She added.
So something good?" This time, Naaza inquired.
"Yes. Normally, this round of buffs would exhaust one of my Mind Pools nearly fully but now, I still have half left." Haruhime excitedly shared.
"!" Naaza was shocked.
Lili and Aisha, whose focus had returned since the start of their dive due to the dangers of absent mindedness, were shocked as well but not nearly as much.
"Guess that mask is just that good of a gift eh? Worthy of the main wife?" Aisha teased.
Haruhime blushed but was happy and it showed.
"Well, let's get going so we can test ours out too!" Lili excitedly declared to the agreement of the other two.
Naaza, the only one without cool new gear could only wallow in disappointment while mulling on something inside her mind.
''I'll discuss it with Miach-sama once I get back . . ." She thought to herself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!
The link is: https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/lusoba without the extra dots of course.
You'll get to read up to FOUR weeks ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.
There's also my other novel Kage of Kages, do check it out!
I would greatly appreciate any support since this is going to be my breadwinner.