I just remembered something. I turned toward Rijana and asked, "Um, what happened to the practice room I asked you to sign up for at the Magic Guild?"

My teacher gave me a pointed look. "Since you were a no-show without telling me, I decided to use the time slot for myself, Bjoukia, and Bjoukin for our training. Otherwise, the guild will charge a penalty fee of 50 gold pieces."

I shuddered at the thought. "Thank you very much!" I said appreciatively.

The mage shook her head. "It's okay. I realize you needed to take shelter at the convent yesterday to escape further assassination attempts. So there was no way for you to contact me at the guild."

I was very thankful for the lifeline that Rijana had thrown at me. I was happy to escape the financial penalty. After all, money was not easy to earn in this gaming world. 50 gold coins were more than the common folk could make in a year! I truly dodged a bullet with Rijana's help. "Is it possible to borrow another time slot for today?" I asked gingerly.

"It wouldn't hurt to try," she shrugged. "But you're showing up this time, right?"

"Yes, actually I plan to go to the mage tower right after we leave this place," I pointed out.

"That's fine," she nodded.

I turned my attention to Van, Bila, and Dovarata. "What will you guys do?" I asked.

"We're coming along," Dovarata answered immediately.

"We're your bodyguards," Bila reminded me. Her tail whacked me in the back for emphasis.

Van simply nodded.

Last but not least, I turned toward Sister Waverly, who had just joined our party. "What will you do today? Do you wish to return to the convent?"

The nun laughed at my suggestion. "If I return right away, the sisters will think that I've been banished from your party and forced to return to the convent. Or that I proved to be useless to your party. Now, we wouldn't want my sisters to think that, would we?"

I waved my hands. "Of course not! I'm sorry to put you in that situation!" I said in a panic. Eek! Sisters were scary!

She gave me a knowing nod as if she knew my answer already.

Of course, I wasn't planning to dismiss a healer from my party. I noticed that my companions were giving me a disapproving look. I rose from my seat and said, "Let's go!" I walked out of the VIP room and then left the inn.

I immediately activated Spirit Sense to check for any malevolent auras. Fortunately, I found none nearby.

Van immediately joined me in front of the Big Oak Tree. "You should have waited for our confirmation that no assassins were waiting for you!" he yelled at me and shoved me in the chest.

Uh-oh! I was concerned that his hot temper will escalate the situation. The last thing I wanted was to have the paladin tossed in jail by the Watch. Again. Thus, I sought to defuse the situation immediately by raising my hands to placate Van. "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry for going ahead of you," I apologized.

"Even if you added a healer to your party, that's not an excuse to be careless about assassins," he said pointedly.

I winced and looked away. He was right. More importantly, he raised an important issue. Once the assassins became aware of Sister Waverly, they will no doubt target her before attacking me. In other words, her clothing as a sister will draw attention from those seeking to harm me. Thus, I needed to convince the nun to change her clothing. When she finally appeared outside the inn, I approached her. "Sister Waverly, is it okay if we visit a clothing store and buy you some casual clothes to wear?" I asked politely.

"You don't like being seen walking with a nun?" she joked and laughed. "Oh, fine. I know that my clothing will make me too conspicuous. I agree that I need to dress differently in order to join your adventures. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to buy new clothes," she noted sadly.

I waved my hand dismissively. "I will pay for your clothes. I'm the one who asked you to join my party. Therefore, it's only appropriate for me to pay for your travel gear," I replied.

The sister bowed to me.

Since I had no idea where the clothing shops were, I had to ask a passerby. "Hi! Where are the nearest clothing stores?" I asked a young boy who appeared old enough to be an apprentice. I looked at his caption and his name was "Hurley."

Hurley looked at our party and he grinned. "What's in it for me?"

"Let's go ask someone else!" Bila said in a huff while grabbing my arm to pull me away from the greedy little boy.

I refused to leave. "Can I offer to buy you something from the baker's shop?" I asked.

Hurley nodded. "That's fair enough. I'll take you to the baker and then to the tailor shop," he replied. "Please come this way," he added. He turned around and started walking east. He walked for two blocks and then headed south.

As we walked, I activated Navigation Sense and Spirit Sense. I wanted to add the shops to my mental map. At the same time, I had to check the nearby living auras to confirm that no assassins were near me.

Since the streets were really crowded, my young guide could not walk very fast.

Thus, I was able to maintain both abilities while keeping up with him. After a 10-minute walk, I smelled a nice aroma. A few shops down the street, I saw a baker's shop. A yellow sign with black text read, "Jamar's Baker Shop."

Hurley walked in and stared at the freshly baked cookies sitting on trays along the walls behind the counter. "Hey, Cale! Can I get a dozen cookies?" he ordered.

