The Path of Tailoring Begins (3)
"So you were watching the whole time."
Seo Hwarang smiled at Edwin, who was looking at him in admiration.
Truthfully, he'd known all along.
But knowing when to play dumb — that was its own kind of tact.
"Well, what do you think, Lord Edwin? This cloth should be useful, no?"
"Useful is an understatement. It's barely different from cloth I've woven myself. Magnificent quality!"
Edwin marveled, and marveled again.
"I'm glad it's to your liking."
Seo Hwarang waved a hand breezily toward the bolts of cloth.
"Then take all of it."
"A-all of this? The whole lot?"
The moment Edwin's jaw dropped—
Your Affinity with Edwin Taylor has increased significantly.
That was the message that appeared.
He'd noticed it before — that every person here, from villagers to the lord himself, seemed to have an affinity value attached to them, something quantified and tracked.
Nothing in this world existed for free.
The more of it he piled up, the more good it would surely do him.
"May I really accept this? This is a true honor. To receive the aid of such a brilliant magician as yourself... With this much cloth, a month's worth of deliveries will be no trouble at all!"
"Of course. I told you before, didn't I? If there's anything I can help with, I will."
Even as he spoke, Seo Hwarang's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Come on, quest!
Pop up already!
Make me an apprentice or whatever — just give me something!
Seo Hwarang intended to stay in this town for a while and grind up his Tailoring proficiency.
But then—
"By the way, something has been nagging at me."
"Yes?"
"Why would a magician of your caliber bother coming all the way out here to do tailoring work?"
Seo Hwarang read the air around Edwin, who asked the question in an even, unhurried tone.
He felt it instinctively.
This is an interview.
Edwin was grateful, yes — but equally wary.
Seo Hwarang tensed for an instant, then answered as naturally as he could manage.
"I simply wished to build skill in fields beyond magic alone. There's a saying, isn't there? All roads lead to one. Magic, weaving, the sword, the bow — I believe that at the end of every path lies the same essential truth. As one who pursues magic, I want to draw closer to that essence."
It was bullshit.
But it was bullshit that worked.
In this world, a magician was a scholar, plain and simple.
And what did scholars love more than anything? Probing and dissecting the mysteries of things!
"Hm. Is that so?"
As Edwin nodded, his eyes began to gleam.
"In that case, there's a proposal I'd like to make. I'll trust you with it."
"A proposal?"
"Step inside for a moment."
Edwin led Seo Hwarang into the back room, dug deep into an old drawer, and drew out a rolled-up blueprint, yellowed with age.
"Hoo. Truth be told..."
Edwin paused for a beat, let out a long sigh, and finally opened up.
"Just as you yearn for the tailor's craft, I too have dreamed my whole life of something."
He unrolled the blueprint with delicate care.
"A garment pattern passed down through my family. It's called the Wind Silk Robe. Thirty years I've been in this trade, and yet... I have never once been able to complete it."
Edwin had realized it while watching Seo Hwarang spin thread and weave cloth.
This man.
With talent like that.
Given even a little instruction, he would surely surpass Edwin himself.
And if so, the garment drawn on this blueprint would not remain a dream forever.
Gulp.
Seo Hwarang swallowed hard.
He felt it instinctively.
Something extraordinary was drawn inside that blueprint.
"May I take just one look at it?"
"No."
Edwin shook his head.
"First, you make me a promise. That you will not leave this place until the garment on this blueprint is complete. Grant me that, and I will take you on as my apprentice and teach you everything I know."
The moment he finished speaking—
Objective: Edwin Barck wishes to complete the item he could never finish in his lifetime — the Wind Silk Robe (Unique). Become Edwin's apprentice, learn the art of Tailoring, and complete the garment.
Goal: Complete the Wind Silk Robe (0/1)
Rewards: Wind Silk Robe (Unique), Wind Silk Robe Blueprint (Unique), Edwin's Affinity greatly increased
Failure: Reputation decreased, Edwin's Affinity greatly decreased
Time Limit: 1 year
Ooooooh!
Finally?
Whoa!
A Unique item!
Seo Hwarang's pupils dilated.
He'd barely dared to hope — and it turned out to be a blueprint for crafting a Unique item?
And this time, there was even a penalty for failure.
'Reputation decrease?'
He could guess the gist of it.
Learn all the techniques, then skip town without paying your dues? Word would spread, and his dealings with other merchants would come grinding to a halt.
'But whatever.'
It wasn't as if he had any intention of running off anyway.
Shloop.
Wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, Seo Hwarang said, "I promise. I will make it, no matter what."
"You mean that?"
"Of course. Now — may I see the blueprint?"
"...Go ahead."
Swoosh.
Edwin slid the blueprint across the desk.
Seo Hwarang touched it as if in a trance, and then—
Your skill level is too low to comprehend this blueprint.
You can understand this blueprint starting at Intermediate Tailoring.
Ah.
He sighed almost at once.
So he had to raise his Tailoring skill before he could even read it?
'Well then.'
Looks like a long road ahead, huh?
But still.
He had a feeling about this.
This wasn't a jackpot. It was a super jackpot.
If he could get his hands on that Unique garment blueprint and keep producing them?
He'd never have to worry about money in the real world again.
"Then I'm in your care, Master!"
Seo Hwarang bowed his head respectfully to Edwin.
"Start with this. It's a book containing techniques for sewing."
