Phoenix.
The legendary immortal bird reborn from flames—on the continent of Lemoria, it's a sacred beast that dwells in the Arcadia region.
"Phoenix?!"
"That Phoenix... Did I hear that right?"
The treasure Texas produced instantly caused an uproar among the watching players. Few players had seen a Phoenix in person, but almost none were unaware that in the Arcadia region, where the beastkin live, there exists a divine immortal bird with the power to resurrect from death.
"Don't tell me they... made an evening dress from Phoenix feathers?"
"I have a werewolf friend who says there are many legends about the immortal bird in Arcadia. They say Phoenix blood has the power of resurrection—as long as you have one breath left, a single drop can gradually restore you to full health and remove all negative effects. Clothes made from Phoenix feathers never deteriorate, and whoever wears them seems to gain the Phoenix's powerful self-healing ability and immunity to all diseases..."
"That strong? Then wouldn't hunting Phoenix in Arcadia make you rich?"
"Get your head straight. Human kingdoms have launched countless Phoenix hunting expeditions... but no one has ever successfully hunted or captured a Phoenix!"
How the Lone Star Merchant Association managed to hunt the legendary Phoenix in Arcadia's beastkin territory would surely become a hot topic among players.
Texas seemed quite satisfied with the players' heated discussions. The more commotion it caused, the more it proved how difficult this treasure was to obtain.
A treasure that should only exist in legends... was now being entrusted to me by Texas.
Light as a feather, with a silky smooth touch like gossamer against my fingertips.
An evening dress—the most elegant attire for noble ladies attending banquets. Symbolizing the Phoenix's indomitable vitality, it was primarily red in color and seemed to be specially designed for me.
It perfectly matched my height, and the design around the chest area made me even more certain this wasn't just my imagination: it was clearly prepared specifically for a lady with an overly ample bosom.
The moment it was handed to me, I gained permission to view the [Phoenix Evening Dress]'s attributes.
In the game, players' defense generally corresponds to their appearance. Noble attire looks magnificent but comes at the cost of low defense, while knights' armor looks cumbersome but offers defense far superior to noble clothing. Light armor with high defense attributes is extremely rare—while not exactly priceless, it's certainly worth its weight in gold.
This is especially true for high-defense light armor suitable for women. If you want defense, you have to honestly wear battle armor. While there are lady knights in human kingdoms, more female players yearn for clothing that combines beauty with powerful attributes.
The [Phoenix Evening Dress] is undoubtedly dream equipment for female players.
Its attribute panel seemed excessive even to an outsider like me who knows nothing about virtual MMOs: unlimited durability, never deteriorates, disease immunity, temperature regulation, along with defense, damage reduction, debuff reduction, mental interference reduction, life recovery speed (increases with percentage of life lost), fire damage immunity... Everything before was acceptable, but isn't complete immunity too unbalanced?
Not only that, the [Phoenix Evening Dress] even came with a bunch of skills. That's right, a bunch of skills. High-quality equipment with just one skill is worth showing off to peers, regardless of the skill's strength. The [Phoenix Evening Dress] unreasonably came with multiple skills; just looking at their effects, they were all quite powerful.
If my reading ability hasn't failed me, the first skill of the [Phoenix Evening Dress] roughly means "After receiving fatal damage, life value is locked at 1, then continuously recovers health to maximum (the minimum life value of 1 lock effect won't disappear until successfully recovered to maximum)"... In Lemoria's world setting where resurrection skills basically don't exist, this is like having an extra life.
But, but...
"Lord Texas, this gift is too precious—my status doesn't befit it."
"Status is irrelevant. I seek someone who won't dishonor the [Phoenix Evening Dress]'s brilliance, and in the Kingdom of Michel, only you meet the conditions."
Texas insisted on giving me the [Phoenix Evening Dress], brooking no refusal.
"Tsk tsk... looks like Texas has this in the bag. How can you lose with a Phoenix Evening Dress in hand?"
"One gift and the affection level must be maxed out. Look how stunned Anna is with emotion."
"Give it to any noble lady in the kingdom, and it'd probably max out their affection. Give it to the princess and you might even win her over."
"Brother, let me tell you, in the popularity poll, the first princess, second princess, and third princess's votes combined don't match Anna's..."
"Big merchant associations sure know how to spend."
"Making equipment from Phoenix feathers, even the wealthy have to step aside."
No, I—
[Item: Phoenix Evening Dress, Transaction Successful]
[Congratulations, Affection +0]
"...........................????"
Mr. Texas's expression completely froze.
I... I'm a man! Even though my body is female now...
I accept the maid uniform purely out of professional ethics, which absolutely doesn't mean I'll unconditionally accept any women's clothing. I'd rather die than wear any women's clothing besides the maid uniform, and this has nothing to do with the fact that my closet only contains maid uniforms—this is my last stubborn pride as a former man.
The Phoenix Evening Dress is indeed stunning, but reasonably speaking, what man would have their affection level skyrocket after receiving a beautiful dress from another man they just met?
I couldn't possibly say this reason out loud, so I steeled myself and handed the [Phoenix Evening Dress] back.
"Lord Texas will surely encounter a lady more deserving of this honor than a mere maid, so please keep it in your care for now."
"...No, that's alright."
Mr. Texas! Please pull yourself together, don't let your eyes lose their light! There's nothing wrong with the dress's quality or attributes, but I really can't accept a low-cut evening dress...