Looking in the mirror, Alex admired his fantasy style clothing with pride. He had designed most of it after getting some help from Alan for functionality and had Sharla and his girls help him in designing things.
His engineering knowledge also came in handy as he wrote blueprints for these things which surprised him, and he managed to come up with some really cool gadgets.
Starting with his limbs, his hands had several different rings on them including the storage rings, communication ring, essence ring, and a few others he bought that he thought were helpful. He almost looked like a pimp but that was the least of his worries.
He wore fingerless gloves that led to assassin armbands with hidden knives on the underside of his arms and had several pairs of different gauntlets in one of his storage rings where all his weapons were.
His legs were covered in a bit thicker leather armor with some metal plates embedded into it for more defense in the big parts of his limbs like his shins. His heavy boots were made for hiking and were flexible enough for fighting using a special material that changed its hardness based on how you stepped.
The boots also had hidden knives under his boots that he could pull out by tapping his heel or striking with enough force and there were also pockets for knives inside his boots that weren't too uncomfortable.
His upper arms weren't covered in any armor to allow him free range of motion and his thighs were also covered in tough leather that had several belt loops for extra knives or other smaller weapons.
He had some metal knee pads that connected to his shin armor so that it didn't get too much in the way but still protected him.
Now for his torso, it was mostly heavier armor. He had a hard time deciding whether he should go for something lighter or not but decided against it. He was an anomaly and would undoubtedly go up against people or monsters way above his pay grade so he would rather sacrifice a bit of movement if it meant surviving a deadly strike that he would surely get hit by.
His torso was covered in more thick leather armor that had several large metal plates that covered up his chest and abs in segments in line with his muscle structure. It was a much tougher material that wasn't as flexible as his limb armor and it was quite heavy even for him.
It was solely made for defense and had no hidden pockets like his other stuff did. His torso armor went all the way from his shoulders down to his pelvis where it met his leather pants armor. There were no sleeves on this torso piece since he wanted mobility for his arms but he had some more flexible metal plates on the shoulder part of the armor and a similar heavy plated part all down his back.
The best part about all his armor is that it didn't look just like straight, plane armor. It was dyed masterfully, with his pants being black and his top being a dark grey. The best part about this world Nova was that magic helped a lot in the creation of textiles and such.
They were able to create all his armor to look pretty much just like normal clothes and make them only a little bit heavier than them depending on how much defense went into it. He was very happy about what he got but his favorite part was definitely the blue trench coat he was wearing on top of it all.
Its base color was blue with gold and black trimmings while a set of easy-to-undo buttons were under a bit of excess material on the front trim. The outer pockets were warm, but also had another button inside them that could lead him into his coat where the inside was lined not only with soft fur to keep him warm but also several rows of sleeves where he could hold smaller weapons as well.
The fur wasn't too fluffy that it was an annoyance and he had enough breathing room in the coat to not constantly feel the weapons he hid, hit against his armor. The back had the coat of arms of Aria's church on it, which was a flower dripping from its petals as it turned into water, and had a hood that was hidden into the popped collar of his coat.
He could also bring the collar down since it would get annoying but it served to help cover his massive tattoo that stretched all over his body.
The entire trench coat was embedded with layers of hard leather and metal plates that served as extra protection and he splurged even more on this coat by getting it enchanted!
Everything he was wearing right now other than the accessories were rank 2 armors. The ranking system was simple, going from 1 to 8, similar to the Rings for humans, and provided extra stats depending on how well they were made.
These stats wouldn't show on his Panel, but all the armor would definitely raise his defense by a lot. Rank 2 armor was made for well, 2nd Ring adventurers or people who wanted it and was pretty expensive. He was glad he amassed such a fortune with the bandit raid and was even able to get his coat to be rank 3!
It was at rank 3, when artisans and blacksmiths could start adding enchantments to their creations. Lower Ring materials were too weak to withstand the constant pressure that the embedded essence would deal to the item so it became common knowledge that rank 3 was the good stuff.
The lower ranked items were for the newer adventurers or people who couldn't progress further in their journey to the top of the food chain but it was also the most common types of items out there.
You had to remember, that the majority of this world were common citizens with no Rings, those who were evolvers were less than 40% of the total population of all the human kingdoms combined while those above rank 3 were even less, only to get smaller exponentially as you went up in rings.
Enchantments specifically also didn't have to be done by the same blacksmith or tailor, they could make a deal with a third party that was proficient in the runic language and had experience in engraving with essence.
The real process of enchanting was known only by those in the field but it was also common knowledge that they used their essence in a way like a pencil or pen. By concentrating their essence on their finger tips, they could embed that essence into the weapon or armor or whatever they were making and get it to hold.
It was much more complicated than that but Alex wasn't going to worry about it since he would be a lousy enchanter anyways. In fact, a lot of these professions he would suck at, even blacksmithing since at some point, he would come to a road block where only essence could make him better, and allow him to make stronger weapons or armor.
It was disappointing but he had come to terms with it.
But that didn't mean he didn't have a plan for a profession.
He had done plenty of research at the city's library and asked people like Alex and Sharla, as well as other adventurers about the different kinds of professions in the world. The one he felt he would be the best at was undoubtedly an Imagineer.
Imagineers were basically magic engineers. They would use gears, springs, and plenty of other mechanical parts or weapons and embed them with E-stones to "program" them to do different things. His issue with essence would still hinder him a bit, but it didn't need nearly as much essence usage as other professions.
