The day tinued in the vein of most others and, soon enough, ended—meaning it was time for Natalie aeam to head down into the dungeon for a quick expedition.

  Except, before that, Natalie had an errand to take care of. [Stylish] had yet to be tested, and the team didn’t mind starting the delve an hour te. The experiments shouldn’t take long. Maybe not the entire hour.

  Initially, Natalie had po test [Stylish] with just Jordan. But Jordan had other pns. Seeing how Natalie had earned herself a pet for the week, Jordan expihe testing might as well be doh all three of them. Experiments were best with as many subjects as possible.

  So, Natalie, Jordan, and Sofia ended up at their dorm room with their delving gear—and other items Jordan had collected the night prior.

  “What’s in there, anyway?” Natalie asked, trying to peek into the shopping bag.

  Jordan s closed and tutted at her. “It’s a surprise,” she scolded. “Wait and see.”

  “I ’t believe we’re doing this,” Sofia groaned, sitting i, her forehead pnted oable. “Yoing to dress me up? Really? Parade me around just to see how many stats it gives?”

  “We’re both doing it,” Jordan corrected. “And don’t sound so enthusiastiatalie will get the wrong idea.”

  Sofia gred at Jordan, who was, like usual, ued. If anything, she seemed delighted by Sofia’s embarrassment.

  Natalie had mixed feelings. [Stylish] seemed like a headache and a half to deal with. It depended on the results of their tests today whether it would be worth using at all. It would almost certainly be when upgraded, but right now, maybe not.

  And with Jordao instigate Sofia, Natalie wasn’t sure what would happen. Bullying Sofia was fun when alone, but adding Jordan to the mix was—well, again, Natalie had mixed feelings. She didn’t have trol over the situation when Jordan was there to egg them on.

  “Okay,” Jordan said, setting the bag aside, then surveying the room. “Natalie, help me turn the couch so it’s poihis way.”

  “Why?”

  “So you lean bad enjoy the show,” Jordan said with a roll of her eyes. “Just do what I say.”

  Natalie obliged. They rearrahe couch so that it was fag the kit. It gave them more space to work with. Made Jordan and Sofia’s ‘stage’ rger.

  “Okay. Now, sit.”

  Natalie did as she was told.

  “And e here, Sofia,” Jordan instructed. “Stop moping.”

  With a grumble, Sofia stood and came to Jordan. She pointedly didn’t look at Natalie. After her surge of fiden the bathroom, Natalie would have thought Sofia would be less unfortable with all this. Testing out [Stylish] was definitely less lewd than the previous event. But instead, she was blushing as much as typical.

  Like with Natalie herself, it robably Jordan’s presehat heated things up. That it wasn’t just the two of them. Especially with Jordan being so visibly delighted at hoard she and Sofia were. Really, when had Jordan bee su instigator?

  “So,” Jordan said. “I figure we’ll test it step by step. As far as I tell, our current outfits don’t actually provide a bonus.”

  “There’s probably a minimum sluttiness,” Sofia said, gring at Natalie, bming her for this event. Which was fair, to some degree. It was her css. “The outfit has to reae level of … required lewdness.”

  “Lewdness?” Jordan asked, lips quirking up. “Well, not necessarily, I don’t think. The skill says the outfit just has to arouse her. I assume she’s aroused by us pretty much all the time—we hope, at least,”—Sofia protested the sed half of that statement—“but it’s the outfit that actually matters. And our current gear is frankly not that fttering.”

  “As it shouldn’t be,” Sofia growled.

  “But not everything that’s arousing is lewd, is my point,” Jordan tinued, ign Sofia.

  “Isn’t it?”

  “Not at all. For example.” Jordan scooped up her shopping bag, rummaged around, and withdrew something. “This.”

  Sofia bli the item, and so did Natalie. She reized it at the same moment Jordan stepped forward. She unclipped the bck choker and secured it around Sofia’s neck before the white-haired girl could protest. Jordan stepped bad admired it, hands on hips, while Sofia frowned down at herself, hand going up to tug at the tight bck loop around her neck.

  “A choker?” Sofia said. “Why would that—“

  Sofia paused.

  “Did I just— I felt that!” Sofia’s eyes widened, and she turned a venomous look to Natalie. “Really? A choker? That’s all it takes?”

  “I thought it would be,” Jordan ughed. “I know my girl well.”

  Natalie’s heart skipped about three times at the casual ‘my girl,’ and the choker around Sofia’s neck wasn’t helping her posure either. She shifted, folding her hands on her p to hide a quickly growing problem.

  “So, it worked?” Jordan asked, sending a smirking gnce down at Natalie’s p before fag Sofia. “I mean, of course it did, especially when it’s on you, but how much so? What’s it feel like?”

  “Especially on me?” Sofia asked. “What’s that mean?”

  Jordan raised her eyebrows, and Sofia gred at her—then at Natalie, as if Natalie had done something wrong.

  “What?” Natalie defended herself. “Chokers are hot.”

  She had to fake a level of nonce. Jordan, unfortunately, had a great read on her. Something about a choker, and specifically on Sofia, had her heart thumping surprisingly hard.

  “Ugh,” Sofia said. “Whatever.”

  “How strong does the boost feel?” Jordaed. “It goes to your primary stat. Is that furor or prowess?”

  “Prowess,” Sofia said. “And it wasn’t much. Only just noticeable.” They’d gotten somewhat good at telling how potent stat increases were, sihey could feel it happeime they put on or took off a piece of gear. Sofia flexed her hands bad forth, frowning down at them as she made that appraisal. “But still noticeable. Not nothing.”

  “Well, we’re just starting, so we ’t hope for too much right away.” Jordan smiled mischievously. “We’ve got a lot of options,, and if I had to guess, it scales up based on how far we go. So, to tinue, how about—let’s say, your top.”

  “My top?”

  “Yeah,” Jordan said. “As in, take it off.”

  “What?”

  “Losing clothes is the easiest way to make an outfit sexy, don’t you think?”

  “You’re serious?”

  “Wait until you find out what I have you repce it with,” Jordan said.

  Sofia stared at her, then turned an incredulous look at Natalie. Natalie wasn’t sure why Sofia thought she would find refuge in her. Natalie shrugged. “Jordan’s in charge. And we’ve got a delve ing up. Let’s not waste time.”

  Sofia stood there for a moment. “Unbelievable,” she finally said. Deft fingers went to the buttons and straps that made up her lightweight leather armor and started w away. “Fine. But whatever you have pnned, it better not be too ridiculous.”

  “No promises,” Jordan said.