The Tailoring Skill's Temptation
Big cities really were different, no doubt about it.
There were two Magic Guild buildings in the city — one at the west gate, one at the east.
“By the way, why are you going to the Magic Guild?”
Tap, tap.
Bella asked as she walked alongside them. “The Guild can really only do one thing for you — verify your identity. And you two already got your wooden tags, didn't you?”
Seo Hwarang answered honestly. He was interested in books. To be precise, in the magic tomes the Guild owned.
“P-pardon?”
Bella made a face like she'd just heard something absurd. “A mage of your caliber wants to read the Guild's magic books? All they have there are simple 1st Circle tomes.”
“Oh, really?”
Seo Hwarang's steps stopped dead.
1st Circle magic?
Well, if there were new 1st Circle spells he hadn't seen, his plan had always been to read every last one of them anyway — but honestly, he'd been hoping for 2nd or 3rd Circle material.
“Of course! Magic tomes are normally kept under strict control by noble houses, academies, and the Magic Tower. I suppose they're terrified of commoners like us getting strong.”
“Hah.”
When Seo Hwarang let out a short sigh of exasperation, Bella added, “1st Circle magic is auxiliary rather than combat-oriented, so the Guild can manage it at their level. But anything beyond that, you'd have to be a Guild executive to even look at it. And even then, it's treated as a special privilege.”
Well, now.
Things were already getting tangled up.
“I'm still going, though.”
Seo Hwarang's goal was simple: read books. Even 1st Circle spells were precious books as far as he was concerned. And besides, he needed to return to Earth for a while — there were plenty of things to sort out, like selling the items he'd picked up.
“Welcome to the Magic Guild. How may we help you?”
The process was similar to the one in Bella's village. He presented his wooden tag, paid 5 copper coins per person, and entered the small library the Guild operated.
“See? Not much different from our village at all. Big for the sake of being big, expensive for the sake of being expensive. There isn't even a magic tome section.”
“True enough.”
The few differences were that it was reasonably large, and quite a few people were inside. Except — there were hardly any skill books. Unlike ordinary books, skill books had to glow with a translucent light, and here there were only three. Ones already acquired didn't glow anymore, which meant these three were the only ones left to read.
“Phew.”
Was that a blessing in disguise? Letting out a short breath, Seo Hwarang walked to a corner and picked up one of the glowing books.
Class skill, Skill Book Collect, is activating.
This skill book contains information on the 1st Circle magic, Telekinesis.
Telekinesis, huh.
Skimming the preface, he found it was a form of psychokinesis — a spell that allowed one to move or manipulate simple objects from a distance.
Now this is a good one.
It was a rare skill that offered both a mage's flair and everyday convenience. It would come in handy in dungeons, too — he could use it to operate distant locks and levers.
This skill book contains information on the 1st Circle magic, Growth.
Next was Growth — a basic spell that accelerated plant development. Since it made seeds and saplings sprout rapidly, it'd be perfect if he ever ran an orchard or something like that.
Of course, because it temporarily drew out a plant's life force to force rapid growth, it came with plenty of side effects. Whatever he grew would probably wither far sooner than it should.
But even that — wouldn't it be fine once his proficiency climbed a bit?
Skills Seo Hwarang acquired bore the prefix Master. They were certain to be on a whole different level from an ordinary Growth spell.
This one's got me excited too.
For what it was worth, both of these were skills he'd never seen on Earth.
What's next?
This skill book contains information on Tailoring.
Huh?
Wait, what's this?
This one wasn't a magic tome at all — it was a genuine, honest-to-goodness skill book? And it was in the same family as the Leatherworking skill book Yoo Seon-ah had given him. A lifestyle skill?
Foundations of Tailoring (D-Rank)
The Skill Book Collector can master not only magic, but a wide variety of skills. One of them is the craft of making clothing and armor from cloth and leather. Learn the Tailoring skill and its many auxiliary skills, and be reborn as a true Tailoring Master.
🎯 Objectives:
Acquire the Tailoring skill (0/1)
Acquire the Sewing skill (0/1)
Acquire the Weaving skill (0/1)
Acquire the Leatherworking skill (0/1)
Acquire the Dyeing skill (0/1)
Acquire the Embroidery skill (0/1)
Acquire the Material Reinforcement skill (0/1)
Acquire the Quilting skill (0/1)
🎁 Reward: 500 Coins, Unlock Coin Shop Tier 1
⏳ Time Limit: 1 month
Are you kidding me!
What is this!
Acquire that many skills within a single month?
And then there was this too.
Coins?
The reward was coins? As in, the coins used to activate Astra Gate?
Whoa.
Seo Hwarang stood with his mouth hanging open, momentarily lost for words. So there really was a Coin Shop. He'd occasionally wondered what all those piling-up coins would eventually be used for — and so this was how it all connected.
Hah.
Production skills, out of nowhere. Come to think of it, though, it made sense.
I'm not a mage.
Seo Hwarang's class was Skill Book Collector. It was a class that could wield a sword or fire a bow — as long as he had the skills to match.
Swish.
Tailoring, huh. Seo Hwarang smirked and clicked his tongue lightly. This might actually be more fun than I expected.
He'd have to learn everything eventually if he wanted to master countless skills anyway. And maybe — just maybe — at the very end of the Skill Book Collector's road lay the sweet destination of All Master. That conviction began to smolder quietly in his chest.
And I'm curious about the Coin Shop, too.
