What Happens When an NPC Crafts Leather Armor?

With the potion incident finally wrapped up and the land issue handed off to Lee Musin, I turned my attention back to my main job. Right now, that was leatherworking.

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Thanks to the quest from the Three Dragons, I had a mountain of monster corpses piled up. And I remembered Ha Geonmin, who'd dropped by with them, unleashing a torrent of nagging.

It felt like revenge for losing the butchering and tanning contest, but since it was all solid advice on leather, I humbly took it in.

"Guild master's butchering is flawless in terms ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of mana control, but look closely—the leather sheets are a total mess in thickness. And there are way too many fat clumps and bits of flesh stuck on. Planning to grill some pork belly or what?"

"Tanning's the same. You did great on the mana refinement, but there's zero finishing on the hide. First, comb the fur like this, scrape off the flesh and fat clumps, treat the inner side like so..."

Ha Geonmin, who'd been explaining verbally, suddenly grabbed a knife and started demonstrating for real. I watched intently, not wanting to miss a single detail.

'Is this why she's the Leather Maniac?'

When handling leather, Ha Geonmin was on another level from her usual chatterbox self. Her eyes locked on the hide without a blink, her hands moving with rhythmic precision. It all made sense why her Dexterity stat was so high. In that moment, she even seemed cool.

But yeah, Ha Geonmin was only cool when it came to leather.

Once she finished, she turned to me.

"This is the bare minimum if you wanna say you've handled leather anywhere. Mana control alone doesn't cut it."

With that, she bolted after the Three Dragons.

"Coolness revoked. Total maniac, maniac."

What was the point of lecturing me now after not teaching me herself? And that look in her eyes at the end—it was definitely a challenge.

'Even the guild master can't pull this off, right?'

I didn't hear it, but that's what she was saying. And that gaze set me ablaze.

"Next time you show up, I'll make you despair all over again. Geon. Min. Ssi."

I started over from butchering, just like she'd shown. I slid the knife as close to the inner side as possible, peeling the hide smoothly. It was definitely slower than my previous hack jobs, but still plenty fast.

From watching her, it seemed sensing mana took up over 70% of the total butchering time. But since that was near zero for me, even with extra time on the actual peeling, I finished quicker overall.

Butchering done, now for tanning. I followed her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠steps one by one. First, combed the fur, removed every scrap of flesh and fat from the inside. Once all debris was gone, I cleaned the inner side with an abrasive made from dungeon herbs, then finished by applying an emulsion (Agent B) concocted from more dungeon herbs.

Finally, the easiest part for me—pushing in mana to complete the tan.

With proper butchering and tanning done, the moment I'd been waiting for arrived.

Unlike with herbs, though, the leather vanished, and a notification window popped up.

My first thought when the windows appeared: It's finally here. The leather disappearing was a bit odd, but otherwise, it matched the herb notifications exactly.

The differences? Higher bonus stats, the Leather Armor Shop unlock, and a new transformation for my NPC All-Purpose Tool.

The materials had an [N] mark, and checking showed the leather I'd just processed. I immediately opened the new Leather Armor Shop.

"Figures it'd need materials this time."

The moment I saw "1 sheet" listed, I figured it wouldn't count toward purchases—and yep, spot on.

Next, the NPC All-Purpose Tool.

I checked if it cut material costs too—nope. Just like the Potion Maker's Staff, only mana reduction.

"Kinda feels lacking."

Compared to potions, something seemed off. With potions, once herb understanding hit 100%, I could buy with mana alone. Leather armor? Constant material needs. And only leather I'd perfectly butchered and tanned myself counted.

I tested some prepped class leather—no dice. Finished hides vanished somewhere, irretrievable except for shop use.

"So I gotta handle everything from start to finish. Guess I gotta make it work."

I hadn't given up hope yet. Same with potions— who knew about the mana addiction side effect? Leather armor might surprise too. Doing it all myself could yield unexpectedly strong defense.

