HC:Pacifist | Ch. 121 - Cast On (Patreon)

"Excuse me, Juliette."

The blonde tailor in the long wool dress jumped in fright, surprised by Roth's appearance. She now regarded him with an annoyed look for having startled her.

Good job frightening an NPC!

+1 subterfuge.

Roth sighed. It hadn’t been his intention at all to scare Juliette. Still, seeing that scaring NPCs gave subterfuge points was good to know.

"You startled me. There's no way you've already finished spinning that much wool."

"Well, I have."

"Are you serious?" She asked, astonished.

"It's true."

"If so, you are a natural nature's weaver. It almost looks like nature helps you as you work with it.” She got up from the chair she had been sitting in, ready to keep mentoring him. “Now, come here. I'll teach you how to knit."

Juliette took Roth off to a corner, pulled a couple of long thick wooden needles, and threw them at Roth. They were thicker than Roth thought a tailor’s needle should be. "The basics of knitting involve three steps: casting on, performing knit stitches, and casting off. Grab some of the wool you spun. Good, see how it's nice and thick. This will make it easier for you since you're getting started. Let's cast on by making a slipknot on one of the needles, then add knots. Let's start with ten knots.

[Spinning Wool] has changed into [Cast On].

"Watch closely, and do as I do. To make your first stitch, loop the yarn around your index and middle finger two times. Then, pull the first loop over the second loop. Tug on the yarn to tighten the knot around the base of the loop. Good! That's it. Then, slip the loop onto the knitting needle and tug the tail to secure the knot. Good!"

Roth tried to follow the steps attentively. He'd seen his mother knit a few times, but he'd never done it himself. After a few clumsy, slow attempts, and patient instructions from Juliette, he finally made his first slipknot and tied it to the wooden needle.

[Cast On] progress: 10%.

Roth’s chest puffed up as he studied his work. Then, he felt his face burn as he realized he was proud of himself for a very little achievement. Still, every big journey started with a small step, didn’t it? He would press on. As he kept going, he started getting the hang of it, and by the time he was done with his tenth knot, he got a notification.

[Cast On] is completed.

[Cast On] has been changed into [Knit Stitch].

"Very good! You're definitely a natural. Now, let's start with knitting stitches. Get the needle with all the cast-on knots and transfer it to the other hand. Good. Grab the empty needle and thread it through the bottom of the top stitch on the loaded needle. Use your right index finger to wrap the yarn around the back of your right-hand needle. Then bring it back toward you to rest between the needles."

This part of the process was the hardest so far. But now, he was creating something. How was it possible to make, out of that lump of fluffy dirty wool something so cool like this? He slowly followed the steps and finally was able to make his very first stitch!

"Well done, now, you want to keep going. Like this." As Roth performed the motion repeatedly, he started picking up some speed. "Now, every time you finish a row, you'll want to switch the needles between your hands and knit the next. Like this." Juliette illustrated the movement. It wasn't difficult. Roth continued.

After a few busy minutes, he held a small square piece of knitted woolen cloth.

[Knit Stitch] is completed.

[Knit Stitch] has been changed into [Cast Off].

"Wonderful. Now, what we'll do is we want to finish the cloth. For that, we want to cast off. That is how you get the stitches you cast on initially off the needle. Start by knitting two stitches, then pull the first stitch over the second one. That's it. Keep pulling the first stitch over the second one, and it will slide off the needle. That's it! Good job. You've cast off your first knot."

This was a slightly trickier step, but slowly, the knots were coming off the loaded needle, and the cloth’s knitting was nearing its conclusion. Roth repeated the process until only one knot was left on the needle.

"Now that there's only one stitch left, grab your scissors, and leave off a small piece of yarn, just like that. Good. Wrap it around the needle, and pull a stitch over the yarn tail. Now tighten it and pull it."

As Roth finished up, according to Juliette's instructions, a series of rings sounded.

You've learned [Knitting].

You now know how to craft [Woolen Cloth].

Congratulations! You've successfully crafted [Woolen Cloth].

Crafting Grade: C.

Woolen Cloth (Consumable)

Item description: The cloth can wipe armor and give it extra shine for a while.

Item effects: +1% Damage resistance to a piece of armor for 30 minutes.

Roth had one finished wool rectangle and two wooden needles with no stitches in his hands. From a loose bunch of thread, he'd made something. This was a fantastic feeling.

"Congratulations! You're officially a tailor now!"

[Cast Off] Complete.

Completion Rate: S++.

Quest rewards: 1,000 ecotailor XP (+100 ecotailor XP); [Tin Shearing Scissors]; [Tin Bucket]; [Basic Carding Pads]; [Basic Spinning Spindle]; [Pine Knitting Needles]; [Wool Cloth Recipe].

[Ecotailor Level Up!]

Bonus rewards: 3,000 Professional XP (+300 ecotailor XP); [Wool Scarf Recipe]; [Wool Poncho Recipe]; [Wool Shop Loyalty Card].

[Ecotailor Level Up!]

You've learned a new profession-related skill: [Tailor Bag].

