The Wind Silk Robe (4)
[Would you like to summon the Rock-Back Turtle?]
[Would you like to summon the Incense Bird?]
Seo Hwarang nodded.
“Yes!”
“Alright, let's see what you've got!”
[Using 1,000 Coins.]
[Using 1,000 Coins.]
♪ Ding! ♪ Ding! ♪
The coins were deducted.
Agh.
A whole week's worth of hard-earned coins, as precious as his own blood!
Please, please be worth every single one!
After only a brief wait, two living creatures materialized right before his eyes.
- Grruk, gruk?
- Hooo... phwooo!
One bird and one turtle.
Hmm.
Well then, let's take a look at these two, shall we?
First, the bird.
The creature was called the Incense Bird, and it was a strikingly handsome thing, its feathers a gorgeous blend of vivid crimson and white.
Its shape resembled a falcon.
No, wait—was this even a falcon at this point?
◈ Description: With every flap of its wings, the Incense Bird releases fresh spices from its body. It can continuously provide any ingredient you desire, from basic seasonings like salt, sugar, pepper, and chili flakes to the most exotic of spices.
◈ Effect: Enhances flavor when cooking
◈ Skill — 'Spice Spray': The Incense Bird expels any requested spice on demand, freely controlling both the type and quantity of the seasoning.
“Insane.”
There was a bird like this in the world?
What kind of bird just sprays spices everywhere?
Now it was crystal clear.
Coin Shop Tier 1 was practically shouting it at him: learn your production skills first, Seo Hwarang.
This thing was obviously made for chefs—anyone could see it!
“Incense Bird?”
- Grruk?
The bird gave a single nod of its head, then fluttered up and landed on Seo Hwarang's shoulder.
Whoa there, look at that beak of yours.
Quite the sturdy-looking little thing, aren't you?
'Might as well run an experiment.'
He'd read books about spices before, so he knew a whole catalog of varieties by name.
Saffron, malabathrum, tonka beans, hing, and so on.
And then—
Could the creature really produce saffron, the legendary spice reputed to be the most expensive in the world, priced per gram on par with gold? His curiosity was piqued.
That would be an absolute money-printer.
“Could you get me some saffron? Just about five grams.”
- Gurururuk!
The bird flapped its wings as if to say, is that all?
And then, truly.
Saffron powder came drifting through the air around its body.
“Wow. Unbelievable.”
With this thing, he could practically run a spice factory.
No need to have Bella buy seasonings anymore, either.
All he had to do was carry this guy around.
Ugh.
Well, no helping it then.
Might as well just learn to cook.
That's right.
Seeing as it's come to this—
Max-level jack-of-all-trades!
He was going to walk the path of the all-master for real!
Honestly speaking, wasn't the difference between the God of Reading and an all-master just a hair's breadth anyway?
Or not. Whatever.
The Incense Bird was a go.
He'd put it to good use.
Next up.
- Hooo...
This turtle with its deep, gravelly calls was a genuinely peculiar-looking creature.
It was about the size of a large truck tire, with dark, gleaming minerals studding its shell.
So what could this one do?
◈ Description: The Rock-Back Turtle is a unique turtle whose hard shell grows mineral deposits. Copper, silver, gold, and various other minerals sprout across its back and can be harvested continuously.
◈ Effect: Increases the purity of minerals obtained through mining
◈ Skill — 'Endless Mineral': New minerals continuously grow from its shell.
Ha.
And what is this one supposed to be?
A blacksmith?
A metalsmith?
'Seriously.'
It seemed every summon that production-class awakeners dreamed of was gathered right here.
“Either way, looking forward to working with you both, my pets.”
Seo Hwarang tucked them away carefully into his inventory.
And then—back to Yoo Seon-ah for their joint session!
The taxi driver gave them one last courtesy run, chauffeuring them all the way back up to Gaemi Village.
“Heh heh heh, thank you for the week, folks. Miss Awakener, young man! Here—I've got business cards, so next time you need a ride, you give me a call, you hear?”
“Yes, sir. You've worked hard too.”
The man who'd earned a weekly salary of ten million won flashed a remarkably warm smile, offered goodbye after goodbye, and drove off.
As expected.
Capital is a wondrous thing.
The magic that turns even the roughest men into gentlemen!
“Well then.”
“Yeah.”
“Shall we really get going?”
Swoooosh.
Seo Hwarang placed his hand on Yoo Seon-ah's shoulder.
9th Circle.
Astra Gate.
Use 5 Coins.
Light poured in from all directions.
Evening still lingered over Etherion.
The sky had gone dark.
The moment they arrived, they each collapsed into their beds at the inn and fell fast asleep.
A week of relentless marching had worn them down, and they drifted straight off into dreamland.
Then, the next morning.
“Bella.”
“Yes, Mage sir!”
“No need for spices, so just stock us up on feed and camping gear.”
“Understood!”
“Ah, and one more thing—get me these as well.”
“What would that be, sir?”
“A small loom, a small hand spindle, a sewing kit, and a folding cutting board.”
Time was money.
His plan was to work on the robes in the spare moments of each carriage ride.
He had to make nineteen of them, after all—it was going to keep him busy.
“Understood! I'll look for them at the general store nearby!”
Calderon.
Here, they would drill the tailoring-related skills properly before moving on.
Beyond that, nothing much happened.
No run-ins with the Count or any nobles, no revenge arc with that criminal organization from before.
The preparations wrapped up fairly quickly.
By the time the sun reached its zenith, Bella had finished everything, and—
“We're departing now-ow! Hyah!”