Thump!
Edwin handed over a book.
Seo Hwarang's eyes sparkled.
'Ooooh, a skill book!'
At last, another book to add to his collection.
This skill book contains information on the Production Skill, Sewing.
Sewing!
The craft of joining cloth and leather together.
One step along the road toward tailoring, you might say.
"I'll go read it right away, Master!"
"Heh heh, off you go."
Apparently not displeased at being called Master, Edwin let out a hearty laugh.
Seo Hwarang headed straight outside and made his way back to the lodging.
Darkness had already fallen, and Bella and Yoo Seon-ah had set food on the table and were waiting for him.
"Oh, you're back, Master Magician!"
"Why so late? You were at that tailor shop again today, weren't you?"
They split up each morning, but they'd agreed to always eat dinner together.
It was a safety measure of sorts.
If one of them failed to show up in the evening without any word—
then, and only then, they would drop everything and go searching for each other.
"Sorry. I was a bit late, wasn't I?"
First, the three of them finished their meal.
Then Seo Hwarang pulled Yoo Seon-ah aside.
"Noona, is life here treating you all right?"
"Me? Yeah. Bella and I have gotten completely hooked on grinding our magic proficiency lately. Honestly, this place beats Earth, no contest. Oh, right — mana accumulates differently here too. It feels like it builds up about five times faster than back on Earth."
The mana density of the two worlds was different.
Because of that, Yoo Seon-ah much preferred staying in Etherion over Earth.
But.
"Thing is, I'll need to step out for a little while."
"Huh? Why?"
"I've got some skill books to sit down and read."
There was quite a lot to get through.
Leatherworking, Sewing, Ice Needle, Rock Shield... and on top of that, whatever skill books Park Juhee managed to hunt down from Earth.
One thing, though.
He planned to put off reading Ice Needle and Rock Shield for as long as possible.
They were a kind of summoning scroll.
Scrolls to be read on the day he wanted to return to the real world.
"Sure, whatever."
Yoo Seon-ah nodded without a fuss.
"Proficiency's something I can grind in the dungeons outside anyway. And it's not like it'll take you that long, right?"
Seo Hwarang might be busily devouring books, but not much time would actually pass for Yoo Seon-ah back on Earth.
"Do whatever you want. Really, it's no trouble at all."
"Yep."
Truthfully, he'd planned to do this from the start.
Asking was just a matter of courtesy.
Back in his room, Seo Hwarang sat down and read the Leatherworking skill book cover to cover first.
'Aaaah.'
Seo Hwarang felt pure catharsis wash over him.
It was fun.
Way, way too fun.
From basic hide-handling techniques all the way to crafting simple small leather belts and pouches!
From now on, whenever he caught a beast or a monster, he'd probably skin it before doing anything else.
'Especially...'
The chapter near the very end, which covered handling the hide of the legendary Dragon — reading that, he genuinely wondered if it was for real.
He'd probably need something around Master-Grade Leatherworking before he could touch that stuff.
Anyway — book read, so back to Earth he went.
And straight back in again.
To read the Sewing book Edwin had given him.
And soon enough—
He'd mastered Sewing too.
And this one was pure gold as well.
Stitching methods, mending techniques, the intricate patterns for joining cloth to leather.
The deeper he dug, the clearer it became that this, too, was a critically important skill.
Poor sewing meant poor fit — you couldn't properly leverage a high-quality product at all.
It also made the finished piece far less durable.
Tailoring, it turned out—
was an art form in itself, built from an enormous chorus of supporting skills woven together in harmony.
"Ugh, aaah."
Seo Hwarang's whole body itched with restlessness.
More.
More, more!
He wanted to read more!
Oh, right.
All that time he'd spent experiencing Etherion before stepping out for a moment—
only ten minutes had actually passed on Earth.
Ha.
Not exactly convenient, this.
Seo Hwarang calmed himself down.
'Don't get worked up. I've got plenty of time anyway.'
First of all, he couldn't rush straight back to Etherion.
To give Park Juhee time, he needed to stay on Earth for a while.
But hey.
There was plenty to do on Earth too.
'First things first.'
The Production Skills tab.
Tailoring he'd set aside — he'd be crafting like a madman once he got to Etherion anyway.
'I'll start by training Leatherworking and Sewing.'
And how to train them?
Simple.
Go to a dungeon.
Head somewhere with beasts or monsters that provided hides, process the leather, then stitch it together with his sewing techniques.
'The better quality the hide I work with, the faster my proficiency should shoot up.'
Whew.
Seo Hwarang bit his lip.
'Damn it.'
He was F-rank.
Which meant E-rank dungeons were discouraged for him, and he couldn't even enter a D-rank without a party.
The higher-ranked gates were controlled by staff from the Association and the Management Bureau.
At the very least, he'd need D-rank dungeons for grinding to feel worthwhile.
And C-rank would be even better, of course.
There was actually a way, though.
'I could sign up as a skinning specialist.'
An occupation where you tagged along with awakened hunters and did nothing but process the hides.
It was a fairly rare trade, so it was surprisingly in demand.
After all, whenever leather dropped, you could sell it for a good price to the production-class Awakeners.
So then.
Shall we take a look around?
Awakener Net.
Seo Hwarang opened the exclusive community app for the first time in a while.
For the very first time.
He was going to look for a party to enter a dungeon with.