Testing My Luck in the New World

The moon loomed over the grassy plains outside Guerraway, bathing me in its midnight glow. It was so long into the night that I should have been finishing off the first of many dreams and gearing up for the next, but I was conscious enough to see the moonlight raining down, flickering and reflecting off each and every blade of grass like millions of little stars. It was as if the Milky Way had been reincarnated here with me, but instead of running off to the nearest city as I had, it chose to kick back here and enjoy the night life.

It was so striking; I was sure the sight had to be magical in some way.

But even more striking was the fact that I was naked and completely at the mercy of the chilly night air.

"Goddess, damn it..."

After Mana and I embraced for the first time, and I made up my mind, I'd jumped out of the inn so fast that I'd completely forgotten to get dressed first. Remembering that I'd left my clothes on the floor before assaulting Yua earlier, I pulled a spare outfit from my item box. Unfortunately, all I had in there was what I bought the girls in the city. Meaning, I was suddenly a naked creep holding a bunch of women's clothes.

Unwilling to let my lingering buzz become a reason for crossdressing, I memorized the shape of a few pieces of clothing and used Material Destruction and Creation to reshape them into something a little more manly, all while the moon and stars above chuckled at my expense.

As a show of love to my new wife, I chose to turn one of her skirts into a pair of boxer-briefs, instead of the article of clothing that first popped into my mind when I thought of underwear. I'd just return them to their original shape later. After cleaning them, of course.

With the abundance of heat my own cheeks were providing me warding off the chill, and a quick confirmation that nobody was around to see me, I searched the surrounding area for life. It was just as empty as it had been on our way through here.

"At least I have that small victory..."

I opened my map menu and placed a marker right where I remembered the barrier to be, so I didn't get lost in the forest. An arrow appeared on my HUD's compass and I said a silent prayer of thanks to the Goddess. Even with my memory, trying to navigate the forest at night was going to be trouble without Yua.

Stopping a moment to consider going back for her, I instead teleported to the edge of the forest. This was going to have to be my last Dimensional Step for a while. More so than with the girls at the inn, the light show it produced would attract too much attention. The thieves may still be on high-alert after what happened the other day.

"Alright, let's do this."

Staring into the dark of the forest, where barely any of the abundant moonlight could reach the ground, I instantly lamented the fact that my Fairy's Light spell was also going to have to be kept on the backburner. Sucking it up, I started walking.

Though most of the wildlife seemed to be asleep, the forest was full of noises of all sorts. Leaves rustling. Calm footsteps that somehow sounded as though they were shaking the planet. And a heavy breathing that felt all too out of place. In other words, all the noises I was making myself.

One of the few nocturnal animals I'd passed, a raccoon-looking thing, fled so fast that I didn't even have a chance to read its info box.

Seems my Sneak ability wasn't doing anything. Or maybe I really have to crouch while I walk to make it work?

Regardless, this time, I wasn't pitting this ability up against Tama's bullshit, overly sensitive ears, just a bunch of humans and a dwarf. Meaning I should have a chance, but every time I stepped on a fallen branch or leaf, I couldn't stop myself from flinching at the thought of being found, not by the thieves, but by that gym-rat cat-kin. I could see it now...