Sudden World Event (1)

The predecessor to Fantasy of Galicia.

One of the few genuine strengths of Galicia Online had been its freedom.

So much freedom, in fact, that making a single set of clothes meant picking cotton by hand, spinning the thread, and sewing every stitch yourself — a minor inconvenience, sure…

Still, the fact that every last interaction was fully implemented made it an absolutely insane degree of freedom. Or so the players claimed.

There was the small problem that it amounted to an isekai serf-simulator dressed up as a game, but only a tiny handful of people ever realized that.

But if people had truly enjoyed that freedom, would Galicia Online have tanked?

Of course not.

Which was why Se-rin put careful thought into designing the lifestyle classes.

Players came in every flavor.

Some found joy in the vicarious experience of things they could never try in real life.

Others preferred the satisfaction of a finished product produced with a single click, free of any grueling process.

So Se-rin prepared both.

Simple controls and assists ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so anyone could enjoy lifestyle content with ease.

But if you were willing to go through the hard way yourself, you could earn far greater rewards.

Take the tailor class, for example.

A wide range of default presets, each with optional variations, let players produce perfectly decent designs without putting in any real effort.

Add in-game materials — cloth, leather, and so on — trigger the skill, and you got a corresponding result.

In real-world terms, it was the fast-fashion equivalent.

But what if you put in a little more work?

You could design the garment's form yourself, and the sewing process — patterning, basting, stitching — was yours to enjoy however you liked. And if it got too tedious, you could skip steps entirely.

So how did the result differ from the click-and-done version?

The design was different, of course. The options were different too.

The more hands-on steps you went through, the higher the chance that the finished product's quality and grade would rise.

A reward for effort, pure and simple.

And then…

"…These are… all… clothes made by the users — I mean, the Heroes…?"

"That is correct, Goddess."

Right now, those very results were spread out before Se-rin's eyes.

"What, was there a working designer among the beta winners or something?"

There was.

Someone who custom-made cosplay outfits, no less.

Someone who, despite constant comments of "It's a game — why are you doing the same stuff as real life?", stubbornly ignored hunting and kept grinding the tailor class level.

Of course, at this stage the available materials were all low-grade.

So you couldn't expect any meaningful performance difference from the outfits NPCs made and sold.

But still.

"How could anyone make something so… vulgar…"

At Valkyrie Eirene's words, Se-rin found herself nodding in agreement before she could stop it.

"I mean… already? This kind of thing…"

A sigh mixed into the mutter that slipped out.

Not that she hadn't expected it.

UGC — User Generated Content, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠content designed by players themselves within the platform or game — was something Se-rin had actively wanted to foster.

Just look at Highblox, where every little kid screamed oonga-boonga nonsense while playing. The real game wasn't the base product; it was the countless creations other users had made.

Without thinking, Se-rin reached out and touched the bunny girl outfit.

The moment she felt the coarse texture of the leather…

Whoosh!

Something happened to Se-rin's body.

This was the Pradera Clothing Department Store.

In the real world, if you found a dress you liked at a shop, you could take it into a fitting room and try it on yourself.

But in a VR RPG, having to physically strip and redress every time you equipped or unequipped gear? Exhausting.

So with a single click through the inventory, gear snapped on and off like a magical girl transformation — shimmer, done…

And touching a garment in the clothing department store meant one thing.

You wanted to try it on.

The magic Se-rin herself had designed kicked in.

"Eep…?!"

Startled by her suddenly transformed appearance, Se-rin let out a strange little sound.

Beside her, Eirene — who had just been treated to the full figure of her revered goddess — found her breath catching in her throat.

And then, stammering, faltering…

"N-now that I look again, i-it isn't really that v-vulgar at all… i-it, um, s-suits you quite well…?"

Praise scraped together from the depths of her soul tumbled from Eirene's lips.

Se-rin wanted to die.

After weathering the aftermath of the bunny girl incident…

Se-rin set about a full review of every existing lifestyle class.

First up: selection rates.

Naturally, combat-related jobs took priority in any MMORPG, so she hadn't expected the numbers to be high.

"That's… quite a lot?"

Player level and class level rose independently, and surprisingly many users had dabbled in lifestyle content.

The ratio came out to about forty percent.

Nearly four hundred people were enjoying lifestyle content at least a little.

And the most popular among them…

"Agh! What a blunder…!"

"Whoops! Hand slipped…"

"My wrist's gonna give out my wrist's gonna give out aaaaah!"

Blacksmiths, of course.

The class change was easy, and in a game where equipment had durability, a blacksmith who could repair their own gear was always going to be popular.

Next came gatherers.

A baseless post claiming that only gatherers could find rare materials had racked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up endless upvotes on the gallery boards, and people had started thinking, Huh, maybe? — slowly swelling the population.

Then alchemists and cooks.

"…Why are there so many sculptors?"

A full fifty-six players had chosen sculptor.

Among them were even fanatics walking the pure sculptor path alone, without any secondary class…

Se-rin nearly issued another divine oracle — Sorry, you can't sculpt moonlight — as a spoiler, then stopped herself.

Dreams and romance only meant something when you were chasing them, after all.

Beyond that: jewelers, anglers, architects, bards, appraisers, archaeologists…

The numbers weren't huge, but watching them pour out the romance they'd always carried inside, Se-rin found a smile creeping onto her face unbidden.

This was the ideal landscape she'd hoped for.

Rather than scrambling up a steep vertical tower of content, they had turned their eyes sideways — to the playground spread out horizontally before them. It was a beautiful sight.

Of course, closed beta had a hard level cap, so they wouldn't get to devour everything she'd prepared just yet.

"Got one! It's a monster catch!"

"Necklace for sale! The options are a little weaker than the shop versions, but it's prettier…!"

"Market share's climbing♪ Concurrent users rising♪"

Watching a bard strum a lute and belt out a suspiciously familiar song, Se-rin's pupils gave a slight twitch.

Well, singing was free, but…

Of all the songs in the world, why that one…

"My word, what a sophisticated melody."

"Is this a song from the land where the Heroes come from? It's so catchy…!"

"Encore! Encore!"

Watching the bard belt it out to explosive NPC applause, Se-rin felt something twist unpleasantly in her gut.

But what was she going to do, police it?

Let them have their fun.

So Se-rin forced herself to look elsewhere.

.

.

.

And so, while observing the people actually enjoying lifestyle content, jotting down points for improvement, and searching for ways the various lifestyle classes could create synergy with one another…

"Se-rin! Se-rin!"

Elisha's voice reached her ear.

"What?"

"A Shadow Wave has appeared!"

Shadow Wave.

The intermittent offensives the Demon God unleashed upon the continent of Galicia after amassing power.

"…Ah. So that's why it was so quiet."

The Demon God had likely noticed that fragments of souls from a higher dimension had begun crossing over to the continent of Galicia.

So of course it would throw a tantrum to interfere.

"Perfect timing, actually."

Se-rin checked the considerable faith she'd already accumulated and smiled.

At this point she could handle it alone, without Elisha's help, but…

Why bother?

And leave the Heroes who craved a thrilling experience sitting on the sidelines?

"This'll make perfect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠material for a sudden world event."

Se-rin finished the calculation in an instant.