A young girl with strawberry colored hair and bright blue eyes appeared. Cale wore a light yellow dress and a white apron. She plucked an assortment of cookies from the trays with a pair of tongs and put the cookies in a straw basket. She then placed the basket on the counter. "That will be 5 silver pieces for the cookies and 1 silver piece for the basket, refundable when you return it," she said.

The boy turned toward me.

I took the money from my money sack and placed it on the counter.

Cale gave me a weird look but took the coins. She couldn't understand why I was paying for Hurley's cookies but declined to ask me, a nobleman, this question. "Thank you for your purchase." She curtsied.

Bila, Dovarata, and Waverly stared at me with puppy eyes. Ack! I sighed and said, "Please give me another dozen cookies." I placed the coins on the counter. It was hopeless for me to resist the triple attack.

The three immediately devoured the cookies and then handed the empty basket back to the girl.

"Would you like another order?" Cale asked with a grin.

"NO!" I said forcefully. "Thank you." I took back a silver coin for the basket and then left the shop. I waited for Hurley to come out.

Van and the rest of my companions were already outside. They had checked the surroundings for possible assassins.

The boy gave me a sympathetic look and continued walking.

We arrived at our destination 5 minutes later. The window carried a display of a piece of wood carved in the shape of a male torso. The model was dressed in a white tunic, dark gray vest, and a navy blue jacket.

Frankly, I thought the sample clothes looked expensive. To the right of the window display was the door. Above the door was a wooden sign painted in yellow with a blue colored text: "Arkan's Tailor Shop."

Hurley looked at me. "As promised, I have escorted you to the tailor shop. Thank you for the cookies!" He bowed deeply to me and walked away.

Wondering if I had been scammed by the little brat, I opened the door and entered the shop.

Soon, an old man appeared before us. He had a thin build but his eyes were alert. He quickly scanned each of us and the clothes we wore. He also checked our captions for our names. "How may I help you, Lord Mulligan?" he asked with a deep bow.

I was impressed by the shopkeeper. In less than a minute, he was able to check our names and determine who had the highest social status within our party. Thus, he made the safe choice to address me. "Greetings! I would like to acquire a set of casual wear for Sister Waverly," I said while waving a hand in her direction. "She will accompany me on a brief journey beyond London," I explained.

The tailor rubbed his chin as he focused his sight entirely on the nun. He walked around and examined her body from the front and back. "I see," he said with a nod. "I will be back in a moment." The shopkeeper walked to his closets along the walls and took out a few garments. Soon, he returned while holding a long-sleeved, high-collared white shirt with some frilly decorations, red pants and matching red cloak, plus a pair of black riding boots. "Please try them in the dressing room," he requested while pointing at a door in the back.

Sister Waverly accepted the clothing and entered the dressing room.

We waited patiently for the nun to return. When she did, we were stunned by the change in her physical appearance. Without the conservative black robes, Sister Waverly looked stunningly beautiful with her light blonde hair framing her pretty face.

I turned toward Arkan and asked, "How much?" The clothes had fit the sister perfectly and I was impressed by his recommendation.

The tailor rubbed his chin again. "Normally, I would charge 20 gold for everything. But since this is for a sister, I'm willing to offer a discount of half-off. That's my wholesale price and I can't go any lower than that," he answered honestly.

I untied my gold sack and counted out 11 gold coins. "Here's 11 gold coins, then. You should make at least a little profit from the transaction."

"Thank you, milord." Arkan accepted the payment with a deep bow.

"Thank you, Brother Mulligan," Waverly said and offered her own deep bow. She was holding her old robes, which had been neatly folded.

"I can store them for you," Dovarata offered. She took the black robes and put them inside her Bag of Holding.

"Let's head over to the Magic Guild now," Rijana prodded us gently.

We left the tailor shop. My bodyguards walked out first and checked our surroundings. Once they were satisfied that it was safe, Bila opened the door and I stepped out into the street.

I activated Spirit Sense again. Reading all the auras within my vicinity, I confirmed there were no malevolent auras nearby. Then I activated my Navigation Sense and checked my current position in relation to the location of the Magic Guild. Once I had my bearing, I started heading north.

After a 20 minute walk, we were in sight of the mage tower. The church bell tolled 10 times during our trek. Soon, we arrived in front of the building.

Rijana entered the tower and then teleported us to the administrative floor by using the command word, "procuratio." Once the efforts of the magical teleportation dissipated, she walked up to a desk to our right and asked, "Is there a practice room available right now?"

The clerk opened a black appointment book and flipped to a page with a bookmark. She looked up Rijana and nodded. "You're in luck. There's a slot available for the next half-hour." The clerk opened her drawer and took out a key. She also took out a parchment. "Please fill out your name and then you can take the key to use the practice room."

