The Masterwork Armor

A week had passed since I commissioned the armor. It had been a productive time in its own way. First, I received lavish hospitality from Silverfen’s deputy while the guild master was away handling the Golden Fox matter. In return, I processed the pelts and even gained a level from hunting on the side. In between, I heard about Cha Eun-kyung’s eccentric hidden-class advancement process, and I learned quite a bit about the Lumière guild while sharing tea with Bella every day. In reality, I threw myself into work and occasionally watched clips of the Knight of Pure Love’s exploits. And today was the day the requested armor would be finished.

“Welcome, Kael!” Bella’s face was brimming with pride. She looked exactly like a golden retriever turned human, tail wagging furiously as she puffed out her cheeks.

“Here you go. Let’s get you changed out of that beginner tunic first. Time to graduate!”

“Ah. Thank you.”

I moved to the changing room and checked the armor options right away.

The full set was heavily focused on Agility while boasting overwhelming defense. The top was even Legendary grade—something money alone couldn’t buy. The fit was naturally excellent, and the design was clean enough to wear in real life without looking out of place. On top of that, the Golden Fox Fur Cloak could double as a blanket, unlocking the logout function.

“Wow! It really suits you. You’ve got the perfect build for clothes.”

“……Are you sure it’s okay for me to just take something this good?”

“Just? Even a masterpiece made by a ranker-level artisan with top-tier materials can’t compare to something made from Golden Fox fur. In the end, the materials are what matter most, right?”

At the same time, I realized just how absurd the Golden Fox Fur’s performance was when you set defense aside. According to Bella, Lumière’s guild artisan was already a world-renowned luxury designer, yet even he couldn’t produce more options than the Golden Fox Fur.

“I keep owing you favors, Bella.”

“If anything, I’m the one who should apologize. I wanted to show you all kinds of buffs, but the hidden quest keeps getting in the way.”

I’d heard that the massive hidden quest Lumière was focused on had made significant progress lately. Bella played a key role in it, so her mana wasn’t entirely her own. Even now, our meetings were strictly scheduled in advance.

“It’s fine. I needed time to prepare anyway.”

After all, the Buff Ideal World Cup was something only possible once I increased my Eternal stat. For now, the priority was reaching another beginner village as quickly as possible.

“I’ll wear it well.”

“Of course. Keep wearing it from now on. The artisan would want that too. People with good eyes will recognize who made it right away.”

It was certainly high-performance armor, so it wasn’t free. I’d been given the role of raising the designer’s reputation. Shade, Revenant, Gust Fiber, Gray Forest ruler—every material had an extraordinary name, just as I’d expected. Simply wearing it was practically free for me.

“Anyway, it’ll be hard to find better armor than this going forward. Of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠course I’ll keep wearing it.”

“Mm! Great! Then let’s meet again later!”

“Sure. I’ll contact you.”

My steps felt light. The item effects were actually reflected in reality, so it wasn’t just in my head. My stats had also risen dramatically.

Among them, Agility had risen the most. I’d felt it during the Golden Fox hunt as well—Agility was an extremely important stat for physical combat classes, so the artisan had clearly paid special attention to it.

“Level 11, yet Agility is already 37.”

Even if an ordinary level-11 player poured every unused point into Agility, they’d only reach 15. This was more than double that—an enormous figure. On top of that, every stat except Wisdom far surpassed other players at the same level. It meant the “Despise the Weak” effect would trigger easily whenever my stats differed by 50 or more.

“An Agility-specialized character, huh.”

This wasn’t something to take lightly. A ranker-level, veteran artisan had crafted this armor set with clear intent. He had judged Agility to be the most important stat.

“First time playing an Agility build, but it shouldn’t be a loss. It’s not like Agility is the only thing I have going for me anyway.”

Agility had become significantly more important for my goals. Masterpiece-grade armor had to be repaired by its creator, after all. And I had no intention of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠returning to Liam until I obtained 8 Eternal points.

“Even with high defense, I still need to dodge most attacks. Agility is the right call right now.”

I invested every unused point into Agility. 45 was three times what a typical Agility-focused player at this level could achieve, so the numbers looked good.

“I can worry about the rest of the stats after my class change.”

Unfortunately, I hadn’t found any traces of the Eternal Adventurer during the past week. While adventurer-class traces were easy to find on the community boards, they turned out to be consumable. In other words, only the first trace discovered would work for advancing to the Adventurer class. That was why the hidden class Eternal Adventurer had to be found far from any beginner village.

“It worked out. I’ll have to explore on my own once I move to the Chinese beginner village anyway.”

My stats were set, and I’d built enough connections. Now was the perfect time to use the recommendation letter from the training instructor.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

I’d already looked up how to use the teleport service. You handed the recommendation letter and gold to the city hall in the center of Liam, went through the procedure, and were transported to your destination by a royal mage.

* * *

“Been a while since I’ve been here too.”

Liam’s city hall stood across from the grand fountain where I had first opened my eyes in the game.

“The TasteNight Guild is handing out chestnut bread! Win a chance at royal chestnut bread! Royal chestnut bread, royal chestnut bread!”

“Enlist! Former marines, enlist!”

The area in front of the fountain was as lively as ever, a mix of players distributing bread and excited new players.

I looked around but didn’t see Andy, the Knight of Pure Love who had given me the masterpiece bread last time.

“Is today his day off? I even set aside some fur for him.”

Thanks to that, I now had one more errand at city hall. The hall also offered mail and parcel services. Sending the fur anonymously to the bakery would be enough. I walked straight into Liam City Hall.

“Hello. I’d like to send a parcel to the bakery. The one run by the Knight of Pure Love’s wife.”

“Yes. May I have your name?”

“I’ll send it anonymously. The recipient is the Knight of Pure Love.”

“Anonymous delivery costs 1 silver and requires an appraisal. Is that all right?”

“Of course. Here’s the item and 1 silver.”

I’d already prepared for any possible jealousy from the Knight of Pure Love. Simply listing the recipient clearly was enough. Instead of addressing his wife, the baker, a simple thank-you note directed at him would suffice.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Golden Fox Fur! Could it be that you, traveler……”

“It’s anonymous.”

“……I see. Understood.”

The civil servant NPC quickly hid his disappointed expression and returned to a professional demeanor.

“Small parcels will be delivered today. Do you have any other business?”

“I’d like to use the teleport service.”

“Teleportation. Pardon? Teleportation?”

The civil servant’s expression, which had just been brought under control, began shifting into an even more dramatic reaction. It was mildly entertaining to watch. And I had some delicious firewood to add to the dopamine fire.

“Yes. I also have a recommendation letter.”

“H-Huh, the training instructor’s recommendation letter? This is my first time handling something like this. Uh, uh?”

Just as expected, the delicious reaction continued.