“Actually.”
Seo Hwarang waved the book. “I'm going to settle in and give this a proper read. You two go take care of your business.”
A cat might resist a fish, but Seo Hwarang could never resist a book. His eyes lit up with life all over again.
Reading the skill book, Tailoring, from cover to cover.
You have fully understood Tailoring.
Ooh.
It really was interesting.
Tailoring, as a craft, was honestly built on experience and technique more than understanding, so actually doing it was the only way to improve — but the knowledge itself, he had now grasped perfectly.
Low-Grade Tailoring has been added to your Skill Window.
You have acquired your first Production Skill.
All related skills within your Skill Window have been consolidated and classified under Production Skills.
Ahh.
So this was how it worked now. Knowing him, that Skill Window would one day be so crammed full it couldn't all fit in his field of view at once.
Tailoring had appeared in his skill list under the name Low-Grade Tailoring. That was a known quirk of lifestyle skills — low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, top-grade — with each new tier unlocking at every 100 points of proficiency. The greatest tailor on Earth was probably only just entering the high-grade tier.
Either way, he'd finished a book cover to cover. And with that, light began streaming in from every direction.
The end of his Etherion journey. The time had come to return to his life on Earth.
Fwooooooosh!
The moment the light wrapped around Seo Hwarang — flash! — his vision cut to black.
“Haaah.”
Yoo Seon-ah stretched her arms toward the sky. Their arrival point was exactly the same as before — the park behind Gaemi Village. Back on Earth, she immediately pulled out her phone.
“No way. Not even a single second has passed. Amazing!”
“I told you, didn't I?”
“And the Orthodox Mage quest is still right there! This is seriously insane. The items — you got them?”
“Yes, I've got them.”
Seo Hwarang drew four items out of his inventory:
Black Wolf Pauldrons (Normal) x2
Black Wolf Armor (Rare)
Black Seal Gloves (Rare)
All of them had survived in pristine condition.
“Unbelievable, honestly...” Yoo Seon-ah clasped her hands together tightly.
Seo Hwarang coolly handed all four items over to her. “I've got two more books waiting for me, so I'm going back to finish reading them. You can sell these. Actually, just go ahead and found a company outright — a dedicated item-trading company.”
“And the company name?”
“Name it whatever you like. As long as you sell the stuff, I don't care.”
“Oh? So that means you're transferring 90% of the company's shares to me, right?”
“Yes.”
The miscellaneous grunt work was going to be Yoo Seon-ah's responsibility from now on. Seo Hwarang wanted nothing more than to read books and raise his proficiency without a shred of stress.
“Let's sell these first, and once we have money coming in, we can think about the rest then.” Whether to pay off debt first, or buy skill books — that was the question.
“Oh, and if you don't have any connections, there's an awakening wholesale shop near here.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yep. It's a shop where I've built up regular business. The owner seemed honest and sharp, and never games the market prices. If it all feels too overwhelming, that's a good place to start looking.”
“Pff, don't worry about connections. I can open up a decent channel myself.”
Yoo Seon-ah's eyes gleamed. Wandering around Etherion had made one thing crystal clear: Seo Hwarang was a treasure. A golden toad — no, a goose that laid golden eggs. He had to be kept tucked close to her chest and treasured accordingly.
“I'll sell them with everything I've got. Just trust me.”
Yoo Seon-ah went straight to find Ha Seorin.
“Seorin.”
“Oh, unni! I heard you've been busy lately — what's up?”
Standing in front of Hannam Station with her staff in hand, Ha Seorin looked as young and pretty as ever. Yoo Seon-ah smiled. “Do you know any channel where I could sell premium-grade items? Somewhere trustworthy.”
“Eh? Did you score big, unni?”
“It's a long story — I'll explain later. There are... circumstances.”
“Hm... Seoryeong unni would know, but they only deal with the big players. Anyone below B-rank probably gets hit with insane fees. I wouldn't really recommend it.”
“I see.”
Disappointment flooded Yoo Seon-ah's face. Of course. Since when was anything easy from the start? Every merchant in history had started a business to make money, but finding a good channel right out of the gate was the hard part.
“Right. Thanks anyway.”
Still, Yoo Seon-ah had made a promise to Seo Hwarang — to sell everything as hard as she could.
After a bit more chat with Ha Seorin, she moved fast again, first knocking out the company registration process. The type of business: item retail! The whole thing went smoothly.
The trade name: Seoyu Couture.
She had combined the Seo of Seo Hwarang with the Yu of Yoo Seon-ah, then tacked on the French word Couture.
Since he seems to be reading tailoring books, she figured that if they ever ended up making and selling their own garments, the brand name would help position them as a luxury label. Not that the items he brought back weren't all luxury goods to begin with.
Next, she applied to the Association and received her item-trading permit. As an Awakener of more than two years, getting it was no trouble at all.
Which meant that now... she needed someone to distribute her goods reliably.
The awakening wholesale shop?
Maybe she'd start there. She'd already gotten a map and a business card from Seo Hwarang, just in case. She'd scrolled through the reviews on a hunch, and the ratings were pretty solid. The owner clearly had a decent head for business.
If you want to be treated well, rookies really do have to stick together. Wasn't it always the founding members who got the best treatment in any organization? The only real question was whether that owner would recognize Seo Hwarang's true worth!
Well — she could just go and find out.
Yoo Seon-ah hurried off on her way.