She gave the reins a light tug.
Clop, clop!
The horses started forward.
Yoo Seon-ah sat on the left, slowly grinding away at her magic proficiency, and Seo Hwarang did the same.
Telekinesis, Grow, Ice Needle.
For now, he drilled nothing but those three, over and over.
This leg of the journey was a long one.
They had to cross the treacherous Grimrir Mountain Range. The road itself was well maintained, but the monsters were plentiful, so travelers customarily hired mercenaries before attempting the crossing.
But Bella?
Bella had not a shred of worry.
'One of them is an Orthodox Mage, and the other is presumed to be a dragon.'
Was there a safer party in all the world?
The journey itself was practically a sightseeing tour.
Monsters showed up?
Seo Hwarang, as though he'd been waiting for them, slaughtered the lot.
Goblins, orcs, trolls.
Even the dreaded ogre, famed for its horrors, was no match for him.
A grand parade of every manner of magic unfolded, and—
Kwung!
They all went down.
And when he killed something?
Snick, snick.
Out came the knife, and he'd carve the hides clean off their bodies, fresh and raw.
Something about harvesting leather, apparently...
and the moment he was done, the stripped hides vanished to some unknown place.
'Definitely a dragon.'
Bella shuddered from head to toe.
He must have some hidden subspace, that's the only explanation.
They traveled ten hours a day in total.
The horses needed rest, and besides, the man insisted he had things to make.
The moment Bella finished pitching camp?
Seo Hwarang handled the lighter cooking.
And it was then that Bella saw it for the first time.
- Gururuk?
A bird that spat out salt.
'What IS that thing!'
She'd read plenty of books at the Magic Guild, but she had never once encountered a creature like that.
Chili flakes, sugar, pepper...
one flap of its wings, and whatever seasoning you wanted came drifting down in exactly the quantity requested.
'Might as well just tattoo DRAGON on your forehead, why don't you!'
Frankly, she didn't even know whether dragons truly existed in this world.
It was a kind of superstition.
They said the dragons, masters of all magic, slipped among the world of humans to play their games.
And that if you simply stayed close to one, you could become a figure who carved a new line across history...
'I am absolutely, unconditionally sticking to this man.'
Bella's eyes gleamed.
After a satisfying meal?
Yoo Seon-ah went back to gathering mana and building proficiency, over and over.
And Seo Hwarang?
He unfolded his portable weaving set and started on the robes.
That was when Bella was struck by wonder yet again.
What was with that spider and that sheep!
A sheep that produced infinite wool!
A spider that poured out spider silk without end!
'This man.'
He kept showing her sides of himself that grew less and less possible by any common sense.
He spun the material into thread, wove it into cloth.
Then dyed that cloth, cut it, pieced it together, and even did the leatherwork!
Bella sat back and stared at the whole process in a daze.
'It's beautiful.'
Every single one of his movements was flawless—exquisite and fluid, without the slightest waste.
It was like watching a performer, polished through hundreds of repetitions, handling a beloved instrument.
Thread and cloth flowed seamlessly from his fingertips as a single work of art took shape before her eyes.
A blue robe.
A great emblem engraved across the back.
'So this is what tailoring can be.'
Awe swelled up inside Bella's chest until it was full to bursting.
There was nothing this man couldn't do.
Cooking? Done. Tailoring? Done. Magic? Done!
Every process he touched was art, pure and simple.
“Nice. One down.”
He'd finished a robe.
He timed himself—roughly three hours.
Compared to the ten hours it used to take, that was a dramatic drop.
Probably thanks to his Intermediate Tailoring proficiency.
'One a day, then.'
That would have them finished in exactly nineteen days.
By then, they'd be somewhere around the middle of the mountain range, give or take.
'Honestly.'
He felt it anew.
This continent.
It was unbearably, absurdly vast.
About a week slipped by like that.
Seven robes completed, and leather stocked away in overflowing abundance.
And his level?
Already 30.
He'd set Strength, Vitality, and Agility at an even 20 each, then dumped everything else into Intelligence.
He was the Skill Book Collector, after all—skill damage obviously had to hit hard.
The only reason he'd raised Strength at all was just in case.
Right now he was only doing magic and production skills, but...
who could say for certain?
He might pick up some physically demanding skill someday.
And then—
“Hey.”
Yoo Seon-ah came over.
“Yeah?”
“I'm about to hit 80 proficiency on all of them.”
“Oh, for real?”
Rock Shield she could do without.
◆ Mana Accumulation: Naturally gather mana while out of combat. — (100,000/100,000) ✓
◆ First Circle Formation: Use your accumulated mana to complete the 2nd Circle. — (1/1) ✓
◆ Proficiency Attainment: Raise the average proficiency of ten 1st Circle spells to 80. — (9/10)
That was her current state.
Thanks to the Low Heal she'd learned back in the day, she was sitting at exactly ten spells.
“Yeah, my Ice Needle proficiency is only at 60. Hit that one to 80 and I'm done.”
“How long do you think it'll take?”
“Hard to say. Won't know till I try... but if I'm quick about it, probably under a week.”
Ooh.
Not bad at all.
Because once his noona reached 2nd Circle—
—the reward would be ten whole skill books!
“Then let's cut travel time down to five hours a day from now on.”
“Why?”
“So you can focus on training harder, noona. And I'll go full robe-mode and just pump out two or three a day.”
This whole nineteen-robe business.
Maybe because he kept repeating the same blueprint over and over, his proficiency barely budged...
Right.
Might as well just power through them fast and be done with it.