I've Turned Into A Fox Girl?

Freja led the group to the indoor arena and got Shaman to stand in the middle.

"Alright, to show you what your clothes actually do, I am going to hit you. Don't worry I won't kill you, but brace yourself for impact." Freja formed a fist while smiling at Shaman.

"A-are you sure?" Shaman was not confident that she would be fine and wanted to run, but that would be pointless, especially against Freja.

"Don't worry these are not tier 9 clothes for nothing." Freja then punched Shaman in the stomach without any warning. She was launched across the arena, but to her surprise, she didn't feel any pain and didn't even lose her balance.

"What the hell." Shaman slid on her feet to a stop, then grabbed her stomach wondering what happened.

"Now as you just saw, I punched Shaman with probably a quarter of my strength so the equivalent to a tier 8. These clothes you are wearing also act as armour, but do be careful since they are not invincible." Freja lifted her finger up and suddenly Shaman was picked up by strings of hardened blood. She was then carried right next to Freja who seemed to prepare for another attack.

This time it was much weaker, but it hurt more than the first punch.

*Cough* *Cough* Shaman gasped for air, not expecting that her new layer of protection would suddenly vanish.

"What is protecting you is an invisible mana barrier, but if it sustains too much damage then you are no longer protected. Of course, you can channel your own mana into it, but it will cost way too much and it's better to let it regenerate with ambient mana." Freja then flipped up Shaman's skirt slightly.

Elysia and Clara were about to charge at Freja, but they quickly saw that she was showing something on Shaman's skirt rather than flashing them. Silver and Elanor looked away waiting for the predictable clash, but to their surprise nothing happened. Turning back they saw that Freja only folded the edge of the skirt, only revealing a bit of the rune-work hidden behind the hems.

Shaman freaked out and tried to pull down her skirt, but Freja stopped her by restraining Shaman's wrist with blood shackles.

"Pffhaha, glad to see you didn't go into a blind rage. Anyway, as you can see these runes work a little differently from magic circles. Unlike magic which requires the user both to cast and activate, runes act according to their own set conditions and work differently depending on the kind of material they are inscribed on." While Freja gave her explanation, the runes on the rim of Shaman's skirt lit up indicating they activated. Freja also placed Shaman down as she was done being the guinea pig of the demonstration.

"So for Shaman, her clothes are made out of an ice fox skin which will enhance her ice thanks to the runes. I couldn't find any space creatures since well, can't really go to space so your stardust will not get a buff." Freja chose animals with synergistic elements for each member as the effect they provide is too good to ignore.

"Elysia you were given a Pheonix, Clara a lightning dragon, Silver a dark wolf and Elanor your animal was a sky snake." Freja disclosed what each of their clothes was made out of causing them to inspect their clothes. They noticed the runes littered on the insides thanks to the light glow they produced.

"How come we couldn't get these before?" Shaman had this question ever since she found out these were tier 9 apparel and wanted to know since Freja suggested it had to do with their tier being too low.

"Well, that's due to the property of the material and skins. If some regular person decided to wear them, they would be sapped of all their mana and die out. As for why it's ok for you to use now, that's because when one ranks up their mana channels go through a strengthening process which improves their resistance to outside interference." It sounded rather scary since it felt like this could be a tool for murder, but the requirement to make it was tier 9 monsters which don't come by too easily.

"So then how come you got tier 9, not 10?" Elysia felt like Freja was going the extra mile so why did she stop at a measly tier 9?

"There is another reason and that's because at tier 10 clothes made from these beasts take form from within your soul. They are not tailored as I have done with your current clothes, so it's always better to wait until you reach that level as this will be your... let's call it ultimate form." Freja didn't have a name for it, but aside from tier 10 being almost impossible to get, it just wasn't worth having at a lower tier since it will be downgraded in quality.

"Do you have one?" Clara was rather curious since Freja herself was tier 10 so surely she had her own set of clothes.

"Of course I do." Freja clapped her hands twice and black flames covered her body. Changing from her black shirt and jeans, her casual presence suddenly became authoritative.

As the flames slowly faded from her body, they revealed an imposing imperial uniform in black and gold. Atop it, a red cape with white fur adorned her neck and black gloves covered her hands. The whole outfit screamed 'empress' and the group finally understood why people were so afraid of her.

"Now this will be something you have to earn in the future when you become tier 10, but this outfit is the personification of my soul. When the time comes, remember - you only have one shot to get it right." Freja knew the kind of presence she carried when wearing her uniform so she quickly changed back to her casual clothes.

Suddenly it felt like they could breathe again making them realise they were holding their breath. Everyone was impressed and now had something to look forward to once they reached the top.

"Are there any more questions about your clothes?" Freja finished her demonstration, so she figured it was better if they asked about any concerns they may have rather than her having to explain everything in detail.

"What happens if our clothes get damaged? Will we need to go out and kill tier 9 monsters?" Elanor was worried she would ruin her new clothes since they seemed too precious.

"Ah don't worry! The clothes have a repair rune, so as long as there is a piece of it left, injecting your mana will regenerate it. However, it takes a lot of mana so do this after clearing the dungeon or once you have a break. Annnnd yes Elysia that means you don't need to carry around a bunch of spare stockings fufu~." Freja instantly knew what Elysia was thinking since it was written all over her face that her head was in the gutter.

"O-oh ahem yes thank you." Elysia blushed since now everyone knew what her intentions were.

"Anyway, what do the runes actually do for our elements?" Shaman created little ice spikes in her hands, but she didn't feel any change.

"The runes will reduce the amount of mana needed since the material comes from an elemental beast meaning there is more ambient mana of your respective element. However, there are other effects that you will have to find out for yourself since they are unique for each set of clothes, so it's up to you to find out what they are." This was the secret to the outfits and is why they are so rare and expensive. Each outfit had a different set of powers which even Freja didn't know, but even if she did it was better for them to find out themselves.

"I see." Shaman was dying to know more as even inspecting her clothes did not show any results, setting her curiosity on fire.

"If there are no more questions, then I believe it's time for you guys to head out to the demon lands." Freja saw that no one was waiting to speak, so she decided to get a move on. Everyone nodded in agreement. Although they would have liked to stick around a bit more, there was no time to go on a holiday.

"Meet me in the throne room, you have 30 minutes max." Freja needed to prepare the teleportation spell since she will be directly teleporting them near Himeko. Freja vanished on the spot, giving the group some time to see if they could figure out their clothes' special ability.

However, despite using their elements and trying some skills, they had no luck in activating anything. They did however notice the reduced mana cost which was a nice upgrade making long fights not so worrisome.

"So Shaman and Clara, want to go back to our room real quick~?" Elysia decided to embrace the fact that they didn't need to worry about clothes ripping and figured she might as well ask to have a quick session.

"Someone is eager." Clara didn't mind so it was ultimately Shaman's decision whether to push their luck.

"Haha, I would say yes, but with Freja waiting for us I'd rather not risk it, sorry darlings." Shaman hearing the offer fidgeted, but knowing the importance of their mission she couldn't bring herself to mess around. She didn't want to risk being late as they get really into their sessions and usually end up passed out.

"Hmm fair enough." Elysia pouted, but she understood the situation.

"Phew." Elanor and Silver both were relieved since they didn't want the responsibility of walking in and getting them to hurry up.

"We are running out of time anyway and I don't think the 15 minutes we have left would be enough for all of us." There was also a time limit since they spent the first half experimenting.

"True, so let's get going." Clara figured they should just head over to the throne room and wait.

"Alright, let's go." Not having much else to do, everyone left the arena and made their way to the throne room.