For now, the corpses in front of me took priority. I shook off distractions and dove into leatherworking.

Butchering as close to the cross-section as possible, tanning step by meticulous step. As monster hides piled up, my focus sharpened.

Like during herb trimming, immersion returned—nothing existed but me and the corpses.

Then that familiar sensation hit: my hands not feeling like my hands.

I clung to it, zeroing in on the hide. Efficient lines traced every motion, speeding butchering. Tanning followed suit—fur combing, lining treatment, all transformed.

I lost myself in the trance, dismantling monsters one by one.

"Done."

Finishing the last corpse's tan and confirming no more bodies, I snapped out of the flow.

I opened the notifications that had auto-closed on entry.

The window brimmed with messages.

"Whoa~ how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much is that?"

First proper Dexterity and Focus gains since herb trimming. Dexterity hit a weird 126, Focus climbed 36 to 47.

Materials check: 300 sheets of my C-grade leather.

"Time to test."

I bought the C-grade Leather Armor right away.

"Yes."

Unlike potions, a totally different prompt appeared. Without thinking, I pictured the leather armor my game character wore back in the day.

Just like with potions, the exact armor materialized before me.

"Whoa... it works like this?"

No discrepancy from what I'd imagined. It was a one-piece upper-and-lower leather suit covered in mysterious patterns, with the back open like a spacesuit for easy wear.

I slipped it on right away.

But a problem cropped up.

"How do I close the back?"

Couldn't seal it solo.

"Wait, no zipper or anything?"

Inspecting closer, no buttons, clasps—nothing.

Odd, but I didn't panic. NPC gear wouldn't be that sloppy.

No seams or stitches visible. I infused mana experimentally.

The open back sealed seamlessly. As expected—NPC armor had its tricks.

Now, test time. I twisted and moved every which way.

"Whoa, seriously comfy?"

Zero discomfort. Joints felt natural. Wild contortions? Flawless.

So far, perfect leather armor. The real question: defense.

I wasn't expecting much from C-grade. No workshop sold C-grade leather armor—not even as plate liner, which needed B-grade minimum.

Proper testing needed A-grade leather at least.

Issue: Could the Three Dragons solo an A-rank dungeon?

Bang Taegeuk tanked S-ranks, no problem. Ha Yeji, as a ranged DPS, handled A-ranks fine.

Kang Jeonghun, the melee DPS, worried me. Berserker attack power was fine, but potion-only sustain without a healer? Risky, even with a tank holding aggro.

'Need a healer. Too burdensome without one. Talk after the quest.'

No forcing my greed on them. Growth would get us to A-ranks soon enough—no need to rush risks.

'Til then, learn herbs from Taeju hyung.'

Mind eased, another thought surfaced.

'Bureau chief's handling things okay, right?'

After handing B-rank corpses from the quest-returned Three Dragons and reissuing it, their puppy-eyed stares nearly cracked me up.

But the new quest demanded an A-rank monster corpse—like it was destiny.

I eyed Jeonghun worriedly, but he looked thrilled.

"No healer— you good?"

Bang Taegeuk answered my concern.

"Jeonghun's skill handles A-rank no sweat. Doesn't look like he's been out three years. Trust me."

No-bullshit Taegeuk's guarantee and plea to trust? Worries gone.

Dungeon ops to him. My job: support.

"Full potion set—take 'em."

My biggest contribution. Six hands snatched them instantly, eyes blazing.

I stared bewildered; Yeji blushed at distant hills, Taegeuk coughed excuses.

"Ahem, guild master handed 'em personally, so gotta cherish... got carried away. Ahem..."

He probably didn't even get his own ramble.

Jeonghun? Shamelessly bold.

"Hyung, unavoidable. I swear, hunters who've never tried these exist—but none quit after one sip."

I gawked at my potion addicts.

"NPC-nim, mind if I drop by tonight?"

Mid B-rank processing, Lee Musin's awaited call came. I paused leatherwork, counting down to night.

To be continued in the next chapter...