The completion rate was very generous. He didn’t know if it was because of how he had saved the sheep stuck here, or because he was as much of a natural as Juliette made him out to be. Roth had received all the necessary supplies to process raw wool into yarn in one go. Additionally, he received an item that gave him a big smile.

Wool Shop Loyalty Card (Rare)

Item description: You've proven to be someone this shop can count on and are worth nurturing.

Item effects: 15% discount on all purchases in this shop

He liked the sound of that! The thought of how this item's effects would stack with his bonuses as a broker was an exciting prospect to Roth. He went to check his new skill.

Tailor Bag (Profession)

Skill description: As a tailor, you learn how to make your supplies fit more nicely into your bag, allowing you to carry more weight.

Skill effects: Tailor materials and supplies weigh 25% less.

This was a fantastic skill. Anything that allowed him to carry more weight was very welcome. Furthermore, from not having any recipes, Roth had just gotten hold of several. There was the woolen cloth and two others.

[Wool Scarf Recipe]

Item description: This tailor recipe teaches you how to fashion a simple scarf that will keep you warm and protected

Requirements: Tailor, lvl. 1; [Knitting].

[Wool Poncho Recipe]

Item description: This tailor recipe teaches you how to make a simple yet elegant poncho.

Requirements: Tailor, lvl. 3; [Knitting].

"Wow, thank you so much for teaching me all these things."

"No problem. If you ever need more knowledge of how to work wool, feel free to see me."

Roth got a notification signaling that a new local shop feature had been unlocked. He noticed that the icon used to open the shop's window had started blinking red. Roth opened it and found a new tab. Instead of just selling clothes, he could now purchase recipes, tailoring supplies, and raw wool.

As he checked the prices, he gulped. The guide wasn't lying when it said that tailor recipes were expensive. The cheapest was 50 silver, and some were priced at two gold! These were the most basic recipes tailors could learn. How expensive would more advanced recipes be, then?

Roth looked at the price of [Raw Sheep Wool]. It was significantly cheaper than he expected.

Raw Sheep Wool (Common)

Item description: Dirty, unkempt wool filled with debris. If washed and properly processed, it might be of some use.

A stack of raw sheep wool was priced at 50 coppers. After [Discount] and his new loyalty card, he could buy a stack at 30 copper. After being frightened by the prices of recipes, he sighed in relief. It was a very reasonable price. That was only proper, though. After all, he was a level 1 tailor. If even the most basic crafting material for Tailor’s was exceedingly expensive, he might as well give up right now. He dared not imagine how expensive this would get down the road.

Roth's mind went to the last conversation that he had with Drake. He felt so bad that he couldn't show anything for his work. Now he was a tailor! Not just any tailor, he was an ecotailor. He could also now craft items. He would prove to him and everyone else that he was working hard. Since he had money, he purchased all the available recipes and bought as much wool as he could carry. Soon, he was carrying 100 kgs of supplies. He would grind several tailor levels and skyrocket his mastery in one leap. Now that he had gotten what he needed to start his journey as a tailor, he checked the time. It was almost time for the debriefing! He had to run.

"Thank you, Juliette. I've got to go now. Thanks again."

"You're welcome, nature's weaver!"

Roth ran out of the shop and headed toward the slums. He would enter the sewers from there. Had he not worn the [Witness Protection Mask], he wouldn't dare show his face in the mafia-controlled territory. After all, he had terrible dealings with the Gazpachos and the Beanies. But this mask should protect him from being found by them. After all, the more evil an opponent was, the more difficult it would be for them to see through his disguise.

*

Xana jumped from roof to roof with the propulsion jets of his jet pack. Unfortunately, she had to choose between having a ride, such as Gary's black horse, or having a jetpack like this. On the one hand, she could travel more challenging terrain with the help of this device, but on the other hand, she couldn't travel long distances with it.

She didn't mind it, though. As a roboticist, she had multiple skills and equipment that allowed her to speed up her travel, and she was confident that in a place such as this, where there were many streets and obstacles, she could keep outrun Gary's black steed.

Pax detected.

Pax left the search radius.

She stopped. It was a notification from drone two that was flying over the slums. It had momentarily detected the Slayer just before he escaped the search radius. Bingo. She activated her jetpack and jumped over a roof as she took off toward the slums.

She just had to get him on the radar again, and then, she wouldn't let go. She patiently kept running toward the general direction of the slums, not forgetting to send a message to Gary and Wilson, who were already on their way to join her.

Pax detected.

Seek!

She activated the simple command that would make her drone follow the Slayer. Xana licked her lips. He wouldn't get away now!

*

Roth had already selected the 'smelly exploration' equipment slot and was cruising around the slums, oblivious to the smell that had bothered him so much the first time he had come around for a visit. He headed toward the nearest entrance to the sewers. Once he arrived, his 20% bonus from his [Plumber’s Boots] activated, and he ran toward the lab’s entrance.

As he drew closer to the secret entrance, Roth activated camouflage and ensured he wasn’t being followed. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he reached out with his hands toward the secret lever, twisted, and pulled. Were it not for the [Search] skill, he would have never been able to find this place. The mechanism was activated, and he disappeared into the murky waters of the sewers of Hilsford.

Ch. 120 - Spindle

INDEX

Ch. 122 - Blown