Rijana did as told and took the key. "Thank you." She turned toward us and said, "Let's go." She walked down the hallway and passed by several doors before she stopped in front of a door marked "E." She inserted the key and opened the door. Beyond the doorway was a large field with a bright blue sky. "Please enter," she said.

We entered the room and she closed it behind her. The door suddenly disappeared.

"So, what kind of practice do you have in mind?" Rijana asked.

I turned my head toward the nun. "I need to know if you can fight and protect yourself," I said.

Sister Waverly smiled at me. She spread her legs apart and held up her fists. "Care to spar with me, Brother?" she challenged.

I was shocked by her martial pose. I wondered if she was a barehanded fighter like Alsaj was. I unclipped my scabbard from my belt and held the scabbard in front of me.

In the blink of an eye, she was standing in front of me and throwing her right fist at my face!

I heard dice rolling in my head as I began to duck under her punch. Somehow, I was successful in dodging. I jabbed the point of my scabbard at her chest.

However, the nun used an open palm to deflect the attack away from her body. She immediately spun around and launched a roundhouse kick!

I ducked again and kicked out my left foot against the back of her knee.

Somehow, she read my move and hopped over my kick.

Since I was still in a crouched position, Sister Waverly slammed her fists against the back of my head. *BAM* It felt like my skull was slammed with a sledgehammer! As my consciousness faded and my body fell to the ground, I heard someone say, "Oops!"

***

When I opened my eyes, I saw a pair of brilliant blue eyes looking down at me.

"How are you feeling, Brother?" Sister Waverly asked softly. She was blushing with embarrassment.

I took a moment to gauge my current condition. I did not have a headache despite the fact that I took a massive blow to the head. Nor was I dizzy. "I'm feeling fine," I answered honestly. I suspected that the nun had healed me while I was unconscious.

"That's wonderful," she said with a sigh of relief as I lifted my head from her laps. "I apologize for going overboard during our duel. I'm not quite used to holding back."

I waved my hand. "It's fine. I should have been more careful. I was too focused on attacking you and I ignored your counterattack. The fault was mine." I smiled at her. "So how long was I out?" I asked.

"Not too long. Maybe 20 minutes?" she answered.

I looked around and saw that we were, indeed, still inside the practice room on the Plane of Air. The rest of my companions were still sparring. Van and Bjoukia were fighting each other with a sword and shield. Bjoukin was firing arrows at Bila while she used her quickness to dodge or parry the arrows. The main event was the magic duel between Rijana and Dovarata. The dracon threw fireballs at Rijana, who responded by creating walls of earth to block the flight of the incoming fireballs.

As we watched my companions spar, I asked the nun a question. "How did you learn to fight like that?" I was really surprised by her fighting skill. Waverly was easily a match for Alsaj the monk.

My sparring partner grinned. "I was trained at the convent." She saw my surprise and explained. "Since the convent is inhabited by women who had taken vows of chastity, we are a frequent target for perverted men who think we are helpless. Each sister is taught how to fight barehanded and to defend herself."

I was shocked by her explanation. "You don't receive any protection from the knights?" I asked her.

Sister Waverly shook her head. "To the nobility who pay for the guards, our order should not even exist. Thus, they aren't willing to assign guards to the convent. Furthermore, it took a lot of persuasions to convince the Church to even provide the land for the convent. We are self-sufficient and we receive funding from neither the church nor the nobility in general. We do receive offerings from visitors, though, and it has been sufficient for our needs."

Upon hearing this, I felt guilty for visiting the convent without making an offering.

The nun smiled as if she had read my mind. "Your work in fixing the basement saved the convent a lot of money. And the sisterhood is truly appreciative of what you have done for us."

I nodded in acknowledgment and her words soothed my guilt.

After 8 minutes, Sister Waverly called out: "Our time slot is almost up!"

The combatants immediately stopped fighting. They turned toward the nun and noticed that I had awakened. They walked over and approached us.

"Are you okay?" Bila asked me.

"I'm fine," I replied.

"What's your name?" Bjoukia asked with a mischievous grin.

"Lawrence Eugene Mulligan," I replied and rolled my eyes at her.

"Never thought I would see you lose a duel. Especially against a nun!" Van laughed at me.

"Care to spar with me?" the sister asked politely.

The paladin gulped. "Um, no thank you!" he blurted out quickly.

Rijana clapped her hands. "We need to leave now." She held the key in her hand. She turned it as if she was unlocking an invisible door, and the door appeared before her. She opened the door and waited for us to leave.

We left the practice room and immediately returned to the hallway.

Rijana closed the door behind her and locked it. She then walked over to the clerk and returned the key.

"Thank you," the clerk said in acknowledgment. She opened her black appointment book and made a note.

"I'm hungry," Bila said while rubbing her belly.

"Me, too!" Dovarata joined in.

"Fine. Let's return to the Big Oak Tree," I said as the church bell tolled elven times.