The next morning I felt refreshed, but I was extra aware as I left. My next attribute for growth had been strength, but I was seriously considering perception or sense. I'd survived by luck alone yesterday, and the realization was like a bucket of cold water. But which was better, perception or sense? At first, I thought perception, but sense included danger sense and spatial awareness which would be perfect for fighting groups. Danger sense might have alerted me to the three or the incoming dagger.
The town of Winsby had multiple areas including a market area full of stalls and stores. The first time I did was look for some new clothes. I didn't want anything too expensive, but neither did I want scraps or something that would tear quickly. In the end, after looking through some stalls, I decided I'd buy some clothes at the guild rather than here. In fact, I quickly realized there wasn't much of a point to me shopping outside of the guild. Even with the increased prices as I wasnt part of the guild, it was just far better.
The guild was always busy, especially the store area, and people moved about selling loot, buying weapons and armor, or dungeon rations. I moved about, heading to the clothes stores first. It was pricey, but eventually, I came across a storefront called 'Fits For The Fit' I snorted at the name and headed inside.
It was a tidy and neat place with clothes and bits of armor on dummies and stands.
"Welcome to Fits for the Fit." A muscular man plainly dressed beckoned me forward. "Come on."
I walked over and shook his hand. "I'm looking for some basic yet lasting armor."
"Then you've come to the right place," he said with a grin. "I'm Harold, and before we begin, I take it you're an adventurer."
"Not yet, but maybe in the future."
"Ah, well then, I shall strive to give you the means to survive." He chuckled. "You said basic yet laying. I have a lot of clothing that could fit that description, but there is one I recommend. Just wait here." He dead through a back door, and I inspected the armor as I waited.
There were all sorts and many different styles. There had to be far more types of metal in this world than on Earth because some of the armor looked very strange. There was a part of grieves with glowing runes that looked like they were made of stone, but had a reflection. A helmet looked like the head of some boar monster with tusks that had symbols etched into them. There was even what looked like a pirate hat with a rather large red and green feather. It might have been my imagination, but as I drew closer, I could hear something faintly.
"Is that waves?"
"Here we are."
I turned back and found Harold holding a set of clothes, brown and grey in color. A pair of pants, a shirt, an undervest, and another layer that went on top. "This is made of a mix of leather and Toarin hide. It's as sturdy as common leather armor, but doesn't weigh as much, and allows for far more flexibility. Plus, it had a cleaning enchantment."
I stared at it, not even relaxing I was nodding. "How much."
"5 silver."
Not as bad as I had expected and well within my budget. I didn't want to spend more than a gold today. "Can I get two of them, and do they come with boots."
"No, but add in 3 silver and I can get you two sets of boots perfect for the nearby dungeon."
I considered it, then nodded. "Done."
I ended up changing into one of the sets immediately. It fit perfectly and felt only slightly heavier than the clothes I'd come into this world with. It really did feel like leather but wasn't as stiff. I moved around for a bit as Harold watched. "Is it to your liking?"
"Definitely." I held out a hand which he shook. "Thank you."
"Thank you for your patronage."
I left with my old clothes in my bag and headed off to find a weapons store. My sword was still fine, but I wanted a backup weapon. Sometimes like a dagger for close range, or maybe throwing knives. It didn't take long to find a store that sold basic weapons and two silver later I had a nice quality dagger and a sheath for it. I had seen other weapons like enchanted swords and I had enough to purchase them, but for now, I was fine with what I had.
After that, I began searching for potential abilities I might be able to buy. There were plenty of basic abilities like strength boosts or basic regeneration which seemed nice, but they were low ranking. There were crazier abilities like one that formed a cloak of wind around your body or encased you in stone. Many factors determined the price, but there was certainly no shortage. Anyone that made a decent living probably had at least one ability.
I couldn't gain another ability until my stats were raised a bit more but I was close. What I wanted was an offensive ability or maybe something that could counteract the effects of Boost a bit. I did actually end up finding a high-end store selling invisibility but it was not cheap at all. I felt like a kid in a candy store who couldn't eat any of the candy and even if he could he could only pick one.
In the end, I picked up some dungeon rations, an ever-burning torch which was just a very long-lasting torch, an enchanted water flask, and a proper map of the first dungeon floor. I left the guild, cursing the fact I couldn't join. If I joined now, then suddenly grew so quickly I'd be noticed. I could just not try and increase my rank, but people would notice the F ranked going into lower floors by himself and coming back out. Maybe a disguise? Something to think about.
On my way home, I was stopped by a group of four guards. For a moment I panicked, thinking back to the three people I'd essentially killed. They surrounded me, but none drew weapons.
"Excuse, but if you could step aside with us for a moment," One of the guards said. "We have some questions."
I nodded, and they led to a corner next to a building. I gulped. "How can I help you."
"We know what occurred last night, and we aren't here to arrest you," the guard said. "Those three are known criminals. We simply want to know what happened."
I sighed and went over everything. The guard nodded. "I see, and do you know who could have ordered this."
I hesitated, and his eyes sharpened. "We can't help you if you don't tell us. I have a hunch after hearing about a clash yesterday that occurred outside of the dungeon, but I would like confirmation."
"Xavier Torn," I said. "He doesn't like me, and we beat his party yesterday."
"Well, thank you."
"Is that it?" I asked. "What will happen to him?"
"We won't be able to put him in chains due to lack of proof, but who knows where rumors start. His father will pay a price, and his reputation will lower once it is known that he lost to you and then tried to have you murdered rather than train for a rematch."
I blinked. "Oh." I'd been worried that Xavier had paid guards off. It happened in countries in Earth, and here it was more likely due to the existence of nobility.
The guard smiled as if he knew what I'd been thinking about. "They've tried, but the Torn family is of lesser nobility and the mayor prides himself on being in control of the town rather than those with the most gold. He'd flog any man who was more loyal to a noble than him."
I thanked him, and let out a huge breath of relief after he was gone. Thank goodness for that, and the mayor. If he'd been more important and this had been another town, I might have been screwed. I headed back to Stoll's with a smile on my face and lighter shoulders.
Before I headed up to my room, I asked Stoll if there was a place in his Inn I could store things. "Just give me anything you want to store, and I'll put it in the safe." I handed him some things, then ordered some food and headed to my room.
The week was coming to a close and soon I would need to choose another attribute. Currently, it was between sense and strength. Sense because it would help me with ambushes and traps and other dangers and strength because, without Boost, I had less strength than the average person. The fact none of my other attributes had improved showed how hard it was to gain a point in any attribute. Some people probably started training the moment they were old enough to. I did know that you couldn't increase attributes until after you hit thirteen years old which did limit things, but it made sense. However, skills could be increased the moment you were able to, so at a young age they probably began training immediately.
Skills weren't just the same as back home. To a certain level they were, but eventually, it reached superhuman levels of insanity. There had been a passage in a book I'd read a few days ago that had talked about a swordsman with such mastery that he'd reach a level of understanding beyond normal human comprehension. The ranks for skills started at ten with novice all the way to a hundred which was when a person would gain the highest rank, paragon.