Plus, with his cursed Otherworldly Soul title, he could finally put that blessing part to use and hopefully make really powerful weapons or items not only with his high efficiency but also using his knowledge from Earth.
Although he didn't know the specifics of its moving parts, he was most looking forward to making a gun and blasting away his enemies.
He giggled to himself making his girls look at him weirdly. His small earrings and accessories glinted off the light from the room while his small man bun at the back of his head bobbed a bit. He had shaved, but left a little bit of a goatee for himself and kept his hair relatively long. He got used to it during his time in the forest and his girls seemed to like braiding it.
Speaking of his girls, they decided to pierce his ears one night, and as the good boyfriend he was, had to deal with it. The holes in his ears ended up coming in handy since he was able to purchase some earrings with stats that improved his stamina slightly.
The stat improvements weren't large, but when those little things kept stacking together with all the accessories he had like a necklace and chains on his belt, he started to rack up the points. These stat points acted like extra strength, but couldn't be added to his total stats since they weren't physically a part of him.
Unless he was willing to turn his body into an enchantment, he would only get these stats as temporary help. He had plenty of goodies also in his storage rings, some for survival like tents or cooking supplies, while also carrying tons of different weapons.
Just as he was going to check to make sure he didn't forget any of them, Alicia brought him back to the real world.
"You look very handsome babe." She smiled brightly but her welled-up tears revealed her inner thoughts.
Kaya was in a similar manner as she tried to hide her watery eyes but couldn't help but let a sniffle escape. Alex also felt his eyes get a bit wet so he brought his girls into his embrace and let the dams break open.
Alicia and Kaya cried onto his brand new attire but he could care less. They could soak all his gear in pussy juices for all he cared since they matter much more than a few material possessions.
"I love you girls." He said kissing their heads.
"I love you baby." "I love you too Alex." The girls said at the same time.
These last 6 months flew by fast. It felt like yesterday that he was waking up in pain, unsure of where or who he was. He remembered Aria's introduction and his scary times with Alan before getting laid with the cute, shy maid before they became close friends.
He remembered all that horrible training and almost dying dozens of times while actually dying once, even though he didn't know it. He remembered the lonely nights due to all the rumors and the bright light that Alicia would shine on him to help him out of those dark times.
He remembered meeting Kaya and slowly becoming friends so that it wasn't just Alicia he could lean on. Her outgoing personality always managed to put a smile on his face and her teasing was annoying, but all in good fun.
He remembered the Ether forest and all those stupid beasts he had to kill, all the pain and suffering he went through. He remembered the suffering the Mantrigeld caravan also went through and the sorrowful expressions of the young Kailey and her Aunt Eva.
He remembered taking his anger out on those garbage bandits and meeting his lovely slave 'Bitch,' aka Grace, and saving the other women before getting them to safety with the help of the greedy miners.
He remembered bits and pieces of his fight with the 3rd Rings, the muscle head assassin, and the Basilisk, where he broke past his limits to become a dual Avatar and truly become a monster in this world.
He remembered the hate he felt for the bitch named Marianne and all the drama that surrounded her. He got his revenge by breaking down her pride, even if it was just a little, and promising to kill her if she ever threatens his loved ones again.
He remembered coming home and getting confessed to by Alicia and Kaya, gaining two beautiful girls, inside and out, as girlfriends on top of his incredibly sexy and loyal companion Grace. His harem shared many romantic memories that he would always treasure.
And the sex! Oh baby the sex was to die for!
The majority of his time at the Setter Inn was definitely spent eating ass and fucking bitches. He met many girls with all kinds of personalities and all kinds of kinks and he even played with fire by messing around with his mentor/boss's wife and daughter.
The two crazy redheads made him cum buckets and hold his neck in fear of it being cut off. He remembered all the crazy nights full of drinks and sex, as well as the sweet, romantic dates he went on with his girls.
He remembered fighting the terrifying Ego that almost killed him and was now sitting under his skin. He learned so many things from the people around him, whether it was basic daily items to use or important knowledge about how the world works.
He remembered the last 3 days that went by so fast with the amount of crazy sex and love that went around their little dorm room, wishing it could have lasted longer.
He was extremely grateful for all the things these people did for him. Even the ones who cursed and threw shit at him for all the rumors, and even Marie, for trying to take his life! If it wasn't for all these experiences he went through, he wouldn't be the man he was today.
The last 6 months were time he would never get back, but he would never regret a thing he did. The people he met, the love he felt, and all the trauma and pain he endured. It was all him.
He may not remember much of anything about the past Alex, the asshole who showed up at the door to the Setter's Inn and demanded a place to stay, but the Alex he was looking at in the mirror was no longer that same person.
Even if he would someday find out who he was, whether he was a beggar or a young master, it wouldn't matter. He would never go back to that life because it was no longer him. The moment his soul was attached to this body, Alex was now on a different path.
There were many secrets his own body and soul held, but he would make sure to unravel them all on this journey to Godhood.
After all, he had a Goddess to fuck.
"You two okay?" He looked with concern between Kaya and Alicia.
They nodded and wiped away the last of their tears from their swollen eyes and smiled brightly.
They didn't say anything more and grabbed his hands as they walked toward the door, and left their love nest together for the last time.
His trench coat flapped a bit behind him as he walked with his girls toward the Inn. On the bottom of the coat in gold words, it read:
"Freeloader"